F3 New Orleans

Tag: Moby Dick

  • Q Source – Grover’s Graduation – from Akbar

    It was a rainy, gloomy morn with what looked like 5-6 PAX for the beatdown. But out of the
    gloom came more Pax to help celebrate Grovers graduation. After Pixie Stix woke up from his nap, the count was 16 HIM. Great to have Hawgcycle and Carpool join us as well.

    QIC was ready with the biggest Wiki ever, laminated for the rain, and reading glasses to boot. We went through the first half of the Q-Source, including Foundations, Q1, and Q2 – with beatdowns in between readings.

    YHC will summarize and post the full content at the very end of the backblast if you want to read through it.

    The Q Source is F3’s Leadership Philosophy and leadership manual, which supports the mission to invigorate male leadership in our communities.

    WARM UP x 15-16 SSH, Hillbillies, Imperial Walkers, Self-Love, Mountain Climbers

    FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES:

    Disruption, disturbance of the status quo.
    Language, the Lexicon of Virtuous Leadership
    Group, a voluntary combination of two or more people.
    Leadership Development Process (LDP), great leaders develop new leaders
    Preparedness, get ready for the expected while being ready for the unexpected.

    Mosey to the Gazebo wall

    PDerkin IC x 12 (8 count Derkin with Peter Parkers) OYO 50 Dirkin, 50 Freak Nasties

    Q1: Get Right – the pursuit of proper alignment.
    DRP – Daily Red Pill. The daily commitment to accelerate Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith.
    King. The daily discipline of training the physical body.
    Queen. The daily discipline over what is put into the Body
    Jester. The temptation of the flesh that hinders acceleration

    Wall – X10 IC Tempo Stone Mountain & Shoulder taps in Derkin position
    Circle up. X20 IC -arm circles – front, back, overhead and reverse, cherry pickers, Moroccan night clubs, overhead press, Randy, 20 count lateral hold
    OYO X20 Stone Mountain & shoulder taps

    FELLOWSHIP – a man’s healthy relationship with the people in his Concentrica, or closest circle.
    M – The transformational relationship between a man and his wife.
    Shorties – the Sacrificial relationship between a man and his kids.
    Shield Lock – the horizontal relationship between men
    Whetstone – The vertical relationship between Men.
    Mammon – The sustaining relationship between a man and His work..

    Wall. OYO – 50 step ups, 25 each leg. IC x 10 Bulgarian Split Squats each leg.
    Line up at the wall. 10 x Twinkle Toes, lunge walk to the sidewalk, 10x Monkey Humpers, run back. Rinse and repeat x9, x8, x7 – and Q said that was enough.

    FAITH is a man’s right relationship with his Creator.
    Prayer – The daily discipline of talking with the creator to build faith.
    Study – Faith is a practice that requires study to accelerate.
    Meeting – Public manifestation of Faith

    CIRCLE UP OYO X10 Superman (regular, feet and arms up) ; Y Superman, W Superman, T Superman (arms straight out), Superman Row, Superman Merkin, Renegade Row

    Q2 LIVE RIGHT – THE DEDICATION TO PURPOSEFULNESS. To live right, a man must have an ultimate purpose in mind, which requires self-sacrifice & helps a man to stay right
    Impact – Forcible contact to strong effect.
    Influence – igniting a strong desire for movement.
    Missionality – Service in the High Impact Zone.
    Positive Habit Transfer – ingraining advantageous tendencies in others.
    Accountability – submission to a standard through enforcement and consequence.
    Correction – zealously advocating for shared virtue.
    Targeting – initiating Missionality in others.

    Mosey Back to the Flag.

    Mary- IC x 15ish. Heels to Heaven, Hands to Heels (Penguins), Leg Raises, Crunchy Frogs, American Hammers, LBC’s, Hello Dolly

    Grover was then presented with a Q Source inspired shovel flag, which was his grandfather’s shovel, and contained the 4 Quadrants of Preparedness. Get Right, Live Right, Lead Right, and Live Right. ISI on the back right of the shovel and a F3 and Super Grover sticker on the front. A copy of the Q Source was given to him also on the way to Coffeeteria. Great fellowship and conversation as usual at the Book and the Bean with surprise arrivals of Amnesia and Slots.

    Many thanks to Zoolander who had the shovel flag idea; for Shooter helping me put it together; and for the M who painted the flag.

    Count, Name and Shooter prayed us out.

    Thanks for letting me lead!
    Til next gloom, Akbar

    —————————————————————————————————-
    FULL CONTENT

    FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES
    Disruption: Disturbance of the Status Quo. A leader is a person who can influence people to do things that they would not have done otherwise. Leaders influence movement to advantage which causes disruption

    Language: The Lexicon of Virtuous Leadership. Leadership is evolutionary, not revolutionary. Effective groups have a unique language

    Group: A voluntary combination of two or more people. Man is by nature a Group-forming animal. 3 group types that must be led to advantage are Community, Organization, and Team. Dynamic teams are the heart of healthy communities and effective organizations

    In the Leadership Development Process (LDP), great leaders develop new leaders. There are 4 steps: schooling, apprenticeship, opportunity, and failure

    Preparedness: Get ready for the expected while being ready for the unexpected. The process of preparedness is deliberate and sequential. 4 quadrants: Get right, live right, lead right, and leave right

    Q1: GET RIGHT is the Pursuit of Proper Alignment. There are 3 components – Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith. FITNESS is a man’s right relationship with himself through physical fitness. Fitness is inward seeking. A man must get right before he can do anything else. To be able to help others, a man must first help himself.

    DRP – Daily Red Pill – the daily commitment to accelerate Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith. A man needs help to get right – to turn from amateur to pro.
    To do that, we must master 3 things

    King – Daily discipline of training the physical body. Fitness begins with the body and is maintained for reasons outside of ourselves. Fitness is best accelerated by running with faster men.

    Queen – Daily discipline over what is put into the Body. Man does not stay fit through exercise alone. Weight control requires accountability. You cannot out King your Queen

    Jester – The temptation of the flesh that hinders acceleration. Every man has his own personal Jester. The jester is a master liar – the jester and Virtue can coexist. Preparedness keeps the Jester at bay

    FELLOWSHIP – a man’s healthy relationship with the people in his Concentrica, or closest circle. Fellowship is the outward seeking act of relational rhythm – and takes as much discipline and attention as it does to maintain physical fitness – if not more.

    M – The transformational relationship between a man and his wife. The M is the most important relationship. Accelerating the M requires both skill and love

    Shorties – the Sacrificial relationship between a man and his kids. A man gives everything he has for his kids. The IMPACT that a man has on his kids cannot be underestimated

    Shield Lock – the horizontal relationship between men. Men Hunt best in a pack because we need someone to watch our six. Men recognize the advantage of mutual defense and lock shields together into a defensive wall to repel the invader. The shield lock must come together periodically to be effective.

    Whetstone – The vertical relationship between Men. It’s man’s natural desire to pass on what we have learned to a younger man. A man must be sharpened like a knife blade. The HIM acts as the Stone to the younger man’s Blade – providing the hard surface against which he becomes sharper. The Whetstone is necessary for both the blade and the stone to get right.

    Mammon – The sustaining relationship between a man and His work. Work is a virtue – Mammon is a relationship, not a pursuit. Mammon is a man’s least important relationship.

    FAITH is a man’s right relationship with his Creator. A man cannot live, lead, or leave right unless this spiritual relationship is accelerating along with Fitness and Fellowship. This is done in 3 ways:

    Prayer – The daily discipline of talking with the creator to build faith. A virtuous leader must have Faith. Prayer provides answers and is the antidote to worry.

    Study – Faith is a practice that requires study to accelerate. The acceleration of Faith requires a belief system. Study puts a leaders belief system to the test. If you stop studying, you decelerate.

    Meeting – Public manifestation of Faith. Faith is best accelerated in the company of others. To be competent in your Faith requires Skill, which results from practice. To leave a legacy, a man must be competent in the practice of his belief system – turning head knowledge into heart knowledge

    Q2 LIVE RIGHT – THE DEDICATION TO PURPOSEFULNESS. To live right, a man must have an ultimate purpose in mind, which requires self-sacrifice & helps a man to stay right

    Impact – Forcible contact to strong effect. Some movement – action taken in furtherance of Purpose – is required by at least 1 person. The proximity we create results in changes in the lives of the people that we meet. Sad Clown’s need help to Get Right, this can only be done in context of a relationship

    Influence – igniting a strong desire for movement. Persuasion is the initiation of first movement, using influence to convince a man to want to move. Movement must be voluntary and is influenced through word and deed.

    Missionality – Service in the High Impact Zone. The course of action taken to achieve an articulated purpose, which is made up of the tasks we undertake to bring our purpose to fruition. The comfort zone is a cultural myth that encourages men to be in-Effective. A HIM’s mission marks the boundaries of his high impact zone – his place of highest productivity, where he is the most effective. And preparedness helps resist straying from his mission

    Positive Habit Transfer – ingraining advantageous tendencies in others. 3 types of habits – negative, neutral, positive. A Positive habit is advantageous to the individual or others. We should help others minimize neutral habits and discontinue negative habits.

    Accountability – submission to a standard through enforcement and consequence. The HIM seeks accountability because his life is not his own. Accountability shines the light of Hope into a man’s blind spots. An effective shield lock provides mutual accountability.

    Correction – zealously advocating for shared virtue. The HIM preaches what he practices. Correction requires courage and love.

    Targeting – initiating Missionality in others. Missionality is an essential virtue. Targeting moves a man beyond himself. A man’s life is a single thing comprised of many components that must all work together in rhythm.

  • We Interrupt This Broadcast – from Grundy

    Bushwacker:
    Welcome to the Zoo-rich classic everyone and thank you for tuning in! Excited is just not a big enough of a word to accurately describe how I’m feeling today.

    Jose-10k:
    You took the words right out of my mouth Wacker. Covid-19 took many things from us, but I think we can all agree that it crossed the line when it forced the Zoo-rich classic to be cancelled in 2020.

    Bushwacker:
    You got that right. It was tragic. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that this event might be the biggest source of hope and inspiration for America.

    Jose-10k: AND THE WORLD!

    Bushwacker: So here we are. The moment we have been waiting for for over 2 years. It is time for the Zoo-rich classic! And nothing, I MEAN NOTHING, can stop this thing from happe…

    We interrupt this broadcast to inform you that the Zoo-rich classic is currently in a weather delay and has been officially postponed until 5/1/2021. We thank you for your patience and do hope you enjoy today’s programming brought to you by the washed up wanna-be trainer Grundy.

    The Warm-Up

    We started with the following exercises in-cadence:
    * SSH
    * Seal Jacks
    * Windmills
    * Imperial Walkers
    * Cherry Pickers
    *Arm-Circles

    We continued with the warm-up by lining up on the base line in a bear crawl formation. We did a alligator crawl together across the court where we stopped to do 2 merkins every third movement.

    The next sequence turned out to be way harder than the Q anticipated. We split the group in half and each took a corner of the basketball court. We went around the court in circles doing gorilla crawls from baseline to baseline, and side crawls between the two baselines. We went for 10 minutes which worked out to be 4 trips around the court (after 2 trips we went the opposite counter clockwise). I definitely didn’t anticipate it being that difficult in my head when I made it up. Live and learn.

    The Main Event

    We walked over to grab the cinderblocks for what was the main thing the Q wanted to do that day. It was an exercise sequence first introduced to me by an Israeli personal trainer named Sagi Kalev. In it, the Q almost splashed merlot after attempting it for the first time. In the exercise Sagi gave some incredible advice, he said “When you feel like you can’t go anymore and you want to drop the weight and quit, what you need to do is… NOT QUIT!!!”

    The Q couldn’t offer any better advice to the PAX than that. Let’s do this thing!

    In this sequence the first step is to assume a lunged position over the cinderblock. Next you grab the block overhand using the opposite hand of your outstretched leg while the other hand grabs the backside underhanded. Straighten your back and try to keep the weight as much as you can to be right underneath your outstretched leg so when you straighten your leg in the lunge, the weight will hit the middle of your hamstring. As soon as you begin holding the weight underneath like that, your leg gets put into a tension that will not be relieved due to its positioning until you drop the weight. It makes it very difficult to cheat.

    The sequence then begins by doing 7 reps of the lunge by straightening your leg until the coupon hits your hamstring. After the 7 reps you go back to the starting position and begin a 10 count hold. (REPEAT SEQUENCE FOR 7 ROUNDS (COUGH COUGH sometimes 8 rounds)…

    We didn’t have enough cinderblocks for everyone to do the sequence at the same time so half the group did merkins and held a plank in the same cadence as everyone else. Rinsed and repeated on the opposite leg (and did squats and al gores the second round instead of merkins)

    Great job men!

    We walked back over to center court and did a core sequence that got named “Slot Machines” which really turned out to be quite effective.

    We went back to the monkey bars and did some forearm and grip training by hanging on a bar for different lengths of time interspersed with merkins.

    We circled up, counted off, and Waterpik closed us out.

    (Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. We thank you for your patience. Enjoy the Zoo-rich Classic)

    …ning!!!!

  • INFERNO – 9 CIRCLES OF HELL – from Zoolander

    The Northshore beatdown on Holy Saturday was themed around Dante’s Inferno. A group of 18 Pax, including a guest appearance from the Southshore’s SOGO, descended upon the Lakefront for 9 Circles of Hell. Warmup exercises were completed in reverse cadence (4-3-2-1) to align with the date (4/3/21) and to remind everyone it was Cowbell’s birthday. We traveled 9 blocks, circling up at each one to perform the 66 exercises illustrated below. Lots of Mumble Chatter, especially at Circle no. 2. We finished at the shovel flag with some Absolution, completing 666 total reps (or there about) for the day.

    Announcements:
    – Northshore 5 year Convergence to be led by Waterpik on Saturday 4/10.
    – Fia/F3 mixer at the Gipper on 4/29 at 6:30pm.

    Cowbell prayed us out. Happy Easter to all.

  • Building Blocks – from Akbar

    Pax Grover, Maverick, Bruno, BBQ, Bean, Barely Legal, Moho, Fletch, Turbo, Moby Dick, Cowbell, Maverick, Tarheel, Akbar

    14 strong at the Gipper on a chilly morn in the gloom. Actually, it felt more like 24 degrees after a few days near 80. What a great morning for a block party!

    WU SSH IC x 15

    Torso Twist, Self-Love, Grass Grabbers, Butt Kicks IC x 10

    Thang

    7 block exercises, complete 10 reps, .2m run to Beck and Call and back

    Rinse and repeat, adding 1 rep per exercise for each round

    Manmakers

    Block Curls

    Block Squat

    Bicycle Block Press

    Kettle Block Swing

    Triceps Block extensions

    WW1 Situps

    My count had Turbo in the lead with 17, all in all a brutal beatdown where most finished 5-7 rounds. Might need Bean to check my math, but that’s 531 to 756 reps per man in a 35 minute time span.

    Mary IC x 12

    Hello Dolly, Heels to Heaven, Hands to Heals, Flutter Kicks, Leg Raises, LBC, Crunchy Frogs for Cowbell

    Count, Name-o-rama, quick shout out to the Unitards RCR win

    QIC prayed us out

    Well done guys, thanks for letting me lead

    SYITG – Akbar

    Naked Man Moleskin

    It was great to have Bruno back with us again, and T-Claps for him coming out every time he’s in town – even if BBQ makes him

    Great to have Moho back as well after learning last week that us old guys should probably not sprint, at least until we stretch for 15 minutes.

    It’s always a crapshoot when picking out blocks at the Gipper, could get a 28 or 35 pounder. But those blocks were definitely waterlogged today!

    As Cowbell noted on GroupMe – it did feel good to have the blocks out after all that running in Feb.

  • Excuse Me While I Kiss the Ground

    So there we were…how every great story starts…today was the commencement of what will hopefully become an annual CSAUP, Uncle Hammer’s 1000 Burpee Beatdown.

    First: Special Shoutouts —

    Jose 10k –DJ Jose had the best possible music, with songs individualized for members of the PAX

    Moby Dick –Dude’s 71, that’s right, 71, and he is out there making us middle agers look bad.

    Hawgcycle — Did this CSAUP on the Southshore by himself in just over 2 hours…no idea how he accomplished that. Awesome work!

    Now onto the beatdown:

    0610: Knowing this would likely be an all day affair, we skipped the normal 2 mile pre-thang, instead moseying from the flags towards the beach, stopping at each fire hydrant for a set of 10 burpees (6 sets out, 6 sets back =120). DJ 10k had Brother Angus lead us off, picking the axe (See what I did there) like lightning, but sounding like thunder. Then, while most of us may be partial to Southern Belles, Mr. David Lee Roth, with help from Steve Vai, pined for a young lass named Yankee Rose. As if the blood wasn’t pumping hard enough by 0615, Vince Neil kickstarted our hearts even further. Before we knew it, we were 1/8 the way to our goal. We returned with the remaining PAX awaiting to begin.

    0630– No warmup necessary. Jump right into the EMOM of 6 burpees. Doing this mitigates the overwhelming thought of 1000, as well as helping with the physically challenging nature of the CSAUP. As the Zen philosopher Basho once said, or maybe it was Bushwhacker, “A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single burpee.” How true.

    Mentally, the wash rinse and repeat of doing this for an hour can be quite taxing. This is where DJ Jose was so great. Always thinking of other, he picked out songs for most of the PAX. Some included were:

    The Bird (Morris Day and the Time) –Bird

    U Can’t Touch This (MC Hammer) –Hammer

    Some Moby Song —Moby Dick

    Relax (Frankie Goes to Hollywood) –Zoolander

    The Best Around (From Karate Kid) –Russo

    To be honest, the hour was over before we knew it. Most PAX were asking to continue for another hour, and Hammer could easily have been elected mayor of CSAUPtown but for all the mail in ballots. However, they all missed their wives so much, they could not bear to continue for another minute. That was the right choice, guys, as hard as it was to make.

    So, by 0730: 120+365 (5 minutes were sets of 7)+ 15 (a burpee for each PAX during COT) = 500

    Halfway home by coffeeteria!

    PHASE 2: Do 250 OYO throughout the day before reconvening at 6 pm at Grandmother’s House. Some went more traditional –Hammer did 25 sets of 10 throughout the day (looked weird doing it outside the Pelican Park gym before 2.0’s basketball game). DJ 10k did his while his M worked out. Of course, he overachieved, doing another 350 before lunch. Russo knocked the rest of his out before I got home, it seemed. Hawg’s Breath did a few with his adorable daughter on his back, like the true bad ass he is. However we decided to get it done, we finished 750 before twilight.

    PHASE 3: Final 250 at Grandma’s

    6 skrong at Grandma’s at 1800. Turbo, Bird, Jose, Hammer, Hawg’s Breath, Akbar. Knocked out the last quarter in just over 30 minutes. Having an eclectic mix to inspire us: CCR, NIN, and Billy Idol (twice, in fact. No really.)

    …And done! We then enjoyed some F2 at Old Rail, then home to bed.

    Thank you all for joining in this venture. Each of you inspired me along the way, and I am indebted to you all for the kindness, generosity, friendship, and leadership you all display.

    For those that “missed” it, there will always be next year!

  • Farewell Q

    It is with great sadness and much gratitude that I write my last backblast as a regular member of the Northshore F3 family. (I trust you’ll forgive the length!) As I shared with the men this morning, F3 has been an overwhelming answer to prayer, and as Bushwacker reminded me, it’s the individuals involved who truly make it what it is, so huge thanks for all of you guys allowing me to participate. More on this toward the end.

    This morning’s beatdown was meant to be a quick rundown of a few of the life lessons that F3 has confirmed for me in very concrete ways. The first, of course, being the necessity of a good warm up when you know you’re about to get your rear end kicked:

    Warmup: IC Windmills, IW’s, Cherry Pickers, High Knees, Butt Kicks followed by the first exercise listed on the Exicon (Shooter aced the pop-quiz, like I knew he would!):

    21’s–21 side straddle hops in cadence, but only the first 5 are counted out loud with an expectation that all PAX count the rest silently and end in perfect sync after the 21st. 10 burpees and start over if anyone is anything but perfect.

    Life Lesson #1: Togetherness is more about what’s in your head than it is about the people you’re with. (I may or may not have just made that up, but I think it’s got some staying power.)

    After one penalty set of burpees and a second round of SSH, YHC decided to modify for the sake of time and get moseying to the rock garden for Colt 45’s and Bolt 45’s.

    Colt 45’s = 15 curls from halfway down to all the way up, 15 curls all the way down to halfway up, and 15 curls from all the way down to all the way up.

    Bolt 45’s = same as above, but with squats (and rocks)

    Life Lesson #2: Don’t let your ego determine the size of your rock, especially if you don’t know what’s coming. But no matter how heavy or what the task ends up being, carry the weight you’ve got with courage. Own it!

    After “gently” replacing our rocks, we moseyed to the courthouse steps for some partner work:

    Partner 1 ran up (and down) the stairs using the following pattern: 2 up, 1 down, 3 up, 2 down, 4 up, 3 down, etc. until the top was tediously reached, then ran back down to Partner 2 who did continuous flutter kicks (round 1), Freddy Merc’s (round 2) and LBC’s (round 3) while waiting. In lieu of Jose’s math teaching prowess, Whacker provided tutoring for those who struggled.

    Life Lesson #3: Real progress is usually gradual and hard earned, so be patient, stay focused, and fight discouragement.

    This, followed by a mosey to the top ramp of the parking garage for more partner work:

    Partner 1 holds plank while Partner 2 sprints up the ramp, around to the opposite stairs, down, and back to Partner 1. His job is to get there in enough time for his partner to have held his plank without modifying; if his partner modifies, the sprinter has to do 5 burpees, so the planker’s job is to hold his position for the sake of his partner.

    Life Lesson #4: We are naturally more willing to endure pain and push harder for other people than we are for ourselves, we just need to tap into that power. F3 seems to exists for this reason!

    After two rounds of losing our breath (and eventually losing Bushwhacker to the irresistible call of nature), we moseyed back to the courthouse stairs for an exercise YHC forgot: three rounds of crab walking both up and down the courthouse stairs

    Life Lesson #5: Some things are easier for tall people. (Truth be told, pretty much every other F3 exercise seems to favor the smaller guys. It was nice to finally have an advantage over Cowbell.)

    After this we moseyed back to the flag for the last exercise/lesson:

    Followed the directions given in the song Flower by Moby (“Bring Sally up, bring Sally down…”) with squats, up and down with the words “up” and “down”. Thank you’s to Cowbell, Steve, and Amnesia for modifying with merkins and mission impossible planks to save their legs for the big race tomorrow–you guys made our leg pain seem relatively minimal in comparison.

    Life Lesson #6: Pain is temporary, though the worse it is, the more we tend to fear that it will last forever.

    COT and YHC prayed us out.

    Thanks, gentlemen, for following my lead today, and for an awesome year of comradery, creativity, and the best reason to get up early and sweat that I’ve had since college. Special thanks to Maverick who got me out there, the men who reached out to me during those first few beatdowns to make sure I felt like I was part of the team, the guys who hung back so often with me and kept up conversation to get my mind off my lack of oxygen, the men who were willing to share their lives with me during the longer runs, for the guys who continually witness to the truth that the men we’re exercising with are more important than the exercises we’re doing, and to the men who continue to push beyond their comfort zone so the rest of us can follow.

    It breaks my heart to leave what has become such a central part of my (and Pope’s) life, and though I’ll be working to get F3 started in the Thibodaux/Houma region, it won’t be with you guys, so know that you’re deeply appreciated, and you’ll be greatly missed. I know that God has great things in store for my family and I down there, and I’m sure there are a lot of guys who will greatly benefit from F3, so please keep us in prayer for the transition, and that we’ll remain open to all that God has in store for us, both the blessings and the trials. You’ll certainly be in mine.

    SYITG,

    Goose

  • Duck Hunting 101

    YHC has always joked that he does F3 to he can be in shape for duck season, among MANY other reasons. Duck hunting on public land in the Mississippi Delta is a very physically demanding hobby and for some strange reason I absolutely love it. Waking up at 2am to wade through waste deep water in 20 degrees just sounds fun, right??

    Well, YHC wanted the Gipper pax to learn a thing or two about the prep that goes into a morning of duck hunting, sans water and 20 degrees.

    Disclaimer was given and PAX was instructed to grab some gear from the camp (cinder block). Each block was to account for all of the gear needed on a hunt.

    COP #1- Warm Up:

    10 Burpees OYO

    20 X SSH

    10 X Good Mornings

    10 F/B X Arm Circles

    20 X J Lo’s

    10 L/R X Nolan Ryan’s (on crushed gravel!)

    Now we need to load up the truck: 10 L/R X Elf on a Shelf with block

    Mosey to the courthouse walkway (boat launch) at a brisk pace as we need to beat all other hunting parties to the duck hole!

    Load the boat: split into 2 lines with blocks at the end of each line. Pass block down to the end of the line, and back down. R&R X3.

    The boat is launched, now we need to drive as far as we can in the timber…quick mosey to the parking garage entrance and ramp. Leave your gear while we go search for a good spot to set up: Run up the ramp and complete 10 burpees on one side and 10 merks on the other side all the way to the top. Repeat.

    We found a prime duck hole at the top of the garage!! grab your gear and meet there.

    Now its time to throw out the decoys, we brought 3 dozen this trip..

    Block swings X 12, R&R X3.

    Now its time to actually hunt, so we need to practice raising the gun to our shoulder: Chest press X 10, R&R X3.

    We shot a few ducks but ran out of time to pick them up!

    Carry your gear back to the camp.

    Count, Name, and Grundy took us out with a prayer.

    Thank you all for hunting with me and appeasing me!

    Cowbell

  • The Lord of the Thangs

    Huge thanks to the 20 men who posted this morning for Pope’s VQ! He’s been chomping at the bit to lead, and we greatly appreciate you guys making it so special for him, especially with our planning to move soon to an area where we’ll be starting F3 from scratch. Glad to know I can lean on him to Q every now and then!

    Excitement was in the air as more and more men made their way to the flag (Turbo Dog couldn’t hold it in.) The 11-year-old Pope had shown signs of natural leadership at previous beatdowns, so expectations were high, and he did not disappoint.

    The routine was centered around his new favorite topic, The Lord of the Rings. After having recently finished reading the books, a good percentage of his thought time these days is spent somewhere in Middle Earth, so the landmarks around The Gipper were quickly transformed into battlefields, fortresses, and volcanoes.

    Warmup: 20 Side Straddle Hops, 15 Windmills, 15 Merkins, 15 Cherry Pickers, 15 Butt Kicks, 15 High Knees

    Then, PAX grabbed age-appropriate coupons and mosey to the courthouse for the first stage of the Thangs:

    1st Stage–Battle at Helms Deep:

    Start as Legolas (fleet-footed elf) at the benches with 10 bench hops (hands on a bench and jump back and forth over), carioca run to the stairs, and run up to the top where each then becomes Gimli (short dwarf) and completes 15 dwarf jacks (smurf jacks). Then, down the ramp and back to the coupons where each becomes Aragorn (warrior king) and performs 12 sword unsheathings (overhead tricep presses).

    Three rounds of this, then haul the coupons up the stairs of the parking garage to the top ramp for…

    2nd Stage–Mount Doom:

    Hobbits Frodo and Sam teamed up to get the ring to the top of the mountain to destroy it in the flaming lava.

    PAX partnered up with partner 1 (Frodo) starting the beloved “Bear and Block” up the ramp: bear crawl a few steps, then drag/pull the cinder block forward from between your feet, then a few more steps, then drag, etc.

    Partner 2 (Sam) battled Gollum (coupon) at the bottom: 10 Man Makers for first round, 15 curls for second round, and 15 goblet squats for third. Once a set was complete, partner 2 ran up to Frodo to replace him dragging the block up the ramp, and partner 1 runs down to be Sam for a set at the bottom.

    Each time the block made it all the way to the top and was run back down, partners moved on to the next round’s exercise. After the third round, all PAX ran backwards with their coupons to the top (in the style of Gollum, dancing his way over the edge of the cliff).

    About half of the PAX found a way to destroy their rings/coupons early (a little too much “man” in the “Man Makers”) making their task a bit easier and making a Home Depot run necessary for YHC before next Wednesday.

    Moseyed back to the flag to replace the coupon fragments. COT with some great opportunities provided for giving back to the community, and Turbo Tax prayed us out.

    Thanks, again, for all the support for the young Q, and for allowing us to be a part of the F3 family! We’ll be taking full advantage of it until the day we’re moved out, and then we’ll be counting on your wisdom and support for getting F3 started in the Houma-Thibodaux area.

    God will provide!

    Goose

  • Burpee Crowd Pleaser

    Ok ok, last week got away from me. But, here is the backblast nonetheless.

    11 men met out on a beautiful morning in at the Gipper.

    COP #1: Warm up (All IC X 20)

    SSH, IW, Hillbillies, Arm Circles (x10), Jlo’s, Grass Grabbers, Toe Touches.

    Mosey to the Justice center parking lot for the first crowd pleaser:

    COP #2: Merkin Variation Ladder

    10 regular merks, 10 wide arm merks, 10 diamond merks

    9 regular merks, 9 wide arm marks, 9 diamond merks

    and so on…. we got down to 5 and YHC asked the pax if they wanted to stop and the only voice he heard was from Einstein (Respect Respect) “Lets finish!”

    and finish we did..

    Moseyed to the 2nd deck of the parking garage for the main event crowd pleaser.

    The Thang:

    The instructions were so simple. 4 exercises, 5 rounds.

    Reps were: 50,40,30,20,10

    Exercises were: Burpees, Squats, Merkins, Big Boi Sit Ups

    Complete 50 reps of each exercise, run up the ramp to the other side of the garage, down the stairs and back and then begin the next round of 40 reps each…. etc.

    most of the pax completed 2 rounds while a few over achievers (Steve, Turbo, Zoo) got halfway through round 3.

    YHC will be back and we WILL finish!!

    Mosey back to the flag.

    Thanks for letting me lead, as always.

    Cowbell

  • QUAD-rophenia

    Blame Akbar.  This was his doing, really.  His “block party,” (henceforth known as ‘Akbar’s Abomination’) – which was preceded by Tank’s Murph – pretty much guaranteed that Saturday’s beatdown would focus on legs and core.  

    But first, the pre-thang : the usual 2 miles out and back with the usual suspects.  Now, YHC was definitely not looking at Bushwacker’s butt.  And neither was Tank.  But I mean, really, when the guy’s shorts are that tight and he’s running in front of you, it’s hard not to take note.  Looked like he had those things painted on.  Tank was comfortable enough in his masculinity to throw out a few catcalls.  Though, judging by Wacker’s mustache (which was recently tamed from a Guy Fawkes-type stache to a more respectable – and less anarchistic – Tom Selleck-type), it is possible that he is more in tune with the modern trends of the day and hey, what do I know, maybe the short shorts are making a comeback this year?

    Yes, this was created with MS Paint.

    Back at the flag, there was a surprisingly large group milling about.  Most noticeable were all the 2.0’s.  It was great to see the Baby Yoda, Pope, and Pixie Stick (along with Grover, who is now a fixture at most beatdowns) posting alongside their fathers.  Also of note, the (second) return of Backdraft, who’s already committed to leading in the near future.

    Warmorama: Good mornings, torso twists, IWs, toe touches, SSHs, merkins, shoulder taps, high knees, all at or around 15x IC.

    Somewhere around the SSH’s, Sparky shows up.  Turns out Bushwacker does not stand alone in his love of Magnum P.I.

    The Thang:

    Simple enough opening routine: Lt. Dan’s to the gazebo.  Which, okay, yes, is about 400 yards.  And felt longer.  But at least the guys had some time to catch up.  

    Next, Core COP: The Bruce Lee.  We’d do all six exercises, x20 IC, then take a 30 second break:

    • Hammers
    • Leg Raises
    • LBCs
    • Heel Touches
    • Crunchy Frogs
    • 100’s

    Rinse & Repeat. Initially we were going to do three rounds, but honestly, YHC can’t multitask – I can either call out cadence for 6 routines or I can suffer through them properly, but doing both proved too much for a third round.  So onward to the bridge!

    Partner up for a Dora:

    P1 runs up and over the bridge and back to swap with P2, who begins knocking out the cumulative reps of:

    • 100 Merkin Toe Touches
    • 200 Freak Nasties
    • 300 Squats

    Nearly out of time, YHC called it so we could make it back to the flag promptly.  Double lined Indian Run back to the flag, where we closed it out with a quick set of Jane Fonda’s.

    Countdown, namerama, and welcoming of FNG Pixie Stick!

    Grover closed us out in a prayer of thanks and everyone set out to coffeteria.  YHC feels blessed to have this group of men pushing me to be a better version of myself.  It felt good to be back out there with such a large group (25 men!), and to see the gift of F3 passed on to so many 2.0’s.  Thank you men for the opportunity to lead!