Welcome

Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.

I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.  

I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time.  As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree. 

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Workout Update: 25 Minute Speed Train: Day 3

Day 3 of 25-Minute Speed Train is the first core-cardio workout of the program. It again has four blocks of work (after a short warm-up), each block consisting of two exercises. One that has a cardio (and core) component, and the second, which is mostly core-focused. You do each exercise for 45 seconds, with 15 seconds between exercises for the transition. 

If you have done Joel's Lift 4 program, you will recognize many of the exercises from the cardio and core portions of that program. There are exercises like twisted mountain climbers, knee to elbow, and flutter kicks, among others. A couple of the moves require a light dumbbell. In the workout, Joel used 7.5 lbs. I used 5 lbs.  After you do the four blocks, there is a burnout round in which you do one exercise from each block for 45 seconds, back-to-back without rest. 

This workout had a lot of plank work, which I personally don't enjoy. It was not as exhausting as the cardio workouts in Lift 4, but it is a challenge, especially if you are working yourself back into shape. But, if you are in better shape, you can go faster for longer, so you will be working. Joel was dripping with sweat by the last block, and he is in excellent shape, so you know it works. 

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