Warrior Dash

Today a group of NerdStrongers and I did something that I didn't think I'd ever do my entire life.. I did a Warrior Dash. Warrior Dash is a 5K Mud Run with 12 obstacles in Prado Regional Park, Chino. If you told me I'd be doing this a few years ago I would have laughed but with the encouragement of friends and the hard work I've put in at NerdStrong I felt comfortable and capable of completing this.

I carpooled with several friends Rob and Pooja. And met up with more when we got there... Anne, Micah, Brian, Lindsey and Josh, also Naomi, Josh's girlfriend, Rob's sister and her boyfriend come out for moral support.

We took to the starting line and the gun went off.. or I should say flame throwers shot Fire into the air. We ran for almost a mile before hitting out first obstacle, "Mud Mounds". These are exactly what you think they are.. large piles of dirt. There are three sets and in between each set is a pool of muddy water. As I was going over the first one I noticed that lot of people were going to the left side which didn't have much water. I thought to myself.. hey it's a mud run I'm going to jump into the middle of the water.. what I didn't know is that under the water was about a foot of mud that I sunk down into and when I went to pull my foot out my poor shoe almost came off. It took some effort but I managed to get out of the bog and over the other two mud mounds. My shoes were completely covered in this thick layer of mud that we fling all over the place as I ran. It also added a few extra pounds to my shoes.

We then ran a short distance to the next obstacle called "Under the Wire". Here we had to get on our hands and knees and crawl under barbed wire. It was probably about 20 feet we had to crawl to get to the other side. It wasn't that bad.. just had to keep your butt down.

After Under the Wire we reached second obstacle and it's not listed on their web site so I don't have a name but we had to walk across 2x4 over pools of water while ice cold water poured down on us. This took great balance as you didn't want to fall into the cold water but you also didn't want to hold up your team and take forever.

Next was "Diesel Dome", which was this large monkey bar type structure made out of wood. This wasn't to difficult.. you just had to take your time and make sure you had a good hold of the wood. I think the trickiest part was when you got to the top and having to then turn around and make your way down the structure.

We then had to run a good distance to get to the next obstacle, "Chaotic Cargo". This took patience and you had to go fairly slow so you didn't fall through or get tangled in the cargo net.

I'm sensing a pattern here.. all these obstacle require you to go slow.

Next obstacle was called "Giant Cliffhanger", this one took some arm strength as you had to climb up this vertical incline with the help of a rope and then back down the other side. I didn't do to bad with this one. I think the hardest part was waiting for someone to finish a head of you before you could make your attempt.

We ran for a bit before hitting the "Trenches". These are exactly what you think they are. At first when you get on your hands and knees the outside area looked dry but as soon as you go under the tarps it's a muddy mess and at points your just pulling your body across the mud. I had a great time getting muddy in this one. I think most people were trying to keep themselves out of the mud.. I was trying to get as muddy as possible.. I mean it is called a mud run.

Next we went through the "Pipelines" this was a rope type thing. As you wait for your turn you are watching people do it several different ways.. just crawl through on hands and knees, or scoot on your back or go head first and use your arms to pull yourself across. I choose the last one and it was tough. Might have been better to have just crawled across.

We then came across the "Shocktop Unfiltered", which is just a sponsored obstacle. We had to climb over, under, over, under, over under and over various obstacles. This wasn't too difficult.. I think the worse part was crawling over grass that had some sticky things in them.

Next as "Fisherman's Catch", you had to walk across a cargo net while ice cold water as sprayed on you. They had rings and handles you could hold to help steady yourself but being only 5'3" I couldn't reach them so I have to get down on my hands and knees and crawl across the cargo net.

We then came upon "Goliath", this was a huge slide that dropped you into a muddy pool of water. You had to climb to the top and then slide down. What you don't know is that the pool is pretty deep and the water is ice cold, so as soon as you hit it you want to get out of it.

The final obstacle was the best but also the hardest... it's called 'Muddy Mayham" and this is just a big pit of very deep mud. It was like trying to get out of quicksand. There are so many people in it that you have feet in your face and other's behind your trying to drag themselves closer by using your legs. Don't get me wrong.. it was pretty awesome but extremely trying. I remember looking over at Lindsey and the look of exhaustion we exchanged was priceless. I don't know how but I manged to claw my way to the other side and once Lindsey was out my NerdStrong companions all clasped hands and walked across the finish line together.

We stood in line to take a picture with the official DASH WARRIOR sign and then headed to the showers, which was really just a power hose. You can't really get that clean, you just hope to get off the big chunks. Luckily I had brought a change of clothing so I wouldn't dirty up my car.

Overall the experience was amazing. The running wasn't bad and all of the obstacles were a blast.. if not cold. I do wish they had more water stations, especially towards the end, and I was really looking forward to the final obstacle which was us jumping over fire, but for whatever reason they didn't have that obstacle..  and on last thing.. the shower situation wasn't great but other then those minor issues I had a blast and I can't wait to do my next one.

Ahsoka/Anakin Video & Firefly Fluxx

Lucasfilms released this amazing video in anticipation of the March 30 season 2 finale of Star Wars Rebels, they've cut this refresher video explaining the relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano leading up to their ultimate showdown. I'm a HUGE Ahsoka Tano fan, I've loved her since they first introduced her on The Clone Wars many years ago. I was so happy they brought her over to Star Wars Rebels but knew this showdown was bound to happen and all I can do is hope she survives somehow. Can't wait to watch the finale at the end of March.

So I'm a huge fan of the card game Fluxx and I love, love, love Firefly so I was excited to hear when they announced that they were making a Firefly themed Fluxx game.. but then the news got even better.

My buddy Adam Levermore announced that he was the one doing all the art for the cards. He's an amazing artist so this is gonna be good. It was just released so I'll have to keep my eyes open for it or head over to Ebay or Amazon to pick it up.. also when Adam is down in SoCal visiting I'll have to get him to autograph my set. I truly have some amazingly talented friends.

So everyone pick up a Firefly version of Fluxx.. let's make this the #1 Fluxx game out there. Firefly may be gone but it will continue to live on in our hearts.

Back Squatting 315lbs

I went to open gym day at NerdStrong Gym. I missed a few days this week because I wasn't feeling so hot so I wanted to make up some of the missed workouts. Once I was there I teamed up with my friend Leo and we attempted One Rep Max for our Back Squats. My last attempt (about six months ago) I hit 295lbs, so I was really looking forward to moving pass 300lbs.

So I stared at 295lbs and slowly made my way up.. 300lbs was attained with ease (as expected) but I wanted to push myself a bit more. I squatted 305lbs, then 310lbs but I wanted to join the 3 wheel club (which is three 45lbs weights and each side, with a 45lb bar), which totaled 315lbs. I was tired but I wanted to try this weight one last time. As you can see from the video it wasn't pretty but I did it without much of a struggle. Don't get me wrong it was heavy but I'm sure I could have done another 5 maybe 10 more pounds. But I stopped at 315lbs. I'll try again in six months and hopefully will go up a few more pounds. My end goal is to back squat 400lbs.

NerdStrong Gym - This Past Week

I was pretty sick this past week and only managed to get to the gym twice. Tuesday's DEX and Wednesday's CON. I had to miss Thursday for a Doctors appointment but I did Friday's Open Gym which I will blog about after this one.

For Tuesday's workout it was titled The Ides of March. We started with a pretty tough warm up (of as they called it "Candidates For the Senate" which was 460 meter Shuttle Run then 2 rounds of 10x Hip Openers (love these), 10x Air Squats, 10x Lateral Monkeys (not a fan of these) and 10x Scapula Push Ups. We then moved on to the main workout (The Senate Plots) of 3 rounds of 1:30 minutes of work / :30 seconds of rest for Sandbag Clean to Shoulder, Planks, Jumping Pull Ups, Wall Sits and Kettlebell Halo's. And finally to the finisher (aka Let's Get Stabby!!) in which we had to do 23 Mace Jousts while a partner held a weight plate overhead. The length of time you held that plate overhead was determined by how long it took your partner to do the 23 Mace Jousts.

This was a tough workout but not horrible and not bad for my return to the gym. I hate missing days but I'd prefer to stay home and rest then be out even more days because my sickness had gotten worse. Though I will admit I wasn't 100% yet so I worked out at about 80% which wasn't bad.

Wednesday's CON class we climbed the Alps. But we first started with a good warm up, 10x Air Squats, 10x Jumping Jacks, 5x Tempo Push Ups (3 down and 1 up),  10x Mountain Climbers, 10x Stryders, 10x Iron Cross and finally 10x Scorpions.

Next was the main workout which consisted of Squats, Step Ups and Sit Ups. The first mountain was 15x, 20x, 25x and back down, 20x and 15x. So that meant we did 15x Squats, 15x Step Ups and 15x Sit Ups, then 20x Squats, 20x Step Ups and 20x Sit Ups and so on.. all the way up the mountain and then back down. Then we moved on to the smaller mountain 10x, 15x and 20x then back down 15x and 10x before moving on to the smallest mountain of 5x, 10x and 15x and back down 10x and 5x.

I'm happy to say that I made it to the small mountain and made it to top but wasn't able to go back down before time ran out. It was a tough workout and though the actual movements aren't tough it's the fact that you are constantly doing them for 40 minutes straight with no breaks.. now that's rough.

We finished with a max hang.. I lasted all of a minute and a half before I couldn't hold on any more. I think the max for the class was just over 2 minutes. It was a good workout and I'm happy to say that I'm feeling better.. not 100% but 85%.

NerdStrong Pix Minus Kenny, New X-Men & Midnight Special Trailers

I couldn't make it to NerdStrong today because of my doctors appointment but that didn't mean my 7am class (that's my usual workout time) couldn't take their own "Kenny" pix. But as you can see without me they are lost. BTW is this is the best Kenny pix that doesn't include Kenny. And yes it's weird talking about myself in third person.

Two new trailers that I wanted to share with you guys.. first one is another X-Men: Apocalypse trailer. I've enjoyed this recent incarnation of the X-Men series and this one looks like it's going to be pretty fantastic as well. Bryan Singer has been doing an amazing job with this series.

The other trailer is for a movie that I had heard nothing about but it does star some familiar faces. From the trailer it looks be some some sort of science fiction story but I'm not 100% sure. The title makes no sense but it definitely caught my eye and I hope to see it in the theater when it comes out.

St Patty's Day Luncheon

There are many upsides to working with my current company, one of them being they like to party. Any excuse to throw a party they will take it. I mean this company use to have an annual F#@K Off Day, where everyone from the company would blow off a work day and go to the beach to party. Well today is Saint Patrick's Day today so of course they must have a kick ass celebration.

They set up everything out in the parking lot, we got some amazing food to eat, beer to drink (though I opted for diet soda) and even at live Irish music (I think that was my favorite part). The entire company shuts down for about three hours to celebrate. It's always alot of fun.

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!!!!!

Latest Doctors Visit

No NerdStrong this morning as I have my yearly doctor visit. I booked an 8am appointment as I didn't want to be late for work. I could have tried to do the 6am workout before my appointment but I couldn't bring myself to getting up at 5am.

I got to the doctors office at 7:45 and filled out some paperwork. I was bummed because I was told that my doctor had left and that I would be assigned a new doctor. And this current doctor I just got last year and really liked her. So I was surprised when she walked into my room all smiles. Neither of us could figure out why they told me she was gone, but she did inform me that she will be leaving later this year as her residence is finally over.

As for my appointment I found out that all my numbers are good and that my cholesterol has even gone down. I figured that was all good since I'm on medicine to help control my cholesterol and blood pressure. I was worried about my A1C levels. A1C is your blood sugar levels. If you recall October of 2014 I got word that my A1C was at 6.4 which is .1 one away from clinically diagnosed as diabetic. That got me started on my fitness/health journey this past year and a half. I went back three months later and my A1C numbers dropped to 6.0 and then three more months it was down to 5.8. I hadn't had it checked since so it's been almost a year and I continue to struggle with my diet and particularly the past few months it's been okay but not as good as I should so I was worried about that number. I asked what the number was and she said it was 5.8. Part of me was happy that it hadn't gone up as expected but then part of me was disappointed that I'm still considered pre-diabetic. I need to get my numbers below 5.7 to be considered "normal". Though I was disappointed my doctor was anything but. She said it was a big deal to be able to drop your A1C like I did over a year and a half with out any medication. She said if I continue doing what I'm doing it will be below 5.7 in no time. So it was a good visit.

LeakyCon - Harry Potter Convention

I friend of mine posted that this years LeakyCon will be held in Burbank. If you don't know what LeakyCon is.. here's a quick description: LeakyCon is a conference originally hosted by the Harry Potter fan site, The Leaky Cauldron.

LeakyCon has a variety of programming, ranging from author and actor panels to attendee-submitted meetups and discussions. Team Starkid has played a large role in their programming, most notably in 2012 with their production of A Very Potter 3D: A Very Potter Senior Year. Author John Granger, known as "the Hogwarts Professor", has given lectures about real-world themes and ideas within the Harry Potter books. In previous years, John and Hank Green have hosted various panels and meetups at the conference. LeakyCon features three different types of programming. The Lit Track is for all the authors, wanna-be published authors, and enthusiasts. Lit Track is run by Maureen Johnson and features panels, meetups and signings for anyone who enjoys a good book. Mainstage Programming indicates all the programming that happens on the mainstage of LeakyCon and usually features special guests, Wrock (Wizard rock) concerts, special panels, and performances. General Programming is anything from yoga with Evanna Lynch to panels about Severus Snape. LeakyCon opens up a programming call months before LeakyCon, which allows anyone to submit programming they would like to have at the conference.

I've always wanted to attend but until this year they have never been close enough. The general tickets are a bit pricey going for $250 but the con runs from Wed Oct 19 - Sun Oct 23. It's a pretty long con. They usually sell out so I'll have to decide if I want to go or not fairly soon. Maybe if I can find some friends to join me I might consider it.. actually that would be the only way I would go. I wouldn't want to go solo. Anyways.. you can check out their site HERE. Let me know if you're interested in going with me.

New MASH Podcast, More Indy & Miss Peregine's Trailer

Geekyfanboy Productions released a new episode of the MASH 4077 Podcast. This is episode 125, covering Season 6, Episode 3 - Fallen Idol

Radar has always looked up to Hawkeye and admired him as his hero. But after suffering a Jeep accident en route to R&R at Hawkeye's request. Radarquestions his own hero worship. Particularly when he and his hero have afalling out.

You can Download from itunes tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes , listen on Stitcher Radio ow.ly/iZJIz or listen and get direct download from our main website MASH4077Podcast.com

I came across this very cool video. I love these kinds of videos that narrow down statistics to understand them better. This is a good one.

In other news it was officially announced that Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg will be returning for a fifth Indiana Jones movie. You can read more about the announcement HERE. I'm super excited for this news.. I have enjoyed all the of Indiana Jones movies.. some more then others but I love the character and fun adventures. What makes me said is only a few minutes after this was announced the internet hate started up. It's crazy to me that people can hate something from just an announcement... people really do need to get lives. Stop spewing the hate, I mean when the movie comes out and you actually watch is and not like it then by all means you have ever right to complain or "hate" it but please don't hate something before it's even made.. that's just stupid.

And one last thing.. I hadn't heard a thing about this movie but came across this trailer and I have to say it looks pretty fantastic. It's looks bizarre and fanciful and the face that Tim Burton is directing it you know it's going to be off the wall. It's based off of a book series.

Not A Good Start To Monday

Not how you want to start your Monday. I was coming into work and when I pulled into the parking lot I turned to sharp and went up the curb. I hit it so hard that I actually blew up my front right tire.  Thankfully I was in my work parking lot so I packed, got out and went to work. The tire was flat, I knew that but I didn't know if I bent the rim or even worse broke the axle.  On my lunch break I headed back to the parking lot to check the damage out. I first had to dig out my spare tire and then with some muscle I took off the nuts and pulled off the damaged tire. I inspected the axle and everything looked okay and from what I could tell the rim of the tire looked okay as well. Even the actual tire looked okay and I didn't see any tears or anything. So I put on the spare and drove it to a local tire place that had amazing reviews. The guy came out and looked at the blown tire and couldn't find any holes in it but he did say that the tread was wearing thin and I took a closer look and he was correct. It's been over three years and I haven't changed the tires yet on this car. He also mentioned that the left tired also looked tread worn as well and should be replaced. I've been around cars long enough to know that if you change one tired it's best to change both so I got two brand new front tires for a decent price. The guy mentioned that my car of front wheel driven so those front tires will be more worn then the back (which would explain why the back tires looked fine). Though it was my stupidity that cased the tire to go flat, in the end it was worth it as both front tires were going bald and would need to be replaced fairly soon anyways.. so all in all a good thing.

Binge Watching Fuller House

I spent the majority of the day lying on my couch trying not to die (I'm sick). I wanted to watch something fun, something that I really didn't have to pay much attention to just in case I fell asleep. I came across Fuller House. Now I wouldn't consider myself a diehard fan of Full House back in the day but I did watch quite a bit of it.. mostly the early season. But I figured I'd give it a shot and watch the first episode. Okay that was cute and very nostalgic so why not watch episode two.. then three, then four and so on until I had watched the entire season (13 episodes) of Fuller House.

There was something very comforting about the series. It was charming yet extremely cheesy at times but that didn't bother me. It was great seeing the characters older and living their own lives. I didn't realize that it's really only about the two older daughters (D.J. and Stephanie) and their friend Kimmy Gibbler along with their kids. Yes the other characters (Jesse, Rebecca, Joey and Danny) from Full House are in a few episodes but it really does revolve around just the kids and their families. They did a great job getting back into those roles so many years later. I think my favorite was D.J.'s middle son, Max. He is the biggest ham on screen but so dang adorable and endearing. He chewed up ever scene he was in and I loved it. I enjoyed the storylines and I like how they brought back some of the originals casts from time to time.

I'm super excited to know that they have renewed the series for a season two.. I'll be checking it out and for that matter I'm really looking forward to rewatching this series again. I really don't know what it is about this series but I really really enjoyed it... it's just fun.

My New Companions

Got up early and headed to a park where I was to meeting up with a person who ran a local Rattery. I was picking up my pet rats today. I had intended to get at least two (Frodo and Sam) but there was a possibility that I'd be getting four (Pippin and Merry). She brought five rats with her and I got to hang out with them for a few minutes. The first one I grabbed was the only dark one and he just sat in my arms very content and happy. This was my Frodo. The next one I grabbed was an all white one, he was a bit more active but like Frodo he didn't mind being held.. this was my Sam. So I had two but then there were these light brown and white ones (three of them). I picked up one and he quickly jumped from my hands onto the ground and was a bit wild, the other two were a bit more squeamish but not horrible. As I held the other two.. I figured why not get all four. The handler brought up the point that if you get two there is a bigger chance of one being dominated over the other, but with three or four there is less of a chance of that. So I got my four rats, they are all Dumbo Rats... Frodo is Agouti, Samwise is Siamese and Merry and Pippin are Fawns. All are brothers and they are just over a 5 weeks old and pretty adorable.

Tux Fitting and St Patrick Day Celebration

Still not feeling that great but took some meds so I could go to my tux fitting for Robert's upcoming wedding. Robert, Will, Tamar, Dallas, and George joined me in a downtown tux shop to try on our tuxedos. Unfortunately Chris (another groomsman) wasn't able to join us. Once by one we were sized for our tuxes.

While we waited I had a bit of fun trying on various other suit jackets. I came across this red one that was to small for me but man did it make me look good. I could wear this and look amazing if I didn't have to breath.

After getting fitted for our tuxes Robert took us out for lunch, joining us for lunch was Will, Dallas, Robert and myself. We walked to the local Counter for some tasty burgers.

When I got home from lunch I had a package waiting for me at my door. It was my air brush machine. I'm looking forward to playing with this but I need to find the right kind of make up to use with an air brush. I want to practice as much as possible before I use to for Wondercon or more likely San Diego Comic Con.

In the evening I wasn't feeling so hot but I couldn't miss Will's legendary St Patrick Day party. Once again I took some meds to help with the feeling crappy, put on my green plaid hat and made my way over to his place. As always there were alot of people and I did my best socialize but I really wasn't feeling great and managed to stay until about midnight.

Overall it was a good day, just wish I didn't feel so horrible.

NerdStrong Gym... My Past Week

Only managed four days of NerdStrong workout this week, Saturday CON, Sunday TEAM, Tuesday DEX and Wednesday CON. Towards the end of the week I got sick.

The week started with the final D&D Night of the Zombie King workout Chapter 5 "Realm of the Dead" For this workout we had to had to tackle the mountain of bones which consisted of 50x Seal Jacks, 25x Air Squats, 20x Single Arm Steel Club Swing to Guard, 20x Push Ups, 20x Spell casters and then finally a 10 meter heavy carry.

We had to do this set five times before moving on and taking on the Zombie King himself. To kill the Zombie King as a group we had to do 650 Burpees which we did and was successful in our quest. We also had ghosts attacking us from time to time and sending on the roll of the dice, determined what kind of minute plank we had to do.

This entire D&D workout was pretty fantastic. Thank you to coach David and coach Seely for creating it. I know we are only going to do this type of workout every once in a while since it takes a while to program and write but I'm really looking forward to the next adventure.

Sunday's TEAM Themed workout was all about Tron titled "Master Control Program". After a warm up that started with a 230 meter run, then 3 rounds of 10x Front Shoulder Raise, 10x Driver and 10x Halo then one final 230 meter run around the parking lot. We then moved to "The Grid" where we had four Rings and on each ring we had two different movements. It was a 3 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) with a 1 minute transition. Ring One we had to do 10x Disc Chop & 10x Squat and Defend. Ring Two was 10x Curl & 10x Triceps Extension. Ring Three was 10x Thrusters & 10x In/Out Push Ups. And Ring 4 was 10x Bent Row & 10x Press. Of course all of these done with a weighted plate (disc).

We finished this workout with an awesome 10 minute AMRAP battle. We were broken up into four rings. One ring would roll a D4 and whatever number it landed on (besides it's own) that would be the ring you would attack. But that ring has a chance to deflect by rolling their own D4 and getting the of the Ring that's attacking them. If they fail then they have to do 3 Burpees while everyone else holds a plank. But if they deflect the shot back to the attacker then only the attackers have to do the burpees while everyone else rests. It was a lot of fun and a great way to end this pretty fantastic workout.

Tuesday's DEX day started with a fun Agility Ladder warm up. I love working with the agility ladder. Some of the movements come naturally but some I struggle to master. Next we moved on to DEX Walks. Coaches laid down two of the battleropes and we had to walk on them. First it was just the regular tightrope walk, then backwards tightrope walking, side shuffle (left, then right), hand over hand bear crawl, suitcase hold, front rack hold (left, then right) and finally overhead sandbell hold (left, then right). Thought it was tough it was alot of fun. Some I could manage without falling off the rope but some were a struggle with my balance.

We then moved on to 5 rounds of Overhead Ring Squats, Crow Hold and Static Calf Raise Hold and for a finisher we did 20x Jump Squats with Hands on Head, 2 minutes of Sit Ups and 20x Jump Squats with Hands on Head. It was nice dexterity workout.

I woke up not feeling so hot on Wednesday morning but I was hoping that this workout would kill this bug that I have. It was a CON day which meant coach Blair. This workout was titled Dragon Row, now if your a regular reader of my blog or know me personally you know I'm not a big fan of Rowing. First we started with a warm up of 2 rounds of 230 meter jog, 10x Air Squats, 10x Reverse Lunges, 10x Spiderman Plank and then 10x Ring Rows. Once we did that twice we moved on to our main workout.

For the main workout we did Team Rowing. We were grouped up into teams of three and had to row 1 minute at a time. It doesn't sound like much but coach Blair asked us to sprint which means go full speed and doing that for an entire minute is tough.. Once the first person was done then the second would go and then the third so you did get two minutes of rest between sprints. We did this for 21 minutes meaning we all did 7 minutes each. Minute 5, 6 and 7 were the a killer but we wanted to try and hit at least 5000 meters as a group. So we pushed through and my team which was Me (of course), my workout husband John and buddy Rob manged to row a combined total of 5102. We were the slowest out of the three teams in the 7am class but with rowing height really helps and all three of us are under 5'7". But the 7am class did out row the 6am class 16,187 to 15,569, not that we compete :) Though I'm not a fan of rowing, overall this was a good workout.

I had to cancel my Thursday Strength class, I woke up at 4am and felt horrible and knew there was no way I was going to make it to the gym. I hope this illness doesn't keep me from missing to much NerdStrong.. I hate missing the gym.

Captain America Trailer 2 & Being Sick

Today they released the second trailer for Captain America - Civil War. I've been super excited for this sequel since I saw the first images and this trailer has heightens my excitement, and I loved the cameo of Spiderman at the very end. I can't wait for this movie.

A few days ago I woke up with a sore throat in the morning and yesterday I woke up with that same sore throat, ear aches and over all body ache but I went to workout hoping to sweat whatever it was out of me.. well that was a big mistake as I came home yesterday feeling horrible. So this morning I opted not to go to gym (which killed me) but I knew it was best. I also only manged to stay at work for a half day before calling it a day and going home to crash. I hate being sick and I really thought I made it through this last wave but I didn't. I hear that i'll be super sick for a few days but then only be kind of sick for the next few weeks. I hope I don't miss to much gym.

Supergirl/Flash Crossover

Today CBS released this great mock up comic book/poster for the upcoming cross over of The Flash on Supergirl. The only thing I know if from this short synopsis. I figured they were going to have to be from an alternate Earth since that's been the theme in season two of The Flash and that way they can explain why she just can't show up in The Flash or Arrow universe at anytime. I'm really looking forward to this cross over as I really enjoy both of these series. And from the set pictures that were released it looked like the two main actors had a blast.

Here's the official synopsis: Kara gains a new ally when the lightning-fast superhero The Flash suddenly appears from an alternate universe and helps Kara battle Siobhan, aka Silver Banshee, and Livewire in exchange for her help in finding a way to return him home.

My New Podcast...

So I finally started moving forward once again with my new Podcast, The Geek Roundtable. Well actually it's an old podcast that I have been trying to get off the ground since 2010. It started off as an idea of my friend Jen and I and we called it Epic Geek Out. It was going to be this quick kind of debate geeky topics kind of podcast.  But both of us were extremely busy and we just couldn't get things underway so it feel by the waist side.

In 2012 I revived the idea but Epic Geek Out name was taken so I changed the name to The Geek Roundtable and I also tweaked the concept a little bit. My former co-host Jen was busy with her own podcast and her family so I asked my friend Charles to co-host it with me. I even created a promo and was moving forward when life got in the way once again and this podcast went on the back burner.

I tired again briefly in 2015 to get something going, I even sent out a surveys to my friends to see which topics they would be interested in taking about but work got extremely busy and I let it go.

Now 2016 I am determined to get this podcast off the ground. I enlisted about 40 of my friends/Nerdstrongers to be guest hosts. I've set up a date to record the first few episodes. This actually might happen... now I take that back.. this will happen.

My previous co-host Charles moved on to his very own podcast so I decided to only have guests hosts that were local. It just makes things easier all round and I like the feel of the podcast when people are in the same room interacting.

Here's a description of my new podcast The Geek Roundtable: It starts with 10 minutes of the latest geeky news, we then move into our group discuss and/or debate. Here we have four to five guests discussing or debating one geeky topic. For example an episode topic of discussion could be Lord of the Rings (movies) or a debate could be Original Star Trek vs New Star Trek. It's a causal discuss/debate, it's as though you are sitting around with friends chatting. Each episode will run from 30 to 60 minutes long and they will be released twice a month 1st and 15th. If you're interested in joining in the fun and live in the Los Angeles area drop me a line on Facebook, Twitter or leave a comment here. I don't know exactly when the first episode will be out but I'll keep you all posted.

This will be produced by my Geekyfanboy Productions.

Hufflepuff Pride & Magic in America

I signed up for Pottermore way back when they were beta testing the site and I was sorted I was sorted into Gryffindor. I was okay with that.. I know I'm a Hufflepuff and proud of it but I have a fondness for Gryffindor. So the site revamped itself a while back and I finally got around to being resorted. It's a brand new test for sorting and this time around I got HUFFLEPUFF!!! I'm super excited that I was sorted into what I feel would be my house if I attended Hogwarts.

Speaking of Pottermore Mrs Rowling is releasing a bunch of new stuff about Magic in America.. it's inprepreation for the new movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them which comes out in December of this year.  Check out the cool video below.. and then go check out Pottermore HERE.

My Fourth Visit to Hogsmeade

Today I was suppose to go on a hike in Malibu Canyon to the MASH site with fellow NerdStronger but we were rained out. So after my NerdStrong workout.. I headed to... you guessed it.. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Hollywood.

Joining me once again was my friend Lauren, she was suppose to go on the hike as well so instead we decide to go back to Hogsmeade, this would be her second time and my fourth time. About a half hour later my best bud Will joined us and then we accidentally ran into another friend of mine Keri who also joined our group and finally joining our group was my buddy Brett. This was Keri, Will and Brett's first time here so like with yesterday it was fun showing everyone around this magical place.

We actually ran into quite a few NerdStrongers today.. first coaches David and Christy in one of the shops, we then ran into fellow NerdStronger Josh with his girlfriend in another shop. And when when we stopped by the Three Broomsticks to grab a bite to eat we ran into coaches Andrew and Marla and their adorable baby son Stryder. We all sat together and enjoyed the environment when David and Christy showed with their tray of food and joined us. Then more NerdStrongers showed up, Dafna, Stephanie, Kiki, Emily and her husband came walking out of the Three Broomsticks and join our table... it was pretty awesome. And just as quickly as we all come together we all broke apart.

This was going to be the first time I was going to be able to stay in the park past night fall.. so I was going to be able to see Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle in the dark and all lite up and I have to say I was not disappointed. It was pretty amazing.

Had another amazing time, it was so cool to see so many friends there. I'm not sure when I'll be able to come back again as my schedule is crazy for the next few weeks and then it opens to the public which means it will be even busier on weekends and since it closes at 6pm during the week I can't go after work. But knowing me I'm sure I'll be visiting Hogsmeade again in no time at all.

You can check out more of my pictures from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Hollywood HERE.

Visiting Hogsmeade With Friends!!!

Thanks for the collage Leo

After working out I headed once again to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Hollywood. Like last weekend they were having another soft opening (technical rehearsal). Joining me for this adventure were friends and fellow NerdStronger Lauren and Leo, this would be both of their first time. Lauren and I arrived first and Leo joined us a short time later.

We started at the beginning and went through everything, all the shops, both rides, Olivanders and enjoyed some tasty vittles at The Three Broomsticks. I love experiencing anything with a first timers. I remember the first time I stepped foot in the Florida Wizarding World and it was so magical.. but I was alone so I didn't get to share the experience with anyone. So I was so happy to be there with these ladies and experience Hogsmeade for the first time through their eyes. Both are huge Potter fans so we had a blast.

Both Leo and Lauren purchased interactive wands and then went around and worked their magic with the interactive windows. That was pretty fun. I still have to pick up an interactive wand on a future visit. I mean I have like nine or ten wands at home but none of them are interactive and when I visited Wizarding World in Florida they didn't have these interactive windows and wands.

We ended our day with the ladies trying Butterbeer for the first time. Lauren with the frozen (which is my favorite) and Leo went with cold (which is also very tasty).

The Real O'Neals

Tonight I watched the first two episode of the a new comedy called The Real O'Neils, if you've never heard of it.. here's a quick synopsis: The close-knit, Chicago-based O'Neals seem to be the perfect Catholic family, but when surprising truths come to light, some lives take an unexpected turn. Eileen, Pat, Kenny, Jimmy, Shannon and Jodi decide to let the honesty ring in a new, less tidy chapter of their story, where they all drop their carefully honed facades and discover the unexpected freedom that accompanies just acting real. Instead of being torn apart, the O'Neals find that their newfound way of life actually brings them closer together.

I enjoyed the commercials so I figured I'd give this show a shot and I'm glad I did. Yes there are some stereotypical "gay" troupes in it,  but what I really liked about these first two episodes is how funny they were. I actually liked episode two better then one. There were several laugh out loud moments but it also had so much heart. I like that the main actor who plays Kenny (great name btw) is actually gay in real life. I'm loving the older brother and his relationship with Kenny.

I don't watch many sitcoms these days but I'm glad I added this one to my weekly viewing. Aside from some lame stereotypical jokes this series has potential of becoming something very special. 

NerdStrong Gym - The Past Week

I got a full week of workout in this week, Saturday CON, Sunday TEAM, Tuesday DEX, Wednesday CON and Thursday STG.

For Saturdays class we continued our Night of the Zombie King DnD campaign. I missed chapter three last week (see blog) so I was looking forward to chapter four and I have to say it didn't disappoint. We did 5 rounds of 25x Air Squats, 20x 1-Arm Club Swing to Guard, 20x Push Ups and then 460 Meter Run with Club (that's two times around the parking lot).

Every five minutes Darkmoon (Resurrected Dragon) would attack, if her tail hit us (rolled 1-6) we had to do 20x Glute Bridge, if we were racked by her claw (7-12) we had to do 40 Bicycles. If she bite us (13-18) we did 30 Mountain Climbers and if she used her Necrotic Breath (19-20) we had to do 10 Burpees.

When we finished the five rounds you then had to attack Darkmoon, we knew our weapons were useless so we had to do shield bashers (weighted lunge) and crush her bones. As a group we had to do 360 of these to defeat her. It was a tough workout but in the end we defeated her and move on to our final battle (which will happen next week).

For Sunday's TEAM workout Ultron was resurrected, this has to be the toughest workout that the coaches have ever come up with.. if it's not the toughest its the longest one so that nobody will ever be able to complete it in the time allotted.

It starts off easy.. 10x High Knees and then a mandatory :30 second break.. piece of cake.. Ultron Prime is defeated.  Next was version 1, 15x High Knees and 5x Squats. Again not to bad, feeling good and defeated version 1 and moved on to version 2, 20x High Knees, 10x Squats and 5x Lunges. Version 2 went down pretty easily and I'm thinking.... this isn't so bad I should be able to get to version 14. Well version 3 attacked with 20x High Knees, 15x Squats, 10x Lunges and 5x Push Ups. Okay I'm starting to feel it but still going strong and move on to version 4. Version 4 is a bit worse with 20x High Knees, 15x Squats, 10x Lunges, 10x Push Ups and 5x Sit Ups. Still feeling good so I move on to version 5 ready for the fight.. version 5 had 20x High Knees, 15x Squats, 10x Lunges, 10x Push Ups, 10x Sit Ups and a :10 second Plank. Yeah now I'm defiantly feeling it, I struggle a bit but still defeat version 5. Next up version 6, 20x High Knees, 15x Squats, 10x Lunges, 10x Push Ups, 10x Sit Ups, :20 second Plank and 10x Bicycles.

It's tough but I manage to defeat version 6 and move on to version 7, 20x High Knees, 15x Squats, 10x Lunges, 10x Push Ups, 10x Sit Ups, :30 second Plank, 15x Bicycles and a 70 meter run. The run was actually nice as it was cool outside and felt great on my face. Once back from the run version 8 attacked with 20x High Knees, 15x Squats, 10x Lunges, 10x Push Ups, 10x Sit Ups, :30 second Plank, 20x Bicycles, a 140 meter run and 5x Dumbbell Presses. At this point you're on auto pilot hoping not to crash.. so I moved on to version 9, which was 20x High Knees, 15x Squats, 10x Lunges, 10x Push Ups, 10x Sit Ups, :30 second Plank, 30x Bicycles, a 140 meter run, 10x Dumbbell Presses and 5x Pull Ups. Once I defeated version 9 and moved on to battle version 10, 20x High Knees, 15x Squats, 10x Lunges, 10x Push Ups, 10x Sit Ups, :30 second Plank, 30x Bicycles, a 140 meter run, 15x Dumbbell Presses and 10x Pull Ups and 5x Kettlebell High Pulls. I then moved on to version 11 which was 20x High Knees, 15x Squats, 10x Lunges, 10x Push Ups, 10x Sit Ups, :30 second Plank, 30x Bicycles, a 140 meter run, 15x Dumbbell Presses and 10x Pull Ups, 10x Kettlebell High Pulls and 5x Slamballs.

I only got through half of version 11 before time ran out on me.. but I am happy to say this is the furthest I've gotten on this workout.. so I'm very happy with my performance today. As you can see this is a very tough workout.. it's what they call a chipper.. you just keep going until time runs out or you die.. which ever one comes first.

For Tuesday DEX day it started off with the Agility Ladder, now I like this ladder though some of the movement make me few very uncoordinated. After that we moved on to 5 rounds of 10x Cossack Squat and 14x Kettlebell Deadlift. We then did 5 rounds of Team Sprint Relays, were we had to sprint 140 meters and back over and over again. The first few I sprinted hard but the last few I just ran. We finished the workout with a 12 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) 10x Sprawl, 10x Jump Squats and 10x Diamond Push Ups. It was a tough workout but fun.

Wednesday's CON day started with a nice warm up before moving onto a team workout. We groups up into teams of 2 and 3, we had to do 15 rounds of a 20 second Row at 100 meters per second, then 15x Kettlebell Swings, 10 Strict Push Ups, and finally 10x Split Lunge with Sandbell before doing it all over again. So person one would start with the row while the others waited, once the first rower was done they moved on to the kettlebell swings and the 2nd person rowed and so on until we just kept rotating trying to get the 15 rounds done. It was a good workout, though I hate rowing. I feel like I have such a disadvantage in rowing since I don't have long legs so I have to pull harder and faster to met my goals.

Thursday's Strength day started with alot of hip stretching. We then moved on to Dual Kettlebell Clean and Press. We had to do a 10 EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) within in that minute we had to do 2x KB Clean and Press. Most of use were partnered up so you'd go on the minute while your partner would go on the :30 mark. It doesn't look like much before doing this every minute for 10 minutes straight can be tough.

Next we did 10x10 Front Squats, we had to pick a weight that we could do 10 times in a row for 10 reps. I don't recall my weight but it wasn't to heavy, probably 50% of my one rep max.

We ended this workout with a new floor stretch work on our legs and hips.

It was a nice work of workouts, now if I could only eat as well as I workout.. I'd be golden.

Drunk Tweeting!!!

So I woke up this morning with a slight headache.. luckily for me I don't get bad hangovers after a night of spirits... I then checked my twitter and facebook as I do after waking up and sure enough I had many people responding to my tweets and facebook posts last night. I remember tweeting (which are also posted to my Facebook) and I also remember asking people to spell check them to make sure they looked good. Well this is what was tweeted...

As you can see they lied when they said the tweets looked good :) I didn't care as everyone got a good laugh out of trying to decipher my gibberish.  I can actually read most of them. Regardless what I learned from last nights shenanigans is to never trust my friends to proofread my tweets ;)