F3 New Orleans

Tag: Einstein

  • Back to school. Back to school, to prove to Dad that I’m not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don’t get in a fight. Ohhhh, back to school. Back to school. Back to school. Well, here goes nothing. – from Jose10k

    THE THANG:
    It was a bit cooler this morning, 74 degrees to start an Epic “Back to School Beatdown”
    We moseyed over the top of the stairs and YHC presented the white board. Time to go back to school and do the Billy Madison. Each grade represented an exercise and the PAX would do 12 reps of each, each round . The PAX would complete 1st grade, run down the stairs and run the ramp back up returning to the start. Next, complete 1st grade and then 2nd grade, run the short loop, returning to the start. The PAX would try to graduate and get through the 12th grade!
    1st Grade – Squats
    2nd Grade – Monkey Humpers
    3rd Grade – Lunges (2 is one)
    4th Grade – BBS
    5th Grade – Flutter Kicks
    6th Grade – LBCs
    7th Grade – American Hammers
    8th Grade – Merkins
    9th Grade – Freak Nasties
    10th Grade – Carolina Dry Docks
    11th Grade – Burpees
    12th Grade – SSHs
    COT and BBQ prayed us out.
    We managed to complete the 9th grade. We now have something to shoot for next time. BBQ commented that the beatdown killed the mumble chatter. I’ll take the compliment. SYITG, thanks for letting me lead/and or reading this bb.

  • The Land of the Midnight Sun – from Steve

    Jose has returned! Well, technically he was already on his third beatdown of the week (ok, as of this writing, his fourth), but for the Covington crew it was his grand homecoming. And he returned with tales of a mythical land where the sun never sets, the summer temps never hit the 60’s, and F3 doesn’t exist. Though that’s not entirely true since Jose brought the F3 with him: apparently he roped some poor bastard into doing 100 burpees / absolutions with him each day. This man never stops.

    Brief warmorama, starting in a slow Gipper-cadence and then gently ramping up.

    Then off to the rear of the Justice Center for a brief fling with Jane Fonda. We hit all three stages of Jane today (straight Janes, pulses, heel-to-knees), all at 15x IC, each leg.

    Then looped around to the front of the JC for the main event – a series of 11’s between the courtyard benches.

    Started off with the chest/shoulders: Derkins on one end, bear crawl across the courtyard to the opposite set of benches for freak nasties.

    It seemed fitting that Jose would endure this one round and then have to leave for work, as he was the only Pax present to also have posted for Shooter’s brutal shoulder beatdown Tuesday, and Hammer’s brutal shoulder beatdown Monday. (YHC was reprimanded with a: “This is why you guys need to start writing backblasts!”)

    Next set of 11’s were Bulgarians (2:1), lunge walk to opposite end, Step Ups (2:1).

    Didn’t get to the core round, which was just as well since, really, what’s the point of crab walking when Legal isn’t there to show off.

    Finally, an old Maverick classic – reverse bear crawl (or crawl bear, as the kids call it) up the courthouse steps. Followed by some calf raises, and back to the flag for an abbreviated Mary.

    COT with announcement of Duke of Hazards’ VQ this Saturday! (Moby’s response: “Some $#%@& kid in diapers telling me to do 1000 burpees….”). Then we checked BBQ’s hat-o-meter only to see that the sweat lines weren’t quite up to last week’s beatdown (though still hot enough that ol’ Sonny gave the warm air one sniff before thinking, “Nah…” and settling back into Moby’s truck).

    And finally BBQ prayed us out. Prayers for BBQ’s niece’s son, ten-year-old Charlie, who is going through a very tough time as he awaits a kidney transplant. And as always, thanks for this great group of men and the opportunity to lead.

  • That Ain’t The Way To Have Fun, No – from Steve

    With Jose away, the Pax will play – we took a break from the Purple Rain and dove into some Purple Haze on this hot and humid gloom, sweating it out to some 70’s classics (Yes, YHC had to adjust the playlist decade for the Covington crew, which skews slightly older – one day Pickaxe will hopefully be doing the same for me cuz I ain’t working out to no Drake!)

    Partnered up at the back of the Justice Center for some 100’s (not the Bushwacker kind): 100 cumulative reps of the following exercises (P1), with P2 running up the courthouse steps and doing 1 Bobby Hurley (temporarily renamed Caitlin Clarks by BBQ) before returning to pick up where P1 left off.

    Squats
    Merkins
    Lunges (2:1)
    Boxcutters
    Freak Nasties
    Alternating Step Ups
    Apollo Ohnos (2:1)
    T-Merkins
    Monkey Humpers
    Flutter Kicks
    Plank Jacks
    Rosalitas
    Crunchy Frogs
    Burpees

    Yes, I purposefully buried the burpees with the hopes that we wouldn’t get to them, which worked. Unfortunately, we did get to the T-Merkins, which gave some of the Pax PTSD from Pik’s H8! this past Saturday.

    Wrapped it up on the Monkey Humper round – knocked out 40 together before heading back to the flag. BBQ noted that starting with Randy Newman’s Mama Told Me Not to Come was just as appropriate as wrapping things up with The Allman Brothers’ Whipping Post. Touché.

    Speaking of BBQ, we checked his hat-o-meter sweat lines at the end of the workout (as has been tradition the last few times I’ve posted) and he surmised this beatdown was one of the top three most sweat-inducing. And while I’d love to take credit for such an achievement, I think if he just laid on the concrete in front of the courthouse he’d probably have sweat just as much.

    Moby also then provided a profanity-laced PSA about heat stroke, which is indeed a good reminder for all of us: Don’t be a %#@*$ idiot and mess around with that shit, get yourself some %#@*$ water. Yes sir! (Respect, respect, respect.)

    Oh, and it’s unanimous – go watch Your Honor!

    COT and Fletch prayed us out with much needed prayers for world peace. Always a pleasure and an honor to be out there with you guys!

  • Deck of Death/Doom with Coupons – from Einstein

    After a quick warmup, we grabbed the rain soaked coupons (which included some heavy monsters that Jose10K gifted to The Gipper), we deployed the deck – round robin style – with each pax drawing a card and choosing an exercise. We performed the card number of reps using the coupons. Joker draws were a lap around the city water tower triangle.
    Everyone had a good sweat going.
    Steve prayed us out.

  • “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” – from Einstein

    That’s not a F3 directive, just a song title by Georgia Satellites.

    And we all know how Jose likes to have his music playing, and this song comes on – before you know it – Jose and Fletch are performing a duet, fingers wagging and all. I must say; it was pretty impressive. If only BBQ had shown up I’m sure he would have joined in with his air guitar.

    The A1c started off weird with Moby coming in hot (usually he’s the first one to arrive), claiming his f* dog would not get into the f* truck, that little m*f*er.

    Then Jose tells Moby that Steve will be the Q next Friday, and more f*,f*,f*…
    We’ll cut Moby some slack – he was dehydrated.

    So on with the warmup – numerous exercises interspersed with BBQ-like observation of the surrounding natural beauty – sunrise, clouds, birds, dog turd piles, etc.

    Then on to the main event – the lazy man’s que – Deck of Doom. Each pax choosing a card and calling out the exercise of their choice. I squeezed in my least favorites: crab crawl, smurf jacks, and monkey humpers. all-in-all it was a sweatfest as we went into overtime to finish the deck.

    DarkWingDuck prayed us out.

    Moby brought watermelon for us all. It hit the spot

  • Blame Zoo – from Steve

    That was the refrain of the day after YHC called out, “Let’s get started,” and was met with a collective groan. Look, YHC isn’t even in the top 3 of the toughest Northshore Q’s (think Grundy, Hammer, hell, even Pickaxe/Chainsaw could give me a run for my money). Also, just personal philosophy here, but YHC believes we don’t need to be gutting it out every day during the week. Sometimes a simple four corners with some merkins and squats will suffice. Especially in this heat.

    However…

    There were burpees and Sister Mary’s to contend with if you happen to be a Spartaner participating in Zoo’s ISI challenge. And these gems (which otherwise would never have found their way into today’s beatdown, obviously) would unfortunately have to be passed along to the pax.

    The usual warmorama saw a little excitement when BBQ dared to poke the bear during torso twists, saying, “Now THAT is how you count torso twists. Some guys – not naming names (ahem, Jose 10k), just rush through it.”

    That was all it took – you could see the fire light in Jose’s eyes: “Oh, wait – hold up – you wanna talk cadence counting with me, BBQ?!?” The mocking began and eventually devolved into another gesture of self-love (not the warmorama kind) directed at BBQ. BBQ took his licks before YHC moved it along – nothing to see here.

    20x burpees, OYO. (“Zoo’s fault, not mine.”)

    Mosey over to the back of the Justice Center for some leg work:

    Round 1:
    20x squats
    20x lunge pulse left leg (SMK’s if needed)
    20x lunge pulse right leg (SMK’s if needed)
    20x mountain climbers (2:1)

    High knees run to the stairs, 5x calf raises up each step, mosey perimeter back to start.

    10x burpees to reset round (Again, blame Zoo.)

    Round 2:
    20x alt leg lunges
    20x monkey humpers IC (timed perfectly for a courthouse employee who made a very wide berth around us, though YHC had a hard time reading her side-eye of Moby, which seemed to be a mixture of lewd desire and also revulsion.)
    20x Apollo Ohno’s
    20x plank jacks

    High knees, calf raises, back to start. 10x burpees

    Round 3:
    20x Bobby Hurley’s
    20x star jumps
    20x smurf jacks
    20x Peter Parker’s

    And more high knees, calf raises, burpees.

    Amidst all the leg work we got to hear about Legal’s son’s pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, all 700+ km of it over the course of 39 days. Apparently, it was “life changing.” But then again, Legal says that to his son, everything falls into one of three categories: awesome, incredible, life-changing. Ahh the sunny optimism of youth. There was none of that to be found here at the Gipper – sunny optimism or youth – as we listened to Moby grunting and muttering f-bombs (presumably directed at YHC).

    Over to the benches for a quick set of 11’s: Freak Nasties, up to the top of the stairs, to merkins. Halfway thru we modified to Moby-style (no running), which was more brutal but helped with timing.

    Back to the flag in time for a quick one minute plank (again, Zoo’s fault), and then COT where Einstein prayed us out, with thanks and healthy wishes for the Pax’s new grandchildren (congrats BBQ and Einstein!). As always, it was a pleasure to be amongst the fine (and refined) gentlemen of Covington – seriously, you guys are a great crew. Every time I make it out there, it motivates me to come more often.

  • 4 Corners Core – from Einstein

    Warm and humid today – but it’s always a couple degrees cooler atop the Justice Center Parking Garage.

    Warmup: toe touch, arm circles, snap crackle pops, hi jack hi jills, side straddle hops, vertical penguins, grass grabbers, imaginary jump rope, scissors, etc.

    Thang: core exercises at each of the four corners of the parking deck, with running, bear crawling, lunging etc. to each corner.

    Plenty of chatter today, with Jose10k and Moby sparring as usual, and BBQ kept us entertained with his nature boy observations. It was a splendid sunrise, with a brilliant three quarter waning moon to the West. Fletch spotted a cumulonimbus cloud.

    DarkWingDuck prayed us out, with intentions abound.

  • It’s the Final Countdown!!!! – from Jose10k

    7 HIM took the red pill this morning to push themselves in this awful humidity. Einstein and YHC took off early for the prethang. A quick mile before the start of the beatdown. We returned to the flag to see 5 men eager to go, but something was missing. I left my gloves on the bench, but “someone” decided to walk off with them.
    Quick warm-up where Brexit (his first post at the Gipper) learned some new warm-up exercises. He also learned that when he posts with these gentlemen with wordly wisdom, being 38 brings the hate.
    The Thang: Simple countdown from 10. 10 reps of 3 exercises, run a loop, 9 reps of each exercise, run a loop, etc… The exercises: burpees, jump squats, big boy sit-ups. Finished up with 5 minutes of Mary including a Covington favorite: wife pleasers!
    COT with intentions for Moby’s friend Joseph, Einstein’s Daughter is expected a daughter!
    DarkWing Prayed us out. Thanks for joining me today/reading this backblast!. Come out and join us tomorrow at 5 am at the Scramble for some BEAST exercises! Zoolander is bringing the pain for his anniversary this weekend. SYITG

  • If My Calculations Are Correct, When This Baby Hits 88 mph, You Are Going to See Some Serious… – from Steve

    My favorite part of Q’ing a Gipper beatdown? The disgusted look on Moby’s face when he finds out I have the Q and starts muttering obscenities under his breath. It warms my heart and makes me realize that some tiny part of me actually looks forward to being Moby’s age.

    Light chatter among the gathering crowd before a group of us took off on the 1 mile pre-thang, which saw a little excitement today: a silver sedan barreling down Theard and blaring Fortunate Son, thought it’d be a wise idea to take a left turn (and, mind you, not an intersection empty of… say, 5 running pedestrians) at 65 mph and accelerating, nearly taking out Einstein. Of course, you can’t take Einstein down that easily – he deftly outmaneuvered both the vehicle and a large puddle without much effort. I guess all those ice skater hops and star jumps have paid off. The whole episode became slightly awkward when we then caught up with Fogerty only a block later, to find him gently reversing into his apartment parking spot (still full volume with the Creedence, though; I’m sure his neighbors love him).

    Having survived a brush with death and safely back at the Gip, we found a nice crowd of 10 for the Juneteenth holiday. Knocked out the usual warmorama before taking off for the back of the Justice Center for a routine of 3 exercises, 15 reps of each, followed by a lap around the courtyard and another 3 exercises:

    – Merkins, Squats, Dollies (IC)
    – Hand-release Merkins, Bobby Hurleys, Gas Pumps (IC)
    – T-Merkins, Lunges, Dying Cockroaches (IC)
    – Staggered Merkins, Star Jumps, Box Cutters (IC)
    – Wide Merkins, Sister Mary’s, Wife Pleasers (IC)

    Chatter of Shooter’s burpeepalooza from the day before – a routine named “Hightower” (but apparently NOT after the character in Police Academy?!?) – sent our Pax down the 80’s rabbit hole, with characters and quotes from One Crazy Summer, Better Off Dead, and others being bandied about.

    Next up, over to the front of the Justice Center for the usual leg routine:

    x12 IC Step ups, Freak Nasties, Step Ups (other leg), Derkins -> 5x calf raises up each step
    x12 IC Bulgarians, Freak Nasties, Bulgarians (other leg), Derkins -> 5x calf raises up each step
    x12 IC Step downs, Freak Nasties, Step downs (other leg), Derkins (we caught you doing extra derkins, Moby – so don’t be acting like this was a hard beatdown!)

    After solving the mystery of whether it was a Yorkshire terrier or Amber Heard that crapped the bed, it was finally time to call it and return to the flag. COT, announcements (more brutal Spartan training at the Scramble and an Akbar 5-year anny on Saturday), and then Einstein prayed us out with intentions for the Perrin family, the Tillery family, and Grundy’s new baby. It was really great to be back at the Gipper, made me realize just how much I miss this AO and the Covington Pax. Thank you gents for having us and for the opportunity to lead!

  • A half of a bottle of Caribbean Hot Sauce for two scrambled eggs? – from Fletch

    As for the norm, I showed up and there was Jose and Moby doing their normal prethang together. Fast pace walk with good conversation. I jumped in to join in the rant a little. Einstein joined then came Darkwing.
    Warm-ups: of course, we’re old, we need extra stretches to get the body going.
    First thing: 11’s on the ramp. Merkins on the top, squats on the bottom. Vary how you go up and down the ramp. About halfway through, Jose needed a break. He almost splashed merlot. That’s when we heard about his dinner last night. On his journey to lose weight for the Beast, he decided to eat a healthy dinner of 2 scrambled eggs. He took out his Caribbean hot sauce, opened the top, turn it over to splash a little of hot sauce, he accidentally poured half the hot sauce onto his eggs. A normal, intelligent man would have simply made two new eggs. Did Jose do that? Nope, the goofball didn’t want to waste the foreign hot sauce. After dinner, he proceeded to have a night filled with Tums and Pepto.
    After the 11’s, bear crawls came next. 1/3 of the parking lot, normal bear crawls, 1/3 crawl to the left, 1/3 crawl to the right the length of the parking lot. Then it was time for core: leg lifts, big boys, penguins, box cutters, wife pleasers. Then to the stairs, 2 calf raises each step to the bottom, 20 merkins, run across the parking lot, back to the stairs for 2 calf raises back up. COT, prayers for the poor girl who lost her mother and younger sister yesterday, and for Bird’s family