F3 New Orleans

Tag: Russo

  • 2 to 22 too – from Russo

    Cool for some, not for others this morning as a dozen HIM took to the streets to make themselves stronger. Very basic this week as I’ve run out of creativity but not heart.

    Warmup IC 10x
    – SSHs
    – imperial walkers
    – Self love
    – arm circles
    – Good mornings
    – High knees
    – Torso twists

    Thang

    Given the date, I had to throw in the number 2. We would mosey around, stopping periodically for some combination of 2 burpees plus 22 of one or two exercises:
    Lunges
    Squats
    Monkey humpers
    Jump squats
    Merkins
    Wide merkins
    Shoulder taps
    Plank jacks
    Gas pumps
    American Hammers
    Crunchy Frogs
    Leg raises
    Flutter kicks
    SMCs
    Apollo Ohnos
    Freak Nastys
    Step ups
    Box jumps (though only 11)
    BSSs

    Midway through we made it to the Splashpad for two calf raises up each step and 2 rounds of slalom the columns.

    Back at the flag, it was 11 IC penguins, LBCs, flutter kicks and we closed with COT, NOR, A, and P.

    I enjoyed the camaraderie of each of you and thanks for joining.

    SYITG

  • Ugh, I guess we need to do something now – from Russo

    Since Pelican and I have been regulars on Friday mornings, the goal has been to move around some, discuss the world’s problems, throw out a conspiracy or two, and generally move around enough to feel ok about eating dessert later. On a scale of 1-10 on the pain train / difficulty scale, we keep it under 4. That’s the reality of the spashpad, and I’m ok with it. Buuuut, we ha a visitor this week: Grundy. He of the “I’m going to do a cake walk with multiple-IC 8 count movements.” Mr. “A 2 .5 hour beatdown is not that bad one you get past the 100 burpees and only have man makers left.”

    So needless to say, we needed to up our game to make sure it was somewhat worth getting up and driving over.

    No Valentines to speak of (regrettably). No candy hearts or flowers or chocolate. Pax of 3 this morning, mid 40 throughout. With doctor’s orders to keep the running to a minimum, we did just that with a Tabata at the stage and benches.

    Warmup (all 10x)
    – arm circles
    – Air presses
    – Grass grabbers
    – Imperial walkers
    – Self love

    Tabata (40 seconds on, 20 off) – alternating between benches and stage – 3 rounds at bench, 2 at the stage

    Benches
    Freak Nastys
    Step ups
    Bulgarian Split Squats
    Urkins

    Stage
    Merkins
    Flutter kicks
    Monkey humpers
    LBCs
    Plank jacks
    Squats
    Penguins
    Mountain climbers
    Lunges
    Gas pumps
    Cherry pickers
    Crunchy frogs
    Shoulder taps

    No Mary to speak of, but we did of course wrap with a circle, announcements, and prayer.

    Thank you gents for joining / reading. SYITG

  • The Mandela Effect? – from Russo

    The Mandela Effect: phenomenon where a large group of people misremember an event or share a memory of something that didn’t happen. It’s a social phenomenon that occurs when people have false memories of a person, place, or event.

    Want an example? People remember Nelson Mandela dying in prison. They may remember a cornucopia on the Fruit of the Loom logo (myself included). They swear Vader says “Luke, I am your father.” Mr. Moneybags (I think that’s the gent from Monopoly) doesn’t have a monocle?

    A more local example? The Treen Center. I swear I’ve left my keys on the bench more than once. Steve swears he remembers a Super 20-something led by me but my counting always stops at 10. We both swear we remember Shooter and Jose “scissoring” on the bench, but alas that was just a threat (proposition?).

    Jose and Steve were running around as I arrived, followed by both Coachella (not HogsBreath) and Grundy (also not HogsBreath).

    Lower 60s to start, slightly less humid, overall both “pleasant” and “sweat-inducing.”

    Warmup (all 10-20x IC)
    – Sealjacks
    – Grass grabbers
    – Arm circles
    – Imperial walkers
    – Self love
    – maybe some other stuff, I don’t remember because Jose distracted me with his average time per mile. Dude’s a full-on runner now, no doubt.

    Thang
    The Walls of Jericho
    (7 rounds of moseys around the Treen center, it of the Mandela effect) interspersed with seven reps of 7 exercises:
    – 7 merkins
    – 7 squats
    – 7 lunges
    – 7 Peter Parker’s
    – 7 SMCs
    – 7 shoulder tap plank jacks
    – 7 monkey humpers

    A mosey back to base where we wrap up with COT, NOR, Announcements, and Prayer.

    Great group this morning, and I’m glad to have been able to share the streets with you. SYITG

  • Foggy on the Escalator – from Russo

    I realize this may be late in at least one or two people’s eyes, but we can’t all be superstars.

    Warmup (10x IC)
    Seal jacks
    Grass grabbers
    SSHs
    Arm circles
    Torso twists
    Imperial walkers

    Thang

    I tried to make at least half of the beatdown mosey-related for the RCR folks, so we did just that: moseyed around old Mandeville, stopping on average every block or two to perform reps of 10 exercises in what I call an “Escalator”, or as Chewy rightly called it: “Sudoku”. Exercise 1 gets 10 reps, Exercise 2 gets 9 reps, down to one. Next round, Exercise 1 gets 1 rep, 2 gets 10, R&R until as Steve was first to chime each will get 55 reps for a total of 550 movements. Math!

    The exercises:
    Shoulder tap plank jacks
    Star jumps
    Merkins
    Burpees
    Jump squats
    Murder bunnies
    American hammers
    Crunchy frogs
    Donkey kicks
    Imperial squat walkers

    The weather: Foggy! As thick as I’ve seen this year (39 days in). This, humid so sweat was a plenty. Around 64 degrees to start, so within the 3.7 degree window that Quarterpipe will join us in.

    The music: Not Jose’s

    We timed it well enough that there was no Mary, so COT, NOR, announcements, and prayer closed us out.

    Coffee afterward, which is apparently a thing and I may or may not have needed a special engraved invitation for.

    Thank you all for joining and making the world a better place. SYITG

  • Self EH Strikes Again! – from Bushwacker

    QIC knows that Russo and Pelican have their sweetheart love-fest many a Friday at The Splashpad, usually with more mumblechatter than work and sticking to a narrow range of politically conspiratorial topics of conversation. But it happened that Wacker had plans to crash their party with a little Rinso Repeato!

    WARMORAMA

    X10 IC: SSH, etc, etc.

    THANG

    X10 IC:
    Merkins
    Squats (alt Slow Squats)
    Freak Nasties
    Alt Lunges

    10 laps up and down the stairs

    R&R

    MARY

    X10IC:
    Starting with Hammers, ending with 100 100s OYO with plenty in between

    COT

    Count/name, special intentions for Russo’s co-worker and Tank

    Great to see Pelican again, and always a pleasure to see the whimsical Russo. Until next time…SYITG

  • The Blind Leading the Blind – from Steve

    But hey, at least there were no shot puts involved!

    As sometimes is the case, the most amusing part of the beatdown happened in the first few minutes, as Jose entertained us with tales of being a track coach.

    Coach 10k has got some stories, and it dawned on me that if he could hone his sound effect skills over the next 20 years (a la that dude from Police Academy), he might just take over storytime for Frank.

    YHC came somewhat prepared today with a car full of props (ok, not all-in Mathlete style, with the full gym in tow). Bush had reached out the day before to poke and prod as he is prone to do, insisting (correctly!) that we always do the same ol’ shit. Touché. Well, you gotta step up and Q it yourself then, Bush!

    Anyway, he personally requested balls to the wall, which YHC would’ve happily included, but alas, there was no Bush to be found this gloom.

    Cycled through each of the following stations twice. Second time through we replaced the merkin rows, which were brutal, with a core exercise. Once everyone had two turns at each station, hit the slalom and up the stairs for a round of SMKs/Lunges up top. Rounds were:

    Jump Rope
    Merkin Rows w/ Dumbell (R2: Leg Raises)
    Squat Thrusters (x30)

    Up Stairs – 20 SMK’s (2:1)

    Jump Rope
    Merkin Rows w/ Dumbell (R2: Crunchy Frogs)
    Curls (x40)

    Up Stairs – 20 Lunges (2:1)

    Jump Rope
    Merkin Rows w/ Dumbell (R2: Gas Pumps)
    Chest Presses (x40)

    Up Stairs – 20 SMK’s (2:1)

    Jump Rope
    Merkin Rows w/ Dumbell (R2: Freddie Merc’s)
    Alpos (x30)

    Up Stairs – 20 SMK’s (2:1)

    Once Jose departed, Russo and I discussed how snow days work when you’re home schooling, as well as the ins and outs of starting a global crochet empire. Forget Etsy, these baby blankets, beanies, and booties come with Kardashian endorsements and are featured in viral Tik Tok dances. Russo already booked flights to Shenzhen to tour their manufacturing plant and see if their knitting is up to snuff.

    All in all, if not an inventive beatdown, it was at least effective one. COT and Russo took us out. RCR is rapidly approaching, if you don’t have a team, get one today. I believe the Pork Chop Express might still need a few guys.

    And thanks to these two gents who make it a point to be consistent and keep people like myself accountable. I am incredibly appreciative to be out there with you two.

  • The Blind Leading the Blind – from Steve

    But hey, at least there were no shot puts involved!

    As sometimes is the case, the most amusing part of the beatdown happened in the first few minutes, as Jose entertained us with tales of being a track coach.

    Coach 10k has got some stories, and it dawned on me that if he could hone his sound effect skills over the next 20 years (a la that dude from Police Academy), he might just take over storytime for Frank.

    YHC came somewhat prepared today with a car full of props (ok, not all-in Mathlete style, with the full gym in tow). Bush had reached out the day before to poke and prod as he is prone to do, insisting (correctly!) that we always do the same ol’ shit. Touché. Well, you gotta step up and Q it yourself then, Bush!

    Anyway, he personally requested balls to the wall, which YHC would’ve happily included, but alas, there was no Bush to be found this gloom.

    Cycled through each of the following stations twice. Second time through we replaced the merkin rows, which were brutal, with a core exercise. Once everyone had two turns at each station, hit the slalom and up the stairs for a round of SMKs/Lunges up top. Rounds were:

    Jump Rope
    Merkin Rows w/ Dumbell (R2: Leg Raises)
    Squat Thrusters (x30)

    Up Stairs – 20 SMK’s (2:1)

    Jump Rope
    Merkin Rows w/ Dumbell (R2: Crunchy Frogs)
    Curls (x40)

    Up Stairs – 20 Lunges (2:1)

    Jump Rope
    Merkin Rows w/ Dumbell (R2: Gas Pumps)
    Chest Presses (x40)

    Up Stairs – 20 SMK’s (2:1)

    Jump Rope
    Merkin Rows w/ Dumbell (R2: Freddie Merc’s)
    Alpos (x30)

    Up Stairs – 20 SMK’s (2:1)

    Once Jose departed, Russo and I discussed how snow days work when you’re home schooling, as well as the ins and outs of starting a global crochet empire. Forget Etsy, these baby blankets, beanies, and booties come with Kardashian endorsements and are featured in viral Tik Tok dances. Russo already booked flights to Shenzhen to tour their manufacturing plant and see if their knitting is up to snuff.

    All in all, if not an inventive beatdown, it was at least effective one. COT and Russo took us out. RCR is rapidly approaching, if you don’t have a team, get one today. I believe the Pork Chop Express might still need a few guys.

    And thanks to these two gents who make it a point to be consistent and keep people like myself accountable. I am incredibly appreciative to be out there with you two.

  • Grants Tomb – from Akbar

    Mild, foggy gloom this Saturday as 10 took the red pill for Grants Tomb. In honor of Ulysses S. Grant, our 18th president who adorns the $50 bill, we would mosey around doing 50 reps up and down the Lakefront.

    Fun Fact: Grant was invited to Ford’s Theater by President Lincoln on the night of Lincoln’s assassination, but he turned him down.

    Warm up x 15 IC. SSH, Hillbilly, IW, arm circles, self love, shoulder taps, grass grabbers and other things

    Mosey to the Shaft for Grants Tomb: 25 reps on the wall, various styles of Mosey @ 25-30 yards, 25 reps at the other end, mosey back.

    George Thorogood’s, Bear Crawl, Tuck Jumps
    Freak Nasty, Sprint, Superman
    Peter Parker, Crab Walk, Donkey Kick
    Stone Mountain, Sprint, Copperhead Squat
    Squat Jump, Long Skip, High Knees
    Plank Jacks, Murder Bunny, Shoulder Taps
    Good Mornings, Sprint, Big Boy Situps
    Irkin, Sprint, Apollo Ohno’s

    Mosey toward the Gazebo for abs:

    Flutter kick, 20 s Left side plank
    Leg Raises, 20 s Right Side Plank
    Crunchy Frogs, Mountain Climbers
    Hello Dolly, Superman
    American Hammers, J’Los
    Rosalita , Scuba Steve

    Mosey to the flag for several sets of below exercises x 10 IC

    Merkins Stone Mountain, 8 count Body Builder, LBC’s, and finish with 100 100’s

    Announcements: Run Cajun Run sign up for February; Grundy’s Nightmare After Christmas end of January.

    Count, Name, and UHC prayed us out.

    SYITG,

    Akbar

  • Because Jose said I have to – from Russo

    In my former life as an auditor, excluding the requisite beauty and brains, one of the attributes we were told we should have was “professional skepticism”: the ability to question what you see or hear and find the truth. With just a little more thought, I bet I could now see where I became such a fan of conspiracy theories, although I’m not sure how I’m not a fan of the X-files.

    In order to do that successfully, there were two separate but related directives that were pounded into our skulls: “Trust but verify” and “If it wasn’t documented, it wasn’t done.”

    Jose lives by the latter. He upholds the standard we all begrudgingly accept, and so yes, he’s correct we should backblast away. I’m 25.5 hours beyond the COT for this beatdown, so that means in his eyes it’s “late”. But we’re on Northshore homeschool soccer parent time, where the idea of time and deadlines and schedules are a novel concept and not really a thing.

    No weather report since that’s too generic, but it was “cold”. Not cold enough to keep Steve and Cowbell from joining, however, and I’m glad that they did.

    Warmup 10x IC
    SSHs
    Seal Jacks
    Self Love
    Torso twists
    Imperial walkers
    Arm circles

    Thang
    Mosey to the bridge, stopping at each block for 14 squats and 14 Merkins (not 15).

    At the bridge, back and forth back and forth, stopping on each side.

    Various traversements (it’s a word) included:
    Mosey 2x
    Side shuffle 2x
    Carioca 2x
    Back Pedal 2x
    Skip 1x

    Various exercises included, all core work,
    10 of one of the following on each side
    – Crunchy frogs and Leg raises 2x
    – American hammers and gas pumps 2x
    – Rosalitas and Hello Dolly’s 2x
    – Penguins and LBCs 2x
    – E2K and LMCs 1x

    COT, with count, NOR, announcements and prayer to close us out.

    Thanks to you for joining, reading, and keeping us all in order, Jose!

    SYITG

  • KISS with Crucial Taunt – from Jose10k

    Late Friday evening, when everyone else was busy pretending their weekend plans were too important to sweat it out, I decided to keep it “simple stupid” and crank out a Murph at the marsh. Because why not combine the serenity of nature with a borderline masochistic workout, right?

    We kicked things off with a quick warm-up around the flag—mostly to loosen up, but also to stall and hope for a miracle excuse to skip leg day. No such luck. Straight to the marsh we moseyed, where we proceeded to grind through 20 sets of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 20 squats.

    Now, here’s where the comedy gold begins. You’ve got Bird over there doing jump squats with a full spin like he’s auditioning for Cirque du Soleil, and Zoolander showing off with thumb-only pull-ups and one-legged inverted Bulgarian split squats. The rest of us? Oh, we were doing our own kind of heavy lifting—debating whether Guns N’ Roses could out-mosh New Kids on the Block, swapping embarrassing stories about our ‘90s crushes, and contemplating if VH1’s Behind the Music counts as cardio.

    After wrapping up the Murph and rethinking life choices, we moved on to some Lt. Dan lunge-walking—because who doesn’t love a good Forrest Gump reference in the middle of quad destruction? We finally ran into Grundy, who had been “enthusiastically” searching for us by running laps around the lakefront. (Sure, buddy. We believe you.)

    Stop signs became our new nemeses, where we busted out 20 squats at each one. At the second-to-last stop, we switched it up with two rounds of 20 penguins and 20 LBCs because nothing screams camaraderie like flapping around like aquatic birds. A few brave souls sprinted to the flag to finish strong while the rest of us casually redefined what counts as a “sprint.”

    We wrapped up with C.O.T., where Russo prayed us out, undoubtedly asking for divine intervention to heal our sore muscles and to forgive Bird and Zoolander for showing us all up.

    Thanks for letting me lead, gentlemen. Next time, let’s try something harder—like keeping a straight face when Zoolander breaks out those one-legged shenanigans again.