After the tough boss fight several of us from NerdStrong went to Harvest Moon Kitchen & Marketplace for brunch. I had never been to this place but everyone said that they had really good breakfast. When we got there fellow NerdStronger Lauren was there. She did not come to the workout and was just having breakfast on her own so she joined us. While we chatted and bantered back and forth I found out that Ty is leaving us. He's moving to New York for a new adventure. Of course this made me sad as Ty is a really funny and sweet guy.. and he's pretty easy on the eyes (looks like a very fit Daniel Radcliffe). He's doing the Thor workout the past 10 weeks so we haven't really seen him around the gym and just as he's coming back to regular classes he's leaving us. It was nice being able to hang out with these guys and gals outside the gym. Something I hope we do more often.
I've posted here about he Dub Smash war between Team Carter (Agent Carter) and Team Shield (Agents of the SHIELD). And I mentioned that Team Carter came from behind to win the battle.. well the video was released of their reward.. take a look. I loved that these people raised so much money and looked like they were having a blast.. hopefully a new battle will begin soon.
Today is the first Saturday of the Month so that means was start a new boss and the first battle is the Big Boss Monster. This Boss Battle has a 40 minute time cap.
We started with a 230 Meter Run with Body (Sandbag), then back inside the Gym and do 100x Goblet Squats, :90 Second Plank, 90x Kettlebell Sit Ups, :90 Second Plank,80x Explosive Push Ups, :90 Second Plank, 70x Kettlebell Reverse Lunges, :90 Second Plank, 60x Kettlebell FacePeelers, :90 Second Plank, 50x Wall Balls and then to finish is off a :90 Second Plank.
So instead of the running between workouts there is planking this time around. This is a chipper workout which means you just chip away at the workout little by little until you run out of time. I knew that there was no way I was going to finish this workout but I as hoping to at least make it to Reverse Lunges and I'm happy to say that I actually made it halfway through Kettlebell FacePeelers. I did have to do a step down for Kettlebell Sit Ups as when I went to sit up with the kettlebell I felt it in my lower back so I dropped the weight and just did regular sit ups.
I'm happy with my results and by the time we do this workout again at the end of the month I hope I go even further.
My friend Hayley posted this article on my Facebook timeline and usually I don't like when people post things as I like to control what is on my own timeline but I was very thankful she posted this and she knew it was right up alley. It was a Middle-earth News story about a Kickstarter for a company making Lord of the Rings / Hobbit inspired coins. These are officially licensed merchandise.. which is pretty awesome. Of course I had to contribute to the kickstarter, it had already made it's goal in just over 24 hours but they were doing lots of stretch goals and still had 20 more days left in the campaign. I went with the $65 "The Nine" package which meant I would get both set #1 and set #2 for a total of 9 coins. Containing one copper
Farthing (1/4 penny), one copper Haypenny (1/2 penny), one copper Penny,
and one copper Thrup'ny bit (3 pence), one copper Dwarvish Axe of
Durin, one copper Elven Leaf of Hollin, one iron Eye of Sauron from
Mordor, one bronze Brumby Penny of Rohan, and one copper Raven Penny of
Dale Town.
Because I'm so behind on my blogging this kickstarter campaign ended a while ago and went way over their goal and them adding a bunch of stretch goals (additional coins) which I will be receiving as well. I don't know the exact count of coins that I will be getting but they're going to be awesome and I can't wait for them to arrive.
The second thing I want to share with you guys is the international trailer for Star Wars The Force Awakens. It does contain quite a bit of new material but still doesn't give away any of the plot or who these characters are. All this trailer does it get me even more pumped for the movie.
I got another screener.. this time for the comedy Trainwreak.
And there is one last trailer I wanted to share with you guys.. it's the the World of Warcraft movie adaptation, titled Warcraft. I've never played WOW but I have many friends who do and I have considered starting up many times. But this is a fantasy movie and I love fantasy and this looks amazing.. I can't wait.
So we are half way through season two and I'm loving it. Not only have the episode doubled in length but the stories have delved deeper into the characters background and personalities. The fighting is amazing, acting is superb and the overall feel of the stories is grand.
This entire episode is about a different LARPing group in which our regular LARPer's join in for their third anniversary. What is great is this LARPing group is extremely different then our group. There's is a Steampunk LARPing group, set in a completely different world and they fight with cards which is very much different then the very tactile fighting that our group does.
Again my favorite character Arthur takes a turn for the worse. I really enjoyed his story in season one but towards the end of season one and the beginning of season two I haven't really liked where his character is going. When I first saw Arthur he was the one that I identified with most (hence why he become my favorite) but he's done things that I not only didn't see coming but he continue in his downward spiral. In this episode he poison one of the characters from the other group and she dies. She's been this character for the entire run of their LARPing group (which is a big deal) and though it looks like her and Arthur have an adversarial past and she's not the most modest person in the world, what he did was just plain mean and vengeful. I'm hoping we see him bounce back in the second half the season. He needs something good to happen for him.
Can't wait to see what happens next.. bring on episode 6!!
Thursday means Strength day. This is probably my least favorite type of workout but I know it's necessary for a nice well rounded workout week.
Today's build started with a 1 minute row, then 12x Air Squats, Banded Lateral Walks and 10x PVC Pass Thrus. Once we were done with those we did the entire thing all over again.
For Proficiency we worked on Wrist Wall Walk and Thoracic Foam Roll. This was more like a great stretching session, which was nice for a change.
The Quest was next and we were doing an EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) for 12 minutes. We were working on Front Squats and had to do 3 reps per that minute. I teamed up with my barbell buddy Derek, so every 30 seconds we would switch off. I did find that I can't do nearly as much weight as I can do with my back squats and my form still needs some work but the 12 minutes flew by.
The final bit of the workout "The Battle" can be some of the hardest as we are already tired from all the other stuff we did and this one is a burner. For this one we had to do 4 rounds of :30 second 1 Hand Kettlebell Suitcase DL, :60 seconds of Facepeelers, :30 seconds of Standing Dumbbell Twists and :30 seconds of rest before doing it all over again. It doesn't seem like much but 60 seconds, let alone 30 seconds is a long time.. well not when you're resting, for some reason when you're resting 30 seconds feels like 10.
Entertainment Weekly has a story about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this is a Harry Potter Prequel that takes place 50 years before his story. They also released several photo from the set. You can check out the rest of the photos HERE.
Not much is given away but we do get to see some of the lead actor as their characters. Not much is known about the film.. but the film is rumored to feature an American wizarding school similar to
Hogwarts, and will also visit the Magical Congress of the United States
of America (or MACUSA), the U.S. equivalent of the Ministry of Magic. Eddie Redmayne is the main character Newt. I'm really looking forward to this trilogy.
Sad new today, Melissa Mathison, who wrote one of my all time favorite movies Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial” died of neuroendrocrine cancer today. She was 65.
She recently reunited with Spielberg to write the screenplay for Roald Dahl adaptation “The BFG,” which is in post-production and will be released next year. Mathison, who was married to Harrison Ford from 1983 to 2004, had two children with the actor, Malcolm and Georgia.
I got another screener today.. this time it's Furious 7. I haven't seen any of these movies but I hear they are good and they are on my list to movies to watch.. so many one day I'll catch up.
In the evening I set up a dinner with some friends. A group of us gathered in NoHo at a Lebanese restaurant that I really enjoy. Joining me for dinner was Will, Jen, Jes, Hayley, Robert, Cait and Dallas. I miss seeing these guys on a regular bases as we all have such busy lives these days. It's nice when we can get together and just catch up. Lot's of hilarity always ensues. It was a good night.
Today's CON workout is titled Dungeon Run and boy was it.. lots of different workouts in the battle portion of this Dungeon Run.
We started with a Run (of course) and then did 6x Perfect Stretch. This stretch is one of my most complicated stretches I think we do at the gym. It has lots of movement and a certain way to do them.
Next was did 5x Air Squats, 10x Banded Squats and 5x Air Squats again. It's crazy the difference you feel from the firs set of air squats to the second set after doing the banded one in-between.
No Quest for today's workout.. instead we moved on to a very long Battle. We had to do 2 rounds of 2 minutes of work and 1 minute of rest. We had to do Bird Dogs, Armless Sit Ups, Dumbbell Thrusters, Mountain Climbers, Bicycles, Dumbbell Curls and then Half Push Ups (with a 3 second hold).
Two minutes of each of these with a minute of rest (which feels like 10 seconds) it rough and when you finish one round you have to do it all over again and it's even harder. Once I got to my second round of mountain climbers I hit a wall and struggled to finish the rest but I'm happy to say I did everything.. I was tired and exhausted but glad I finished.
And check out another great article that Geek and Sundry did on the gym.. HERE
DEX day at NerdStrong Gym.. Dexterity days have a really wide range of workouts. For today's workout.. after we ran a lap as we all know Coach Blair loves to make us run laps.
We started with our "Build" 50x Jumping Jacks, 3x Calf/Hamstring Stretches, 2x Doorway Stretches and finished with another 50x Jumping Jacks. We moved on to "Proficiency" and did 2x Walking Rope Squat and then 3x Lateral Walking Push Up. These were some new moves that we (or at least I) have never done. Standing on a "battlerope' and doing a squat is difficult enough but then you have to side step on the rope a foot or so and do it again and again until you get to the end of the rope. Doing the Push Ups on the rope wasn't as bad (at least not for me as I actually enjoy push ups now).
For the Quest we did 5x Ring Dips, 100x Jump Rope and :30 seconds Handstand Hold. Ring Dips are extremely tough as they take alot of tricep strength to do them properly, which I can't so I have to use a box to help with the dips. Jumping rope is fine but I really enjoy doing handstands so that was my favorite part of the workout.
We finished off with our "Battle". We had to do 5 Rounds of 10x Mace Joust (Right), 5x Strict Mace Squats, 10x Mace Joust (Left) and then 5x Strict Mace Squats. Depending on the weight (and I choose a heavy one) these got daunting after the first three rounds but it was a nice way to finish up with workout.
CBS Television Studios announced today it will launch a new Star Trek television series in January 2017.
We don't know much about it but this is what they have told us so far. The brand-new Star Trek will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the
dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.
The new series will start with a special preview broadcast on the CBS Television Network. The premiere episode and all subsequent first-run episodes will then be available exclusively in the United States on CBS All Access, the Network’s digital subscription video on demand and live streaming service. This will be the first original series developed specifically for U.S. audiences for CBS All Access, a cross-platform streaming service that brings viewers thousands of episodes from CBS’s current and past seasons on demand, plus the ability to stream their local CBS Television station live for $5.99 per month. CBS All Access already offers every episode of all previous Star Trek television series.
Alex Kurtzman will serve as executive producer for the new Star Trek TV series. Kurtzman co-wrote and produced the blockbuster films Star Trek (2009) with Roberto Orci, and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) with Orci and Damon Lindelof. Both films were produced and directed by J.J. Abrams. The new series will be produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout. Kurtzman and Heather Kadin will serve as executive producers. Kurtzman is also an executive producer for the hit CBS television series Scorpion and Limitless, along with Kadin and Orci, and for Hawaii Five-0 with Orci.
I'm super excited for this though I don't like the idea that I'll have to pay for another streaming service to watch it.. but it's Star Trek and I'll pretty much do anything for a new Star Trek. You can read the original article HERE.
There is a short movie that I want to share with you guys. The creator is the husband of one of the coaches (Kimi) at NerdStrong, and the actress (on screen) is the wife of another coach (Blair) at NerdStrong. And my friend America did all the motion capture for this film. And if that's not enough they actually filmed some of it at the gym itself.
It's produced by Rainfall Films (coach Kimi's husbands company) and you might remember they produced this AMAZING Wonder Women short back in 2013, which you can watch HERE. That too had several of my friends in it.. but the one I want to share with you today is Metroid: The Sky Calls. It's based off a very popular video game from Nintendo. Hope you enjoy it, I thought it was a lot of fun.
So I went to an earlier workout class so I could get to the con a bit earlier then yesterday as the floor/con closes at 4pm and I wanted to get as much Hobbit cosplaying in as I could. I got to the convention center around noon and suited up (well put on my Hobbit feet) as I can't drive with those things on. I checked my weapon and met up with friends.
My friend Hayley changed into her Galaderial cosplay and we roamed the halls taking pictures here and there. I got to see more of the show room floor which is always nice, especially artist alley which has become of new favorite of mine the past few cons.
There was also this booth where they were taking "old style" pictures and Hayley and I got one together and it turned out great.. creepy, but great.
After the con closed at 4pm Hayley and I went out front and found a "wooded" looking area and Dallas took some cool pictures of us. As we stood there was had people come up to us and ask for pictures which we were more then happy to do. At one point I had a guy come up to me and ask if I wanted this HUGE Hobbit poster that he had won.. of course I said yes. Don't have a clue where I'm going to put it but it is pretty epic.
We hung around the con taking pictures for about an hour before heading to my car as I as once again taking Hayley and Dallas home.
This was a quick con for me. I only went two of the three days and with my workouts I got to the con well after they opened. I spent about eight hours total for the two days at the con. But with these smaller cons you really don't have to spend all day there. I only did the one panel (NerdStrong) yesterday and really didn't even look at what other panels they were having. Overall it was an enjoyable con and I got a little cosplay in as well.. which is always fun.
Today's Sunday themed workout was titled McMansion of Madness. It was set up like an escape room. We had to find our way out within 10 rounds or we would succumb to Madness (which meant we had to do 13 Double Burpees).
Coach David told us some great back story for this house (it involved the producers of the movie John Carter). We had no idea what we would encounter from room to room. Potential foes were Squats, Jump Squats, Push Ups, Sit Ups, 1 Ring / 2 Hand Row, Lunges, Dumbbell Press and Planks.
We spent 3 minutes in each room doing :30 seconds of work and then getting :30 seconds of rest. We had one minute of rest between rooms for us to choose a new leader and have that leader choose our next room.
We went from room to room and did Squats, Jump Squats, Push Ups, Planking, more Jump Squats, Lunges, more Squats, Sit Ups, more Jump Squats and finally Dumbbell Press'. We thought we made found the exit but it was a trick and in actuality there was no way for us to get to the exit with in 10 rounds so we all went mad and had to do 13 Double Burpees.. it was horrible.
Though I think this was set up so we would fail it was alot of fun not knowing what we ahead of us. Would love to do this workout again in the near future.
So instead of the running between workouts there is planking this time around. This is a chipper workout which means you just chip away at the workout little by little until you run out of time. I knew that there was no way I was going to finish this workout but I as hoping to at least make it to Reverse Lunges and I'm happy to say that I actually made it halfway through Kettlebell FacePeelers. I did have to do a step down for Kettlebell Sit Ups as when I went to sit up with the kettlebell I felt it in my lower back so I dropped the weight and just did regular sit ups.
The Quest was next and we were doing an EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) for 12 minutes. We were working on Front Squats and had to do 3 reps per that minute. I teamed up with my barbell buddy Derek, so every 30 seconds we would switch off. I did find that I can't do nearly as much weight as I can do with my back squats and my form still needs some work but the 12 minutes flew by.
Sad new today, Melissa Mathison, who wrote one of my all time favorite movies Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial” died of neuroendrocrine cancer today. She was 65. 
No Quest for today's workout.. instead we moved on to a very long Battle. We had to do 2 rounds of 2 minutes of work and 1 minute of rest. We had to do Bird Dogs, Armless Sit Ups, Dumbbell Thrusters, Mountain Climbers, Bicycles, Dumbbell Curls and then Half Push Ups (with a 3 second hold).
There was also this booth where they were taking "old style" pictures and Hayley and I got one together and it turned out great.. creepy, but great. 
We hung around the con taking pictures for about an hour before heading to my car as I as once again taking Hayley and Dallas home.
We spent 3 minutes in each room doing :30 seconds of work and then getting :30 seconds of rest. We had one minute of rest between rooms for us to choose a new leader and have that leader choose our next room.