F3 New Orleans

Author: TurboTax

  • Pain Cave

    10 men visited the Pain Cave this morning at The Gipper. F3 Greenwood tried to kill us all with the inaugural Iron PAX Challenge last year and, having failed, have renewed their efforts in earnest with this year’s challenge.

    After a very brief warmup and some pre-challenge logistics, it was time to get started. The buzzer sounded and the troops were off for AMRAP in 43 minutes of:

    10 pullups

    15 burpees with lateral jumps over a coupon

    20 coupon curls

    25 coupon thrusters and

    30 gas pumps.

    A combination of Cowbell’s head banging music and everyone’s muscle fatigue soon heated up the AO as the PAX pushed themselves to accumulate reps. All in all, it was a good showing for a group of men who all look much better than they did on their virgin posts.

    One more week to go men. Thanks for letting me lead.

  • Twenty Hate

    YHC rolled up to The Gipper in the Gloom this morning armed with the knowledge that Grundy turns 28 years old today. What better present could YHC bestow than a proper beat down? So once the preliminaries were out of the way, the birthday celebration began with a warmup of

    28 Seal Jacks IC and 28 Toe Touches IC followed by the first of four 70 second front planks

    Mosey to the back of the Justice Center where YHC deployed a quick feet ladder a few yards in front of the stairs. The PAX then executed some agility drills:

    two feet every hole then one foot every step up the stairs, leading with the right foot on the first two trips and the left foot for the next two trips

    two feet in and one foot out then one foot every other step up the stairs, again leading with the right foot for the first two trips and the left for the next two

    hop scotch through the ladder then two foot hops every step up the stairs, leading with the right foot for the first two trips and then left for the next two

    lateral one foot hops through the ladder then crossover run up the stairs, leading with the right foot for the first two trips and then left for the next two

    The PAX then hit their second 70 second front plank, made their way to the North side of the Justice Center for 4 sets of 7 T Merkins punctuated by 28 yard sprints, and then hit their third 70 second front plank.

    Mosey back to the South side benches for 4 sets of 7 lateral box jumps separated by 28 yard sprints.

    Return to the quick feet ladder for a four rounds of high knees through the ladder followed by a jog up the stairs and then a single depth jump on the way down the stairs and four rounds of two feet every hole moving laterally and then sprinting up the stairs as quickly as possible.

    Last 70 second front plank, giving us a total of 280 seconds in the front plank position on the day (leaving our ISI participants with only 20 seconds to complete on their own to punch today’s 300 second ticket), and then return to the trailhead with a mosey.

    4 way Jane Fonda (straight leg, forward circles, backwards circles and pulses) for 7 reps each, 28 Scuba Steves IC, and 28 Nolan Ryans each side IC and this morning’s twenty hate birthday celebration was complete.

    Nameorama, countorama and a short prayer to wrap things up.

    Thanks for letting me lead today guys and Happy Birthday Grundy!

    Next Wednesday is Einstein’s 3rd year anniversary Q. Don’t miss it!

  • ACME Round Robin

    Eight PAX arrived in the Gloom at The Gipper this morning only to learn that their favorite out of work hairdresser had been called away from his Q duties for, get this, work. Those who do not know him better might think that “work” is his euphemism for “fartsack” but they would be mistaken. When Hollywood calls, real life movie editors must respond, Q duties notwithstanding. So there we were left in the Gloom to our own devices.

    Not one to let a leadership void go unfilled, Shooter stepped up to the plate to suggest a Round Robin Q. The Mumble Chatter of assent was heard by all and then Shooter chose the magic number of twelve and got us started with a warmup of 12 reps IC of windmills, toe touches, imperial squat walkers and side straddle hops.

    Blood flowing, we moseyed to Bedrock for an appointment with coupons. After 12 IC each of OH presses, rows, curls, chest presses, chest presses with legs at 6 inches, triceps kickbacks, OH tricep extensions and lateral arm raises, we shed our coupons and headed over to the back of the Justice Center where YHC picked up the torch.

    There, the PAX partnered up for rounds of Wile E. Coyote, coupled with butt kicks, high knees and ice skater hops. Partner one made his way up the Justice Center ramp suspended with hands and feet only on the railings (a suspended lateral plank walk with consequences) while partner two performed the requisite butt kicks. Flip flop with your partner and then rinse and repeat for two more rounds substituting high knees and ice skater hops for butt kicks. YHC has loved the Wile E. Coyote since experiencing it at a Charlotte Metro beat down and hopes to share the pain with the rest of the PAX at his earliest opportunity.

    Jose 10k is somewhat glum about the possibility of more

    Cowbell then confidently assumed the mantle of leadership and mosied the PAX to the top of the Justice Center parking garage. We promptly partnered up again for a Dora 1-2-3 of Putins (100), Merkins (200) and LBCs (300), punctuated with trips to and from the nearest light pole with 3 burpees at each turnaround.

    The sweaty and heavy breathing PAX then made their way back to The Gipper for the COT. We would have made you proud this morning, Steve.

  • It’s All Fun & Games

    Still sore from Memorial Day’s Murph and knowing that some Gipper regulars pleaded for but did not receive mercy from Chewy yesterday at Grandmother’s House, YHC planned a morning of fun and games. The aforementioned Gipper regulars must have really needed a break because the Mandeville clown car never materialized out of the Gloom. So the rest of us got on with it and after a brief disclaimer and a warmup of Seal Jacks, Windmills, Butt Kicks, Toe Touches, SSHs, and High Knees headed over to the Justice Center for the Thang.

    YHC coned off a good size square, produced a lacrosse ball, and we started a passing game with consequences. After counting off, the PAX starting moving within the square, bounce passing the lacrosse ball to one another in order. A dropped pass resulted in penalty exercises, among them Tuck Jumps, Sister Mary Katherines, Merkins, Mission Impossible, Box Cutters, Pickle Pounders, and J-Los.

    The PAX mastered the first level quickly, and it was time for YHC to add some complexity. We counted off again, changing the passing order to keep everyone mentally sharp, and added the requirement of leaving the square to round a cone after making a pass and before receiving the next pass with a prohibition against using the same cone twice. We continued in this vein for the rest of the beat down, adding levels of difficulty. Not only did we keep changing the passing order, but we required each passing PAX to leave the square and perform an exercise (2 burpees, a star jump, an 8 count body builder, 2 plank jacks, and ice skater hops) before reentering the square to receive the next pass. For one game, we even prohibited the use of your strong hand…so a right hander could only use his left hand. The ambidextrous Jose had a distinct advantage here but since we were all in it together that didn’t make much of a difference. There were lots of penalty exercises, especially as the speed of the game accelerated and fatigue set in. However, YHC is proud to report that the level of play increased significantly with each game.

    Countorama, nameorama and Cowbell prayed us out once we made it back to the Trailhead.

    Thanks for letting me lead guys. See you in the Gloom.

  • Fuzzy Balls

    22 PAX strong on the Mandeville Lakefront. 23 if you count Brat who joined us for a little foreplay as he works his way off injured reserve. Brat, an officer with the NOPD, injured himself successfully tackling and arresting a bad guy. The PAX’s consensus is that he should use a Tazer next time Indiana Jones style or perhaps transfer to a Northshore police agency where a polite request to stop, issued with an English accent, is all that is required to apprehend a criminal.

    Kicked things off with warmup of seal jacks, toe touches, SSHs, imperial walkers, merkins, and Jane Fondas. We then divided into three teams, and YHC retrieved his bag and revealed his fuzzy balls.

    Each team received a fuzzy tennis ball (yes, YHC had three) and instructions to race with it about a half mile west along the Lakefront to the Shaft. To begin, there were only three rules: first, you cannot run if you are holding the ball; second, no pass backs-you cannot receive a pass back from the man you just passed to; and third, the entire team had to stop dead and perform five burpees every time the ball touched the ground before proceeding. Then Cowbell whipped a legal pad out of his briefcase and starting asking questions and for clarification on a few items so we ended up with a few more rules. No wonder you guys don’t get anything done on the Southshore.

    Circled up upon arrival at the Shaft for T merkins and alternating Supermans..

    Back to the races with another tennis ball sprint further westward along the Lakefront to the playground where we circled up for prisoner squats, hand release merkins and crab cakes.

    Raced back eastward with our fuzzy balls to the Shaft for a third COP consisting of a merkin wave, lunges, Supermans, arm circles, overhead hand claps, and air presses.

    One final race back to the shovel flag, wrapping things up with some Mary…single leg raises, scuba Steves and a 60 second plank.

    Countorama, nameorama and Phoenix prayed us out on the way to the coffeeteria.

    Thanks for letting me lead, guys, and thanks for competing so earnestly in the silly tennis ball game.

  • Mother’s Day Au Lait

    Three PAX need to work on their priorities. Or perhaps they have superior time management and family diplomatic skills. Either way, Bean, In Time and YHC met for the weekly 10k Au Lait on Mother’s Day morning, ran for 10k at a leisurely pace while discussing the advantages of running at a leisurely pace, and then high tailed it back home for Mother’s Day festivities.

  • May Day

    At the zenith of the Cold War, the Soviet Union and its satellite states held May Day parades every May 1st to demonstrate their military might for the Free World to contemplate. Fortunately for those of us old enough to remember school time nuclear war drills in which we learned laughably to take shelter under our desks, the threat never materialized. That didn’t stop the Northshore Cold Warriors from celebrating May Day this morning, however.

    After a warmup of Seal Jacks, Good Mornings, SSHs, Windmills and Imperial Walker Squats, the PAX mosied over to Bedrock for

    19 Romanian Deadlifts with a nice sized rock

    then to the Justice Center for

    19 Bulgarian Split Squats each leg and 89 Russian Twists IC

    all to celebrate 1989, the year the Berlin Wall crumbled.

    The PAX then mosied to the front of the Justice Center to partner up for some BOMBS; that is, 50 burpees, 100 OH hand claps, 150 merkins, 200 big boy sit ups, and 250 air squats…one partner performing exercises while the other ran up the ramp and down the stairs to relieve his partner.

    Appropriately, the PAX finishing first performed isometric Wall sits instead of planks.

    Next, we made our way to the Veterans Memorial for a plank parade, lateral plank walking the Memorial semi circle there and back.

    Back to The Gipper, who certainly played his part in the collapse of the Evil Empire, to close things out with a countorama, nameorama and prayer.

    Happy May Day men and God Bless America!

  • Easter is Coming

    Having conquered the trail on their trip to the Olympic Park in Conyers, Georgia, a trio of Ragnarians returned to The Gipper this morning for a beat down. Expecting a running adverse Q named Maverick, the PAX were crestfallen to learn that Maverick had taken ill and had roped YHC into “running” the show. Not sure what got into him, but YHC took mercy on the Ragnarians and uncharacteristically kept the running to a relative minimum while focusing on agility, strength and balance instead.

    After a warmup of Imperial Squat Walkers (10x IC), Seal Jacks (20x IC), Windmills (10x IC), Imperial Walkers (20x IC), Toe Touches (10x IC), and SSHs (20x IC), the PAX moseyed over to the Justice Center.

    With a starting line about 30 yards from the Justice Center stairs, the PAX executed the following agility sequences flawlessly: run there and back at 60%; run there at 70% and return walking down the stairs backwards with a back pedal back to the starting line; backpedal there and run 70% back to the start; crossover run there and back both directions; carioca there and bunny hop each stair to the top of the stairs then bunny hop down and carioca back; repeat facing the other direction; shuffle ten yards, reverse direction shuffle for five and then run at 95% to the top of the stairs; and finally repeat facing the opposite direction with a 100% run. (YHC didn’t say there would be NO running, just “not that much”).

    Recovery walk to the side of the Justice Center to partner up for wheelbarrows…out for 20 yards or so then switch up and return.

    Mosey to the front of the Justice Center and circle up for: T Merkins, Nolan Ryans each side, long slow flutter kicks, copperhead Merkins, dynamic side hip planks each side, Freddy Mercury’s, Merkins, jackknives each side and finally A-B-C-D abs, all 10x IC.

    Mosey to Bedrock on our way back to the Shovel Flag for some coupon work. Partner up for torso twists with the coupon one direction for 10x OYO, then opposite direction 10x OYO, then over unders 5x OYO each direction, then rinse and repeat the torso twists.

    Final mosey to The Gipper for the Causeway sobriety balance challenge. A good parlor trick as it is much harder than it appears.

    Countorama, nameorama, and Einstein prayed us out.

    Thanks for letting me lead this morning guys and here’s hoping Maverick, Coconuts, Tanked Up! and Moby Dick conquer their respective illnesses and injuries so they can return to The Gipper soon.

  • Northshore H8!

    Beautiful morning on the Mandeville Lakefront. Bean joined YHC to lead a warmup of Arm Circles, Overhead Handclaps, Merkins, Seal Jacks, Butt Kicks, Imperial Walkers, and Windmills, all IC 10-20x. The PAX then moseyed westward for The Thang…Northshore H8!

    AMRAP in 40 minutes:

    35 yard bear crawl, .4 mile run, 35 yard bear crawl, then 7 burpees and 1 Merkin to complete Round 1

    Rinse and repeat working towards 1 burpee and 7 Merkins

    Goal of 8 Rounds.

    The Northshore H8!, last attempted six months ago, once again proved to be a tough challenge for the PAX. Only superheros Waterpik and Bushwacker completed all 8 rounds in 40 minutes. This benchmark workout definitely gave the rest of us good reason to keep working hard to get better. Deceptively difficult, this beat down will check the ego every time.

    Slow mosey back to the shovel flag for shoulder taps, IC 20x.

    Countorama, nameorama and Bean prayed us out.

    Welcome FNG Clean Hit!

  • Shooter Blanks

    YHC cannot remember the last time Shooter fartsacked a Gipper beat down. In fact, it just may be that today was the first time. The PAX nevertheless had to press on in the not so gloomy Gloom, wondering what Shooter was up to early this Spring Equinox morning.

    With some trepidation, YHC rolled out on a mosey in an unaccustomed direction at the opening bell. Trepidation because we were sure to miss those PAX who typically roll in hot. Not to mention any names but let’s just say we didn’t want to miss those PAX whose names rhyme with Bundy and Baverick. They fartsacked by all appearances but, if not, they hopefully will post their own back blast(s) to fill the rest of us in on their activities.

    Enough about fartsacking. The beat down went like this:

    Mosey to the St Tammany Parish WWI memorial for our warmup of SSHs, woodchoppers, overhead hand claps and good mornings, all IC 10-15x.

    Mosey to Christ Episcopal Church for a set of 7s. Bobby Hurleys on one side, butt kicks on the other, separated by bear crawls one direction and crab walks on the return.

    Short mosey to the entrance to Bogue Falaya Park for some sprinting and change of direction drills that looked like this:

    Round 1: sprint 10 yards, backpedal 10 yards, then sprint 20 yards

    Round 2: backpedal 10 yards, sprint 10 yards, then backpedal 20 yards

    Round 3: shuffle 10 yards, shuffle back to the start line 10 yards, then turn and sprint 20 yards

    Round 4: rinse and repeat Round 3 facing the opposite direction

    Round 5: rinse and repeat Round 1; last round best round

    Then the PAX moseyed to the Columbia Street Landing for a plank-a-thon: merkins, Peter Parkers, Parker Peters, plank jacks, right arm high, left arm high, shoulder taps, right arm high, left arm high, then one arm pulses each arm before heading back towards the Trailhead on a mosey

    Sudden change on the way

    Then the PAX closed out the beat down with Mary consisting of dynamic side planks, straight legged jackknives, dynamic back plank, and flutter kicks.

    Countorama, nameorama and Barely Legal prayed us out to start the day.

    Thanks for letting me lead guys. YHC always appreciates you playing along with the monkey business.