F3 New Orleans

Category: Northshore

  • You Can’t Always Get What you Want…(No EI, No Yoga, Nothing!)

    Arriving at a “late-ish” 5:11, YHC saw no PAX and no flag. Though Akbar’s presence was detected on account of the glowing dash lights eminating from the arborous darkness of the parking lot. More mysterious and less detectable was true-to-his-word Garfield, who was suddenly spotted lurking in the shadows casually stretching. The noticeably absent Shooter would’ve been proud of the general stealth of the PAX, as Pelican was just as abruptly standing next to YHC!

    Losing track of time, and realizing that King Abdication of the Echo India Order would not suddenly appear, YHC got the warmorama started with some Toe Touches, Torso twists (by which time Chewy had joined us), Imperial Walkers, Scorpion Kicks (when Cowbell arrived) and some SSH to welcome Burgundy.

    With that, the PAX was off on the traditional scramble 5.1K route through Old Mandeville. A particularly pleasant run was had by all judging by the reduced quantity of perspiration accumulated in our collective shirts. The noticeably absent Shooter would have been dismayed to find the distinct lack of sweat angels in the workout area where where…

    Hoping for a restorative Mary, YHC threw the baton to Chewy with the special request for some yoga-esque stretches. What the PAX got instead was 20 Hand-release Merkins OYO. Popcorn pass to Cowbell who hit us with some Crunchy Frogs. Then Burgundy lead us in some Russina-Dance Dips (real name still undetermined). Then came Pelican-lead LBCs and Bushwacker’s Oblique Crunches rounded out by more Scorpion Kicks by none other than Garfield.

    COT

    Count-Name-Anouncements-Prayer by Cowbell

    Captain Liberto’s funeral is tomorrow (friday) at the Castine Center at noon, with visitation to begin around 9am. It will be followed by a full procession along 190 to Covington’s St Lazarous of Bethany Memorial Garden. If possible, show your support and honor his sacrifice by lining the route to watch the surely endless line of police, firefighters, and public.

  • Concrete Jungle

    The Gipper PAX closed the books on the 2019 Iron PAX Challenge in the Gloom this morning. Hauling their concrete blocks to the concrete roof of the concrete parking deck of the Justice Center, the PAX jackhammered and pounded their way through the grueling Week 4 workout. Merkins, squats, swings, Bonnie Blairs, thrusters, lunge walks and cinderblock carries for time…it was all an oxygen deprived affair in tropical conditions. To its credit, the PAX refrained from tossing the cinderblocks from the roof when the final whistle sounded, but it’s safe to say that it may be a while before The Gipper AO sees cinderblocks again.

    Thanks for pushing yourselves and YHC, guys. There’s something powerful about tackling a month long challenge with your buddies. None of us would have pushed ourselves as hard alone.

    Now we need to get creative and come up with a challenge that we can send F3 Greenwood’s way…

  • IPC Pick your poison

    Arrived to the AO with the sights of a Mathlete a newcomer to the Marsh.. Grundy and Cowbell arriving shortly there after. I walked off 50 yards and planted the shovel flag south of the basketball court. Thankfully Grundy showed for moral support this Gloom, but most importantly to keep YHC accurate in the script of what was required on this final IPC. Q had crossed thoughts that the coupon carry was only completed after each round of 300 reps was complete, however the always accurate Grundy corrected that quickly and the PAX got to it..

    Kudos to Cowbell ringing the bell with the best time of the morning, followed by Mathlete 6 mins after and the YHC 4 mins after that.

    All in all the great thing about this challenge was the fact you could mix the combinations of the assigned exercises to your own strengths and weaknesses.. Definitely leg intense on this IPC verses weeks past..

    Q prayed the PAX out!!

    👍🏻👊🏻✌🏻 Till the next Gloom!

  • A Tale of Two Beatdowns

    It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, and…. yes, it was certainly the age of foolishness.

    The Pax were presented with two choices this morning, follow the Wacker of Bushes off to the Marsh where 35 lbs. cinderblocks awaited them or, for a potentially less-painful option, follow YHC into the unknown. So the Pax split, the Iron Pax-ers heading off to fulfill the week 3 challenge, and those who had already completed it stayed behind.

    Warmorama: 10x merkins OYO, arm circles, air presses, IWs, SSHs, high knees, all at various reps IC.

    Thang:

    Bear crawl approximately 400 yards to the lakefront gazebo. Caveat: if you need to pause for rest, perform 10x merkins then jog to catch up with the man in the lead. YHC declines to say whether or not this was intended to make the PAX rethink their choice of beatdowns but, impressively, there was relatively little grumbling. That is how difficult the IP challenges are – the minds of the PAX have been recalibrated and this – bear crawling 400 yards – is actually better than the alternative. T-claps to Grundy who (YHC believes) was the only one to make it the full distance without stopping.

    Next, circle up inside the gazebo for a quick round of squats, 20x IC, before assuming an Al Gore hold while each man takes his turn doing 10x Bobby Hurleys. Turbo explained to the young ‘uns who BH was, and that he did indeed slap the floor as a Duke player. Everyone seemed to sink their shots – with Chewy mixing in a few granny-throws – and we wrapped things up in the gazebo with a round of the ever-popular monkey humpers, x22 IC. A short recovery stumble down the path before moseying to the canal bridge for a partner routine.

    Partner 1 heads up the path, over the bridge and down a short distance – to where a young couple was necking in the grass – and then circles back to relieve partner 1, who will begin the cumulative reps of:

    • 50 Burpees
    • 100 Sister Mary’s
    • 150 T-Merkins
    • 200 Squats
    • 150 Freak Nasties
    • 100 Monkey Humpers
    • 50 Burpees

    T-claps to the young couple, who YHC figured would relocate to a more private spot within the first 5 minutes. These two, though, persevered the parade of sweaty men and continued to put on a show for nearly the entire duration of our routine. And this routine took some time – especially the t-merkins, which seemed to bring nearly everyone to their knees. Hey, maybe they’re exhibitionists and this is what they came for?

    Quick Indian run back to the flag and, with minutes to spare, we knocked out some Jane Fonda’s, quick pulses, and heel-to-knees, 10x IC each leg. Having reached the end, we looked around for our Iron Pax brethren, but to no avail. So, back on our six, we knocked out a bit more: flutters, LBCs, and Freddie Merc’s, all 20x IC. A quick look around again but, alas, still no one in sight.

    Time to call it – so we circled for countdown, nameorama, and COT. Shooter prayed us out with intentions for recently slain Captain Vincent Liberto and his family. Liberto, a father of seven, had served the Mandeville police department for over 25 years and was known to be a good man, who served his country and community with pride. His sacrifice comes as a shock, and is a reminder of just how lucky we are to have such great men and women protect and serve our community.

    Soon after, the Iron Pax-ers appeared and we circled up for COT, part deux, this time with Hammer praying us out. Double intentions for Capt. Liberto and his family.

    Then it was off to coffetería, where Tank regaled us with warm stories of Italian family gatherings. A near perfect morning. Thanks for the opportunity to lead and get stronger alongside you men.

  • Mean while…Machines at the Marsh

    A new day dawns and another gloom is met by the cantankerous crew of the F3 Northshore! The shovel flag is planted, the pre-thang crew comes rolling up, and away we go!

    To respect the time as best as possible, YHC took all Iron Pax Challengers on a mosey to the Marsh, while the rest hung back for the regularly scheduled beat down lead by Steve.

    Having deposited a supply of coupons ahead of time with the welcomed assistance of Jose and Speedy, the men of the Marsh were prepared to tackle this week’s IPC:

    10 Pull Ups

    15Hop over (coupon) Burpees

    20 (coupon) 2 Arm Bicep Curls

    25 (coupon) Squat Thrusters

    30 Gas Pumps

    AMRAP for 43 minutes

    The scene was grippingly intense – each man was handling the long ride in their own style in order to make it through. 1 round in to YHC’s 2nd attempt for the week, the heavenly songs of ceramic-throne seraphim began to call, thus assuring no PR would be set this day. Toto and Pickles were having a fraternistic chat relying on Russo math to set their pace. Speedy, dripping with double hate, was giving it his stoic all. Meanwhile, uncle Jose was across the playground in “leave me the hell alone” land staying in his head with his earphones blasting. Jose had to drag Speedy away kicking and screaming early in order to make soccer practice… go Coach Dad!

    Mick put every damn thing he had into the challenge (with a smile) and enjoyed a brisk run back to the flag upon completion. Also on the dark side of the moon it was Hammer time! He looked as though he should’ve had a grey hoodie on with giant beatz headphone on listening to the rocky 4 soundtrack – Eye of the tiger!

    But there was one area no more than 8 feet away from the monkey bars where the devil himself dare not tread. With the piston-striking intensity of the fabled John Henry, Frankie C – the Italian Stallion – worthy of double respect and more – Tanked Up attacked with every fiber of his being. SMASH! One cinder block couldn’t hang, so YHC scurried to bring him another. With the fully-vested totals brought forth this week by the likes of Turbo, Grundy, and Bean, there was clearly not an ounce left to give when Frank Caragliano completed 904 reps on the hallowed grounds of the Milestone Marsh….

    After moseying back to the flag and just missing COT, the PAX proceeded to do a 2nd COT, with Hammer praying us out, as we honored the loss of Captain Vincent Liberto, who was killed in the line of duty yesterday, and lifted up our prayers for the wife and 7 children he left behind.

  • Pain Cave

    10 men visited the Pain Cave this morning at The Gipper. F3 Greenwood tried to kill us all with the inaugural Iron PAX Challenge last year and, having failed, have renewed their efforts in earnest with this year’s challenge.

    After a very brief warmup and some pre-challenge logistics, it was time to get started. The buzzer sounded and the troops were off for AMRAP in 43 minutes of:

    10 pullups

    15 burpees with lateral jumps over a coupon

    20 coupon curls

    25 coupon thrusters and

    30 gas pumps.

    A combination of Cowbell’s head banging music and everyone’s muscle fatigue soon heated up the AO as the PAX pushed themselves to accumulate reps. All in all, it was a good showing for a group of men who all look much better than they did on their virgin posts.

    One more week to go men. Thanks for letting me lead.

  • Remembering

    5 men did the annual 9/11 stair climb on Tuesday to remember and honor those 2792 men, women, and children who died 18 years ago. Hard to believe it’s that long ago already, and how much that event changed our world.

    With the grueling Iron Pax Challenge happening both the day before and after this beatdown, this was a great opportunity for us to slow down a bit, talk, and reflect.

    Sweating profusely with the 100% humidity that seems to accompany every day here, we wondered aloud how difficult it must’ve been for those firefighters to ascend in all their gear, with all that weight and heat, and with the knowledge that things would likely not go well for them. YHC cannot imagine the fear that would produce, and that these men were able to push that aside and rush up is astonishing.

    So we climbed 82 1/2 flights at Grandmother’s, which according to Pelican’s calculations approximated the 110 floors of the WTC. Quick Mary of 20x Merkins, Hello Dolly’s, Freddie Mercs, and LBC’s. COT and Chewy prayed us out, reminding us to be thankful for the sacrifice those men and women made for our country.

  • Float like a butterfly, sting like a…

    The Killer B’s ended with a bang Saturday morning, with Grundy taking the Northshore lead by mere seconds.  Sure, we could debate the fairness of doing it on the lakefront’s luxurious grass vs. the Marsh’s unyielding concrete, or the legality of the proctor himself taking home first place, but when it comes down to it, we must (begrudgingly) give Grundy due credit (and hate!) – it was a pretty inspirational effort.  In fact, Tank was nipping at his heels the entire time and it seems the two were feeding off one another’s energy to push each other to their record times.

    So t-claps to those two men for giving it their all and, while we’re t-clapping, we might as well toss another one out to Zoo and his miraculous self-healing leg, for taking the opportunity to hit the challenge for a second time and improve upon his score.  Alright, the rundown:

    Usual pre-thang 2 miler featured guest appearances by both Bushwacker and Garfield, and then we went right into the warmorama: Arm circles (forward/back), IW’s, copperhead squats, toe touches, hillbillies, SSHs, mountain climbers, all x20 IC.

    Thang:  Half the PAX followed Grundy to complete the IP challenge, while those that had already had their fill followed YHC.

    First stop on our tour of the lakefront was an old favorite that can be difficult to use with a large pax: Rips.  Instead of the traditional stair run/Rocky Balboa’s, though, we simply grabbed a handrail and did one legged negative calf raises, at a slow cadence: x15 per leg.

    Then, eastward towards the baseball field, stopping for a quick COP of high knees and a burpee wave.  About 6 rounds, and then onward…

    To the pull-up bars behind the baseball field.  Circled up on our six for flutter kicks, while 2 men got up to do 5x pull-ups.  Around the circle again and again and again, until each man had 25 pull-ups.  We maxed out on flutters and at some point switched to Freddie Mercs, which did not really help all that much.

    Next up, flip over to a plank for plank jacks, while 2 men got up to do hanging knee tucks x10.  Round the circle a few times, switching about halfway to shoulder taps, until each man had 30 tucks.

    Mosey back towards the boat launch to split into two teams for a 100-yard sprint relay race.  Losing team gets hit with 25 burpees, winning team gets 25 merkins.  (YHC has learned that, in the realm of F3, the winning team never takes the easy way and sits out on the work so why even bother pretending there’s a reward.)  With Bean pulling double duty for Team 2 to secure the win, they performed their merkins and then jumped in to help Team 1 finish up with their burpees.  And then everyone took a page from Pik, who’s been keeping Old Mandeville clean for the better part of two years, and did a quick sweep of beer bottles before heading over to the playground for a quick partner routine.

    P1 holds people’s chair while doing air presses, P2 bear crawls up the small hill to the swingset pad for 10 merkins and then bunny hops back down to flapjack with P1.

    Just enough time to Indian Run back to Rips, get in one more set of calf raises (x10 each leg this time), and back at the flag for a round of boxcutters, x20 IC.  The rest of the gang joined us at this point, looking thoroughly destroyed, and we circled up for COT.  Zoo encouraged all to share the gift of F3 and bring out some new brothers, and Maverick took us out with a prayer, encouraging us to be men of strength. Then off to coffeeteria.  Thank you men for the opportunity not only to lead, but to get stronger and sharper alongside you.

  • EiEi no show!!

    Kudos to all the men on the Northshore this week who responded to the ringing of the Cowbell this pass Saturday.. Tuesday produced 8 men with Zoolander back at the weekly post bringing out an FNG “Handy”, 10 on Wednesday with the Manny making a Gipper appearance and Maverick back in the mix as well and Thursday brought out the likes of Akbar with his virgin post at the Scramble.. All in all a great week at the posts and had our “EiEi” posted it would have been even better… Site Q took the helm to lead the PAX on this slightly less humid Gloom.

    Warmarama

    10IC Good Mornings, 20IC SSH, 10IC Torso Twists, 20IC Imperial Walkers, 10IC Scorpion kicks and 5 Burpees OYO..

    Thang

    T-👏🏻 to Steve for posting although not able to run he stayed at the AO completing some Merkins, Manmakers, Freak Nasties, Core, etc. etc. The 3 Stallions quickly jumped out the gate and began their galloping as 3 Clydesdale’s trotted in the back..

    Stallions Bushwacker, Cowbell and Water Pik finished with a high sub 7 pace and rejoined Steve for some of that Core work as the Clydesdale’s came in around high 9s. With a debatable 7 mins remaining YHC brought the PAX over to the exercise equipment for 2 rounds of 7 various movements. 5 pull-ups controlled the rest which consisted of Burpees, Plank Jacks, Chest press, Knee ups, leg raises and Freak nasties..

    Count, Annouce, COT

    YHC prayed the PAX out with tribute and remembrance of the lost from Katrina 14 years ago today..

    Thanks for following my lead and 👊🏻💪🏻✌🏻 Till the next Gloom!

  • I didn’t go to Notre Dame

    We did a lot.

    Bushwacker sends us on our way with his St. Paulesque – Epistle to the Gipperians.