F3 New Orleans

Tag: Steve

  • Mid-Month AMRAP Recap

    At a cool 38° and with the Ides of March approaching, it wasn’t a Shakespearean betrayal that had YHC worried – it was what miserable AMRAP challenge would Turbo come up with next?  So 14 days in, I figured we’d sprinkle a few of the past challenge exercises (italicized below) throughout today’s beatdown as a reminder of this month’s short but effective doses of pain.

    Warm-Up: Good Mornings x15, IW’s x20, Windmills x15, SSHs x25, 8-Count Bodybuilders x15, Shoulder Taps x25, all IC.

    The Thang: First and foremost, mosey to the back of the Justice Center to knock out today’s challenge before our legs were jello (gotta keep those numbers up!): 90 seconds of one-legged curb hops (45 secs each leg).  Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson were somewhere around the block in downtown Covington this morning, starring as two Texas Rangers on the hunt for Bonnie and Clyde.  Had they seen Turbo perform his one-legged curb hops with his usual sense of ease, he surely would’ve merited a part as a Ranger alongside the two (though, probably one who gets shot down early on in the film).  Is there enough room on the Northshore for two stars of the silver screen?

    Onward to the Veteran Memorial for a COP:  Burp n’ Groin, Burpees with ascending groiners after the merkin, up to 10x. As the PAX has noticed, groiners have become my new go-to.  Out with the old (Sayonara Bulgarians!), in with the new.

    Animal Walk on the grass back to the rear of the Justice Center: Bear Crawl, Monkey Humpers x20 IC, Duck Walk, Monkey Humpers x20 IC, Crab Walk, Frog Jumps x10 (forward and back)

    Next up, an AMRAP run up the rear justice center walkway: 10x Hand Release Merkins at the starting line, 10x derkins at first set of benches, alternating one-legged Freak Nasties x10 at second set, and up the stairs for 10x Butt Kick Jumps.  Reverse, hitting those same stations until reaching the starting point.  Rinse and repeat for approx. 8 mins.  (Hitting the derkins station for the 3rd time and facing a slab of concrete with weakened arms was a good reminder that YHC had forgotten the disclaimer.)

    Finally, plank up and wait while each man takes a turn sprinting the corridor, up the stairs and back.

    YHC wanted to return to the flag for and get in a few minutes of Mary, but alas, out of time.  Greeted at the flag by a nearly fully-recovered Moby, who is looking rested and slim!  Countdown, nameorama, and Shooter prayed us out.  T-claps to Turbo for reminding us to sign up to Q – if you haven’t already, please do.  Let’s get this next month all locked up.  Thanks for the opportunity to lead guys!

  • Pilates for Men?

    4 Pax met up in the brisky gloom this morning for a round of  hip mobilization and core activation activities.

    Joe Pilates, back in 1919, promised that by following his methods you would develop a flexible youthful spine, a strong center, and system wide integrated strength. Ol’ Joe was a cigar smoking boxer, acrobat, and gymnast, and he developed his exercise program from that background first and foremost for men.

    The Thang:

    -Warm-up lap around the trailhead

    -Down dog stretch

    -Anterior Lunge with Bilateral OH Arm swing x 10

    -Post Lunge with bilateral Arm swing at ankle height x 10

    -The Pilates 100

    -Hamstring stretch: 3 sec hold x 10

    -The Roll Up  x 5

    -side lying leg raise X 25 IC

    -Single leg glute bridges x 25 IC

    Jack Webb: (Chewy style)

    (1) Chaturanga Dandasana 3 count hold : (2) Bruegger Exercise with 3 count hold  to 8

    Here’s some references in case you are wondering:

    7 Steps to Master Chaturanga Dandasana

    http://www.stretching-exercises-guide.com/bruegger-exercise.html

    -Plank walk across the stage

    -Jump Rope x 1 pax while the other 3 zig zagged poles up and down tower.

    “Jumping rope is barely possible with poor form or poor technique. Everyone will make consistent mistakes and be interrupted by a rope that catches on a foot. The rope is the coach. Jumping rope is what I call a self-limiting exercise. Participants are limited in their ability to perform the exercise by lack of technique. In other words, truly poor technique will prevent the participant from performing the exercise, so bad movement patterns cannot be reinforced. This is the most important reason for jumping rope. It is possible to perform sprints, shuttles, and agility work with poor form as long as times are adequate. Other forms of popular endurance work such as jogging, cycling, and rowing can also allow poor form without supervision and coaching. Poor form can be reinforced without the athlete ever realizing it.”

    “Much of the impact of jumping rope is taken through the leg muscles. The erect posture and long spine forces the abdominal muscles to hold the midsection tight and work in perfect coordination with the back muscles to form the same kind of intern al pressure as a weight belt.” ~ Gray Cook Excerpted from Athletic Body in Balance, pages 125-129

     

    Same side and Opp side lateral lunges with OH arm swing x 10

    Anterior and posterior foot reaches with Bilateral arm swings x 10 for increased stability.

    Name-o-rama, COT, Prayer.

    Thanks guys for letting me lead.

    Chewy

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Marsh Madness!!!

    With the beginning of the week and March madness tipping off on Thursday. The QIC arrived at the Marsh to the sights of 2 Cinderella hopefuls waiting at center court. Would either be selected by the NCAA committee for this weekends tournament? Or would they need to except another invitation to the CUSAP at the Tough Mudder on Saturday spearheaded by the Bushwacker? With the latter of the 2 choices clearly in their sights as well as mine we tipoff our training with the warmup..

    25IC SSH, 15IC WM, 25IC IW, 15IC GM, 25IC BK, 15 IC SJ

    With the opportunity of slipping in as a number 16 seed the ISI challenge would prove the worthiness of one Steve rocking out 35 on this Gloom.. With Captain taking second and the QIC rounding out the PAX we all responded with a sigh of completion and reverence to Turbo for coming up with such great challenges… We began a Mosey down Lamarque to the lakefront. Arriving at the bulkhead we completed an upper body of 15IC Freak nasties, followed by 15IC Derkins and 15IC Erkins. Climbed on top the sea wall and Racoon crawled about 50 yards west. Next we focused on legs completing 10 step ups each leg, followed by 15 box jumps. Using the sea wall as a guide to a perfect 90 degree squat of 15 followed by right single leg squat 10IC back to regular squat 15, and completed left leg single 10IC. We then began our journey back up Marigny to the Marsh. Closing things up we completed 8 count bodybuildiers to 20 and then took to the six for Mary. 30IC flutter kicks, right single leg extension wife pleaser and left single leg wife pleaser wrapping up with 30IC flutter kicks..

    countoff, announcements, COT

    Thanks to Captain for praying us out and Steve for the lessons of survival when supporting a fellow brother on a bachelor party.. Well done lads!!

    Appreciate the lead!

     

  • Challenge excepted

    YHC arrived at the Scramble on this chilly Gloom with the idea of challenging the PAX to a faster pace on our 5k journey. In past runs we average between 28-30 mins.. As we chattered about the previous months RRR challenge and how neither of the PAX present have ran since shutting it down on the 28th. A challenge felt right and of course the challenge was excepted eagerly by Steve and Waterpic.. Usually getting right to it, the QIC decided to change it up and get the heart rate going as well as stretching out some of the stiffness before our journey.

    warmup

    20IC SSH

    15IC WM

    15IC GM

    the thang

    Off to the races back and forth we take turns as we all are testing to see who is going to establish the actual pace. In the end Steve prevails with his galloping stride, which seems like a horse cornering turn 4 in the Kentucky derby or Preakness for the straight away with victory in sight. Non of the PAX actually timed it but we completed between 24-25 mins with 15 to spare upon returning. QIC decided to get right to the ISI of the day put forth by Turbo. It certainly reminded this YHC how much he dislikes the Burpee but also challenged him to compete as his brethren held him accountable. We then did a series of Merkin balance beam as one man climbed the monkey bars and then balanced crawled across the parallel bars releasing another man until each completed the obstacle. To wrap things up we hit the six for some core. 20IC FM, 20IC leg raise pulses and closed with an 8 count leg raise front/left/right total of 8 using the poles on the swing set for assistance..

    countarama, announcements, COT

    Thanks to Waterpic for taking us out in prayer!!

    Always enjoy the lead and fellowship with you F3 brothers..

  • Purple Rain

    If you live in Old Mandeville, and are up at odd hours like the men of F3, then you’ve surely noticed the otherworldly purple glow emanating from sky in the center of town.  Many have been beckoned by this glow, called upon to find out just what exactly is this heavenly luminescence?  And YHC can assure you, all were as disappointed as I was to discover that it was simply the car wash at the corner of Florida and Girod.  Effective marketing, though.

    But before I left the comfort of my home and saw the purple rain, my half-asleep wife asked me on my way out, “You guys still work out in this rain?”  The implication being, Well, maybe you work out in a light drizzle.  But a downpour like this?  That stopped me for a moment.  YHC has been in F3 for a year and a half now, and my wife doesn’t know the ‘rain or shine’ motto of F3 nation?  Hard to believe.  I guess I’ll have to double down on my efforts to post on rainy mornings in 2018.

    Luckily, though, Shooter and Chewy know the opportunities that a morning like this one provides, and were out there ready to go:

    Warm-Up: SSH, Seal Jacks, Windmills, IWs, Peter Parkers, Parker Peters, Plank Jacks, Nolan Ryans L / R, all IC, 20x.

    The Thang:  First up, a Dirty McDeuce.  YHC used to attempt to plan out all 12 exercises, but upon realizing the limits of my memory these days, I’ve determined the best course of action is to simply wing it.  So these may not be exactly right, but it went something like this:

    Merkins / Shoulder Taps / Lunges, all 12x IC.  Sprint half the corridor & back, sprint full corridor, up stairs and back.

    Burpees (12 oyo) / Mountain Climbers / Squats, 12x IC.  Sprints / stairs.

    Hand-release Merkins (thanks Turbo) / Absolution (killer 8 count exercise) / Slow-squat Jumps, 12x IC.  Sprints / stairs.

    Bodybuilders / Peter Parkers / Sister Mary Katherine’s, 12x IC. Sprints / stairs.

    Next up, onward to the benches for an old favorite: Freak Nasties IC, Lateral Jumps over Bench (oyo), Step Ups R / L, all 12x.  Then, more Freak Nasties IC, Knee Ups R / L, Bulgarian Splits R / L, all 12x.  And finally, Freak Nasties, Derkins, 12x IC.  This probably killed our chances of competing with Grundy in today’s ISI challenge (the likelihood of which was very slim to begin with).

    Mary: Mosey back to the stage for the finale, Hurricane Hoedown, a descending circuit of flutter kicks.  Start off seated, slightly reclined – 7x, IC.  Move to standard flutter, 7x, IC.  Then hands behind head, Freddie-flutters, 7x IC.  Back to first position, now 6x IC, eventually working our way all the way down.  With a minute to spare, we knocked out some Crunchy Frogs, did the countdown, nameorama, and Shooter prayed us out.  Thank you guys for posting in the rain and giving me the opportunity to lead, it really was pleasure!

  • Code Red at the Marsh

    It’s been fairly well-documented, but The Marsh has been on life support for weeks.  A harsh winter and the prolonged absence of Butt Splice has put the AO into a deep coma, and resuscitation has been slow and unsuccessful.  YHC provided some half-assed CPR this morning, but knows that it’ll take the return of Señor Splice and some warm weather to really get this AO moving again.

    Here’s what went down this morning: YHC rolls in a little early (that’s right, I’m back in a car now), and whips out the phone to see who’s Q.  A glowing, empty slot stares back at me.  So… it’ll either be a Round Robin, or no one will post.  Turtle made some vague mention of possibly-maybe-potentially showing, and one of the Seal Team 6 members can always surprise you.  But as the minutes wore on it became clear no one would post this morning, and YHC felt awake enough to do something.  Now, if this comes off as, Hey, look at me, guys! I went out and got some while you guys fartsacked!, let me just assure you that last Friday at the Cove was another no-show morning, and YHC did absolutely nothing.  (I noted to myself that it took 66 steps to get to the car and only 42 to make it right back to my bed.)  And this morning was not much more: a bit of standard warm up, jog around the block, descending ladder of pull-ups, the ISI challenge of the day, and some mary.

    Now, with the Marsh facing such decline, I’m going to make a commitment to make at least the next two Mondays.  Maybe the next three.  And I challenge you guys to do the same.  Shooter’s got the Q next Monday, let’s show the man some support!

     

  • It Was A Happy B.D. Because Of U!

    Being able to join my Brothers on a day of reflection does not get any better for a F3 member. I thank Turbo for encouraging me to join this fine group, just over one year ago. So many men I now know. Bonding to make us stronger indivudually and as a collective F3!!group.

     

    As a workout goes, wish we had doubled the Burpees, if only our workouts were longer.

    Warmup- finger stretches, arm stretches and rotation, SSH, squats, toe touches, toe hold, etc

    Thang–100 Burpees- give or take.. 10 sets of 10 halt at first man to 10….Butt/Bushwacker setting the pace for sure..rest of us not far behind.

    Cowboy and Indians– for fun, You had to be there.. Maverick — he had the best horseee.

    Serpentine–Sprints through 4 rows of cones with a sprint-loop. Butt Splice had to hang with the teacher to ensure 100 Percent effort..my soccer buddy. 4 reps in all..

    100-200-300–Merks, Squats, Mountain Climbers, with a run around the pole.  Steve/Tank took the count for sure, Turbo and I think his partner Waterpick,took the endurance portion. Waterpick- if not,then who?

    Shoulder Taps– close with a 5 minute challenge on the shoulders– Bush man fired up Turbo resulting in this challenge.. Was worth it and a fitting final exercise of the day..

    Announcements, prayer–The Manny- followed by, box jump competition, then good ole coffee and cake– thanks Captain, thanks all for a  great and memorable BD morning… U the best!

     

     

  • Mostability

    4 pax met at the trailhead in the gloom today. 3 of the 4 pax  had been logging alot of miles this month for the ISI challenge. With the eldest member of the pax close to breaking the 130 mile mark, pretty impressive.

    With all this running and not alot of stretching, YHC took it upon himself to introduce the pax to a new group of exercises working on mobility with a progression to stability. Primarily targeting the 4 big joint complexes that can stiffen up thus leading to sub-optimal functioning (Remember… tight muscles are weak muscles).

    The 4 joint complexes are: foot/ankle, hips, thoracic spine, and shlds. Each exercise today worked these joints in sequence (chain reaction) to stretch and then stabilize the body.

    The thang:

    mosey to parking lot

    ~ lower trap sets with Bilateral shld ext rotation or W’s  ~ great for scapula and rotator cuff stability to off set all the merkins and desk jockeying. 3 sec hold in cadence x 20

    ~Glute series: Sidelying leg raise or (Jane Fonda’s) x 15 IC follower by Single leg Glute bridges x 15 IC

    Now the fun begins:

    Anterior Lunge with Bilateral overhead posterior arm swing x 10 each

    Anterior foot reach for balance x 10

    Posterior Lunge with Bilateral posterior arm swing at ankle height x 10 each:

    Post foot reaches for balance x 10

    Lateral lunges with OH reach x 10

    Lateral foot reaches x 10 for balance

    Opp side Lateral lunge with OH reach x 10

    opp side lateral foot reaches for balance x 10

    Rotational Lunge with reach x 10

    Rotational foot reaches for balance x 10

    Opp side rotational lunge with reach x 10

    Opp side rotational foot reaches for balance x 10

     

    1 mile fun run to bridge and back

     

    COT, name-o-rama, prayer.

    Thanks, guys for letting me lead. Good to be back in the pax!

    Chewy

     

  • Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?

    11 Pax posted for our Saturday beat-down.

    I hate burpees, so we knocked out the big rocks first:

    10 burpees, 9 burpees, 8 burpee,…. etc and on with the pattern continuing down until there was nothing left and then we finished off with another.. 10 burpees.

    Then we did short a short mosey to go warm up.

    • Side straddle hop (20x)
    • arm circles
    • imperial walkers
    • hillbillies
    • peter parkers
    • plank (1 minute)

    Then a short mosey over to an animal planet:

    • bear crawl (approx 15 yards out and then back)
    • crab walk
    • spider-man crawl
    • bear again

    Another short mosey:

    We reflected on a conversation from Alice in Wonderland:

    Alice: `Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’
    `That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.
    `I don’t much care where–‘ said Alice.
    `Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.

    We tied this in to our purpose for where we are going with family, community, career, and more relevantly – how we can reflect on our direction in and purpose on this workout to strengthen our bodies to do more of God wants us to do.

    We put this practice with a round of Merkin Tabata

    Then to help us push through limits… we reflected on this recent article from the WSJ: The Mental Tricks of Athletic Endurance

    Another round of Tabata but this time all 4 minutes were mountain climber.

    Short mosey over to do a partner wheelbarrow out and back about 20 yards – 2x

    Mosey back toward the flag. We slowed it down along the way with about 30 yards of Zombie walkers.

    Final COP of abs:

    8 more minutes of tabata with flutter kicks, american hammers and hello dollies mixed in.

     

    And.. we closed out with Roxanne.

     

  • Level 3 Running Achievement Unlocked: Bleeding Nipples!

    Yeah, you read that right.  Now, seasoned long distance runners know about this and prepare properly for it, and YHC had heard of it and maybe even seen a few ghastly pictures at some point.  But, YHC assumed that our (relatively) measly mileage this month wouldn’t cause such a disturbing phenomenon.  (I thought you had to be running full marathons for crazy shit like that to happen!)  Well, YHC was clearly incorrect and will now employ a band aid tactic for all runs from here on out.  (In case you were wondering about previous levels, Level 1 is Severe Shoulder Stiffness, and Level 2 is Shin Splints – congrats Beast!)

    Anyhow, that happened today.  And I should add, it couldn’t have happened without the Pelican, for had he not shown up, YHC most likely would’ve thrown in the towel and headed back to bed.  But there he was at 0445, fresh off a Disney Cruise and ready to hit some solid ground.

    So we got to it, dove deep into cruise boat and Disney politics, and made the best out of our slower-than-usual pace (entirely due to me and my running fatigue – Pelican was ready to roll, but kind enough to stick with me).  So thanks Pelican for helping me to unlock my latest running achievement – despite my gripes, I really do appreciate the push!