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. 

Showing posts with label Beachbody. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beachbody. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Workout Update: Dig In: Day 2

Yesterday was day 2 of Dig In. I did Legs 1. The format was very similar to the Chest workout, with two resistance blocks, each including a core-focused exercise, and an Insanity block that you do after each strength block.

The strength blocks used some compound exercises, including goblet squats into upright rows and bicep curls into Arnold presses, so you are working more than just your legs. The Insanity block included exercises that will be familiar to anyone who has done Insanity or Insanity Max 30. Again, these were the low-impact versions that the modifiers performed in Max 30, although Shaun T does say that you can do the unmodified versions if you want.

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

Workout Update: Dig In: Day 1

Yesterday was day 1 of Dig In. I did Chest 1, followed by the LIIFT4 Roll and Recover routine. Dig In is a 30-day program designed for fat loss that combines the muscular-endurance lifting portions of Dig Deeper, using lighter weights and bodyweight-only exercises for sets of 12 reps, with low-impact versions of exercises from Insanity and Insanity Max 30. Anyone who has done Insanity Max 30 will recognize the exercises that the modifiers in that program did.

The workout has two resistance blocks, each with two weighted chest exercises, a bodyweight chest exercise, and a core-focused exercise. You go through each block three times, doing 12 reps of each exercise per set. You have only enough time between exercises to transition from one to the next, amounting to about 15 seconds between exercises. The workout has scheduled breaks, however. The second resistance block includes a bear crawl: get into a bear plank position and move forward and backward, with four crawls forward and back counting as one rep. Shaun T gives you the option to hold the bear plank position instead, which is what I did for the second half of the first set and all of the second and third sets.

After each resistance block, you do the same “Insanity Block,” which consists of four cardio exercises that you do for 30 seconds each, again with only enough time to transition between them. One of these is stepping burpees. The first time through, you use the bench, while the second time you have the option of using the bench again or going all the way to the floor.

Like Dig Deeper, you do need a workout bench and a selection of weights. You need to use much lighter weights than you otherwise could because you do not have breaks between exercises. For example, if you can normally do chest presses with 35 or 40 lbs when you have breaks between sets, use about 25 lbs here so you don't wear yourself out too quickly. Shaun T mentions this up front, noting that he can normally do chest presses with 70 lbs but was using 35 lbs for this workout. The workout is about half an hour, and the time goes by quickly because you move from one exercise to the next pretty much the entire time.

Saturday, May 2, 2026

Workout Update: P90X Day 90

 Day 90, which is actually the second-to-last day of the program, so I did the second core synergistics workout. Normally, this would be on Tuesday and Friday, but I mixed the workouts up this week, so I had to do the two routines I hate the most three days in a row. Oh, well. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 89

 Day 89 was yoga. Still hated it, but I got through it. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 88

On day 88, I did core synergistics. This, behind the yoga routine, is my least favorite workout in the program. Unlike what Tony Horton tries to say in the video intro, it is not anything that is remotely fundamental to the program. It is just a bunch of weird push-up variations, mixed with different cardio exercises, and some high-volume weight exercises, all of which require you to keep your core tight. But, if you are lifting with proper form, you would be doing that anyway. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 87

On day 87, I did x-stretch. It went well, and unlike the yoga routine, I love this one. It felt good to get it in. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 86

Day 86 was the start of the final week, which is the recovery week. I did the Kenpo routine today, mainly because I had just done yoga a couple of days ago, and did not want to do that again so soon.

Workout Update: P90X Day 85

Day 85 was a rest day going into the final recovery week of the program. I did the 645 cardio routine in the evening, again to get some movement in, but that was it. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 84

Day 84 was yoga. I feel like my flexibility and mobility have plateaued a bit, as my range of motion has not really improved since last week. But, it is kind of hard for me to tell during the yoga routine because it has never been easy for me to do.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 83

 Day 83 was the final Legs and Back workout. I was again able to get in a couple more assisted pull-up reps, but kept the weight for the weighted portions the same.

Workout Update: P90X Day 82

 Day 82 was Kenpo. It was fine. Nothing to really write home about. The workouts are definitely getting super repetitive and boring at this point, so it is a slog to get through them. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 81

Day 81 was the final back and biceps workout. This is still probably my favorite lifting workout in the program (aside from the corn-cob pull-ups), but I was even able to get a couple more assisted reps with those. So, overall, a decent workout.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 80

Day 80 was the final plyometrics workout of the routine. I must admit by this point, I am pretty much slacking in the program, so I did not go balls to the wall during this. But I got through it. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 79

Day 79 was the final Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout of the program. There was no big change from the last time I did the workout to speak of.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 78

 Day 78 was a rest day, but I did the 645 cardio routine in the evening just to get some activity in. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 77

Day 77 was Yoga. I still cannot stand the routine, but I can tell that my flexibility is improving incrementally.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 76

Day 76 was Legs and Back. I again was able to get a couple more reps on some of the pull-up exercises, but the amount of weight I used for the weighted exercises stayed the same.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 75

Day 75 was the Kenpo workout again. It went okay, but I did it later in the evening than I intended, so I did not get a ton of sleep during the night because I was still kind of wired from the workout.

Workout Update: P90X Day 74

Day 74 was the last Shoulders and Arms workout of the program. No big changes or advancements from the last time I did the workout.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 73

Day 73 was plyometrics. I was a bit tired during the workout so I did not go all out, but I made it through.