Cool and crisp conditions this morning at Rock City, perfect “football weather” for a black and gold themed beatdown on the heels of the Monday night Saints vs. Panthers game. A few die-hards were sporting team gear and after the disclaimer along with a brief explanation of what lied ahead, we brought it in for a “Who Dat on 3″…not quite the same coolness as Brees in the Dome but it helped get the juices flowing. Then a mosey to the usual field for a quick warmup of SSH, Arm Circles, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, and LS Squats.
Made our way to the rock pile to select a companion for the morning and over to the large field for some drills. First up would be a round of exercises paying homage to the Saints 11-2 record so far this season. What better way to celebrate the 11 wins than with 11’s! Here’s how it went:-Curl Press with rock (10-1)-Backpedal to parking bumpers (approx 15-20yds)-Hand Release Derkins w/feet on parking bumpers (1-10) -Lunge Walk back
Now we couldn’t forget about the 2 losses so in an effort to push ourselves to get stronger, we circled up for 2 minutes of Up-Downs. Might have been a bit ugly at the end but the PAX hung in there for a long two minutes.
Next up would be a “Heisman Run” giving a shout out to Mark Ingram and Cam Newton that would be taking the field later that night. In order to be considered for the Heisman Trophy, one must show superb running skills with the ball, maintain possession of the ball, and be fast. Using our rocks as footballs and making sure not to fumble, we warmed up with Squat Press x20 before tucking in the rock(ball) for a run weaving around the trees(defenders) and finishing with an endzone celebration of Squat Press x10. Then waited for the six with a wall con roca sit on the fence.
Still time for another circuit so this time we partnered up in a line for some “Boom and Zoom” to give props to our elite running backs, Ingram and Kamara. YHC assumed it was common knowledge that the talented duo is nicknamed “Boom and Zoom” but apparently he was wrong. After some heckling and discussion, we noted that to be a star running back you must be strong enough to keep from coughing up the ball and fast enough to gain yardage. Therefore PAX #1 stayed put for “Boom” curls AMRAP to work on the guns while PAX #2 “Zoom” ran around the tree and back (50yds total?) as the timer. We did this for approx 4-5 minutes with some grumbling from the peanut gallery after a few minutes in.
Two minute warning was approaching so we called an audible to keep rocks overhead as we made our way back to the rock pile. From there a mosey back to the flag, a few minutes of planking, concluded by a “Who Dat” plank/merkin circle.
COT included some lewd yet fitting nickname suggestions for our FNG but we landed on Piper…welcome! Also an announcement for Crazy Ivan race coming up in Jan. Prayer intentions for Brad Brechtel and for a good, safe, injury free football game tonight.
Thanks for letting me lead. Hopefully we’ll be 12-2 by the time anyone reads this. Who Dat!
With the PAX carrying an obvious naughty designation from Kris Kringle himself, we proceeded to find our first of three lumps of coal at the corner of CalhounSt. and St.Charles Ave. The PAX broke into 3 groups and did the exercises listed below. The groups rotated through each station, and the Burpee group had the count.
Burpees – 20 (count)
Lunges
LBCs
The PAX moseyed from there to the big mountain, where we gathered into 3 lines, and did an Indian run to level 4 where our second lump of coal was waiting. Each line was assigned the following exercises, the burpee group had the count, and the groups rotated through each station.
Burpees – 20 (count)
Low Slow Squats
American Hammers
Once complete, the PAX formed 3 lines again and completed an Indian run to the top of the mountain where lump of coal number three was discovered. The following exercises where completed in the same fashion as previous stations. Santa gave the winey PAX a break with only 15 burpees.
Burpees – 15 (count)
Al Gores
Flutter kicks
The PAX went down to the benches via the stairwell where we did the following:
Incline Merkins – 20
Right and Left leg step ups – 15 each
The PAX moseyed back to the flag for some brief stretching before announcements, name-o-Rama, and a prayer. We welcomed one FNG, Tom Patrias, who is now referred to as Mudbug!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go….except City Park. YHC took extra care and effort to create a Map My Run Route for a Christmas 610 Stomp. This route would take the PAX down Roosevelt Mall and Lelong Dr and along the City Park Walking path next to the small lagoon so that we could witness the lights and celebration of the Holiday Season. I have attached a few photos below of the sites witnessed this morning.
Here are the lights at the corner of City Park Ave and CarroltonHere are the lights hanging in the trees as we crossed Anseman Ave near the City Park Ave. EntranceThe PAX mid stride as we admired the lights in the Peristyle Here’s me taking a selfie directly in front of the Celebration in the Oaks entrance. The rear view of the Botanical Gardens. Aren’t they magnificent?
The PAX reached the flag and then turned around to sweep the 6. As a team, we entered the practice track for 1 lap and circled up for some Mary (IC)
LBC x 24
Penguins x 24
Wife Pleasers x 24
Flutter Kick x 24
Dying Cockroach x 24
Plank (Center, Left, Right)
Merkins x 12
Mosey Back to the flag for Counterama, Namerama, and COT. Today YHC requested that we keep request intentions in our hearts and speak those intentions of thanks to the Sky Q for the fortunes we have received. Thank you for the opportunity to lead. SYITM
NMM – YHC has contacted City Park via a public tweet and requested that the lights be turned on from 0515 till sunrise. Now, we play the waiting game.
28 PAX ignored the threat of rain and made it out The Mothership this Sat. We lucked out with a “calm before the storm” as the the guys assmebled and prepared for takeoff. YHC wanted to mix things up with an old school City Park history tour as part of the workout, similar to a few beatbowns circa 2015. The night before had the forecast looking nasty, so the plan was to stay close to cover and hone in on a few of the iconic landmarks right there in the original part of the park. The 1300 acre park was established in 1854 and has lots of history, great architecture, nature, wildlife, and of course trees….home to one of the largest collection of live oaks in the world. Generations of New Orleans residents and visitors alike have enjoyed the park so it only seemed fitting to pay homage to a few things that make it a great place. As the clock struck 5:30 we discussed the plan for the day, followed by the disclaimer, then off to….
First stop, The Peristyle, built in 1907 to have outdoor dances and concerts for the “well heeled” New Orleanians….some chatter from Rudy about Jingle Vader being in that category. Using the year as the rep count, we started with Imperial Walkers x19 and Windmills x7.
Then an ugly mosey around The Casino Building with some doubt from the PAX before going up and over Popp Bandstand for Stop #2 on the nearby grass.
With 12 granite columns and topped with a bronze dome, Popp Bandstand was named for is benefactor, John F. Popp, and is a replica of the Temple of Love in Versailles. In 1916, Popp made a donation to the park to build the Popp Bandstand which was completed in 1917. The Spanish Mission Revival-style “Casino” building opened in 1913 as a place that sold refreshments. Because of that, the City Park legend says that the building originally was called a cantina, using the Spanish word for a place where food and drinks are served. In a 2008 Times-Picayune story, City Park Executive Director Beau Bassich said he believed the New Orleans dialect colloquialized the word into “casina.” However, 1913 newspaper articles do use the word “casino” to describe the new building, explaining it will be “the amusement center of the park,” though there is no mention of gambling.
Here we circled up using 1917 and 1913 to inspire the rep count for Peter Parkers x19, Low Slow Squats x17, Mountain Climbers x19 and Arm Circles x13.
Then we recaped the age of the park, 164 years, with a Plank Merkin circle where all PAX held a high plank while merkins were cranked out individually in a clockwise manner up to 164 total.
Then a mosey over the stone bridge towards City Park Ave for a meandering jog through the oldest grove of mature live oak tress the world. We made sure to recognize the two oldest ones by looping around McDonough Oak and then, after some doubt from the PAX about my navagation ability, made our way to the Ansmen Oak, both of which are approx 800 years old. Here we circled up for an 8 round burpee countdown, one round for each century…Burpees x8,x7,x6,x5,x4,x3,x2,…x8 for the crowdpleaser! More about City Park trees here: http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park/trees-in-city-park
Then a mosey over the Ansmen Bridge, one of 9 built by the WPA, and back to The Peristyle where we lined up on one side for a partner circuit. This included 8 rounds of PAX #1 performing the specified exercise across the Peristyle and back (timer) while PAX #2 stayed put with a stationary exercise.
1)Inchworm & Wall Sit
2) Bearcrawl fwd/bwd & Balls to the Wall
3) Duck Walk & Declined Plank
4) Crab Walk fwd/bwd & Wall Sit
5) Lunge Walk & LBC
6) Kong & Balls to the Wall
7) Fiddler Crab & Flutter Kicks
8) Lateral Lunge & Wall Sit
Next up, we couldn’t leave out the adjacent Great Lawn that has hosted countless hours of F3 beatdowns. Built in 2010, the Goldring/Woldenberg Great Lawn is enjoyed by many and has seen a slew of picnics, concerts, yoga classes, and side straddle hops over the past 8 years. So we moseyed a quick loop to the Great Lawn and back to the nearby benches for a partner circuit of: PAX #1 Dips x20 OYO while PAX#2 runs to GL for Merkins x10 and back. Rinse and repeat for 3 rounds total follwed by a “victory lap” around the GL topped off with planking to wait for the six.
Still some time left for a few more history lessons so over to the rear of The Peristyle to gaze upon the banks of Bayou Metairie. Although it is now a landlocked lagoon, Bayou Metairie was originally a natural waterway spanning from Bayou St. John to the swampy area near what is now Old Metairie, essentially following the path of current day Metairie Rd. Once used by the Native Americans and early settlers, the banks of the bayou gradually formed the Metairie Ridge which provided high ground for ground transportation and later development of homes.
Since we didn’t have a year to use for rep count, we shifted our focus to 1946, the year of the first City Park Big Bass Rodeo, which is the oldest freshwater fishing rodeo in the country. At this point YHC had to alter the planned exercises and went with the first thing that came to mind, burpees, which really seemed to excite the PAX and peanut gallery, given the initial silence of disbelief followed by some grumbling and the “we already did enough burpees” comments. So PAX#1 knocked out Burpees x19 while PAX #2 held a wall sit on the ledge along Bayou Metairie, which had an awkward slope not conducive to said exercise. Then partner plank slaps, aka patty cake, holding a high plank and alternating hand slaps up to 46.
Nearing the end of our hour, we had just enough time remaining to circle up under The Persistyle for some themed Mary. YHC breifly talked about the various projects completed by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in the 1930’s throughout City Park, including Tad Gormley Stadium, nine concrete bridges, a golf course, several art deco conrete benches, and Roosevelt Mall. In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt came in town for the dedication ceremony. Pics below and more info at: http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park/works-progress-administration-in-new-orleans-city-park
In this undated archival photo, President Roosevelt chats with New Orleanian Paul Alfred Montreuil, 7, at the dedication of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mall in City Park. Also pictured: Marcel G. Montreuil, park superintendent; George Grundmann, chairman of the dedication committee and vice president of the park board; and James H. Crutcher, administrator of the WPA in Louisiana.
Our WPA and FDR themed Mary consisted of:
W – Weezey Jeffersons x10IC
P – Pickle Pounders x15IC
A – American Hammer x20IC
F – Flutter Kicks x20IC
D – Dying Cockroach x15IC
R – name??? exotic exercise led by Triple Shift x25IC
Moseyed back to the flag with some rain for added bonus. Capped things off with a COT and announcements. T-claps to War Eagle for stepping up to lead the prayer. He’s a pro at that stuff and much more eloquent in that field than YHC.
NMM – Thanks to the PAX for bearing with my non-professional tour guide ability and abbreviated history tidbits throughout the morning. As always, the peanut gallery led by Rudy and others kept it entertaining. T-claps to Mahatma and others for the occasional motivational cheers and USMC grunts to keep the PAX in high gear. Several guys asked for links (http://neworleanscitypark.com/in-the-park) to some of the City Park history in so I included several in this backblast, which may be one of the longest in F3 history….sorry for the long read, if you made it this far. My wife asked if I was writing a book.
It was a chilly morning at the Stomp, where 8 veteran Pax posted to get a little running in. YHC posted in sleeveless F3 Garb, in preparation for the upcoming Crazy Ivan! Based upon the outer layers the rest of the pax wore, one would think it was literally freezing outside! Rudy posted today, still upset he missed Walleye’s Notre Dame themed beat down. He was dressed in full winter attire, and he’s faster than me. YHC is, after all, the fastest slow guy in F3 Nation. So YHC got to thinking….is there anything Rudy and I have in common? First, we both belong to F3, which makes us both leaders. Beyond that, not sure. Oh wait! As of about 5 minutes ago, we did have one other thing in common: neither of us started a Back Blast for the last 610 Stomp we Q’d! Badada Boom!
0530…A brief disclaimer….simple instructions given to run 20 minutes out and 20 minutes back on the regular route….lots of mumble chatter! Just another day at the Stomp!
Back at the shovel flags, a little Mary:
Flutter Kicks IC x 20 followed by Hello Dolly IC x 20
10 Burpees OYO to seal the deal!
COT
Countoff, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and ended with a prayer to the Sky Q!
23 PAX with 2 FNGs managed to meet up on a beautiful, wet, humid, warm Saturday morning on the first day of December. At 6:30, YHC gave his standard disclaimer and off went the PAX.
(missing PAX in the photo: Bogey, King Kong, Smooth, SwampCock)
Warm-ups
Short mosey to the Peristyle and did the following in cadence:
SSHs x 20
Windmills x 10
Forward Arm Circles x 10
Backward Arm Circles x 10
Hill Billies x 20 (with Fracsac’s witty comments as YHC was trying to explain what the heck are the Hill Billies to the FNGs)
Peter Parkers x 15
MC x 15
Partner Workout
Picked a partner and jogged across the street to the Great Lawn. Magically, bunch of cones (dividing the field in halves) were set up in the middle of the field.
Part 1 – Starting in the middle of the field, each PAX ran toward his sidewalk and back to the middle and performed 15 patty cake merkins with his partner, rinse and repeat with 10 reps, rinse and repeat with 5 reps.
Part 2 – Starting in the middle of the field, each PAX ran toward his sidewalk and back to the middle and performed 20 synchronize big boy sit ups. Rinse and repeat with 15, 10, and 5 reps.
Part 3 – Starting in the middle of the field, each PAX ran toward his sidewalk and back to the middle and performed 20 synchronize squats. Rinse and repeat with 15, 10, and 5 reps.
Part 4 – Starting in the middle of the field, each PAX ran toward his sidewalk and back to the middle and each PAX performed 5 burpees jump over. One PAX was doing the burpee jump over the other PAX, who was in the low plank position. Flap Jack. Each PAX did 4 rounds (total 20 burpees jump over each)
When finished, Mahatma-Ice gave a 20 second count, then moseyed to the fountain in front of NOMA and waited for the six.
The Thang
Starting off at the fountain in front of NOMA, each Pax had to do the following OYO:
Round 1
20 box jumps
20 incline merkins
15 box jumps
15 merkins
10 box jumps
10 derkins
5 box jumps
5 diamond merkins
then moseyed to the last light post and back to the fountain (about 0.5 mile)
Round 2 – rinse and repeat but shaved off the first set of 20 box jumps and 20 incline merkins, then moseyed to the 7th light post and back.
Round 3 – rinse and repeat but shaved off another set of 15 box jumps and 15 merkins, then moseyed to the 5th light post and back.
Round 4 – rinse and repeat but shaved off another set of 10 box jumps and 10 derkins (leaving with only 5 box jumps and 5 diamond merkins), then moseyed to the 3rd light post and back.
In addition to the mileage, the PAX toughed out 100 box jumps and 100 different forms of merkins.
T-claps to Mahatma-Ice for setting the tone early. Not an easy task to do 100 box jumps, all those merkins, and all those miles. Once again, everyone got stronger for coming out to a F3 workout. Respect!!!
Round of Mary
Moseyed to the grass field next to NOMA and did the following in cadence:
Hello Dolly x 20
Dying Cockroach x 20
Flutter kicks x 20
American Hammer x 15
Moseyed back to the flag with 30 seconds left. Why not 3 more burpees??? PAX finished the workout at 7:30 a.m.
COT
Count-O-Rama 23PAX, Name-O-Rama, announcements, intentions. 2 FNGs (Hank and Hatchling). Hank is a reference from King of the Hill. Hatchling because he is only 18. Our thoughts and prayers for I Love You Man’s niece with her recovery from brain surgery and King Kong’s 2.0 with her girls’ scout camping over the weekend. Thank You all again for the opportunity to lead. Always a pleasure and honor to workout with the PAX. SYITG
The cold relented, and YHC was bringing a classic beatdown to the PAX. Disclaimer and then . . .
Warm-Up: mosey to the fountain and then circle up for SSH x25, Abe Vigoda x15, Arm Circles x 20 (10 each direction), Imperial Walkers x25, Peter Parkers x20, Parker Peters x20, Grass Grabbers x15.
The PAX moseyed around the fountain and went to the fountain barricade for the single leg beatdown.
COP1: 3 exercises (Single-leg lunge, Side leg raise, Pistol squat), 3 Sets with a mosey after each set, 1st Set x20, 2nd Set x15, 3rd Set x10 (each leg, i.e. 1st Set 20 on left and 20 on right)
COP2: The PAX moseyed to the sea wall for a Hurricane Hoedown (counting down from 7 with flutterkicks in 4 positions – upright, hands, elbows, flat) and Wife Pleasers in between sets.
COP3: The PAX moseyed to the Cabana of Pain for 2 rounds of stations – bear crawl and quadrophelia up/down the levee as the timer, AMRAP pull-ups, and dips and crossfit merkins.
Mosey back to the flag and Count off, Nameorama, announcements, intentions, and prayer. Thank you for the gloom, Sky Q. Teach us to be generous!
Moleskin: With this classic workout, the PAX did a lot of work in a short amount of time. The beatdown started with the legs and worked its way up so that the whole body got hit. Focusing on a single limb causes a bunch of muscles that are usually on the sidelines to fire off and provide stability. YHC is getting sore right now.
YHC arrived to the Mothership a few minutes early, and was surprised to be one of the first on the scene. With only 5 minutes to go, there were no more than a dozen Pax, which is a low number for the Mothership, but is understandable given a holiday weekend. YHC was pleasantly surprised with the final push of arrivals, bringing the total posting to 23, including an FNG!
With the clock turning 0630, time for a brief disclaimer, then…
Mosey toward the Great Lawn, in a direction that threw the Pax off. Keep ’em guessing is the best policy. Circle up on the Great Lawn for the Warm Up
SSH IC x 31
IW IC x 15
Ave Vigodas IC x 10
Grass Grabbers IC x 10
Arm Circles IC – 10 fwd, 10 bwd
Chinook Squats IC x 10
Plank-o-rama…Peter Parker IC x 15….Mountain Climber IC x 15….Parker Peter IC x 15.
A quick countoff proves an odd number of pax. YHC had a game of “Catch Me If You Can” planned out, but the odd number threw a wrench in the cogs. Not to fret, YHC had the odd and even numbers split up into two groups. Odd numbers start running backward on Great Lawn, Even numbers do five Burpees and “Catch Up” to Odd numbers. Once first Pax arrives, all drop into a plank and wait. Even Pax run backwards while Odd numbers do five Burpees and “Catch Up” to Even numbers.
One round of that was enough, YHC knew he should have put the cones out……but trying to infuse something new into the routine!
Mosey to the NOMA Fountain.
Box Jumps OYO x 10
LL Step ups IC x 10
Dips IC x 15
RL Step ups IC x 10
Derkins IC x 15
Mosey to the Tree Line, line up along the first tree.
Bear Crawl to 2nd tree, 10 merkins
Bear crawl to 3rd tree, 10 shoulder taps (King Kong did Kongs…)
Bear Crawl to 4th tree, 10 Floyd Mayweathers
Bear Crawl to 5th tree, 10 Burpees OYO and stand back up
Split the Pax in two groups again. Even number pax form one circle, Odd number pax form another circle.
Circle Burps!
All pax run in place. Each pax takes turns saying “down” which signals the entire circle to do a burpee, recover, and run in place. The odd numbers went around the circle twice, one can only assume the Even’s did roughly the same.
Mosey to the Foundry for Stations!
Station 1 – Dips AMRAP
Station 2 – Pull ups AMRAP
Station 3 – Merkins AMRAP
Station 4 – Leg Lifts AMRAP
Station 5 – Big Boi Sit Ups AMRAP
Station 6 – Run to bike trail, 5 Burpees, Run back – Timer
Complete 2 Rounds
Mosey back to the Great Lawn
Flutter Kicks IC x 20
Crunchy Frog IC x 10
Tin Snips IC x 10
Seal the Deal with 10 Burpees OYO!
Mosey back to the Shovel Flag.
COT
Count Off, Name-O-Rama, Announcements, Intentions, Close with a Prayer. Welcome Pele’!
NMM
The Pax were expecting some Burpee Suicides, but YHC threw ‘ em off with some new routines. Expect the Unexpected! Don’t worry, you’ll find yourselves doing Burpee Suicides again soon enough……
Not exactly sure how a guy born in Venezuela is named after a renowned soccer player from Brazil….but it works!
On a weekend of Giving Thanks, I’d like to say thank you to my F3 Brothers for continually pushing and supporting me to be a better person overall. This is a great organization, one that too many miss out on.
So after over a year of being a part of F3, YHC decided to have his first Wolfpack Mountain Q on Black Friday. I know, surprising after so many Q’s, YHC has never Q’ed the Mountain. What makes that even more surprising is that Loyola is my Alma Mater! I’ve spent a lot of time on this campus so what better way to christen my first Wolfpack Q than to take the PAX on a good, old-fashioned college tour. Our group was small compared to normal Wolfpack Mountain but I say quality over quantity.
With a short disclaimer, we were off.
Mosey to space outside of Roussel Hall for warm-up:
Windmills IC X15
Hillbillies IC X20
Forward Arm Circles IC X15
Reverse Arm Circles IC X15
Peter Parkers IC X20
Short Mosey to first stop on tour Roussel Hall (College of Music) for:
A quick run up and down the stairs on side of building to continue warm-up.
Next Mosey to benches by our second stop Monroe Hall (Math and Science Building) for:
Dips IC X15
Incline Merkins IC X15
Right Leg Step Ups IC X15
Left Leg Step Ups IC X15
Short Mosey to our third stop Miller Hall (College of Business). Spent a lot of time here!
Rocky Balboas X20 then Bearcrawl to other side of street for Jump Squats X20 rinse and repeat X 5
Next mosey to our fourth stop Bobet Hall (Liberal Arts building) for some Mary:
Flutter Kicks IC X20
Penguins IC X20
Hello Dolly IC X20
Mosey to Quad with a quick wave to the Danna Center (Student Union) and Lindy Boggs Library. So the quad is surrounded by the Loyola dorms, Biever Hall for the Men, Buddig Hall for the Women and the Co-Ed Dorms. Yes PAX, I spent a little time in Buddig Hall. So, the thang:
Four Corners – BLIMP
5 Burpees at first corner then Cariacoa to Next Corner for
10 Lunges then Crab Crawl to next corner for
15 Imperial Walkers then backward run to next corner for
20 Merkins then Duck Walk to next corner for
25 Plank Jacks
Next Mosey to the bottom of Mountain. Yes, we can’t have a Wolfpack Mountain beatdown without the Mountain!
Single-line Indian Run up to the top.
After a quick Rudy 20 count at the top, YHC instructed all PAX to line up backs against the wall in one line for next exercise….GRATITUDE! PAX turn around and look at the amazing view of our City. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, YHC wanted the PAX to take a second to consider how lucky we are to live in this amazing city we call home and to have this incredible brotherhood of F3. We are truly blessed!
Time is running short so down the stairs and back to the virtual flag. Arrived right at 6:15. Let’s get in 10 Nolan Ryan’s each side OYO. Now we’re done.
Count-off, Name-o-rama, Intentions and Prayer. YHC feeling thankful so Coffeetaria on me for all PAX! 7 PAX joined for coffee and great F2.
