Tag: Russo

  • Big Marsh – from Akbar

    A late afternoon Slack shout out from Bushwhacker was the last thing YHC saw before the eyelids closed. MARSH MARSH MARSH MARSH MARSH MARSH. Followed by a string of mumblechatter from Marsh Madness, Batman, and Meme’s of Homer and something about Shots. This brought a recent record of 6, a recent Milestone, for a block beatdown.

    Conditions 60ish and pleasant

    Warm Up – SSH, Arm Circles x 20 IC Self Love, Grass Grabbers, Toe Touches, and Windmills x10

    Thang – After a warm up run to Marigny, the Thang began. 100 reps each, 6 exercises, split into rounds of 20. After each round, mosey to the playground for 5 pull ups, and run down to Marigny and back

    OH Press, Goblet Squat, Curls for the Girls, Calf Raise, Chest Press or Merkin, LBC

    Mary – Head to the basketball court baseline, 10 Crunchy Frogs at each line to the other end, jog back. Repeat with Mountain Climbers, head to circle and Bird prayed us out.

    Announcements – April 1 7th Anniversary Convergence 12Q at the Lakefront. 12 beatdowns, 12 Q’s ,12 Hours. Endurathon – March 17-19th. F3 has a team of 4 running, sponsorships and support runner sign ups available.

    Thanks for showing up and following the lead.

    SYITG – Akbar

  • Hit the Bricks! OR When Everyone’s Falling Apart, It’s Time to Push ‘Em Harder – from Bushwacker

    With May weather showing up in February, who knew we would get more 50s in the morning! It was a welcome way to start a challenging beat down on what will prove to be a gorgeous day! For YHC, this morning was about putting my money where my mouth is. There have been some grumbles about the same people signing up to lead the same workouts, and, to be quite honest, the work outs and moral are suffering. How creative, challenging and dynamic can a Q be with his beat down, when he’s lead the same one on the same day 30 out of the last 40 times?! So Bushwacker’s name was added to the sign up sheet and he brought the pain! (maybe a little too much?)

    WARMORAMA

    With Q running a little behind setting up props for the main-ish event, Zoo lander was kind enough to get things started with some Toe Touches and 1 or 2 other exercises. QIC continued with: IC 5 Torso Twists, x10 High Knees, Butt Kicks, Scuba Steves, Mountain Climbers, Shoulder Taps

    THANG

    OYO 100 Lunge Walks towards the west, then mosey to The Shaft.

    1st and 10:

    Markers were set up on the sea wall at 20′ intervals (not enough room for 10 yard intervals). Starting at the 1st marker each man started 11’s with 10 merkins and 1 Burpee in the same place. After, sprint to the last marker and recovery run back to the second marker for 9 Merkins and 2 Burpees, sprint to the end, recovery walk to marker 3, etc. etc. When finished, return to the start and Plank or core exercise to wait for the 6. It was as the process was being explained that Grundy graced us with his presence.

    After all the PAX (and then Jose) had finished, they took advantage of the markers to run Suicides (or Gaskets, Wind Sprints or whichever moniker you prefer).

    Next was a mosey back to the Gazebo, which was when Grundy revealed his inhaler on account of a mild asthma attack! He eventually made it to find Akbar’s Ring of Fire in progress. Whereas the Ring of Fire is a circle of Planks where each man drops for a Merkin as the count reaches him, Akbar’s version consists of a Merkin followed by a leap to to your feet and a hop with hands raised, all in a Burpee-ish fashion. 50 some-odd counts later, the Pax returned to 100 Lunge Walks OYO then mosied the rest of the way to the flag.

    By this point JV was stealing Jose’s grumble thunder regarding all of this darn running, on account of a lingering mystery injury to his foot/ankle. At the flag: 25 Jump Squats OYO, on the wall for: IC Freak Nasties, Irkins, Dirkins, and 25 OYO Box Jumps, where the acutely winded Grundy barked his shin on the cocnrete wall. EMT Todd was on sick leave, and since almost-Eagle Scout Baby Yoda was not present, the always prepared and ever dependable Zoolander leapt into action grabbing a first aid kit from his truck for a little BLS work on the twice-felled Grundy.

    Mosied to Noah Ark and circled up for a variation of Global Warming, where Holding AL Gore, each Pax counted off as they popped up (or squatted lower) individually, counting to 100.
    Mosied back to the flag for…

    MARY

    IC x25 Flutter Kicks, 20 Hello Dollys, 20 Wife Pleasers, 25 Freddy Mercurys, OYO 100 100’s

    COT

    Count, Name, we lost a few of our brethren along the way in Waterpik, Bird, and Grundy, though some came back, in the ineffably resilient Grundy,and some joined late, in Maverick, and later, in Cowbell (Starsky). Speaking of joining us, even though YHC missed his latest actual return last week, welcome back Cotter in Butt Splice! He was kind enough to pray us out on this lovely lovely day.

    The Endurathon benefiting the Nehemiah Project is coming up on March 17-19 at area 3 group camp at Fontainbleau Sate Park. Support the F3 team by sponsoring a loop, or joining in running a loop with Jose, Hammer, Speedy, or Tank. There will be camping Friday and Saturday night so bring the fam!

    The Fury, the Northshore’s 7th anniversary convergence will be on Saturday April 1 starting at 6am on the Lakefront. 12 45 min beat downs, 12 Qs, every hour on the hour! Come for 1, 2, or 12 like Tank. Drinks at the Barley Oak to follow at 6pm. See Slack for the sign up sheet to see who will be Q and to let F3 know which beatdowns you wish to attend. Let’s get a crowd all day long!

    And finally, making this thing – OUR thing – the best it can be, as well as the most attractive to sad clowns and other guys who generally might consider joining us, it takes the effort and dedication of all the PAX. If, excuses aside, your schedule legitimately allows it, consider coming out to a week day beat down and see your brothers more than once a week. As long as Ive been in F3 I can truly say that getting up has been treacherously challenging some mornings, but not once have I EVER regretted getting to a beatdown!
    And while we’re at it, let’s give Russo, Akbar, Shooter, and Waterpik a break and commit to a few Qs. Sign up and let’s get as full as we can a month out each month.

    Big congratulations to Amnesia who, rumor has it, has accepted job offer in Pennsylvania, and to Cowbell and Mrs Cowbell who are expecting TWINS!!!

    Gentlemen, I remain humbled by the opportunity to lead such a fine group of guys, and appreciate your willingness to follow that sometimes fickle, sometimes grueling, sometimes non-sensicle lead

    Bushwacker Sr.

  • Tabata for Two – from Russo

    73 but nice and breezy this morning at the Pad. When Pelican showed up, I immediately confessed I spent about 16.4 seconds coming up with a plan, but all in all, it came together.

    Warmup (all 10x-15x IC)
    – Sealjacks
    – Toe touches
    – SSHs
    – Torso twists
    – Cherry Pickers
    – Imperial walkers

    Thang
    Traverse to the bus stop and tunnel, where a Tabata of 90 seconds on and 15 seconds off got us there and back. We alternated between:
    1 – mosey
    2 – lunge walk
    3 – side shuffle
    4 – back pedal
    5 – high knees

    At the bus stop
    – 10 IC freak nasties
    – 10 Durkins
    – R&R those two

    At the tunnel

    Mosey down, side shuffle through, back pedal up, with 5 krakken burpees at the top. Then 5 Shoulder tap plank jacks. Then 5 Peter Parker merkins. Repeat those three rounds for 6 rounds total.

    Mosey back to bus stop where it was 10 durkins, 10 BSSs IC, and 5 box jumps.

    Mary (10 IC)
    – crunchy frogs
    – American hammers
    – Flutter kicks
    – Penguins
    – LMCs

    COT, Name-o-Rama, and prayer closed us out. We lifted up a couple members of our church who recently passed away.

    Good chatter and good sweat this morning.

    SYITG

  • Did someone ask for Cilantro? – from Shooter

    Well, I know if you’re reading this you might be wondering what on earth does Cilantro have to do with a beatdown? Simply put, Rucking allows for us Bigger guys, often called pumpkins 🎃 or other nicknames depending on who may post to discuss many topics…
    So, the topic for the day of course was included with the question. What is Cilantro good on? The obvious being Mexican food.. Tacos, salsas, marinades, etc. However, with the recent opening of Mandeville drive thru crawfish recently, Qs taste buds are trying to pin point the secret ingredient used and believes this to be in fact Cilantro.. If any outsiders have the scoop on the above, please share.. YHC may have convinced JV to give it a shot this weekend in one of his boils, as a our mud bug season is officially off and running…
    If you have not tried the drive thru crawfish, I certainly suggest giving it a shot as myself and Russo both agree they are consistent and delicious even if Cilantro is not apart of the recipe… Waterpik and Bushwacker seem to have a more balanced conversation as they were still chattering upon the Ruckers return..

    Warmup
    5 Navy seal Burpees
    10 IC Imperial walkers, grass grabbers, Abe Vogadas, bridges, wife pleasers and monkey Humpers..

    Ruckers rucked and runners ran for about 30 mins and then we returned for 5 more Navy seal burpees and equipment work controlled by pull-ups of 10 each PAX, sit-ups, chest press, freak nasties and leg ups.. Finished core with 15IC flutter kicks, hello Dollie’s and Rosalitas..

    Count, announce and COT

    Thanks to Russo for taking us out and until the next Gloom 👍🏼👊🏼✌🏼!!!

  • We all know Grannies are Reliable, but so is Russo!! – from Shooter

    With temperatures feeling like summer, YHC and Reliable Russo decided to get out in the gloom and perspire our way through the streets of ole Mandeville… Plan of action bounced through my mind since signing up to Q, however one thing was certain to be included was the Navy Seal burpee brought from down range Einstien (Katy) a few weeks ago…

    Warmup
    All 10IC
    • Bridges
    • Scorpion kicks
    • Superman’s
    • Toe Touches
    • Torso twists
    • Abe Vogadas
    • Imperial walkers
    • Cherry pickers
    • Grass Grabbers

    Thang
    Moseyed down the trace towards the Marsh. Stopped at Marigny to perform 5 Navy seal burpees, 10 jump squats and 15 (2/1) mountain climbers.. R/R each corner in a square back to Grannies. With the heart rate elevated, decided to keep it going in the corridor with a reduced Dora of said 50,100 and 150 which YHC quickly modified to 30, 100 and 150 of the same said exercises cumulative.

    P1 did exercise while P2 shuffled down and returned for the first series and the last sets of 100 and 150 back peddled and somewhat of a sprint returning… I know the Q was gassing on the returns as the heart rate stayed elevated…

    Took to the the steps for a Math lesson that was easily picked up by Russo (Raider Pride) but would have definitely slowed the completion with chatter of understanding from say a no show Bushwacker.. Each step 2 calf raises 1-4 steps increasing to 4 calf raises steps 4-8, 6 calf raises 8-12, 8 calf raises 12-16 etc. etc. with the finale of 12 on steps 20-24..

    Returned to the bottom to close with Mary..
    20IC
    • Little Manny Crunches
    • Left/Right elbow to knee
    • Flutter kicks
    • Hello Dollies
    • Jane Fonda’s (EiEi style) regular, toe to knee and pulses..

    Mentioned announcements and the Release from Wacker tomorrow about the Northshore convergence, wrap up of RCR and Endurathon..

    COT
    Till the next Gloom 👍🏼👊🏼✌🏼!!

  • Return of the Deck – from Russo

    Mid 90s Mark Morrison said it best:

    So I’m back up in the game
    Running things to keep my swing
    Letting all the people know
    That I’m back to run the show

    But instead of a Return of the Mack, it was Return of the Deck at the Splashpad, where for the first time in 2023, the Pad earned its name, as a 70 degree temp and humid and foggy conditions meant sweating it out early.

    Pax of 3 this morning for the old standby: the deck of death, where the mumble revolved around Mardi Gras (I for one am not ready for the season to end).

    Warmup (all IC, 10x – 15x)

    -Seal jacks
    -Cherry pickers
    -Arm circles
    -Imperial walkers
    -Grass grabbers

    Thang
    After a block mosey, Pax knocked out the Deck of Death (exercise and count based on value and suit of the card turned over from a standard deck of playing cards). YHC likes to split the deck into 4 groups to vary up the exercises, with some moseying between rounds.

    Round 1
    Hearts – Freak Nastys
    Diamonds – Durkins
    Clubs – Box Jumps
    Spades – Leg Raises

    Round 2
    Hearts – SMCs
    Diamonds – Merkins
    Clubs – monkey humpers
    Spades – gas pumps

    Round 3
    Hearts – shoulder tap plank jacks
    Diamonds – donkey kicks
    Clubs – star jumps
    Spades – crunchy frogs

    Round 4
    Hearts – Groiners
    Diamonds – jump squats
    Clubs – monkey humpers
    Spades – big boy sit-ups

    Mary
    90 second plank

    COT, Name-o-Rama, announcements, and prayer closed us out.

    Thank you for joining. As always, really enjoyed the mumblechatter.

    SYITG

  • What the Ruck? – from Jose10k

    Simple plan: Go Ruck yourself. Great conversations to be had this morning. Too many parade stories to write about: wild parade riders and best parade were hot topics!

  • Krewe of F3BacchThothMion – from Russo

    Mid 60s and mild this morning after just picture perfect weather over the weekend for revelry in all forms.

    School’s out, which means a Jose sighting, and he didn’t disappoint: ready to go with beads (that were conspicuously absent after a while) and light up rings. PI joined us from the ‘Dell to represent the “out of town tourist”, and Bird pulled up a minute or so late, representing the reveler that sneaks his way to the front after the crowds have been gathered for hours. YHC took the position of Q / float captain, and away we went with the Krewe of F3 F3BacchThothMion (mythical god of fellowship, burpees, and mumblechatter).

    WARMUP (all IC, 10x – 20x) –
    – SSHs (Hey over here throw me something)
    – Toe touches (Bend down to pick up the light up beads)
    – Arm circles (Wind up the pitching arm to perfectly throw to the babies in the ladders)
    – High knees (practicing our St. Paul’s band high steps to impress the judges)
    – Torso twists (to clear out the space around you when the late arriving parade crowd infringes on your carefully planned out “perfect spot”)
    – Goofballs (climbing the ladder to stand behind the kids in the ladder)

    THANG
    (1) Trivia, then corresponding exercise (with moseys and column slaloms intermittently disbursed between questions)

    How many official colors of Mardi Gras? 3
    – Suicide – 3 merkins at each column

    What year was the first known Mardi Gras parade? 1837
    – 18 Peter Parker’s, 37 lunges

    What year were floats introduced? 1857
    – 18 merkins, 57 squats

    When does Mardi Gras season start? King’s day, January 6, or 1-6 (correct answer from Fletch!)
    – 16 SMCs

    How many floats were in this years Thoth parade? 39 – 15 tandems
    – 24 plankjacks, plus 15 shoulder tap plankjacks

    What float number was I on? 18
    – 18 donkey kicks

    What float number was JV on in Endymion 28
    – 28 monkey humpers

    What float number was Cowbell on in Bacchus? 4
    4 crunchy frogs, 4 times

    How many scheduled parades (riding, walking, lawnmower, dog) were in and around the New Orleans area this year? 77
    – 77 high knees (2 is 1) – up from 71 in 2022

    How many all-female Krewes are there? 8 (Nefertiti, Cleopatra, Eve, Femme Fatale, Nyx, Muses, Selene, Iris)
    – 8 8 count body builders

    (2) “What side you on???”
    Pax picks a side, doing the corresponding exercise for that side

    Round 1:
    Neutral ground: 10 step ups (2 is 1)
    Sidewalk: 10 freak nastys

    Round 2:
    Neutral ground: 10 BSSs
    Sidewalk: 10 box jumps

    Round 3:
    Neutral ground: 15 Durkins
    Sidewalk: 15 Urkins

    Round 4:
    Neutral ground: 15 leg raises
    Sidewalk: 15 Gas pumps

    Round 5:
    Neutral ground: 15 crab cakes
    sidewalk: 15 crab cakes

    (3) “Throw me something mister!!!”
    One man climbs the pilot house to the “balcony”, while another tosses him a foam Endymion football that are now pervasive in YHC’s house. The other men held plank position until their turn.

    There may or may not have been flashing to entice a throw.

    COT, Name-o-Rama, announcements (Nehemiah project’s Endurathon this weekend, see/contact Hammer for more info) and prayer closed us out.

    Thanks for joining/reading. You guys make it easier to get up before 5 on a day off from work and push myself to get better.

    SYITG

  • The Lions Share – from Akbar

    14 strong at the Lakefront today in bitter conditions. Einstein down range from F3 Houston – who brought an FNG, and 2 other FNG’s related to the first FNG. A family affair. Slots joined us mid-way appearing from nowhere. Did I say it was cold? We got warmed up fast.

    Conditions: 30 degrees and breezy

    Warm Up
    50 SSH, 5 Burpees, 40 SSH, 5 Burpees, Self-Love, Toe Touches, Grass Grabbers, 30 SSH, 5 Burpees, 20 SSH, 5 Burpees

    Thang – Ladder from 100-10 with some runs in between

    100 Squats
    90 Crunchy Frogs

    Mosey to Rips

    80 Rocky Balboa’s (2-1) with a squat jumps after every 10 reps
    70 Wall Plank Jacks – Feet up on wall

    Mosey up Noah’s Ark to Claiborne
    60 Around the World Lunges – front, side, reverse each leg = 6 reps x 10

    Mosey down Claiborne to the old Varsity Sports
    50 Bird Dog Crunches 25 each side

    Mosey back to the Flag
    40 Merkins
    30 Supermans

    Mosey to Noah’s Ark
    20 frog leaps – Hands behind head

    Mosey back to the Flags
    10 Navy Seal Burpees- courtesy of Einstein – Merkin, right leg to right arm, Merkin, left leg to left arm, Merkin, Jump with Clap at top = 1

    Wall Freak Nasty IC x 10

    Mary IC x 10

    LBC, Mountain Climbers, Peter Parker, Jane Fonda, Monkey Humpers, Flutter Kicks, 100’s, Gas Pumps (BBQ led IC)

    Count-o-rama, Name-o-rama
    Welcome FNG’s Parcheezi, Mahoney, and Baggins

    Announcements: Run Cajun Run, Endurathon, City Pork (City Park F3 family event with 5 5k’s) tentatively Feb 25th.

    Circle up, Paw Paw prayed us out

  • Workin’ Our Legs, Workin’ Our Core, and Workin’ Our jaws – from Bushwacker

    Heading to bed, YHC noticed no Q for the Splash Pad. Sure that at least Russo, the Guardian of the Mandeville Trail Head would be there (plus a bonus in Pelican), Bushwacker was on the Q sheet. Around 40 degrees after what ( in February?!) may well be our last significant cold front, it was a brisk morning calling for some immediate thermogenesis.

    WARMORAMA

    QIC recalls starting with 10 IC High Knees and 10 Butt Kicks, but after that it’s all a bit fuzzy.

    THANG

    The PAX mosied down Girod towards the lake, stopping at the Rusty Pelican’s “waiting shelter” for some step ups, and probably 1 or 2 other exercises. What was really focused on during the mosey, as well as for a few minutes every time we stopped, was high level mumblechatter!

    Next was the book and the bean for some quick yoga with our coffee in the form of bungled, but effective Lizard’s Poses. The sea wall was the next stop, and honestly I don’t remember what we did other than more yapping.

    Returning up Lafitte, we paid homage to the out of town (though not out of work) hairdresser, and his lovely family with some Toure de Humpers!

    MARY

    Back to the trail head with 2 core exercises followed by an ever extended jog up the stairs and around ALL the columns,l etc, etc.

    COT

    Count and Name and Pelican prayed us out, and he and myself rounded out the miles for RCR

    Adieu Adieu to you and you and you…and merci beaucoup!