Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 24

Day 24 was the rest day in Lift 4, which meant doing the two recovery workouts, and lower focus in T25. 

I did all of the routines back-to-back in the evening, using the Lift 4 recovery routines to cool down after T25. That worked well and the foam rolling felt very good.  I still had to modify a bit more in the T25 workout than I would have liked, but part of that is due to my flooring and limited workout space. It makes doing the jumps a bit harder. But I modified where I had to and did the regular versions when I could. 

DVD/Movie Review: 10

 

10 is a movie starring Bo Derek, Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews, Dee Wallace, and Brian Dennehy. In the movie, Moore plays a man named George Webber who is a famous music composer going through a mid-life crisis. He sees a young couple getting married and becomes obsessed with the bride (played by Derek). He discovers that the couple is going on a honeymoon in Mexico and follows them to the resort. It is partly a comedy and partly a drama about a guy discovering that he is content with the life he has. 

All the hype around this movie was about Bo Derek and rocketed her to a 1980s sex symbol. This was one of her first movies and she did look spectacular in it, but what is lost in all that hype was the fact that it was a funny movie about a guy going through a midlife crisis. What makes it funny is that Dudley Moore was not a typical leading man.  You do have to keep in mind this was made in the late 1970s and the humor in it is very different than it is in today's comedies (even the good ones). Whether or not you will find it entertaining is completely subjective. There is a little bit of nudity and some sexual content (which is tame by today's standards). If you have seen the movie on TV and enjoyed it or just grew up in the era of Bo Derek being a huge sex symbol, it is certainly worth a DVD purchase.

DVD/Movie Review: Grosse Point Blank

 

Grosse Point Blank is a 1997 movie starring John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Dan Aykroyd, Alan Arkin, and Joan Cusack. The storyline of the movie is pretty simple. A hitman named Martin Blank (played by John Cusack) is returning to his hometown of Groose Point Michigan to execute a hit and is cajoled by his secretary (played by Joan Cusack) to attend his 10-year (really should be 15-year given the ages of the actors) high school reunion. While there he attempts to reunite with the girl he ditched on prom night (played by Minnie Driver) when he ran off and joined the army. Along the way, he has to avoid rival hitmen (one of which is played hilariously by Dan Akroyd) and federal agents while trying to act "normal" in front of his old classmates.

The DVD is very bare bones, containing just the movie. There is no bonus content or special features. The movie is a very dark comedy and does have quite a bit of swearing. It is not really a raunchy comedy, but it is definitely an adult comedy and chances are not everyone will enjoy the humor. There are no really laugh-out-loud funny jokes in the movie, it relies mostly on dry humor and sarcasm. If however, you like movies with a more offbeat and even warped sense of humor (to go along with a great 80s music soundtrack), then this is worth your time to check out.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 23

Day 23 was Full Body Circuit in T25 and Back and Biceps in Lift 4. 

Each of the workouts today were tougher and I had to modify moves a bit more in each of them than I would have liked. The Lift 4 workout was a 50/50 workout and the HIIT moves in the second half of the workout were probably the toughest group/set/combination of exercises in the program (to that point). The Full Body Circuit workout is probably my least favorite of the Alpha round workouts (along with the ab workout, mainly because that one does not have enough cardio in it). But I made it through them and have a less intense day tomorrow.

Book Review: Dune: House Harkonnen (Dune #8)

 

House Harkonnen is the 8th novel in the Dune series when read chronologically and the second in the third overall prequel trilogy (aka, the Prelude to Dune series) to the original novels written by Frank Herbert. The book was published in 2000 and was again written by the combination of Kevin J. Anderson and Frank Herbert's son, Brian. Like the first book in this trilogy was not entirely focused on the Atreides, this book is not focused solely on the Harkonnens. The story jumps between Caladan, Corrino, Arrakis, Geidi Prime, Ix, Wallach IX, and Lankiveil and tracks Leto, Vladimir and Abulurd Harkonen, Emperor Shaddam Corrino, Duncan Idaho, The Fremen (with the focus on Liet Kynes), and the Benne Gesserit. To the extent that the book is focused on the Harkonnens, it mainly deals with Baron Harkonnen's maneuverings against all of the other major players.

The hardcover version of the book is just over 600 pages, and as I said above, the book jumps from one storyline to the other. Most of the storylines are separate, but some elements intersect with each other here and there.  The events of the novel are set a few years down the line from the end of the novel House Atreides and it has a couple of short time jumps throughout. Most of the book is relatively slow-paced, but the story picks up a lot in the last handful of chapters (which was enough for me to bump it up to five stars). The big points in the book are the development of Leto and Jessica's relationship, Baron Harkonen's plots to take down House Atreides, Emperor Corrino, and the Bene Gesserit, Emperor Corrino's attempt to produce spice independent of Akkaris, the Bene Gesserit's plans to create god-like bloodlines, and Duncan Idaho's swordmaster training. Ultimately, the book is setting up the original Dune novel and laying out the backstory for the two original trilogies based on Frank Herbert's notes and unfinished works. It makes what was already a sprawling story even larger. It is not an easy book to read because of the fact that it has a lot of characters and jumps between storylines. But, if you are a fan of the sci-fi genre, this (and the other prequel novels) are worth your time to read. I am reading the novels in chronological order so I have not yet read the two original trilogies written by Frank Herbert, and I am not sure how this compares to those books, but this is written in pretty much the same style and tone as the other prequel novels, so if you like those, you will probably like this one.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 22

Day 22 was the start of week 4 which meant Cardio in T25 Alpha and Chest and Triceps in Lift 4.

The chest and triceps workout was a circuit workout with two quad blocks followed by a burnout block alternating between wide push-ups and triceps push-ups. The T25 workout went fairly well, and I again could do a little more unmodified cardio. The Lift 4 workout was definitely the harder of the two and felt like more of a slog to get through it. 

The Greatest American Hero: The Complete Series

 

This is the complete series of the campy superhero series The Greatest American Hero, starring William Katt, Connie Sellica, and Robert Culp, that aired on ABC from 1981-1983. The series was created by Stephen J. Cannell to ride the wave of popularity (and in some ways spoof) the original Superman movie, which came out a few years before this aired. The premise of the show was that a regular guy named Ralph Hinley (his last name was originally Hinkley, but his last name was changed after the assassination attempt on Ronald Regan), played by Katt, who is a high-school teacher is given a suit that gives him superpowers (by aliens) but he loses the instructions so he has no idea how it really works. He teams up with an FBI agent (Culp) and his attorney girlfriend (Sellica) to fight crime. So, the show is really part superhero series, part buddy cop drama, and part comedy. The show is mainly a procedural following a case-of-the-week format in which the stories are resolved by the end of the episode. But, the show occasionally calls back to something from a prior episode.

Since the show aired in the very early 1980s, the special effects were pretty cheesy, and the writing in some areas is hilarious today for different reasons than they were when the show aired. For example, the kids they were trying to portray as tough or bad were not threatening in any way, shape, or form. Many of the storylines were Cold War-themed given the era. Because of that, if you did not at least grow up around that time you probably will not get all the references. 

What I liked about the show is that it never tried to take itself too seriously. And while it did go off on some strange tangents (like the electricity monster episode) it managed to stay entertaining throughout its run. I think all three of the main actors did a great job with their characters. William Katt really did feel ridiculous in the suit, and that came across in his performance. Robert Culp was great as the chauvinistic "my way or the highway" FBI agent, and Connie Sellica was more than just eye candy on the show. Many times Sellica played the "straight man" role to Culp's eccentric character even more than Katt did. As different as the characters were, it seemed all the actors had very good chemistry which came across in the performances, and you bought that the characters really cared about each other. And the relationship between the characters was really what made the series work even when it could get a bit silly.

Some reviews on Amazon mention that the music was not the same as when originally aired. I was too young when the show was actually on TV to remember any of the music other than the main theme song. However, as is the case with many older shows, the studio likely ran into copyright issues when putting together the DVD release and had to change some of the songs that were played. Chances are the lack of original songs will not be an issue for a lot of people since they did not seem to use canned instrumental replacement music (for the most part anyway), but it may be for some. Personally, I would rather have the series available on DVD without the original music than not have it at all. The only unfortunate thing about the series is that it never had a proper ending. It only had a 13-episode final season, and the way it ended seems like it was canceled abruptly halfway through season three. So the final episode of the series really feels just like any other regular episode. Even though the show is dated, it holds up pretty well (but not perfectly) and is definitely worth the time to watch.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 21

Day 21 was lower body foam rolling from 645 and Stretch in T25. Both of them went well, and my range of motion was a little better in each than it was last week. Again, rolling my IT band really helped as my knee pain has gotten a lot better.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 20

Day 20 was the upper body foam rolling routine and the two Lift-4 recovery routines. I did each of them back to back, and they definitely helped. Especially foam rolling my IT band in the Lift-4 foam rolling video because I was definitely having some knee pain this past week.  

DVD/TV Series Review: Fringe: The Complete Series

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from throughout the series (in paragraphs 4 and 5). +++

Fringe was a supernatural crime drama that ran for five seasons on FOX from 2008-2013. The series starred John Noble, Anna Torv, and Joshua Jackson. Lance Reddick and Blair Brown had leading and later recurring roles during the series. 

The premise of the show was that a special division of the FBI was set up to investigate a series of strange phenomena (which was referred to in the first couple of seasons as the pattern). Much of the phenomena was based on the work of Dr. Walter Bishop (played by John Noble who gives probably the best overall performance in the series) who had been in a mental hospital for 17 years. Walter ends up as a special consultant for the FBI along with his son Peter (played by Joshua Jackson) who initially just tags along acting as Walter's babysitter and then he ends up helping investigate the events.

The cornerstone of the series was the wonderful acting. All the actors from the series regulars to those who played recurring characters and the bit parts did very well. It was another series where there was really no huge star that was a series regular. While Leonard Nimoy did make a few cameo appearances throughout the series and his character was mentioned a lot throughout the series, he was not in many of the episodes. I also like how the writers always grounded the unreal concepts in real science. They either took a known scientific fact and then stretched it, or took a scientific hypothesis and tried to come up with an explanation for it (reasonable or otherwise). Obviously, the outcomes were totally fake and unreal, but the premise that it started with was at least rooted in something that was.

The first season mostly followed a procedural case-of-the-week formula. Even in the first season, however, you can see that the writers were placing hints from the start of the two big serial storylines of the series, namely the war against the parallel universe and the war against the observers. Even with the procedural stories, there was actually a lot of continuity between the episodes, and as a result, it is definitely one of those series where you really do have to see it from the beginning to follow what is going on (especially as you get into the later seasons).

The only problem I have with the series is that at times it tried to do too much, and often went on too many tangents. Personally, I think they should have focused on one big story (either the parallel universe war or the observer takeover) and stuck with that. The 4th season kept the parallel universe, but changed the storylines because of Peter being "erased." On one hand, it allows for a different twist on the stories, but on the other hand, it created a storyline that just ended with the 4th season finale, and the storyline of William Bell's attempt to create his own universe did not really get totally resolved. The heroes did stop him, but he was allowed to just disappear and then the show did the time jump to tell the story of the observer takeover which ultimately ended the series. I think they lost a lot of more casual viewers that season because things just got hard to follow.

Fringe is definitely not a show that will appeal to everyone. Even though it started out with fairly good ratings it always was kind of a "cult" following kind of show. If you cannot easily suspend your disbelief this series is not for you. The show gets weird at times, but that is the point, and often joked about in the show. If you do like that kind of thing you will enjoy the series. If you are into science and are entertained by sci-fi material, and like shows that have unique storylines and is definitely not a carbon copy of anything else, this is worth giving a look. 

DVD/Movie Review: Barbarella

 

Barbarella is a cult-classic science fiction movie from 1968 directed by Roger Vadim and starring Jane Fonda. If there were ever a movie that could be described as the best movie of all time while also being the worst movie of all time, this is it. The story and acting are horribly bad. It is so bad that it could easily be one of the movies that the characters on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" could watch and excoriate. Along with the horrible writing and acting the special effects are extremely cheesy but given when this was made, that is not all that surprising. On the other hand, you have Jane Fonda at her physical peak either naked or half naked throughout the entire film. 

The movie has been released several times on physical media. I have the DVD release with the uncut version of the movie. The only extra on that release is the movie trailer, but there are no commentary tracks on the movie or any other special features specific to the movie. 

The movie does actually have a plot in which Barbarella is looking for a scientist named Durand Durand who has disappeared with some kind of weapon, but the movie is basically about Barbarella boning everyone she meets and showing off Fonda in various states of undress. There are a lot of people who hate Fonda for her war protest days, but there is no denying that in her prime she was as hot as any actress and this movie very much uses that to its advantage. The movie did have some influence on pop culture as the character of Durand Durand was the inspiration for the name of the 80s pop band Duran Duran. Ultimately, the movie is very cheesy and campy. Kind of akin to the 1960s Batman TV show in that way. It is not one to get because you want to see quality acting. It is however one of those that you can be entertained by just how bad it is.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 19

Day 19 was total body circuit in T25 and Legs 50/50 in Lift 4.

Each workout went okay, but I definitely did not have as much stamina as I did yesterday. I had to modify a lot more of the moves in each workout. I did use lighter weights for the weight portion of the Lift 4 workouts still (although I did bump up the weight I was using for one of the exercises from 20 to 25 lbs). I am looking forward to tomorrow's recovery routines, and hopefully, Sunday's T25 workout will be a bit easier. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: A Time to Kill (Spoilers)

 

+++Warning, the review has spoilers in the third paragraph. If you have not seen the movie and care about being spoiled, skip that paragraph.+++

A Time to Kill is the 1996 movie adaptation of the John Grisham novel of the same name starring Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey, and Samuel L. Jackson. The wonderful supporting cast includes Ashley Judd, Donald and Kiefer Sutherland, Kurtwood Smith, Octavia Spencer, Chris Cooper, Charles S. Dutton, and Oliver Platt.

There are a couple things to keep in mind about this movie. One it was only a story. The movie clearly fictionalizes the very real lynchings and attacks of blacks that were common during the Civil Rights era in the South and the corrupt Southern justice system that allowed the people who were doing the lynchings to go free and make a more modern-day story from it. The twist in this movie is that the father of a child who was attacked takes justice into his own hands and subsequently ends up on trial in that same corrupt justice system. 

Anyone who knows history (especially legal history) is aware of the fact that there was jury nullification many times in the South in favor of whites who had murdered blacks (and who had done so for far less compelling reasons than for which Samuel L. Jackson's character commits murder in this story). What is ultimately done in this story is having the jury nullification going the other way, after leading you to think that it could not possibly happen.

The second thing to keep in mind is that the movie is a courtroom drama, so (despite the story being written by a lawyer) the legal elements, especially the courtroom scenes are almost completely wrong. Anyone who has sat through more than one real trial knows that the vast majority of the time nothing dramatic happens. Lawyers are not allowed to ask 5 min long questions to a witness, and then present another 5 min long soliloquy after the witness answers the question. For the most part, trials are usually very dry and boring, with little to no excitement or things like breaking the witness. So pretty much every courtroom drama ever made has little to no authenticity to any of the legal aspects and this is no different.

If you can get past all that however and just focus on the acting and suspend your disbelief, the movie is very good. The suspension of disbelief will be hard for lawyers and law students. I remember when I watched this while in law school I was basically counting everything it got wrong. But now I can watch it without focusing on all that stuff. I think Samuel L. Jackson and Matthew McConaughey had great chemistry and played off each other very well. Sandra Bullock and McConaughey sold the tension between their characters well, and Donald Sutherland did a great job as the old, washed-up, alcoholic attorney who was advising the young upstart. I also thought Kevin Spacy (regardless of what you might think of him now) did a great job as the slimy district attorney.

The A/V transfer of the movie is very good, especially for a pre-DVD era movie that does not have a ton of special effects. The only extra is a trailer for the movie. There are no deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes material, or the like. Ultimately, if you cannot get past how unreal the story is, then do not get the movie because you probably will not like it. If you are good at suspension of disbelief and can just enjoy the story and good acting (both of which are top-notch), then it is well worth the time to watch.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 18

 Day 18 was cardio in T25 and Shoulder intervals in Lift 4.

In each workout, I was able to do unmodified HIIT exercises for a longer period of time. In fact, In the Lift 4 workout, I was able to do the HIIT exercises unmodified for all but the last few seconds of the squat jacks in block 3. Although, even though I was jumping in the HIIT exercises, I was doing them slower than the cast members (who are all ultra-fit). Therefore, my cardio strength is getting better even after just a few weeks of the two-a-day workouts.

DVD/TV Series Review: Dark Angel: The Complete Series

 

Dark Angel was a series that aired on FOX from 2000-2002 starring Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly (propelling both of them to relative levels of stardom) and produced by James Cameron. The series is set in the relatively near future in a post-apocalyptic/dystopian Seattle.

 In the first season (which is the better of the two), Jessica Alba's character (Max) was raised as a super soldier in a government program called Manticore. A group of the soldiers escaped as children and scattered. After the US was hit with an electromagnetic pulse that set the country back years, technology was available only to the very rich, and martial law was imposed. Once that happened, it became easier for the Manticore escapees to hide and blend in with the rest of society. During the day Max has a legitimate job as a bike messenger (which allows her to scope out potential targets to rob) and uses her enhanced abilities as a cat burglar by night. She eventually becomes a vigilante working with Michael Weatherly's character Logan to fight corruption and injustice in exchange for finding out about her past and the fate of her "siblings" who escaped with her. Her vigilante actions put her on Manticore's radar and she is hunted by John Savage's character, Colonel Lydecker.

During the second season, the show expanded the storyline to include not only the supersoldiers but human-animal hybrids. The story did get a bit silly during the second season but had some great additions to the cast including Jensen Ackles (playing Alec), Kevin Durand (as Joshua), Ashley Scott (as Asha), and the great character actor Martin Cummins (as the main antagonist of the second season, Ames White).

There were a lot of twists and turns in the story in both seasons, but what I liked about season one is that they stuck to the classified military program and only really expanded the storyline to include cloning. Having all of the supersoldiers have "twins" (sometimes multiple twins) worked very well and allowed for the same actors to play different versions of their characters. In the second season, they expanded the story to have human/animal hybrids and got into secret societies that just got a little weird and took the story on a tangent I don't think they needed to go. Apparently, if the show would have been given a third season the storylines from seasons 1 and 2 would have been merged together.

Each of the DVD sets has six discs, with the episodes and the bonus content spread across the discs.  Each set has quite a few bonus features including commentary tracks on multiple episodes, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and making-of/behind-the-scenes featurettes. 

The show was very well-acted in both seasons and very well-written in the first season. As I said above, the storylines in season 2 get a bit weird, but the actors all did a great job with what they were given.  All the actors, from the main cast to the more ancillary characters, played their characters well. The show was obviously the big breakout role for Alba and she was great as a wise-ass/bad-ass character. And, she was not bad to look at either, even though the show did not focus on the fact that she is smoking hot and rarely put her in skimpy outfits. Jensen Ackles particularly did a great job as Ben/Alec when he was brought on as a series regular in season 2. Ultimately I think it was a show that Fox killed off too soon. Even with the weird tangents that the show went on in season 2, there was still room to tell compelling stories. All in all, it was a very good series with a lot of action, drama, and even some humor. It is definitely not a show that will appeal to everyone's taste, but if you like action stories, especially with a dystopian bent, it is worth your time to watch.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 17

Day 17 was the two recovery routines from Lift 4 in the morning and then Lower Focus from T25 in the evening. 

Foam rolling went well and I feel like my flexibility is improved during the stretch routine. For some reason, my knees were sore during squats and lunges in the evening lower focus workout, so that inhibited that workout a bit, but I did the best I could without overdoing it.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 16

 Day 16 was Speed 1.0 in T25 and Back and Biceps 50/50 in Lift 4.

I was able to do more unmodified cardio exercises in each workout so my stamina is increasing. Again I used the same weight as weeks 1 and 2 in Lift 4, and will likely do so for another week and then increase them in weeks 5-8. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 15

Day 15 was the start of week 3. In T25 it was the total body circuit and in Lift 4 it was chest and triceps circuit.

Each of the workouts went fairly well. I was able to again do more unmodified cardio in the T25 workout and made it through the Lift 4 workout. I kept the amount of weight I was using for the exercises in Lift 4 the same instead of bumping them up as I still want to improve my range of motion throughout the exercise. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Friends: The Complete Series

 

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the two biggest comedies on TV were probably Friends and Seinfeld. Friends was aimed at the younger demographic, going for the viewers that were in their mid to late 20s, while Seinfeld was aimed at the demographic about a decade older. Friends premiered in 1994 and was about a group of friends living in New York. The series starred Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc. I actually never watched the series consistently when it was on the air. I was a senior in high school the year it began, so I just never really got into it and never appreciated how good it really was.

Friends was one of those shows like ER, where the cast was made up of relative no names (at least at the time), but unlike ER the main cast stayed together for the entire run. I think that allowed the show to keep the same feel and tone throughout the series. The writing was very very good in that they allowed the characters to evolve and grow over the course of 10 years but never lost the core of who they were over that time. They also did a great job of referring to old jokes without (for the most part) making them stale. For the ones that did, it got to the point that they would even poke fun at it (for example "We were on a break"). I also liked how the show relied on more than just sex jokes for the comedy (unlike many of the sitcoms of today). While there were certainly sex jokes throughout the series, the show did not lean on them and there were a lot of smarter jokes in the series too, that presumed the audience was smart enough to be entertained by other material.

The Blu-Ray set is a 21-disc set. The 234 episodes and some of the bonus content are spread across discs 1-20, and disc 21 has additional bonus content. The A/V quality of the set is good, but not outstanding, especially if you are a big A/V wonk. Even though the A/V quality is not perfect, it is a step up from the A/V quality of the DVDs. One big drawback (for some) in this release is that the episodes were only the ones that were broadcast. Apparently, the DVD sets included a lot of extended episodes, but this is just going to give you the show as it was intended to originally be seen. If that is a deal breaker for you, then don't waste the money. The extras include commentary tracks on select episodes, trailers, "Friends of Friends" featurettes, which give a breakdown of all the guest stars for that particular season, featurettes on the fans, the on-location episodes, gag reels, and more.  The final disc also includes appearances by the cast on The Tonight Show and the Ellen DeGeneres Show, the "I'll Be There for You" music video, a couple of series retrospectives, and the original version of the episode "The One Where Rachel Tells Ross" which aired shortly after 9/11 and was edited because of a bomb joke. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 14

For day 14 I did lower body foam rolling from 645 followed immediately by the T25 stretch routine. Both of them went well, and I had a bit more mobility in the T25 routine than I did last week.  

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 13

For Day 13 I did the two recovery routines from Lift 4. I did not do upper body foam rolling from 645, mainly due to time constraints. I had to run some errands that went a bit longer than I expected and so by the time I could work out I just wanted to do the two and get to bed. 

DVD/Movie Review: The 40-Year-Old Virgin

 

The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a 2005 movie that is one of the "Appatowverse" comedies (written and directed by Judd Apatow) starring Steve Carell (who also co-wrote the movie), Paul Rudd, Catherine Kenner, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch, and Seth Rogan. In the movie, Carrell plays a 40-year-old introvert who works at the fictional equivalent of Best Buy and has given up on trying to date or have sex. His coworkers find out he is a virgin and try to get him laid, giving him advice on how to meet and talk to women. 

If you generally do not enjoy Apatow's brand of humor, you will not like this movie. For those that do, you will find yourself laughing a lot. Yes, Carell does a great job in the lead role, but it is really all the supporting characters that really make the movie work as well as it does. The movie does have some raunchy comedy in it, but it is not really over the top. Unlike some of what passes for comedy these days, the movie does have a lot of smart humor in it along with the raunch humor. Although the movie does not take itself too seriously, there is a point to it and it ends up being pretty wholesome. That said, it is definitely not appropriate for very young kids. Chances are, if you enjoyed movies like Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Knocked Up, you will like this one too.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 12

Day 12 was lower-focus in T25 and Legs in Lift 4, which because it is week 2 meant HIIT. So, essentially you are doing two very similar HIIT workouts. The morning T25 workout was definitely easier than the evening Lift 4 workout, but I was able to do more unmodified exercises in each one of them. So hopefully, I will keep progressing. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 11

Day 11 was T25 cardio and Shoulders in Lift 4. 

I really noticed that I could do the unmodified exercises much longer in both workouts today than I was doing last week. I did modify all of the squat jumps in Lift 4, but that is mainly because my left knee was a little sore and I did not want to overdo it, especially since the T25 workouts are high-impact if you do not modify.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 10

Day 10 was the two recovery routines from Lift 4, and the Speed 1.0 workout from T25. Today, I flipped the order so I did the Lift 4 workouts in the morning and the T25 workout in the evening.

In Speed 1.0 you do about 9 HIIT exercises for 1 minute (or 30 seconds on each side where applicable) and then you do a stretch for 30 seconds in between each HIIT exercise. So, essentially, the format is HIIT, stretch, HIIT stretch, etc. So, you are doing an interval workout with the stretching being the recovery portion. Then, once you are in the last 10 minutes, you do all of the HIIT exercises, back to back and then you end with a slower exercise to bring your heart rate down, and then you get the 3-minute cooldown.