F3 New Orleans

Category: Backblasts

  • What’s better then a Merkin ladder? 2 of course!

    I guess its better late than never to post a back-blast. Eight men arrived in the dark gloom on Wednesday 5/2/18. Still no lights on Roosevelt Mall. The usual disclaimer and off we go.

    We moseyed down Roosevelt Mall to a warm-up COP.
    SSH x 20 IC
    Imperial Walkers x 20 IC
    Lunges x 20 IC
    Windmills x 10 IC
    Arm Circles 10 forward, 10 backward IC
    Mountain Climbers x 20 IC

    Next an Indian Run to the front of NOMA.
    Merkin ladder up the steps, 1 Merkin at the bottom, 11 at the top
    10 box jumps on the fountain at the bottom
    Repeat
    Merkin ladder up the steps, 1 merkin at the bottom, 11 at the top
    10 box jumps on the fountain at the bottom

    Mumble chatter ensues. As it turns out, 2 Merkin ladders not as much fun as it sounds. The Pax suggested a Reverse Merkin ladder for round 2 may be better. Perhaps they are right…

    Then exercises up and down the NOMA steps
    10 squat jumps at the top, 20 dips on the fountain at the bottom
    Repeat 3 times

    Next we moseyed to the Foundry for some circuits. 8 men, 4 stations:
    Pull-ups
    Body rows
    Step-ups
    10 WWII had the count
    2 rounds total

    Finally, to the track for some sprints, Hawgcycle-Style.
    We split into pairs. 1 man sprints 200 meters, the partner jogs across the infield to meet on the other side, sprint 200 meters, jog across the infield. 2 times around the track.

    A short mosey back to the flag. Count-off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a prayer. I am grateful to theses men for keeping me strong. Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

    Walleye

  • 2 is Enough!

    Well after a long month of filming a movie and missing many Q’s it was time to get back in the picture. Can’t say i was overly anxious to run 6.1 miles at 0445am
    But new i had to get back at it. Then the thought crept in my mind maybe no one will show and I can just go to gym for a light workout. But the morning breeze was so nice that thought left and new thought of maybe doing the lakefront and back little over 3 miles. But thanks to ONE of The Seal Team 6 members for showing up and pushing me a little further than a solo run would have brong. Shooter the man who really inspired the start of the cove held me accountable. Thanks Brother.
    There is NO doubt we are STRONGER together!

  • A Bulgarian Celebration of Cinco De Mayo

    YHC came in with high hopes of easily surpassing 3 miles in this morning’s Mothership.  Well, we only got to 2.8.  Below is a recap of my failure.

    Warm-up

    Line up on the great lawn:

    • High knees (20 yards)
    • Carioca (40 yards)
    • Butt Kicks (20 yards)
    • Arkansas Do-si-dos (20 yards)

    Circle Up:

    • Arm Circles (15 forward, 20 backwards) – Keep ’em up
    • Moroccan Night Club x 25
    •  Self-Love x 15

    The Thang

    Mosey to the Museum for some Red Hot Chili Pepper

    • 10 Bulgarian Split Leg Squats Right Leg Forward
    • 20 Decline Merkins
    • 10 Bulgarian Split Leg Squats Left Leg Forward
    • 20 Incline Merkins
    • 8 Bulgarian Split Leg Squats Right Leg Forward
    • 10 Decline Merkins
    • 8 Bulgarian Split Leg Squats Left Leg Forward
    • 10 Incline Merkins
    • 6 Bulgarian Split Leg Squats Right Leg Forward
    • 6 Decline Merkins
    • 6 Bulgarian Split Leg Squats Left Leg Forward
    • 6 Incline Merkins

    Mosey to the Bayou for 10!  Pace is important.  Be quick.

    • 10 Merkins, 10 Squats, 10 Big Boi Sit-ups
    • 9 Merkins, 9 Squats, 9 Big Boi Sit-ups
    • 8 Merkins, 8 Squats, 8 Big Boi Sit-ups
    • …….
    • 2 Merkins, 2 Squats, 2 Big Boi Sit-ups
    • 10 Merkins, 10 Squats, 10 Big Boi Sit-ups  (See what I did there?)

    Mosey on to the track for an SFx Special.  Partner up.  Pax 1 sprints a 200 meters while Pax 2 jogs across the infield to meet him.  Flap jack and meet on the other side.  Each team completed 1600 meters. #CrowdPleaser

    Mosey back the Great Lawn, for some Cinco De Mayo inspired Dora.  YHC knew there was no way were were finishing, but that didn’t keep us from trying.  Partner up.  This was the plan:

    • 100 Ocho-Count Body Builders
    • 200 Mexican Jumping Beans
    • 300 Moribundo Cucaraches

    A few teams made it through the Body-Builders and into the Jumping Beans.

    Sprint back to the flag for COT.  Welcome to our FNG Stooge and T-Claps to The Hokey Pokey for the EH.  Big Coffeeteria afterwards with 17 Pax.  T-claps to Bogey for buying with his NCAA winnings and T-Claps to Rudy and Fracsac for paying their burpee debt.  Bible Study with Woz on Q next week at 8:15.

    -Hawg

     

     

  • El Cinco de Dolor y Miseria

    Well, as they say… that happened.  The FBI physical fitness test pre-thang Q’d by Grundy started promptly at 0545 as promised, but it would require a prodding Bushwacker to keep this thing on schedule.  You see, until this morning, none of us (least of all Grundy) realized just how patriotic our lakefront residents were.  After knocking out as many sit-ups as possible in a minute, we slow-moseyed down the street looking for Grundy’s starting line… “a bench lined up with an American flag.”  Turns out there are a lot of American flags, and a bunch of benches out there.  A bit of confused back and forth and finally, worried about respecting the time, Wacker just took off on the 300 meter sprint.  The rest of the PAX quickly followed.

    T-claps to Grundy who got us out there, and to those men who got up early to complete the PFT: 1 minute of sit-ups, 300 m sprint, max out on merkins, 1.5 miles in less that 12:50.  YHC would call out each man individually, but the fog of being thoroughly beaten has settled in, and it’s a miracle I even remembered the 20 PAX who posted today.   Not sure who passed and who failed, but all men did admirably and with all the turnover going on at the Bureau these days, it’s a good thing they’ve got some young men like Grundy coming in.

    So yeah – 20 PAX this morning!  All the EH’ing and warm weather is paying off.  FNG’s are rolling in each week and that’s got the rest of us posting more regularly and upping our game.  Speaking of upping our game – YHC had sincerely thought last night about doing… well, not an easy beatdown, but maybe a more mild one?  But nah…

    Alright, enough rambling, here’s what went down:

    Warmorama: Toe Touches, Imperial Walkers, Seal Jacks, SSH, Butt Kicks, High Knees, Mountain Climbers, Plank Jacks.  All 20x IC.

    The Thang:

    Mosey west for a COP: 20x IC side to side plank hops, plank jacks, partner up for jump overs (20 OYO), in-out jump squats, and everyone’s favorite, monkey humpers.

    Ei said it best when he noted, “Well, now that we’ve embarrassed ourselves there…” onto the next location!  Mosey to the loading dock for what I knew would be a real crowd pleaser: burpees down the street!  More mumbling from Bushwacker (you really can’t be fasting that much with all today’s chatter), trying to tell me that I can’t eat an elephant one spoonful at a time, or some such nonsense.

    Because there were so many men this morning, YHC decided we’d partner up and P1 would hold plank while P2 burpee’d down the street.  It goes like this: burpee with the standard 1 merkin, but on the jump up do a broad jump forward.  2nd burpee has 2 merkins, followed by 2 broad jumps, 3 x 3, and so on, down the road.  It was fun.  Even better than I imagined on paper. 

    At about this time a few 10 counts were needed (in espanol for Cinco de Mayo), and then we moved over to the playground for a few stations.

    P1 holds a wall sit and does air presses while P2 hits the three padded stations: Sister Mary Katherine’s x15, hand-release merkins, and LBC’s, all single-count x15.  After 2 reps each, P1 does heels to heaven while P2 hits the stations, flapjack, 2 reps each.

    Next up, formed two lines to indian run back to the flag.  Finish up with Hello Dolly’s x25 IC.

    Countdown, nameorama, naming of our two FNG’s  (welcome Doolittle and Vel-Vito!!), and Splice prayed us out.  The only thing that would make this beatdown more complete would be a drive-by from Choppa…

    On to the Coffetería, which looked to have a little more action than usual with the table dancing, but you’ll have to check the groupme for that report.  A sincere thanks to this great group of men – despite my body’s response, YHC had a great time out there this morning.  Keep posting, keep the FNG’s coming, and hey, let’s try to get some of our missing comrades (ahem, Turtle and Bubba) back in action.  See you guys out there.

     

    EDIT: One (hopefully) final edit on this unusually long backblast: this was likely Carpool’s final posting as a Northshore resident.  As his family makes the trek over to the Woodlands, we wish them nothing but the best.  He’s been a great addition to the F3 family over here, and Houston will be lucky to have him.  Stay tuned for info on Carpool’s Woodlands launch (potentially mid-July?), would be great if a couple of us could make it out there to support him.

  • R.E.D. Friday – Iron Ranger Tribute

    Welcome to another edition of R.E.D. Friday.  There were 6 partakers this day and half of us were sporting red.  #overachievers.  Speaking of overachieving, Triple Shift hauled in kettlebells of various poods for the workout.  No need to do our kettlebell swings with drainage rocks this morning.  #Thanks4ThePoods

    Warm-up

    SSH x 31; IW x 31; Abe Vigodas x 15; Low slow squats x 20; Good Mornings x 15; Tempo Merkins x 10

    The Thang – The Iron Ranger Hero WOD

    • 22 seconds of silence
    • 94 Kettlebell swings
    • 94 Merkins
    • 94 Big Boi Sit-ups
    • 22 Burpees
    • 400 meter run

    One round took most of the time.  A few guys finished early enough to start the KB swings.

    NMM

    This WOD was created to honor, Army Ranger SGT. Joshua Rodgers.  Born August 22, 1994, he died on April 27, 2017.

    The name “Iron Ranger” is from Josh’s high school football mascot, the Ironmen and his position as a Ranger in the US Army. The 94 reps represent his year of birth (1994). The 22 represent his high school football jersey number, his date of birth, and how old he was when he died.

    Josh was serving his third deployment in Afghanistan at age 22 when he was hit by small arms fire during a high stakes raid on the headquarters of Abdul Hasib, the leader of ISIS in Afghanistan.

    Pray for his family and our other brothers and sisters deployed around the world.

     

  • Sweating on a Saturday wit “EMOM” and Dem!

    EMOM and DEM (you might have to be a “yat” to get it)

    What an awesome day to luck out as a fill in Q!  26 men decided to show up at the mothership for a Sat sweat which I wasn’t sure I had prepared to deliver.  But non the less the disclaimer was given and the Pax headed out, with one FNG in our group.

    We moseyed passed the grant lawn, with a few expected mumbles, for a longer run than most might have anticipated to then circle up next to the baby foundry and warm up.

    All in cadence:

    SSH x 25

    Slow toe touches x 25

    Windmills x 15

    Mnt Climbers x 25

    Shoulder Taps x 25

    Then we broke up into 7 groups (6×4 and 1×2) in order to utilize the foundry tools (some felt it was “too” close for comfort and modified):

    2 rounds of:

    Pull ups

    Incline push ups

    Step ups

    Dips

    Jump overs

    Hangs (some added leg crunches)

    Timer was 10 burpees (Hawg continued to encourage the ensure the over head clap was “heard” for good measure of performance).

    The PAX was ready for a 3rd round but there was a plan in place and we had a lot of work to complete, so mosey back to the great lawn.

    4 groups (2×7 and 2×6) Attack the corners with added burpees in the center x 2

    Each group started on a corner and completed exercise and reps prescribed by the QIC – then rotate (running) to the next corner while leaving corner #1 would run to center of lawn complete 5 burpees before going to corner #2, from #2 run long side to #3, from #3 run to center of lawn complete 5 burpees before heading to #4 then run long side to #1……repeat!

    #1 20 sqt jumps

    #2 10 each arm alternating push ups for total of 20

    #3 20 V Ups

    #4 20 Shoulder taps

    NOW, Pax was well oiled and lubricated, ready to finish strong!

    EMOM – EVERY MINUTE ON THE MINUTE

    QIC was nervous as there was just 20 minutes on the clock and there was no time to waste……had the PAX assemble in groups along the benches then barked out the instructions.

    15 Box Jumps…..cross the street and wait.

    Full Sprint to third tree (designated with big branch) and back!

    Bear Crawl out…..same tree

    Kong Back…..cross the street

    10 Burpees

    Every minute on the minute – So the faster you complete each THANG the more rest you get BUT the clock never stops for an expected 20 minutes of continuous effort!

    Pax (including the QIC) may have underestimated our fitness level as the 1st round was easier than expected BUT we all figured out quickly that rounds 2 and 3 kicked out butts!  Unfortunately we were not going to have enough time to complete the 4th round so instead of cheating the PAX out of the total 60 minutes we all showed up for, the QIC quickly transition to a bit of MARY –

    20 4 count flutter kicks

    1 minute of plank

    Then we headed back to the flag with pride that we all left a lot of sweat behind for Your Emom n dem!

    Circle Up – count off

    Today we had an FNG – now known as “Wetsuit”, big shout out of respect (54 as I recall), he came and hung with the group completing our stroll through the park.  No doubt I may have missed the opportunity of a more rounded “waterpick” name but maybe Wetsuit will bring an FNG that is a water skiing dentist!

    NameOrama – Intentions and closing prayer of thanksgiving!  God Bless!

    Planting a seed – Please check your family calendars for the month of July – looking to coordinate a F2 event where we can expand our camaraderie in a NON workout atmosphere, notice I didn’t say sweat as this would be Summer in NOLA  .  I’d like to suggest a Saturday afternoon, somewhere central for a BBQ with family friendly games.  July 14, 21 or 28.  More details to come!

     

     

  • Three Years of Respect

    A PAX can sometimes be a deaf lot, such as when a Q makes a disclaimer and then starts to mosey: huh, huh, what’d he say?  Where’s he going?  Hey, wait, we’re supposed to be following him?

    After a clearly articulated, strong-voiced disclaimer at precisely 5:30:00a, YHC started the usual mosey to Walnut, as the PAX slowly caught up with lots of mumblechatter.  We continued a mosey to the front of Tulane, but past the wall and into the area with more room.  After all, some of the PAX were, shall we say, gaseous.  Warm-up:

    • SSHs 31xIC
    • Hillbillies 28xIC
    • Monkey Humpers 31xIC (always a crowd pleaser)
    • Peter Parkers 30xIC

    Mosey to old stomping grounds with a new twist suggested by Reluctant Yankee: at the corner of Calhoun and St. Charles in front of the oh-so-lovely tiers landscaping featuring an elegant cement carving that just happens to spell LOYOLA, the Pax broke up into four groups (some difficulty encountered, apparently dividing sixteen by four can sometimes be challenging in the Gloom).  Group One: mosey over to the three-floor outdoor staircase to go up and down twice (that’s 24 up each time for those who climbed steps by twos and 48 down for those not crazy enough to do same on the way down, for a total of 144 steps–or so); meanwhile, Group Two did merkins AMRAP at the corner, Group Three did squats AMRAM on the first tier and Group Four did Nolan Ryans AMRAP on the second tier.  The merks were definitely the most challenging.  Cycle through until each group has done all four stations.

    After a somewhat quiet 20-count by Cowbell, the PAX moseyed to and up the central stairwell for Wolfpack Mountain.  At the top, the PAX divided into two groups (again, apparently, some difficulty in dividing sixteen in half).  Group One moseyed down the stairway to the third floor and back up, while Group Two did some prayer chairs; then both groups flipped.  Rinse and repeat once, and then a Circle of Mary:

    • Russian Twists 20xIC
    • Flutter Kicks 20xIC
    • Penguins 20xIC
    • Hello Dollys 20xIC
    • Crunchy Frogs 20xIC
    • Dying Cockroaches 20xIC
    • LBCs 20xIC
    • Dr. Ws 10xIC (apparently, YHC was going too fast?  He thought it was easier that way.  Beware, next time he might do it oh so slow to keep the burn burning hot.  We miss you, Side Effects.)

    Mosey back down the ramp and back to the would-be flag to finish at, RY will be happy to hear, precisely at 6:15a.  A black dog and his man Sea Man were dutifully waiting, with a bemused smile as he watched 16 (or really 15, since Pony Boy had to peel off) PAX drip sweat into the sweet, dewy grass.  Count off, Name-O-Rama, and a closing COT.

    #Moleskin: YHC was, um, a bit more exhausted (Douille thought YHC might need to go to a hospital) when he finished his first BeatDown, led by Splash on the first Friday of Jazzfest in 2015.  #TClaps to all the PAX for giving YHC three years and one week of great BeatDowns.

    Jingle Vader

  • YSR– technologically challenged?

    BIG 25 person PAX for a YSR Q

    Warm up:  partner one does defensive slides while the other does jumping jacks.  Flapjack.

    Repeat with Parker Peters and Imperial Walker Squats

    Mosey to the Mountain.

    Run up and alternate between 5 burpees and abs of choice x 20.

    BLIMP and wait at TOP.

    Run down the stairs.

    At benches Left leg power up, incline merks, right leg power up, decline merks x 20

    Back to mountain and Indian Run up

    At TOP – Circle of Mary (not sure which exercises were done for Mary)

    Mosey back to the FLAG –FINISH BLIMP and Wait.

    Welcome back KOTTER to Pony Boy!

  • Tramps Like Us

    These days, it sure doesn’t feel like YHC was born to run.  Mosey, maybe.  But run?  And run with sprinting?  No, no, no… not with the post-Classic staleness I’ve been battling.

    Of course, that’s the thing about F3 – the exercises you despise… well, they somehow, in some twisted way, make it into your Q.  And make no mistake, this is my least favorite beatdown.  But with Chewy firmly back in the fold, it seemed appropriate to bring back his most excruciating gift to the PAX: High Intensity Interval Training.  Basically, interspersing long sprints within our usual 5k run (the key word being ‘long’).  I know, it doesn’t sound too bad on paper, but boy is it miserable.  (A little less miserable than I remember, probably due to our slower pace and the fact that summer hasn’t fully kicked in yet.)   At one point Chewy provided some scientific papers to prove the method’s effectiveness over traditional running, but hey, you’ll have to scour the history of Northshore backblasts for that one. 

    First, though, a little warmorama: PAX lined up along the parking lot edge and did the following dynamic stretches: lunge twists, high kicks, knee tucks, carioca.

    Then time to hit the HIIT, knocking out about 5x 300-400 yard sprints sprinkled throughout the usual path to and fro Sunset Point.  Unfortunately for the PAX, Wacker is on some crazy fast and so the mumble chatter was, as POTUS might say, low-energy.

    Once back, a quick plank stretch before the PAX humored me by hitting the monkey bars for some hanging toe touches – hang from the bar, kick your feet up and attempt to touch your toes to said bar.  x12, with only intermittent success.

    And finally wrap it up with 15x IC Manmakers & 15x IC Crunchy Frogs.

    Countdown, nameorama, and Shooter led us out with prayer.  T-claps to Sprocket who’s now made two consecutive Scrambles after a long hiatus – good to have you back.  And thanks guys, I certainly would not have done that on my own!

  • to be continued…..

    Instruction received from a previous email posted by Northshore core Turbo who by the way will probably post a .5 on the ISI for his pre thang run sparked this Q to dive into the Lexicon in preparation for the Gipper beatdown. Had I known the astronomy lesson would incur upon arrival at the Gipper, one may have looked into the galaxy of workouts awarded your YHC and properly planned out the parameter of time before becoming overly zealous in the selection process. The Q and Steve were greeted by a St. Tammany worker gazing into the night sky, which he quickly pointed out Jupiter in the distance between trees followed by 10 o’clock of the moon and some other (forgotten named planet) closing with a lesson of seeing Saturn with binoculars on a clear night.. That is the extent of my learned lesson of astronomy. Anything further than that may I recommend a post at the Gipper.. With 4 ideas picked out for the beatdown, 0600 quickly approaching and the sound of gravel turning beneath Grundy’s mini wagon it’s time to circle up.

    Warmup

    15IC Windmills, 15 IC plank hand in front rotations right/left (to prepare for this upper body intense planned beatdown), 10IC front deltoid shoulder rolls in plank, 20IC Toe touches

    thang

    Moseyed to the back of the Taj Mahal for are first set. Dan Taylor’s 1:4 ratio of squat and alternating leg lunges. Setting the bar at 20:80 total the Q was quickly reminded by the ever specific Grundy that this was indeed NOT upper body.. Oh so correct Grundy! 20 would have certainly taken to long and so to be continued… has started. We completed 10:40 and proceeded to the flag pole in front where we partnered up for some 4×4’s. PAX keeps elevated palms to the sky while one of the pairs drops to plank for 4 Merkins followed by 4 MC. Upon return to their feet the next pair drops so on and so on. We make 4-5 rounds in total, Q has never claimed to be accurate with numbers that is Grundy’s deal anyway.. 😏 Upon completion we journey to the top of the parking garage for a distant, often, planned and forgotten Deck of Death.. My memory serves best of Glooms past at the Mothership, Marsh and ISI challenge of October 2017, which shall never be forgotten as the “I want to pump your chest until your pectorals bust those already tight shirts.” Instructions Hearts are Burpees, Spades are Merkins, Clubs are FK and Diamonds are sprints… Cards are face value with Jacks being 11 Queen being 12, etc. etc. with 2 jokers valued at 50 and the person who flips calling the exercise. Thanks Grundy for the continued upper body tear down with IC shoulder taps so what should have been 50 total turned into 50 each side 😩. After about 3 cards in the PAX welcomes in the baton carting Maverick, realizing time will become a factor we push to 0640 at which time the YHC informs the PAX of bad news and our

     

    to be continued…

    Moseyed back to AO with a min to spare and assume plank for completion..

    Nice job today men!!

    Keep pushing Moby, progressing well Brother..

    Till the next Gloom ✌🏻