F3 New Orleans

Tag: Medulla Oblongata

  • Bring Sally Up – again

    Humidity is a reality right now.  The constant feeling of sticky sweat – and living in a dog’s mouth.

    We ran a loop by the golf course.  Then circled up at the bandstand in Audubon.

    SSH x 20, Imp Walker Squats x 20, Mtn Climbers x 20, Dead bugs x 20

    Then we made a plan… 25 rows at the row bars, 25 Russian Twists at the bandstand, 25 dips on the benches and 5-10 pullups at the pull up bars – plank until you get an open spot.   Run one loop to complete and then plank and wait at the bandstand.  I was trying to avoid any push ups after Gabrielle’s push up destruction on Monday.

    Then we circled up for SALLY UP.   Squats to Flower by Moby.

    Then we did Superman to Bow x 1 min    YTWs for back work x 20

    Then we did another loop.  Same deal except we did 25 plank jacks at the bandstand and BLIMPS to wait.

    Then we circled for a FINAL Mary.

    LBC, Peter Parkers, Plank Jacks, Dying Roach, Parker Peters, Flutter, Rosalita, Shoulder Taps, and Bird dogs x 20

    Tried to stay on the core today to give the arms/shoulders some recovery time!

    A pleasure to LEAD.  Thanks for the opportunity.

  • RED Friday – Tommy Mac

    This year the first Friday of the month has been RED Friday at The Uptowner.  I have to give credit to F3 Greenwood.  I stole their idea and sometimes steal their workouts.  Today we celebrated the life and service of Sgt. Thomas MacPherson.  More on him in the NMM.

    Conditions: 81 degrees and 91% Humidity (Heat Index of 89 in the gloom)

    Equipment:  Rocks Ranging from 30 – 50 pounds

    Warm-up:  SSH x 31: IW x 31; Abe Vigodas x 10; Good Mornings x 10; Moroccan Night Club x 31; Self-love x 10; Copperhead Squats x 10

    The Tommy Mac uses 5 different lifts, so we practiced a few with the rocks.  These lifts actually require a barbell, so we made some slight modifications in order to perform them

    • Thrusters – Squat, then press rock above head.
    • Power Snatches – Pick up rock from the ground, lift over head, then throw it back on the ground real manly like.
    • Push Jerks – Shoulder Presses with a rock that’s too heavy to shoulder press.
    • Hang Squat Cleans – Curl the rock, then squat.
    • Overhead Squats – Just keep the rock at chest and squat.  Don’t get crazy.

    The Thang

    • 12 Burpees
    • 12 Thrusters
    • 12 Burpees
    • 12 Power Snatches
    • 12 Burpees
    • 12 Hang Squat Cleans
    • 12 Burpees
    • 12 Overhead Squats

    We went AMRAP.  I believe everyone completed 2 rounds in 28 minutes, some started a 3rd before time was up.

    NMM

    Today’s workout was in honor of Thomas MacPherson.  Sgt. Thomas R. MacPherson, 26, was killed in action on October 12, 2012 by enemy forces during a heavy firefight while conducting combat operations in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. He was leading an assault against an enemy position when he was mortally wounded by small arms fire.

    MacPherson was a team leader assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. He previously served one deployment to Iraq and this was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan.

    The “Tommy Mac” Hero WOD was created by elite-level coach Rudy Nielsen of CrossFit Outlaw (Alexandria, VA, USA), who first posted the workout on his “The Outlaw Way” blog as the workout of the day for October 27, 2012. The post included the following quote from Tommy’s former Platoon Leader:

    “The whole thing with Tommy is that he embodies everything that’s right about Ranger Battalion. He held the position of Ranger Team Leader which is literally the tip of the spear. He was the consummate, quiet professional—he expected absolutely zero recognition for what he did. He loved his job because he was a born protector. He was perfectly content to carry out his life’s work under the cover of darkness, with his and his comrades’ actions to remain forever under the cloak of shadows. He died doing what he loved; protecting all of us. What stood out about Tommy the most was his maturity beyond his years. I believe it was the fact that he was the older brother of younger siblings, but like another Sgt. said “Tommy wasn’t one of those guys who joined the Army and grew into a man. He joined as a man and grew others.” He left behind his beautiful wife wife, Claudia MacPherson, and their son, Brayden.”

    Lagniappe

    • It was great to be joined by 3 actual Uptowners at The Uptowner.  I believe that is equal to the number of Uptowners that have posted in the past year.  If Uptowners ever outnumber the World at the Uptowner, we may consider a name change.  These Uptowners handled themselves admirably.  Tools always said an Uptowner would never suvive the Uptowner, but these three proved him wrong.  I hypothesize that since they are relatively new to F3, they have not been sufficiently softened by the tickle fights that occur at the Skinny.  Let’s get Douille or Yankee out here and see what happens then.
    • It was agreed by all that the rock exercises were the best part of this workout.  #BurpeeLoveHate
    • No Mahatma today, so I believe it was Tool that took home the prize of WOD crusher.
    • Pay attention to what Abacus wears.  He gets it.
    • I did my best Cowbell impersonation and wore flip-flops to the workout.  Difference is that I worked out instead of drinking an umbrellaed libation and looking on.  Baby steps.  (If Shorty is reading this, this is where he says “I think you mean Cowbell steps.”)
    • 2 Rounds = 120 burpees which we all did correctly and can count toward the June ISI challenge of 10,000 merkins.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Core Crunch

    My first Q in a while was core-focused.  I rolled in hot and was the last one to join the PAX.  We kicked things off with some warm-ups in place:

    -20 x SSH

    -20 x plank jacks

    -20 x mountain climbers

    Then we moseyed over to fairway near the pull up bars.  The sprinklers were on, but it didn’t seem like they’d hit us where we circled up…but then they did.  Whoops.  We did a J-Lo Ring of Fire, with exercises up to 5 while the rest of the PAX planked.

    We then Indian Ran to the benches at the front of the park.  We did a Dora 1-2-3 with 100 LBCs, 200 Nolan Ryans and 300 LBTs.  Time was running out though, so we modified our last exercised and headed on.

    We ran 1 x running man jog, 2 x running man sprint to a green spot near the row bars next.  We circled up and did some more core exercises:

    -20 x Hello Dollys

    -20 x Rosalitas

    -20 x Dying Cockroach

    -20 x J-Lo

    Then back to the flag to count/name off.  Good to get back in the swing of things, Q-wise.

  • Wolfpack Mtn intro to the Deck of Death

    A little slow with the bb but here it is nevertheless…

    Inspired by the new for sale deck of death – and realizing that as far as I know – the Uptown crew has never lived a Deck of Death.  So I brought a deck and we did the deed on Wolfpack Mtn.

    We ran to the lower area of WPM – here we did SSH x 2o, Imperial Walker Squats x 2o, Mtn Climbers x 20 and Dying Roaches x 20.

    From there we ran to the top.

    At the TOP we started our deck of Death!  – Spades were burpees, Hearts were plank jacks, Diamonds were merks, and Clubs were Peter Parkers

    Each ACE was a lap down the stairs then up the other stairs.

    I removed the twos.  So we did 151 of each exercise.  We didn’t complete the 9 and 10 of spades so we were 19 burpees short but all other suits were completed.

    We did 3 aces but on the 4th ACE ran back to the flag.

    We had a solid PAX of 24.  I unfortunately didn’t document the PAX but I will add some names of guys I was 100% sure were there.  I will add some names if you notice your name is missing – send me a text or email F3 NOLA.

     

  • sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you

    The PAX gathered at the AO ….

    Standard disclaimer and mosey around the track with a left turn across Magazine St, past the Audubon Zoo sign and into the green parking lot.

    Warm up COP

    5 burpees OYO , SSH x20 IC, Peter Parkers x20 IC, Sealjacks x16 IC (sealjacks are boring), Mountain Climbers x20 IC, 5 burpees OYO.

    Mosey across the parking lot and through the gates to the Southeast Louisiana Flood Control System (aka the levee). Line up on the path for 7’s. Catalina wine mixers at the bottom and 2 leg lunges at top. OYO.

    PAX moseyed to the molehill at the end of the fly soccer fields. Pair up. Partner 1 bear crawls over the mountain, down the other side, does 30 LBCs, then moseyed back around the mountain.  Partner 2 holds a low plank until 1 gets back.  Flapjack twice.

    Mosey to the fly playground, divide into rough groups of five to rotate through pullups, incline merks, decline merks, dips, and plankjacks.  Pullup group had the count of 10.

    Fast mosey to the labyrinth for quick Mary. Russian Twist x10 IC, Hello Dolly x10 IC, LBCs x10 IC.

    Times up.

    Mosey to the flag and one minute over.  Yankee is likely drafting the email of admonishment as YHC types.

    Count off and Name-O-Rama.  With such a large group today we missed an FNG, who stealthily invented his own name.  That would not stand, however, and our friendly canadian  was named “Bieber.”

    Announcements, intentions and close.

    Thanks to all for putting up with YHC’s fumbled organization on the exercises. The Pax ate the Bear, but the Bear ate YHC.

     

  • VQ – Wolfpack Dora – wait…. we have time for one last Indian Run on the WPM

    I was finally confident enough to pop my cherry and lead the PAX for a morning beat down.  I gave a standard disclaimer that “not only am I not a professional trainer, but this is my VQ.”  We then moseyed to Audubon Place and turned back to the front of the Gibson Hall where we did some warmups:

    20 x IC SSHs

    10 x IC windmills

    20 x IC mountain climbers

     

    We then moseyed to the Loyola horseshoe.  Here we did BLIMPS OYO in the following order:

    1.) Started on one side on the curb and performed 10 x curb jumps (very mini, tiny box jumps)

    2.) Then ran to the other side – 5 x burpees

    3.) Ran back to the original side and – 10 x curb jumps

    4.) Then ran back to the other side – 10 x lunges on each leg

    5.) Ran back to the original side and – 10 x curb jumps (you get it??? do you see a pattern? Yes, we did 10 curb jumps in between each exercise in increment of 5)

    6.) 15 x imperial walkers on each leg

    7.) 20 x merkins

    8.) 25 x plank jacks

    9.) we finished with 30 x squats

    So in total, we completed 60 x curb jumps. Chiquita gave us a 10 second countdown.

     

    We then moseyed to the base of the WPM. We ran backyards half way on the first incline then turned around and ran the rest of the way forward to the top of first level where we performed 3 burpees. Took the stairs back down to the first floor and met at the parking lot.  This was where we were about to start a modified Wolfpack Dora 2-3-3.  Each picked a partner while one partner was doing the run just demonstrated, the other partner was rocking the following exercises: in total we finished 200 x scissor kicks, 300 x shoulder taps, 300 x LBCs in this order.  Douille gave us a 20 second countdown upon completion.

     

    After the Wolfpack Dora, we still have time for Indian Run to the top of the mountain. I heard mumbling (I think mostly from Tito) trying to influence my Q.  Tinkles, a season F3 pro, gave me words of encouragement – “don’t let them rattle you.”  I thought Tinkles was just warming up and was ready to hit up all 3 garages.  Meanwhile, Yankee started to run on his own, and I had to yell just to get him to stop and wait at the bottom of the mountain.  Maybe Yankee was just so anxious with his CSAUP  Tchoupitoulas Barathon that evening.  With all the drama, nevertheless, we managed to finish the Indian Run.  Tito gave me a stare at the top of WPM and exhaustedly said “I hate you” after I asked him for a 20 second countdown.  But I know that meant he loves me.  I saw a little smirk from Sandbar when he realized Tito was breathing heavily and gasping for air.  Thank goodness Medulla Oblongata came through and gave us a 20 second countdown instead.  We moseyed back to the flag (6:15) where we did our usual: count-o-rama, name-o-rama, announcements, and intentions.  Chiquita will miss couple months due to his hernia surgery scheduled on Monday.  We will continue to pray for a smooth surgery and quick recovery so that he can come back and join the PAX.  This group of F3 members is what gets me up in the morning for the beat down.  So we can’t wait until Chiquita comes back.  It’s an honor for me to lead the PAX.

    Also, big shout out to many HNJ boys who came out for my VQ.

    SYITG

    King Kong

     

     

  • One more time up the Mountain

    After lots of smiling faces and mumble chatter along the avenue, YHC decided to quickly change the tone for the day. Brief disclaimer (if it hurts, keep doing it) then moseyed across the street.

    What’s more fun than starting your day with bear crawls?

    Bear crawled to 1st tree then crab walk back

    42 SSH then 10 Burpees

    Moseyed towards the mountain for stop at the parking garage fence: 20 calf raises

    Up the mountain: Indian Run two lines

    Top of Mountain: 10 Burpees

    Lined up facing the down ramp: 10 Merkins, 10 RTs, run down the ramp, 10 burpees, run backwards up the ramp – repeat 3 times, last time bear crawl up instead of backwards run

    After watching Brown Bag perform advanced yoga moves, moseyed down the stairs to the benches.

    Dips x20, RLSU x20, Dips x10, LLSU x20, Dips x12 & Decline Parker Peter x20

     

    With about 12 minutes, most of the PAX were ready to pack it for some mary and plankwork next to the nonchalant Jesus statue (looks like he doesn’t care there’s a better university next door).

    Not so fast…we’re back up the mountain for another indian run. Quick mary of RTs & the Real Freddie Mercury (can’t stop me now) then back to the flag.

    Count-0-rama, soft tees & prayer.

    Strong 25 today…thanks for being in that number.

     

  • Dirty McDeuce at the Birdcage

    Nice turnout at the Birdcage where the Pax was treated to a variation on the Dirty McDeuce.  But first, a disclaimer, quick mosey down oak alley, and warump COP:  SSHx25, IW x26, Burpee x10 (OYO).  Then a slow jog back down oak alley, down the jogging track to the row bars, and back to the lamppost nearest to the bandstand (approx. 500-600 m).  That would be our lap for the Dirty McDeuce, which went something like this:

    • Lamppost 1:  Merkins x10, Monkey humpers x20, Mountain climbers x20, bearcrawl to lamppost two, hard run
    • Lamppost 2: Diamond merks x10, squat jumps x30 (2-count cadence), plank jacks x20, backward bearcrawl to lamppost three, hard run
    • Lamppost 3: Wide merks x10, lunges x20, Peter Parkers x20, bearcrawl to lamppost 4, hard run
    • Lamppost 4: Merks x10, burpees x1 (OYO), Parker Peters x20, backward bearcrawl to track, hard run

    We then used the balance of our time for some Mary:

    • LBC x25
    • V-Up x15
    • Russian Twist x20
    • Dying cockroach x20
    • Hello Dolly x20
    • J-Lo x20

    Finally, wrap up with the count, name-o-rama, and prayer.

    -Mulligan

  • That’s Right, No Upper Body…

    Cobains for the delayed backblast…

    At 05:30, YHC gave the disclaimer and we moseyed around the golf club parking lot and over to the grass by the bandstand for the warm up COP: plank jacks, imperial walkers,  mtn. climbers, hill billies x 25 IC.

    Mosey to the shelter and grab a partner. Partner A runs a lap through the lights and back around through the parking lot(approx. qtr mile)while Partner B does the designated exercise AMRAP, then flip flop.  They were: monkey humpers, russian twists, left leg step ups, dolly, right leg step ups, elbow plank, lunge, flutter kick, low slow squat, lbc. Plank and wait for the six. Just enough time to quick mosey to the flag.

    COT w shoutout by YHC.

    T Claps to the pax for covering a little more than 2.5 miles on the run.

    Good Times!

    Roots

  • 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