F3 New Orleans

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  • And we are done….just kidding, not really.

    So after a last minute exit from Chowdah for his VQ, YHC decided to step up and take the Q.  After planting the shovel flag in what was unusually hard dirt and the usual disclaimer, we were off.

    Mosey to the Kick-Ball Field in front of Audubon Zoo for Warm-Up:

    • Imperial Walkers X 20
    • Arm Circles Forward X15
    • Arm Circles Reverse X15
    • Hillibillies X20

    Next, short mosey to Soccer Field for:

    • 4 Corners – B.O.M.B.S – Modified (You’ll figure out why shortly)
      • First Corner – 5 Burpees
        • Defensive Drills R/L to
      • Second Corner – 10 OH Presses
        • Crab Walk to
      • Third Corner – for Modification #1 – 15 Monkey Humpers
        • Backward Run to
      • Fourth Corner – 20 Big Boy Sit Ups/Rower Sit Ups (PAX choice)
        • Bear Crawl
      • Back to First Corner for Modification #2 – 25 Side-Plank Leg Raises split between right and left sides

    This was so fun, Rinse and Repeat!

    Mosey to Shelter for:

    • The Cooper
      • 10 Burpees
      • 10 Merkins
      • 10 Squats
      • Run 1 lap from shelter to track and back (approx. 400M)
      • Decrease by 1 until done

    Now you know why YHC decided to modify the merkins and squats out of the B.O.M.B.S.  You’re welcome PAX!

    Now the above routine seems pretty straightforward and not that difficult.  Apparently not with 90 degree heat and what seemed like 110% humidity.  The Cooper should be renamed the Mumblechatter-Killer because it was pretty quiet amongst the PAX once we really got going.

    As we continued in our endeavor to get to the end of this never-ending routine, YHC realized not all the PAX would have time to complete.  So, modify!  YHC decided to announce that we would call it when the PAX leaders (I’m looking at you Douille, El Wire, Mariah and a few others) finished all their rounds.  Apparently, those same leaders misheard me and thought YHC said we would finish when they completed their CURRENT round.  You can imagine my amazement when I pulled into the shelter with a group of PAX waiting for YHC for the next THANG.  Of course, I quickly explained that we still had several minutes to go and let’s get to it.  Que collective groan.  Off we went for more rounds!  Lucky for the PAX we did run out of time so YHC called it.  That Cooper was something else.

    Mosey back to the Flag for Count-Off, Name-o-rama, Announcements, Intentions and Prayer.  Special thanks to all who attended and helped put on the F2 Picnic on Saturday.  A great F2 event.

    Thanks PAX for letting me lead!  What a great group of #HIM.

  • Caution!! Disclaimer needed!!

    Arrived at the Gipper with Moby wearing his 4 ounce gloves looking as though he were ready to step into the Octagon  for 5 rounds of a championship fight. The YHC would need to bring the heat to TKO this opponent.. Joining the PAX would include the Barely legal Brawler and the Relentless Einstein who would surly take any of us to a hard fought decision of sorts ultimately going the distance to claim the title… With borrowed Dice of Doom from the Wacker we begin round 1.

    warmup

    PAX take turns rolling out the die with just the number as the Q selects the exercise after the number is determined.

    Each PAX rolls twice as we put in some SSH, IW, Hill Billies, Good mornings, Toe touches and Windmills with variations of counts. Some done in cadence and others straight count..

    Thang

    Moseyed to the parking garage for the Triple Threat (modification), as you read in the Exercise list on F3 nation this requires groups of 3. Round 2 consists of partner 1 doing plank jacks as partner 2 runs up the first ramp dropping at the top to complete plank jacks as partner 2 runs up to relieve. Upon arrival partner 1 drops for some peter Parker’s and partner 2 releases and run across the next parking level repeating. Partner 1 arrives and drops for Parker Peters and then the PAX recovery walks down the stairs to the starting point for Round 3. This series included Mountain climbers, Flutter kicks and Hello Dollies. Round 4 Merkins, Squats and lunges.. Caution was needed mid way through as a group from the top of the garage began their descent exiting through the turns to the sights of the PAX on their sixes… This was a first at the Gipper as the only activity we usually encounter is the same 2 hour early over achieveing worker who can be seen in her illuminating car scrolling Facebook or making her daily Twitter post.. After we Mosey to the Northside of the justice center for round 5. The WASH is the exercise which consisted of partnering once again completing 50 arm release Merkins, 100 American Hammers, 150 Step ups on the benches and 200 Alternating hip thrust.. One partner would be doing exercise while the other went up the handicap ramp and backdown the stairs picking up the count from the other to continue with the exercises..

    Final bell

    Moseyed back to the flag right on time..

    Count, announcements, COT

    Barely legal closed in prayer with intentions of peace and reverence to others…

    Appreciate the lead Gipper Group!!

    ✌🏻👊🏻💪🏻

  • The Return of the Cusak

    The Q wanted to make sure he was on time this morning so he did not give Rudy any additional reasons to harass the Q.   Was a nice, warm, and muggy morning as the PAX met at the normal spot for Rock City.

    A quick disclaimer and PAX moseyed near the rock pile for some warm-ups as follows:

    Side Straddle Hops – 25x

    Hillbillies – 25x

    Peter Parkers – 25x

    Parker Peters – 25x

    Arm Circles – Forward – 10x, Backward – 10x (or maybe 9, I lost count), Overhead – 10x, and Seal Claps – 10x.

    Grab a rock from the rock pile and mosey to the football field for some fun.   Pax line up on the goal line with back to the goal post and facing the other end zone.   Start with 5 shoulder presses at the goal line, with the first press holding rock long enough to sing “In Your Eyes” – a nod to the Cusak – as defined in the F3 lexicon as follows:  (exercises completed while holding/carrying a CMU or block overhead, usually in conjunction with running or walking. A la John Cusak’s character in the popular 1980s movie “Say Anything.” Also allows for really poor versions of “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel to be introduced as #mumblechatter. )

    After 5 shoulder presses at the goal line, bear crawl to the 10 yard line for 5 merkins.    Lunge walk back to the goal line for more shoulder presses.   Increase number of reps by 5 for each exercise with each 10 yard increase in distance.  Finish the round with 25 shoulder presses, bear crawl to the 50 yard line, 25 merkins, and lunge walk back to the goal line.

    For active recovery – thanks Mahatma – run one lap around the track.

    Back to the goal line for more rocks.   After 5 curls at the goal line (Singing “Sledgehamer” on each curl was optional for second set), bear crawl to the 10 yard line for 5 monkey humpers.  Lunge walk back to the goal line for more curls. Increase number of reps by 5 for each exercise with each 10 yard increase in distance. Finish the round with 25 curls, bear crawl to the 50 yard line, 25 monkey humpers, and lunge walk back to the goal line.

    Mosey back to the rock pile and the flag, but wait we did not have a flag this morning.   We still knew where to circle up.     Count off, Name-o-rama, special intentions, and Ball of Man.   We named FNG “Frenchie” who was EH’d by Disclaimer.   Great Monday with 17 Pax at Rock City!

    Thanks to all for the opportunity to lead.

  • The Mother of All Great Lawns

    YHC made the trek on Friday to Wolf Pack Mountain to visit our neighbors of Uptown, which proved to be a serious beat down from 86, but you’ll need to see the back blast to find out more about that. While in the COT, Reluctant Yankee asked if anyone could take his Q at the Mothership the following day so he could run with other members of the NOLA Blue Ridge Relay Team.  YHC is impressed with the 12 men of NOLA committed to representing our region in the BRR, so YHC volunteered to take the Mothership.  Surely RY ran at least 8 miles right?

    Upon arrival at the Mothership, YHC set some cones out on the Great Lawn. When planning is short, one has to dig into the treasure chest of goodies, and this would be a real gem! We planted a couple shovel flags, said our hello’s, had some good laughs, but then the clock hit 0630, which means only one thing…..give the disclaimer….and then…mosey to the Great lawn for….

    Warmup
    SSH IC x 31
    IW IC x 20
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10
    Sun Gods IC x 20 (10 fwd, 10 bwd)

    Plank-o-Rama (A Rudy Specialty)
    Peter Parker IC x 20
    Parker Peter IC x 20
    Plank Jacks IC x 20
    Mountain Climbers IC x 20

    Short mosey to the cones set up in the shape of a basketball court for…

    Suicides x 1 (just regular suicide sprints)
    Suicides x 1 with 5 Burpees each time you make it back to the baseline

    Now that the mumble chatter has been killed, time to team up. With 21 Pax, split into 3 man teams for…

    3 man Dora 123
    100 Burpees
    200 Merkins
    300 Squats
    Pax 1 begins exercise, Pax 2 and 3 do suicide sprint. Upon completion, Pax 2 relieves Pax 1, then Pax 1 and 3 do suicide sprints. Upon completion, Pax 3 relieves Pax 2, then Pax 1 and 2 do suicide sprint. Continue until all exercises are completed cumulatively. Once your team is finished, continue suicide sprint until all Pax are complete.

    Mosey about 20 feet away from the cones for a tribute to RY. Certainly all were expecting a DirtyMacDeuce with a RY Q, so YHC served one up!

    1st Set
    Merkins x 12
    Sqauts x 12
    Rower Situps x 12 (4 Count)
    Two Column Indian run around the cones twice

    2nd Set
    Catalina Wine Mixers x 12
    Lunges x 12
    LBC’s x 12
    Two Column Indian run around the cones twice

    3rd Set
    Shoulder Taps x 12
    Copperhead Squats x 12
    Rower Situps x 12 (4 Count)
    Two Column Indian run around the cones twice

    4th Set
    Floyd Mayweather’s x 12
    Squats x 12
    Rower Situps x 12 (4 Count)
    Two Column Indian run around the cones twice

    Mosey Back to the Flag….

    COT
    Count off, Name-o-Rama, Announcements, Intentions, Closed with a Prayer.

    NMM
    This beat down was proof one doesn’t need to venture far to deliver a good beat down. It just takes a little creativity. We never left the Great Lawn!
    The Pax had a scare at the COT. During the DMD, Woz and Snookie walked off for some water. Turns out Snookie wasn’t feeling good and Woz was watching him to make sure he was ok. At the COT, Snookie and Woz returned, where Snookie had some signs and symptoms of a potential heat related illness. This is where Cliff Notes and Rudy jumped into action, getting him to the Hospital to get him some medical attention. The last update YHC received was that he was doing much better. We pray that all is well. Thank you to Woz, Rudy, and Cliff Notes!

    The return of Quick Draw (Kotter)! Glad to see you come back, Brother!

    We had an FNG today EH’d by (who else?) Triple Shift. Keep ’em comin’ Brother! Our FNG is from Sacramento, and rode like Lance Armstrong from Houston to New Orleans. Welcome One Sac!

    SYITG!

  • Cognac and Burpees

    Started out with a disclaimer stating that I had too much cognac at Tales of the Cocktail the previous night “so if you smell cognac it is me.”.

    Mosey to the lawn in front of touch down Jesus then I attempted to count:

    15 x windmills then 5 burpees oyo

    15 x forward arm circles 5 burpees oyo

    15 x reverse arm circles 20 merkins oyo

    15 x good mornings 5 burpees oyo

    Mosey to the corner of Sta Charles and Calhoun:

    20 x cross fit merkins then ran to next tier

    20 x lizard hops (I need to stay off you tube) ran to next tier

    20 x plank jacks to shoulder taps ran to next tier

    20 x dying bug ran back to start

    Mariah commented that the work out was weak so we repeated with

    5 x burpees at each tier

    Mosey to the parking garage on Freret St then Native American ran to the top of the garage in two lines.

    Paired up for Dora at the top:

    100 low slow squats as partner ran down the stairs and back up

    200 lbc as partner ran down the stairs and back up

    300 plank jacks as partner ran down the stairs and back up

    Mosey down the stair to the benches by WPM

    20 derkins oyo

    Mosey to the flag then

    5 x burpees oyo

    plank left and right

    30 count misson impossibe

    Circled up, counted off, name-o-rama and prayer.

     

    Thank you for allowing me to lead today.

     

    86

  • The Thrillabon in the Audubon

    Being an F3 Nation member for only 10 months (last race I was nothin but a gleam in a Hawg’s eye), the Gnarly Nutria was the stuff of legend. A back and forth sporting event like the world has not witnessed since Ali vs. Frazier. Two heavyweights going toe to toe for 5.4 miles with the Uptowners dominating Gnarly Nutria I and The World squeaking by with a narrow victory in Gnarly Nutria II.

    This year The World looked to overwhelm the smug Uptowners with numbers, and we have been recruiting. I was even dreaming of running the first race of my life but fell to the wayside with a calf injury on Friday. Although The World would now be missing their best runner, they still persevered and began the race with a distinct advantage in numbers.

    Following an epic lightning storm, the race began at 9:10pm. Our first finishers were a family group, and hat’s off to Sandbar who brought two of his 2.0s who finished the first lap in solid time.

    I knew the Uptowners were going to be in trouble when the first runners to not complete all three laps were Uptowners. Then the top two finishers of all three laps were both from the World and the landslide began. Like an over-the-hill Frazier against Ali, the Uptowners were no match for The World in Gnarly Nutria III.

    The final score was 446 The World and 354 Uptowners. The World is so fast, we turned off the lights in our bedrooms when we got home last night and we were in bed before the room was dark.

    We welcomed 4 FNGs into our numbers in the largest sweaty ball of man I have ever seen. I got to hand it to the runners, the names for our new members were great. We welcome Tubbs, Tramp Stamp, Right Cheek and his brother Left Cheek to F3. May we forget your real names and always refer to you by your F3 names in public.

    Here are your Gnarly Nutria top finishers:

    1. Smooth – The World

    2. Turbo Tax – The World

    3. Pony Boy – Uptowner

    4. El Guapo – The World

    5. Mulligan – Uptowner

    6. End Time – The World

    7. YSR – Uptowner

    8. Swampcock – Uptowner

    9. Cavalier – Uptowner

    10. Mahatma-Ice – The World

    11. Right Cheek – The World

    12. Nip/Tuck – Uptowner

    13. Jadaveon – Uptowner

    14. Cowbell – The World

    15. Hawgcycle – The World

    16. Thighs – The World

    17. Freedo – Uptowner

    18. Cornbread – The World

    19. El Wire – Uptowner

    20. Mariah – Uptowner

    21. Rudy – The World

    22. Rocket – The World

    23. Peppa – Uptowner

    24. Saban – Uptowner

    25. Tubba – The World

    26. Tramp stamp – The World

    27. Bubba – The World

    28. Shorty – The World

    29. Brownbag – Uptowner

    30. Landing Strip – Uptowner

    Left cheek, Bad Moon, Two Yutes, Shooter, Bushwacker, Einstein, 86, Pi, Walleye, King Kong, Triple Shift, Reluctant Yankee, and Roots fell just outside the top 30 in this order. I couldn’t keep up with the names after Roots. Congrats to all who finished and all who completed 1 or 2 laps. Thank you for helping us all be better men as we do stupid, pointless things like run for no reason in the middle of a lightning storm while chased by Jaguars.

    I’m inviting you to our next AO at “the Boxing Match” sculpture in Kenner’s Rivertown. The first Wednesday of September will be the launch of the F3 NOLA “Fight Club.”

    Your Humble Scorekeeper (I don’t plan on doing this next year, so someone else better get hurt right before the race in 2019),

    RevSox

  • Double down!!

    Wet running shoes from the Narley Nutria served this YHC as he Doubled down on a post with little rest from the previous night… Having attended the Narley and being part of the winning World domination of sorts I could not help but share with the men who had missed, what an awesome experience was had the night before. Come on, where else can one go and experience the creativity of such a large PAX and the great naming of new FNGs along with some great F2ing.. It is certainly a great thing when men from all over can come together and instantly grab chatter as if they had recently assembled at a family reunion to catchup on old times.. Certainly one of the benefits I have received in my experience with F3 and look forward to many more as I travel this thing called life with a core group of strong men.. Enough sentimental thoughts for one day!!

     

    Began with 20 IC Windmills, Chewy one leg balance  touch both legs 8 IC. This looked worse than an all night booze fest with slurring words to the arresting officer as we epically fail this YHCs choice of field sobriety testing. Alternating lunge leg twist and then we are off for the thang..

    Standard journey with flashes of Tom/Jerry playing a game of cat and mouse as Backdraft shot out the gate like a triple crown horse untamed.. Men quickly paired up and paced each other. Along the journey Q shared some good conversation with Chewy as he respectively took a moderate Mosey and hung back with a tired YHC. Tclaps to Waterpik and Coconuts for getting out there and pacing the lead of the PAX. Burgundy shared his hard commit to the Northshore half coming up in October.

    Upon return with Bushwacker’s dice of doom in hand we alternated rolling knocking out a total of 50  rower sit-ups and in between 5SSH IC and 20 Burpees.

    count off, annoucements, COT

    Waterpik took us out in prayer offering intentions to all the F3 brothers!!

    Appreciate the lead men!!

    Thank you F3, ✌🏻👊🏻💪🏻!!

     

  • 300 is the # of the day

    Warm, gloomy, and muggy…perfect conditions for a F3 sweat fest.  That’s what YHC encountered as I made my way to the usual Foundry meeting spot.  It was 5:26 and not a soul in sight.  Was everyone getting their beauty rest?  Was I the only one from Team World that was manly (or crazy) enough to post twice in one day???  Fortunately several guys soon rolled up bringing our total to 7 PAX by kick off time.  With the Gnarley Nutria 15 hours later, the plan was to keep our legs fresh and focus on the core and upper body.  YHC had originally planned to bring out some concrete blocks but hit a snag with rain and time so on to plan B, albeit a hastily thrown together one.  Here’s what we did:
    Mosey down RM to the grassy area adjacent to the lagoon for a long no-impact warmup with a theme that would build as we went.  We knocked out 30ea of the following exercises IC:  IPW, AC, WM, Peter Parkers, Low Country Crab, Hill Billies, Shoulder Taps, 2 others??, and closed out with 30 Merkins OYO…..totaling 300 exercises in all.
    Then on to the illuminated NOLA 300 sign near the Big Lake.  In lieu of lighting 300 birthday candles for our great city, we instead would knock out 300 reps of a few different exercises, starting with:
    Partner Plank Slaps, aka Patty Cakes x50 followed by short mosey to lake ledge for Dips x25 OYO (ea PAX)
    Then PSx40, Dipsx20, PSx30, Dipsx15, PSx20, Dipsx10, PSx10, Dipsx5….totaling 150 PS and cumulative 150 Dips….only half-way there.  A PAX suggested we visit the water fountain so the audible led us to tweak the plan.  After a short mosey to hydrate, we knocked out round 2 of above exercises near the museum pond/ledge for a total of 300 PS and 300 Dips….Happy Birthday NOLA!  Wait, there’s more….
    Circle up around the oval pond/ledge for a few rounds of cumulative count exercises in an effort to once again reach 300:
    Round 1 – All PAX hold decline plank position, then in clockwise motion individually knock out a Derkin calling out the count until 100…each PAX did 14-15 in addition to holding a declined plank….lot’s of blood flowing to the head.
    Round 2 – Hold Russian Twist position and go around to 100.  In hindsight, YHC should have called for continuous RT but either way we were sweating.
    Round 3 – Hold inclined plank and go around to 100.
    Mosey back to the flag for COT.  Great way to start the day!
    Tool

  • Banzai!!!!

    The opportunity to Q The Birdcage the morning of the Gnarly Nutria presented itself yesterday and I jumped at it.  Immediately, I started brainstorming my Kamikaze Q –  come in hard and heavy, destroy my legs, but take out as many Uptowners along the way as possible.  What would I do? 45 minutes of Monkey Humpers? Run 3 laps around Audubon? Sprint-o-rama? Boo-boo bear crawls?  Quadraphilia?  F3 provides lots of good leg breaking choices.  Unfortunately, my plan would be contingent on me being im better shape then these guys and that is unfortunately not the case.  Kamikazes can’t do much good if they don’t have the power to destroy their target.  It’s like a sacrifice bunt with two outs (which may have been a more apt name for this backblast).  In the end, I chose a path I could finish, at least almost.

    100 Burpee Warm-Up

    • 20 burpees
    • 20 Hillbillies, 15 Windmills, 15 Good Mornings
    • Burpees EMOM: 12, 12, 12,12, 10, 10
    • Parker Peter x 20, Monkey Humpers x 20, Daft Punk? x 28
    • 12 Burpees

    The Thang

    We moseyed aimlessly, as I was hoping to get everyone’s shoes sufficiently wet and slightly heavier.  Once I realized I couldn’t break them, this became my best opportunity for sabotage.  We ended up at the shelter for some Red Hot Chili Pepper.

    • 8 Bulgarian Split Leg Lunges with the right leg, 16 Derkins, 8 Bulgarian Split Leg Lunges with the left leg, 16 Irkins
    • 6 BSLLRL, 6 Derkins, 6 BSLLLL, 6 Irkins,  (G Spot disappears?)
    • 4….
    • 2….

    We then moseyed about 50 feet to open area for our last chance at some celebratory 3-6-3 exercises.  3 Super Slow Cadence reps, holding position at the end.  Then 6 regular cadence reps, holding position at the end.  Ending with 3 more super slow cadence reps.  We did squats, monkey humpers, merkins, right leg lunges, and left leg lunges.

    Mariah took over and finished us off with some Mary.  Hello Dolly x 25 followed by Flutter Kicks x 25 (feet don’t touch the ground), Freddie Mercuries x 25, oblique crunches (each side) x 25, and a Protractor (15, 45, 90, 45, 2, 15, 45)

    Back to the shovel flag, naming our FNG, and closing it out with a prayer

    NMM

    • I had good intentions, but I can’t say the mission was successful.  I’m going to need back up next year.
    • Perhaps I knocked out G-Spot, but that seems highly unlikely, seeing as he wears a weighted vest and was Larry Birding me the last time I Q’d.  His schedule is tight and he always leaves prior to the COT.  This time he left much earlier.  Yankee said it’s the first time someone’s gone AWOL Uptown.  I’m taking that as a compliment, although I’m pretty sure it wasn’t.
    • We didn’t run much today.  Some may think it’s because we have the Gnarly Nutria tonight, but I ain’t going to lie:  Being this close to the zoo, I had every intention of staying close to our cars.
    • FNG Ocho Cinco is from Cincinnati.  He couldn’t be Ocho Seis, cause we got one of those.
    • Speaking of, Happy Birthday to the aforementioned Ocho Seis.
    • I’m over three years in and still can’t do a complete Red Hot Chili Pepper.  It’s a goal.
    • Looking forward to tonight.  Here’s to having fun and World Domination.

     

     

     

     

  • Pre-Game

    With the Gnarly Nutria on this evening’s agenda, YHC considered taking it easy on the PAX this morning at The Gipper.  That thought disappeared into the morning’s humidity as soon as Moby approached the AO wearing his new DeWalt contractor gloves, ready to get to work.  So we did:

    Warmup of Torso Twists, Toe Touches, Good Mornings, Squats, Cossack Squats, Front to Back Lunges, 3 Position Calf Raises, Seal Jacks, and SSHs, all IC 10x.

    Mosey to the Justice Center lawn for a 4 minute Tabata shuttle run…run 20 seconds, walk 10 seconds, repeat 8x for 4 minutes total effort.

    Mosey to the Justice Center Veterans Memorial and circle up on our sixes for 11 rounds IC 10x per round of:  Rower Situps, Straight Legged Jackknives (10x each side), and Hand Release Pushups.

    Mosey back to The Gipper for five solid minutes of Arm Circles (forward and back from golf ball to beach ball), OH Hand Claps, OH Air Presses, OH Scissors, Horizontal Scissors, and then we Hitchhiked our way to the

    Countorama, nameorama, and prayer.

    Thanks for letting me lead guys.  Looking forward to World Domination at the Gnarly Nutria tonight.