Category: Backblasts

  • Stairway to 7

    16 men met in the early morning sweltering humidity known as a typical NOLA morning gloom in July.  QIC was anxious to get back to an F3 regiment after returning from a beach vacation where most exercise was pulling chairs and ice chest to and from the beach….oh and a fair amount of adult beverages!  Thinking most that might show up for his Q would anticipate a block beat down, thought was given during the 4 hour drive home as to how this Muscleship Q would go.  Ah the tree line near NOMA brought back memories of one of the toughest obstacles ever done…..the climb of stair way to heaven (details given during the workout, you had to be there to understand).  So using this as motivation the stair way to 7 was concocted!

    Disclaimer then encouragement that in order to grow one has push beyond one’s comfort zone!

    Mosey around the field, then line up tree alternating legs 7 each front leg lifts, right then left side lung.

    Circle up – all in cadence x 7

    Peter Parkers

    Merkins

    Scorpion kicks left & right leg

    Country crab leg lift to a dip

    Side Straddle Hops

    The journey to the stairway to 7!

    1st Climb UP:

    Line up tree 0

    One double under

    Run to tree 1

    Two Merkins

    Run to tree 2

    Three double unders

    Run to tree 3

    Four Merkins

    Run to tree 4

    Five double unders

    Run to tree 5

    Six Merkins

    Run to tree 6

    7 of each double under / merkins

    All of finish go directly to plank waiting and active recovering until the 6

    30 seconds rest

    1st Climb DOWN – Descending double

    At Tree 6

    7 ea double under / merkins

    Run to tree 5

    6 ea

    Run to tree 4

    5 ea

    Complete the descent until tree 0 reached and 1ea double under / merkin

    1 minute rest

    2nd Climb UP

    Same concept except this time the effort doubles

    Tree 0

    2 Carolina Dry Docks

    BEAR CRAWL between trees.

    Tree 1

    4 Carolina Dry Docks

    Then

    6, 8, 10, 12, 14

    Again once finish hold a plank and wait with active recovery.  30 secs rest

    2nd Climb Down

    Same concept except this time add plank jacks after Dry Docks

    At Tree 6

    14 ea Dry Docks /  Plank Jacks

    Run, Mosey or Slow Mosey between trees

    12 ea

    same

    10 ea

    Complete the descent until tree 0 reached and 2ea Dry Docks / Plank Jacks completed

    3rd Climb Up

    Partner up

    At Tree 0

    Pax 1 sits with arms extended out in a cross; Pax 2 performs a Merkin then jumps over one arm of Pax 1 and completes another Merkin.

    Pax 2 and Pax 1 flap jack the movement.

    NOW Pax 2 on the ground flips to extend legs for Pax 1 to grab in order to wheelbarrow to Tree 1.

    At tree 1 Pax 2 remains on the ground, extends arms Pax 1 will do the Merkin/Jump over 2 times. Then flap jack the movement.  This time Pax 1 will be the wheelbarrow to tree 2.

    This continues to tree 6 with the Merkin/jump over rising to 7 each side.

    Once complete mosey to get water.

    Final Climb 7 min AMRAP: (2) 3 min with a 1 min rest in between

    7 squat jumps

    7 incline merkins

    7 decline merkins

    Run across the short width of the field and back

    repeat

    Circle Up for Mary:

    2 min plank – start at low plank 30sec – rise to high plank 15sec then in cadence 7 opposite hand to foot touches, transition back to low plank

    1 min rest

    Rinse and repeat.

    Then in cadence 7 scoops, 7 flutter kicks, 7 V Ups

    Head to the flag……wait 1 minute: 7 Burpees OYO

    DONE!

    COT – Life is a bless and we know not the day or time.  Reflection of the 4 young girls (3 recent LSU graduates) that were tragically killed in a helicopter crash over the Holiday week.  Stay focused to be appreciative, open to forgive as well as being forgiven.  God Bless!

  • Repeat Miles

    Now that we switched to every other week for the “Danger Zone” Monday Speed work out, even more of a reason to make each beatdown count.

    My first Q for Danger Zone, but not a stranger to speed workouts. Overall good showing for a Monday after a holiday break, the heat and humidity just continue to get worst everyday….

    Started off with some overall dynamic stretches for 100 m and then

    IW X 15

    Grass Grabbers X 15

    PP X 15

    I have put off the work out for long enough….

    Very simple workout this morning, (3) repeat miles, run them as you would a standalone mile and give it your best, track time for each and try to top the last mile.

    After the second mile, the heat got to some and shirts were getting pulled off, then the references to the work out title, Volley ball game in jeans, aviator glasses, bomber jackets. If you are going to add all that in a future work out, next in line is to bring a couple lights weight towels for “towel snapping”, this has gone too far….

    2nd and 3rd miles went well, everyone gave their best.

    Finally some stretching as we waited for final pax to come in.

    Final count off, name-a rama, announcements, intentions and COT. In the intentions, we had requests for Cancer scans and my wife was getting her wisdom teeth out at age 43. Well as an update, all went went well with the removals. However, as a surprise, turns out the surgeon on the procedure is F3’s “Dirty Dell”. Many thanks as she was in good hands.

    See you on the radio and in the gloom.

    Bongo

  • Holy piñata! It’s a tabata plankorama, Batman!

    Five PAX made it out to the Marsh this morning, itching to get back to work after a grueling holiday weekend.  This included a special appearance by (Chief) Captain Sparkles, who posted despite a traumatic rope swing injury suffered while impressing a lady.

    YHC imagines it looked something like this…

    Despite the busted arm, Sparkles suffered through the beatdown admirably, and we’re all hoping that, once healed, this’ll be the start of a Sparklanaissance. Ok, so here’s what went down this morning:

    Warmorama: Arm circles, SSHs, IWs, toe touches, good mornings, all x20 IC.

    Next up, knock out half the ISI with a 2 minute plank.  Shooter got an early start on this, planking as YHC arrived, so t-claps to him for getting a little extra in today. (And while we’re t-clapping, let’s also give it up for Waterpik, who continued his trend of running to the AO’s. At least someone is preparing for the Nutria!)

    Then over to the monkey bars for a tabata series.  We did three 4-minute series of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest.  We alternated between two different exercise each round.

    First round:  merkins / big boy sit-ups

    Second round: squat jumps / burpees

    Third round: hanging knee tucks / mountain climbers

    Next up, a game of Catch Me If You Can: Partner 1 runs toward the lake, P2 does 10 plank jacks and 10 mountain climbers before sprinting to catch up.  Flapjack.

    Once at the lake, we finished up our ISI with another 2 minute plank on the sea wall.

    Since we were there, why not knock out freak nasties, x15 IC?  YHC resisted the (very strong) urge to jump into some Bulgarians…

    And then another Catch Me If You Can back to the marsh, this time with 10x merkins as the exercise.

    Mary consisted of Cowbell Flutters, LBC’s, Freddie’s, and leg raises, all x20 IC.  

    COT, with Shooter praying us out.  This is hands down the best way to start off the work week, so thank you guys for the opportunity to lead, and for your dedication and consistency!

  • Post 4th firecrackers

    Hokey Pokey, Walleye, Triple Shift, Scantron, Billy Goat, Grimace, Medulla, Pai Gai, Mahatma, Babyface, Darkwing Duck, Fast Tax, Coin Star, Boo Boo, Shockey, Amnesia

  • New AO — F3 Fairhope

    Kuch and I bumped into each other at lunch at The Grand Hotel in Fairhope, AL, during a little family R&R during the 4th of July weekend. Naturally, we decided to post. And Kuch even EH’ed an attorney colleague also at The Grand for the weekend. We were hoping for a guest appearance by Da Parrish, but his locale was too far away to join us. So the 3 of us met in the morning glory (not gloomy at all) for a holiday heat beat down. The usual disclaimer and off we go.

    A short mosey to the warm-up COP at a gazebo over-looking Mobile Bay. SSH x 20 IC, IW x 15 IC, Arm Circles IC 10 forward and 10 backwards, Grass grabbers x 10 IC, Mountain Climbers x 10 IC.

    We started with a Route 66 along the Mobile Bay boardwalk, with Merkins at each light post, starting with 5 Merkins and ending with 13. We continued the Route 66 on the boardwalk along the bay, marveling at the huge beautiful lake homes. We did WWII sit-ups at each dock, starting at 5 and ending at 15, then continued with 10 squats at each dock for another 10 docks.

    We turned around and moseyed back to the green lawn at The Grand. Then Kuch delivered the real beat down: 11’s with burpees and jump lunges. After the 3rd pass, YHC was out of breath and made the executive decision to switch out jump lunges for LBC’s. It was still brutal enough, and after 55 burpees we were all gassed.

    We moseyed back to our starting point for count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, and a prayer. We named our FNG @Hobbs, so welcome him when he shows up back in NOLA. I forgot to take a pic at the beatdown, but we got one at the pool after. I highly recommend this new AO. Very scenic. Just plan a trip to The Grand.

    Walleye

  • Renaissance 2019-07-07

    Wonderful day out at the Park with a fine turnout: Catfish (Q), Hokey Pokey, Swamp Cox, Smooth, Fracsac, and Tackleberry (Visitor from South Carolina).

    Started the workout with a brief warmup of Side-Straddle hop, Imperial Squat Walkers, “Hop” laps up the museum steps (x5), and jump lunges.

    Moseyed over to the Fountain for left step-ups, Derkins, Right step-ups, Incline Merkins, 8-count bodybuilders, and box jumps.

    From there we headed to the field for some varied “animal” movements. First we did bear crawls for a tree length, followed by boo-boo bear crawls for a tree length, then boo-boo bear crawls (opposite leg) for a tree length, with 10 merkins afterward. Each pax did 10 burpees at the end. Followed this with some core exercises (LBCs, flutter kicks, and box cutters).

    Returned the other way with Duck Walk, Crab Walk, and reverse Crab Walk, again for one tree length and with 10 merkins after each, 10 burpees upon completion. Again, core exercises: Dying roaches and Tin Snips.

    From here, moseyed to the Foundry. PAX did the following:

    Hang 1 minute, then low slow squats, hang 45 seconds, then low slow merkins, hang 30 seconds, then 10 pull ups OYO.

    Moseyed back to flag to conclude. Thanks to all who participated, it was a good one!

  • No Shorty, No Problem

    YHC arrived with a couple minutes to spare, looking forward to a classic Shorty beat down. What would Shorty deliver this day? Gassers? At 0629, it was evident the Shorty beat down would have to wait, for no better reason than “No Shorty.” The 10 Pax agreed that it wouldn’t be an issue. With that said, Two Yutes took the warm up, beginning with a brief disclaimer before a mosey to the Great Lawn. YHC May be off a bit on exactly what was done.

    SSH IC x 25
    Floyd Mayweathers x 20
    IW x 15
    Grass Grabbers x 10
    Arm Circles IC x 20
    peter Parker’s x 20

    YHC took the next part with a mosey to the fountain in front of NOMA.
    Dips IC x 15
    Mosey to the path around the Big Lagoon for Bataan Death March. Single column Indian Run where the last man drops for 3 Burpees then sprints to the front. Each Pax got an opportunity to experience the Burpees, so crossover to the festival grounds walking path and mosey to the Foundry for stations
    Station 1 – Run to bike path, do 10 Burpees and run back (timer)
    Station 2 – pull-ups AMRAP
    Station 3 – Big Boi Sit-ups AMRAP
    station 4 – Box jumps AMRAP
    station 5 – Low Plank

    Finish with a Fracsac classic
    Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10

    Bongo steps up for the next part starting with a mosey back to the Great Lawn for some 11’s.
    Start with 10 Squats, Run across the lawn, 1 LBC, Run back across
    9-2, 8-3, 7-4, etc. Always totals 11.

    RevSox steps up and takes the final Q for the hour.
    Starting at the last palm tree of the Great Lawn, time to get our kicks on Route 66!
    If memory serves me right, it was lunge walks between trees and merkins at each tree, 1 at first, 2 at second, up to 11 totaling 66. I probably have the exercises wrong, but it’s the effort to remember that counts, or something like that.
    Finish with some Mary, then mosey back to the VSF.

    COT

    Count off, name-o-Rama, announcements, intentions, end with a prayer to the Sky Q.

    NMM

    During the Bataan the FNG was attacked by a fierce dog, leading to his naming. That fierce animal was somewhere between a wiener dog and a Maltese, no doubt a real killer! T- Claps to War Eagle for the EH.

    T-Claps to the Pax for stepping up and doing what was necessary to deliver a solid group beat down.

    SYITG







  • Ole Man River Has Some Big Sweaty Bells

    It was another blistering hot morning on the river for the Sunday, Sweaty Bell workout! After a quick disclaimer, the PAX farmer carried all kettlebells to the oak trees, circled up for a quick warm up of the following, all in cadaence:

    SSH x 20, Arm Circles forward/backward 10 each, Hillbillies x 20. We took a short mosey around the hill, then circled up back under the oaks.

    Before breaking out the bells, the PAX completed a Merkin “Ring of Fire.” X2

    We procedded to break out our bells and completed the following exercies:

    Deadlifts x 15, KB Swings x 15, Snatch (to Shoulder) x 10 each side, Squats x 15,

    The Pax then farmer carried all kettle bells to the shelter on the river and circled up for another merkin ROFx2. The following exercises were completed under the shelter:

    One Arm Chest Press x 10 each side, Rows x 10 each side, Curls x 10 each arm, Tricep Extensions x 15, Turkish Get ups x 3 each side,

    The Pax then farmer carried the kettlebells from the shelter to the Freedom Hammer where we completed a Peter Parker ROF (ISI Plank Challenge complete), followed by some stretching lead by Triple Shift. Triple Shift always brings value to the workout, with not only leadership around stretching, but also around proper exercise form. We are lucky to have him as part of our group!

    The PAX circled up for COT, had the customary count off, nameorama, intentions, and annoucements. Coffeteria commenced at PJs! It is a privilidge to lead this group of men!

  • “Modify only if you need to, not cause you want to”

    “Success isn’t always about ‘greatness’.  It’s about consistency.  Consistent hard work gains success.  Greatness will come.”   -Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson 

    Another fine Saturday at the Muscleship on 6/22.  Fifteen PAX trickled in to start the day off right and get their sweaty fix.  With the Memorial Day Murph a few weeks prior, YHC felt many/all of us could some help improving our pull ups, so that would be our focus of the day….upper body, grip strength, arms, core, back, etc.  Here’s what we did:  

    Warmup in front of NOMA with SSH x20, IWx20, WM x10, Bird Dog x20, Glute Bridge x20, 60 Sec AC (R T-plank AC , LBC, L T-plank AC, Merkins) x15ea

    Mosey toward the Refinery with a pit stop for:  plank, Merkins x10, plank, Merkins x5

    The Refinery – 6 station circuit w/Tabata timer, all out for 40sec, 12 sec rest/rotate       “Modify only if you need to, not cause you want to”         Round 1 – Pullups, Squats, Body Rows, Block Curls, Bench Dips, Glute Bridge aka Wife Pleasers         Round 2 – Rinse and repeat        Break for a breather and some motivational experts compliments of Google and The Rock         Round 3 – Dead Hang, Squats, Dips/Dip Hold, Block Curls, Inc Merkin, Glute Bridge        Round 4 – Rinse and repeat

    Mosey back towards base where we crossed paths with The Muscleship Pax. Made another pit stop on the curb for:  Plank, Plank Jacks, & Merkins

    Next up was a mosey to the edge of the new sculpture garden expansion where we found the finest grass City Park has to offer for: Planking and Bird Dogs 

    Then back to the NOMA lawn for some back and core work:  Indian Bear Crawl,  LBC, Flutter Kicks, IBC, Lunge Walk, Bear Crawls

    COT to seal the deal.  Welcome FNG Snowbird who was EH’d by Gatsby.   

    Always great to lead and always great to grind through another F3 workout.  Sorry for the delayed backblast. 

    Tool 

  • Fly and Die

    Gnarly little beatdown planned to work the heartrate in preparation for the Gnarly Nutria. Some highlights: Gatsby’s 2.0 Flying on the flats and dying on the Stairs, Angie’s List’s colon blowouts, El Wire’s hand signal at the video breakdown, the random plastic buckets at the top of WPM, the heat in the stairwells… 29 PAX for a 5th of July run through of WPM!

    Good luck to PEPPA who has his first flights for Southwest this afternoon.

    A good morning then jog over to WPM.

    Disclaimer on the MTN.

    SSH X 20, IMP Squats x 20, Jlo-s x 20 and Merks x 20

    Up the stairs to the top of WPM

    On the TOP – we did Bicycles x 20, Low COuntry Crabs x 20, Dying Roach x 20 and RTwist x 20 — Then we did a loop – down the stairs and up the opposite stairs.

    Did Squats with Sally DOWN/ UP – (FLower by Moby)

    Then another stair loop

    Did Plank Jacks with Merks for Roxanne by the Police. Every Roxanne – merk Every Put on the Red Light = Plank Jack

    Then we did another loop on the stairs.

    At the TOP we used those giant plastic bins to do Dips x 20, Decline shoulder taps x 30 OYO, Bulgarian Split Left x 20, Incline Merks x 12, and Bulgarian Split Right x 20.

    Still had a few minutes so we did LBC x 20 and Freddy Mercury x 20.

    Down to the FLAG and circle up.

    COT–prayed for our deployed and committed to being better men