F3 New Orleans

Category: Northshore

  • Ocho is the loneliest number, and other Holiday musings

    Pax arrived at the predetermined place and time. Ocho must have thought the workout begins at ocho o’clock-o or something. After a couple minutes courtesy wait, the pax, sans Ocho, departed city hall on a new, mysterious and exploratory route into the gloom.

    No silly stuff today, just a good ole fashion run. We ran the usual Fancy House Loop (FHL) and added the larger loop just east of FHL consisting of North Street, East Street, South Street, and West Street. After completing both FHL and N-E-S-W Loop, the pax proceed back to Massena Street for the mosey back to the barn when…

    …what to our wondering eyes did appear but…

    …a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.  Well, it wan’t really a sleigh, and it wasn’t really eight tiny reindeer, but it was Ocho, which is spanish for 8, and, if Ocho had all his sibligs with him, it would have been 8 people who looked tiny, since he was a couple hundred yards away and as a result appeared small in the distance.  Look, it’s not a Christmas carol, but it’s the best I can do in July.

    Jog back to city hall, YHC and Shooter picked it up to the finish.  Then to playground for:

    • Pikes with feet in swings x 10 IC
    • Hanging pikes x 10

     

    • Flutter x 10 IC
    • Rosalita x 10 IC
    • Hola Dolly x 10 IC
    • Freddy Merc’s x 10 IC
    • Rinse and repeat above x 5 IC
    • Rinse and repeat above x 3 IC

     

    • Shoulder taps x 31 IC

    Countorama, Namorama, Prayerorama.  Peace out.

    Kudos for Ocho for running the usual route SOLO all the while likely wondering where the hell the pax was.  Tclaps to Turtle for hanging in there on the run.  It only gets easier brother.

    Ei

  • Mr. “T” at the Gipper

    Mr. “T” at the Gipper? Say it ain’t so. “I pity the fool who shows up to the Gipper not expecting to get a good beat down and leave sweating and taxed!” 8 PAX members converged on the Covington trailhead this Gloom to take on YHC and the letter “T”

    warmarama

    20 IC Butt kicks

    20 IC Knee highs

    20 IC Wind mills

    15 IC Arm circles (Front, back, upward/inward, upward/outward)

    the thang

    Moseyed to the old school yard to circle around Ole glory for the first “T” Triple check (Modified to Quad check this Gloom) split into 2 teams. One PAX  holds air chair, another planks, another does Merkins while the last member  makes 2 laps up and down the stairs and around the flag pole replacing each PAX until everyone experienced each station of work. Moseyed to the parking garage for the second “T” Triple Nickle 5/5/5 First group at top     working core while the bottom working endurance. Top (Thanks for the modify Grundy) (IC 5MC5PeterP5ParkerP5LlankJ5ShoulderT)     Bottom (IC 5SSH5IW5SealJ5ToeT5Knee jumps) Sprints in between up and down ramp. RR 5x. Top PAX group (overachievers) turned it into a race and finished early so the YHC sent them on a lagniappe Mosey around the parking garage while the rest of the PAX completed.. This crew strives for more every workout (love it).. Moseyed to the court house for third “T” of the Gloom “The Coo” (modified to half because of time) started by the benches with 5 Burpees, 5 Squats, 5 Merkins sprint up the stairs catching each one of course to the top and descended order 4,3,2,1 (great pace Turbo) The  YHC realizing we had time remaining challenged the PAX to RR at which of course they obliged. Moseyed back to the flag for announcements, count o Rama, COT.

    Great job Gipper PAX!! (Stronger each time)

     

     

  • For Lt Col Raymond G Davis

    Ten PAX gathered in the plank position to dedicate this morning’s beatdown to Lt Col Raymond G Davis, USMC.  A Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Lt Col Davis served in the Korean conflict.  The entire citation is worth reading, and YHC did exactly that to the planking PAX.  An excerpt to give you a feel of this man’s leadership and courage under fire:  “When the battalion encountered strong opposition from entrenched enemy forces commanding high ground in the path of the advance, he promptly spearheaded his unit in a fierce attack up the steep, ice-covered slopes in the face of withering fire and, personally leading the assault groups in a hand-to-hand encounter, drove the hostile troops from their positions, rested his men, and reconnoitered the area under enemy fire to determine the best route for continuing the mission (to relieve a beleaguered rifle company).  Always in the thick of the fighting Lt Col Davis led his battalion over 3 successive ridges in the deep snow in continuous attacks against the enemy and, constantly inspiring and encouraging his men throughout the night, brought his unit to a point within 1,500 yards of the surrounded rifle company by daybreak.  Although knocked to the ground when a shell fragment struck his helmet and 2 bullets pierced his clothing, he arose and fought his way forward at the head of his men until he reached the isolated marines.”

    10 Merkins in cadence from the plank position after the dedication and then the PAX moseyed down the Lakefront for the next COP:

    Seal Jacks, Plank Jacks, IWs, Crab Cakes, OH Hand Claps, Mountain Climbers, Butt Kicks, Shoulder Taps, High Knees, Lateral Lunges, Torso Twists, all 20X IC with the exception of the Lateral Lunges and Torso Twists which were 10x IC.  Collapsing circle to a PAX fist bump between exercises.

    Mosey across the street for a 20 year Bear Crawl to the starting point for an Indian Run.

    Indian Run down Lamarque Street to the playground.  Our mission was to stay together as a PAX which we did successfully by adjusting our pace as needed.  No man left behind, plenty of quality sprints, and some agility work as well, i.e. prime times, back pedals, lateral bounces, carioca.

    Halt at the playground where we used the basketball court to play four rounds of Sharks & Minnows.  Lots of short sprints, accelerations, decelerations, and changes of direction in the context of a game.  Funny how a sprint is much easier when you are being chased.  Short breaks between games to hit 2 sets of 10 burpees OYO, 1 set of knee highs 10x IC, and 1 dead hang pullup with a pause a the top every 15 seconds for three minutes.

    Indian Run back to the shovel flag, again with the mission to stay together adjusting pace as needed.

    Countorama, nameorama, and The Manny prayed us out.  Coffeeteria at the Beach House.

    Welcome FNGs Night Train and Rainbow Unicorn.  Good to have you in the PAX.

    T-claps to Butt Splice for posting then heading over with Cpt Sparkles for the Mandeville Battle Race.

  • The Walls of Jericho

    This morning the PAX embarked on a journey inspired by the days of yore. It was an ambitious attempt which ultimately wasn’t entirely successful, but every man who showed up came out a little bit stronger by the end. And that is what F3 is all about.

    Disclaimer issued for what I knew was coming and it was time to get rolling.

    Warmup:

    20 SSH IC

    1 Burpee

    No time for a long warmup so off we ran to the parking garage for our one and only item we would be doing this morning.

     

    The Thang:

    The Walls of Jericho:

    This exercise was one meant to bring fear into the hearts of those facing it. It derives it’s creation from the story of the Israelites  and the city of Jericho. In the story the Israelites overcame the mighty walls of Jericho by walking around it 7 days. On the 7th day the walls came crashing down. The challenge was this: 7 exercises done7 times and finished by one lap around the garage. The goal is to make it around the garage 7 times.

    The 7 exercises were:

    1. Depth Charges (a 4 count squat finished with a jump at the end)
    2. 25 foot sprints
    3. Hurpees (Hand release Burpees)
    4. Lt. Dans up the ramp
    5. 15 foot bear crawls
    6. Merkins
    7. Dr. W’s

     

    The PAX gave it all they had (and often highlighted the forgetfulness of the Q to ensure the maximum downpainment was achieved. You can thank Steve and Shooter for those extra bear crawls in round 2) but only 4 trips around the wall were completed. So to quote Einstein “The Walls of Jericho are still standing.” But one thing is sure, the walls will be torn down by our group soon enough. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, F3 PAX tear down this wall!!! Victory will be ours.

     

    Moseyed back to the flag for our normal ending procedures and had the great pleasure of welcoming Sgt. Guns to our group!!!

    Thank every one of you for letting me lead. It is and always will be an honor.

     

  • Humid Heavy Scramble #1

    This July Gloom would be known as the Humid Heavy #1!! 6 PAX embarked on the Mandeville city hall for a morning of saturation from perspiration. We started with a Mosey to the routine stretch point across the East Causeway approach to the Community center. Leg scissors one way and lunge twist back. We started the lesson Moseying for 3 min followed by 20 second all out sprints at 100%. RR the whole journey which turned out to be 7 sprints based on our pace. The YHC goal for the PAX is to at least get 10 so we will modify the time next week possible 2 min then followed with the 20 sec burst. All PAX were drenched upon return so we stretched it out, announcements, circle of trust.

  • Hot Box

    Following a 2 mile pre-workout by about 1/2 of the pax,

    15 pax met on the lakefront for the regular Saturday morning shenanigans

    The thang:

    Mosey west for Warm up:

    SSH, IW, MT climb x 20 IC

    Scorpion kicks, merkins x 10 IC

    J Fondas x 15 IC each side

    Mosey further west:

    Circle up for ball toss and catch with 10# Rx ball: Pax holds plank in cirles, one pax runs to the center and tosses it up, while next guy sprints to the center to catch it.

    Caterpillar run tossing 10# Rx ball down the line, guy at the end sprints to the front with ball

    Circle up at end of lakefront: 10 burpees, 20 slow squats, 10 burpees, 20 slow squats

    Mosey East:

    Frisbee toss drill: divide up into 4 lines, 2 facing each other approx 20 yds away, toss frisbee to  guy in front of opposing line and run to the back of the opposing line.

    Mosey a little further east (back towards shovel flag): divide up into 4 teams for 2 simultaneous games of ‘hot box’ a 1/2 court version of ultimate Frisbee in which team scores by catching disc in the 6X6 box made by cones. With no out of bounds and make-it-take it rule in place this led to some serious endurance work. 1st team to 5 pts wins.

    with just a few minutes remaining, QIC called an audible and switched to a quick game of double hot box, Basically  ultimate frisbee with tiny endzones, 1st score wins.

    Long Mosey Back to shovel flag for COT.

    Welcome FNGs: Lonase, Red Beard, and Turtle

    Thanks guys for being open to some new ‘games’ it went pretty smooth despite most of the pax never having played ultimate frisbee before.

    Announcements: 4th of July run in Covington with pie eating, kid’s fun run etc, bring the family, no tuesday workout at the trailhead.

    Also please lift Toots up in prayer this week as his wife, Amber, after a long battle with cancer went to be with the Lord.

    Have a safe and Happy 4th,

     

    Chewy

     

  • Scramble (Week #6)

    6  Northshore PAX converged on the Mandeville city hall for the final week of “The Chewy Challenge!” With the PAX in agreement we have decided to mix up the routine of a 3.2 mile run with some sprint action (5 series of 400 meters) to raise that heart rate for a great cardio boost.

    The thang

    Moseyed across the East Causeway approach to the community center for a little stretch. Proceeded down south toward Sunset point incorporating the 400 meter sprints 5x by the point of return to the City hall. Seabass had a great observation that each PAX member seemed to take the lead on one of the sprints,  which shows the strength of the PAX is emerging and where some may have been weak are surly getting stronger.  With 10 min to spare upon return we stretched it out, circled up for count and namarama, prayed out and beat the downpour..

  • The Gipper

    I am sure every Q has experienced the moment when he thought for sure the beat down they were providing would cause a tapout of some sort right? Well once again as your YHC leading the Gipper crew quickly realized that would not be the case on this wonderful Gloom!!

    warmarama

    20 IC SS

    25 IC IW

    15 IC WM

    20 IC TT

    the thang

    Moseyed over to the old school for our first adventure called the Dirty dozen. This consisted of 12 Merks, 12 Squats, 12 mountain climbers followed by a run around the building. 4x RR. Q quickly determined the over achievers (Backdraft and Blackbird) great job guys!! Modify however does not mean lapping your Q :), thanks for exposing where I need to get better :(!! When done moseyed to the justice center. Upon arrival YHC decided to split the PAX  and get in some Burpees so we back pedal sprinted up the ramp halfway turning to a full on sprint to second level where we completed 5 burpees each then RR to the top.  (Total 80 Burpees)  At the top we embarked on the Four Corners routine. First corner real man Merks 10, 2nd corner 20 lunges, 3rd corner 30 squats and 4th corner 40 SMK (Sister Mary Katherine) and then we  descended the order in reverse. When complete we headed back to finish with 25 full extension sit-ups. Announcements/prayer.

    Great job PAX!!

  • Two is the loneliest number……

    A whopping two PAX posted to the still emerging Abita Springs AO.  Though turnout has been mixed, this is a really great AO with tons of equipment an miscellany to use as props.  There’s even a hill….well kind of slight grade running down towards the river, but for Louisiana, we’ll count it.

    Warmup

    • 3 laps around playground loop (~0.6 mile)
    • Imperial Walkers x 20 IC
    • Slow Squats x 15 IC

    Main Event

    • Lunge walk –> Sprints to Gazebo / Skip for Height back (x2)
    • Lunge walk –> Sprints to Gazebo / “Bounding” back (x1)
    • Incline Merkins x 15 IC
    • Freak Nasties x 15 IC
    • Bench Step-ups x 15 IC
    • Repeat sequence counting down by x5
    • Shuttle Runs

  • It’s All Fun and Games before the Big Event

    Seven PAX met in the soggy yet sunny gloom this morning under the Gipper’s watchful gaze to make themselves better.  With an eye towards this weekend’s Grow Ruck 03 festivities, the PAX focused on agility and explosiveness, keeping it relatively light overall.

    The Warmup:

    SSHs, squats, good mornings, lateral lunges, front to back lunges, Merkins, and torso twists, all IC 10x for the lateral lunges and torso twists and 20x for the rest.

    Mosey to the Justice Center for some more dynamic warmup exercises:

    Working down the lane, the PAX got in some toe walk forward arm circles, reverse toe walk with reverse arm circles, skips, backpedals, cariocas, lateral bounces, lunge and reaches, dynamic quad stretches, and dynamic hamstring stretches.  Then the PAX executed increasing intensity runs down the lane starting at 65% and progressing to 75%, 85%, 95%, and finally 100%.  10 count and then…

    The Thang:

    Working with four cones set roughly 10 yards apart down the lane, the PAX executed a lateral shuffle shuttle (shuffle from the first to the second cone, return to the first, shuffle to the third cone, return to the first, then shuffle to the fourth cone, return to the first).  Next up was a sprint/backpedal using the same sequence.  Rinse and repeat for two complete sets.

    Short recovery walk and after a brief set up the PAX played a passing game that YHC remembers from his soccer days.  Five cones demarcate a rough circle.  The PAX counts off, begins moving within the circle, and then using a lacrosse ball #1 bounce passes to #2, #2 to #3, etc.  Every missed pass results in an exercise for the whole PAX.  Then we count off again and start and of course the order of passes will change as a result of the count.  Once we mastered the first level, we added a level of difficulty.  First, you have to exit the circle after passing by running around a cone before you can receive your next pass, using a different cone each time.  Second, you have to add a SSH every time you exit the circle around a cone.  Finally, you have to execute a clap Merkin every time you exit the circle around a cone.  The possibilities are endless, but our efforts ended with clap Merkins this morning.  As for the exercises performed within the game, we hit vertical jumps, seal jacks, SSHs, clap Merkins, star jumps, split jumps, plank jacks, forward and reverse hops, and lateral hops.  Fun stuff.

    4 position planks to close things out:  back plank, T stand planks each side, and regular front plank…45 seconds each.

    Mosey back to the Gipper for countorama, nameorama, announcements and Einstein prayed us out.  Shooter has the Q next Wednesday.

    Moleskin

    Welcome Captain Sparkles to the Gipper.  Glad to have you.

    Convergence this Saturday, June 10th, 0800-0900 Audubon Park.  You do not want to miss this beatdown which will be lead by OBT and DREDD, F3’s Founding Fathers.  We will be joining F3 NOLA and F3 Houston.