F3 New Orleans

Category: Backblasts

  • The Mother of All Great Lawns

    YHC made the trek on Friday to Wolf Pack Mountain to visit our neighbors of Uptown, which proved to be a serious beat down from 86, but you’ll need to see the back blast to find out more about that. While in the COT, Reluctant Yankee asked if anyone could take his Q at the Mothership the following day so he could run with other members of the NOLA Blue Ridge Relay Team.  YHC is impressed with the 12 men of NOLA committed to representing our region in the BRR, so YHC volunteered to take the Mothership.  Surely RY ran at least 8 miles right?

    Upon arrival at the Mothership, YHC set some cones out on the Great Lawn. When planning is short, one has to dig into the treasure chest of goodies, and this would be a real gem! We planted a couple shovel flags, said our hello’s, had some good laughs, but then the clock hit 0630, which means only one thing…..give the disclaimer….and then…mosey to the Great lawn for….

    Warmup
    SSH IC x 31
    IW IC x 20
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10
    Sun Gods IC x 20 (10 fwd, 10 bwd)

    Plank-o-Rama (A Rudy Specialty)
    Peter Parker IC x 20
    Parker Peter IC x 20
    Plank Jacks IC x 20
    Mountain Climbers IC x 20

    Short mosey to the cones set up in the shape of a basketball court for…

    Suicides x 1 (just regular suicide sprints)
    Suicides x 1 with 5 Burpees each time you make it back to the baseline

    Now that the mumble chatter has been killed, time to team up. With 21 Pax, split into 3 man teams for…

    3 man Dora 123
    100 Burpees
    200 Merkins
    300 Squats
    Pax 1 begins exercise, Pax 2 and 3 do suicide sprint. Upon completion, Pax 2 relieves Pax 1, then Pax 1 and 3 do suicide sprints. Upon completion, Pax 3 relieves Pax 2, then Pax 1 and 2 do suicide sprint. Continue until all exercises are completed cumulatively. Once your team is finished, continue suicide sprint until all Pax are complete.

    Mosey about 20 feet away from the cones for a tribute to RY. Certainly all were expecting a DirtyMacDeuce with a RY Q, so YHC served one up!

    1st Set
    Merkins x 12
    Sqauts x 12
    Rower Situps x 12 (4 Count)
    Two Column Indian run around the cones twice

    2nd Set
    Catalina Wine Mixers x 12
    Lunges x 12
    LBC’s x 12
    Two Column Indian run around the cones twice

    3rd Set
    Shoulder Taps x 12
    Copperhead Squats x 12
    Rower Situps x 12 (4 Count)
    Two Column Indian run around the cones twice

    4th Set
    Floyd Mayweather’s x 12
    Squats x 12
    Rower Situps x 12 (4 Count)
    Two Column Indian run around the cones twice

    Mosey Back to the Flag….

    COT
    Count off, Name-o-Rama, Announcements, Intentions, Closed with a Prayer.

    NMM
    This beat down was proof one doesn’t need to venture far to deliver a good beat down. It just takes a little creativity. We never left the Great Lawn!
    The Pax had a scare at the COT. During the DMD, Woz and Snookie walked off for some water. Turns out Snookie wasn’t feeling good and Woz was watching him to make sure he was ok. At the COT, Snookie and Woz returned, where Snookie had some signs and symptoms of a potential heat related illness. This is where Cliff Notes and Rudy jumped into action, getting him to the Hospital to get him some medical attention. The last update YHC received was that he was doing much better. We pray that all is well. Thank you to Woz, Rudy, and Cliff Notes!

    The return of Quick Draw (Kotter)! Glad to see you come back, Brother!

    We had an FNG today EH’d by (who else?) Triple Shift. Keep ’em comin’ Brother! Our FNG is from Sacramento, and rode like Lance Armstrong from Houston to New Orleans. Welcome One Sac!

    SYITG!

  • Cognac and Burpees

    Started out with a disclaimer stating that I had too much cognac at Tales of the Cocktail the previous night “so if you smell cognac it is me.”.

    Mosey to the lawn in front of touch down Jesus then I attempted to count:

    15 x windmills then 5 burpees oyo

    15 x forward arm circles 5 burpees oyo

    15 x reverse arm circles 20 merkins oyo

    15 x good mornings 5 burpees oyo

    Mosey to the corner of Sta Charles and Calhoun:

    20 x cross fit merkins then ran to next tier

    20 x lizard hops (I need to stay off you tube) ran to next tier

    20 x plank jacks to shoulder taps ran to next tier

    20 x dying bug ran back to start

    Mariah commented that the work out was weak so we repeated with

    5 x burpees at each tier

    Mosey to the parking garage on Freret St then Native American ran to the top of the garage in two lines.

    Paired up for Dora at the top:

    100 low slow squats as partner ran down the stairs and back up

    200 lbc as partner ran down the stairs and back up

    300 plank jacks as partner ran down the stairs and back up

    Mosey down the stair to the benches by WPM

    20 derkins oyo

    Mosey to the flag then

    5 x burpees oyo

    plank left and right

    30 count misson impossibe

    Circled up, counted off, name-o-rama and prayer.

     

    Thank you for allowing me to lead today.

     

    86

  • The Thrillabon in the Audubon

    Being an F3 Nation member for only 10 months (last race I was nothin but a gleam in a Hawg’s eye), the Gnarly Nutria was the stuff of legend. A back and forth sporting event like the world has not witnessed since Ali vs. Frazier. Two heavyweights going toe to toe for 5.4 miles with the Uptowners dominating Gnarly Nutria I and The World squeaking by with a narrow victory in Gnarly Nutria II.

    This year The World looked to overwhelm the smug Uptowners with numbers, and we have been recruiting. I was even dreaming of running the first race of my life but fell to the wayside with a calf injury on Friday. Although The World would now be missing their best runner, they still persevered and began the race with a distinct advantage in numbers.

    Following an epic lightning storm, the race began at 9:10pm. Our first finishers were a family group, and hat’s off to Sandbar who brought two of his 2.0s who finished the first lap in solid time.

    I knew the Uptowners were going to be in trouble when the first runners to not complete all three laps were Uptowners. Then the top two finishers of all three laps were both from the World and the landslide began. Like an over-the-hill Frazier against Ali, the Uptowners were no match for The World in Gnarly Nutria III.

    The final score was 446 The World and 354 Uptowners. The World is so fast, we turned off the lights in our bedrooms when we got home last night and we were in bed before the room was dark.

    We welcomed 4 FNGs into our numbers in the largest sweaty ball of man I have ever seen. I got to hand it to the runners, the names for our new members were great. We welcome Tubbs, Tramp Stamp, Right Cheek and his brother Left Cheek to F3. May we forget your real names and always refer to you by your F3 names in public.

    Here are your Gnarly Nutria top finishers:

    1. Smooth – The World

    2. Turbo Tax – The World

    3. Pony Boy – Uptowner

    4. El Guapo – The World

    5. Mulligan – Uptowner

    6. End Time – The World

    7. YSR – Uptowner

    8. Swampcock – Uptowner

    9. Cavalier – Uptowner

    10. Mahatma-Ice – The World

    11. Right Cheek – The World

    12. Nip/Tuck – Uptowner

    13. Jadaveon – Uptowner

    14. Cowbell – The World

    15. Hawgcycle – The World

    16. Thighs – The World

    17. Freedo – Uptowner

    18. Cornbread – The World

    19. El Wire – Uptowner

    20. Mariah – Uptowner

    21. Rudy – The World

    22. Rocket – The World

    23. Peppa – Uptowner

    24. Saban – Uptowner

    25. Tubba – The World

    26. Tramp stamp – The World

    27. Bubba – The World

    28. Shorty – The World

    29. Brownbag – Uptowner

    30. Landing Strip – Uptowner

    Left cheek, Bad Moon, Two Yutes, Shooter, Bushwacker, Einstein, 86, Pi, Walleye, King Kong, Triple Shift, Reluctant Yankee, and Roots fell just outside the top 30 in this order. I couldn’t keep up with the names after Roots. Congrats to all who finished and all who completed 1 or 2 laps. Thank you for helping us all be better men as we do stupid, pointless things like run for no reason in the middle of a lightning storm while chased by Jaguars.

    I’m inviting you to our next AO at “the Boxing Match” sculpture in Kenner’s Rivertown. The first Wednesday of September will be the launch of the F3 NOLA “Fight Club.”

    Your Humble Scorekeeper (I don’t plan on doing this next year, so someone else better get hurt right before the race in 2019),

    RevSox

  • Double down!!

    Wet running shoes from the Narley Nutria served this YHC as he Doubled down on a post with little rest from the previous night… Having attended the Narley and being part of the winning World domination of sorts I could not help but share with the men who had missed, what an awesome experience was had the night before. Come on, where else can one go and experience the creativity of such a large PAX and the great naming of new FNGs along with some great F2ing.. It is certainly a great thing when men from all over can come together and instantly grab chatter as if they had recently assembled at a family reunion to catchup on old times.. Certainly one of the benefits I have received in my experience with F3 and look forward to many more as I travel this thing called life with a core group of strong men.. Enough sentimental thoughts for one day!!

     

    Began with 20 IC Windmills, Chewy one leg balance  touch both legs 8 IC. This looked worse than an all night booze fest with slurring words to the arresting officer as we epically fail this YHCs choice of field sobriety testing. Alternating lunge leg twist and then we are off for the thang..

    Standard journey with flashes of Tom/Jerry playing a game of cat and mouse as Backdraft shot out the gate like a triple crown horse untamed.. Men quickly paired up and paced each other. Along the journey Q shared some good conversation with Chewy as he respectively took a moderate Mosey and hung back with a tired YHC. Tclaps to Waterpik and Coconuts for getting out there and pacing the lead of the PAX. Burgundy shared his hard commit to the Northshore half coming up in October.

    Upon return with Bushwacker’s dice of doom in hand we alternated rolling knocking out a total of 50  rower sit-ups and in between 5SSH IC and 20 Burpees.

    count off, annoucements, COT

    Waterpik took us out in prayer offering intentions to all the F3 brothers!!

    Appreciate the lead men!!

    Thank you F3, ✌🏻👊🏻💪🏻!!

     

  • 300 is the # of the day

    Warm, gloomy, and muggy…perfect conditions for a F3 sweat fest.  That’s what YHC encountered as I made my way to the usual Foundry meeting spot.  It was 5:26 and not a soul in sight.  Was everyone getting their beauty rest?  Was I the only one from Team World that was manly (or crazy) enough to post twice in one day???  Fortunately several guys soon rolled up bringing our total to 7 PAX by kick off time.  With the Gnarley Nutria 15 hours later, the plan was to keep our legs fresh and focus on the core and upper body.  YHC had originally planned to bring out some concrete blocks but hit a snag with rain and time so on to plan B, albeit a hastily thrown together one.  Here’s what we did:
    Mosey down RM to the grassy area adjacent to the lagoon for a long no-impact warmup with a theme that would build as we went.  We knocked out 30ea of the following exercises IC:  IPW, AC, WM, Peter Parkers, Low Country Crab, Hill Billies, Shoulder Taps, 2 others??, and closed out with 30 Merkins OYO…..totaling 300 exercises in all.
    Then on to the illuminated NOLA 300 sign near the Big Lake.  In lieu of lighting 300 birthday candles for our great city, we instead would knock out 300 reps of a few different exercises, starting with:
    Partner Plank Slaps, aka Patty Cakes x50 followed by short mosey to lake ledge for Dips x25 OYO (ea PAX)
    Then PSx40, Dipsx20, PSx30, Dipsx15, PSx20, Dipsx10, PSx10, Dipsx5….totaling 150 PS and cumulative 150 Dips….only half-way there.  A PAX suggested we visit the water fountain so the audible led us to tweak the plan.  After a short mosey to hydrate, we knocked out round 2 of above exercises near the museum pond/ledge for a total of 300 PS and 300 Dips….Happy Birthday NOLA!  Wait, there’s more….
    Circle up around the oval pond/ledge for a few rounds of cumulative count exercises in an effort to once again reach 300:
    Round 1 – All PAX hold decline plank position, then in clockwise motion individually knock out a Derkin calling out the count until 100…each PAX did 14-15 in addition to holding a declined plank….lot’s of blood flowing to the head.
    Round 2 – Hold Russian Twist position and go around to 100.  In hindsight, YHC should have called for continuous RT but either way we were sweating.
    Round 3 – Hold inclined plank and go around to 100.
    Mosey back to the flag for COT.  Great way to start the day!
    Tool

  • Banzai!!!!

    The opportunity to Q The Birdcage the morning of the Gnarly Nutria presented itself yesterday and I jumped at it.  Immediately, I started brainstorming my Kamikaze Q –  come in hard and heavy, destroy my legs, but take out as many Uptowners along the way as possible.  What would I do? 45 minutes of Monkey Humpers? Run 3 laps around Audubon? Sprint-o-rama? Boo-boo bear crawls?  Quadraphilia?  F3 provides lots of good leg breaking choices.  Unfortunately, my plan would be contingent on me being im better shape then these guys and that is unfortunately not the case.  Kamikazes can’t do much good if they don’t have the power to destroy their target.  It’s like a sacrifice bunt with two outs (which may have been a more apt name for this backblast).  In the end, I chose a path I could finish, at least almost.

    100 Burpee Warm-Up

    • 20 burpees
    • 20 Hillbillies, 15 Windmills, 15 Good Mornings
    • Burpees EMOM: 12, 12, 12,12, 10, 10
    • Parker Peter x 20, Monkey Humpers x 20, Daft Punk? x 28
    • 12 Burpees

    The Thang

    We moseyed aimlessly, as I was hoping to get everyone’s shoes sufficiently wet and slightly heavier.  Once I realized I couldn’t break them, this became my best opportunity for sabotage.  We ended up at the shelter for some Red Hot Chili Pepper.

    • 8 Bulgarian Split Leg Lunges with the right leg, 16 Derkins, 8 Bulgarian Split Leg Lunges with the left leg, 16 Irkins
    • 6 BSLLRL, 6 Derkins, 6 BSLLLL, 6 Irkins,  (G Spot disappears?)
    • 4….
    • 2….

    We then moseyed about 50 feet to open area for our last chance at some celebratory 3-6-3 exercises.  3 Super Slow Cadence reps, holding position at the end.  Then 6 regular cadence reps, holding position at the end.  Ending with 3 more super slow cadence reps.  We did squats, monkey humpers, merkins, right leg lunges, and left leg lunges.

    Mariah took over and finished us off with some Mary.  Hello Dolly x 25 followed by Flutter Kicks x 25 (feet don’t touch the ground), Freddie Mercuries x 25, oblique crunches (each side) x 25, and a Protractor (15, 45, 90, 45, 2, 15, 45)

    Back to the shovel flag, naming our FNG, and closing it out with a prayer

    NMM

    • I had good intentions, but I can’t say the mission was successful.  I’m going to need back up next year.
    • Perhaps I knocked out G-Spot, but that seems highly unlikely, seeing as he wears a weighted vest and was Larry Birding me the last time I Q’d.  His schedule is tight and he always leaves prior to the COT.  This time he left much earlier.  Yankee said it’s the first time someone’s gone AWOL Uptown.  I’m taking that as a compliment, although I’m pretty sure it wasn’t.
    • We didn’t run much today.  Some may think it’s because we have the Gnarly Nutria tonight, but I ain’t going to lie:  Being this close to the zoo, I had every intention of staying close to our cars.
    • FNG Ocho Cinco is from Cincinnati.  He couldn’t be Ocho Seis, cause we got one of those.
    • Speaking of, Happy Birthday to the aforementioned Ocho Seis.
    • I’m over three years in and still can’t do a complete Red Hot Chili Pepper.  It’s a goal.
    • Looking forward to tonight.  Here’s to having fun and World Domination.

     

     

     

     

  • Pre-Game

    With the Gnarly Nutria on this evening’s agenda, YHC considered taking it easy on the PAX this morning at The Gipper.  That thought disappeared into the morning’s humidity as soon as Moby approached the AO wearing his new DeWalt contractor gloves, ready to get to work.  So we did:

    Warmup of Torso Twists, Toe Touches, Good Mornings, Squats, Cossack Squats, Front to Back Lunges, 3 Position Calf Raises, Seal Jacks, and SSHs, all IC 10x.

    Mosey to the Justice Center lawn for a 4 minute Tabata shuttle run…run 20 seconds, walk 10 seconds, repeat 8x for 4 minutes total effort.

    Mosey to the Justice Center Veterans Memorial and circle up on our sixes for 11 rounds IC 10x per round of:  Rower Situps, Straight Legged Jackknives (10x each side), and Hand Release Pushups.

    Mosey back to The Gipper for five solid minutes of Arm Circles (forward and back from golf ball to beach ball), OH Hand Claps, OH Air Presses, OH Scissors, Horizontal Scissors, and then we Hitchhiked our way to the

    Countorama, nameorama, and prayer.

    Thanks for letting me lead guys.  Looking forward to World Domination at the Gnarly Nutria tonight.

  • No Cowbell, No Problem

    The clock ticked steadily towards 5:30.  The growing herd of PAX started to get restless.  Mutterings of “Who’s the Q?” were heard.  YHC had checked the sheet the night before – Cowbell was on the list.  Surely Cowbell would have also checked the list, or his email.  Right?

    Wrong.

    5:30 arrives.  No Cowbell.  But the PAX wait on no man, and the Workout must go on.  So YHC grabs the Disclaimer, and leads the PAX off to the rock pile – with the warning that others better be planning their own part of the workout.

    Rudy – The Warmup

    Typical Rudy start. SSH, Smurf Jacks, Monkey Humpers, IW, then Plank-o-rama with Peter Parker, Mountain Climber, Parker Peter.

    Go grab a rock.

    Mahatma – The Ruck

    Line up in 2 lines for a Ruck.  Follow Mahatma’s lead.  Start with the rock held on one side (NO RESTING ON THE SHOULDER).  Then up above your head.  Then to the other side.  Ruck down to the tree line.

    Line Up and Partner Up.

    • PAX 1: Carry Rock #1 out about 30 yards.  Bear crawl back.
    • PAX 2: Simultaneously start bear crawling out to Retrieve said rock and return it.
    • PAX 1: On return, grab Rock #2 and carry out about 60 yards.  Sprint back.
    • PAX 2: On return with Rock #1, sprint out to retrieve Rock #2 and carry back.

    Rinse and repeat.

    Bogey – The Slllllllooooooowwwwww Count

    All exercises in slow count cadence.  Up in 4, Down in 4.  x20 (or so) each

    • Curls
    • Straight Out in front (ok, this one was “not easy”).
    • Rows
    • Squats

    Pai Gow – The DangerFEST

    Line up.  Be watchful – its time for rock throwing!

    • 5 Burpees
    • Throw rock, bear crawl to it.  Throw it again.  Try to avoid bear-crawling PAX in the vicinity.  Bear crawl some more.  Until Tree #1.
    • 10 Merkins.
    • Throw rock, lunge walk to it.  Repeat. Until Tree #2.
    • 20 Shoulder Press.
    • Return following roughly the same pattern.  Or we may have gone out to Tree #3 for another set of exercises before the return.  Sorry, YHC memory is faulty, caused by high humidity, high sweat, and high fear of falling rocks.

    King Kong – Work them Abs

    Circle Up.  King Kong runs us through some Core, while holding the rock.

    • American Hammer.  Twist that rock.
    • Scissor Kicks.  Keep the rock in the air.
    • Flutter Kick.  Keep the rock in the air.
    • One other set.

    Then Mahatma led us on a Ruck back to the Rock Pile.  Then a final sprint back to the flag.

    Walleye then took us home with the Count-off, Name-o-rama, Announcements and a closing Prayer.

  • Stomp 151 – Sprinting in the gloom

    Morning Forecast: Typical July morning.  Hot.  Preposterous humidity.  Low growls of thunder in the distance.  Good times.  The brief time when we could welcome the stomp with the sunrise seems to already be in the past, so instead we welcome the PAX in the Tuesday morning Gloom.

    The Pax: Another week with a near-record crowed: 13 PAX in the gloom to go out for a run.  Rudy Q – means we’re running.  None of this “Hey, lets kick a baseball.” stuff.  Nice to see Shorty back in the fold, as well as a newly Respected Amnesty.

    The Route: 30 minutes.  15 out and 15 back.  At your pace, meet back at the track at 6:00.  YHC enjoyed getting pushed by Smooth, El Guapo and Shorty (WELCOME BACK!).  At least until Smooth turned on the after-burners at the entry back into City Park, leaving us in the dust.  Good addition to Team World!

    The Track: Gathering back at the track at 6:00, give everyone a minute to catch their breath.  Then we’re on to the Sprint Ladder:

    • 100 sprint, 100 recovery
    • 200 sprint, 100 recovery
    • 400 sprint, 100 recovery
    • 200 sprint, 100 recovery
    • 100 sprint, 100 recovery

    As PAX finish, settle in on your backside to get some Rower Situps in.  x10.  Then x10 more.  Then x10 More.  That brings the 6 home to roost.  Mosey back to the flags (thanks FracSac for tending the flags!).

    Count-off, Announcements.

    • Gnarly Nutria tomorrow night.  Hawg promises to bring a Leg beatdown to the Birdcage tomorrow, while Tool promises an arm-focused workout at The Foundry).
    • Picnic on Saturday

    Intentions (safe travels, blessing on kids – and blessings on Belloq travelling with his Youth Group).  Close out with a prayer.  Thank you for letting me lead.

  • Stair climb rain out (Lightning)

    Well since Captain Sparkles is starting to prepare for the annual 911 New Orleans Memorial Stair Climb it was on his agenda to incorporate the Mandeville Trailhead stairs into the Beatdown.
    But Mother Nature had other plans throwing some lightning around.
    So for the warm up.

    Side straddle hops originally planned on 20 but with late comer Chewy felt the need to extend the count so Chewy wouldn’t miss out on a few so extended it to 50 as I was approaching 50 got some mumbling from Mr Shooter thinking it would never end. Lol.

    25 Imperial walkers in cadence
    25 mountain climbers in cadence

    The Thang

    Partner up for sit ups
    50 each
    50 Merkins or your best without stopping
    35 sit-ups
    35 Merkins
    15 sit-ups
    15 Merkins
    Totaling 100 of each
    Jog to bus stop in remembrance of Steve
    His favorite. Yep on benches
    10 Freak Nasty’s
    10 box jumps
    10 Freak Nasty’s
    5 box jumps
    10 Freak Nasty’s
    3 box jumps so I’m out of shape
    Jog back to Trailhead
    2 min. Forearm plank
    25 flutter kicks in cadence
    2 min. Elevate legs 6” above ground or as long as you can.
    30 right leg step ups
    30 left leg step ups
    Gave last 3 min. To Chewy for some stretching exercises.