The Top 10 of 2017

As 2017 comes to a close, 10 men came (eventually) to the Mothership to better themselves in preparation for the new year. It was a fitting gloomy morning, 40 degrees and overcast with a little fog, perfect for a December work-out. As Hawg likes to say, iron sharpens iron. So I decided to lean on the Iron Men of F3 NOLA to plan for the gloomy beat-down today. I reviewed back-blasts from the last year to come up with a Top 10 Work-Outs of 2017. Apologies if I left your favorite work-out off the list, or if I over-looked a particularly good beating you personally delivered. This Top 10 list is not all-inclusive, but a smathering of good work-outs from 2017. Credit was given to the men who delivered the original beat-down. The usual disclaimer was provided, and off we go.

We moseyed to the Great Lawn for the Warm-Up COP. Five men started the work-out as the original crew, 3 more joined half-way through.

Exercise #10: the SNOWFLAKE

On one particular chilly Saturday morning in January, Shorty delivered the SNOWFLAKE, in honor of the cold weather, and maybe Rudy’s up-coming ski trip. No better way to warm-up than a Shorty warm-up, incorporating arms, legs, core, and yoga!

S   SSH x 17 IC. Everything will be 17 reps today, in honor of closing out 2017
N   Nipple scrapers x 17 IC: high plank, under the fence, back under to starting position
O   Oblique planks, 30 seconds left arm, 30 seconds right arm
W  Imperial Walkers x 17 IC
F   Floyd Mayweathers x 17 IC
L   Lunges x 17 IC, alternating legs
A   Alternating Shoulder Taps x 17 IC
K   Knee Tucks: Squat jumps (tucking the knees) x 17 OYO
E   BurpEEs, 10 OYO. (Originally Shorty did Eleven’s here, but YHC modified for time)

Kim Chi arrives! After getting stood up at Troubled Waters, Kim Chi high-tailed it to the Mothership. I think it took him 12 minutes, obeying all speed limits and traffic laws, of course.

Exercise #9: Frac Dora

Dora 1-2-3 is an F3 staple. Frac Sac modified Dora 1-2-3 to make the runner work harder. Split into pairs, and each pair completes 100 Merkins, 200 LBC’s, and 300 squats. Each man runs across the Great Lawn and completes:
Round 1: 5 Burpees
Round 2: 10 Imperial Walkers
Round 3: 15 Monkey Humpers
Round 4: 20 Squats
Frac Sac made each man run AROUND the Great Lawn and stop in the corners for the above exercises. YHC modified to run ACROSS the Great Lawn for time.

Exercise #8: Plank-o-rama

We moseyed over to NOMA and stopped by the train tracks. Rudy is legendary for his ability to hold a plank for an eternity, and torture the rest of the PAX. On one particular Saturday in 2017, during his many trips to OKC, he dedicated a Plank-o-rama to the 5 civilized Indian Tribes of Oklahoma, each representing one point on the 5-point star on the Oklahoma State flag. We did the same today. (Sadly, Rudy had not yet joined us at this point, so he will only read about the glory.) Plank-o-rama with no recovery in-between:

Tribe 1: Chickasaw Peter Parkers x 17 IC
Tribe 2: Chocktaw Parker Peters x 17 IC
Tribe 3: Creek Plank Jacks x 17 IC
Tribe 4: Seminole Floyd Mayweathers x 17 IC
Tribe 5: Cherokee Shoulder Taps x 17 IC

Exercise #7: Tree BLIMPS

After only 3 exercises, we were 30 minutes into our beat-down! Time to pick up the pace! We strolled over to the tree line on Lelong Drive in front of NOMA. “Not running the Trees…” murmured Kim Chi. Something like that! Tree BLIMPS have always been a favorite of mine. I have seen Yankee, Hawg, and Rudy lead these, so they get the credit.

5 Burpees, run to the next tree
10 Lunges each leg, run to the next tree
15 Imperial Walkers, run to the next tree
20 Merkins, run to the next tree
25 Plank Jacks, run to the next tree
30 Squats, run to the next tree

Exercise #6: Animals on Parade

Also an exercise used by many, Animals on Parade have been lead by Mr. Awesome and Shorty on Saturdays in 2017. However, Shorty wanted no credit for it today… Animal walk to the next tree, heading back towards NOMA.

Bear Crawl to the next tree
Crab Walk to the next tree
Duck Walk to the next tree
Frog Jump to the next tree
Human Walk to the next tree

Exercise #5: Merkin Ladder

After a water break, we moseyed to the steps in front of NOMA. The Merkin Ladder is a real crowd-pleaser, and has been lead by Frac Sac and Da Parish. We performed a Merkin Ladder up the steps in front of NOMA.
Step 1: 1 Merkin, Step 2: 2 Merkins, Step 3: 3 Merkins, all the way to the top.

Exercise #4: Foundry Circuit

Another staple of any City Park beat-down, the Foundry Circuit is good to incorporate upper body, lower body, core, and kill time. We decided to give credit for this one to Amnesty. After all, Da Parish informed me that Amnesty Q’ed the most work-outs in 2017! Way to Lead, Amnesty!!!

We moseyed to the Baby Foundry, aka the Refinery, for this one. Four stations. Running short on time now, we only completed 1 round.
10 Pull-Ups (for Amnesty) had the count
Body Dips
Hanging Knee Ups
Step Ups

Exercise #3: Calf Raises

Always a favorite of Jingle Vader. JV can do calf raises until the cows come home. I guess that’s what gives him his shapely legs… We moseyed to the back gates of Tad Gormley field and each grabbed some iron for calf raises:
Standard calf raises x 17 IC
Toes-out calf raises x 17 IC
Toes-in calf raises x 17 IC

Exercise #2: The Hotel Trifecta, aka the Suck-It, aka the Suck-A$$

We moseyed back to the Great Lawn for this exercise, introduced by Tool in early December. Tool found this exercise in Men’s Health, where it was suggested this exercise may be good to perform in one’s hotel room while traveling. After completing this exercise a few weeks ago, the ensuing mumble chatter suggested we should change the name to the Suck-It, or maybe the Suck-A$$. Back then, we completed three 3-minute rounds. Today YHC modified to 1 round for time.

3 minutes: 6 SSH, 6 squat jumps, 6 Merkins
Complete as many rounds as possible, OYO, in 3 minutes. Shout out number as each round is completed.
Triple Shift won with 9.5 rounds. Not an easy task, I remind you. RESPECT!

Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! Rudy strolled up after his run to join the COT. Little did he know, he arrived just in time for the #1 work-out of 2017!

And, drum roll please…
the #1 exercise of 2017…

Exercise #1: Tabata!

Nothing sharpens Iron like the Tabata. 20 seconds as hard as you can push, 10 second rest. This one always kick my butt. I credit Amnesty and Hawg with the Tabata. Both have beat me down with this.
Round 1: Jump Squats
Round 2: High Knees
Round 3: Jump Lunges
Round 4: Merkins
Round 5: Super Mans
Round 6: Dips
Round 7: Side Lunges Left
Round 8: Side Lunges Right
Round 9: V-Ups
Round 10: Rest

That completed the Top 10 of 2017. We moseyed back to the flag for the COT.

Count 0ff, Name-o-rama, announcements, and special intentions. Remember the North Shore 10K in January, and don’t forget to wear you tank-top! Safe wishes to all travelers and party-goers on New Year’s Eve. Be strong in sticking to New Year’s resolutions. Shorty will be a Daddy in 2 weeks! Wish him luck, but he won’t need it. He’ll be a great dad.

Thank you for letting me lead. This one was fun to plan, and a fun review of the last year. F3 has helped me to have a great 2017. I appreciate all of you for the friendship, comaraderie, and pushing me to be a better man. Happy New Year!