F3 New Orleans

Category: Backblasts

  • Happy Hawg Day

    Brrrrr….  YHC woke up to a delightfully crisp 46 degree morning.  Today is YHC’s 1 year anniversary with F3 (thanks again to Bogey and Heisenberg for dragging me out), and its been a great year.  I’ve enjoyed the camaraderie, the workouts, the inspiration.  Thank you NOLA F3 Nation.

    For todays 1-year Q, I went back to my first Rock City sessions to pull some routines from the bag of pain dished out by today’s birthday boy: Hawgcycle.  He was Q for my first 2 Rock City workouts (first time because Amnesty apparently fartsacked, though I didn’t know at the time what that meant).

    COP 1: Off to the grass by the rocks for the opener.  SSH x25.  Then YHC decided to try something new – the Hillbilly Squats x20.  YHC does not think that one will make a return appearance.  Plank up for the rotation: Peter Parker, Mountain Climber, Parker Peter, Plank Jacks and Shoulder Taps all x20.

    Grab your rock.

    COP 2: Hawgcycle memory bank #1: Bloom where you’re planted.  We aren’t moving for a while.

    • Shoulder press x10, x8, x6, x4, x2
    • Curl x10, x8, x6, x4, x2 (oh, hi Mav.  Thanks for joining us.)
    • Row x20, x16, x12, x8, x4
    • Bench x20, x16, x12, x8, x4 (that cold morning dew felt great….)

    COP 3: Mosey over to the flag football field for Hawgcycle memory bank #2: Lieutenant Dan with a Rock.  Con Rocca, 1 Squat, 2 Lunge.  2 Squat, 4 Lunge.  3 Squat, 6 Lunge.  Repeat until you reach the fence.  That was further than it looked.  At the fence, Hawgcycle memory bank #3: Jack (Rock) Webbs: 1 Murican (hands on rock), 1 Shoulder press (con rocca).  2x.  3x.  4x.  YHC hears grumbling.  Must. Persevere.  5x.  6x.  YHC hears that 6 must be magic number.  Nope.  7x.  That’s the Hawg magic number.

    COP 4: Circle of Mary.  2 (or 3) PAX off to foundry for 5 (or 10) Pull ups (timer).  The rest of the group does Mary waiting for the return.  LBC, Flutter Kicks, Freddie Mercury, Cockroach, Rosalita.

    Time for Lieutenant Dan with a Rock back the other direction.  Plank for the 6.  Then hold it for a 90-second minute.

    Return your friend, and mosey back to the flag.

    Count off (13 at Rock City – nice showing gang!), Name-o-rama.  Finish with our prayer.  YHC thanks the group for the inspiration they have offered.  YHC asks for blessing of God’s grace to use the gift of today to serve Him, and others.  May all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving week.

  • Yoga-free Friday

    I had the pax settled in for a light stretching warm up and was about to roll out the Yoga mats when Rudy arrived on the scene. To not further the Uptown image as a pax of lightweights I audibled.

    Thang:

    Progressive burpees around the jogging track: burpee plus one more at each successive jogging man icon on the track. Plank and wait.

    Slow mosey through the roots and then mosey back up Walnut street to St Charles.

    LIMPS: Lunges x 10, Imperial Walker x 15, merkins x 20, Plank Jack x 25, Squats x 30 ad we ran down the neutral ground. New exercise at each crossstreet until set LIMPS.  Creative street car dodging included.

    As an F3 ad and to block the neutral ground for joggers we did some plank work followed by mission impossible x 20s.

    Mosey across the Loyola campus to the Tulane ROTC pull up bars.  3 groups.  First group on the pull up bars with 1/2 the group spotting to 10 and then alternating so the spotters get their 10. Other two groups doing step ups and incline/decline merkins.  10 is all the pull-ups YHC can muster so one set it is.

    Mosey back to WP mountain.  Divide up in 2  lines and Indian run to the top. Nice work.

    20 count and partner up. Running partner takes stairs to 5th floor, runs up the ramp to 6, and then stairs up to 7. Stay at home partner does LBCs while mourning loss of running partner.  Switch.  Repeat twice more with shoulder taps and real Freddy Mercuries being the exercise.

    Mosey back to the place-where-we-normally-leave-the-flag for nameorama and sweaty COT.  QIC expanded on the Proverbs verse ‘as iron sharpens iron, man sharpens man’ and asked the Lord to help us strengthen each other. Yoga next Friday!

  • Strike that, Reverse it!

    …yademos niaga siht od s’tel ,semit dooG
    reyarp & amar-o-emaN ,ffo tnuoC
    sdnoces 02 IM ,knalP ,pU mrA tfeL ,knalP ,pu mrA thgiR ,knalP
    :galf eht ot kcab htap trac eht nwod nuR naidnI
    tnuoc eeprub 01 no etator – stauqs & snikrem-knalp ,seeprub ,spu-llup :spuorg 4
    :sraB yeknoM ot nuR naidnI
    51x pmurT edarmoC ,51x skciK rossicS ,51x pmurT edarmoC ,51x sylloD iH ,51x pmurT edarmoC ,02x sylloD olleH ,51x pmurT edarmoC ,02x skciK rettulF
    :neerg eht ot nur naidnI
    01x snikreM enilceD ,51x ULL ,21x srekraP reteP enilceD ,51x ULR ,51x skreM enilcnI ,02x USLL ,51x spiD ,02x USLR
    :niatnuof eht ot nur pu sdnaH
    tnuoc eeprub 01 no etator – stauqs & snikrem-knalp ,seeprub :spuorg 3
    :elop thgil eht ot kcart eht nwod nur naidnI
    tnuoc eeprub 01 no etator – stauqs & snikrem-knalp ,seeprub ,swor :spuorg 4
    :srab wor eht ot yesoM
    .krap eht dnuora tnuaj suorogiv a rof ffo tes xap eht ,spungis Q yratnulov )non( nevele dna remialcsid feirb a retfA

  • Hail to the Comrade!

    After a brief disclaimer and eleven (non) voluntary Q signups, the pax set off for a vigorous jaunt around the park.

    Mosey to the row bars:

    4 groups: rows, burpees, plank-merkins & squats – rotate on 10 burpee count

    Indian run down the track to the light pole:

    3 groups: burpees, plank-merkins & squats – rotate on 10 burpee count

    Hands up run to the fountain:

    RLSU x20, Dips x15, LLSU x20, Incline Merks x15, RLU x15, Decline Peter Parkers x12, LLU x15, Decline Merkins x10

    Indian run to the green:

    Flutter Kicks x20, Comrade Trump x15, Hello Dollys x20, Comrade Trump x15, Hi Dollys x15, Comrade Trump x15, Scissor Kicks x15, Comrade Trump x15

    Indian Run to Monkey Bars:

    4 groups: pull-ups, burpees, plank-merkins & squats – rotate on 10 burpee count

    Indian Run down the cart path back to the flag:

    Plank, Right Arm up, Plank, Left Arm Up, Plank, MI 20 seconds

    Count off, Name-o-rama & prayer

    Good times, let’s do this again someday…

  • #VQ #PTSDawareness #22Kill

    YHC hasn’t posted in more or less 2 weeks due to IR and personal obligations, so when I saw the gloom this morning; it….was….beautiful. Met by a record number of Okwata pax, I knew my VQ was going to be a good one.  There was nothing more to do than offer up a disclaimer and get to the thang….

    Mosey around fountain (rather quickly) and circle up in the lawn

    COP – all 22 count

    1. Side Straddle Hop
    2. Don Quixote’s (23 b/c YHC lost count)
    3. Arm Circles (11 forward, 11 backward)
    4. Mountain Climbers

    Mosey around the fountain, up & over the levee, around the old oak tree, and back….PARTNER UP!

    • 1 Partner will run around the fountain, up & over the levee, around the old oak tree, and back while the other partner performs exercise (4 different exercises will be performed)
    1. Plank Jacks
    2. Tempo Merkins (2 count up, 2 count down)
    3. Step Ups
    4. Dips

    At this point, YHC had to report to baby duty b/c LOML got called out to work last minute. I gave my VQ message.

    • In 2012, the VA realized a Suicide Data Report that an average of 22 veterans are killed by suicide every day. The COP and COQ count was set at 22 to honor every victim and let them know that they are not forgotten.
    • The 4 exercises chosen were PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) to remind us that when our partner was away from us, we were suffering. It wasn’t until our partner came back that we got a break. This serves as a reminder to reach out to any friend or family (especially vets) who suffer from PTSD and let them know that we are with them.

    YHC gave the final instructions to the pax, and just like that he disappeared in to the sunrise, never to be seen again…(*sounds of the Second Bell)

    Final Exercise

    • COQ (Circle of Q) – Each Pax will choose an exercise and lead in cadence. Count is 22
    1. Tool – Russian Twist
    2. Hawg- Peter Parkers
    3. Rudy – Hold It!….Parker Peters
    4. Triple Shift – Flutter Kicks
    5. Heisenberg – Hold it! Flutter Kicks again.
    6. Surge – Nolan Ryans (switch sides at 11)
    7. JV – Dr. Ws (This was a world record for Dr. W reps.  Form was out the window for me after 10.  We thought we could sense JV getting tired at 22, but we it was probably wishful thinking on our part)
    8. Fracsac – Freddie Mercurys
    9. Maverick – Wife Pleasers
    10. Sunspot – WWII sit-ups
    11. Cowbell – Squat Pulses (in honor of everyone’s favorite Fart Sacker)
    12. Woz – Carolina Drydocks
    13. Tool – Burbees (OYO)
    14. Hawg – Calf Raises on the Sea Wall.

    GBA S2T

     

  • Pimps and Zombies

    Five of F3’s finest posted for the usual Wednesday sweatfest in City Park.  Apparently many of the ruckers are still recovering…or just being lazy…or doing Zumba…or???  After the disclaimer and the usual Shorty fartsacking ridicule, our modest PAX moseyed down Roosevelt Mall and peeled off in the field for:

    SSH x50 IC

    Burpees x10 OYO

    Bear Crawl to the hill (60-70yds?)

    This had the PAX awake and ready to roll.

    Next up, mosey to the Foundry for some PIMPS:

    P – Pull Ups x5  (t-claps to Cowbell for the extra credit)

    I – Imperial Walkers x10

    M – Merkins x15

    P – Plank Jacks x20

    S – Squats x25

    Rinse and repeat twice for a total of 3 rounds.

    Towards the end of the circuit we saw a group of 20-30 bodies off in the gloomy field running our way.  All we could make out were dark silhouettes which made for an intriguing sci-fi like experience.  After determining it wasn’t a zombie invasion and it wasn’t the latecomers showing up tardy, we watched them circle up for some PT in cadence.  T-claps to whatever group it was out there….military we presume.

    Wrapped up at the foundry pull up bars with a 1 minute hang for lagniappe.

    Head to NOMA and gather up around the oval sculpture pond for a hybrid ledge circuit.  This was something new so YHC warned the PAX it would be a work in progress and expect changes on the fly.  PAX line up an arm length apart, all PAX crank out specified exercise while last guy “Indian” runs around the outer curb of the pond and re-positions on the far end of where he started.  This was tricky to explain to the PAX and even trickier to type out in this BB but it seemed to work ok.  We determined 3 (or 4?) laps was a good timer for each round then switch exercises.  Here’s how it went:

    Round 1 – Dips

    Round 2 – R Side Step w/Knee Up

    Round 3 – Hip Slappers

    Round 4 – L Side Step w/Knee Up

    Round 5 – Knee Ins

    Round 6 – Dips

    Round 7 – R Side Step w/Knee Up

    Round 8 – Hip Slappers

    Time was ticking and groans were prevalent so we called it there.  YHC just realized he failed to balance off the legs with L side steps.  To be continued.

    Indian Run back to the flag with one minute high plank to seal the deal at 6:15.

    Nothing earth shattering this am, just another solid showing by the crew.  T-claps to Duct Tape for becoming a “regular” with continued posts and also t-claps for pushing hard through the Indian Run.  Topped off the morning with a great COT and sweaty ball of man.

    Tool

     

     

     

  • Breakin’ Rocks in the Hot Sun

    More like Breakin’ Cinder Blocks in the Gloom to be honest.  So YHC was careful to give the disclaimer this morning.  Not only did the PAX include FNG Collard Greens, but the THANG included the inaugural use of cinder blocks on the Northshore.  While the Southshore PAX are rock and cinder block experts, YHC was concerned that their country brothers here on the Northshore might not prove quite as adept at handling awkward objects.

    So the THANG started with a warmup under the Gipper’s gaze:  SSH, IW, Merkins, torso twists, windmills, and arm circles, all IC mostly for 15 reps.

    Mosey to the cinder block pile, grab one and then mosey over to the School Board Taj Mahal picnic area for a couple sets of:  squats, RDLs, upright rows, curls, shoulder presses, and manmakers, all IC 10x with the cinder blocks, followed by box jumps up and over a couple of picnic tables.  Lucky for all the School Board employees, Collard Greens waited until the end of the beatdown to splash Merlot discreetly.

    Next up were five sets of quick foot toe taps on the cinder blocks, a 30 yard or so sprint across the parking lot, followed by a return mosey and then a cinder block throw.  This is where YHC’s inexperience with awkward objects made itself evident.  Green Mile crushed, and YHC means crushed, his cinder block with a throw.  Not really thinking things through, YHC encouraged continued destruction (who doesn’t like breaking things?) but reversed himself in short order once it became evident that the PAX would not be returning to the Trailhead with any City owned cinder blocks unless YHC reigned them in.  So we replaced the throws with squat jumps after the second set, but YHC is determined to find something the PAX can throw once he pays off the installment loan on the replacement cinder blocks he will promptly deliver back to the City.

    Indian lunge walk back to the Trailhead exchanging the remaining cinder blocks under EiEi’s guidance.  Mary at the Trailhead:  Putins, ABCD abs, Scuba Steves, and Nolan Ryans, all IC.

    Count-o-rama, name-o-rama, and prayer.  Einstein has the Q next Wednesday.  Thanks for letting me lead.  Welcome to the PAX, FNG Collard Greens.

  • F3 GrowSchool & GrowRuck

    If you’ve been on the Twitter machine lately, you may have seen some PAX throwing out the words GrowSchool and GrowRuck. My man Mini-Me and I have been fielding some question about these two initiatives so we thought it’d be a good time to open the proverbial kimono and let you know what these things are all about.

    The purpose of this post is to briefly explain the two events, and help growing regions choose which is right for them!

    GrowSchool

    GrowSchool is curriculum developed by OBT and Dredd as a Q School with an emphasis on Growth. The big-ticket items covered in GrowSchool are:

    • Why Growth (& Destruction) is good for F3
    • How F3 Regions Typically Grow
    • Common Regional Growing Pains
    • Why Regional Status is a Worthy Growth Goal

    GrowSchool helps Regions understand why #GiveItAway is an F3 imperative and why, in the world of F3, if you aren’t growing, you’re dying. It’s intended for Nomads (or expansion AOs) that have been in existence at least 6-9 months and want to accelerate toward Regional status in support of F3’s mission to Plant, Grow and Serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of Male Community Leadership.  

    A location is an ideal candidate for GrowSchool if the PAX have some momentum and are wondering what the Next Step is. F3 Nation sends in a couple men to teach about F3 Growth, serve as liaisons on the road to Regional Status and push the local PAX to face outward in their community.

    The typical timeframe of a GrowSchool is as follows:

    • Friday night 2ndF event for all PAX with GrowSchool Qs (1-2hrs)
    • Saturday AM Convergence beatdown led by GrowSchool Qs (1hr)
    • Saturday Coffeeteria/GrowSchool (2hrs)

    For more information about bringing GrowSchool to your location, contact MiniMe (gcburdic@gmail.com or @MiniMe_F3  on Twitter).

    GrowRuck

    GrowRuck is a weekend-long event that combines GrowSchool with a GORUCK Tough. By adding a CSAUP event (which brings a huge dose of 1st and 2nd F) to the GrowSchool experience, F3 Nation aims to catalyze and accelerate a location’s growth.

    GrowRuck is ideally suited for AOs (or a collection of locations) that have been around for a year or longer. A good indicator that a location is ready for a GrowRuck is when PAX find themselves standing around asking, “What’s next?”

    OBT and Dredd developed the idea for GrowRuck as they began teaching GrowSchools and realized how important CSAUP events are to F3’s growth in a region. In particular, they drew on their own experience as members of GORUCK Tough Classes 193 and 707 and the role that those events, with their emphasis on teamwork and bonding, played in catalyzing F3’s growth in Charlotte and the surrounding regions

    Because the class size for a GrowRuck event is around 30 participants, GrowRucks are ideally suited to F3 locations where they can draw from multiple AOs within driving distance (GrowRuck 01 is taking place in Jacksonville, FL, but is also drawing significant contingents of PAX from St. Simons and Savannah, GA.)  That being said, not everyone in an AO or region needs to participate in the Tough to get something out of GrowRuck, as many of the weekend’s events are open to all PAX.

    While  GrowRuck can be customized to fit the needs of each region, the basic format is:

    • Friday night 2ndF Event
    • Saturday AM workout + GrowSchool
    • Saturday PM GORUCK Tough (12-14 hours)
    • Sunday AM breakfast

    If you think a GrowRuck would be a good fit for your F3 location, or if you and your F3 friends have been discussing doing a custom Tough Challenge, we would love to hear from you.

    For more information about the GrowRuck contact Robber (sean.rankin@gmail.com or @srankin on Twitter).

  • 610 Stomp #65

    3 610 Stomp diehards gathered around the flag in the gloom on a brisk morning, ready to get warmed up.  YHC gave the disclaimer at 0530 on the nose, and the PAX was off.  This on time launch left one PAX in total disarray, but as a strong member of the F3 nation, DaParish refused to give up without taking on the Stomp with some burpees!  YHC, Rudy and Tool took to the traditional route and ran about 4.5 miles, no stopping, no burpees.  YHC is signed up to Q the next 610 Stomp, and F3 Nation can count on a change in the plans, perhaps incorporating some tradition into the mix.  If any PAX wants to know what to expect, gather around the flag and see!

    Tool and YHC were left in the dust by Rudy around Cabrini on the way back to the flag, but that was no surprise!  The PAX still finished strong!  Rudy ran a little extra, and the PAX all finished at the flag right at the 0615 mark.

    COT-count off, nameorama, announcements, intentions, and ended with prayer.

    T-Claps to DaParish for doing the Stomp on his own!  He even posted proof on Da Twitter!

    Thanks for letting me lead!

  • Let’s Get It Baby

    I love posting with Marlin, because he always knows the exact moment any of us needs encouragement.  It comes about four-fifths the way through 11s, when for the 16th time you are picking up a rock that you now realize is way too big for you and you are trying to muster the ability to at least slow jog up Pontiff Peak.  Or maybe it comes when you’re doing 25 shoulder presses right after a set of 25 bench presses on the t-ball bleachers in some weird masochist experiment Bubba is trying out.  Or maybe it comes on your 8th of 10 sets of pull-ups, when you stopped being able to do a pull-up four sets ago.  It comes at various times, but it is almost always in the same form:  “Let’s get it baby.”  When I hear those words, I get my second wind.  I know I am almost there.  I know I am not defeated.  There is someone with me and he’s about to knock this thing out.  We are going to win.

    For that reason, YHC was not going to let some slight GoRuck hangover stop me from posting at Marlin’s Q.  I was out of town for his VQ, so I was going to make sure I made this one. Marlin rolled in at 0530 – right on Q (see what I did there?).  Marlin gave the disclaimer and we were off to the rocks.

    The Thang

    Warm-up COP:  Marlin played it cool and pretended not to know the name of any of the exercises.  The introduction to most of the exercises went like this:

    Marlin:  What do you call that exercise when you move your arms forward in circles?”

    The Pax:  Forward Arm Circles?

    Marlin:  That’s it.  Let’s get it.  1…2…3…

    So in that fashion, we did the following in cadence: Hammy Poppers x 25, Forward Arm Circles x 15, Backwards Arm Circles x 15, Side Straddle Hop x 25; Ski-Jumps from a Mountain Climber Position (Marlin Special) x 25

    It was time to grab our rock and the man said to go big.  Bubba listened.  YHC, however, tried to be smarter than usual.  From there we moseyed to Pontiff Peak for 10s.  10s you ask?  Marlin’s daughter just played her last volleyball game at Sacred Heart.  In honor of her and her volleyball number 72…psyche…18 (9+9) we did 1 bench presse ascending to 9 on one side of the peak and 9 squat presses on the other descending to 1.

    Borrowing from Amnesty’s Q script, Marlin instructed us that it was time to take a break.  We headed to the outhouse and went People’s Chair con roca.  After 3 45-60 second sets of People’s chair and a serenade from Bogey, it was time to mosey to the track.

    We set our rocks down in the north end zone.  It was mentioned that John Doe wanted us to throw our rocks over the goal post and catch them on the other side.  I’m not sure about the catching part, but I’m all for trying to throw them over the goal post.  It would be like fence chunkers on steroids.  Probably not good for the field – we were dangerously close to crossing the vandalism line with Tool’s meteor shower workout – we’ve been good stewards ever since.  That goal post is tempting though.  Maybe catching them is the answer.

    I digress.  The next exercise was named Diamond in the Rough (for not knowing any names of the exercises, Marlin is pretty good at making them up.  Just wait until you see what he came up with for Plank’o’rama).  Side Shuffle to the 50 yard sideline – 18 push-ups…er…Merkins.  Side Shuffle (face the other direction to achieve balance in your life) to the center of the south end zone – 18 lunges (each leg counts).  Run backwards to the other 50 yard sideline – 18 Freak Nasties.  Run backwards back to the center of the north end zone, pick up the rock you left and do 18 squats.  We repeated, this next time it was a race between the two halves of Pax.  Losers had to remove their pants – a punishment dubbed the Mike Yenni.  That didn’t really happen, but the threat was enough to push me across the finish line first.  Jingle Vader, much more comfortable and confident in his skin, took his sweet time to finish.

    Everyone kept their pants on as we returned our rocks to the pile.  About half way back to the flag, we circled up for the Rotisserie Chicken – I told you it was good.  $10 that if Yankee reads this Backblast he does this exercise in his next Q.  Start out in boat.  After 30 seconds, move to high plank on left side, after 30 seconds move to regular high plank, after 30 seconds move to high plank on right side.  Repeat, but use elbow planks.  After the last set, sprint to the flag.

    COT

    Tough Mudder preparation started today.  Prayers for the sick and injured, including the High School DB that broke his back.  Marlin led us out with an Our Father to cap off an excellent Q.