Workout Update: P90X Day 4

 Day 4, for me, was the Kenpo-X workout. If you follow the schedule, day 4 would normally be Yoga, but since that one is the longest workout, at 90 minutes, and is probably the hardest workout (at least for those of us who are not very flexible), I moved it to Saturday so I could do it whenever instead of being stuck doing it after work as I generally am on the weekdays. 

Kenpo is a decent workout, especially the few times you do it. As you get in better shape, it becomes one of the easier workouts, but for the first go-around, I was definitely having a hard time keeping up with them. A couple of times I just had to cut the number of reps off at 20 because they were done way ahead of me. The only thing I am not a big fan of from that workout is the warmup. In other videos, Tony goes on talking about how you do not want to stretch a cold body, and Kenpo dives right into stretching without any kind of warm-up. So, I usually just start the workout right away and use the punching exercises as the warm-up. 

Last night I had a cheat meal at Olive Garden, but otherwise ate according to the Portion Fix nutrition plan. So, overall, the day went well. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 3

 Day 3 was the shoulders and arms workout. That workout is basically 5 blocks of three exercises. You do the three exercises, repeat them, then take a break and move to the next block. Each block has a shoulder-focused exercise, a bicep-focused exercise, and a tricep-focused exercise. The workout goes by pretty quickly, so you get a nice calorie burn and I was feeling pretty tired at the end. I again did ab-ripper x as the warmup as opposed to waiting until after the main workout to do it. I did 15 reps of all the moves (except the mason twist at the end, I did a modified version (kept my heels on the floor) and did all fifty reps). 

Overall, I felt good today during the workouts. I was a bit sore from days 1 and 2, but that pretty much went away after I was warmed up. I followed the portion fix plan very well yesterday. I am going to have a cheat meal tonight for dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday, but I already got my workout in, so I am all good there. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 2

 Day 2 was the plyometrics workout. I actually felt very prepared since many of the moves in this workout were in the Master's Series workout. The only move I cannot do is the rock star hops (they tweak my back) so during those, I just jogged in place. I did have to modify some of the moves and was pretty tired at the end of the workout, but I made it through. I definitely think I will be able to keep up with everyone without having to modify (aside from the rock star hops) by the time I am into phase three. Overall, it is a great cardio workout. I do have some residual soreness from Monday's workout which, I hope will be gone after today's shoulders and arms workout (or at least new parts of my body will be sore). 

Workout Update: P90X Day 1

Yesterday was Day 1 of P90X. So, it was the chest and back workout and ab-ripper x. I actually did ab ripper before the main workout instead of after and used it to enhance the warmup that comes before the chest and back workout. Ab ripper is substantially harder than ab-ripper 100 and 200 in Power 90. I definitely could not do 25 reps for every move. Some of them I could, and some I could only do 10-12 reps. 

In the main chest and back workout, for the push-ups I did them all on my toes, none off of the knees. My reps ranged from about 10-15 reps depending on the type and whether it was in round 1 or 2. This workout only has three moves that use weight, the heavy pants (which I used 30 pounds for and got 9 reps in), Lawnmowers (which I used 35 pounds for and got 8 reps), and back flys (which I used 25 pounds for and got 8 reps). For the pull-up moves, I used bands. I have bands that have a weight correlation, so I used 80lbs. All of the moves were very challenging with that amount. I am going to try adding the 5lb resistance band when I do the legs and back workout on Friday. The hope is that each week I can add another 10 lbs onto the band resistance. I think I can get it up to about 150lbs of resistance if I stack all the bands together, so by the time I get done with the 12 weeks I hope to be there so that when I do a second round of P90x I can start doing regular pull-ups. 

For nutrition, I am going to try to follow the portion fix system as much as possible. I am on Plan D, which will have me eating between 2100 calories and 2299 calories per day. It uses the colored container system, so you just have to fill the containers and don't have to count calories down to the exact number.  I am still going to allow myself a few cheat meals per week (or one cheat day) depending on what is going on. For example, my mom's birthday is on Thursday so I plan to have a cheat meal for dinner that day, then we are doing a small get-together on Saturday to have a pizza party, which will be another cheat meal. But, aside from that, I am going to stick to the plan. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 55

 Day 55 was the last day of the Master's Series. It was actually a rest day, so I just did x-stretch from P90x. Today will actually be day 1 of P90X, and I will be doing chest and back and abs. I plan to do the ab workout first as a warm-up and then skip most of the P90x warm-up. Overall, I liked the Master's Series workouts, but they are definitely not my favorite workouts of those I have done. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 54

 Day 54 of the master's series workouts was the core cardio workout. It is definitely not my favorite of the group (mostly because of the Dreya Roll push-ups, which are a harder version of the Dreya Rolls in P90X, which I have never been able to do well). But, it is a very challenging workout, that could have easily replaced the core synergistics workout in P90x. I plan on doing the x-stretch routine today, and then tomorrow starting in with P90x chest and back. 

DVD Review: Family Guy Season 13

 

The big "event" of Season 13 of Family Guy was the crossover with The Simpsons in which the Griffons find themselves in Springfield. All of the major Simpsons characters appeared, and there were inside jokes and callbacks to things from the past of both shows. From there, the season pretty much played out as it always has, basically having a storyline or two of the week in a given episode, but not really any kind of story arc extending through the season.

For those who get the DVD, the episodes are uncensored (they drop f-bombs quite frequently) and, because the show is still popular, you do get some extras. These include a making-of feature on The Simpsons episode, deleted scenes, an animatic version of the episode where Brian and Stewie take Chris through time to teach him history, and commentary tracks on select episodes. My only complaint is that the commentary tracks are not accessible through the extras menu. You have to go into the menu for each individual episode to see if there is one available for that particular episode. So, if you use the "play all" feature to watch the episodes, then go into the extras menu, you have no way of knowing which episodes have commentary tracks and which do not. Aside from that, you get a good amount of material if you like going through the bonus features.

By now, anyone who is considering getting this knows what the show is and what it is not. The jokes can be very offensive and almost no topic is off-limits. While I still think that the original run of episodes from before FOX canceled it after the second or third season was the best, it is still a strong series (if you like adult (sometimes very adult) humor). If however, you have never been a big fan of the show, nothing about season 13 is likely to change your mind. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 53

 Day 53 was the last cardio 5-6 and ab-ripper 200. I was a bit tired during the workout, but still got it done, and managed to get a good calorie burn. Also, I discovered that yes, the original Power 90 workouts, including the Master's Series workouts, are on Beachbody On Demand. It is definitely not clear if you try to search for them before you sign up. The only indication is that the newer P90 workouts are on the streaming platform. However, once you sign up, if you browse the programs, you will see them in there. It is considered one of their "classic" programs (which, as far as I can tell, includes pretty much every program pre-P90X), but it is there. 

If you have not heard, Beachbody has created a streaming platform that has most, of the workouts that they have ever produced. As far as I can tell, the only workout that was available on DVD that is not on the online platform is the Les Mills Combat workout. I think that was a temporary arrangement between Beachbody and Less Mills, which is likely why those workouts are not on BOD.  And, I believe that at least some of their newer workouts are only released on the streaming platform, and not on DVD. 

There are essentially two different subscriptions you can get. One for just Beachbody on demand which has the workouts like PIYO, Insanity, P90X, etc. You can also subscribe to their BODI service that has live workouts and includes their nutrition platforms Portion Fix and 2B mindset. The best price is if you get an annual subscription. The fee for an annual BOD subscription is $99, and if you add BODI, it jumps up to $299, so it will be about $320 with tax (depending on where you live). You would still need to purchase some program-specific equipment (like the wall/door mount for the 9-week Control Freak program that is used for some of the exercises), although as I was browsing the videos for that program it looks like there is an "off the wall" version that does not use the wall mount. But otherwise, for about $25 per month (or less) you get access to 100s of workouts, and as long as you have something like an Amazon Fire Stick or a Roku you can watch them on a TV. Plus, if you travel a lot you can download the BOD app on your phone or tablet and do them wherever you happen to be without having to lug DVDs around like the old days. 

Anyway, tonight is my last regular workout for the Master's Series, then I will be starting P90x on Monday. I have really not lost much weight over the 8 weeks, mostly because I have not been following a strict nutrition regimen since my mom has been in and out of the hospital this past month.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 52

 Day 52 was the UML workout again. Now having done the workout a handful of times, overall I like it. It is very challenging. A lot of push-ups and a lot of difficult ab moves, some of them are more difficult than any of the moves in the ab-ripper workouts, including ab-ripper-x. It is a relatively short workout, about a half-hour after the 5-minute warm-up and stretch. And, almost all of the moves can be modified to your current fitness level, which is great. The only drawback is that it is on DVD only, so if you want to get a Beachbody on-demand subscription (which is how all the new workouts are being released), you cannot do this one. There is, however, a similar workout from the P90 series which basically replaced the original Power-90 and Master's Series workouts.

4KUHD Blu-Ray review: F9

 

F9 is the latest installment in the Fast and Furious movie saga. As anyone who has followed the progression of the movies knows, it has deviated a lot from the first handful of movies and has become just kind of a tongue-in-cheek action franchise with over-the-top stunts, plots that get more and more stupid over time, and the theme of family. If you watch the Honest Trailer for the movie, it pretty much knocks it out of the park in terms of a review. Basically, the movies are now almost breaking the fourth wall telling the audience, yes we know this is crazy and makes no sense (mainly through Ludacris' and Tyreese's dialogue), but just go with it. 

This version centers around Dom's long-lost and never mentioned brother Jacob, played by the combination of John Cena and Finn Cole (from the great show Animal Kingdom playing young Jacob). The film does (via flashbacks) explain why he was never mentioned, so there is at least that. Of course, he ended up becoming a super spy, working with Mr. Nobody before going rogue and then ends up going against Dom and the crew. Mostly all of the main cast returns (aside from The Rock, who had a very public falling out with Vin Diesel)  as well as some of the old cast. Jordanna Brewster reprises her role as Mia, and as the movie trailer and the box cover to the Blu-Ray spoils, they came up with a way to resurrect Han, with Sung Kang returning to the franchise. Helen Miren has a small role and Jason Statham has a very brief cameo appearance. The film continues to keep Brian alive offscreen and finds ways to keep from having to show him, as the role will never be recast after Paul Walker's death. 

For those who get the UHD set, there are two discs, one UHD and one "regular" Blu-Ray disc. The content on each is identical (including the bonus features). There are two versions of the movie, the theatrical version, and the director's cut, which has a few additional minutes of footage at the beginning of the movie. There is about an hour's worth of bonus features including several behind-the-scenes and making-of features that run anywhere from about three minutes to thirteen minutes, and a short gag reel. So, there is a lot of material for those who like the bonus features.

Overall, the movie is what it is. It makes little to no sense plot-wise and no human could survive the action sequences if they were real. But, as long as you are one that can suspend your disbelief and just enjoy a movie with lots of explosions, car chases, and fights, you can enjoy this. The acting is so-so. You can tell the actors have fun with it and do take the work seriously, even if they know the absurdity of the plot and the stunts. At this point, there have been enough movies that you know what they are and what they are not. So, if you have been a fan, you will probably like this one. If not, there is nothing about this one that is likely to change your mind.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 51

 Day 51 was a rest/stretch day so I did the T25 stretch. I also did ab-ripper 200. Both of those went fine. I can almost actually do all 200 reps without pausing. I did have to pause for a few seconds on the last move after 10 reps. But aside from that, I did not have to stop or pause at all. So, overall, I think the Master's Series workouts went well. I do plan on getting a membership to Beachbody on Demand to do the other workouts. I was going to wait until I finished with Power 90 since the original Power 90 workouts are not on BOD. Just the P90 workouts that were made after P90X3, and are a bit better lead-in to that program than into the original P90X workouts. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 50

 Day 50 was cardio 5-6 again. The workout went pretty well. About the same as it did the last few times. I am going to wait to do ab-ripper with tonight's stretch (most likely T25 stretch) routine. Just a few more days of the Master's Series and I will be starting P90x on Monday.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 49

 Day 49 was the core cardio workout again. I am not a huge fan of this workout, but thankfully it is just in the recovery week(s). It does remind me of core synergistics from the p90x workout, which I am also not a huge fan of.  I did manage to push through and get a good workout in. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 48

 Day 48 was the rest day so I did the T25 stretch. Unfortunately, I have still been dealing with a family medical issue, so my schedule for everything has been hectic. So, I did not get a chance to work out until later in the evening, so I picked the shorter stretch workout. It went fine, I was a bit tired, but I got through it.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 47

 Day 47 was the sculpt 5-6 workout again, and using ab-ripper 200 as the warmup. Both ab-ripper and the regular workout went well. I was able to hit max reps on a couple more exercises, and on the tricep dips, I hit a new personal best at 18 reps with legs extended. And, I could tell I am getting a better range of motion on the push-ups. So, overall, a good workout. I have one more week of the Master's Series, then will start in with p90x.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 46

 Day 46 was the cardio 5-6 workout again. As a transition to p90x, I am going to do ab-ripper on the strength training days as a warm-up to the sculpt workout, which is how I plan to use ab-ripper when I do p90x. Overall, this workout was very good. Thankfully, all of the covid booster shot side effects have gone away so I was not feeling chills or super tired like I had been during the last couple of workouts. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Explorers

 

Explorers was a mid-1980s movie starring a very young Ethan Hawke (in his first movie role) and a very young River Phoenix (both were around 13 years old at the time the movie was shot). The premise of the movie is that Hawke's character, Ben, who is huge into space, aliens, and science fiction, dreams of what is essentially a circuit that can create a force sphere that can allow for space flight. Phoenix plays Wolfgang, a science nerd who builds the circuit, and Jason Presson plays Darren, a kid that is kind of a loner but gets caught up in the experiment and helps to build a ship. Of course, they end up going into space and meeting actual aliens, but there is a bit of a twist to that part of the story. 

The supporting cast is made up of many recognizable actors including Meshach Taylor, Dick Miller, James Cromwell, and Amanda Peterson, who was another recognizable child actor for those of us who grew up in the 1980s. Robert Picardo played several roles in the movie. He is, of course, probably best known for his role on Star Trek Voyager, but he is almost unrecognizable in each of the roles, including that of the "main" alien. 

For those who get the Blu-Ray, there are two discs, one with the theatrical version of the movie and one with the home video version of the movie. Surprisingly, the theatrical version is a few minutes longer than the home video release. Each disc has the same bonus features, the main ones being an hour-long making-of feature, deleted scenes (that can be played with or without commentary by the director) interviews with a couple different crew members, and the theatrical trailer. A good amount of material for those who like watching the extras.

Overall, the movie, while certainly dated, is still very enjoyable. It has a pretty timeless theme that helps distract from the fact that it feels like a mid-80s movie. Interestingly, if you watch the making-of feature you will find out that the movie was really incomplete, but had to be finished to meet the summer release deadline. So elements had to be taken out, and the edit that was released to theaters was not what the director, Joe Dante, wanted to release. Even so, the movie was pretty well written and well-acted, even though the main actors were kids, and still very green. For many people, this is probably more of a nostalgia movie they remember from their childhood, but if you have not seen it, it is definitely worth checking out.

DVD Review: Dracula Season One

 

Dracula was a show that aired on NBC (which ultimately led to its downfall) in 2013 and starred Johnathan Rhys Meyers as Dracula. The premise is that Dracula comes to London posing as an American Industrialist named Alexander Grayson to bring wireless electricity to the world. In reality, he is trying to bring down a group called The Order of the Dragon that cursed him with immortality and killed his wife. He is aided by Abraham Van Helsing whose family was also killed by the Order. While in London, Grayson falls in love with a woman named Mina Murry (played by Jessica De. Gouw whom most people will probably recognize from her appearances on the series Arrow), who also looks like his late wife. She is betrothed to Jonathan Harker, who is a journalist that Dracula employs to aid in his scheme to bring down the Order.  

The show only got a limited run of 13 episodes. It was hardly enough time to set everything up and really get people invested in the show. It is one of those shows that would have been a lot better off on the CW network and could have easily had a 5+ season run had it not had to pull major network level ratings. Much like the show Constantine, which was on NBC right around the same time, the dark nature of the show (as well as the sex) probably turned a lot of people off, and hence, the show did not get great ratings and was canceled midway through the first season. 

For those who get the DVD set, there are some extras, including deleted scenes, a couple of making-of and behind-the-scenes features, an animated series that shows some of what led up to what airs in the series, and Van Helsing's lost tapes which shows him conducting experiments on vampires. 

Overall, the show is very good, and most definitely deserved a longer run. The end of the season left a lot on the table (it does seem like the final episode was reworked a bit so the showrunners may have known ahead of time that the show was canceled) and had set the show to go in a potentially different direction. And, for fans of hers, it seems that Katie McGrath's character would have been expanded had the show continued. So, even if you like the show, it will leave you feeling incomplete because not everything is resolved by the end of the season. I do, however, think it is worth watching even if you will feel a bit cheated by not seeing a clear end to the storylines. 

DVD Review: Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

 

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, is a comedy from the early 1990s starring Christina Applegate, who was at the height of her fame on the series Married With Children. The movie has a pretty simple premise, the "mom" played by Concetta Tomei took a trip for the summer, hiring an old battle-ax of a babysitter to take care of her kids while she was gone. The babysitter dies, and the kids having no money have to figure out a way to eat, pay the bills, etc, over the summer. Applegate, who plays the 17-year-old daughter, Sue Ellen, applies for a job as a receptionist using a resume she copied out of a guide on writing resumes and ends up with an Executive Assistant position at an apparel company. And from there, of course, hilarity ensues. 

The movie definitely had the feel of a late 80s early 90's movie. Some of the comedy is pretty dated now, and there are some things, like showing Applegate's underage character smoking, would never fly. The movie did have a strong supporting cast including a young Josh Charles, Danielle Harris (who played the little girl in Halloween 4 and 5), David Duchovney, Joanna Cassidy, and several other recognizable character actors. 

For those who get the DVD, the extras are fairly bare-bones (some previews, the trailer, and cast biographies), but it does have closed captions. Overall, it is a dark comedy that has some good moments, but it is not as good as other "coming of age" comedies that came before it like Fast Times, Porky's, or the like, nor as good as some of the comedies that would follow it in a handful of years like American Pie. It definitely feels dated watching it now, but even with those caveats, it is still a decent comedy and worth checking out.  

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 45

 Day 46 was a rest day and happened to be Thanksgiving day here in the US. Nevertheless, I still managed to do the T25 stretch video. I actually felt like this was a bit harder than the past couple of times I have done it. Maybe because I have not felt well the past couple of days. But, I made it through.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 44

 Day 44 was Sculpt 5-6 again. I felt a lot better after the effects of my Covid booster wore off, so I was able to get through the workout okay. It did take a bit longer than normal because I had to take more rest breaks, but I made it through. I also used ab-ripper 200 as a warm-up since I had skipped it the day before. That worked pretty well. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 43

 Day 43 was cardio intervals. I felt very crappy because of the side effects of my covid booster, so I did just one round of cardio intervals (totally skipped round two) and modified a lot. Also, I did not do ab-ripper and saved that as my warmup for the next workout. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 42

 Day 42 was the UML workout again. This one was tough to get through. I received my covid booster the day before so I was hit with a slight fever and chills yesterday afternoon. I had debated skipping the workout altogether, but I managed to push through. I did have to modify everything and could not hit all the rep counts for some of the moves, but I pushed play and did it.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 41

 Day 41 was another rest/stretch day. I opted to do x-stretch from p90x, which I really like. It is one of my favorite flexibility workouts because it really hits all of the areas (neck, shoulders, and hamstrings) that I (and most people) tend to be very tight and stiff in. There are definitely a couple of moves I have to modify or skip (mostly shoulder stand into plow and bow). And, unlike yoga-x, it never feels like it is going on too long.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 40

 Day 40 was the sculpt 5-6 workout again. I did not have a ton of energy to do this workout because my mom ended up having to go back into the hospital the day before. But, I still managed to get it in, and it was a nice outlet to take my mind off of things. I was able to max out at 11 reps on a couple more exercises, so those will be bumped up next time.