F3 New Orleans

Category: Northshore

  • Lundi Gras Legs

    With many Marsh-vets out of town for Mardi Gras, drastically plummeting temperatures, and some excessive crawfish eating, low turnout was expected this morning. What was unexpected, though, was Jose 10k. Lured out by Wacker’s promise of a treat (sorry, can’t disclose – you have to post to find out about such things), it was nice to have a new face at the marsh. YHC had been waffling between a chest or leg-centric beatdown, but that all solidified when I saw Jose, who hadn’t been through my old standby, my bread and butter, the legs, legs, legs beatdown.

    First up, though, it was cold and YHC was half asleep. Warmorama would actually have to do just that – warm us up – so we kicked into high gear with SSH, High Knees, and Butt Kicks, all 30x IC. Then into Toe Touches, IW’s, Good Mornings, x15 IC. There must’ve been something else in there that I’m forgetting, as Wacker quipped that it seemed like we might only do a warmorama on this fine gloom. As much as YHC might like that, only a fool would do an entire beatdown consisting of warm up exercises…. 🧐

    The Thang: PAX assembled on one end of the court to do the San Antonio Shuffle across. (Looked that one up just for you, Wacker.) I suppose it’d be a Semi-San Antonio Shuffle, though, as the real deal calls for a plank jack somewhere in there, and does not include a broad jump. PAX instead did left leg lunge, right leg lunge, burpee, broad jump. Rinse & Repeat for length of court and back. Next up, bear crawl to half court and back, then slow-mosey over to the pull up bars for…

    Set of 7’s: 6 pull ups to 1 merkin. Then 15x hanging knees to chest. As the PAX noted, this was going to severely limit our chances of performing the ISI challenge.

    Next, mosey to the trace until we hit Marigny, for a quick leg COP: 15x IC groiners, 15x IC jump squats, 15x IC monkey humpers.

    Onward to Grandma’s House for a quick use of the stairs: partner up, partner 1 holds a people’s chair while doing air presses, partner 2 runs up to do 2x merkins. Flapjack, and once it’s back to partner 2, add 2x merkins. Up to 10x merkins for each partner. T-claps to the older couple that gets out there (seemingly) each morning at 0500 and doesn’t mind sharing the stairs with the sweaty pax.

    Hit the benches next for Bulgarian Split Squats, each leg 15x IC. Freak Nasties 10x IC. Then knee-ups, each leg 15x IC.

    Mosey back to the Marsh in time for an Ei favorite, the Jane Fonda’s. Left leg 15x IC, held it up for quick pulses 15x IC, then heel-to-knee 15x IC. Other leg and time was up.

    Countdown, announcements, and Shooter prayed us out with special intentions for the victims of the Esplanade crash yesterday.

    The pax being the pax, the regular beatdown wasn’t enough and so we all moseyed back to the pull-up bars to complete the ISI challenge. Even Jose, who had already completed his before the beatdown (of course he had!), took part.

    T-claps to Jose not only for the double ISI, but also for making the most of his week off by posting at the Marsh. And T-claps to Bushwacker for both the delicious treats, and for getting Jose to commit to his VQ on April 16th. Take a page from the Wacker and spread that leadership love, gentlemen. It’s definitely a big part of what makes F3 special to me. Thanks for following me on this chilly morning, Mondays at the Marsh with you men are hands down the best way to start a week.

  • Full Effort Is Full Victory

    We cranked up the morning with a 2 mile run. Tanked Up shared a quote from a book he had on his shelf. The quote stressed when we work our butt off in the streets of Mandeville, or wherever you may be, the satisfaction of that workout lies in the “effort” you give. Full effort is Full victory. Something tells me most of us gave full effort this glorious morning.


    Warmup–SSH, windmills, arm circles, flutter kicks, low ssh,

    The Thang–

    Ab work- circle up in a plank position. Rotate right,stop, merkins, rotate merkins, rotate merkins. Let’s throw in Peter Parkers, Parker Peters and some Up/Downs.. Tanked Up challenged Brother Martin nemesis , Turbo and soccer pal, Jose 10k to some face to face up/downs. Raider Pride.😁

    20 minute challenge-4 exercises merkins, crunches, ssh, squats, 25 reps then run 300 yards. Repeat for 20 minutes.. Zoolander decided to come out guns blazing!

    To the sea wall– 2 exercises by the wall. Derkins Burpees 5,4,3,2,1 reps followed by ascending order 1,2,3,4,5

    Over to the flag for more AB work led by Bushwacker, could not tell you the exercises due to fatigue!

    Circle up for close out. Prayer led by Steve! Coffee and cake for one of the older men in the club.

    Enjoyed the morning with some of the best of the northshore..

  • Pre-thang, Shme-thang

    As the clock runs out on February, YHC happily bids adieu to RRR and all pre-thangs associated with it. With only a day left, the Gipper’s 1 mile run wasn’t terrible, but some secret, John-Hancock-related activity beforehand did leave us a bit behind schedule and, at 0601, we were rightfully greeted back at the flag with a, “Nice of you men to show up.”

    In an attempt to retroactively ‘respect the time,’ YHC took it upon himself (myself? this YHC thing continues to confuse me…) to pack in as much into the remaining 44 minutes as possible. That said, we quickly jumped into…

    Warmorama: Abe Vigodas, Good Mornings, ISW’s, all 10x IC, 20 OYO merkins, and SSH 25x IC.

    The Thang: Then a quick mosey over to the back of the courthouse for an AMRAP routine: 10x merkins, 10x freak nasties, up the stairs, 10x groiners, then run the perimeter of the courthouse parking lot to the start to begin again. About 10 mins later, onto the second portion of today’s thang…

    The Bruce Lee. YHC has never seen Bruce Lee’s most famous movie, Enter The Dragon, but I have seen The Way of the Dragon, which features an epic fight between Bruce and a young Chuck Norris, with Rome as the backdrop and a small kitten as the sole spectator. There’s a lot to love in this fight sequence, including a weirdly prolonged moment of both men removing their shirts, a moment where Bruce rips out a handful of Chuck’s chest hair, and some crazy push-ins on the aforementioned cat. Oh, and there’s also some of the best martial arts in there as well. Anyhow, Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris never met Turbo Tax, so to call this one of the best fights ever may be a tad premature. But it’s pretty good nonetheless.

    So the Bruce Lee. Wacker introduced us to this a while back and, as YHC wanted nothing to do with legs, core seemed like the only decent substitute. 10x IC of Putins, Leg Raises, LBC’s, Heel Touches, Crunchy Frogs, and 100’s. 30 seconds rest between sets, we went 4 rounds.

    Mosey up the parking garage to do the fastest Burp-back Mountain on record. Partner up, partner 1 backpedaling the ramp and jogging back down, while partner 2 starts on the cumulative burpees until they reach 50x.

    Back to the flag right in time for countoff, announcement of Tanked Up’s upcoming birthday, and Ringo prayed us out. Thank you men for following my lead and helping to make us all better and stronger!

  • Krewe of F3!

    Is Mardi Gras the world’s longest-running, largest, free, annual, outdoor celebration? I’ll let the PAX chew on that for a while. In the meantime, there was no celebrating yet at the Mandeville City Hall Scramble as it was business as usual for the veteran PAX of F3 Northshore. Word has it there will be a Birthday Bash worthy of RESPECT, RESPECT on the Lakefront Saturday morning. For those looking for a good beatdown before heading out to the parades, be sure to post on the Mandeville Lakefront on Saturday to find out what’s in store! But back to the task at hand:

    YHC led the PAX through a brief warmup consisting of SSHs, HKs, BKs, WMs, and GMs, before departing for the weekly 5K jaunt on the traditional route through Old Mandeville and Sunset Point.

    Back at the Ranch, aka, the AO, we finished up with Merkins x 40 OYO, Flutter Kicks X 20 IC, Hello Dollies x 20 IC, and Imperial Walkers Squats x 20 IC.

    Nameorama, Countoff, and COT. Thanks to Coconuts for praying us out into the day!

    Moleskin: Best of luck and Best Wishes to Ringo who departs our company for a short time to the beaches of Florida’s panhandle.

    As always, thanks, men for inspiring me to try to become the best version of myself today and everyday. And, as was mentioned on the most recent episode of F3’s 43 feet podcast, thanks for helping me to increase my mental and physical toughness over the past 14 months. As a group, we are stronger than any one individual by influencing and inspiring one another and constantly pushing one another.

  • Running Interference

    YHC woke to the sound of rain, knowing he may have to adjust the planned Beatdown a little. A lot of uphill/downhill sprints were originally planned, but we all know how slippery the tunnel of love gets when wet.

    YHC arrived a little earlier than usual for the Q, but surprisingly, half the PAX was already there. Shooter already drenched in sweat from his run from home. All arrived, 5:15am came, so off we went…

    WarmOrama: Good Mornings, Windmills, Toe Touches, Imperial Walkers

    PAX moseyed to “The Love Tunnel”: Along the way there was concern that a band of rain was on the way. At Grandma’s, there is a covered area to perform exercises, but we took our chances.

    PAX separated into 2 groups of 3. Almost forgetting, YHC gave disclaimer. While group 2 did Freddy Mercurys, Group 1 jogged down the slope of the tunnel, ran at about 80% on the flat, then ran at 100% up the other side, then did the same on the way back. The groups flapjacked. Rinse and repeat; We did a 2nd round, doing squats in place of Freddy Mercurys.

    PAX moseyed to “Interference” bar and Saia’s parking lot, a new venue for the PAX.

    A variation of a routine borrowed from Maverick:

    Pax separated into two groups, and started catercorner to each other across the parking lot. PAX performed 25 reps of a different exercise at each corner of the parking, running from corner to corner: Burpees, Merkins, LBC’s, Lunges. Rinse and repeat for 2 rounds.

    Next, PAX moseyed back to the Farmer’s Market area. As we ran through Wendy’s Drive-Thru, some of the PAX mentioned their favorite Wendy’s meals, like the “Double Stacks;” however, Pelican said that he favors Jack in the Box, going into detail about their tacos…If only Wendy’s were open…

    Arriving at the Farmer’s Market area with only 10 minutes remaing, YHC called for a modified(shortened) version of Dora 1,2,3. Teams of 2 PAX working together to reach cumulative exercise goals of 50 Merkins, 100 Freddy Mercurys, and 150 Squats. PAX 1 executed as many reps as possible while PAX 2 back-peddled about 20 yards down and sprinted back, flapjacking until the team goal was reached.
    PAX finished at exactly the 6:00 buzzer.

    We did circle of trust, and CountOnameO. Thank you Steve for praying us out, thanks Guys for the opportunity to lead…and thank you God for holding up on the rain.

    As PAX dispersed, Bushwacker shared that he knows its a good Beatdown, when he feels a litttle anger towards the Q….

  • The Grundy-mobile

    The PAX knew something was up when YHC walked up to the flag from the backside. When asked about the reason for the strange entrance, a simple “you’ll find out” would suffice.

    With the PAX aware of something looming, we began to warmup.

    • 30 Seal Jacks IC
    • 10 Forward Lunges IC
    • 10 Merkins OYO
    • Shoulder warmup series

    THE THANG

    Unaware of what the Q had in store, the PAX began moseying down the trace toward the tunnel of love with the men almost anticipating something to jump out at them. As we were approaching the final intersection of the trace before the tunnel of love, an object started to come into view… A shadowy object that was first identified by Coconuts… It was the Grundy-mobile!!!

    The Grundy-Mobile with my girlfriend Sandy

    It was only then that the PAX fully realized what I had in store. It was where the Q left his girlfriend Sandy… Don’t be rude guys, she’s a little self conscious because she put on at least 10 pounds since you saw her last. I don’t mind. It’s just more to love.

    After we picked her up, we finished our Mosey to the Tunnel for the main event.

    • Tunnel of Love in the Tunnel of Love. The PAX lined up in a plank and pulled Sandy up the ramp through the plank tunnel. When a PAX finished pulling her through they would get up and go to the front of the line. Rinse and repeat with the opposite arm.
    • Next the PAX did a core exercise while one PAX took Sandy and backpedalled the ramp and ran back. Rinsed and repeat until everyone had gone. Core exercises included: LBCs, flutter kicks, leg raises, hello dolly’s, plank, plank left, and plank right.

    After completing that we went back to the bus stop to finish up (dropping off Sandy at the Grundy-mobile on the way back).

    We finished with what Steve appropriately called crazy eights. It basically is 11’s but with 8 instead of 11. The only difference is the distance between the two points. Point A was the bus stop and point B was the top of the trailhead stairs under the American Flag. Bushwacker said he didn’t want to play anymore. I don’t blame him.

    The two exercises were freak nasties and sister mary katherines. We went until the time expired.

    Circled up at the flag where we went through the typical F3 closing ceremonies and Ringo closed us out.

    It was an honor to lead you gentlemen. Until next time.

    Grundy and Sandy

  • 50 Shades of Pain -or- A Wing and a Prayer

    My F3 name was changed for the day. Today Bushwacker was called Robin…because QIC was wingin’ it!

    There’s something about the Marsh that quietly brings the pain. If you’ve ever posted there, you kinda get YHC’s meaning. And so, quietly, we began…

    WARM UP

    15xs IC:

    Toe Touches

    Air Presses

    Torso Twists

    Wind Mills

    High Knees

    Imperial Walkers (I thin)

    THANG

    The PAX ran to the seawall, stopping at each intersection to do 50xs OYO:

    Merkins

    SSH

    Squats

    Freak Nasties

    Step Ups

    Mosied to Rips for:

    Freddy Mercuries/LBCs while each man ran up the stairs, did 10 squats/SSH, then down and back up for 10 more Squats/SSH

    We returned down Marigny with 50xs OYO:

    High Knees

    Planks Jacks

    some other exercises

    ans 25 Burpees!

    COT

    With The Pelican’s theory of the blessed good fortune of Judas Iscariot still on my mind (if he ever posts on a saturday you can ask him), he prayed us out to greet the day before us.

    Thanks, guys, for being the wind beneath my wings!



  • What the Bleep

    What the Bleep

    CONDITIONS

    Weather.com predicted a 100% chance of rain, but the conditions are always cozy in the “Hall of Justice” parking structure. #ThanksParishTaxPayers

    DISCLAIMER

    YHC forgot the disclaimer. I don’t remember any major injuries, so I think it’s a “no harm, no foul” situation. #Don’tSueMyMalpracticeInsuranceHasLapsed

    THE WARM UP

    All exercises done IC, or in cadence-ish. YHC’s counts were so far off, it was a miracle the assembled PAX didn’t disband then and there.

    • Split jacks X15
    • Toe touches X10
    • Abe Vigodas X10
    • Ray Finkles X10
    • Steve Earles Copper head squat finished with hill billy X 10

    THE THANG PART 1: Bleeping beep test


    After warming-up the PAX moseyed to the parking garage at the “Hall of Justice.” Lo, and behold, the magical, beatdown elves had already set up cones precisely 20 meters apart, so it was only natural for the PAX to test themselves against that grueling, gym class, fitness benchmark: the beep test, a.k.a the bleep test a.k.a the multi-stage fitness test, or in F3 lingo, Highlander.

    9 PAX lined up and started running, as the sadistic, electronic tones of the test app, beeped faster and faster. The PAX did fantastic and displayed the fitness levels and VO2 maxes of a bunch of doped up Lance Armstrongs. Whenever a PAX bowed out of the beep test, they kept getting stronger by doing sequences of merkins, squats and LBC’s.
    TClaps to Turbo who was the last bleeping man standing after the rounds of the test had progressed well into double-digits.

    We all know, Turbo could have kept racing the beeps all morning, but he threw in the towel to give the PAX a break from doing Merkins.

    THE THANG PART 2: Play that funky music till you die

    Since the speaker was already set up for the beep test, PAX hung around for three consecutive music driven workout routines.

    • “Bodies” by Drowning Pool 3:21 – Plank through song with donkey kicks and merkins mixed in
    • “Baba O’Riley” by the Who 5:00 – Imperial Walkers for what feels like a lifetime
    • “Tubthumping” by Chumbawumba 3:33 – SSH plus 27 burpees
    Rumor has it that Einstien sure plays a mean, pin ball.

    MOLESKIN

    Well done, F3 bros. Props to Bushwhacker for helping the PAX to clean up the parking garage, because our brother knows that “every day is earth day.” #CaptainCore.

    CountORama, NameORama, and COT

    YHC prayed us out.

    Thanks F3-bros, for the fellowship, the beatdowns and for being willing to follow my lead.

  • Welcoming a Substitute at the Scramble!!

    With fellow F3 brethren arriving equipped and ready to roll. YHC made it known that there would be a substitute teacher today. Ringo would be absent from class today and the Q was called upon to fill in on this mild and foggy Gloom too bring the PAX along this journey of learning.. So since we are always learning, YHC chose warmup exercises not to commonly used from the list provided in the Exicon…

    Warmup

    Toe Touches IC 10, Tabby Taps IC 10, Mantees, Annie IC 20 and Failure to Launch 5..

    Thang

    With 10 min to spare, Q decided to close the PAX out with some Restorative YOGA 🤔!! Oh yeah, the Substitute today was taking a pause from the normal tightening of muscles choosing to loosen instead.. Felt like the PAX welcomed the change of pace..

    Count, announce, COT

    Q prayed us out..

    Appreciate the PAX for following my lead and till the next Gloom 👍🏻👊🏻✌🏻!!

  • Bear Crawl To Rips???

    Four PAX took the DRP (Daily Red Pill) and joined YHC at the Milestone Marsh For the first beatdown of the week yesterday. Yes, I’ve been listening to F3’s 43 feet podcast and this week’s episode was about the Daily Red Pill, which outlines a man’s first steps to getting right, or to accelerate fitness. Makes me wonder what’s wrong with me cuz I still aint right.

    YHC led the PAX through a brief warm up consisting of the following exercises (all IC x 10):

    Windmills, Imperial Walkers, High Knees, Butt Kicks, Arm Circles (forward and reverse), and Torso Twists.

    Thang:

    The theme of today’s beatdown was that the PAX would execute Bear Crawls instead of Moseying. The only exception was when we moseyed to and from the Lakefront.

    Bear Crawl to workout equipment:

    PAX does AMRAP timed set of merkins x 5 and pullups x 2 , alternating back and forth for 2 minutes.

    Next up, hang from overhead bars for 20 Leg Tucks OYO. Last, it was 5 jumping pullups. Bear Crawl out to the street.

    With Heart Rates near capacity, it was time for our only Mosey in the traditional sense–jog to the Lakefront.

    Wasting no time, the PAX quickly assembled on the Lakefront before we Bear Crawled to the seawall–20 Freak Nasties, 10 alternating step ups.

    Next the assembled PAX encountered the Bear himself…Bear Crawl to Rips!

    With Shoulders Burning and the collective posture of the PAX hunched over, each man worked through some up and overs at Rips, while the remaining group did 2 exercises: Rocky Balboas first, then, Squats.

    With 7 minutes to spare before the closing bell, it was time for a traditional Mosey back to the Milestone Marsh for some Mary: Freddy Mercuries X 25 IC.

    Thanks, Men of the Marsh, for following my lead (on all 4s)…Thanks for the camaraderie and for inspiring me to take the DRP more often than not over the last 13 months.

    Nameorama, COT. Thanks for Captain Core for praying us out!

    Pik