Blog

  • This is Bullshit

    A sweet 16 slumped into the gloom this AM to ascend Wolfpack Mountain.

    After saying the words at the beginning that we’re always supposed to say… a quick mosey over to the front lawn of Tulane…

    • Line up for SSH x 20
    • Bear Crawl to first oak tree
    • Up on feet for Imperial Walker Squats x 20
    • Crab Walk to next oak tree
    • Mountain Climbers x 25

    Mosey over to the base of the Mountain…

    • Partner up
      • PAX 1 executes 15 Burpees while PAX 2 does a Wall Sit. Then, switch.
      • Rinse and repeat with 10 Burpees
      • Rinse and repeat with 5 Burpees

    Mosey up the stairs, almost to the peak of the Mountain, stopping on floor 6 at the base of the ramp…

    • Partner up for Dora 1-2-3
      • Running heads up ramp and taps wall at top before heading back down
    • Jumping Lunges x 100
    • Merkins x 200 (it was during this set that Amnesty glanced over at me to say, “This is bullshit”)
    • Russian Twists x 300

    Line up 1/4 of the way up the ramp…

    • In honor of Reverend, Reverse Bear Crawl up to top of ramp

    Mosey to peak of the Mountain…

    • Get in groups of 3
    • Partner Leg Push-Downs x 25 while 3rd PAX executes LBC’s
    • Cycle each PAX through once

    Mosey down the Mountain and to the Flag. Count-off, Name-o-rama, announcements, and Ball o’ man.

    I hope you all will think of me today and tomorrow when a bout of soreness kicks in. But I ultimately hope your M’s will think of me two days from now when you’ve recovered and feel like you can do anything, for any amount of time.

     

  • Plunging…

    Yep, another morning at the pool.  Like Dori said, “Just keep swimming…”

    And for a special treat:  Yes, JV did have his speedo on under that comfy terrycloth rob.  Oh Joy!!!  Naturally, we were all jealous.

    The Thing:  Swim 100m for a warmup, then try to swim continuously shorter breaks.  Exhausted and refreshed at the same time….  See you next Thursday.

  • Pikes Peak Downpainment

    After driving for 2 days with my family from New Orleans to Colorado Springs, I was stiff as a board and feeling discouraged that I couldn’t add any workouts to my New Year’s Resolution.  I was lamenting the fact that I would be putting a big goose egg this week in the spreadsheet as the PAX would be fading out of sight.

    Then I had a crazy idea, I’ll try to EH (Emotional Headlock) some other men at the HSLDA Homeschool Conference and have an F3 workout here.  Would that really work?  These men are with their families, they’re on vacation, presenting and/or looking to grow in knowledge. Seriously, would they REALLY want a beatdown at 6300 ft above sea level and at 6:00 am MST?  The only way to find out is to start doing the Dancing Idiot.  As I perform my EH routine for the men during the breaks,  and I get a bunch of polite no’s, strange looks and some maybes. As the day winds down, I’m hopeful but not confident for tomorrow morning.

    5:40 am rolls around and I get a text that someone will join me, Woohoo!  At least I’m not going to be alone, I get dressed quickly and head toward the lobby and see other men.   Another text pops up that two (2) other men were waiting for me in the fitness center, I had to run and get them because Airborne didn’t pay attention to my instructions to meet up in the lobby.  WOW, 5 FNGs! I’m extremely humbled!

    We proceed outside and I give the disclaimer and then mosey to the Tennis courts.

     

    WARM UP

    As you would expect, I had to give quite a few instructions and descriptions.

    30 x Side Straddle Hop IC (In Cadence)

    30 x Copperhead Squats IC

    15 x Abe Vigoda a.k.a Windmills IC

    10 x Arm Circles (Front and Back) IC

    10 Burpees OYO (On your own)

    25 x Plank Jacks IC

    25 x Floyd Mayweathers

     

    THE THANG

    We mosey just a short distance to a highway embankment (like a levee) and proceed to do a Dora 1-2-3

    We partnered up and PAX 1 (timer)would run up the embankment and then back down while PAX 2 would perform the exercise.

    The exercises were 100 burpees, 200 air squats (made a quick change from Merkins (push-ups) and 300 LBCs (little baby crunches).

    The altitude was extremely hard for YHC (your humble correspondent) since I live 3 feet below sea level.  Embrace the SUCK!

     

    COOL DOWN

    After we finished the DORA we moseyed back to the tennis courts to complete our workout with 6 minutes of mary.

    25 x Flutter Kicks IC

    25 x Hello Dollys IC

    20 x Dying Cockroaches IC

    20 x Freddy Mercurys IC

    10 Burpees OYO

     

    COT – CIRCLE OF TRUST

    Countoff, Namerama and the Ball of Man (BOM).

    What a privilege to lead today!  Words cannot adequately express how humbled and honored I am that these five FNGs (Friendly New Guys) would get up in the Gloom and trust me with their time and health.  We gave a huge shout out to our Creator and Chief to help us be better leaders for our wives, for our children and for our homeschool communities.  Special requests for Doc Titan to be a better servant leader to his M (Mrs.).  Thank you, Lord!

     

     

  • BAM! Abnormal Squats! What’s Abmornal MAB?

    A thin PAX for this glorious morning.  Holding out for Shorty’s Ultimate manana?  So after a non-disclaimer disclaimer, the PAX got some not-so-big ROX to jump into The Thang:

    BAM:

    • Burpees (15 OYO)
    • Abe Vagodas (15 IC)
    • Monkey Humpers (30 IC)

    ABNORMAL (as in AB-normal):

    • American Hammer (30 IC)
    • Big Boy Boulders (30 IC): big boy situps with ROX extended overhead
    • N (30 IC): YHC can’t remember what these were, other than some core exercise
    • Outlaws (30 IC): on your sixes, making Os with straight legs (15 each direction)
    • Reverse Crunches (30 IC)
    • Mission Impossible (1 minute)
    • American Hammer (30 IC)
    • LBCs (30 IC)

    SQUATS:

    • Squats (30 IC)
    • Quadraphilia (30 IC): pulses in a low squat
    • Ulna extensions (30 IC): lift ROX from nape of neck to overhead
    • Alternating Lunges (30 IC)
    • Toe touches (one minute to stretch with straight legs slowly to the toes)
    • Slow Squats (30 IC)

    ABMORNAL (sorry, YHC doesn’t always spel good):

    • American Hammer (20 IC)
    • Big Boy Boulders (20 IC)
    • Mission Impossible (40 seconds)
    • Overhead Press (20 IC)
    • Reverse Crunches (20 IC)
    • Nowheres (on sixes and lift legs straight for 40 seconds)
    • American Hammer (20 IC)
    • LBFCs (20 IC): flutter kicks with crunches

    MAB:

    • Monkey Humpers (30 IC)
    • Abe Vagodas (15 IC)
    • Burpees: 10 OYO every minute for five minutes

    Tada, that was it.  Moleskin: LBFCs hurt like the Bejezus, a good new DownPainMent the PAX discovered.

    Countoff, Name-O-Rama, Announcements, and COT.  Bless all the recent hurricane victims.  JV

     

  • The Deck of (Mild) Death

    Simply the bookkeeper on this one, as Turtle is getting his login info today and should be up and running for his next Q.

    Turtle and YHC did the ol’ deck o’ death last week to pretty mild results: both of us thought it could’ve been a little tougher.  So Turtle’s Q today revisited the deck, only with fewer exercises this go-round (only merkins and LBCs, as opposed to the merks, LBCs, sprints, & squats we did last week).  The thought being more reps and less recoup time might push us harder.  And the discovery?  Turtle is simply getting stronger, as this still was not enough.  So watch out for his next deck, he’s threatening to go full Ray Lewis with merkins being the sole exercise.

    We wrapped up the deck pretty quickly, and went for a 1.5 – 2 mile run, back in time for a 2 minute plank, followed by a lame attempt at the mission impossible plank (maybe 30 seconds?), and finished with the COT.  Welcome to the Northshore PAX, Pelican.  Now, I’m pretty terrible at naming FNG’s, but let it be known that Pelican was named in Houston attending his first F3 beatdown with Shorty (t-claps to Shorty for getting him out there).  Good to have you with us, and thanks for the great beatdown, Turtle.

  • ISO Suck

    Taking some advice from the Northshore’s Turbo regarding this months ISI Challenge, YHC sent out a mission today for 5 sets of 1 minute Al Gore and 1 minute Mission Impossible.  When Amnesty texted me this morning that the hammy was going to keep him from his scheduled Q, I decided to work in the ISI challenge as a substitue – with one minor enhancement.

    Warm-up

    The first thing we had to do was mosey to the Foundry, which may be half a mile.  Rudy was obviously itching to get out and run.  For one, he showed up on a Wednesday.  For two, he took off for the Foundry like a bat out of hell.  During his hiatus he must have forgotten our motto of “No Man Left Behind,” as he proceeded to break that rule x 6.

    Once we got to the Foundry, we proceeded with some standard warm-up fare.  YHC tried to structure it so we were getting into plank and back up every other exercise.  I figure people like that.  I also switched to a Red Bull cadence after 10 reps of most exercises.  This sufficiently worried the pax when I started doing windmills (aka Hammy Poppers)

    • SSH (IC) x 25
    • Mountain Climbers (IC) x 25
    • Imperial Walkers (IC) x 25
    • Peter Parkers (IC) x 25
    • Hammy Poppers (in honor of our fallen Q and IC) x 10
    • Parker Peters (IC) x 25
    • Squats (IC) x 10 followed by Squat Pulses (IC) x 20
    • Plank Jacks (IC) x 25

    ISO Suckfest

    Each set consisted of 1 minute of Al Gore, 1 minute of Mission Impossible, and 1 minute of Bernie Sanders (90 degree pull-up hold – hang in there as long as you can.)  There were 15 seconds between exercises for transitioning.  We did 5 sets.

    From there we took the long way back to the track and did 1 bear crawl across the field (a little over 50 yards).  We finished our short time at the track with 15 burpees and headed back to the flag (on time mind you), where we enjoyed a COT.

    Moleskin

    • Normally when you bear crawl a long distance you inevitably have a few guys getting up several yards short of the end and walking the last bit.  Not today.  These men saw the bear crawl all the way through.  Very impressed with our group today.
    • I’m used to a lot of noise like grunting and heavy breathing, etc.  As you may have noticed, JV has been to over 200 workouts this year.  However, JV is a Birdcage man, so he was no where near the Foundry.  T-claps to the Pax for pushing through even when it meant making some noise to get it done.
    •  We fell well short of my 100 burpee standard.  I’ll do better next time.
    • I would much rather be moving forward than holding a position.
    • Al Gore I can handle, but not Bernie Sanders.  In the beginning I could stand about 40 seconds of Sanders, by the end, I could barely take 10 seconds.  I should probably get to know him better.

     

     

     

  • Q-es Bueller’s Work Out

    Last week it was “Oh Shit I have the Q!”

    Today “Holly Shit!  Where did everyone come from???”

    We had 19 intrepid souls show up for the push into the gloom, original plan was not going to work so we adjusted.

    Over to the kick ball field, to honor Pony Boy, for a warm up.

    20- SSH

    20 – IW

    20 – Forward Arm Circles and Reverse Arm Circles

    Short mosey over to the zoo for a little Dora

    100 – Decline Mericans

    200 – Dips

    300 – LBC

    We then lined up for lunge o rama back to the kick ball fields.

    We circled up for a little Jack Webb, 1×2 going up to 10×20

    We the rotated for circle of Mary call out.

    Back to the flag for the usual pleasantries.

    2 New FNGs Marcellas and Scott

    Mracellas from west coast and into music so we have dubbed him Enya, theme song below:

    Scott is a principal at Lusher so Breakfast Club, Saved by the Bell references came up but Rooney from Ferris Bueller’s day off started to make sense but needed to be a little more obscure…so thanks to Yankee  Scott is dubbed “Shicka Kaaaa!”

  • Return to Bedrock

    Seven strong at The Gipper this morning with a VQ by Moby and a welcome to the neighborhood appearance by Maverick.  After the requisite disclaimer, Moby got down to business with a warmup of

    SSH 20x IC

    Toe Touches 15x IC

    Windmills 15x IC

    Squats 25x IC

    and Arm Circles forward and reverse 10x IC

    then Moby handed the Q off to YHC and it was time to mosey to Bedrock to grab a coupon for two rounds of

    Woodchoppers 10x IC each direction

    Crossover RDLs 10x IC each (left over right then right over left)

    Torso Twists 10x IC holding the coupon away from the body as much as possible

    Mosey to the top level of the Justice Center Parking garage where we split into two working groups.  The first group executed 10 burpees, 10 squat jumps, 10 Merkins, and 10 mountain climbers all OYO then back to the burpees, etc. for more reps until relieved by the second group  charged with running a loop across the parking deck, down the stairs to ground level, across the ground level sidewalk, and then up the stairs to the starting point.  Four complete rounds for each group with the goal of getting as many individual reps in as possible between runs.

    Return to the Trailhead on a mosey to close out with Mary.

    Nolan Ryans 10x IC, Jane Fondas 10x IC, and Jane Fonda little circles forwards and back 10x each IC…right then left side.

    Long flutter kicks 10x IC

    Hello Dollys 10x IC

    Leg Lifts 10x IC

    Countorama, Nameorama, and Einstein prayed us out.

    Solid job this morning guys.  Thanks for letting me and Moby lead.

     

     

  • Stomp #109 – Upify If You Please

    How many running routes can F3 NOLA find to keep the 610 Stomp interesting?  Well, not sure what the answer is but lately the PAX has become fairly creative.  The Cowbell Loop, The Milkman Special, The Shorty Relay, etc have all been recently implemented.  The good ole Bayou St. John Route and/or the practice track always brings the sweat but these other hybrid courses allow for some new scenery and altered challenges.  YHC had been kicking around a few new routes but the tricky part is allowing for modified distances/speeds without breaking to PAX up too much.  So when the PAX trickled in we carefully monitored the time (as per RY’s email) and gave the disclaimer at 5:30 sharp.  Here’s what we did:

    Mosey as a group to the Museum.  (.58 mi)

    Three laps OYO around the Big Lake track (.75 mi per lap) and modify the lap count down if needed…or “upify” if you please.

    Then OYO speedwork on the Lelong Dr. loop (.40 mi each lap) with alternating speed every two light posts from reg mosey to brisk run/sprint.  As many laps until 6:10am hits.

    Then mosey back OYO to the flag (.58 mi)

    Approx 28 seconds left so just enough time for 6 Burpees.  Any more or less may have earned us a sanction from the nantam.

    Some good F2 chat was had during the first few laps.  Total distance covered was around 3.5-4.5+ miles.  T-claps to Hawg for pushing hard on lap three of the speedwork.  Great to see a PAX of 8 on a Tues.

    COT to cap off the morning.

    Tool

  • Prime Time.

    Eleven strong on a Tuesday.  Booyaa.  The Trailhead parking lot was busting at the seams with vehicular occupancy, in part due to the presence of the jogging tomatoes.

     

    Apparently there were 2 Q’s today, neither of whom knew about the other’s status as Q.   In democratic (lower case “d”…don’t get me started) fashion, it was agreed that the Q be split.  YHC took the first half, Ocho to finish it up.

     

    Warmup, in quantities that can only be divided by themselves and unity:

    •  SSH x 17 IC
    • Seal Jacks x 19 IC
    • IW x 23 IC
    • Plank Jacks x 29 IC

     

    Thang

    Mosey to fire station.  Count off 1-2-1-2-1-2 to form two groups.  Let it be known: Northshore PAX have difficulty counting.  After a couple tries, we actually got everyone to count off.  However, when we split up into our groups, one group had like 4 more people.  Let it be known: Northshore PAX cannot pay attention.

    The announcement that the first exercise is “1 Mile For Time” elicited some groaning from the PAX, but the challenge was accepted.  Allowances were made for those with ailments, impediments, handicaps, conditions, afflictions, maladies, disorders, and other undocumented infirmities to modify as needed, take a shorter route, do something else while the PAX runs, etc.  However, all PAX accepted the challenge; even Ol’ Planter Fasciitis accepted [and clocked a very respectable time I might add, notwithstanding his extended hiatus (is there any other kind) from running)].  Post 1-Miler, mosey back to trailhead for:

    Plankapalooza:

    • Plank and hold [cue: Turtle comments/complaints/constructive (not really) criticism regarding the nature of the so-called “F3 plank” vs whatever kind of plank that Turtle happens to be doing, which, of course, is the manly plank.}
    • Right arm high
    • Right arm high again (mumble chatter provoking)
    • Right arm high again (additional mumble chatter provoking)
    • Shoulder taps x 23 IC
    • Left arm high
    • Left arm high again (mumble chatter.  shocker)
    • Left arm high again (yes)
    • Air presses IC x 23

    Evidently, the PAX has come to expect consecutive, as opposed to cumulative, symmetry in dextral and sinestral exercises. That is: a right arm high should absolutely and without exception be immediately followed by a left arm high and by no means should be followed by another right arm high.  But, like Putty said on Seinfeld, “You know Jerry, 51% of all turns are left hand turns.  High five.”

     

    Hand off to OCHO.

    Ocho has been watching youtube.  Therefore, pair up for:

    • Herd Protection – This was obviously a cruel attempt to make Turtle do 10 burpees.  And it worked.  All PAX, save Turtle, huddle up NFL style (except standing), arms interlocked in a circle.  Steve was our little baby elephant we had to protect.  And Turtle was the lion(ess) on the hunt.  He had 30 or 60 (i forget) seconds to get both hands on Steve while the PAX rotated clockwise and anti-clockwise  to protect our little calf.  If successful, PAX to do 10 burpees.  If unsuccessful, Turtle to do 10 burpees.  PAX caught their breath while Turtle burpeed.
    • Hard Hands (did anyone else blush while reading that) – In this test of skill, strength, and ability not to be embarrassed by holding another man’s sweaty hand for like a really long time, 2 PAX faced off Sumo style.  Grasp right hands, partner A attempts to push partner B’s hand toward B’s thigh.  Success results in 5 burpies for B.  Switch to left hand.  Then Partner A becomes the defender and Partner B becomes the offender.
    • Push and Balance.  Continue Sumo faceoff positions.  Try to push partner off balance using hand to hand contact only.  Loser does burpees.
    • Snatch (#blush) – Again, Sumo standoff position.  One PAX removes shoe (not a typo) and places it between partners.  Ocho called out various G-Rated body parts (head, shoulder, knees, toes, etc).  And when “SNATCH” is called out, both partners try to snatch up the cast-aside footwear.  Loser bear crawls 10 yards.

     

    Countorama. Nameorama. Announcements.  Shooter volunteered for next Tuesday Q. Toots prayed us out.

     

    Ei