3 pax met up at the Mandeville trailhead, with YHC coming in hot as per usual. The outside temperature read 30 degrees and Coconuts, with only a light jacket… no pants , hat, or gloves, seemed unfazed by the elements.
Warm up: mosey to bus stop:
Ssh and IW x 20 IC
Forward lunge with bows to the ground x 4
Back lunge with twist x4
Lateral lunge x 4
Sumo squat to stand x 4
The thang:
Step ups x 10/ shld taps x20
Mosey to corner x 100 yd dash/ mosey x 100 yd dash
Pistol squats x 10/manmakers x 10
Mosey/ x 100 yd dash/ mosey x 100 yd dash
Split squats x 10/ Plyo push-ups x 10
Mosey to corner, lunge walk 1/4 of the way, x 75yd dash, mosey to corner, back pedal x 25 yds, 75 yd dash (slight modification due to bronchospams)
Sit to stand single leg x 10/ vaults x 10
One more round of modification mosey/ dash
X 10 burpees to finish off.
Name o rama, cot, prayer
Thanks guys for pushing me out of the warm fart sack this morning!
Being inspired by Yankee’s gentle reminder to post our backblasts, I went looking through my phone notes hoping I had written everything down. Luckily I never delete anything and found my notes at the bottom of a grocery list.
We started with the circle. I forgot to write these numbers down so the circle reps might be a little off.
Secure Shells(A little IT humor) x 30
Windmill x 30
Peter Parkers x 30
Mountain Climbers x 30
Imperial Walkers x 30
Then we did an Indian run to the top of the mountain.
At the top of the mountain we partnered up and took turns running all the way down the stairs and then back up and doing the following:
Burpees x 50
Jump Lunges x 100
Real Freddy Merucrys x 200
Next we moved to the benches for some rapid fire dips and incline m’rcans. We started with 12 of each back to back with no break and the intent was to work our way down to 1 reducing by 1 each time. Turns out this is ridiculously hard so once we got to 8 we reduced by 2 each time.
Once done we stayed at the bench for some step-ups and then moseyed back to the flag for a little bit of mary.
After the mary we did name-o-rama and and honored Ron Jeremy by naming the FNG Hedgehog.
28 PAX ignored the threat of rain and made it out The Mothership this Sat. We lucked out with a “calm before the storm” as the the guys assmebled and prepared for takeoff. YHC wanted to mix things up with an old school City Park history tour as part of the workout, similar to a few beatbowns circa 2015. The night before had the forecast looking nasty, so the plan was to stay close to cover and hone in on a few of the iconic landmarks right there in the original part of the park. The 1300 acre park was established in 1854 and has lots of history, great architecture, nature, wildlife, and of course trees….home to one of the largest collection of live oaks in the world. Generations of New Orleans residents and visitors alike have enjoyed the park so it only seemed fitting to pay homage to a few things that make it a great place. As the clock struck 5:30 we discussed the plan for the day, followed by the disclaimer, then off to….
First stop, The Peristyle, built in 1907 to have outdoor dances and concerts for the “well heeled” New Orleanians….some chatter from Rudy about Jingle Vader being in that category. Using the year as the rep count, we started with Imperial Walkers x19 and Windmills x7.
Then an ugly mosey around The Casino Building with some doubt from the PAX before going up and over Popp Bandstand for Stop #2 on the nearby grass.
With 12 granite columns and topped with a bronze dome, Popp Bandstand was named for is benefactor, John F. Popp, and is a replica of the Temple of Love in Versailles. In 1916, Popp made a donation to the park to build the Popp Bandstand which was completed in 1917. The Spanish Mission Revival-style “Casino” building opened in 1913 as a place that sold refreshments. Because of that, the City Park legend says that the building originally was called a cantina, using the Spanish word for a place where food and drinks are served. In a 2008 Times-Picayune story, City Park Executive Director Beau Bassich said he believed the New Orleans dialect colloquialized the word into “casina.” However, 1913 newspaper articles do use the word “casino” to describe the new building, explaining it will be “the amusement center of the park,” though there is no mention of gambling.
Here we circled up using 1917 and 1913 to inspire the rep count for Peter Parkers x19, Low Slow Squats x17, Mountain Climbers x19 and Arm Circles x13.
Then we recaped the age of the park, 164 years, with a Plank Merkin circle where all PAX held a high plank while merkins were cranked out individually in a clockwise manner up to 164 total.
Then a mosey over the stone bridge towards City Park Ave for a meandering jog through the oldest grove of mature live oak tress the world. We made sure to recognize the two oldest ones by looping around McDonough Oak and then, after some doubt from the PAX about my navagation ability, made our way to the Ansmen Oak, both of which are approx 800 years old. Here we circled up for an 8 round burpee countdown, one round for each century…Burpees x8,x7,x6,x5,x4,x3,x2,…x8 for the crowdpleaser! More about City Park trees here: http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park/trees-in-city-park
Then a mosey over the Ansmen Bridge, one of 9 built by the WPA, and back to The Peristyle where we lined up on one side for a partner circuit. This included 8 rounds of PAX #1 performing the specified exercise across the Peristyle and back (timer) while PAX #2 stayed put with a stationary exercise.
1)Inchworm & Wall Sit
2) Bearcrawl fwd/bwd & Balls to the Wall
3) Duck Walk & Declined Plank
4) Crab Walk fwd/bwd & Wall Sit
5) Lunge Walk & LBC
6) Kong & Balls to the Wall
7) Fiddler Crab & Flutter Kicks
8) Lateral Lunge & Wall Sit
Next up, we couldn’t leave out the adjacent Great Lawn that has hosted countless hours of F3 beatdowns. Built in 2010, the Goldring/Woldenberg Great Lawn is enjoyed by many and has seen a slew of picnics, concerts, yoga classes, and side straddle hops over the past 8 years. So we moseyed a quick loop to the Great Lawn and back to the nearby benches for a partner circuit of: PAX #1 Dips x20 OYO while PAX#2 runs to GL for Merkins x10 and back. Rinse and repeat for 3 rounds total follwed by a “victory lap” around the GL topped off with planking to wait for the six.
Still some time left for a few more history lessons so over to the rear of The Peristyle to gaze upon the banks of Bayou Metairie. Although it is now a landlocked lagoon, Bayou Metairie was originally a natural waterway spanning from Bayou St. John to the swampy area near what is now Old Metairie, essentially following the path of current day Metairie Rd. Once used by the Native Americans and early settlers, the banks of the bayou gradually formed the Metairie Ridge which provided high ground for ground transportation and later development of homes.
Since we didn’t have a year to use for rep count, we shifted our focus to 1946, the year of the first City Park Big Bass Rodeo, which is the oldest freshwater fishing rodeo in the country. At this point YHC had to alter the planned exercises and went with the first thing that came to mind, burpees, which really seemed to excite the PAX and peanut gallery, given the initial silence of disbelief followed by some grumbling and the “we already did enough burpees” comments. So PAX#1 knocked out Burpees x19 while PAX #2 held a wall sit on the ledge along Bayou Metairie, which had an awkward slope not conducive to said exercise. Then partner plank slaps, aka patty cake, holding a high plank and alternating hand slaps up to 46.
Nearing the end of our hour, we had just enough time remaining to circle up under The Persistyle for some themed Mary. YHC breifly talked about the various projects completed by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in the 1930’s throughout City Park, including Tad Gormley Stadium, nine concrete bridges, a golf course, several art deco conrete benches, and Roosevelt Mall. In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt came in town for the dedication ceremony. Pics below and more info at: http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park/works-progress-administration-in-new-orleans-city-park
In this undated archival photo, President Roosevelt chats with New Orleanian Paul Alfred Montreuil, 7, at the dedication of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mall in City Park. Also pictured: Marcel G. Montreuil, park superintendent; George Grundmann, chairman of the dedication committee and vice president of the park board; and James H. Crutcher, administrator of the WPA in Louisiana.
Our WPA and FDR themed Mary consisted of:
W – Weezey Jeffersons x10IC
P – Pickle Pounders x15IC
A – American Hammer x20IC
F – Flutter Kicks x20IC
D – Dying Cockroach x15IC
R – name??? exotic exercise led by Triple Shift x25IC
Moseyed back to the flag with some rain for added bonus. Capped things off with a COT and announcements. T-claps to War Eagle for stepping up to lead the prayer. He’s a pro at that stuff and much more eloquent in that field than YHC.
NMM – Thanks to the PAX for bearing with my non-professional tour guide ability and abbreviated history tidbits throughout the morning. As always, the peanut gallery led by Rudy and others kept it entertaining. T-claps to Mahatma and others for the occasional motivational cheers and USMC grunts to keep the PAX in high gear. Several guys asked for links (http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park) to some of the City Park history in so I included several in this backblast, which may be one of the longest in F3 history….sorry for the long read, if you made it this far. My wife asked if I was writing a book.
With it being just over two weeks before Christmas, bells could be heard along the lakefront in Mandeville on a cold and dreary Saturday morning. Could it be the salvation army ringing their bells to get donations from the dedicated runners on the Lakefront? No sir, it is a bunch of idiots doing ten burpees everytime they ring a cowbell…..
Warm Up:
15 Toe Touches IC, 20 Windmills IC, 20 IW’s IC, 20 SS Hops IC, 20 Butt Kicks IC, 20 High KNees IC, 10 Forward Arm Rolls IC, 10 Reverse Arm Rolls IC, 10 Overhead Claps IC
Cowbell Instructions:
Every time you hear the cowbell, stop and do ten burpees. At the beginning of the beat down, that cowbell was like the pretty girl at the dance. Everybody wanted to have some time with it. About half way through, she turned into the ugly girl at the dance. Nobody wanted anything to do with it. BUT, everyone had their chance to dance which meant, with 10 Pax, we did a hundred burpees through out the work out. I think Zoo Lander might have rang it twice, so maybe 110.
Mosey to first block: Bolt 45s, 5 Dive Bomber Push Ups IC, 5 Lunges IC
Mosey to second block: Rinse and Repeat exercises from Block 1 and add 5 Absolutions
Mosey to third block: Rinse and Repeat exercises from Block 2, and add 10 Freak Nasties IC
Mosey to the park: Ascending Burp and Groin
Each pac does a burpee. After the merkin part of the burpee, do a groiner. Everytime you do a burpee increase the merkin and groiner by one rep. Do this until you get to ten merkins and ten groiners. So I guess if you add these burpees into it, we did 120. By this point, who the hell is counting.
Rinse and Repeat this three times. Second set increase reps to 12 for all exercises. On the third set, increase reps to 15. Kudos to Coconuts to ringing the cowbell during the Mary to give our abs a break. Only at F3 is doing 10 burpees a break from anything.
Indian run back to the flag.
Bushwacker prayed us out. Great F2 at the coffeteria after.
This back blast is going to be short and sweet since I am off to train for the Nightmare Before Christmas beatdown 12/16 at the lakefront!
It was a little cold so we just started with 50 SSH in cadence to warm everyone up. We followed that with some windmills and merkins.
Today’s beatdown was a little something I have been doing at the house where you have a list of exercises correlating with the ABC’s. Every letter has an exercise (like 10 burpees, 16 jump squats, or hello dolly’s for example.) During the course of the workout the PAX would shout “What’s my name”? We would spell out their name and do the exercises for each letter.
With all of the people at the beatdown, we had to shorten some people’s names in order to get through it. We had the most fun I think spelling out “Ben”.
One other addition was when all the PAX did a wall squat and we passed a 30-lb plate down the line. Once it was at the end the person at the end took the weight up and down the Taj Mahal staircase and back to the front of the line to start the process again.
We rallied back at the flag for the last name (Ringo) and Bushwacker closed us out.
Thanks for letting me lead. Every day we get a little stronger, and that’s because we push each other so well.
Our friend F3 Bono from F3 ENC reached out to us a few months ago about an idea they were using at one of their AOs – Q vs. Q. The idea is simple, start with a five minute warm-up, then for the next 40 minutes two Qs battle it out to see who can deliver the best beatdown. Each Q gets 2 ten minute rounds to deliver the pain. It’s kind of like a dance off…actually it will be a dance of when it’s Rudy vs. Da Parish.
YHC thought Fight Club would be the obvious place to hold a competition like this, so I reached out to Rev Sox and we decided to do a trial run. The plan is to have a Q vs. Q battle at Fight Club on the last Wednesday of each month starting in 2019. Let’s get a couple of guys on the docket for 1/30/19.
Warm-up
Amnesia was voluntold for the warm-up: SSH x 30; Good Mornings x 10; Squats x 20 – All in cadence
Q vs. Q
YHC won roshambo and decided to go first. Being that it was the national day of mourning for George H.W. Bush, I decided to go with a tribute to #41, a man I think would have been all about what F3 is doing.
Round 1 – Hawgcycle
George H.W. Bush was the 43rd VP of the U.S. so in round one the plan was to complete 43 burpees:
14 burpees OYO
President Bush joined the Navy at 18, six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. During his time in WWII he piloted 58 missions.
Merkins x 18; Squat Jumps x 58
14 burpees OYO
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his military service
Iron Cross (left leg) x 10; 5 burpees; Iron cross (right leg x 10); 5 burpees
After WWII he went to Yale where he became a cheerleader like his father and future son.
Mary Catherine’s x 10 (IC); 5 burpees
Flags are at half staff today – Hold a mission impossible for 41 seconds.
Round 1 – Rev Sox
Rev Sox informed us that he has always been self-conscious about his teeth. He was born missing 3 of them. Which JV responded with “I was born without any teeth.” Touché JV.
In hopes that we would all lose some teeth, Rev Sox had us do the tooth fairy up the steps. 2 merkins at each step all the way to the top for a total of 56 merkins. Bear crawl each landing. Then at the top, lunge walk to the other side and run back down. For the second iteration, we did 1 merkin at each step for a total of 28 merkins.
Round2 – Hawgcycle
Let’s move to the presidency. As H.W. famously promised “No new taxes” to start his presidency, YHC promised “No more burpees” to start round 2.
H.W was the 41st president, so the plan is to do 41 eight-count body builders during round 2.
14 eight-count body builders
The Cold War ended during 41’s presidency so we proceeded to tear down the wall by bear crawling to the top of the levee then doing 30 AMERICAN HAMMERS in cadence at the top. We bear crawled back down and did 20 Russian Dips at the bottom.
14 eight-count body builders
41 signed a trade agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico famously known as NAFTA during his presidency. To commemorate this, we did Mexican Jumping Beans and Flutter Kicks – Canadians love flutter kicks.
Not enough time to do the final 13 body builders so YHC called an audible and had the pax do 13 burpees. I broke my promise just as President Bush did when he raised taxes. Sometimes circumstances call for it, right George?
Round 2 – Rev Sox
Rev Sox and I had a good friend, Charlie, pass away from cancer earlier this week. Charlie had his leg amputated earlier in the year and had been hoping to recover enough to walk the Crescent City Classic in April. Rev Sox is not what you would call a runner, but Charlie had convinced him to sign up for the Classic. In honor of Charlie, Rev Sox is now training for the Classic in April. Round 2 was dedicated to Charlie as we ran a 1 mile route along the levee.
NMM
JV and Amnesia were tasked with choosing a winner in the first F3NOLA Q vs. Q. They failed miserably as they called the battle a draw. Our hope was that a clear winner would be chosen before the COT and that man’s hand would be raised in victory just like at a boxing match. Well that didn’t work out. This appears to be a design flaw. Perhaps we should do the scoring anonymously online as they do in ENC.
I didn’t mention the Thousand Points of Light during the workout, but that is one of 41s more famous initiatives. I certainly think F3 falls perfectly in line with his vision. Americans taking the initiative to make our world a better place. In addition to the free daily workouts, there are other great things going on across the nation. Check out programs such as Speed for Need, Operation Sweet Tooth, the Darby Project, or F3 The Mission, just to name a handful.
TAP for the friends and family of Charlie. He was one of the most humble, unassuming men I have ever met. He endured a lot of pain and heartbreak in the last few years of his life, but he remained strong and continued to share his faith with a joyful heart and attitude. He will be missed by our community, but he has left a lasting impression on those that know him. Help us all to have the strength, joy, and faith that Charlie showed.
“The American Dream means giving it your all, trying your hardest, accomplishing something. And then I’d add to that, giving something back. No definition of a successful life can do anything but include serving others.” -George H.W. Bush
The air was crisp and chilly on Wednesday at The Foundry, just the way we like it. Perfect conditions for paying homage to the 41st President of the United States on this national day of mourning. Regardless of one’s political beliefs, it was hard to not have respect for the guy and the days he spent as a leader of our country. With that being said, we read a few of #41’s quotes before takeoff. YHC also mentioned that he sifted through some of the Northshore’s backblasts to get some inspiration for the day. With The Crazy Ivan race coming up in January, us Southshore guys need to make sure we can meet or exceed the physical and mental fortitude of our brothers across the lake. Without further ado, the disclaimer was recited and off we moseyed down Roosevelt Mall.
Warmup (with a Northshore twist):
Good Mornings x10
Finkle Kicks x10R x10L (these were ugly, as expected)
Arm Circle x10F x10R
Lateral Lunge x10
Scorpion Kicks x10L x10R (a tad lackluster)
Forward Lunge w/forearm to ground x5L x5R (good stretching here!)
SSH x41 to cap it off for pres #41
Foundry:
This would be a circuit found in a Northshore backblast called 3-6-9 which consisted of:
3 Pullups, 6 Merkins, 9 Squats every minute on the minute (EMOM) for 10 rounds. At first, this seemed a tad too easy but it got the juices flowing a few rounds in. After round 5, we circled up for a tribute to G.H.W.B. with a plank/merkins circle counting up to 41, then holding a low plank for 41 seconds in silence, then another plank/merkin circle up to 41, topped off with Flutter Kicks x41IC and LBC x41IC. Finished with rounds 6-10 with some good mumble chatter to boot. Looking back, YHC feels certain the Southshore PAX can handle that circuit with 4-8-12 or even 5-10-15…we’ll see.
The Track:
After a mosey for the foundry to the practice track, we circled up for some burpees in honor of George H. W. Bush, stressing good form that would make him proud. We knocked them out in chunks, x10 x10 x10 x11 for 41 total. YHC was hoping for a lap around the track but it was time to mosey back to base.
COT:
The usual announcements of upcoming events and Christmas party/workout next week. A few more words about #41 before ending with a prayer.
Good way to start the day. Thanks for the opportunity to lead.
It was a chilly morning at the Stomp, where 8 veteran Pax posted to get a little running in. YHC posted in sleeveless F3 Garb, in preparation for the upcoming Crazy Ivan! Based upon the outer layers the rest of the pax wore, one would think it was literally freezing outside! Rudy posted today, still upset he missed Walleye’s Notre Dame themed beat down. He was dressed in full winter attire, and he’s faster than me. YHC is, after all, the fastest slow guy in F3 Nation. So YHC got to thinking….is there anything Rudy and I have in common? First, we both belong to F3, which makes us both leaders. Beyond that, not sure. Oh wait! As of about 5 minutes ago, we did have one other thing in common: neither of us started a Back Blast for the last 610 Stomp we Q’d! Badada Boom!
0530…A brief disclaimer….simple instructions given to run 20 minutes out and 20 minutes back on the regular route….lots of mumble chatter! Just another day at the Stomp!
Back at the shovel flags, a little Mary:
Flutter Kicks IC x 20 followed by Hello Dolly IC x 20
10 Burpees OYO to seal the deal!
COT
Countoff, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and ended with a prayer to the Sky Q!
Grandmas house posted a respectable 7 PAX, including an FNG on this mid 40s Gloom.. Arrived to the sights of Water Pik and Ringo stretching and preparing under the canopy of lights at the Trailhead. Quickly the PAX increased with the arrival of Coconuts and (FNG) POSH spice followed by Chewy right at 0515.. Knowing that POSH spice had been Ehed by Backdraft, Q started our warmup with intentions of hanging close to the AO for his expected late arrival.
warmup
20 IC SSH
20 IC Mummy kicks ( Tanked up exclusive)
10 IC Windmills
15 IC Arm circles Forward/Reverse
20 IC Butt kicks
15 IC Overhead claps
Thang
Moseyed to the tunnel for our Tabata work. Instructions Upper, Lower and Core.
First series Merkins for 25 sec work and rest for 10 sec (8) followed by 25-30% run down the ramp stepping up to 50-60% on the flat and all out 💯 sprint back up. The youths of the PAX were quickly humbled by Coconuts ability and quickness through the tunnel.. Recovery walk back. Second series Squats and R/R the tunnel. Final series Flutter kicks and R/R tunnel. Moseyed back to the flag for 5 min of Flutter kicks while each PAX took turns running 25 yard and 50 yard suicides to closeout the beatdown..
count off, announcements, naming of FNG, COT
Much Appreciation to Ringo for praying us out into the day. Also on keeping his streak going at 7 in a row.. Glad to have you part of F3..
