F3 New Orleans

Category: Backblasts

  • Wait…You Were Serious?! Tales From The Tabata Trio

    So, YHC thought it would be a brilliant idea to run 5 miles to the Marsh this gloom (yes I was serious), which it was. Except for the tragic water bottle to the knee injury, almost being run off the trace by the brightest bicycle light in the world, and the cramping caused by running the entire way with a shovel flag that kept trying to fall apart. All of which became the final nail leading today’s beat down going from an intense feat of athletic stoicism featuring the Marsh’s newest mega coupon, an outrageously enormous tire (which has already been stolen after only 2 weeks and no opportunities to use it) to a casual, mumble-chatter filled , Shooter-less tabata session in which YHC’s perfectly apropos Halloween costume ideas for Akbar and Steve were blown apart by the awesomely anticipated Obi Wan Kenobi and Fat Sweat-Pants-wearing Spiderman costumes, featuing family coordination.

    ANYway…

    WARM O RAMA

    Steve covered the warm up while Q…uh…took care of some… business – returning in time to rock out some Imperial Walkers.

    THANG

    Tabata cycles of 4 sets of 20 seconds of reps with 10 seconds rest in between each set. Exercises included Merkins, LBCs, Lunges, Reverse Lunges, Reverse Crunches, Freddy Mercurys, Scorpion Kicks ans more Imperial Walkers.

    COT

    Count, Name, Akbar prayed us out, and we are certainly blessed. This Halloween be sure to be on the lookout for Akbar and his light saber and Steve with his slice of pizza!

    Gentlemen, thanks for posting and playing a few rounds of “Bushwacker says”. And Steve, thanks for the ride home…looks like I won’t need a knee replacement after all! (yet)

  • ARMY PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST; 9 October 2019

    Ten men of F3 NOLA showed up at Popeyes for the inaugural Army Physical Fitness Test, which will be administered during the first month of each quarter at Popeyes. Three additional PAX (Hobbs, Mambi, and Pai Gow) completed the test on 10/10/19, at the inaugural Pontiff Run-Focused AO.

    WARM-UP

    After the traditional disclaimer, quick warm-up of Arm Circles, Grass Grabbers, and Imperial Walkers (all x10) was completed.

    DA THANG

    PAX paired-off to count for each other and ensure proper form. The results are scored on an age-based standard set by the U.S. Army. The only modification to the test was the requisite ten-minute rest time between events because the men of F3 NOLA are better than that, so we rested for the two minutes between events (while counting for our brothers). The test is completed in the order of push-ups, sit-ups, and 2-mile run.

    Push-ups: Complete as many as possible in two minutes. A push-up is not complete unless the arms are at 90 degree angles or less, legs no more than shoulder width apart, and the participant returns to the high plank position. Rest can be taken in the high plank position (with or without an upward or downward arch at the waist). If any part of the legs or torso touch the ground the exercise is over.

    Sit-ups: Complete as many as possible in two minutes. A sit-up is not complete unless fingers remain interlocked behind the head, legs at 90 degree angles, shoulders come off the ground, elbows extend past the knees, and shoulders return to the ground. Rest can be taken only in the upright position.

    2-mile Run: If you need explanation then you failed!

    Attached are the results. Green= good Pink= below standard. A score is assess to the each entry and totaled for a final score.

    Thank you for the opportunity to lead and try something new. It’s always an honor.

  • Embrace the Suck

    A great turnout at the Uptowner as we had 21 pax come out to enjoy another warm and humid October morning.  

    When I think back to what initially led me to F3, it was being able to have a great workout that always had a different twist; stepping out of our comfort zone to continually push ourselves to get better, and improve in areas that we may struggle or be uncomfortable with.   As I thought about how to lead this workout, I wanted to incorporate some atypical aspects into the traditional “no running” workout and challenge everyone to “embrace the suck”.  

    With that said the standard disclaimer was given and we moseyed from the flag to the football field in the middle of the track.  The warmup consisted of:

    • SSH x 20 IC
    • Arm circles (10 front and 10 back) IC
    • Windmills x 10 IC
    • Mountain Climbers x 15 IC
    • Hold the plank position after mountain climbers for 1 minute
    • Indian run around the track for 1 lap (4 groups of 5-6)

    The thang-

    All pax lined up in one end zone.  There were 3 cones spaced out (20, 40, 60 yards). 

    • Sprint to first cone and do 15 Burpees then sprint back to start line and do 20 merkins 
    • Sprint to second cone and do 10 Burpees then back to starting line for 15 merkins 
    • Sprint to third cone and do five Burpees and then back to start for 10 merkins 

    As pax finished they did some Mary waiting for the six and then did 20 LBC IC as a group.  

    Next was a crab walk from the end zone to midfield.  

    Once all pax arrived we lined up for an all-out,  everything -you- have sprint to the opposite end zone.  In the end zone we did a quick set of 20 flutter kicks IC.   

    From here the group moseyed to the playground and got back into groups of 4.  Groups 1 and 2 lined up at the “ring pull-up station” and did 1 round of AMRAP of pull-ups.  Groups 3 and 4 did 25 merkins on own, and when finished while waiting for the other pax to finish their pull-ups did squats.  Once done the groups flip-flopped

    Once everyone finished we moseyed over to the hill on the other side of Pontiff where we bear crawled over the hill and did 15 Carolina dry docks followed by a bear crawl back over the hill.  

    Moving on we moseyed to the shelter nearby where we completed the following:

    • 15 power ups each leg IC
    • 15 SLOW deep dips IC
    • 15 diamond merkins IC

    With about 5 minutes remaining we headed back for the flag for some more Mary called out by different pax.  

    Ended the workout with the COT, announcements and intentions.  Special intentions for family members battling cancer and age-related struggles and illnesses.  

    I hope everyone enjoyed this beatdown as much as I did leading it.   Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to lead as always!

  • The O.K.W.A.T.A. 66

    Gentlemen, i just realized that i haven’t posted the backblast from my Okwata Q back on 8/8/19. To quote Brad Gluckman from Malibu’s Most Wanted, “My Bad!” I don’t remember the Pax members, but here’s a summary of the workout:

    Warmup:

    • can’t remember what we did, but we definitely warmed up

    The Thang:

    The gist of The OKWATA 66 is that the Pax members would run a lap up the concrete levee, cut across the middle,  come back down the other side and then stop at the bottom. After each lap, the Pax members would do 66 reps of each of the exercises i had personally hand selected for the occasion. The routine is called the OKWATA 66 because each exercise would begin with one of the letters from the word Okwata and we would be doing 6 laps & 6 different exercises; thus the 66.  Who doesn’t enjoy a good acronym routine, am i right?! But i digress. Anyway, here’s how it went:

    O – Outlaws: Pax hit a lap and then did 66 Outlaws

    K – Kettle Squats: Pax hit a lap and then did 66 Kettle Squats

    W – WWII Sit Ups: Pax hit a lap and then did 66 WWII Sit Ups

    A – Angle Grinders: Pax hit a lap and then did 66 Angle Grinders

    T – Travoltas: Pax hit a lap and then did 66 Travoltas

    A – American Hammers: Pax hit a lap and then did 66 American Hammers

    After all of the Pax finished the routine, we were out of time. So we headed back to the flag for the count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and the prayer

  • Ain’t Skeered

    ‘Twas my turn to Q The Foundry this Wednesday, but I was having some trouble thinking about what to do. So I did what any reasonable PAX member would do in this situation: I read a backblast from a workout that i liked, and pretty much copied it on Wednesday morning. Shout out to my man, High Rise, as he was the Q on Monday at The Chamber, and it’s his exercises that I used for most of the workout on Wednesday

    Warmup:

    • Side Straddle Hops – 15
    • Grass Grabbers – 15
    • Arm Circles – 8 forward, 8 backward
    • high knees – 15 cadence count
    • butt kicks – 15 cadence count
    • self love – 15 cadence count

    The Thang: Gross 1

    • Floyd Mayweathers – 12
    • Low Slow Squats – 12
    • Flutter Kicks – 12
    • Carolina Dry Docks – 12
    • Calf Raises – 12
    • Hello Dollies – 12
    • Right Side Lunges – 12
    • Box Cutters – 12
    • Diamond Merkins – 12
    • Left Side Lunges – 12
    • Nola Claps – 12

    The Next Thang:

    • Partner Up and then:
    • Partner 1 does a lap around Noma
    • Partner 2 does Rocky Balboas on Noma Steps
    • ROTATE
    • Partner 1 does a lap around Noma
    • Partner 2 does dying cockroaches
    • SWITCH
    • Partner 1 does a lap around Noma
    • Partner 2 does hand release merkins
    • SWITCH

    The Next Thang: Gross 2

    • left leg step ups on fountain – 12
    • derkins on fountain – 12
    • LBC’s – 12
    • Irkins on fountain – 12
    • Calf raises on fountain – 12
    • Box jumps on fountain – 12
    • Mountain climbers – 12
    • decline Floyd Mayweathers on fountain – 12

    We ran out of time, so we weren’t able to finish all 12 exercises for the last Gross. After the DFFM’s (decline fountain Floyd Mayweathers), we mosey’d back to the flag for the COT. Also, i couldn’t think up a good title for the workout, so i just named it “Ain’t Skeered” because I saw one of those bumper stickers on a truck the other day, and they’re still timeless

  • Mother of a Mothership

    Warm-up (24s) – Arm circles, Windmills, Imperial walkers, Grass Grabbers

    Thang 1 – PAX paired up, PAX A – Does Inch Worm to third tree and sprints back while PAX B does any static hold he chooses till partner returns. Pax flips roles, then starts new rounds – Lunges, NEar Crawls, Broad jumps.

    RECOVER

    After that, PAX serpentine runs in and out of the trees on the Great lawn jumping up on the memorial and then to the peristyle.

    Thang 2 – Divide the PAx again into A/B. A’s Run out and back behind peristyle jumping up and downstairs for 5 rounds while B’s do dips. Once 5 rounds done, PAX flips roles.

    If that wasn’t fun enough all PAX circle up under the roof of peristyle and perform static hold squats for 30 s and 10 more while reaching ahead. Do that 3x with 30 sec recovery.
    We then side shuffle clockwise and on my command slap the ground and reverse direction. Do that till we can’t stand it anymore. Recover.
    Q’s challenge – HandStand Holds if you can if you can’t, then anything sort of upside-down like a Pike Plank, or push your feet up the columns and hold.

    Final bonus – MINI Q session – each member is called to the center and does their favorite exercise for 30 seconds or 30 reps. We didn’t finish everyone before the bell rang.

    Mosey back to flag for announcements, intentions and BOM. Sad news about Bellhop and FNG’s situation. Encouraged each other had hearty prayer and we’re done.

  • Roulette wheel at Popeye

    Random counts because the Q just felt like it and it was funny to watch. The weather was beautiful, almost crisp.

    Imperial walkers 14 @ 4 count

    Abe Vigoda 16 @ 4 count

    Side shuffles

    Runner Stretch

    Bat wings 21x 4 count

    Push up side plank reach 5/side

    To Gazeeba circle run 4x

    Bear Crawl-Sit-ups combo ¼ round then 12 sit-ups 4 circles

    30 count down 

    Hanging leg/knee Raises. OYO, 25 total

    Push up then move in circle

    Lunge around the gazeebo Jump down/up stairs. 4x around

    Inchsworms 21x pushups at bottom

    Supine Bridge holds 40 count 5x

    Skaters 20/side

  • Never Over Macho Grande

    Seaman was the Q. He brought us in real low. But he couldn’t handle it.

    THE GLOOM: Buddy couldn’t handle it. Was Buddy one of your crew?

    PAX: Right. Buddy was the bombardier. But it was the Q who couldn’t handle it, and he went to pieces.

    THE GLOOM: Andy went to pieces?

    PAX No. Andy was the navigator. He was all right. Buddy went to pieces. It was awful how he came unglued.

    THE GLOOM Howie came unglued?

    PAX: Oh, no. Howie was a rock, the best tailgunner in the outfit. Buddy came unglued.

    THE GLOOM: And he bailed out?

    PAX: No. Andy hung tough. Buddy bailed out. How he survived, it was a miracle.

    THE GLOOM: Then Howie survived?

    PAX: No, ‘fraid not. We lost Howie the next day.

    THE GLOOM: Over Macho Grande?

    PAX: No. I don’t think I’ll ever get over Macho Grande. Those wounds run…pretty deep.

    We ran around, we sweated, we did elevens. Then we did some other stuff that if you didn’t show up for you really missed a great time and we really don’t have time to go over.

    One FNG a Lycee Dad, FNG name is Shurley With a U!

  • Short and Sweet!

    This BB will be just as the title states, YHC has entered into 2 seasons both of which are Short and Sweet so enough said..

    Warmarama

    All IC to reps of 10 and 15 SSH, Good mornings, Hillbillies, Arm circles and Mummy kicks..

    Thang

    Moseyed to Marigny each corner reps of 5, 10, 15 and 20.. Burpees, Squats, Merkins and Sister Marys 60-70% Mosey to each corner toward the lake. Total reps 350 and 1 mile. Recover walk past RIPS and backdown Girod reps 5, 10, 15 and 20. Groiners, Balboas, LBCs and Hello Dollies.. 2 mins left Front Plank, Right/Left Arm high and Front Plank.

    Intentions for Southshore’s Bellhop and family for their loss!!

    Thanks to Cowbell for praying us out!!

    Till the next Gloom 👍🏻👊🏻✌🏻!!

  • We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Grass

    After my Okwata beatdown last week which led to many bites on several PAX I made a guarantee that we would not use the grass at UNO this morning. Thankfully our lovely website has several options for beatdown routines to be performed on asphalt and/or football field. And wouldn’t you know it the parking lot at UNO is smooth asphalt and larger than a football field. 11 PAX (and Gideon’s well trained dog) joined me in the still humid morning (no cool front yet). Disclaimer was given and off we went.

    Warm Up:

    Mosey a lap around the parking lot and circle up:

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

    Thang #1 Quarter Pounder:

    All PAX line up at the edge of the parking lot. Thanks to Kuch for providing the tape measurer which I was able to use to mark off 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards (roughly). All PAX run 25 yards, perform 25 merkins, and run backwards to the start. Run 50 yards, perform 50 squats, and run backwards to start. Run 75 yards, perform 75 mountain climbers (1 is 1), and run backwards to start. Finally run 100 yards, perform 100 reps of any ab exercise(s) of each PAX choosing, and run backwards to the start.

    Thang #2 Dominoes:

    All PAX line up on the curb in a side plank position with left hand in air. PAX member on the farthest right end of the line rotates into a high plank position and performs 5 merkins. He then holds the high plank while the next PAX performs 5 merkins, and so on, and so on until the PAX member on the farthest left end of the line performs 5 merkins. He then immediately performs another 5 merkins and then rotates into a side plank with right had in air. The merkins and side planks continue until the man who started it off completes his 5 merkins.

    Round 2: flapjack and start from opposite end of the line to even out the amount of time spent in right side plank and left side plank.

    Thang #3 Leg Wrecker:

    PAX is split up into 2 groups lines up on either side of the short side of the parking lot. Group 1 performs Lt Dan’s (1 squat and 2 lunges) across the parking lot while Group 2 holds an Al Gore. Flapjack once Group 1 completes the trek across the parking lot.

    Thang #4 The Gross:

    Seeing as how everyone in F3 NOLA should be familiar with Mardi Gras we should also know what a gross is. It’s a dozen dozen. So the gross consists of 12 exercises of 12 reps (some IC and some not). I opted to split it up evenly into 4 upper body, 4 lower body, and 4 abs.

    • Floyd Mayweathers
    • Low Slow Squats
    • Flutter Kicks
    • Carolina Dry Docks
    • Calf Raises
    • Hello Dollies
    • Overhead hand clap/DJ Jubilees (T-claps to Kuch for this name suggestion; as in “East coast where you at? Let me get a hand clap!)
    • R Side Lunges
    • Box Cutters
    • Diamond Merkins
    • L Side Lunges
    • Freddy Mercury’s

    Cool down with another lap around the parking lot and some static stretching.

    Count off, Name-o-rama, Announcements, Intentions, and Sweaty ball of man. Thoughts and prayers were offered up for Da Parish’s cousin Jonathan Serigne (F3 name Bellhop) and his family. May he rest in eternal peace.