F3 New Orleans

Category: Backblasts

  • Merkin Madness and Frozen SeaMan

    Bartman informed the Pax halfway through the gloom that frozen Seaman will last forever. True. Strange, but true. I’m not sure what question lead to this strange revelation, but true. So, anyway… YHC was a little nervous for my virgin Q at Wolfpack Mountain. Then I rolled in 1 minute late to a Pax of 16 men anxiously awaiting their beatdown in the gloom. Aye-yi-yi. Sorry to keep you waiting, my brothers.

    But safety first! We made time for the usual disclaimer, and off we go. We made a slow-mosey loop down St. Charles Avenue to end at the beautiful lawn in front of Loyola. Even after the freeze, it’s still some of the best grass Uptown. Circle up for the first COP:

    SSH x 20 IC
    Imperial Walkers x 20 IC
    Low slow squats x 20 IC
    Windmills x 10 IC
    Arm Circles 10 forward, 10 backward IC
    Mountain Climbers x 20 IC

    Next we mosey to the bottom of Wolfpack Mountain for Animals Up the Mountain. What better place for Animals on Parade than Wolfpack Mountain??? Well, this was met with several groans, and as it turns out, there may be better places for this than a parking garage. But we must press on!
    We ran up the garage, and did animal walks at each end of each parking level.
    Floor 2: bear crawl
    Floor 3: crab crawl
    Floor 4: plank walks (OK, OK, not an animal, but whatever)
    Floor 5: duck walks
    Floor 6: frog jumps

    The top of Wolfpack Mountain is the best part of this location for YHC and many of the Pax. On this day, we will use this beautiful spot to alternate between Mary and Merkins. 2nd COP:

    Merkins x 10 IC
    Flutter kicks x 20 IC
    Left-arm staggered Merkins x 10 IC
    Hello Dolly x 20 IC
    Right-arm staggered Merkins x 10 IC
    Single-leg V-ups x 10 IC
    Left-leg cross-over Merkins x 10 IC
    Penguins x 20 IC
    Right-leg cross-over Merkins x 10 IC

    Down the mountain we go to the park benches on the Quad. Everybody grab a bench.
    Left-leg Power-Ups x 20 IC
    Dips x 20 IC
    Right-leg Power-Ups x 20 IC
    Decline Merkins x 10 IC

    Mosey back to the great lawn and partner up. One partner lunges across the lawn and back while the other partner holds a regular plank, left arm plank, and right arm plank. 2 sets, and we are out of time.

    Run back to the flag. Count off, Name-o-rama (apologies to Sandbar for calling him the wrong name in my oxygen deprived sate), announcements, intentions, and a prayer. A shaky start and a shaky ending, but we got it done in the middle! Thank you for letting me lead!

    Walleye

  • On the Fly at The Mothership

    Reluctant Yankee was scheduled to Q for the Mothership, but the Baton Rouge Launch was calling for him like a Hyena mother calls for her pups in the middle of the night. Since YHC had some commitments with the M this day, it made sense to take the Q and let our Regional Nantan show his F3 physique to all the new Baton Rouge men, a sign of what F3 will do for you.
    YHC was preparing the beatdown the night before, then a bottle of wine came calling, similar to some of the calls made by referees against the Saints in a playoff game. There was just too much to consider….would it be raining….would it be muddy….does any of that really matter…..?
    With the list sabotaged, it would have to be on the Fly!
    After a brief disclaimer, and some mumblechatter from Rudy about being one of the worst he’s ever heard, it was off to the peristyle for a warmup. Rudy went the other way, running his 20 miles this day in preparation for his marathon in March. That’s some serious commitment! T-Claps to Rudy!

    Warmup
    SSH IC x 31
    Imperial Squat Walkers IC x 10
    Mountain Climbers IC x 20
    Peter Parkers IC x 20
    Parker Peters IC x 20

    Mosey to the NOMA Fountain
    Box Jumps x 10 OYO (No Bongo today, so all good)
    Derkins IC x 10 (4 count)
    LL Step Ups IC x 10
    RL Step Ups IC x 10

    Short mosey to the line of trees for a modified Dora (Thanks to Tool for the inspiration at the Uptowner beat down)
    Partner Up
    Pax 1 Bear crawls from tree 1 to tree 2, then backward bear crawl from tree 2 to tree 1.
    Pax 2 does Burpees
    Flapjack
    Continue until 100 Burpees cumulative is complete.

    Short mosey to the bike path on the other side of NOMA for the Bataan Death March
    Indian Run on bike path, with last pax dropping for 5 burpees, then sprint to front of the line. YHC was the last Pax to drop for Burpees, and the Pax conspired to speed up the mosey to bring a little extra pain to yours truly. Well played……

    Shorty mosey back to the row of trees for a modified Burpee merkin fest
    First tree
    5 regular burpees
    Bear Crawl to second tree
    5 double merkin burpees
    Lunge walk to third tree
    5 triple merkin burpees
    Bear Crawl to fourth tree
    5 quadruple merkin burpees
    Lunge walk to fifth tree (you guessed it)
    5 quintuple merkin burpees
    Sprint back to first tree

    Mumble chatter was flowing about burpees, so more burpees shall be served up!

    Short Mosey to the NOMA Fountain
    Partner Up
    Pax 1 run up steps, do 5 burpees, run back to fountain
    Pax 2 Dips AMRAP at the fountain
    Flapjack until 5 full evolutions are complete, or 25 burpees to each pax

    Short mosey to green space near the tracks for some Mary
    Flutter Kicks IC x 20 (YHC commented to keep your head off the ground, which induced much mumble chatter for all of Mary)
    Tin Snip IC x 20
    Hello Dolly IC x 20
    LBC IC x 20
    Freddie Mercury IC x 20
    Putins IC x 10

    Mosey back to VSF. Upon arrival YHC found one minute remaining, so mosey to the Great Lawn for 10 Burpees OYO.
    Mosey back to VSF.

    COT

    Count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and closed with a prayer to the Sky Q.

    NMM
    T-Claps to the several Pax that found their way to Baton Rouge today to help spread F3, which is a gift that is difficult to describe in words. We come together from all walks of life, where we share a common goal, which is to become better men and to become stronger leaders, among other things. I’m honored to be a part of F3. The coffeteria after the beat down is always great, and is never dull!
    The Pax each did roughly 115 burpees today, with a lot of other exercises. Well done, men!

    SYITG!

  • A Bit Warmer 610 Stomp

    I originally wanted to take the route over the Wisner overpass and do some “hill” work,  but from initial drive by Monday night,  way too much construction and hazards….. Last thing I want to be responsible for is an injury to Rudy disrupting the Marathon aspiration.

    So we take the normal route 15 minutes out to the bayou and back,  doesn’t get get any easier than this.

    Back to the track,  run the straights,  jog the curves for a short speed work out.

    Then some good old fashioned stretching, no need for Burpees or Merkins,  6-7 leg stretches

    15 dying cockroaches

    20 LBCs

    Hold a plank

    I think it is time

    Count, name-a-rama, announcements, intentions, COT.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

  • Bear Crawl and Bicep Bonanza

    A no-frills yet solid morning was enjoyed by five men at The Uptowner on Friday.  The Q slot was empty the day before so YHC hopped on it and threw together some ideas to bring the sweat.  The focus was stretching, core work, and showing some love to the biceps.  Here’s what we did:

    Windmill x15

    Arm Circle x20

    123 Ups (not sure of official name?) x20

    Lunge Hold x45sec ea side

    Stationary Inchworm x20

    Peter Parker x20

    Low Country Crab x20

    Low Slow Squat x20

    SSH x30

     

    Grab a rock and line up approx 15yds from the paved track.  Here we completed a grueling round of Elevens:

    Rock Curl at start x1-x10

    Backward Bear Crawl to track

    Merkins x10-x1

    Forward Bear Crawl

    This brought out some grunts and groans, as well as some signature JV breathing.  Glad to report that the PAX dug deep and made it happen with very little modifications.

    Regroup and circle up for a four minute “Rotisserie Chicken” plank routine, one of Marlin’s specials.

    Then on to some more rock bonding:

    Curl x20

    Row x20

    LS Squat x20

    Curl x10

    Row x15

    Curl x10

     

    Next up, a round of Mary:

    Crunch Block Press x20

    Hello Dolly x20

    Penguins x20 (stressed good form getting shoulders off ground and reaching to front of foot)

    maybe one more???

     

    Then, shoulder press rocks as we walk back to rock pile and gather around the flag for 2-3 minutes of stretching.  T-claps to Triple Shift, our kinesiology guru, for hoping in and leading on of the stretches.  COT to seal the deal.

     

    Always a great way to start the day.

    Tool

     

     

  • Are you a 5% man?

    Just another day at the Cove: 4 men, 10k, 0445.

    Pre-thang, Bushwacker was on a fact-finding mission about tomorrow’s clown car up to BR for the launch:

    “You going?” YHC asked.

    “Ah, maybe.  Just gathering intel right now.”

    Uh-huh.  YHC knows what ‘maybe’ means.  Bushwacker himself said it not too long ago: “If someone says ‘maybe,’ there’s probably a 5% chance they’re actually going to do it.”  I parrot that back to him, then we do a quick countdown, nameorama, and we’re off to the races.

    Though with no Southshore to impress, our pace was considerably less aggressive than our Ivan pace from last weekend.  Still, we managed around a 9:20 average.  The Cove remains the only Northshore beatdown where you can get in some good F2 during the thang, and Shooter never lets me down as a running partner – making the long run pass quickly.   Bushwacker and Pelican were right behind keeping each other company.

    When Bushwacker rolled in to the finish line clutching his stomach and running for his car keys (something that happens every so often after a 10k), I realized I had forgotten the prayer and said so, but also mentioned that we’d understand his need to run for the nearest bathroom.

    Well, Bushwacker is no 5% man.  He found a comfortable position while Shooter prayed us out, and was almost immediately touched by the grace of God and regained his composure.  (He also committed to tomorrow’s BR beatdown.)  It’s as Captain always says, ‘Only above average men out here at the cove.’ Always a pleasure guys, thanks!

  • The Foundry

    5 men braved the cold on this morning to better themselves.  The usual disclaimer and off we go.

    A short mosey to the first COP:
    SSH x 20 IC
    Imperial Walkers x 20 IC
    Low Slow Squats x 20 IC
    Windmills x 10 IC
    Arm Circles IC, 10 Forward, 10 Backward

    Route 66 down Roosevelt Mall, stopping at each park bench.
    Start with 5 dips, increase 1 dip per bench, ending at 16.

    Mosey to the Baby Foundry. 5 stations for 5 men. 2 rounds.
    1. 10 burpees has the count
    2. Pull-ups
    3. Body rows
    4. Hanging knee ups
    5. WWII sit ups

    Next we Indian Run to the fountain in front of NOMA.
    Box jumps x 10
    Incline Merkins x 10
    Box jumps x 10
    Dips x 10
    Run down Esplanade and back
    Left leg step ups x 10
    Decline Merkins x 10
    Right leg step ups x 10
    Dips x 10

    Indian run back to Roosevelt Mall for some Mary:
    LBC’s x 20 IC
    Flutter kicks x 20 IC
    Hello Dolly x 20 IC
    American Hammer x 20 IC
    Then we mosey back to the flag, stopping at each light post for 5 squats.

    Back at the flag, count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and a prayer.
    Thank you for letting me lead!
    Walleye

  • A change of scenery at the Scramble!!!-

    As I strolled through the park to the courthouse the QIC noticed (2) F3 Brothers waiting for his arrival. Carpool and Watepic have become a staple at the Thursday AO and are two men this QIC count on for keeping him accountable to Post..  I planted the shovel flag and joined in the conversation, but as I scanned the parking area looking for a fellow named Turtle, I quickly realized he had made his star studded return Tuesday at Grandmas House and this Gloom we would NOT be welcomed again with his presence.. 0515 and gotta respect the time so let’s begin gentleman. 25 SSH IC and upon completion here comes someone rolling in hot, could it be the one who committed the night before to posting? Nah… But it was Choppa who had stated Tuesday he would be returning to the Scramble, so welcome back Choppa glad to have you back.  25 Merkins OYO followed by 25 IW IC. Set out for the run considering wether or not to bring the burst back, but decided to stick with routine on the Mosey. The PAX did however Journey a different path on this chilly Gloom passing up Waterpics dark, warm and comfortable looking home along the way.. I am sure the temptation was there for him to stop and cuddle backup for a quick snooze, but he did of course mention that, had he known we would pass this way he could have snoozed a little longer and jumped in along the way.. As we Moseyed Choppa educated us men on the PT guidelines for The Few, The Proud, The Marines.  Which consists of 23 dead hang pull-ups, obstacle course high and low crawl carrying 30 pound ammo cans across a field, fireman’s carry a fellow Marine with in 10 lbs of ones weight, 120 crunches in under 2 mins and I thought I heard a half mile run at what would be a 5:30 mile pace and I am sure I am missing something… Gentleman, and that of course is why they call them The Few and The Proud.. Completion 3.5 miles total finishing with an avg. 8.57 pace back at the AO. With 10 to spare  the PAX headed to the Monkey bars for descending pull-ups 8,6,4,2. Between each set doing 10 Merkins and 10 Elevated Swing crunches.. For completion hit our six for a little Mary. 25 IC LBCs followed by 25 IC FK and wrapped up with a 1 min low plank…

    Appreciate you men posting on this chilly Gloom and allowing me to lead!!

    Count off, announcements, COT

    Thanks to Carpool for praying us out!!

  • The 4 Horseman at Okwata

    Okwata just doesn’t get enough respect. Let me clarify that statement; Jingle Vader posts to Okwata quite often, so it gets lots of Respect, so it’s the other kind of respect it lacks. YHC read the informative email from our NOLA Nantan at the beginning of the week where, once again, Okwata lacked a Q. Has Okwata not shown enough love? Do we need to bring the H8 back early? YHC was reviewing his own schedule last night and saw an opportunity to post to Okwata. Upon checking the Q sheet and seeing a vacancy, YHC dropped his name in the slot.
    YHC arrived at the AO with 3 minutes to spare, and none other than JV was awaiting. As YHC informed JV that the Q slot was now taken, Mahatma joined us. YHC gave the disclaimer in the 44 degrees weather with a wind chill that brought it down a few more degrees. Time to get warm……

    The Thang

    Mosey to the fountain, which is where Abacus joined us. Our mosey around the fountain included a carioca to the left, then to the right. Circle up on the green space in front of the fountain.
    SSH IC x 31
    Imperial Squat Walkers IC x 10
    Arm Circles IC x 20 (10 FWD, 10 BWD)
    Abe Vigodas IC x 10

    Double Shots with Jack Webb at the Barre
    1 merkin, then 2 air presses in peoples chair against the fence around the fountain
    2 merkins,then 4 air presses in peoples chair
    3 merkins,then 6 air presses in peoples chair
    Continue the pattern…..
    10 merkins, then 20 air presses in peoples chair

    Mosey to the House of Pain (HOP), taking the levee route to get there for some stations

    Station 1 – Bear crawl from HOP up the levee and complete 5 burpees, run back down (timer)
    Station 2 – Dips AMRAP
    Station 3 – Step ups AMRAP
    Station 4 – Pull ups AMRAP
    Rinse and Repeat

    Mosey to Canal and Lakeshore Drive for Four Corners, where the Pax does an exercise IC then runs to next corner.

    Corner 1 – Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10
    Corner 2 – Monket Humpers IC x 20
    Corner 3 – Merkins IC x 30
    Corner 4 – Squats IC x 40
    Return to Corner 1 – 10 double merkin Burpees OYO

    Mosey back to VSF for Mary
    Flutter Kicks IC x 20
    Hello Dolly IC x 20
    Sudden Change – 10 Burpees OYO
    LBC’s IC x 20
    Tin Snips IC x 20
    Sudden Change – Mosey back to levee for:

    Quadraphilia!
    Always facing Okwata, run backwards up the levee, and run back down, and that equates to 1.
    Repeat 5 times OYO.

    Mosey back to VSF

    COT
    Count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and ended with a prayer to the Sky Q.

    NMM
    Abacus is becoming a regular at Okwata, which is outstanding. This was the first time Mahatma joined us at Okwata, and of course JV is one of our staples.
    Thanks for joining me today. There are plenty of opportunities to sign up for Q, so take a look and see what you can do.
    Baton Rouge Launch is this Saturday. It’s going to be a good one, so go if you can. Mothership is on as usual, so post there if you can’t make it to BR.
    Thanks for posting with me today!

    SYITG!

     

  • Back to the Farm

    This morning’s beat down was never going to compete with yesterday’s star studded event.  Reading Steve’s BB on his way out the door to the Gipper, YHC grudgingly conceded to himself that the likes of Choppa, Ocho, and Nacho Libre could not be expected to rise out of their fartsacks for two consecutive mornings.  It could have happened, YHC guesses, if Turtle had committed to back to back Qs.  Lacking the draw of a rock star Q like Turtle, however, YHC could only hope that he wouldn’t be posting alone. Fortunately there were a few PAX out there unaware of yesterday’s celebrity meetup, but YHC wasn’t too off in his prediction as Gipper regular Tanked Up regrettably decided he would not post with the rank and file this morning.  Et tu, Tanked Up?

    So it was to be a working man’s beat down this morning, strictly meat and potatoes.

    15 minutes or so of dynamic stretches on the train platform then a short mosey to pick up a couple of half filled sand bags for the main event:

    AMRAP for 20 minutes:  35 yards farmer’s walk with both sand bags, 35 yards run, and then 35 yards backpedal making up one round.  Shooter carried his sand bags like bean bags, and the rest of us struggled.  Good thing we all have office jobs…except for Bushwacker I guess but he is in lawn care management.

    Back to the Trailhead for Mary:  scorpions, swan preps, jackknives, and flutter Freddy Mercury’s, all IC.

    Countorama, nameorama, and Moby prayed us out.

    Thanks for letting me lead men.  I always look forward to Wednesday morning at the Gipper with you.

     

  • Celebrity Q

    Much like POTUS’ final season of Celebrity Apprentice which starred the likes of Geraldo Rivera and Ian Ziering, this morning’s Celebrity Q brought the biggest names of the Northshore PAX out of retirement.  Along with the return of Turtle came the long-awaited return of founding-father Nacho, as well as Ocho and Choppa.  It was also Tanked Up’s first foray into Grandmother’s House.  Had this beatdown been broadcast, it surely would’ve been a ratings bonanza. Like, totally huge.

    In keeping with Turtle’s dislike of rules and regulations (see Krazy Ivan disqualification for reference), the Q had us skip the warm-up portion of the beatdown and head straight into some shoulder work.  (Spoiler: there would be a lot of shoulder work.  In fact, that was the only thing Turtle had planned for us this morning.)

    The Thang: 40 merkins OYO, followed by shoulder taps 25x IC, arm circles forward 20x IC, reverse 20xIC, and air presses 40x IC.  Not sure at all about those numbers, even though YHC was the one doing the counting.  (Another Turtle thing, he has yet to conquer counting in cadence…)

    Round 2: After YHC deliberately disregarded the Q’s request for only 15x IC Shoulder Taps, the Q wrested back control of the beatdown and finally tried counting in cadence for himself.  Air presses 20x IC, arm circles forward and reverse 15x IC, and finally, 15x merkins OYO.

    Then a mosey through the woods to the tunnel, where the PAX circled up for… merkins, shoulder taps, air presses, and arm circles!  Then Turtle turned the Q over to YHC, who attempted to show the PAX a new 8-count exercise that consisted of a groiner (1-2), down into an elbow plank (3-4), plank jack (5-6), and back up to normal plank (or “F3 Plank,” as the Q today would call it).  This was semi-successful, as Tanked Up seemed to have it down.  So it’d be a partner routine, with P1 doing the 8-count exercise described above, and P2 sprinting have the tunnel, back-pedaling the rest, and doing 10 jump squats before returning in the same manner he came.  YHC had planned a few rounds with various exercises, but again, Turtle did not like the way things were proceeding and decided it was time to head to the bus stop for some leg work.

    Knee Ups, each leg 15x IC, Freak Nasties 15x IC, Bulgarian Splits, each leg 15x IC, Freaks, 15x IC.

    And the grand finale – turning the Q over to Choppa for 5 minutes of Mary: Crunchy Frogs, Flutter Kicks, Hello Dollies, Jane Fondas (L&R), and some merkins to bring it back full circle.  All to some intense music that I’m pretty sure is used for action movie trailers.

    Nameorama, countdown, and Turtle closed it down with a thoughtful prayer.  T-claps to all the men who made it back after such a long hiatus, it really was a lot of fun seeing you guys again.