F3 New Orleans

Category: Backblasts

  • Terrain Race Motheusceship Q on the fly. Exit thru the gift shop.

    Tanner graciously offered to Q the Terrain Race Saturday beatdown at City Park then graciously stayed in bed once I offered to Q. It was my Mothership/ Muscleship VQ.

    7 men opted out of the terrain race and assembled near NOMA for a Saturday morning beatdown. Q eyed the group and deeming them runners all took off for the grass across from the Peristyle cause I am a Mothership man.

    Circled up Warmed up

    Prolly did SSH, GG, PP, PP, MC, AC forward and reverse, Merks,

    Decided to do some travelling BLIMPS with burpees starting at 10 and each following exercise increasing by 10. We meandered throughout City Park with random stops to do the L, I, M, P, S etc.

    After the first set of lunges I was talking smack to Rudy and Douille whence I prompty tweaked my back which hurts to this day FYI.

    Hit the baby foundry and did some excercises in 3 groups. Pullups, Decline Merks and Dips?

    Made our way to the front of the Childrens Museum and did some peoples choice mary. I promised each PAX would get to pick ONE thing from the gift shop. Rudy threw a tantrum over a $65 stuffed unicorn so all bets were off. Nobody gets anything!

    Rinsed and repeated at some point on the traveling blimps show. Just picked random spots to bang out another letter.

    With 8 minutes left we made a quick lap around the pond to finish up in front of NOMA.

    Pretty sure we finished up with a solid 3+ miles for the day.

    COT. Thanks for letting me lead.

  • Gentle prodding

    16 guys assembled in the gloom a month back. Yankee reminded me this morning about how backblasts are one of the tenets of F3. Like no burpees on monday.

    • The Warmup
    • Mosey to grass in front of zoo
    • SSHX?
    • Arm circles forward and reverse.
    • On yo’ face for PP, MC, PP and Merks
    • Grass grabbers
    • Wind mills

    The Thang

    Mosey to Audubon statue where we assemble for BLIMPS with a loop out to Magazine between exercises. Start with 10 burpees and go bu tens from there.

    Mary

    Pretty sure we ended with some Circle of Mary

    Back to the flag, COT. Thanks for letting me lead.

  • Gabby, Come Home

    Fall after Day Light Savings Time is glorious.  So git at it.

    Warm Up

    • SSHs 20xIC
    • Low Slow Squats 20xIC
    • Squat Pulses 10xIC (where are you, Shorty?)
    • Imperial Walkers 20xIC
    • Mountain Climbers 20xIC
    • Self Love OYO

    COP1:

    • Halo right 10xIC
    • Halo left 10xIC
    • Triceps 15xIC
    • Curls 20xIC
    • Suitcase lift right 15xIC
    • Suitcase lift left 15xIC
    • Kettle bell swings 25 OYO
    • Goblet swats 20xIC

    Even though Carrollton Soccer has finished up for the season, the PAX needs to respect the pitch: all those Latin Americans who know what they’re doing shouldn’t have to dodge holes in the field…  So the PAX moseyed to behind the goal for some egg tossing.  Bear-crawl to the other end of the field, while tossing your kettle bell.  Then lunge walk back.

    COP3: Sevens over the hill.  On one side, bench press (2 is 1) from 12 down to 2; on the other side, manmakers from 1 to 6.  Douille planked while the rest of the PAX finished.

    COP4: Where’s Gabby?  In an homage to all that could be right (or wrong) with Open the Gates and other such DownPainments, the PAX pair up for some sharing the love.  Each paid lock their ankles together to do Big Boi situps passing a kettle bells between them.  While one PAX is lifting the Kettle Bell, the other PAX is imitating him without a Kettle Bell.  Do it to a count of 20: decide whether 2 is 1 or not.  And then get shamed for making the wrong choice.

    Circle of Mary:

    • Russian Twists with Kettle Bells: 20xIC
    • Flutter Kicks 20xIC
    • Crunchy Frogs 20xIC

    Countoff, Name-O-Rama and COT.  Give thanks for all.  YHC, JV

  • Delayed Mountain Time

    Apologies for the delay but from way back on Friday at Wolfpack Mountain: Pax took off from the North end of Audubon Park at 0530 headed west along St Charles wrapping back around and ending up at the great circle courtyard for quick warmup:

    – Sidestradlehops; Self Love; Imperial Walkers; Peter Parkers

    Straight away to the mountain-garage – Pax headed up the mountain after some BLIMPS-planation: 5-10-15-20-25 with alternating Bear Crawl and Backward Jog up the parking garage

    – Rinse and Repeat the rest of the way up to the top Some Mary and an extra set of Side Stradlehops during another amazing NOLA sunrise

    Back down the stairs for a set of Dips on the benches Finally mosey back the circle…No not that circle the other circle…Mass confusion was averted as the flock made it back to the flag(less) pole in time for a final round of Bob Dole Tree Hugging and Smurf-Jacks (because why have thighs if you can’t make them burn).

    Counted off 30 strong with 1 FNG: Welcome Bobby Walsh; Just passing through aptly named ‘Layover’ Wrapped up with a thoroughly beatdown ball-o-man and then off to Coffe-teria at PJs

    Thanks for the great work gents!

    -Tubesteak

  • No Time to Waste

    Seven veterans and an FNG rolled into The Gipper AO for an abbreviated beatdown ahead of Thursday evening’s F2 get together at The Tap Room. With no time to waste, the PAX warmed up with 10 reps each IC of SSHs, Merkins, Toe Touches, Mountain Climbers, Seal Jacks, Plank Jacks, Windmills and Peter Parkers.

    The PAX then retrieved cinderblocks from the undisclosed top secret location and got busy with a set of 7s…6 manmakers with a cinderblock followed by 1 set of lateral jumps over the cinderblock with 25 yards of suitcase carries in between, 5 and 2, etc, etc.

    Then it was time for one off cinderblock exercises: 10 reps each of Merkins, Swings, Around the Worlds, Figure 8s, Woodchoppers, Goblet Squats and RDLs with a 25 yard OH cinderblock walk inserted between each exercise.

    A final 25 yard out and back sprint and just when things seemed to be getting started they were over. Countorama, nameorama with our new FNG (TankedUp!’s fully grown 2.0) scoring his nickname Donovan, and a prayer courtesy of Moby Dick to end the festivities on a positive note.

    Thanks for letting me lead, guys, and thanks for the post-beatdown fellowship. It was a fun night.

  • Double Reverse Crunches…Is This Guy Serious?!

    It was a beautiful morning on Lake Pontchartrain, and 17 PAX gathered for a good old fashioned beatdown. I issued the disclaimer, and we headed across the street to the concrete planters along the Lakefront. Once across the street, we circled up for the warmup

    Warmup:

    • 20 side straddle hops
    • 20 plank jacks
    • 10 windmills
    • Self love
    • 15 low slow squats

    The Thang:

    • We sprinted to planter #1, did one burpee, then sprinted back to yellow line
    • We sprinted to planter #2, did two burpees, then sprinted back to yellow line
    • We sprinted to planter #3, did three burpees, then sprinted back to yellow line
    • We sprinted to planter #4, did four burpees, then sprinted back to yellow line
    • We sprinted to planter #5, did five burpees, then sprinted back to yellow line

    Next, we circled back up and did the following:

    • Hand plank for 1 ½ minutes. While planking we did a merkin every time I said “down”
    • Kept legs 6 inches off the ground for 1 ½ minutes. Every time I said “go” we did flutter kicks for 5 seconds
    • 20 Carolina Dry Docks
    • Kept legs 6 inches off the ground for 1 ½ minutes again. This time when I said “go” we would bring our legs toward our chest and do a reverse crunch
    • Box Jump / dip routine on the planter. Started with 7 box jumps / 14 dips, then went to 6 box jumps / 12 dips, etc

    After that, we did another run / burpee routine:

    • We sprinted to planter #5, did five burpees, then sprinted back to yellow line
    • We sprinted to planter #4, did four burpees, then sprinted back to yellow line
    • We sprinted to planter #3, did three burpees, then sprinted back to yellow line
    • We sprinted to planter #2, did two burpees, then sprinted back to yellow line
    • We sprinted to planter #1, did one burpee, then sprinted back to yellow line

    Next, we circled back up and did the following:

    • Mission impossible plank position for 45 seconds. While planking we did a merkin every time I said “up”
    • Did flutter kicks for 45 seconds. Every time I said “stop” we would just hold feet 6 inches above ground
    • 10 Carolina Dry Docks
    • Got on our six, and kept legs close to our chest in the crunch position. Then every time I said “go” we would put our legs out and bring them back to our chest. This is the oft talked about yet rarely attempted double-reverse crunch. Breathtaking
    • Box Jump / dip routine on the planter. Started with 4 box jumps / 8 dips, then went to 3 box jumps / 6 dips, etc

    After that, we headed back to the flag for the count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions & prayer. Thanks for the opportunity to lead, fellas. I always enjoy it

  • Select a (medium-sized) rock!

    Extremely proud of the PAX for joining me at the Gipper this cold morning. Thank you for keeping us accountable and making us better men!

    After a brief warm-up, the PAX gathered around the rock garden. Some men/boys chose a small-sized rock (hate), others chose medium/large-sized rocks (respect). The PAX enjoyed many kettle bell swings, hammer curls, squats, and overhead presses. Arms and shoulders felt nice and toasty, assuming you selected a rock that was appropriately sized.

    We made our way to the top of the parking deck and enjoyed a leisurely routine of either jump squats or burpees for everything three parking spaces. At each space the men would increase reps and at the end of the routine, the cold temperature did a number on our lungs (it burns!!!).

    Kudos to all that could join. Expect a similar workout next time…

  • What in the world!!

    Q arrived to the sights/sounds of Wacker chatter with Steve and Waterpik. This was unexpected as the previous day the Wacker had stated the likeliness of a post was not in his favor. Considering he is embarking on a 50k solo journey to Alabama this weekend, where he will most certainly complete in under 7 hours.. YHC was happy to see the PAX swell to 7 men as 0515 approached and so we got started with our warmup before the journey through Mandeville..

    warmarama

    10IC Good mornings, Imperial walkers, Windmills, Butt kicks, Scorpion kicks and followed with some isolation groin stretch left/right and iso hold cobra style..

    thang

    Q announced to the PAX his vision of incorporating some back pedals and Caricoas along the route. Intentions were to keep the PAX close in proximity along the way. As we approach the Hermitage subdivision and turn to back pedal and shifted to Caricoa we notice a bystander waiting out front for a buddy with boat in tow. One can only imagine the thoughts in which ran through his mind as 7 F3 brethren greet “Good Morning” as they pass through the darkness..
    Holding back as long as he can Wacker decides to break away with his competitive nature to be seen again at the AO.. Hammer and YHC chattered amongst ourselves as Steve, Pik and Akbar pulled the Six for a short period anyway.. We arrived at the pier with the illumination of someone sitting with a computer at the end of the pier and Hammer with his witty movie, song and network programming mentions the series 24!!! Steve you may wanna make a call to your producer for the possibility of a series shot close to home.. Returned to the AO minus 1 as Amnesia decided to catch an extra loop. Took to the ground for 20IC Merkins, 10IC Zoo scissors, 20IC Little Manny crunches, 10IC Right-side Nolan Ryan’s 20IC Mountain climbers and closed with 10IC Left-sided Nolan’s..

    Count, announce, COT

    Q closed the PAX in prayer!

    Grateful to see Waterpik back with the PAX at the Scramble!!

    Thanks for following my lead men and 👍🏻👊🏻💪🏻 till the next Gloom!

  • Is this Heaven? No, it’s Lafreniere Park.

    While perusing the Q list to see who would be leading the beatdowns this week of the AOs I most often attend, I happened to see my name listed. I thought this was odd because I had just Q’ed 2 last week and didn’t remember signing up. I then gazed up to see that I was Q for Popeye’s which is not my regular Wednesday AO. I’ve been out there a few times and enjoy the challenge of a virtual blank slate of opportunities to lead a PAX. I accepted the challenge of Q’ing an unfamiliar locale and brought 2 Lakeview guys with me. 8 PAX joined me at the shovelflag, brought to you courtesy of Fracsac, disclaimer was given, directions were asked by me to the exercise area near W. Napoleon, and off we went.

    Warm up:

    Mosey over to the parking lot directly next to exercise area where we circled up.

    • SSH x 20 IC
    • Windmills x 10 IC
    • Concrete grabbers x 15 IC
    • Arm circles fwd/rev x 10 each direction IC
    • Self love x 10 IC

    Thang #1:

    Tabata is always a tough routine to choose as the Q because you never know how many PAX will be there, odd numbers always make it interesting, and the AO site can make it interesting to select exercises. So naturally we had 9 men total. I was going to initially go solo but I was appropriately convinced to go with 3 groups of 3. I opted to have the groups perform 2 sets of 3 different exercises. (for a total of 6 sets per round). Rinse and repeat x 3 additional rounds with all different exercise combinations.

    • Round 1: Pull ups, 8-count absolution, box jumps/step ups
    • Round 2: Burpess, Al Gore, Jump the snake
    • Round 3: Merkins, Low plank, Rocky Balboas
    • Round 4: Box cutters, Freddy Mercurys, levels

    Thang #2:

    I figured most, if not all, of the PAX had not experienced my son’s previous suggestion for a “game.” So we proceeded to play the F3 version of Red Light/Green Light. As explained in previous backblasts all red light exercises will be static and all green light exercises will be dynamic. Exercises alternate between red light and green light. Timer for each exercise is controlled by randomity timer.

    Red Light exercises:

    • Al Gore
    • High plank
    • L side plank
    • R side plank
    • Low plank
    • Static lunge with L leg in front
    • Static lunge with R leg in front
    • Reverse plank
    • Static calf raise (heretofore renamed Tippy Toes)
    • Static leg hold (level)

    Green Light exercises:

    • Mountain climbers
    • LBCs
    • Merkins
    • Lateral lunges
    • High knees
    • L single leg wife pleasers
    • R single leg wife pleasers
    • Penguins
    • Crunchy frog
    • Freddy Mercury

    20 exercises total, randomity timer set between 15-45 sec. Average time of 30 sec per exercise should take about 10 minutes total for the routine. While toggling between apps on my phone while leading the Q it was only until I was on my way home that I accidentally skipped over one of the side planks and lateral lunges. Sorry guys.

    But it all worked out in the end because at 6:10 we moseyed back to the shovelflag and got back at exactly 6:15. See I knew what I was doing all along. Countoff, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, sweaty ball of man. Can’t wait to come back to Popeye’s for future beatdowns and whoever put me on the list can do so in the future if you are looking for Q’s.

  • Born in the Shadows

    9/16/19 – Mothership

    Another Saturday morning, another Friday Night decision to choose the gloom over old habits.  

    A warm and inviting morning of about 40deg met the pax and everyone loved it. Greetings and disclaimer, mosey to the peristyle for warmups.

    WARMUP

    Mix of arm circles, grass grabbers, squats, round robin merkins (all pax holds plank while each pumps out 10 merkins in succession, complete the circle). 

    THE THANG

    Mosey to the base of Roosevelt Mall. Using the concrete benches – 10 box jumps, run to next, 10 incline merkins, all the way up mall. Plank for 6 at the practice track. 

    Practice Track – Partner up. Catch me if you can, one lap. 
    Keep your partner – double up with another set of pax partners. (we had 10 total pax, evenly split to two lines of 5, do not recommend going over 5) The exercise is Bear Crawl Inch worm. Make two lines in plank position, hands lining up behind feet of pax in front of you.  Pax at rear bear crawls to front of line, holds plank, next pax at rear bear crawls to front, holds plank… keep going. Half the football field. Cause why not. 

    Count to 20 for a breather (quickly). Back to your original partner. 200 squats. Set of 20 while partner holds a tree (Al Gore). 

    Mosey, listen to the mumblechatter, recalibrate, make a democratic decision to take the long way. All will celebrate. Back to the great lawn.  Tclaps to Triple shift who led some mary while six was swept. 

    Great lawn for 11s.  LBCs and Bonnie blairs across the lawn. Finished exactly on time. Mosey to flag, circle up. 

    Thanks to whoever tracked, we ran 3.6 miles with the workout. Tclaps to all. I didn’t exactly intend on it being quite so long… oops. We did some serious work. So for those who completed all the above… Respect. 

    THE NOTE

    A special huge shout out to F3 Kansas City!

    YHC was out in Kansas City for work this week and it’s worth mentioning how re-energizing it is to visit another outfit.  When I reached out, their lead, Blistex, went out of his way to organize with other pax.  Someone went out of their way to give me a ride from the hotel to beatdown, and some one else covered me for the ride back – every morning!  Just awesome that the beatdown means so much and the spirit of F3 would connect people to go so out of their way, for a stranger, to workout on a freezing cold morning, in the gloom. I mean how totally weird, and awesome is that?? I hope we NOLA Pax are representing ourselves and treating our visiting brothers even half as well. 

    Our F3 brothers founded their pax just in April of this year and they are already big enough to be holding steady AO’s 6 days a week.  Their push and their attitude was great to see and a solid reminder of just how needed, beneficial, and empowering F3 nation is. You’re not just showing up for yourself, even though that’s how it starts.  Once your life vest is on and you’re hooked, you’re showing up for the next man. For your neighbor. For some one who needs this just as much as you, but hasn’t started yet. 

    Speaking with one of the KC founders – Tapps (a great example of the F3 spirit) – he talked about how just like when you’re born in the hospital, you don’t get to chose your name, when you’re born in F3 you don’t get to chose your name.  You earn it by showing up and going through the pain of birth (or beatdown) and getting named by your new F3 family. So we are all born in the shadows, in the gloom. That’s the start of the new us, committed to being a little bit better, every day. 

    Thanks for the F3 community. Thanks for letting me lead. Thanks to the gloom.