F3 New Orleans

Tag: The Hammer

  • Bridging the Gap – from Russo

    If you’re of a certain age and have lived in the metro long enough, YHC bets you remember Mr. Bingle. Or McKenzie’s. You were drawn to the K&B purple and shopped with those cheap plastic carts. You “fought the uglies” as you passed the LAS Enterprises billboard heading east on I-10 to Orleans parish. Maybe you were old enough to watch Dr. Morgus and Chopsley on WGNO or were lucky enough to be in the studio audience of Popeye and Pals. If not, YHC hopes you were blessed and was able to see Al’s Christmas lights (or marveled at his toy collection as you passed Causeway Blvd.), or took your life in your own hands by jumping from trampoline to trampoline at the park on Veteran’s blvd, which was not far from the shark at Puglia’s that perseveres to this day. How long can he live out of the water? At least 30 years.

    Just as important, you probably remember Rosenberg’s address. Or how much it cost for Frankie and Johnnie to exclaim “let her have it!”.

    Where’s the point you ask? Some things just stick. Certain memories are etched in our brains and elicit the warm fuzzies. Nostalgia. The good times.

    One of the things that YHC inexplicably remembers was in the 80s and 90s the local car dealerships were in on the taglines and gingles. Price Leblanc leaned into Y’at culture with their “Dahlin’” campaign. I hear Metairie Bank was big into auto loans and ended with a “Beep Beep”. I believe it was Banner Ford that paid millions for a rubber duck to exclaim “Cheap cheap!” But I know for a fact that local celeb (and “most interesting man in Louisiana”) Ronnie Lamarque and his dealerships has a campaign called “Bridging the Gap”, with a catchy little “We’re bridging the gap, ooooooh ooooooh” gingle. For those keeping track, this was after he owned Preakness and Belmont-winning thoroughbred Risen Star, but before his ex-wife took a hit out on him.

    That gingle was running through my head as we sweat in the mid 70s temps and headed in the general direction of a bridge.

    Warmup – all IC, 10x
    – SSHs
    – Toe touches
    – Mummy kicks
    – Air presses
    – Hillbillies
    – Grass grabbers
    – Self love

    Thang

    Mosey to the bridge off Jackson Ave., stopping every block or so for 5 8-count bodybuilders, then adding 10 monkey humpers, and then 15 LMCs, and finally 20 SMCs (1 is 1).

    Once we reached the bridge, it was cross the bridge in varying fashion, with 10 merkins and 10 crunchy frogs after every crossing.

    Crossing the bridge, we did:
    – sprints
    – Bear crawl
    – Lunges (2x)
    – Side shuffles (2x)
    – Carioca

    Mosey back to start, with more 8CBB’s, Monkey Humpers, LMCs and SMCs thrown in, and we arrived back just in time for The COT, Name-o-Rama, and prayer to close us out.

    Excellent conversation today as always. Thanks for joining and reading.

    SYITG

  • The Humid Wall – from Akbar

    4 strong this gloom with Moby making a Cowbellesque arrival coming in hot for the warm up. We felt the humidity for the first time of the year, unfortunately not the last. With the air nearly full of water already, sweat resting on our skin, unable to evaporate into the air – we got started for a visit to the wall.

    Conditions: Cloudy, 73, 100% Humidity, feels like 93

    Warm Up: SSH, IW, Grass Grabbers, Windmills, Self-Love, Arm Circles F/B x 10-15IC

    Playground: Pull Ups/Jump Squats x10 OYO, 3 sets

    Mosey to Rips stopping at intersections for 10 Merkins and 10 Superman’s, varying cadence, tempo, and OYO

    Rips – 10 Stone Mountains – run stairs with 10 calf raises at the top, 10 Stone Mountains on the other side

    Mosey to the Wall for exercises x10 with a mosey to rips and same exercise on the other side, mosey back

    Dirkins, backpedal, Dirkins

    Shoulder Taps, Karaoke right, Shoulder Taps

    Bulgarian Split Squats, Karaoke left, Jump Squats

    Freak Nasty, karaoke right, Freak Nasty

    Plank Jack, sprint/backpedal

    Dirkins, walk, Dirkins

    Mosey back to the flag stopping for 10 Rosalita’s IC

    Count/Name-o-Rama

    Announcements: Q sheet is full at the Lakefront and Marsh for a few weeks. Grundy, TruCoat and YHC upcoming. Sign up to Q

    YHC prayed us out with intentions for Picks M to feel better and us to glorify God in everything we do.

    Always a great way to start the week! SYITG – Akbar

    NMM
    Its been great having Moby at the Marsh, and of course Turbo Dog. When we left, Moby told Sonny to go get in the car. When we returned, he was waiting faithfully for the Circle of Trust. YHC’s timing was a little off and we finished 2 minutes over, but no one seemed to mind.

  • Good to be back!! – from Shooter

    The gloom was perfect, slight breeze with very mild conditions. These conditions are obviously short lived here in SE LA, so YHC certainly tries to enjoy the lighter sweat angel days before the treacherous humidity and heat return.. 6 other PAX decided to join in as well and the mixture was close to balanced with Ruckers, runners and joggers… Thanks to Hammer for slowing down and pacing with YHC at a 9:30 as the other runners in Steve, Bushwacker and Zoolander clocked in around 8:50… PAX did learn this morning that the Ruckers apparently take detours, which is obvious why they always seem to show up right at 6 when the Mary or follow the leader as of late is done and over 🤫🤫, however today was a little different as Akbar and Russo returned a little early..

    Warmup
    10IC Self love, Windmills, Arm circles, Imperial squat walkers, toe touches, scorpion kicks and a little stretch.

    Thang
    Standard route with an extra loop for runners and a partial entry and turn around for Hammer and I.. Returned and completed some Mary of 15IC Right elbow to left knee, F/J, LBCs, Superman’s and 15 OYO WW1 sit-ups and Big Boy sit-ups.

    Count, announce and COT

    Glad to be back in the Gloom and until the next 👍🏼👊🏼✌🏼!!!

  • Late to the Party – from Akbar

    7 strong this morning, with YHC 15 minutes late, setting the alarm for 4:50 pm. Body clock woke me up, quick text to Hammer to get us started, and on the way. Arriving to 6 pax and the shovel flag that Quarterpipe picked up from a previous beatdown, we were ready to go. Day 1 home alone while the M is out of town for 2 weeks. Expecting the Whacker to show up after 3 days of silence, disappointment set in for a no show. Great to see Moby Dick down from Covington.

    Hammer got started with 11’s, Merkins and abs – which didn’t register with YHC – we started with a DORA. Plank Jacks, Merkins, and abs of choice. P1 works, P2 runs to the white mailbox and back to relieve.

    Head to the playground for pull ups and jump squats x 10 OYO, 3 sets

    Benches: Bulgarian split squats and freak nasties x 10 IC, 2 rounds

    To the swing set for Swerkins – Feet on swing, Merkin and tuck x 10. Jump squats after x10

    Lungewalk to center court and finish with abs x10 IC
    Flutter Kicks, Rosalita, Wife Pleasers, E2K left and right, Hello Dolly.

    Count, Name, and Hammer prayed us out with thoughts of his case and me home alone with kids for 2 weeks while the M is out of town.

    Announcements – Zoorich Classic Saturday at the Lakefront. Men’s Dinner and speaker at St. Timothy Thursday.

  • Old Faithful on a Friday – from Russo

    Pleasant morning that was a little breezier than it has been. Hammer took the opportunity to cheat on the A1C with Jose out, and YHC is glad he did.

    Warmup
    – SSHs
    – Toe touches
    – Self love
    – High knees
    – Grass grabbers

    Thang

    Quick mosey of the block, directly into the deck of death. Rep count and exercise was based on suit and number. Deck was split into four groups below. First flip: Ace of Spades, 15 8 count body builders Huzzah!

    Between groups we slalomed the columns and continued on our efforts to solve all of the world’s problems.

    Hearts – wide merkins
    Diamonds – Peter Parker’s
    Spades – 8 count body builders
    Clubs – merkins

    Hearts – burpees
    Diamonds – lunges (2 is 1)
    Spades – Monkey humpers
    Clubs – Big boy sit-ups

    Hearts – ballerina squats
    Diamonds – SMCs
    Spades – imperial squat walkers
    Clubs – Star jumps

    Hearts – leg raises
    Diamonds – V ups
    Spades – Gas pumps
    Clubs – Crunchy frogs

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

    SYITG

  • The artist formally known as “Jose10k” – from Jose10k

    I arrived to the A1C, driving through a downpour of rain, ready to work out. The skies opened up and cleared. I got out of my car and began warming up when my partner in crime, Moby, arrived. Now Moby, in a second life, was Bob Breck. He informed us of the incoming storms, so we went down to the second level to get out of the way of the storms that never did show up. I offered an olive branch to the notorious Russo. An offer of a truce, to get together and work out the differences between the splash pad and the A1C. Russo scoffed at me, and I believe pulled a Sampson towards me by “biting his thumb at me” So, the rumble is still on.
    We need to continue training for the cage match with the rowdy group from the splash pad. I don’t know if it’s at the level of the greasers vs socs rumble, the sharks vs the jets, the hatfields vs the mccoys, maybe even to the level of tom vs jerry. The talking is getting serious, so the training must get more intense. I heard that the splash pad was using the ancient teaching of Miyagi Do karate: wax on, wax off, paint the fence, sand the floors…, so we at the A1C knew how serious these gents were. We knew where we had to get our training from: the only practical source of knowledge of men our ages: 80s movies. Should we practice kicking banana trees like JVD in Kickboxer, running up snow covered mountains, splitting firewood a la Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV, or maybe increasing our cardio with some giant piano dancing like Tom Hanks did in Big? Perhaps even bring in bicycles to train like they did in RAD. Too many to choose from for just one beat down, and plus, did I forget to mention, I am leaving tomorrow to fly to the Caribbean to get married. I am not crushing myself this morning. I will save those epic training sessions when I get back, so hold onto your butts…
    Warm-up: ssh, torso twists, self love, windmills, grass grabbers, arm circles, hi jack, hey jills,
    Beginning: bruno mars think I’m gonna marry you, simple concept, ssh for the song, drop for a burpee each time the word Marry is sung.
    I promised Katie that I wouldn’t kill myself, so I kept it simple. 4 corners, 10 merkins, 15 squats, 20 big boy situps at each corner. Bear crawl the width, back peddle the length halfway, turn and sprint the rest. After that, round robin tabata, 45 seconds on , 15 second rest. The conversations were excellent as always. Including retirement, job opportunities, and of course, 80s classic movies. Including the hilarious Grumpier Old Men, National Lampoons, and of course, Kickboxer.

    COT, mention of the Inferno tomorrow, Hammer prayed us out. Everyone have safe travels, have great celebrations with your family and friends, and I will see you on the other side Ray. The next time I see y’all, I will be a happily married man. SYITG!

  • Banking 101 and Civics 201 – from Russo

    70 degrees this morning, no wind to speak of. Looks like the cooler weather has returned from whence it came to return maybe in September if we’re lucky.

    We were so close to solving all of America’s problems this morning through chatter. If we would have had 5 more minutes, we would have been able to move on from “identification and assessment of issue” to “develop and execute plan”, yet here we are. We’ll have to pick it up again next time. The minutes, however, will reflect that a good time was had by all.

    Yet another rerun this week, we’re in the middle of those while we wait for the new fall season to arrive.

    Warmup (all 10x or 20x IC)
    – SSHs
    – Toe touches
    – High knees
    – Imperial walkers
    – Grass grabbers

    Thang
    Tabata:
    – 1 minute each with bricks, 30 seconds rest, with some moseying around the block after each of the three rounds.

    -Arm curls
    -Air presses
    -Hallelujah squats
    -Arm circles
    -Triceps extensions
    -Milk maids

    Wrap up with:
    – 20 IC Freak Nastys
    – 10 IC BSSs (2 is 1)
    – 20 more IC Freak Nastys
    – 20 IC Crunchy Frogs
    – 20 IC American Hammers

    COT, Name-o-Rama, Prayer closed us out.

    Fury! Inferno! Both coming up over the next two Saturdays. Keep in mind Fantastic Fury Fun starts at 6 tomorrow.

    Blessed to have partners in crime, today and in general. In seriousness though, YHC’s heart is weighed heavy this week as I look upon the events going on around us. I am not sure how we got here, or what it all means, or even how to start fixing what’s broken, but something clearly is. There shouldn’t be this much division, hatred, manipulation, greed, whatever.

    My prayer though is that my (and our) will is aligned with God’s. To me, when it is, things seem to go better, and even when they don’t, I feel more safe and secure that all things are working toward God’s intention for me/us. I am thankful there are decent people out there (and most of you qualify) that have priorities in order, and I ask God to make these folks more powerful, deliberate, bold, and vocal in their communities so that the Spirit can work and guide us to something better.

    SYITG

  • Repeato – from Akbar

    4 PAX this morning for a muggy beatdown at the Marsh. Usual arrival at 5:10 to see Waterpik and Hammer picking up trash and stretching. An on time arrival from Whacker and we were ready to get to work. YHC remembered the Q late in the day and headed to the backblast to repeat a workout over a year ago.

    Conditions: 73 degrees and Humid
    Warm Up: SSH, Grass Grabbers, Arm Circles, Windmills, High Knees, Butt Kicks

    Playground: 10 pull ups, 10 merkins, 3 sets OYO

    Mosey to the Lakefront wall for the Thang. Exercise on the wall x10 IC, various mosey to the street for second exercise x 10 IC and sometimes OYO

    Bulgarian Split Squats, lunge walk, Calf Raises
    Dirkins, Bear Crawl, Bouncy Squats
    Freak Nasty, Crab Walk, Superman
    Stone Mountain, backward lunge, Shoulder Taps
    Repeat x2, mosey back

    Mary
    LBC, Flutter Kicks, Rosalita, Jane Fonda x10 IC

    Count, name, and Hammer prayed us out with intentions for family and those in the Rolling Fork, MS tornado this weekend.

    Announcements
    Fury Convergence at the Lakefront Saturday 6am to 6pm.

    Always a pleasure to start out my week with you guys. Thanks for following my lead, Akbar

  • 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

  • Fury at the Marsh – from Akbar

    YHC got excited when passing a Blue Toyota Tundra this morning, thinking it was JV. The glimmer of hope for his return was squashed, but happy to see the familiar running team of Hammer and Pik chatting it up.

    Warm up – SSH, Self-Love, grass Grabbers, Cherry Pickers
    10 Pull ups, 10 Superman’s at the playground

    Mosey to the Lakefront stopping at intersections for Hand Release Merkins, Dips, Squats with rep counts of 21-15-9-15-21

    Rips – 50 calf raises, 50 Rocky Balboas

    Mosey back to the Marsh the long way, stopping at each light pole for 2 reps, adding 2 at each light pole. Hand Release Merkins and jump squats

    Switcheroo over to Superman’s and Flutter Kicks, 2 at each light pole, adding 2 each time.
    Maxed out around 20 light poles and head for Mary

    Playground – 10 Superman’s, 10 Pull ups, 30 second dead hang

    Mary – Rosalita’s, LBC’s, x 20IC, 1 Big Boy Situp

    Count, name, and Hammer prayed us out.

    Announcements – 2 days left for Run Cajun Run, Endurathon in 3 weeks. Jose, Tank, Speedy, and Hammer have a team – sign up to support and run with them.

    Always look forward to seeing ya’ll on Mondays, a great way to start out the week.

    SYITG – Akbar