Category: New Orleans

  • Sticky Bricks – from Goose

    Four strong for Tuesday Tuff this morning with beautiful weather and the deep desire to get after it. Enron was early, which gave YHC a chance for some QT; then Paradiddle, who can’t resist increasingly difficult physical challenges, pulled in after driving 3.5 hours from Bourg. He was followed shortly by Yankee Joe, who immediately began what has been and will continue to be an endless stream of wife-prompted apologies for arguing with Enron about how his last name is pronounced.

    Warmup of the usual interrupted by giggling over Enron’s witty Hamburglar comment on the GroupMe channel. (Even when Goats does correct a typo, it’s still unintelligible).

    In honor of the last five Tuesdays, we started with a Merkin Mile, but this time we did 10 Spider-Man merkins every quarter mile (pull one knee up in Peter Parker position while simultaneously going down for a merkin, alternate).

    Toward the last quarter mile, the plan was to grab a brick from the ever-present pile near one of the many houses under construction, but YHC’s mind was scrambling for a new plan when we found that the bricks had recently been removed! Disappointment and resignation were just settling in when we came across another brick pile just two houses down. (And there may have been another three or four more that we passed on the way back.) So, we meticulously picked out two bricks apiece, hefting, squeezing, and sniffing them to make sure we got the best ones, and moseyed with them back to the flag to finish the Spidey Merks and give fitting tribute to our fallen comrade.

    Song: “Lady” by Styx.
    YHC shared some intimate information about high school life, which may have included singing this song with my friend at the top of our lungs in his Dodge Neon (with an 8-ball on the stick shift) with tears streaming down our faces and dreams of one day singing this to the woman of our dreams. (I mean, you obviously have practice for something like that.) So, though there wasn’t much singing, we did passionate Side Straddle Hops for the duration of the song and burpees with full feeling for every “Lady”.

    Then, it was time to pick them bricks up and follow YHC to the bumper area for some 7’s (it’s like 11’s…but 7). We found a couple of lines in the street that were far enough apart, and then at one end we started with 6 big boy situps (with bricks), moved via brick-sliders to the other end, 1 squat jump (with bricks), and then walking butterflies with bricks back to the start for 5 situps, etc. The bricks didn’t slide quite as easily as last time, but Enron still managed to sprint-push his, leaving two flaming red streaks behind him. Paradiddle and YHC weren’t too far behind him, but Yankee Joe’s bricks seemed to be a little stickier. He never gave up, though, which was impressive, and we left some awesome tracks that YHC slowly, proudly passed on the way to work this morning. (I almost leaned out my window and flagged the guy behind me down to tell him all about it.)

    We had to get the bricks back to the pile, so it was Indian Run time. While the PAX ran in line, pumping those bricks in Heavy Hand curls, the last guy stopped for three brick burpees before catching up. Once the bricks were deposited, it was regular Indian Run back to the flag for 7MOM (7 minutes of Mary).
    -20 flutters, 50 LBC’s IC, The Alphabet (upper case), static wife pleasers (20 IC), quick-pulsing wife pleasers (waited for a car to get close to execute, 20 IC), and J-Lo’s (20 IC).

    It was an awesome morning, and YHC is super grateful to be joined by men who appreciate the opportunity to suffer and grow together. COT with discussion of Coyote’s Q coming Saturday, and Paradiddle prayed us out. We had some super solid conversation afterward, and YHC left grateful to God for what He’s provided through F3.

    SYTIG,
    Goose

  • Napoleon fueled by Ethanol – from Fracsac

    13 Pax showed up, with 7 headed to stretch and 6 taking advantage of the track. Regardless of sprinting, walking or stretching, showing up is what is important!

    Ethanol and Napoleon from Birmingham joined YHC and Mayhem for sprint ladders, RevSox and Tenderloin walked, and the rest of the Pax stretched with Scantron.

    COT

    SYITG

  • Resolution to get Swole – from Mahatma

    Tribe of Swolefest

    Filling the empty Q slot I was looking forward to the change of Monday morning scenery! Pulling up there was an eager pax of 9 tugging blocks out from under the walkway, it’s Swolefest after all…..it would be like not using rocks at the Real RC or only doing 50 burpees at the Uptowner. All good an audible to the plan would be called.

    Warm up 
SSH
    
AbVagooda

    Mnt Man Poopers
    Shoulder Taps
    Peter Parkers
    Scorpion kicks
    Low slow squats

    Short mosey to the grass.

    10 silent – keep silent and thoughts focused on following the Q as to the transition to exercises:

    SSH

    Burpees
    
Merkins
    
High plank
    
Plank Ups
    
VUps

    Repeat continuously until 10 minute alarm

    365

    3 Deconstructed Burpee (slow to Qs cadence)
6 Box Jumps
    
5 rounds

    Grab the blocks all Pax in a circle – 1 round of “All Day Baby”
    All Pax hold blocks overhead, 1 pax goes into the center performs 2 man makers then back to the circle, next pax to the center. Continue until all pax has done the 2 man makers.

    Place the blocks flat side down – block cross over push ups, left. 30 sec recovery – block cross over push ups, right.

    12 x front raises
    15 V Ups block extended
    20 block press
    20 WWII Sit Ups

    10 block curl / squat / press

    3 rounds
    Running man X 11
    15 air press
    Running x 11
    10 squat overhead press
    Running man x 15
    20 TriCep press

    Finisher
    Indian merkin chain

    COT
    Prayer for purpose and thanksgiving!

  • Concrete Schoolyard – from Paradox

    What are the greatest rivalries of all time?
    Some come to mind.

    Yankees vs Bo Sox?
    Rocky vs Apollo Creed?
    JBL vs Anker (RIP!)?
    Gandalf vs Saruman?
    Lil Cuz’s Neck vs Gravity?
    Yankee Joe vs Father Time?

    All great.

    But Regardless of the pairing, one thing is always present in a great rivalry.
    High level Competition creates high level performance.

    I could explain …but …really …
    Well, I’d rather just show you.

    10 PAX arrived in a flurry to the concrete schoolyard to test our limits in the spirit of competition. Gorgeous beatdown weather. high 50s. Light breeze.

    WarmUp

    Usuals plus Bumper\Stop mosey.
    Touch the sign or it don’t count.

    Wilfred “place at the table” Montana “ coming in hot to break up mid mosey SLT meeting with YHC and Goose. Ya hate to see that kinda attention seeking behavior early in a Q. but you must persevere.

    Thang 1 – Anker tribute

    Not a day goes by that I don’t think about our Anker being in Bluetooth heaven. Sitting there amongst the clouds listening to sea shanties with no more pain.
    One small portion of his greatness was bringing the best from JBL and teaching him the way of audio torture for the PAX.
    Today we honor him with one of the greatest lyrical battles of the modern age.

    *NSYNC vs Backstreet Boys

    Backstreet Boys “Everybody”

    So we start with 10 burpees to work off with 1 deleted per sic dance move

    Apolo Onos to start during the dance window , flow into IWs

    Burpees on every “Body”

    Like any 8th grade dance the pax were hesitant to start but Goose broke the ice with his patented …Irish jig , it’s something
    Baggins felt the spirit and went for groceries.
    YJ came in hot after provocations with some funk fresh and Goats rounded out with the classic preparation H. Im missing one but im sure it was memorable.
    These brave men bought us 5 burpees.

    Track mosey and oh boy you know what’s next …

    Bye bye bye by Nsync
    Plank on song
    MC on Bye

    Lots of long plank holds so Goose could tell us Justin Timberlakes Dating history.

    The Thang

    Concrete Schoolyard

    Rules

    -Split PAX into 1s and 2s
    -Everyone gets one piece of chalk
    -the object of the game is to put points in the opposing teams “goal “ which is a chalk circle on the concrete
    ⁃ you can only do this by completing the base exercise then sprinting to the goal. This results in 1 point.
    ⁃ Scattered in the field of battle are “extra points “ you could add to your base score (see below)
    ⁃ A round will be timed, when time is called we tally points

    Coupons 10 OHP- 2 points
    10 Med Ball Slam- 2 points
    60 jump rope – 2 points
    Kettle Bell swing -2 points
    Ole Hickory – 5 points

    Winner savors 5 SSH
    Loser eats 5 burpees

    Round 1
    5 minutes on the clock
    10 merkins at base

    Round 2
    5 minutes
    10 Bonnie Blair’s at base

    Lightning Round 3
    2 minutes on clock
    5 Burpees at base

    Team 1
    Tana, Cardinal , YJ , lil cuz , Smooth operator

    Team 2
    Baggins, Superfund, Goose, goats , YHC

    Alot to unpack here and I’m sure validity of points and timing will be debated for decades to come but at one point in the middle of the beautiful madness YHC stopped mid Merkin to soak it all in …

    I saw a Goose sliding to secure ole hickory, shouldering his burden as our most fit pax by selflessly accepting thrusters….I saw Tana looking for every workable angle to gather intel for his crew. I saw smooth operator grab a cinder and wonder what the hell he got himself into….I saw a priest use his body as a shield against an enemy …I saw a master hobbit dashing there and back again from Bonnie Blair’s to ole hickory like he was back in the Shire….I saw Cuz and SuperFund lead with quiet strength. I saw men who forgot they came to exercise and elevated their limits for others.

    Every pax alive in the haze of battle
    Ignited with the fuel of competition.

    I saw a beautiful thing and I for one am grateful to be a part of it.

    Already working on Volume 2.

    COT and Superfund prayed us out
    Praying for Enrons family and
    Baby Little Itch

    SYITG
    PDox

  • Mothership Tribute to Cardinal – from Fracsac

    6 men paid another tribute to F3 Cardinal by completing his VQ at the Mothership.

    Warm-o-Roma
    15- Side Straddles Hops
    10- Tempo Merkins*
    10- Flutter Kicks Double Count
    10- Little Baby Arm Circles Forward
    10- “ “ Backward
    10- Hallujahs
    10- Knoxville Cherry Pickers*
    20 Sec. Samson Hold*
    PHELPS it out
    10- Willie Mayes Hayes
    Workout
    “Card’s Run and Repeat”
    5- Burpees – Moment of silence. Burpee Counter 10
    Big Boys
    Heels to Heaven
    Run to the opposite corner of the Great lawn and repeat (approximately 160 meters)
    Run back to original corner of great lawn.
    10- Burpees Burpee Counter 30
    Little Baby Crunches
    Mt. Climbers Double Count
    Run to the other corner and repeat and run back
    15- Burpees Burpee Counter 60
    Air Squats
    Freddy Mercury’s
    Run to the other corner and repeat and run back
    When you return hold squat until all Pax have finished
    As a group if there is time
    20- Burpees Burpee Counter 100

    We continued beyond with the following as we still had 25 minutes to go.

    Right leg power ups x 10
    Left leg power up x 10
    Dips x 10
    Bulgarian split squats x 10 (Left and Right)

    Bear crawl and burpees on the Great Lawn:
    Bear crawl to tree 1 – 5 burpees
    Bear crawl to tree 2 – 4 burpees
    Continue until tree 5 – 1 burpee

    120 Burpees total

    Mary

    COT where the Q read the piece from the Accidental Adventurer by Matt Crossman, aka F3 Ralph. F3 is a gift, and I’d be lost without you guys. Continue to share this gift with other men as it is needed.

    I love each and every one of you.

    SYITG

  • Workout Tribute to Cardinal’s VQ – from Willie

    Like many AOs around the country, we paid tribute to the passing of Cardinal by performing his VQ workout in the big mountain at WPM. All of the running referenced in the workout was done up the mountain. In addition to Cardinal’s workout, I did bring a bluetooth speaker and a new playlist for 2023. If any of the PAX wanted to skip a song, the entire PAX incurred a 10 burpee penalty. Cardinal’s workout is already stacked with burpees, so the PAX endured some pretty rough music. We were almost skip free, but @douille pulled a skip at the very end…. Not a surprising move from @douille. Cardinal’s VQ workout is as follows:

    Warm-o-Roma

    15- Side Straddles Hops
    10- Tempo Merkins*
    10- Flutter Kicks Double Count
    10- Little Baby Arm Circles Forward
    10- “ “ Backward
    10- Hallujahs
    10- Knoxville Cherry Pickers*
    20 Sec. Samson Hold*
    PHELPS it out
    10- Willie Mayes Hayes

    Workout
    “Card’s Run and Repeat”

    5- Burpees – We suggest a moment of silence for our brother Cardinal after completing this first set. -Rampart Burpee Counter 10
    Big Boys
    Heels to Heaven
    Run to the sign and repeat (each run to the sign is 160 meters)

    10- Burpees Burpee Counter 30
    Little Baby Crunches
    Mt. Climbers Double Count
    Run to the sign and repeat

    15- Burpees Burpee Counter 60
    Air Squats
    Freddy Mercury’s
    Run to the sign and repeat
    When you return hold squat until all Pax have finished

    As a group if there is time

    20- Burpees Burpee Counter 100

    At the COT we offered up intentions to Cardinal and his family. It’s always an honor to lead such a great group of men!

  • Life by Burpee – from Heisenberg

    Warm-up IC IW x20, Abe Vigoda 15, Grass Grabbers x 15, SSH x 31, Arm Circles x 20, 8-Count Body Builders x 10

    The Thangs:
    Alternating Lunge Walks/Bear Crawls with five burpees at each of the ten cones for 100 yards

    Mosey to locked fence and back to endzone for . . . . .

    Death by Burpees – With one-minute rounds we started with one burpee, and added a burpee with each successive minute. The first 5 minutes were almost a waste of time. Minutes 6-10 were a little more exciting as the time available for rest continued to decline. I ran out of time at round 12. I am not sure if anyone made it past round 14. Rudy insisted we complete round 15. Rudy has developed an affinity for burpees.

    Back across the field to use up the remaining 10 or so minutes.
    LBC, Flutter Kicks, LBT’s, Low Slow Squats, Monkey Humpers, Wife Pleasers, American Hammers and 10 more burpees.

    TClaps to Triple Shift for doing much of the above with a sandbag.

    I executed approximately 160 burpees bringing my 2023 burpee total to 1400

  • An Evening in the Park – from Willie

    One of my New Year resolutions is to start writing back blast again, so here it goes…After a mosey from the flag to the bandstand the PAX did the following warm up all in cadence:

    SSHx20, Arm Circles F/R x 10, Imperial Walkers, Hillbilliesx20, Grass Grabbersx10

    The next thang was a BLIMP in Oak Alley either Bear Crawling or Lung Walking between light post… iykyk

    The next thang was a mosey under the shelter then a DORA 100/150/200 with the following exercises, respectively.
    Penguins (2:1), Incline Merks, Squats (butt must hit the bench)

    Finally we wrapped with a round of Mary and stretches. All exercises in cadence x20

    LBCs, Angry Roach (Classic Couch), Flutter Kicks, Freddie Mercs,

    We closed with a COT and all enjoyed “Cawfee” on the front porch of the Audubon Golf Club House. Its always an honor to lead such outstanding men!

  • Hangin’ with Billy Madison – from Goats in the Machine

    I arrived at the stage at 5:25 with the majority of the PAX plus and FNG waiting for the beatdown to start. It was 66 Degrees Partly cloudy and so humid that it felt hotter than a Billy-Goat’s six in a pepper patch.

    There was 5 minutes of per-chatter mostly about cold showers (IYKYK) and Yankee Joe’s hemorrhoids. At 5:30 the beat down began.

    Warm-O-Rama
    Usual suspects minus the bumper run. Admittedly YHC needs to improve the consistency of my cadence.

    Thang 1: Billy Madisons
    • Perform 12 reps of and exercise and the run the walking path loop
    • Add 12 reps of and additional exercise to each round
    • Each round represents a grade level (you know like in the movie)
    • Preform as follows”
    o Kindergarten = Penguins (because they belon in the zoo)
    o 1st grade = BBSU
    o 2nd grade = Merkins
    o 3rd grade = squats
    o 4th grade = burpees
    o Home School = Monkey Humpers

    Kindergarten through 1st grade was done incidence. This was designed to be deceivingly “cute” before the 2nd grade started. 2nd grade to 5th grade were OYO with Pax planking between rounds. The mumble Chatter quickly ended.

    At one point Paradox Disappeared. I guess he didn’t realize that “you ain’t cool unless you pee your pants”

    Thang 2: F3 Hang man
    • Each pax guesses a letter, if not on board, then 10 merkens while PAX SSH.
    • Whoever solves the puzzle planks, while the rest of the pax do 10 burpees
    • Incorrect Puzzle Solution = penalty of 15 burpees for individual guesser while the rest of the PAX plank
    • Suggested Rounds:
    o Round 1 “Back to School”
    o Round 2 “Burpees”
    o Round 3 “Joshua” *Exodus reference*

    The Pax solved most puzzles on the 2nd letter. This gave us plenty of opportunity for Burpees.

    Thang 3: 11s
    • Freak Nasty & Arm Raises / Travel Bear Crawl

    YHC thought that this would give the PAX some rest after the burpee fest, but this proved to raise the bar of intensity… It was beautiful.

    Mary:
    • Pot Luck Marry from the Pax
    o Wife Pleasures, LBCs, SSH, BBSU, Dolphin Hops, and what ever YJ picked.

    COT
    • Count off
    • Name-o-ramma
    • FNG was given the name “smooth operator”. Welcome!
    • Announcements
    o Reminder to PARADOX to call in a script for Yankee Joes Hemorrhoid
    suppositories
    o Short discussion about the nest St. Vincent 500.
    o Other Chatter that was some of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard.
    At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything t
    hat could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for
    having listened to it.
    • Intentions
    o Enron Family and baby #5!
    • Baggins Prayed us out.

    YHC enjoyed the First F, nut the second F was the best part. O’Doyle Rules!