F3 New Orleans

Tag: Garfield

  • Memorial Day Murph at the Marsh

    Fourteen men posted this morning to pay their respects to Lt. Michael Murphy and the millions of others who have sacrificed everything for our country.    To honor that sacrifice, we did The Murph.

    YHC gave a quick recap of Lt. Michael Murphy’s story – he was part of a four-man Navy Seal team that was overwhelmed by Taliban forces in Asadabad, Afghanistan.  All four men had already been wounded and, unable to radio for help from their sheltered mountainside position, it was Lt. Murphy who opened himself to more gunfire in order to successfully make the call.  In fact, after being shot in the back and dropping the radio, he picked it back up and finished the call before returning to the fight. He saved one man’s life that day.

    The crazy thing is just how many similar stories there are.  There’s PFC Ross McGinnis, 19, who deliberately threw himself onto a grenade in Iraq to save all four people in his vehicle.  Or Sergeant Henry Johnson, part of the Harlem Hellfighters, who suffered 21 wounds while rescuing a soldier and repelling a German raid in WWI. Or 1st Lt Jack Lummus who continued to give orders at Iwo Jima after losing both legs to a landmine.  The list goes on and on.  And today, we should take a minute while we are at our family BBQ’s or poolside and reconnect with that history and remember the legacy of these heroes.

    With that in mind, we began the simple benchmark workout:

    • 1 mile run
    • 100 pull-ups
    • 200 merkins
    • 300 squats
    • 1 mile run

    The PAX broke up the middle section into 20 rounds of 5 pull-ups / 10 merkins / 15 squats, then hit the final run hard, finishing right around 50 minutes.  COT and Grundy prayed us out.

    It was an impressive sight to see so many men post to the Milestone Marsh at 0500 on their Monday off.  For me, the legacy of our fallen heroes is folded into the DNA of F3.  I see the qualities of leadership and selflessness spreading across F3 nation as if they’re contagious.   And it’s not simply as a group, but the individual men of F3 all seem to embody that spirit personally.  And isn’t that the best way to remember our heroes, to try and embody their greatest qualities?  Thank you men for the remarkable effort, and enjoy your Memorial Day!

  • Luck O’ the Irish

    In YHC’s limited experience at the 10K Au Lait, today’s PAX of 9 men was, if not new, matching an AO record. That feat was thanks, in part, to 1st time attendee, Mick, who brought a little Irish luck this gloom in the form of “cooler” temps. Unfortunately, all of the Irishmen present did not have enough collective luck to ward of the misery of the soul-sucking humidity that’s only just getting started.

    So it was in jovial spirits that we began our “99%” traditional route through the quiet streets of downtown Covington…

    99% chicanery

    COT

    Mick took us out with some deeply shared sentiments of gratitude and appreciation. The invigorating run was followed up by some always enjoyable F2 coffeteria at Abita Roasting Co. Until next time, remember, all paces welcomed at the 10k Au Lait!

  • The Sound of Cowbells on the Farm

    With an inspirational consistency not seen since the Ol’ Ringo of ’18, YHC feels compelled to give special mention to Ei for cranking out a Mandeville Straight right out of left field! Also tumbling through the vast emptiness of YHC’s brain was the fact that today marked the 2nd (1st time in Q’s solemn presence at least) meeting of veteran south shore and veteran north shore legends in Mr. Farmer and Mr. Schedler.

    Speaking of Mr Farmer, as per somewhat usual, his long-time neighbor and homie Chewy came rolling in just late enough to let the warm up breathe a little. Further speaking of…

    WARM O RAMA

    This morning demanded we start of with:

    10x Abe Vigodas (great job counting PAX)

    10x High Knees

    25x Cherry Pickers

    10x Imperial Walkers

    THANG

    As the PAX embarked on the regular route, the mumble chatter began in earnest, despite the already-ubiquitous humidity promising a Shooter-approved beat down.

    MARY

    Upon reconvergence and ample recovery time (depending on who you ask?) the PAX gathered at the workout equipment, where Freddy Mercurys were continuously performed while each man did 5 pull ups and 5 knee ups. When all were done the beat down was concluded with 2 minutes of plank, right hand up, left hand up and back to plank.

    COT

    Steve lead us out by speaking his appreciation, which appreciatively did not evolve into a meandering ramble, as our collective exhaustion could’ve lent itself to. Thanks guys, you each rock individually and as a PAX!

  • Fuzzy Balls

    22 PAX strong on the Mandeville Lakefront. 23 if you count Brat who joined us for a little foreplay as he works his way off injured reserve. Brat, an officer with the NOPD, injured himself successfully tackling and arresting a bad guy. The PAX’s consensus is that he should use a Tazer next time Indiana Jones style or perhaps transfer to a Northshore police agency where a polite request to stop, issued with an English accent, is all that is required to apprehend a criminal.

    Kicked things off with warmup of seal jacks, toe touches, SSHs, imperial walkers, merkins, and Jane Fondas. We then divided into three teams, and YHC retrieved his bag and revealed his fuzzy balls.

    Each team received a fuzzy tennis ball (yes, YHC had three) and instructions to race with it about a half mile west along the Lakefront to the Shaft. To begin, there were only three rules: first, you cannot run if you are holding the ball; second, no pass backs-you cannot receive a pass back from the man you just passed to; and third, the entire team had to stop dead and perform five burpees every time the ball touched the ground before proceeding. Then Cowbell whipped a legal pad out of his briefcase and starting asking questions and for clarification on a few items so we ended up with a few more rules. No wonder you guys don’t get anything done on the Southshore.

    Circled up upon arrival at the Shaft for T merkins and alternating Supermans..

    Back to the races with another tennis ball sprint further westward along the Lakefront to the playground where we circled up for prisoner squats, hand release merkins and crab cakes.

    Raced back eastward with our fuzzy balls to the Shaft for a third COP consisting of a merkin wave, lunges, Supermans, arm circles, overhead hand claps, and air presses.

    One final race back to the shovel flag, wrapping things up with some Mary…single leg raises, scuba Steves and a 60 second plank.

    Countorama, nameorama and Phoenix prayed us out on the way to the coffeeteria.

    Thanks for letting me lead, guys, and thanks for competing so earnestly in the silly tennis ball game.

  • Raise Your Hand if You’re Steve

    YHC walked up to a healthy group of scramblers with words of salutation dripping from his already blustering pie hole. Never mind the fact that the thus-far gathered PAX were in the middle of a round of mumble chatter that caused looks of contemplative concern on most of their countenances. But more on that later…

    WARM O RAMA

    With a recent BB trend in mind, QIC lead the Pax in a random smattering Air Presses (my bad), High Knees, Butt Kicks, Torso Twists, Calf Raises and Slow Squats before High Skipping about 10 yards. Then away we went!

    THANG

    So, apparently, Steve has been battling a muscle receptor issue which was hindering his ability to straighten his arms. YHC has dealt with something similar in the past so he can empathize. However, this particular handicap made for a multiple-comment worthy running form as the scramblers scrambled along their scramble-licious route.

    T claps to the scramblers as a group, who have increased their average pace from around 9:30/mile last year to 8:30/mile now.

    MARY

    With our war torn compatriot in mind, Q wrapped things up with exercises modified to either lay flat on the back or tummy, including such bastardized favorites as Armless Freddy Mercurys, Hello Dollys, Rosalitas, Pumping Leg Presses, Circle O Superman, and Scorpion Kicks.

    COT

    Chewy prayed us out….

    Once again, F3’s resident physical therapist super hero, and the REAL reason we all post at the Scramble, Chewy was on the job. He got to polkin’ and prodin’ the Hobester, and after tricking a few of those muscle receptors, the arms were as straight as an arrow (though a bit sore).

    Guys, thanks for waking up at the butt crack of dawn and scrambling through the edge of Hades’ humidity to push yourselves and your F3 brothers.

  • Au Lait de Mayo

    What a glorious gloom for a gathering of galloping gentlemen outside of Abita Roasting. Always a myriad of mesmerizing mumble chatter can be heard amongst the meandering marauders. And today was no exception, as the tribe of tread heads ran the traditional trial through the tranquil trails (streets) of old Covington.

    As if this wasn’t fantastic enough, the PAX followed it up with some fabulous, free-ranging F2 over fine fine beverages and freakishly funny looking cookies.

    YHC enjoyed running and chatting with cousin Steiny, and may have stretched a little for his alliteration, but stretched a lot to try and catch up to the Sunday speedsters Turbo, In Time and Garfield.

    We even got a sample of The Hammer’s campaigning skills!

    We look forward to seeing the rest of you guys out there next time!

  • Run For the Roses It Was Not

    With the rain clouds threatening, and the forecast looking just as ominous, YHC did not know how many PAX would brave the elements for today’s beatdown. Of course, YHC should have known better as 17 men posted on the Mandeville Lakefront despite the rainy, wet conditions. Actually, the rain combined with a nice breeze to cool things off, providing a break from the recent humidity. But of course, mornings like this one are reminders of what it means and feels like to be “alive”, as Maverick alluded to in our closing prayer.

    WARMARAMA

    SSHs, Good Mornings, Torso Twists, High Knees, Butt Kicks, all to about 15 IC

    THANG

    Hat’s off to ZooRich for his imaginative, golf-themed beatdown last Saturday on the Lakefront. From what I hear, it was legendary! With no ideas of Grandeur Dancing around in YHCs very small brain, YHC decided it was time for a downpainment (more on that later) of sorts. After a quick mosey to the east towards RIPS, it was time to circle up for some Al Gore’s (3 sets, about 30 sec hold). Sprinkle in a set of Peter Parker’s and Parker Peter’s and it was time to mosey eastward again. Before turning up Lamarque St. to head to the Milestone Marsh, the PAX hit the seawall for some: Freak Nasties, Derkins, and Step-Ups.

    Sweat pouring, the PAX headed up Lamarque St. circling up at each intersection for some exercises: Flutter Kicks, Hello Dollies, Mission Impossible, Crunchy Frogs. The neighbors must have wondered, “who are these idiots, laying in the street while its raining?”

    MILESTONE MARSH

    Circle up at midcourt for a quick Merkin Wave, then down to Chill Cut with nearly each man giving a 10 count before recovering. Before heading back to the Lakefront, YHC must have been having a flashback to a recent Bushwacker-led beatdown at the Marsh: 10 Burpees.

    Indian Run back to the Lakefront with the last man dropping for 2 merkins before sprinting to the front of the line.

    Back at the Lakefront, YHC realized he had forgotten to recognize the master 10 Burpees. After all, Bushwacker borrowed it from somebody, don’t we all do that? Yes we do; so hat’s off to Coconuts, the master of 10 Burpees at the Milestone Marsh. Here’s hoping to a return to health, my friend!

    Circle Up on Lakeshore Dr. one last time for a rapid fire series of Bear Crawls, Bunny Hops, Shuffles, Back Pedals, and Sprints back and forth to the seawall. For good measure, sprinkle in some merkins, box jumps and freak nasties.

    With no time to spare, it was time to head back to the flag for Count off, Name o rama and COT. Welcome FNG Hansel, one of Zoolander’s neighbors (how many neighbors does he have?) to F3 Northshore. I hope your experience will be as powerful as mine.

    Thanks to Maverick for praying us out.

    Thanks men for braving the elements this morning. Thanks for following my lead, despite the lack of creativity for the beatdown. I heard that no one paid the green fee at the Zoorich Classic last Saturday, so good citizens as we are, I felt F3 Northshore had to make a little downpainment with interest.

  • ZOORICH CLASSIC

    After a quick disclaimer and Warmorama (18 x SSH, 18 x Toe Touches, 9 Windmills), the Pax moseyed westward and partnered up to commence a frisbee golf challenge. We had 18 holes i.e. crawfish trays (‘tis the season!) with a total course length of ~1 mile. For each hole, one partner threw the high quality, PDGA-approved disc (courtesy of Dollar General), while the other partner performed the following exercises between strokes for the respective holes. Partners alternated throwing and exercising throughout the course.

    Between Strokes

    Holes 1 – 3: Bear Crawl

    Holes 4 – 6: Wheelbarrow

    Holes 7 – 9: Lunge Walk

    Holes 10 – 12: Groucho Walk

    Holes 13 – 15: Frankensteins

    Holes 16 – 18: Burpee Broad Jumps

    Once the team completed a hole, both team members performed the following exercises with the rep count equal to how many strokes the team took to complete the hole.

    Hole          Exercise

    1                # x Freak Nasties

    2                # x Jump Squats

    3                # x Derkins

    4                #  x Squerkins

    5               # x Copperhead Squats

    6               # x Hello Dollies

    7               # x Gwerkins (As if the Squerkins weren’t bad enough)

    8               # x Burpees

    9               # x Donkey Kicks

    10            # x Plank Jacks

    11            # x Sister Mary Katherines

    12           #  x Big Boy Situps

    13           # x Crunchy Frogs

    14           # x Groiners

    15          # x Body Builders

    16          #  x Dive Bombers

    17         # x Box Jumps (No one completed as time ran out)

    18         # x Patty Cake Merkins (No one completed as time ran out)

    Team BEAN HAMMER started out rough with the first throw on the first hole in the Lake, but quickly recovered.

    Team STEVE GRUNDY put on a racy display of Squerkins, which are very likely to never be incorporated into another F3 Northshore beatdown.

    Welcome back two Pax back from Injured Reserve, Butt Splice and Tanked Up!, who inadvertently won unattributable points for best team name: BUTT TANK!

    Thanks to team JOSE RUSSO for scooping up the coupons at the end.

    Team scores were recorded on scorecards provided by the Q and tallied below with penalty 6s for unfinished holes. This simplified scoring normalization yielded team Shooting Sparks as winner of the 2019 Zoorich Classic. Congrats guys. Wear this badge of honor proudly!

    Counterama, Name-orama, ceremonial naming of FNG – Speedy Gonzales, and Butt Splice prayed us out. 19th hole coffeeteria at our usual spot. Thanks for allowing me to lead, Men. Hope you enjoyed it as much as YHC had dreaming it up. SYITNG!

  • Uniformed celebrity sightings at the Scramble!!

    5 PAX converged on the Scramble to post before the rain showers arrived.. YHC noticed Water pik already under the lamp post as I emerged from the park.. With no vehicle in sight Q realizing Water Pik had gotten in a little pre thang by running from home.. Garfield emerged from the darkness as Zoolander turned the corner and rolled in. With chatter bouncing around as each PAX joined, the time to begin quickly arrived but headlights rounding the bend revealed the Scramble would add yet another PAX in Chewy as he waited for him to join in…

    Warmup

    10 IC Imperial Squats

    15 IC Toe Touches

    10 IC Scorpion kicks (Garfield fav)

    15 IC Windmills

    Alternating lunge walk 30 yards to Zoolander’s car..

    Thang

    PAX began our Mosey down the standard ole Mandeville Route quickly establishing 2 different paced groups.. With Water Pik, Garfield and Zoolander pacing out front.. YHC and Chewy pulled the 6 with some great chatter along the way.. Returned to the AO for playground work with each PAX cycling through 10 pull-ups while the rest of us completed little Manny crunches OYO. 10 IC Freak nasties as each man completed Flutter kicks. Closed with Plank hold, left/right arm high as our Celebrity uniformed Captain Sparkles rolled in to make a down painment of different sorts..

    Count, announce, COT

    Appreciation to Zoolander closing the PAX with prayers to the sky Q!!

    Always enjoy the Gloom with you men 👍🏻👊🏻✌🏻 Till the next Gloom!!

  • The Millennial Beatdown

    Who knew that a workout titled “The Millennial” would actually be difficult? One would assume that given the reputation of Millennials, this would be the workout equivalent of watching Netflix. That being every 5 minutes someone asks “are we still working out”? Instead, we were introduced to a series that put the PAX and YHC into survival mode.

    But before that we warmed up with (All in cadence):
    1. SSH
    2. High Knees
    3. Butt Kicks
    4. Windmills
    5. Shoulder Series

    We then moseyed to Noah’s Ark (what I think we should call the neutral ground near Rips ever since Hammer’s beatdown) for the main event.

    Like I said before, the workout routine was called “The Millennial” and this is what we had to do. The goal is to get to a total count of 2000 as a team (roughly the time period Millennials were born). 1000 reps of exercises and 1000 meters of running. It turned out the loop around Noah’s Ark is around 350 meters versus 100 and so we ended up running around 3,500 meters. But as demonstrated on Saturday, my counting was not up to even 5th grade levels (as was pointed out by Jose).

    The sequence was the full pax does 100 reps each of a called exercise, then runs a lap back to a point where they gather again for the next called exercise. There were 10 cycles, which would get you to your number of 2,000 (Or 4,500 in our case).

    Millennials are always taking credit for other’s people work so why should the workout be any different? The first nine cycles end when the FIRST person gets to 100. The last cycle, is done together because eventually Millennials need to learn that they have to pull their own weight.

    We started each set with 6 burpees (It was 5 upon initial construction but changed last minute which led to a multiplication error).

    The sets were: 1) Carolina Dry Docks; 2) Squats; 3) Russian Twists; 4) Merkins; 5) Lunges; 6) LBCs; 7) Shoulder Taps; 8) Monkey Humpers; 9) 100s; 10) Burpees (Remaining number to get to 100 after burpees from previous rounds)

    We moseyed back to the flag and arrived at 7:30 on the nose. We circled up and Hammer closed us out.

    Thanks for letting me lead gentlemen. You always make me better!!!

    Over and Out,
    Grundy