F3 New Orleans

Tag: The Gipper

  • Getting to know the parking garage ramp

    A glorious hump day morning at The Gipper. We had a PAX of 7 emerge from the shadows just as the morning sun was beginning to burn off the fog of war. After discussing Steve’s three first names (Steve, Bart, and Nelson?) and how anyone that wanted to steal his identity would be in trouble, we circled up under the shadows of President Reagan himself.

    We started off with an easy warm up to the get the juices flowing and prepare us for what lie ahead: windmills, imperial walkers, side straddle hops, arm circles, and toe touches.  All exercises were in cadence at 15x.

    We then moseyed on down to the rock pile for some Fred Flinstone muscle pumps. After choosing our weapon of choice we did two sets of 20 bicep curls, shoulder press, and tricep extensions. After getting a nasty burn we made our way to the top ramp of the parking garage for some more carnage.

    Once at the bottom of the top ramp at the parking garage we lined up for the big show. We completed a series of exercises up the incline of the ramp then ran/jogged to the far corner and down the stairs back to the starting position holding plank until everyone arrived back. First exercise up the ramp was the sumo walk (duck walk variation), followed by lunges, crab walk (which seemed to turn out to be the worst), side lunges, bear crawls, and donkey kicks. By the end the ramp seemed to be much steeper and longer then it was when we started, and I think we were all happy to have it over with.

    We jogged back to the trailhead for final orders. Count, names, and Turbo prayed for us.

    Thanks everyone for coming out and even more for putting up with me, until next time.

  • Strides and Sprints on the Incline

    Great to see Moby finally off IR and posting this morning at The Gipper for our warmup.  By the looks of things, it’ll be no time before he is completely back in action.

    Warmup consisting of toe touches, front to back lunges, imperial walkers, seal jacks, shoulder circles, full/empty can shoulder pulses, windmills, and Merkins…IC more or less 20x for most.  Then a tennis ball warmup exercise.  Bounce your ball and move to catch it as close to the ground as possible.  Once you get the hang of it, you’ll find yourself squating and lunging in all directions, and we did just that for a couple of minutes.

    Mosey to the back of the Justice Center for the W drill.  YHC placed some cones done in a W formation and then the PAX rotated through them via sprints/backpedals, lateral shuffles, and sprints with changes of direction.  Then a round of Peter Parkers before heading over to the roof of the parking garage for the main event.

    Stride down the ramp at 80%, execute a single leg burpee on each leg at the bottom, and then sprint back up the ramp at 100%.  Rinse and repeat for 6 total trips with some 10 counts and Mary thrown in between trips…Parker Peters, shoulder taps, flutter kicks, Hello Dollys, and cross over wife pleasers all 10x IC.

    Recovery walk and then mosey back to The Gipper to close things out.  Straddled a crack in the pavement in the plank position and the walked the hands laterally back and forth over the crack as fast as possible 20x OYO.  Repositioned and repeated this time walking the hands forward and back over the crack as fast as possible 20x OYO.

    Countorama, nameorama, and then Grudy prayed us out.

    Good stuff this morning men.  Thanks for letting me lead.

     

  • Northshore at The NOLA Mothership

    With the Northshore convergence taking place, YHC wasn’t sure how many Pax would post to the Mothership.  Expecting a large presence on the NS, YHC was surprised to find 25 Pax gathered around the 4 shovel flags.  YHC was very happy to see 3 FNG’s post, keep up the EH’ing!

    YHC decided it would be a good idea to dedicate the Mothership beat down to the Northshore in honor of their 2 year convergence.  Since the NS was planning a beat down that would visit each AO, YHC created one as well, with more of a virtual visit to each AO.  0630, so time for the disclaimer, then….

    Mosey to the Great Lawn for the Warmup.  The Pax will begin and end at the Mothership….

    SSH IC x 31
    Imp Sq Walkers IC x 10
    10 Burpees OYO

    With the warmup complete, the Pax took a virtual bike ride to the first AO…

    Milestone Marsh

    YHC read a BB that had Waterpik doing suicides on the basketball court, so cones were set up to resemble a court for:

    Burpee Suicides
    Start at base line, sprint to first line, then back to base line for 5 Burpees
    Sprint to half court and back to baseline for 5 Burpees
    Sprint to 3rd line and back for 5 burpees
    Sprint full court and back for 5 Burpees

    The Pax mount their virtual bikes for a ride to the next AO….

    Grandmothers House

    YHC read a BB where Pelican, Shooter, and Ocho did some 11’s. Using the first and last row of cones…
    10 merkins first row, 1 Bobby Hurley last row
    9 merkins first row, 2 Bobby Hurley last row
    Continue until 1 merkin and 10 Bobby Hurleys.

    The Pax mount their virtual bikes for a ride to the next AO…

    The Gipper

    Turbo seems to like sprints, based upon his BB. Using the cones again….
    Sprint from first row to last row, and complete 5 burpees, then slow mosey back.
    Sprint from first row to third row, then some exercise, 5 merkins maybe…slow mosey back
    Sprint from first row to second row, then maybe 5 squats, slow mosey back….
    Sprint to last row again, and collect cones on the way back.

    The Pax mount their virtual bikes for a quick ride to the next AO…

    City Hall Scramble

    Apparently Bushwacker likes to do a 5k run with Burpees and merkins, according to the BB…..
    The Pax did a modified 5k run, stopping near Morning Call for 10 Burpees OYO. The Pax continued to the open lawn
    near NOMA where they enjoyed a round of:
    Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10 (YHC had to fit them in)
    Continue on to the NOMA fountain for:
    Freak Nasties IC x 20

    The Pax mount their virtual bikes for a short ride to the next AO…

    Captains Cove

    Captain Sparkles really likes to run…..seriously, he has a running AO named after him….that’s cool!

    This AO is a 10k run, which the Pax did a modified version…
    Line up in two columns on the path that goes around Lagoon Number 7 for:
    Bataan Death March!
    An Indian Run where the last Pax drops for 5 Burpees, then sprints to the front. Each Pax got to do a set, which took us one lap around the lagoon.

    The Pax mount their virtual bikes to ride to the final NS AO…

    The Lakefront

    Steve had a BB where there was some bearcrawls and 8 Count Body Builders…nice
    8 Count Body Builders IC x 10
    line up at first tree, bear crawl to third tree for 5 Burpees OYO
    Bear Crawl to 5th tree
    Merkins IC x 10 (4 count)

    Mary

    Flutter Kicks IC x 20
    Hello Dolly IC x 20
    Rosalitas IC x 20
    Tins Snips aka Egg Beaters IC x 20
    American Hammer IC x 20
    LBC’s IC x 20

    The Pax mount their virtual bikes and head back to the Mothership Flags, but with a 6:29 arrival, the Pax had time for a quick mosey to the Great Lawn for:
    10 Burpees OYO

    Mosey to the Flags

    COT
    Count Off, Name-O-Rama.
    3 FNG’s joined us this day and were brought into the F3 Brotherhood. Welcome Mambi (He’s a hunter, said he harvested Bambi’s brother), Wolverine, an Ohio State alumni, and Recall, who does something with food and beverage.
    Intentions, and closed with a prayer.

    Great coffeteria was enjoyed by all that stayed.

    YHC hopes you enjoyed this tribute to our NS brethren. YHC will make it back up there before long.

    Thanks for posting with me today, and for pushing me.

    NMM
    It’s the little things that matter. After the 8 Count Body Builders at the Lakefront AO, YHC was about wiped out. Walleye apparently noticed, and he gave YHC some words of encouragement that proved enough to take it to the finish line. We push each other to improve and to succeed, taking our bodies farther than we thought they could go. That’s F3.
    Remember, F3 is an organization of leaders, not an organization with leaders. If you haven’t signed up to Q yet, get your name on the signup sheet.

  • Carpe Diem Convergence

    The F3 Nation knew about YHC before YHC knew about the F3 Nation.  You see, YHC’s brother-in-law, Lynchpin, lives in Charlotte.  In the early days, before the F3 Nation planted its flag in NOLA, Lynchpin routinely and enthusiastically regaled YHC with stories of legendary beatdowns and CSAUPs, tongue in cheek nicknames, funny exercise names and other F3 lore.  Then, when F3 decided to expand to NOLA, Lynchpin tried to EH YHC, but YHC begged off.  It all sounded, well to be honest, like a cult and how could YHC trust Lynchpin anyway?  After all, he married YHC’s sister.  Ugh.  But resistance was futile.  The NOLA PAX crossed Lake Pontchartrain in its Durham boat, Reluctant Yankee at the helm like George Washington crossing the Delaware. Nacho and Chewy fell in upon the PAX’s arrival and, together, they planted the shovel flag in the Gloom on April 9, 2016.  F3 Northshore was born.  How could YHC resist a free workout in his own backyard?

    A few weeks later, the NOLA PAX boarded their Durham boat and retreated back across the Lake, leaving the Northshore PAX to make the most of their gift of F3.  We stumbled about, we made mistakes, we created a new AO only to abandon it a few weeks later, and we had more than a few beatdowns with one or two PAX.  Somehow, however, we made it and two years later look forward to seeing one another regularly to suffer and have fun together.

    As this morning’s two year anniversary convergence approached and YHC learned that the weather more likely than not would be awful, there was no concern.  Two years of meeting rain or shine, hot or cold, left no doubt in YHC’s mind that the PAX would post.  And post they did.  And you know what?  The weather held off just long enough for us to celebrate our birthday with a 3 hour beatdown, visiting 5 of 6 Northshore AOs by the mechanical device known as the bicycle.

    Mandeville Lakefront:  4 burpees OYO, 19 SSHs IC, 20 IWs IC, and 16 Seal Jacks IC.

    Captain’s Cove:  4 vertical jumps OYO, 19 Copperhead Squats IC, 20 Sumo Squats IC, and 16 Regular Squats IC.

    Milestone Marsh: 4 plyo Merkins OYO, 19 Merkins IC, 20 Shoulder Taps IC, 16 slow seconds Mission Impossible.

    At this point, Chewy politely pointed out that he had figured out what YHC was up to with the count but that our birthday is April 9, 2016, not April 19, 2016.  Point well taken.

    Grandmother’s House:  4 Sister Mary Katherine’s OYO, 9 front to back lunges IC, 20 45 degree lunges IC, and 16 later lunges IC.

    And then, after a 10 mile mosey on the Tammany Trace to Covington:

    The Gipper:  4 Freddy Mercury’s IC, 9 Freddy Flutters IC, 20 Hello Dolly’s IC, and 16 Flutter Kicks IC.

    Then we mounted our bikes for the 10 mile ride back to the shovel flag for the countorama, nameorama, Shooter’s prayer and a coffeeteria, arriving about an hour later than anticipated.  No one will confuse YHC for a Swiss train conductor after this morning’s logistics, that’s for sure.

    Thanks for letting me lead, guys, and thanks for your willingness to try something different and new and for posting despite the threatening weather and actually being disappointed it didn’t pour on us.

    Some parting thoughts:

    We’ve come a long way on the Northshore.  Things have become almost comfortable and, while there’s a lot of positive to that sentiment, there are dangers too.  We could stop growing.

    So here’s a call to action.  Commit to EH’ing more FNGs and supporting them through their virgin post so that they return.  Commit to Q’ing more workouts, putting time into planning your Qs, and posting timely BackBlasts.  Commit to a CSAUP.  Commit to making yourself better and leading by example, always keeping your eyes open for growth and leadership in all three of the Fs.  If we want F3 Northshore to grow, then we are the ones that need to make it happen.

    Carpe Diem.

     

     

     

     

  • I’d better get this backblast done before Turbo yells at me

    Have you every felt like “Phil in the backseat of the Mirthmobile?”

    Some of you young whippersnappers may not be familiar with Phil, if so, check out this link

     

    So as the heavy weather plowed through Covington early Wednesday morning, it made me think of the lyrics from Bohemian Rhapsody…Thunder Bolt and Lighting very very frightening me….

    anyways… with the inclement weather I had to ditch my workout plan and go with the Bohemian Rhapsody:

    Bohemian:having informal and unconventional social habit

    Rhapsody:episodic yet integrated, free flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, color, and tonality

     

    Here is how it went in the steady rain:

     

    Warmup: Side Straddle Hops,Squats, Arm Circles, Seal Jacks,Butt Kicks, Toe Touches, Speed-Skater Hops, all 20xIC, with plenty of merkins in between.

    Mosey over to the parking garage for Hurdle and Plank fun-o-rama:

    Each pax in plank position, spaced about 10 feet from each other. One jumps up and hurdles each of the planking pax, then assumes plank at the end of the line. Did this up the ramps to the upper deck.

    Then we ran the stairwells up and down and around with a task (burpees, merkins, ditchdiggers, duckhops) in between each of the four roundtrips.

    Then we did a few sets of sprints across the top deck and back. The rain was feeling good!

    Then we did a slow meandering Indian run down the parking garage ramps & back to the flag.

    A few minutes of mary: Nolan Ryans and flutter kicks.

    Count-o-rama, announcements, and Astro leads us out with a prayer.

     

  • Hopping at the Gipper!

    4 PAX converged on the Gipper for a hopping good time. QIC arrived with Steve at the AO with Turbo actively trying to stake the shovel in the ground or maybe he was trying to break ground to hide Easter eggs for the upcoming holiday. Either way, the earth was providing resistance and after multiple attempts the flag was placed as the group began to chatter. With Einstein arriving shortly there after the time had come to HOP to it..

    warmarama

    15IC WM, 15IC GM, 30IC SSH, 30IC ToeTouches, Forward/Reverse 10IC ArmCircles and R/R with bigger revolutions, completed warmup with 30IC SJ.

    Moseyed to the Taj for some balboa’s for 45 sec followed by a bunny hop across the parking lot into in/out jump squats to 10 with lunge walk back for a R/R this time intensifying every 10 secs on the balboa’s. Journeyed to the front by the flag pole where we did an animal series. Everyone started on the outer circle and bear crawled to the pole and back while one pax member sprinted to the steps. Upon arriving bunny hopped up one side and jogged down the next replacing each PAX till everyone completed. Next the PAX Duck walked while to the pole and back while a man took to the steps extending up backwards with a lunge. Finally we crabbed walked while each man calf raised up and returned. YHC wanting to try and touch on all the available gifts of location at the Gipper took the PAX to the parking garage. We did a Burpee series at the bottom, 2x middle and top. 10 each totaling 40 in all when complete. Between each set we sprinted halfway forward and sprinted halfway backwards. Once at the top we took down the stairs to the justice center where we hit our six for AMRAP of the day. We partnered up, so while one did a min of American Hammers the other did a one min plank. Next we side planked Right/Left a min each side and then wrapped up with FK for a min. With 5 min left we returned to the flag. Closed the beatdown with Spider-Man Merkins to 10.

    Count off, announcements, COT

    Einstien prayed us out!

    Appreciate the lead and always enjoy posting with the Gipper crew!!

  • Another day at the Office

    Another beautiful morning at The Gipper and another beat down in the books.

    Warmup of lateral lunges, airplanes, seal jacks, squats and forward lunges.  All 20x IC.

    Mosey to the Justice Center for some 11s.  Merkin/Shoulder Taps combo at the bottom of the stairs, In and Out Squat Jumps at the top.

    Recovery walk to the Justice Center benches.  Lateral shuffle between two bookend benches with a lateral step up at each bench.  5 trips OYO.  Then back to lateral steps ups 7x IC, cross over lateral step ups 15x IC, then regular lateral step ups again 8x IC.

    Back to the Justice Center entrance for our ISI AMRAP Challenge of the day:  how many Merkins can you do in one minute?  So simple, yet not so easy.

    Circuitous mosey up and down the Justice Center parking garages ramps and stairs before heading back to the shovel flag, the PAX hitting some short accelerations along the way on the command of “sprint” and some soccer headers on the command of “jump.”

    Mary of windshield wipers 20x IC, Nolan Ryans 20x IC each side, Jane Fondas 10x IC each side, and 45 degree leg raises 10x IC.

    Moby Dick, still on IR but almost ready to get back in the game, joined the PAX for our countorama, nameorama, and Einstein’s prayer.

    Thanks for letting me lead, guys.  I always look forward to Wednesday morning at The Gipper with you.

     

  • 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!

  • Run for the Hills

    Beautiful morning at The Gipper.  Six men strong.  Glad to see Astro and Grundy back in action.

    Warmup with Seal Jacks, Windmills, Squats, Merkins all 20x IC.

    Mosey to the Landing for a Ring of Fire.  Merkins, Peter Parkers, Parker Peters, Plank Jacks, and T Stands between plank walks around the ring in both directions.

    Recovery walk to the Main Event:  Hill Sprints from the Landing up the gravel road to the second oak tree.  About 15 feet of elevation gain.  The PAX started each sprint from a prone position, jumping to their feet and hitting it hard for about 35 yards. Recovery walk back to the Landing.  Rinse and repeat for six quality sprints.

    Then it was time for the day’s ISI challenge:  AMRAP of Butt Kick Jumps for 60 seconds.  Partner up and count for your partner.  Just as hard as expected with everyone fatiguing as the minute mark approached.  T claps to the Southshore PAX who reportedly put in a 90 second effort this morning.  That extra 30 seconds must have been tough.

    Mosey to the STP Emergency Operations Center for two rounds of 10 burpees OYO, 5 clap Merkins OYO, and 20 SSHs and then Seal Jacks 20x IC.

    Final mosey back to The Gipper for Mary.  Pulsing, alternate arm/leg Supermans and then straight leg Freddy Mercurys, both 20x IC.

    Good stuff this morning guys.  Thanks for letting me lead.

  • Good Ol’ Boys

    Two PAX showed up on time, with a third PAX – Maverick, doing the best Dukes of Hazzard arrival, with a family vehicle, that I’ve ever seen.
    …flying into the parking lot, shooting gravel everywhere, some of which bounced off the Gipper statue, leaving R.R.’s nice patina, speckled, like a cheap polka-dot suit.
    Maverick “I’m here for the forty minute workout.”

    Indeed… To the best of my recall, here is how it went:

    Short Disclaimer …

    warmup
    all 20xIC; side straddle hops,good-mornings,windmills,imperial walkers,toe touches,hillbillys,arm circles,single leg lunges,squats,mummy kicks

    mosey to Bedrock; pick up a 10 pounder or so;
    all 15xIC; curls,overhead presses,rows,outward presses, elf on the shelf

    mosey to the front of the Taj Mahal for the MERKIN MEMORIAL
    here we have lots of brick pavers,each with a name and date,
    one pax, at a time, bearcrawls in toward the flagpole to a brick, reads the name and the date, chooses an odd or an even number, if an odd number,  we all bearcrawl counter-clockwise that many paces and do that many merkins, if an even number we all bearcrawl clockwise that many paces and do that many merkins. A crowd pleaser!

    mosey to the St.Tammany Parish Courthouse parking garage for sprints, backward lunges, and burpees.

    Indian Run back to the trail head

    count-o-rama, Moby Dick, on I.R., strolls up just in time to lead us out with a prayer.