F3 New Orleans

Tag: Okwata

  • Us Against H8!

    Conditions: Humid, 74 degrees, Humidity 95%, Wind 8mph from ENE

    Warm-up:  Mosey from the flag to the start.  Warm-up on your own.  No time for SSH or Grass Grabbers or J-Los, we’ve got work to do.

    The Thang:  The H8!  F3 NOLA’s overly complicated, semi-annual, feat of strength.  The stick by which our fitness is measured.    

    Each lap consists of running south to the top of the levee, crossing canal (bear crawling the neutral ground), running south to the bottom of the levee, cross canal and run north to the top of the levee, cross canal (bear crawling the neutral ground), running north down the levee and back across canal to the starting point.  At the starting point you do a descending burp and merk pyramid starting at 8 (burpee with 8 hand release merkins, burpee with 7 hand release merkins, …, burpee with 1 hand release merkin)

    At the end of the 2nd lap the burp and merk pyramid starts at 7, etc.

    The goal is to complete 8 laps in 40 minutes.  According to MapMyRun, each loop is approximately 0.4 miles.  Therefore, to conquer the H8! you will have to do the following in 40 minutes:

    • Run over 3 Miles of Hills
    • 550 Yards of Bear Crawls
    • 36 Burpees
    • 120 Merkins

    NMM

    • The construction at the south base of the levee caused for a slight re-route.  The H8! Committee did a good job of ensuring that the change was slight and the overall distance was not affected so that this fall’s running of the H8! Is considered official. 
    • T-claps to all of the guys coming out for the first time.  I think Heart-A-Quake, Mama’s Pride, Undertaker, Disclaimer, Bieber, Bartman, Catfish, Big Easy, Snooze were all first timers. 
    • I didn’t keep a record of who made it and who didn’t.  I am pretty sure the success rate was just north of 50%.  That’s really good, especially for having so many new guys.  Our fitness continues to accelerate.

    One of the core principles of F3 is that it is open to all men.  But just proclaiming that you are open to all men doesn’t cut it.  We have to be intentional about making sure that we are welcoming to all men and that we are not unintentionally excluding anyone.  There are lots of things that can make men different from one another, but most of them have nothing to do with what F3 is about.  I just mean to say that participating in an F3 workout has nothing to do with what race you are, or what your financial situation is, or what religion you are, etc.  (Side note:  I do think it’s important to think about those things and make sure that we are not being unintentionally exclusive because of the make-up of our Pax.  My point is just that the core principles of F3 workouts could apply to anyone, anywhere).  One thing that does have a lot to do with F3 is fitness level.  That’s why diverse fitness levels have to be considered when planning every workout.  It is important that the guys that have a high level of fitness are getting smoked and it is important the that guys on the lower end of the fitness spectrum are staying with the group and are not being left behind on their own.  I would like to think that we are pretty good across F3 NOLA at making sure that each work out feels like a team event, that we all have a goal of getting better and that we are supporting each other to reach that goal, no matter what our current fitness level is. 

    One of the complaints that I have heard about the Iron Pax Challenge is that it is not consistent with F3 in that way; that it puts the focus on the individual and even worse, ranks the individuals.  Some men  that aren’t at the top feel a sense of embarrassment or shame that they aren’t comparable to the guys at the top. You could make the same argument about the H8!  There’s certainly a sense of completing it and not completing it. 

    Personally I think competition like this is really important.  If you want to run faster, you have to run with faster guys.  In order to accelerate our fitness, we need to be in the back of the pack striving to get to the front.  I enjoy competition and I think it plays an important role in growth.  But I also think that it is important that we work hard to keep the sense of comradery and teamwork that all F3 workouts have.  The H8! Is something we all want to conquer and that we want to help each man conquer. 

    There are a couple of quotes that have stuck with me from the book “Run the Mile You are In:  Finding God in Every Step” by Ryan Hall, the American Record Holder in the half-marathon and the fastest American to ever run the Boston Marathon (2:04).  He said “Competition can be a beautiful thing if we are focused on making ourselves and others better and are not concerned about how we stack up with everyone else…..this is why comparisons in athletics and in life are so fruitless.  When we compare, we miss the joy of the journey as well as the joy of the achievement.”     

    Let’s make sure we keep pushing ourselves and each other, without compromising the joy of the journey.  A common motto at an F3 work out is that it’s “You against You”, and that is very true.  But it is also true that it is “Us against H8!”

  • No Peace Without War

    Like many of you, I’ve taken to reading and following David Goggins, whose story is both inspirational and at times, crushingly real. I won’t spoil any of it – the book is well worth the 20 bucks.

    One of Goggins’ guiding principles is the concept of going to war with yourself on a daily basis. He believes in challenging yourself, putting yourself in uncomfortable or impossible positions where you’ll be forced to make a decision to either quit or push through. Only by choosing to accept and push through the pain does real growth occur. This of course turns out to be a metaphor for life, where our ability to handle the difficult, the uncomfortable and the stuff no one else can do leads to true fulfillment.

    Today, as we set out on absolutely perfect morning, greeted by a breeze, temperatures in the 70’s, and a perfect sunrise, I borrowed some words of encouragement from his book. It’s only by giving more than we thought we had when we got there this morning that we grow. I think we all lived up to that today.

    Quick warmup of SSH, Hill Billies, Arm Circles and Mountain climbers, followed by a brisk run (thanks Catfish) to the base of the intersection.

    Once we arrived we partnered up for some 1. AMRAP Mary (to give the shoulders a break from Iron Pax) 2. sprints up and mosey down the levee.

    Once complete, we lined up for an Indian Run down the levee. Swept the 6, turned back for a Bataan Death March all the way back. As we got close, everyone was instructed to drop for burpees and sprint it out.

    We swept the 6 and headed back to the flag for some burpees to seal the deal as the clock struck 6:15. Moment of silence to focus on thankfulness for the present and how we could help others today. Surge led us out with the prayer for generosity.

  • 4 Years of F3 and You Could Look Like Me

    4 Years of F3 and You Could Look Like Me

    Four years ago in the gloom of the Peristyle, YHC was EHed by Heisenberg to check out this men’s only fitness group. Bubba’s Beatdown was all it took to keep YHC coming back for more. What better way to celebrate my anniversary than to recycle my first Q, which was at Okwata. Thank you to all of the PAX that posted today.

    W/U

    • SSH x 30
    • IW x 15
    • HB x 15
    • AC x 10 x 10
    • Peter Parker x 15
    • Parker Peter x 15
    • Self Love

    The Thang – Mosey to Canal blvd and partner up. PAX 1 will AMRAP while PAX 2 runs up Canal, bear crawl the median, and back down Canal. Switch.

    • Plank Jacks
    • Tempo Merkins – 2 count up, 2 count down
    • Step Ups
    • Dips

    Mosey back to the Lakefront area across from the fountain and circle up for the Lazy Q. Each PAX step into the middle and call an exercise to be performed for 22 Reps.

    Counterama, Namerama

    Announcements – Register for the IronPax Challenge. Pay attention to Mumble Chatter and emails for information regarding recovery efforts for our neighbors in Southwest Louisiana who are suffering from Hurricane Laura.

    NMM – Takeaways from today’s beatdown were not announced but included awareness or PTSD and Mission 22, a organization dedicated to Post Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury, substance abuse and all of the issues veterans are facing today.

  • Dirty McH8

    w/u

    • SSH
    • IW
    • HB
    • MC
    • JL

    The Thang

    Mosey to the foot of Canal and face the H8. We will perform 12 reps of 3 exercises (chest, legs, core) and then run a lap of the H8 sans burpees (up the levee, bear crawl the neutral ground, down the levee, up the levee, bear crawl the neutral ground, down the levee).

    Since I waited too long to write my back blast, I forget the exercises but there were Merkins, Stagger merkins, diamond merkins, squats, lunges, bobby hurleys, LBCs, leg lifts, and some more. I hope I got the PAX correct.

    Thank you for the opportunity to lead,

    Da Parish

  • Summer Cold Front?

    A bit late on the back blast, but better late than never to keep up the habit.

    Good crowd on this mid-June morning, most likely due to cooler than normal June temperatures with minimal humidity, enjoy while you can….

    Overall, this was a running running work out with a bit of boot camp breaks. Overall we tracked over 3.5 miles, didn’t really intend for that but alway more comfortable using my legs more than anything.

    Warm up

    5 Peter Parkers

    20 Windmills

    25 IW

    31 SSH

    20 Mountain Climbers

    First an 11 using canal street OOC lane/levee, sit ups at bottom, squats up top

    Then across the street to the Lakefront for say a suicide Route 66  Burpee exercise?

    Start at light pole 0,  run to light pole 1,  then 1 burpee

    Return to light pole 0 and go to lightpole 2 and do 2 corresponding burpees

    Repeat to 10

    Planned for Mary at the flag but time was out….

    Normal closing ceremonies.

    Many thanks for the opportunity to lead and putting up with he cardio, definitely need to Q more.

    See you on the radio.

    Dave Dauterive

  • Everybody H8s Okwata

    The Q Sheet has been updated and there is plenty of room to Q Okwata. Join us at the “Wide Water”. Today we reminisced on some of the “Best Of’s” to ever grace the Lakefront Sunrise.

    W/U

    • Mosey around the fountain > Butt Kicks > Karaoke > High Knees > Karaoke
    • SSH x 25
    • IW x 25
    • AC x 10 x 10
    • MC x 20
    • JL x 10

    The Thang(s)

    • H8 (2-3 Laps) – Each lap consists of running south to the top of the levee, crossing canal (bear crawling the neutral ground), running south to the bottom of the levee, cross canal and run north to the top of the levee, cross canal (bear crawling the neutral ground), running north down the levee and back across canal to the starting point.  At the starting point you do a descending burp and merk pyramid starting at 8 (burpee with 8 merkins, burpee with 7 merkins, …..burpee with 1 merkin)
    • Top 40 – Exercise is 4 sets, 10 reps, alternate sides of the levee for each set. The exercise chosen was for the originator of the Top 40, Irish Jackasses.
    • Murph – 10 Pull Ups, 20 Merkins, 30 Squats; run a lap up & down the levee. Complete as many rounds as possible in 10 minutes.
    • Mary at the flag – Crunchy Frogs, Dying Cockroaches, LBCs

    Couterama, Namerama, Naming of the FNG (another Chalmation!), COT

    Thank you for the opportunity to lead,

    Da Parish

  • An attack of the FartSack Virus

    With a delightful temperature of around 45 and the wind blowing a tad over 20 or 25 mph or so and waves spewing sea cucumbers and other detritus over the seawall, the diligent PAX were few in the gloom this morning. YHC can only rationally deduce that all the other PAX had electronic gizmos that were collectively hacked with a virulent strain of a corona virus variant, the FartSack Virus. [Ludites rule!] While some local news reporter was parked across the way, no doubt waiting for Hawgcycle to tell him where Jim Cantore or some bicycling science teacher at Country Day might be found, the PAX wondered who was the Q? Where was the Q? So two seconds to 5:30, YHC became the first Q: Ready Teddy, Okey Dokey, yada yada yada, and so on. Q1 (JV): The PAX quickly moseyed over the levee for quieter environs for a warmup. SSHs 20xIC, Imperial Walkers 20xIC, Low Slow Squats 20xIC, Grass Grabbers 20xIC and Windmills 20xIC. The PAX then moseyed on the street over to the Canal Street hump. For the first round of four: mosey up the levee for 20 merkins, then mosey down for 20 dying cockroaches (2-is-1); rinse and repeat but with only 15; then rinse and repeat again but with only 10; and finally rinse and repeat with only 5. Over to the grass for some Jack Webb up to 12 (should have gone to 14 to outdo Catfish—next time!).

    Q2 (Holy Grove): back to the Canal Street hump. Bernie Sanders up, SSHs till the 6 arrives, mosey down and then SSHs till the 6 arrives; rinse and repeat three more times. #TClaps to Q2 for the words of encouragement to Q1, whose quads were dying. Then to the grass for two rounds of static V-Up folds for 30 seconds each.

    Q3 (Bongo): it still being RRR month, time for a mosey along the levee towards Landry’s and then back to the flag, with an occasional pause for a round of burpees along the way.

    A minute to spare, Q1 (JV) sealed the deal with 10 burpees. Intentions for Sheetrock’s daughter, Holy Grove’s dad and general praise. Thanks, gents, JV

  • Its 40, not 400

    A few weeks ago, YHC saw a backblast referencing a “traditional Okwata workout” that involved the levee and some exercises. As the children’s game of telephone illustrates, as word gets passed from one PAX to another, sometimes the message gets tweaked as it gets passed along. And looking at the calendar, YHC realized it had been exactly 1 full year since some brave okwata souls (looking at you JV, FracSac, mmmBop and Surge) survived a freezing cold day for the last (and 6th) running of the 40. A whole new troupe of PAX has arrived since then and had never had the pleasure of listening to me babble aimlessly while running back and forth and back and forth over the levee. So – lets do it!

    Quick disclaimer (actually, upon reflection – I think I forgot the disclaimer), then off. Breadsticks, speaking on behalf of all of Lakeview, pleaded to steer clear of the grass and the ants. YHC, speaking on behalf of YHC, thought for a minute and led the PAX to the grass, ants and levee. (Fortunately – I think the ants were sleeping).

    Circle up for SSH, IW, and some stretching to get warmed up. Then explain the background and premise. Background – inspired by U2 “40” which YHC still claims is the best closing song for a concert ever. The PAX, led by Kuch, wondered who this “U2” was, and claim never to have heard such a song. Kids today. But – we’re going over the levee 40 times. 10 exercises, each in 4 sets – going over the levee between each set. 40 trips over the levee, 40 exercise sets.

    And the best part – YHC gets to throw in 40 Facts and Figures. And to clarify for Ya Mom’n’Dem: YHC does not vouch for the accuracy of any said facts and figures. All have been googled, and located on at least one website. So there’s that.

    Today’s 10 exercises:

    Irish Jackasses: Thanks, Screw Top, for a nice new addition! These really suck when combined with running over a levee. Maybe next time, ST ought to show up.

    Cross Fit Merkins: Or Clap merkins, for those (Shuffles) who thing Cross Fit is for sissies.

    Big Boy Situps: Jingle Vader notices that YHC was doing these in the downhill direction on the first set. Noted, and corrected.

    Bobby Hurleys (Or Squat Jumps for those who don’t know who Bobby Hurley is, which apparently is most of the LVCC)

    Low Country Crabs: If only Yankee ever made it to Okwata

    Shuffles, a 20 count por favor

    Box Cutters: YHC kept plenty of distance from Triple Shift. That’s a longer story for yet another day. Jingle Vader plays the role of Triple Shift (again) in critiquing the shape of YHC’s boxes.

    Imperial Squat Walker: PAX stage a revolt, so YHC caves and lowers the count from 10 IC to 5 IC (10 Squats) out of fear. Still plenty of squats to burn the calves

    Catalina Wine Mixers: Way out in front, YHC saw Holy Grove and Triple Shift absolutely killing it. YHC was happy to be able to stay in front of Shorty, though. Maybe if Shorty showed up a little more regularly.

    American Hammer: Shorty and Surge thankful to get one useful fact for the day, as we talked about Hulk Hogan vs Iron Sheik (HH was Bacchus 40)

    8 Count Body Builders: JV chooses this exercise to round out the day.

    Finish at 6:14. Sheetrock does his best SOGO impression and finds a pothole on the run back to the flag – but keeps his balance and lives to fight another day. 5 Burpees OYO

    Circle up at the end. RRR coming soon, find a team and get signed up. Run. Run. Run. Prayers offered – we remember all of those intentions then finish with Psalm 40 (the inspiration behind the inspiration)

    Thanks for letting me lead, and until the next 40!

  • Get in gear for the new year with 400 reps

    On Tuesday evening, December 31st, YHC put out a brief message: Get some rest tomorrow, because Thursday will feature the 400 at Okwata. This was done for several reasons:

    • First and foremost, the 400 is hard. It’s a great aerobic/anaerobic mix, and I at least tend to get winded pretty quickly.
    • Second, if YHC knew that was coming, the thought, at least, was that YHC would be more responsible on New Year’s Eve knowing that he would be sweating out every drop of vodka. And publicly committing to it was the best way to assure it would actually go down.
    • Finally though, the 400 is a good test of where we all are. When you finish it, there is a sense of accomplishment. It’s a benchmark you can revisit and track progress, and progress is something we should never stop striving for, in whatever form it may come.

    What is the 400? I had last done it courtesy of a Triple Shift Q, and struggled mightily through it, but I believe it goes back to the early days of Okwata. The 400 is

    • 10 trips over the levee and back
    • stopping at the top of the levee, then the neighborhood side of the levee, then back to the top of the levee, then back to where you started for….
    • 10 reps of a particular exercise

    So a typical round is:

    • run up the levee for 10 merkins (for example)
    • run down to the other side for 10 merkins
    • run back up the levee for 10 merkins
    • run back down to where you started for 10 merkins

    Today we did

    1. SSH 50% effort for a warm-up. (YHC had done an abbreviated warmup because last time, we’d used almost the entire 45 minutes to complete it, so we used this as part of the warmup)
    2. Merkins
    3. Burpees
    4. Squats
    5. Carolina dry docks
    6. Bonnie Blairs (3 count, 1,2,3 1; 1,2,3 2)
    7. J-Lo’s (3 count)
    8. LBC’s (3 count)
    9. Monkey Humpers (3 count)
    10. At this point, we still had some time, so YHC decided we would redo the SSH at 100% so as not to short ourselves. So SSH (3 count)
    11. Final exercise, only one choice (and a very popular one judging by the groans and mumblechatter). More burpees!

    Some stretching led by High Rise, prayers for one our pax who has a child going through some challenges, and something I wanted to share with the group from a friend who recently died from brain cancer. Several months before his death, having lived with the cancer for a few years, he remarked:

    “While I’ve lost nearly everything, physically, financially, emotionally, materially, Never, not once, have I lost hope, belief, faith.”

    I know of no better way to live.

    I also know of no better group of men than this one, and for that, I thank all of you. Here’s to a great 2020. – Kuch

  • “The 12 Days of Christmas” or maybe “The 12 Exercises of Christmas”

    YHC was relaxing at home after a calm and quiet Christmas day with the family, when he received a reminder text for his Q at Okwata tomorrow morning.   So, after a few minutes of thought I had a basic workout prepared and was ready for the next morning.    As I dozed off to sleep, I was inspired by the Christmas spirit, hopped out of bed, and scribbled some notes on a random piece of paper.    YHC had to incorporate a Christmas theme to the workout

    11 PAX (JV coming in hot) met at the flag at Okwata the morning after Christmas and moseyed to the intersection of Canal Blvd and Lakeshore Drive for warmup.   Warmups consisted of SSH x 26, Imperial Walkers x 15, Grass grabbers x 10, Shoulder taps x 30, Arm circles x 10, and self-love.  

    The PAX remained in our circle and counted off.  We did one round of the following exercises at the count / number of reps next to the exercise.  

    1. 8 Count body builders
    2. Jack Webbs
    3. American Hammers
    4. Squats
    5. BURPEES
    6. Penguins
    7. Merkins
    8. Monkey Humpers
    9. Hillbillies
    10. Bonnie Blairs / Lunges
    11. Big Boy Sit Ups
    12. Flutter Kicks

    After the first round – PAX were ready to go again.    This time to the theme of the Christmas classic – The 12 Days of Christmas”. Shuffles started us out with “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me – 1 8 ct. body builder. After the first 2-3 rounds of the song, the PAX got the hang of it.  Each PAX enthusiastically called out their exercise and we were able to complete the entire song with a few minutes to spare.

    In the remaining time, PAX did two laps of Bernie Sanders (run backwards up the hill and forward back down the hill).   Mosey back to the flag for finish at 6:15. 

    COT, announcements, intentions, and gratefulness for the Christmas holiday.  YHC is thankful for the opportunity to lead and for the participation of the PAX in the post-Christmas workout.