F3 New Orleans

Category: New Orleans

  • Frisbee Burpee Blast – from Fracsac

    10 pax showed up to kick off Sunday with a bang and found improvement through consistency.
    With the flag planted and the disclaimer given, face the bacon for a warmup at 0630. End the warmup with 10 x 8 count body builders.

    11s on the steps of NOMA. Burpees and squats.

    Frisbee fun around museum. A drop means rolling the die for surprise exercises. First drop came pretty quick with 15 burpees coming up on the die.
    Continue around changing to 5 burpees penalty and fitting in 3 x Sunday Mornings at the back wall.
    Ended with 105 burpees and 10 pax begging for more. Sorry boyz, time is up.

    COT followed by Coffeteria.

    SYITG

  • What are the Knotters Doing? – from Charmin

    Warm-Up:
    The PAX gathered under the celestial canopy, eager for what awaited them in this divine workout. The QIC, filled with the spirit of fitness, kicked off the morning with a rousing pre-workout count-off that included Mambi coming in hot!

    The Thang:
    As the PAX embraced the Gloom, they embarked on a celestial journey of rucking and running and an apparently religious KnOT, fueled by the spirit of fellowship and sweat. While the Runners and Ruckers did their tasks, Scantron, inspired by some heavenly wisdom, led the knotters through a Catholic-inspired workout that left everyone questioning whether their abs had just received a blessing or a beating.

    The workout included:

    Hail Mary Half Mile:
    KnOTers circled the AO, reciting Hail Mary prayers with every step. The divine combination of cardio and prayer left the PAX feeling both uplifted and breathless.

    Confessional Crawl:
    The PAX, crawled through the sacred space, confessing their sins to the gloom above. Each confession was accompanied by a set of merkins, absolving the PAX of their earthly burdens.

    Rosary Ruck:
    PAX formed a circle, each carrying a symbolic “rosary” ruck, and took turns leading prayers while others performed lunges or squats. The beads might have been imaginary, but the burn was very real.

    Penance Plank Parade:
    The knotters formed a line, holding a plank position while confessing their workout sins. Each PAX member had to perform a penance exercise chosen by the brother to their left. It was a true test of strength, both physical and spiritual.

    Cooldown:
    After enduring the divine wrath of Scantron’s creative workout, the PAX cooled down with stretches and reflections on the spiritual journey they had just undertaken. The knotters finally rejoined the runners and ruckers and YHC closed the session with a prayer of gratitude for the strength to face the Gloom together.

    COT:
    The Circle of Trust echoed with words of encouragement, gratitude, and perhaps a few groans of sore muscles. The knotters lifted each other up, thankful for the fellowship forged in the crucible of the workout. As the sun began to pierce through the morning mist, the PAX departed, ready to face the day with the divine soreness that only an F3 workout can provide.

  • Run, and let Die – from Honeysuckle

    On a chilly morning, YHC plus 14 or 15 HIMs convened at the Lion’s Den to raise the temperature of Thibodaux a few degrees. After a pre-beatdown site survey of the greater Warren J Harang Jr Municipal Auditorium area, YHC determined that most of the grassy area was too wet due to the previous day’s precipitation, which partially put a damper on some of the plans. At this point, a gravel road and an Aldi were willed into existence so that the beatdown could commence.

    Warmarama: SSH, Windmills, Arm Circles (F/R), Mountain Climbers, High Knees, Butt Kicks, Toy Soldiers, Willie Mays Hayes

    Don’t tell Goose, but it is indeed true that opportunities for on-the-clock stretching can be found in the Warmarama if one looks.

    Mosey to the playground

    The Thang:

    YHC explained that there is no point in trying to follow an America’s Best beatdown; no amount of creativity could compare. In fact, YHC was dealt a Paradox, YJ, Goose, Goose, America’s Best hand to follow, so why even bother. So to help out with the lack of detailed planning, the specifics of today would be a little random. The beatdown was based on a random waypoint concept, where six locations around the area were chosen as the waypoints. At each waypoint, some exercises would be done. The choice of which waypoint to go to would be determined by the roll of an allegedly fair die. The waypoints and exercises were as follows

    1: Lion statue (50 Moroccan Night Clubs 2:1)
    2: Gravel road near stop sign (50 Apollo Ohnos 2:1)
    3: Gravel road near exercise equipment (30 tempo squats)
    4: Gravel road near gate (25 LBCs + 25 Big boy situps)
    5: Playground (30 Derkins)
    6: Aldi parking lot near the broken glass (15 burpees)

    Transport between waypoints would be a faster-than-a-mosey run, except if a 1 is rolled in which case there would be a hard run to the Lion statue area. Another rule that did not need to be enacted today was that if the same number were rolled twice in a row, PAX do 10 burpees and roll again.

    The PAX spent a lot of time bouncing around between 4 and 2, so some good core and lower body work was done while getting to know the new gravel road well. Popeye questioned the fairness of the die, but surely the quality control department of Milton Bradley would not let a biased die be packaged as part of a Yahzee set.

    Finally, a 3-5-6-1 sequence was rolled, allowing the PAX to enjoy some change of pace with some squats, derkins, burpees, and Moroccan nightclubs. The visit to 6 also let the PAX get a close look at the Aldi parking lot. Interestingly, neither the gravel road (which appears to be an extension of N 10th street) nor the Aldi parking lot were planned to be a part of today’s beatdown, but as luck would have it, the conditions forced us there and they stole the show. I know Goldilox’s first choice was to give the vest to the gravel road.

    As there was still time left, of course a 4 was rolled so the PAX headed back to the yellow gate to work on their 4 packs. The beatdown would be finished via an administrative decision to hit waypoint 5 for 10 more derkins then sprint to 1. Apparently without the Moroccan nightclubs.

    Goldilox returned the vest to its original owner, Paradox, who as legend has it is thus now obligated to destroy it. If he can.

    Announcements revealed that Paradox has Saturday, followed by Smooth on Monday, and Pope on Tuesday. Also the buzz around Run Cajun Run is noticeably increasing.

    Yankee Joe prayed us out. Dox photoed us out.

    Thank you to the 14 or 15 Pax who showed up this morning. It is always one of the most enjoyable parts of my day to sweat and suffer alongside this group. Tclaps to Maneater and Jackknife for yet another post!

    SYITG,
    Honeysuckle

  • Mostly the Same – from Nip/Tuck

    I went to Stiffler’s Mom this morning. It seems a little like visiting an indigenous tribe that has no contact with the outside world. I am happy to report that the Natives are still happily existing. Today we ran and we talked about Jennifer Coolidge. Not much has changed.

  • Afternoon Delight – 1-03-2024 – from Almonaster

    Iceketball!

    PAX:

    – Couch
    – Shamu
    – Big Willie
    – Stork
    – FCOJ
    – Subprime
    – Wild Turkey
    – Manchovy
    – Almonaster

    Warmup:

    Mosey to the parking lot on River Road.

    Side Straddle Hops – 20
    Arm Circles -10 IC
    Reverse Arm Circles
    Imperial Walkers – 10 IC
    The Morpheus – 10
    Balance on 1 foot for 10 seconds – Each Foot
    Grass Grabbers – 10
    Wind Mills – 10 IC
    Mountain Climbers – 10 IC

    The Thang:

    Mosey’d to Carver Basketball court. We played a pickup game of basketball to get us in the right mindset to cheer on the Green Wave as they took on Rice!

    Back to Flag
    Birthdays
    Anniversaries
    Announcements
    Intentions
    Prayer

    “Coffee” to be held at the Tulane Basketball game. Tipoff at 8pm!

  • The Spirit of Pai Gow – from Charmin

    Mission: To embrace the grind, push each other, and conquer the Knees Over Toes (KOT) challenge with the indomitable spirit of Pai Gow guiding our way.

    The Thang:
    Bolt, Triple Shift, and Macgiver took the lead, demonstrating proper KOT form. Knees over Toes is not just an exercise; it’s a mindset.

    Meanwhile, Charmin, PVC, Frac, and Mahatma hit the pavement, pounding the ground with the spirit of Pai Gow directing their every step. The streets became our battleground, and with each stride, we embraced the challenge ahead.

    The gloom was alive with the sounds of encouragement, banter, and laughter. Mahatma, bundled in a hoodie that seemed to defy the laws of physics, brought his unique blend of humor to the group, lightening the mood even as we pushed ourselves to the limit.

    Charmin, ever the beacon of positivity, kept spirits high with his infectious energy. PVC’s determination was palpable as he ran alongside, pushing the pace. Frac, true to form, cracked jokes and shared stories, creating an atmosphere of camaraderie.

    Triple Shift and Macgiver, leading the KOT charge, inspired us all with their dedication. Bolt, with his unyielding resolve, exemplified the essence of F3 – pushing ourselves beyond our perceived limits.

    COT (Circle of Trust):
    As the PAX gathered in the COT, we reflected on the challenges faced and conquered. The Q reminded us that F3 is not just about the physical, but also about the mental and spiritual growth we experience together. The bonds forged in the gloom are as enduring as the sweat-soaked shirts we left behind.

    We closed with a prayer of gratitude, acknowledging the strength we find in each other and the privilege of being part of a brotherhood like no other.

    As the sun began to rise, we departed with tired bodies, uplifted spirits, and a sense of accomplishment. Until next time, under the watchful eye of Pai Gow, we’ll continue to sharpen each other and thrive in the challenges that lie ahead.

    Aye!

  • Start From Where You’re At – from Goose

    Six committed PAX started 2024 the best way possible, by posting at The Stage to face unknown suffering with anticipation and a desire to grow. YHC was excited to enter into the new year with such a solid group of brothers, but also dreading what was on the docket for the morning.

    Warmups were the usual, full 20-count all around to work through the soreness from Saturday’s 12 Days of Something. Then, to work through that initial cardio wake-up burn, we did a set of 11’s: merkins and jump squats, carioca both ways. These proved to be quite the wake-up burn, to say the least. The merkins and jump squats were very much the break. Popeye settled into his steady groove, guffawing at the sprint pace that Tap and Pope started with. Cardinal and Cuz took the Popeye approach in order to save some steam for later, but this one lasted about five minutes longer than anyone hoped, and there was very little steam to be had.

    Two ten-counts later, YHC took advantage of the opportunity for a new year’s pep speech to get the heart back to a sustainable pace. The gist was this: no matter how lofty the goal or courageous the journey, we all have to start somewhere, and that somewhere usually isn’t too pretty. Most of us focus on how awesome the destination will be, but once the reality of where we currently are and the difficulty of the grinding journey toward growth comes crashing in, many let the waves of discouragement wash them into a numb, disconnected state of sedentary survival. But, not this crew. Not today. Not this year. We would embrace the limitations and weaknesses that still linger within, see them for what they are, and push them hard. Real hard. It would be uncomfortable. Real uncomfortable.

    No one was prepared to do it, and no one was really in a good state to do it, including YHC, but we would run a mile as fast as we could and time it to get a solid baseline, an authentic hard-stare at where we are right now. We had all stayed up later than we should have and ate and drank more junk than we should have, and our legs and hearts were still burning form the 11’s, but life is demanding, you know? And, it doesn’t wait for you to be ready. So, everyone on the line: get set, go!

    Pope stayed with YHC (actually a few steps ahead) because he didn’t have a watch, and the rest embarked on 6-9 minutes of lonely maximum effort. It was truly impressive to watch each man roll in knowing that he didn’t have to do it, but he did. Here’s the numbers:
    * Cardinal: 8:40
    * Tap: 8:14
    * Cuz: 8:04
    * Popeye: 7:47
    * Goose: 6:32
    * Pope: 6:30

    After this, we gathered for a few Rings of Fire to burn the muscles out a bit and give the lungs a much needed break. Learned this one from Fracsac a couple of weeks ago:
    1. hold plank, one man does 5 merkins counting out loud, then the PAX to the left picks it up and does 5 out loud while the first does those next five silently. So, each PAX does 10 in a round, overlapping on 5.
    2. Same system, but holding Al Gore and doing Monkey Humpers (lots of great comments that I can’t remember here).
    3. Same system, but holding 6 inches (tee-hee) and doing Leg Raises

    We had 8 minutes left for a solid Mary, which consisted of: wife pleasers, static wife pleasers, Little Manny Crunches, high, slow flutter kicks, Nolan Ryans, and two minutes of reverse plank.

    COT and Tap prayed us out.

    Super grateful for the effort of these men to post early on Jan. 1 and then to push so hard against felt limitations. So proud to be a part of this crew!

    SYITG,
    Goose

  • Everybody’s an Expert – from America’s Best

    Ten genetically-modified hyper-intelligent HIMs posted this cold morning to exercise minds and bodies.

    And the categories are:
    The 4 P’s of Marketing
    Programming Languages
    Irish Musicians
    The Four Pillars of Catholicism/Christian Life
    Antibiotic Classes
    Versions of Halo
    Things on my Desk
    Minor Bluey Characters
    Harry Potter

    One thing I love about this PAX is that each member brings specific acumen to the table. Everyone is an expert in something. But first, YHC had to ascertain exactly what that was for each dude.

    Jackknife immediately impressed, not only showing up as a 2.0 on a Tuesday Tuff, but also by conveying one of his areas of expertise during YHC’s intro/example. Seriously. This kid is awesome. And he knows some Bluey.

    As for the rest, we went on an Indian run of discovery. As each man at the back sprinted to the lead, he declared his area of expertise for all to hear.

    Upon our return to the flag, we began this thang:

    Circle up, and each expert first chooses an exercise, then we all get to embarrass ourselves with our lack of knowledge in his area of expertise.

    YJ was first, and tried to suggest simply “merkins.” Of course, YHC predicted this, and so the box of destiny (formerly the box of Ballard Designs) was consulted.

    The options were: Absolutions, 4x4s, Manmakers, Thrusters, Goosies, No-cheat merkins, Burpees, WW3 sit-ups, or M.H.G.S. Amazingly it was the same number as number of categories/PAX (minus the moderator). Thus is the magic of the Box of Destiny.

    We went around the circle attempting to name the 4 P’s of Marketing, and for each answer that remained after each guess, we did that many of the named exercise. Of course, only YJ could answer most of these (although the judges gave credit to Dox, for “placement”); so we did a fair amount.

    Maneater was next, and I’m sure shook his head as we struggled to identify programming languages, although YHC was impressed with the knowledge of many in this area (Cardinal schooling YHC with HTML –mind blown).

    Irish Musicians was a surprise addition, and YHC’s favorite category. YJ used this opportunity to showcase his deep-rooted hatred of Oasis, refusing to identify either of the Gallagher brothers as musicians, instead opting for the pain of more beatdown.

    YHC’s poor phrasing of the next category left everyone except Cardinal confused as to what the question was actually asking for. This worked out, because only Cardinal could decipher YHC’s intent, and so we got to do more Absolutions. What didn’t work out as well was that Cardinal’s way of explaining was basically just murmuring all the answers! YHC will soon begin a journey that will hopefully help with improved trivia in this category.

    Other than Goose’s surprise guess of “penicillin” right out of the gate, only Dox was able to name 3 other antibiotic classes. Best wrong answer award of the day went to young Jackknife for his guess “Cocaine”. Dox enjoyed doing extra Thrusters with each wrong answer from the PAX.

    Although other guesses were counted as correct, only Pope truly knows which versions of Halo exist.

    And then we came to Lil’ Cuz. What do you do about a man like this? His acumen in so specialized YHC could not begin to pierce the veil of his true knowledge. He is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma… covered and smothered in perplexity. Even trying to guess what might be on his desk proved a challenge. Especially since most guesses would lead one to believe that Lil’ Cuz works in the 1950’s. Have you people only ever seen a desk in “Mad Men”? I’m pretty sure the next few guesses would have included “an ashtray” or “an empty whiskey glass.”

    We ran out of time, but allowed ourselves just a few more burpees while Jackknife rattled off at least 5 or 6 minor characters in Bluey. And Goldilox’s category will have to wait until Double-Jeopardy.

    Yankee Jeaux allocated the AlPAXa inVESTment to Goldilox

    COT and Cardinal prayed us out.

    America’s Got ToVent:

    The seed for this beatdown came from YHC’s exclusive double-secret trivia league, which YHC introduced today to those present. While YHC only gets 2 referrals into this league per season, I am happy to offer them to anyone in this PAX (even Dox). Although as I write this, I actually already have added my 2 referrals to the waiting list! So instead, let me just say I am glad to add another inner-circle for YJ to strive towards– Maybe next season, my friend.
    Thank you all for what you have done to challenge and change YHC in ways you might not even know.
    Well-done showing up and showing off your brains and brawn. You guys always impress me.

  • King Kong’s Sweaty Bell Countdown: A Roaring Send-off to 2023! – from King Kong

    As the clock ticked down to the final moments of 2023, a fearless group of fitness enthusiasts gathered at the Audubon Zoo for the ultimate New Year’s Eve workout at 6:30 a.m. sharp…… except a few…..– and what a workout it was! Led by none other than the mighty King Kong, we decided to bid adieu to the year with a 23-rep extravaganza that left us questioning our sanity and laughing our way into 2024.

    We started by warming up those limbs with arm circles, side-straddle hops, halos, around the world, grass grabbers, self love (one your own…. a little redundant), imperial walkers, and hill billies. If our limbs had voices, they would have probably begged for mercy right then and there. But the real fun was just getting started.

    With the zoo as our witness, we moseyed to the stop sign and back, like a herd of fitness-fueled animals on the loose. The Audubon animals probably wondered if they’d been replaced by a new, more energetic species.

    Then came the kettlebell chaos! Curls, squats, little baby crunches (because even crunches need to be cute sometimes), side-straddle hops, reverse curls, alternating lunges – the list seemed endless. Just when we thought we’d mastered the art of swinging a kettlebell, King Kong threw in some unexpected moves like bell taps and sitting overhead presses. Our kettlebells must have been whispering, “What did we ever do to deserve this?”

    The cast of characters, including Jingle Vader, Stork, Strings, Douille, Almonaster, Willie, Subprime, and T-Bone, added their own flair to the festivities. The zoo animals probably joined in the laughter as we attempted manmakers, with King Kong himself leading the charge.

    As the final echoes of kettlebell clangs subsided and the side-straddle hops reached their 23rd glorious rendition, we realized that if we could survive King Kong’s Sweaty Bell Countdown, we could conquer anything the new year threw at us. We ended with the usual COT. We reminded ourselves that we never take our mental and physical health for granted. Here’s to laughter, sweat, and the absurdity of it all – may 2024 be as epic as our last beatdown of 2023!

    Thanks ChanGPT for this backblast.

  • Murph Prep Monday – from Landing Strip

    Twas a light showing this new year’s morning, with 6 brave souls showing up to start the year off right. One of my new year’s resolutions is to complete the Murph Challenge this Memorial Day. That’s a 1 mile run, 100 Pull-Ups, 200 Merkins and 300 Squats and another 1 mile run. This morning’s workout was the first of several to prepare the PAX for that.

    Warmup
    In-place: 20 SSHs, Self Love OYO and 20 Grass Grabbers.

    Tha Thang
    We then proceeded with a circuit of 5 Pull-Ups, 10 Merkins and 15 Squats, followed by a mosey down to the shelter and back. I got 8 full circuits in, plus 2 more partials (hanging for 10 seconds in lieu of Pull-Ups).

    Mary
    A round-robin of Penguins, Crunch Frogs, J-Los and Scissor Kicks.

    Shoutouts
    -Couch, for bringing 2 FNGs to this morning’s workout
    -Acorn and Hawk Talk, said FNGs, who along with Couch, rung in the new year at Tipitina’s last night and then posted this AM
    -JV, for actually completing the Pull-Up / Merkin / Squat components of the Murph on the first day of the year
    -Willie, for showing up (albeit a few minutes late)

    If anyone is reading this, I’d propose we start future holiday, or holiday adjacent workouts (e.g. day after Thanksgiving) at least 30 minutes later than usual.

    Happy new year people!