F3 New Orleans

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  • I’d better get this backblast done before Turbo yells at me

    Have you every felt like “Phil in the backseat of the Mirthmobile?”

    Some of you young whippersnappers may not be familiar with Phil, if so, check out this link

     

    So as the heavy weather plowed through Covington early Wednesday morning, it made me think of the lyrics from Bohemian Rhapsody…Thunder Bolt and Lighting very very frightening me….

    anyways… with the inclement weather I had to ditch my workout plan and go with the Bohemian Rhapsody:

    Bohemian:having informal and unconventional social habit

    Rhapsody:episodic yet integrated, free flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, color, and tonality

     

    Here is how it went in the steady rain:

     

    Warmup: Side Straddle Hops,Squats, Arm Circles, Seal Jacks,Butt Kicks, Toe Touches, Speed-Skater Hops, all 20xIC, with plenty of merkins in between.

    Mosey over to the parking garage for Hurdle and Plank fun-o-rama:

    Each pax in plank position, spaced about 10 feet from each other. One jumps up and hurdles each of the planking pax, then assumes plank at the end of the line. Did this up the ramps to the upper deck.

    Then we ran the stairwells up and down and around with a task (burpees, merkins, ditchdiggers, duckhops) in between each of the four roundtrips.

    Then we did a few sets of sprints across the top deck and back. The rain was feeling good!

    Then we did a slow meandering Indian run down the parking garage ramps & back to the flag.

    A few minutes of mary: Nolan Ryans and flutter kicks.

    Count-o-rama, announcements, and Astro leads us out with a prayer.

     

  • Rollin’ Dice in da Rain (Gambleholics Anonymous)

    So Much for the ch4 forecast last night saying that the rain would be out of here by 5am and we would only get about 1/2 an inch! Fortunately, it settled to a light drizzle by the stroke of 6:30am. (not so much for our southshore bretheren)

    But the 1st rule of Gambleholics Anonymous is to show up…I suppose. And so 4 brave PAX indeed did just that. Calling a rain-induced audible to the planned strategy for YHC’s clandestine beatdown, we opened with a little warm-o-rama consisting of 20x each:

    Toe Touches

    Windmills

    SSH

    Imperial Walkers

    High Knees

    After an unusually brief mosey we commenced with a dice-rolling, knowledge-testing, beatdown of fun, ass-whoopin dimensions! And speaking of brief, for those who did not claim victory over the dry fart sack and the torrential weather that southern Louisiana was presented with this gloom, this is all of this sure-to-reappear beatdown  you have access to at this point.

    After returning from whence we came, we closed out with Mary consisting of 20x:

    Freddy Flutters

    Crunchy Frogs

    100s

    Count, Name , Prayer

    2 year convergence next saturday, sure to be an adventure not to be missed. Bring your bike if you can/have one

    Many thanks to the PAX who posted and endured the beta test if YHCs lead today. For those who didn’t…you’ll get your chance soon – I pinky promise!

  • 11’s Up The Mountain

    It was a lovely morning for 19 men to meet in the gloom to grow and improve themselves.  DISCLAIMER!  Let’s mosey… circle up in front of the Tulane sign:

    -SSH x 30 IC

    -IW x 30 IC

    -Mt Climbers x 30 IC

    -Arm Circles x 30 IC (10 ea dir; front/back/chinook)

    -J-Lo’s x 20 IC

    Let’s head to the bottom of the mountain.  Column of twos and Indian Run to the top.  It’s time to bring 11’s back…we just don’t do them anymore.  At the top, on your own, run to the bottom of the incline, do 10 crossfit merkins, run back up and do 1 WWII sit-ups…run back down and do 9 crossfit merkins, run back up for 2 WWII sit-ups, and keep going until reversed.  After a couple of the young studs finished and planked, the rest of us stopped where we were and headed down the mountain to the lawn in front of touchdown Jesus for some Mary.

    That was fun and we still have time for more Mary:

    -LBC x 30 IC

    -Penguins x 30 IC

    -Flutter kicks x 20 IC

    -Hello Dolly’s x 20 IC

    -Wife Pleasers x 20 IC

    Plank Time: Full Plank, Low Plank, left arm up plank, right arm up plank, low plank, full plank

    Hurry up to the SF so we’re not late and RY chews us out….countoff, namerama, announcements, shoutouts and a prayer.  Welcome Skid Mark from F3-South Wake, NC.   It was a pleasure to lead.  I look forward to the next time.

  • R.E.D Friday – The Collin Hero WOD

    Conditions:  Overcast and 61.

    Perfect morning to get some work in.  I showed up about 12 minutes early to find Hand Grenada had beaten me to the AO.  He helped me set up the “equipment” for today’s Hero WOD.  (Thanks to Triple Shift for the buckets of water he stashed by the pumps and thanks to Jefferson Parish for not removing said buckets).

    In all, 8 men posted this morning to pay tribute to our service men and women deployed around the world.  We were honored to have two Veterans with us – Mahatama and Kimchi.  Thank you for your service.

    Warm-up

    SSH x 31; Peter Parker x 31; Windmills x 15; Forward Arm Circles x 15; Morocan Night Club (sans squat) x 15; Backward Arm Circles x 15

    The Thang – Collin Hero WOD

    The goal is 6 rounds in 35 minutes.  Push yourself to do more than that.

    • 400 meter Rock Carry – Use a rock between 20 and 30 pounds
    • 12 Push Press – Use a rock between 40 and 60 pounds
    • 12 Box Jumps – Can be modified to step ups
    • 12 Sumo Deadlift Hi-Pulls – Use Bucket full of water

    Impressive performances all around.  Mahatma, the unofficial king of R.E.D Friday workouts, got in 8 rounds.  Kimchi and YHC got in 7, All others got in 6 more or less.

    • T-claps to Abacus for wearing Red to R.E.D. Friday.  The man gets it.
    • T-claps to HVAC for not only getting in some running before the workout, but timing his pre-thang run so that it ended exactly at 0530
    • T-claps to Hand Grenada for posting consistently since Walley EH’d him (and for not parking illegally).
    • T-claps to Kimchi for coming out on his day off – he’s worked 14 straight 12 hour days or 12 straight 14 hour days…I’m not sure, but either way it’s hard.
    • T-claps to Abacus, Two Yutes, and Rev Sox.  Their consistency and growth is impressive.
    • And T-claps to Mahatma for being a beast and pushing us all.  When I grow up I want to be like him.

    NMM

    Collin Thomas – Age 33 – Morehead, KY

    Navy Special Warfare Operator Chief Collin Trent Thomas, 33, of Morehead, Kentucky, assigned to a Navy SEAL team based out of Little Creek, Virginia, was fatally shot on August 18, 2010, during combat operations in Eastern Afghanistan.  He is survived by his fiance Sarah Saunders, his parents, Clay and Jean Thomas, and his sister Meghan Edwards.

    “Collin Thomas was a brave American patriot and an incredibly gifted Navy SEAL.  His tireless professionalism, inspiring passion for life, and humble demeanor made him a role model for all who knew him.”

     

     

  • A Dirty Dozen at Okwata

    The Pax enjoyed another cool, albeit windy, morning at the Okwata AO.  Before long, the gloom will be filled with thick and humid air, so 12 Pax posted to take advantage of it.  YHC pulled up to the AO and was surprised to see our F3 Flag, which could only mean one thing:  Reluctant Yankee was in attendance.  Tagging along with our regional Nantan was none other than OBT, credited as co-founder of F3, which makes him awesome.  Bogey had indicated he may show up this morning, but YHC told him he had to.  That worked?  Cool!

    Several other Pax slowly assembled as the clock approached 0530.  At 0530, YHC took a headcount and found we had an odd number, which was somewhat disappointing, but all would be good.  Brief Disclaimer, and we were off….

    Mosey around the mardi gras fountain, carioca left, then right, then continue our mosey to the grassy area in front of the fountain.

    Warmup
    Just as we started the warmup, the 12th Pax arrived, making us a dirty dozen! YHC could hardly contain the excitement!
    SSH IC x 31
    Imperial Sq Walkers IC x 10
    Hillbilly’s IC x 15
    Mountain Climbers IC x 10
    Peter Parker IC x 10

    With our dirty dozen, it was time to mosey to the levee. YHC was so excited, he forgot about double shots at the Barre with Jack Webb…but that’s ok, the Pax made up for that with the following:

    Burp Back Mountain (There was much rejoicing)
    Partner Up
    Pax 1 does Burpees at the base of the levee
    Pax 2 does quadraphilia up the levee and run back down (always facing Okwata) 3 times, then swap with Pax 1
    Continue until 100 burpees cumulative are completed. Once complete, both Pax continue with quadraphilia until all Pax complete the burpees

    Mosey to the House of Pain (HOP) for stations:
    Partner up
    Station 1 – Merkins AMRAP
    Station 2 – Squats AMRAP
    Station 3 – Step Ups AMRAP
    Station 4 – Dips AMRAP
    Station 5 – Pull ups AMRAP
    Station 6 – Bear Crawl up the levee, 5 burpees, run back down (timer)

    The Pax was killing it, leaving plenty more time for more pain! Mosey to corner of Lakeshore and Canal for, you guessed it, 4 Corners!
    Corner 1 – 10 Burpees OYO – Why? Why not!
    Run up and over levee to Amethyst St and Canal
    Corner 2 – Monkey Humpers IC x 20
    Run across Canal
    Corner 3 – Mekins IC x 30 (up down count)
    Run back across the levee to Lakeshore
    Corner 4 – Squats IC x 20 (4 count, so that’s like 40)
    Run back to corner 1 for….wait for it…..Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10 (and there was much rejoicing)

    Mosey back to the flag for..

    Mary
    Flutter Kicks IC x 20
    Tin Snips IC x 20 (OBT pointed out that these were egg beaters, but YHC likes to still use Tin Snips as a credit to HVAC)
    LBC’s IC x 30
    Penguins IC x 20

    That took us to 0615, which means…

    COT
    Countoff, Name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and closed with a prayer.

    NMM
    YHC indicated OBT was awesome as a co-founder of F3 because F3 is a gift that YHC wishes more men could experience. I know I’m preaching to the choir, but continue to EH like Triple Shift. T-Claps to Triple Shift for getting F3 NOLA aired by Ed Daniels on WGNO last night!  The Monkey Humpers at Corner 2 brought up some conversation about the camera crew again and the disappointment of not being captured on film…..

    Thanks for posting with me today!  Until next time…

    SYITG

  • Morning Miracle at the Colosseum

    The Scene: The Colosseum

    Conditions: Balmy.  Rainy.  Ample Puddles…..  Just Right.

    Welcome & Disclaimer:  The Q is neither bonded nor insured.  But no FNGs today, so we all knew the drill.

    Warm-a-Rama:

    Mosey twice around the parking lot  (a chance to chat and see how everyone is doing)

    Shoulder circles (lest our shoulders should atrophy)  x30 each direction

    Frankensteins (to stretch out those hamstrings)  x20

    Imperial Squat Walkers (using the big muscles to get the blood flowing)  x15, 4-count

    Windmills (hammies again, and backs)  x10

    SSH (cuz we like ’em)  x20

    The Thang:

    Partner Pullup Nasties: 5 pullups each, with help from partner as necessary; then mosey to the parking bars for 10 freak nasties; then mosey back. 3 sets.  (working on those arms)  Great teamwork!

    Gladiator Mosey:  1.5 laps around our beloved Colosseum, ending at the steps by the Gym.  A longer mosey than we’re used to – definitely saw some perseverance here – really nice work.  As usual, MegaDad sets a high bar and got to plank for the Six longer than the rest of us.  And I had a chance to chat it up with Big Easy whom I hadn’t met before.

    Baby Freak Nasties on the steps.  x10.

    Partner Windmill Pushups:  one partner on top of stairs; the other at bottom.  5 windmill pushups (4 count), then change places.  3 sets.  A bit of grunting and swearing.

    Catch Me If You Can:  Mosey back to the Shovel flag, with the last man sprinting (um, sometimes) to the front.  Lots of mutual encouragement on this part.

    Freak Nasties x10 on the parking bars to wrap it up.

    6MOM  (listen for the midwife noises)

    Since we were already soaked from the rain, no one minded getting just a bit wetter on their sixes….

    Homer to Marge (one of my favorites)  x10

    Reverse Crunches  x10

    Bicycles x10

    Jane Fondas x20 each side   (amid a few tears for Rocket, who was strangely absent)

    Then we were supposed to do some Manatee, but my notes were too wet to read by this time.  So I’ll save it for another day.  And Workhorse saved us by suggesting

    American Hammers, to close it out with a bang… banging our knuckles on the ground on each side.

    Count-O-Rama:  8 men.  A strong Wednesday.

    COT:  A strong closing in prayer by MegaDad.

    Oh, and the title of this post?  The MIRACLE of seeing MegaDad at 5:30am on a Wednesday!  Nice job making it out there, despite a late night of fellowship with the extended family.

     

  • Fair Weather Fans Need Not Apply

    Four manly men posted in the rain at The Foundy this am whilst many a fair weather fans stay nestled in their beds.  Rumor had it one of our founding fathers from NC was in town and might post but apparently he didn’t get the memo about “rain or shine.”  Anywho, there we were, standing in a drizzle, waiting for a possible deluge, hoping for no lightening, and as 5:30 approached, cooler heads prevailed and we made the quick drive to the large pavilion near the festival grounds as to focus on a safe beatdown out of the elements.  Here’s what went down:

    • IW x30
    • AC x10F, x10R, x10Chinook
    • WM x10
    • Peter Parker x20
    • LS Squat x20
    • Goofball x20

    Next up, a round of Crowd Pleasers (Merkins followed by Groiners) with some moseying thrown in for good measure.  Line up on one end of the pavilion, run to first column, drop for a 1:1 Crowd Pleaser, mosey back, run to second column for 2:2, mosey back…..up to 5:5 then work back down to 1:1.  Going by the lack of mumblechatter this was in fact a crowd pleaser.

    Still raining pretty good at this point so we opted to stay under cover and lined up on the end of the pavilion again for some on-the-fly festivities:

    • Lunge Walk to far side (28yds), mosey back
    • Inchworm to far side, mosey back
    • Lunge Walk to far side, mosey back
    • Forward Crab Walk to far side, Backward Crab Walk back
    • Monkey Shuffle (sideways) to the right, come back to the left…T-claps to Triple Shift for the suggestion of this beloved exercise

    Still plenty time left so on to some ISI challenge catch up for those of us that have been slacking.

    • Freddie Mercury, max reps (4 count) in 90 seconds
    • Step Up R x20, Dips x20, Step Up L x20
    • Freddie Mercury, max reps (4 count) in 60  seconds
    • Step Up R x20, Dips x20, Step Up L x20
    • Freddie Mercury, max reps (4 count) in 30 seconds
    • Step Up R x20, Dips x20, Step Up L x20

    Wait, there’s more!  One minute of hip flexor stretching and two minutes of a plankorama to seal the deal.

    A good morning was had by all.

    Tool

     

  • Form and Function

    The rain was just getting going as the PAX gathered at the AO. OBT (an F3 founder from Charlotte) posted, and conducted the second day of his unofficial audit of the Uptown PAX.  Yankee is coordinating the NOLA F3 Uptown management response.

    Standard disclaimer. Mosey along the path to the “volleyball” field and circle up. A quick PSA from YHC regarding a tough critique from YHC’s M at the F3 Christmas party (shout out to the attending M. and 2.0s – Spicebar, Candybar, Cashbar and Minibar). Spicebar, a bootcamper, yogini, and barre practitioner did not have good things to say about YHC’s and the PAX’s form during the 12 days of Christmas beat down.

    So today, as YHC is not a professional trainer, we call upon exemplary PAX to demonstrate the proper form of several of our core exercises. Yankee leads with a beautiful plank.

    Then its down to business, but keeping form in mind. 5 burpees OYO , SSH x20 IC, Peter Parkers x20 IC, 5 burpees OYO, Sealjacks x15 IC, ParkerPeters x15 IC, 5 burpees OYO, Smurfjacks x15 IC, Mountain Climbers x15 IC, 5 burpees OYO, plankjacks x15IC

    Next we moseyed across Magazine to the long green wall. A film crew was working on the other side in the zoo, but we didn’t make it into the movie.

    OBT, participant observer, was called on to provide a primer on the Merkin form, including demos of what NOT to do. Thanks to OBT for being a sport.

    PAX grabbed some wall. Starting with regular merkins 0 degrees , 10 IC.  Then 45 deg derkins,  10 OYO. Finishing with BTTW (hold for 30 seconds).  Just for the record, YHC shared that another colleague, female, does the full Skywalker – without the wall.  She also teaches yoga to Navy Seals, so we have work to do.

    Mosey through the rain to grass parking lot for the Zoo, to use the four corners of the squarish field for some OYO BLIMPS.  Before we start, however, Gabrielle demonstrated the proper form for two key exercises in the BLIMP – Squats and Lunges.  Low and slow, baby.

    5 Burpees. Run to next corner.
    10 Lunges each leg. Run to next corner.
    15 Imperial Walkers. Run to next corner.
    20 Merkins. Run to next corner.
    25 Plank Jacks. Run to next corner.
    30 Squats. Run to next corner.

    And five more burpees OYO.

    Then we moseyed to the zoo entrance drive and sprinted to Audubon statue for some modified Dora. PAX partnered up, but before we started, Douille provided a classic example of the proper Russian Twist form (AKA American Hammer, AKA Russian Piss, AKA the Mueller).

    5 burpees OYO. PAX then alternated running around the neutral ground and completed:

    50 Merkins
    100 russian twists
    200 dips

    Mosey back toward the flag.  5 burp OYO.  Return to the flag and find a nice dry spot for 5 more burpees OYO.

    Count, name-o-rama, announcements and intentions. Prayer.

    Thanks to OBT and all the PAX for participating in the form review.

    TY, TYVM.

  • THE RISE OF THE REAL AQUAMAN

    Yes it’s true, Turtle fartsacked his Q…
    Not that YHC wants to call attention to him or shame him or remind him of it in any way; YHC is too compassionate…

    Once the PAX stopped looking for every pair of headlights to turn in and just accepted the fact that the Q had forsaken them, the arrangement of Red Robin responsibility was designated to the 3 senior most PAX members; excluding the FNG there. SHOOTER started off the warmup:

    Side Straddle Hops IC x25
    Windmills IC x25
    Mummy Kicks IC x25
    Arm Circles IC x25 (both directions first pair small circles, then a pair of big circles)

    Then the PAX mozied (sp?) to the all-too-familiar tunnel that always ends up turning into a mausoleum where the drained souls go.

    PELICAN then led the Elevenses workout:

    11 rounds, merkins start at 10 and run through the tunnel to the other side to start with 1 squat.
    work the rounds: decreasing merkins by 1 count each round and increasing the squats by 1 count until end.

    In order to “respect the time” (as the awol Q did not) we halved the distance of the run midway through the rounds to make it back to the start on time. OCHO (YHC) then led the “core-down” exercises which consisted of the following:

    Flutter Kicks IC x36
    Hello Darlings IC x26
    Peter Parkers IC x21
    Parker Peters IC x16

    Closed out with Countarama, Nameorama, Name-the-FNG-orama, then COT.

    FNG was duly sworn in as AQUAMAN after regaling the PAX with his most epic tale of jumping off of the Twinspan bridge to save his very life. It can be neither confirmed nor denied that AQUAMAN’s story made YHC, and the other PAX members, recall another very similar story of a fellow F3 member that might have wanted this name but failed to earn it…YHC is too compassionate…

  • No Milkman, No Problem

    Where y’at Brother Milkman? We miss you out in the gloom. Don’t let the fear of the umpteen burpees awaiting you keep you from appearing! 9 Rock City regulars were joined by 1 on-vacation special guest; welcome to the park FracSac! As the clock struck 5:30, no Milkman appearance – but that’s not going to stop the PAX. Out the gate we went, off to the usual spot.

    Warm Up: Rudy starts off – with a typical Rudy starting (ND facts and figures, and plank stuff).

    • 17 Burpees OYO.  It’d been 17 years since the last NCAAW championship for ND, so the PAX got to celebrate Sunday Night’s epic win over MSU.
    • 5 Burpees OYO.  In those 17 years, ND has been in 5 finals, losing the previous 4
    • SSH x25
    • IW x25
    • Plank-o-Rama: Peter Parker x25, Shoulder Taps x25, Parker Peter x25, Plank Walk x25

    The Thang 1: Bogey takes the lead.  Grab your rock and head to the field.  He loves him some of that sloooooow-count.

    • Slow Count Curl x20.  Sprint to the parking lot.  5 Burpees.  Sprint back.
    • Slow Count Rows x20.  Sprint to the parking lot.  10 Merkins.  Sprint back
    • Slow Count Squats x20.  Sprint to the parking lot.  20 Monkey Humpers.  Sprint back
    • Slow Count Shoulder Press x20.  Sprint to the parking lot.  20 more Monkey Humpers.  Sprint back.
    • Slow Count Out & Ins.  Much grumbling.

    The Thang 2: Lets Get It Baby.  Marlin takes over, leads us to the Bandstand – where we do IC exercises without the IC part.

    • Right Leg Step Up x20
    • Alternating Staggered Rock Merkins x10 (each arm)
    • Left Leg Step Up x20
    • Derkins x20
    • Something else x20, methinks…

    Move That Rock Pile, says Boss Hog.  3 times.  PAX all grumbling about Triple Shift and Mahatma rock choice.

    Circle up for some Mary, including the new Marlin special of Thrusting Pulsers x100.

    Return the rocks.  Marlin goes big, and grabs the Triple Shift boulder to haul back.

    Circle around the real flag (Thanks FracSac!) for count-off, name-o-rama and prayers.  I ask all of us to keep in prayers a Jesuit senior who suffered a broken back over Easter weekend, and is now staring at a long road of rehab.    Then Marlin took us home, with a strong and passionate call out for all of us to remember the Resurrection.  Our Father to close.