Archives for November 2017

Brazil Butt Lift Workout Review: A Waste Of Time

November 29, 2017 - Updated November 29, 2017

There are times in a mans life where he needs to get over being a man and doing man things. There is no need to make any sort of list describing things that are not manly. But can we all agree that the Brazil Butt Lift workout is not targeted towards men.

Brazil Butt Lift has been sitting on my shelf for seven years. Andrea bought it when it was released in 2010 and made it through two weeks before stopping for some reason or another. I did two workouts with her and mostly remember laughing as Leandro Carvalho would say something funny.

Of the two workouts I did I do remember the ab workout being tough as hell. This is after me being able to breeze through P90X Ab Ripper X.

Why Brazil Butt Lift?

Its my legs. They are getting skinnier and skinnier every year. The sitting is catching up with me. And with that I can’t shake the injury bug.

It started with a hyper extended right knee playing softball last summer. I took it easy for as long as I could and gave it the winter to heal up. It felt good this spring and into late summer before I hurt my knee again after making an abrupt stop rounding second base. Its this light nagging pain that will not go away. I needed a low impact strength training leg workout.

Browsing through all the Beachbody DVD’s I’ve bought over the years and even through the Beachbody On Demand library. I stopped, left, and came back to Brazil Butt Lift four times before saying like it or not this is what you’re looking for. Fine, fine, fucking fine. Lets do it. I can do this for 60 days.

Journal

Day 1 – Bum Bum and Tummy Tuck

Bum Bum was a very good 30 minute workout. Just as I expected, my balance was all over the place and I could not keep up with Leandro and the girls. But man were my legs burning. It was basically squats and lunges the entire time. Heart rate was up for the last 10 minutes. I am going to be sore tomorrow for sure.

Brazil Butt Lift Shake Your Booty — Yes. I Did Shake My Booty.

And then there was Tummy Tuck which was much harder than I remembered. My abs were screaming within five minutes of this 20 minute ab workout.

How the hell are the cast members (especially the women) smiling? There is nothing to smile about. One arm planks? You are a genius Leandro.

I guess I did half of the workouts with ok form. Making it through the entire Tummy Tuck workout will be an accomplishment.

Between these two workouts I can guarantee soreness from my abs down tomorrow.

Day 2 – Cardio Axe & High & Tight

The good news is I was not sore at all from yesterdays workout. Maybe its because I was only able to do half of each workout with good form.

Today’s workout started with the 30 minute Cardio Axe. I will not be doing this workout again. I was 12 minutes into it and stopped. Too much choreography. And I do not like choreography workouts. Cardio Axe did not capture me and I felt silly “sweeping the sand” and “banging the drums”.

High & Tight is a 35 minute workout which I really liked. My takeaway is its the kind of workout a physical therapist would put you through if you had hip problems (which I kind of do). We have a few “booty bands” laying around which made it tough.

I made it through half of each exercise with good form but was screaming trying to finish. Its the sort of workout where you don’t move a whole lot but work on those little muscles in tough positions. My hip flexors were stretching like crazy. I feel like I am going to like this workout.

Day 3 – Sculpt

Had a feeling Sculpt was going to be harder than expected and I was right. Bicep curl into a shoulder press ending with a squat into a curtsey. This was one of the sneaky workouts where I was struggling with 10 pounds using my Bowflex SelectTech Dumbbells and had to drop down to 5 pounds.

Didn’t help that I was feeling sore in the abs from day 1 today. Is it ok to say I like this workout? And how the hell are the women smiling?

Day 4 – High & Tight

Not feeling sore today but High & Tight went after my problem areas. All the booty band exercises got me today. You’re a clever son of a gun there Leandro. The “Clam” to “Clam Tempo” to “Clam Short” moves got my hips and hammies burning today.

After High & Tight I did a 20 minute routine on the Slide Board Pro and then went for a mile swim in the afternoon. Had some good energy going after the morning workout.

Day 5 – Bum Bum and Tummy Tuck

Feeling light today. Did a lot yesterday. Still struggling with Bum Bum. Yes, I just said that. Balance has a way to go. Tummy Tuck is still hard as hell.

Brazil Butt Lift Bum Bum Dance Time — Its Party Time.

Day 6 – High & Tight

Had a very good workout. Followed it up with 30 minutes on the Slide Board

Day 7 – Rest Day

Went to the Lions game. Ate a bunch of food and had some beers.

Day 8 – Missed

Was supposed to do Cardio Axe & Sculpt but got busy with the kids and felt sluggish from the food and drinks from Saturday night and all day Sunday.

Day 9 – Sculpt and High & Tight

Was still feeling sluggish. Its amazing what going off Paleo does to me now. Did two workouts to try and keep pace. Were not my best workouts.

Day 10 – Missed

Day 11 – Missed

Day 12 – Missed

Day 13 – Missed

Day 14 – Rest (LOL)

Day 15 – Tummy Tuck & Bum Bum

Last week was rough. Was not feeling well after day 9 and life got in the way. I almost quit Brazil Butt Lift as I am teetering on this workout holding my interest. Oh, and my booty band broke. Worst thing ever!

And then of course it was Tummy Tuck. I guess I did ok except for the plank portion. And then I was like, fuck it, lets do Bum Bum too since I was warmed up. Did much better with Bum Bum being all warmed up. Still can’t do those curtsey lunges so I modified with more squats. My guess is I probably did 200 air squats.

Brazil Butt Lift Booty Drums — Bang Those Booty Drums

Day 16 – Sculpt

Feeling a little better today. Made it through Sculpt fairly easy. The dumbbell routine sneaked up on me. Switched from 5 pounds to 10 pounds halfway through and it was no big deal. I struggle with the curtsey lunges so I do a squat instead.

After finishing Sculpt I went and swam a mile.

I do not know about Sculpt moving forward. Its one of those workouts where I feel I need to be warmed up before I start. There is nothing in it that gets me moving and wanting to push harder. Ill give it one more chance.

Day 17 – High & Tight

Felt good from the swim yesterday. Don’t know if Sculpt did anything for how I feel. Made it through High & Tight easily. Wore the ankle weights the entire time as my booty band is no more.

And That’s It

I made it 17 days (10 workout days) and that was all I could take.

Brazil Butt Lift just could not get me motivated to workout anymore. This workout blows. It just does. The thought of doing another two weeks of Brazil Butt Lift made me cringe. And there is no way I’m making it to day 60. There will be no before and after photos showing off my newly sculpted butt. I know your sad. Its what you wanted to see.

I was really hoping this workout would help me with my legs since the butt is attached to those. Not so much. Rarely did my legs feel like they were getting a workout. Oh, and my butt felt nothing.

I would never recommend Brazil Butt Lift to anyone. Not once did I break a sweat nor did I wake up sore the next day. And I am someone whose legs could use a serious workout.

Bum Bum

A 35 minute workout were you do a lot of lunges and squats. I did not mind this workout as it moves at a decent pace. After doing Bum Bum three times I felt like I had mastered almost every move. I could possibly get better at keeping up with Leandro and the girls but thats about it.

Tummy Tuck

Just as I remembered. This is a very tough 20 minute ab workout. I could possibly be the hardest ab workout produced by Beachbody. But even saying its tough doesn’t mean I like it. Tummy Tuck does not flow well. The moves are really good but Leandro is all over the place.

Cardio Axe

A 30 minute highly choreographed workout that is kind of boring. Choreography type workouts bore me and its why I only did it once. I felt Cardio Axe to be one of the least cardio type workouts I’ve ever done from Beachbody.

High & Tight

I did not mind this 35 minute workout. What I liked about it was the entire workout was done using a “Booty Band” or ankle weights. You stayed in a balance pose or stationary position and worked out all of the butt muscles from different angles. And as a result of working those you also worked the legs and core.

Sculpt

I was expecting a lot more from this 50 minute resistance training workout. The dumbbell sequence is good. But besides that I was not impressed. I was hoping to be really struggling through Sculpt but that did not happen. And I even increased the weight to make it harder.

Where To Buy?

Why on Earth are you thinking about buying Brazil Butt Lift? Just don’t. Let’s do this. Go and get a Beachbody On Demand membership and if you feel like sampling a few workouts from time to time there than fine.

But do not buy the DVDs now as they will find themselves sitting on your shelf for seven years like mine were.

Summary

I will never do Brazil Butt Lift again and I recommend you do not either. If all you care about is working out your butt than do the High & Tight workout every other day which is what the Brazil Butt Lift workout calendar has you doing anyways.

Circling through the same five workouts for 60 days is going to get boring especially when the workouts themselves are boring. But I just can’t see how anybody would want to do more than two weeks.

I would not recommend doing any sort of hybrid workout with Brazil Butt Lift either. There was nothing about any of the workouts that got me thinking about working harder and trying to outdo myself.

I know people will say this isn’t Body Beast or P90X where its designed to challenge you. But I think that lets Brazil Butt Lift off the hook. It is a workout plan and has other non butt workouts in it. There needs to be some challenge.

This isn’t a knock on Leandro. The man is in shape and he knows what he’s doing. It also appears he’s having a helluva time doing what he’s doing. Beachbody was looking to fill a niche in the “butt workout” genre and thats what Leandro gave them.

If you are in shape or just a little out of shape than stay away from Brazil Butt Lift. There is no reason for you to go here unless you want to be the only person submitting a Brazill Butt Lift success story to Beachbody so you can win a cash prize at the Coach Summit.

I have seen before and afters from in shape people who allegedly did BBL and submitted their results. I call shenanigans. You know you did something else to get those results but you know no one else is submitting results for BBL. Well played.

If you are really out of shape and overweight I’d recommend starting with something like T25 or Power 90. You will be challenged but it will not be over the top crazy.

But damn. I should have known better. Brazil Butt Lift did nothing for my legs and even my ass. You may have read in my journal how I was using Hockey Shot Slide Board Pro while doing BBL. Now thats a butt workout. Go ahead and do thirty minutes of sliding back and forth and tell me how your lower body feels.

If you feel the need to make fun of me for admitting I tried Brazil Butt Lift than feel free to do so below.

You’re 37?

November 27, 2017 - Updated March 20, 2018

Last week at the annual Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Game we met up with some family friends at the Christmas Tree for halftime. When the tree is not up we still meet them there. My parents have had season tickets since 1993 and they have had them for at least eight years.

They have a couple of other friends they bring to the halftime meet and greet too. My parents friends are in their late forties or early fifties. Their friends are my age (late 30s). Well, their friends brought a younger cousin of his. I believe I remember him saying he was 25.

Him and I started talking and during the conversation he stopped me and asked how old I was. “37”, I says. I think I gave him an answer to a question that made him think that only an old person would say that (Two kids, 401k, The “Barry Years”, Minivan, Mortgage, Softball, etc.).

“You don’t look that old” , says him. “37 isn’t old” , says me.

This is the second time this year where this has happened to me.

I have been in a fantasy football league with some of my fraternity brothers for nine years. Thing about these guys is half of them were freshman or sophomores when I was graduating. Me being 23 and them being 18 or 19.

Fast forward nine years and I’m 37 and most of them are 32. And as you can guess, they made friends with the younger guys when they were graduating. Traditionally we meet up at my house or another guys house in Royal Oak to draft and then go out to Royal Oak.

This year, we had to draft online due to scheduling conflicts but half of us met up in Royal Oak. Its becoming the only time every year we see each other. Well, they brought some guys from the fraternity whom I’ve never met.

While at the bar I started talking to one and during the conversation I say something like “Two Kids, 401k, “The Barry Years”, Minivan, Mortgage, Softball,” and he stops the conversation.

“Wait, how old are you?”, says him. “37” , says me.

“You don’t look that old” , says him. “37 isn’t old” , says me.

“How old are you? , says me. “23” , says him.

“Well, you definitely made me feel old.” , says me.

Turns out he was still in college and in my old fraternity. He was a freshman when one of the guys was graduating and they kept in touch. The cycle continues.

How often do 23 and 25 year olds hang out with a 37 year old? I never did when I was those ages. When you are in your twenties everybody you know is the same age. Thirty year olds do not exist to you. And anybody in their 40s, 50s, or older is a boss, a professor, your parents, an aunt or uncle, or your grand parents.

All of the softball teams I played on in my twenties had guys the same age albeit one guy who was definitely in his forties who pitched for us.

And even the people I worked with when I was in my twenties. I cannot remember anyone who was in their thirties. The only people I remember were in their forties or fifties. Their lives were so much different than mine so you knew.

What is 37 supposed to look like to somebody who is 25 when thirty year olds do not exist to you? Fat? Bald? Grey hair? Glasses? Really fat?

37 year olds don’t hang out where 25 year olds do. And most don’t hang out anywhere. From what I know as being a 37 year old my age group is either working or raising kids. Since we have little to nothing in common with younger twenty somethings we don’t have a reason to talk.

I know what those two guys were thinking though. You have a full head of hair. You’re not (that) fat. You were talking about still playing sports before I asked you how old you were. He would have thought I was at most 32 since the guys I was hanging out with were the same age. And for the younger cousin. His older cousin was bald and a bit out of shape. That’s what he knows.

When I think about my friends who are my age. Almost all of them still have their hair with touches of gray. Those that don’t have hair started losing it when they were 23. Those that have gone grey have done so because of stress. The only real difference is if we are in shape or not as we all have grown into our “Man Bodies”.

When I think about the best shape I have ever been in it was when I was 31 and just completed Insanity Asylum Vol 1. I was as cut as I’ve ever been. At 37 I feel I am as strong as I’ve ever been.

I’m hitting the golf ball as far as I’ve ever hit it. My last couple weeks of softball I hit a few over the left fielders head (which I never do).The strength is there. I can’t run for shit but never really could. And I seem to recover from workouts just the same as I continue to workout four times a week.

What has changed the last couple of years is I have been paying more attention to what I put into my body. I cannot say for sure but I feel that taking Shakeology every morning for the last seven years has at least positively affected my long term health.

And how I switched to a mostly Paleo way of eating 16 months ago in an effort to address inflammation. So far it feels like its making a big difference.

Do these things make me look younger than 37? Maybe. Could it be genes? Possibly. What about playing sports and doing things younger people do? Doesn’t hurt. How about trying to live a low stress lifestyle? Less wear and tear for sure.

I am not sure about any of this but what I do know is 37 is not old. There are still dudes playing professional sports at 40 and doing well. If I gave some optimism to those two guys that they can still be doing things they like to do now at 37 than good.

Hopefully both of them said “You’re 37?” and not “You are 37”. Because “You are 37” would make me sad.

Sports Research Supplements Review

November 24, 2017 - Updated June 23, 2019

Time to time I buy supplements and gear from a particular company. Instead of writing separate reviews for everything I bought from them I prefer to put them on one post. And that is what we are going to do for the Sports Research Company.

Collagen Peptides Review

A couple of months ago I was looking for a new collagen powder. The Primal Kitchen Collagen I had been using was very good but it did not last long. What I really wanted was something I could add into my morning Shakeology. A quick search and I found the Pure Hydrolyzed Collagen Peptides from Sports Research. There were a lot of positive reviews. So I bought it.

The main difference between what I was taking and the Collagen Peptides was this one was unflavored. It was designed to be mixed or taken on its own in a glass of water or coffee. This was what I had in mind.

What I also liked was it was Paleo Friendly, Keto Certified, Gluten Free, and was made from Grass-Fed Pasture Raised Cows.

Those are all great and were expected. But I liked how it had 41 servings for $30 instead of 12 servings for $40 with Primal Collagen. Its not fair to compare them straight up like that but I wanted just the collagen supplement, not protein and everything else. I was getting those in Shakeology.

So What Happened?

Before taking the Sports Research Collagen Peptides I had been taking my previous collagen in half doses because I didn’t want to go out of it quickly. So while I had been taking some doses of collagen for thirty days prior I don’t know if its enough to make a difference. From what I had read it takes one to two months for the effects of taking collagen to kick in.

Lets say I was on day 15 before taking these collagen peptides which took me sixty days to finish.

For the first week, I put a scoop in my morning Shakeology and would slam another scoop an hour before bed. At the end of the first week I could tell I was feeling fuller. So I scaled back to just one scoop everyday.

It was around the half way point where I noticed my finger and toe nails looking much thicker and longer. I read this might happen but was surprised how they looked. Sorry, no pictures. Feet are gross.

A week later I noticed I was not noticing my elbow and knee injuries that I have been dealing with for years. This is exactly why I started buying collagen supplements in the first place. To help with my joints. The pain was not gone but my joints felt looser.

And this is the funny part. I swear I could feel my hair growing. No joke. There was this tingling sensation on top of my head that started on day 20 of taking the collagen peptides. It kind of scared me so I saw a Dr. and told them about the tingling. I was told there was nothing they could see wrong.

Some seventy days later, my hair has never been so fluffy. Its out of control. Its like it got so fluffy that I skipped the “I should probably get a haircut” to “I have long hair.”

Its been three weeks since I finished the Sports Research Collagen Peptides and I feel it did what it claimed to do. It made a difference with my joints and I noticed my nails and hair growing more than before. I didn’t notice that much difference with my skin. The tingling sensation on my scalp went away a week after finishing the tub.

I did not buy another tub after finishing it because I had a 20% coupon at the Primal Kitchen and they finally had the Vanilla flavor in stock which I wanted to try. When I finish it I might buy the Sports Research collagen again.

At a minimum, I feel at the age of 37 it would behoove me to continue taking a collagen supplement.

Vanilla Bean Review

Its been two years since I started buying collagen peptides from Sports Research and it appears they are doing what they are intended to do. It wasn’t until 2019 that I noticed they had a new flavor in Vanilla Bean so I decided to try it.

Basically, its the same product with some flavor. And to keep this as simple as possible I can tell you that the Vanilla Bean does taste like Vanilla Bean. Its quite good. I’ve been mixing it in with coffee or my daily Shakeology and it spices it up a little. So if you want some flavor with your collagen than give the Vanilla Bean a try.

What Sports Research has done with their collagen peptides is they have given people an option to save money on a very good product in a large quantity by merely removing flavor. Add flavor on your own with Sports Research or pay a premium for a similar product with flavor and less servings.

I Have Felt Unbusy As A Parent To Babies, Infants, And Toddlers

November 22, 2017 - Updated November 22, 2017

Since becoming a parent three and a half years ago I have had a number of people tell me I must be busy with our two kids. I understand why people say it. Babies, infants, and toddlers demand a lot of your energy.

The other night Andrea and I were talking about the kids and other events that have happened since becoming parents. When we started to talk about the kids and being busy because of them, I said I didn’t feel busy. I felt unbusy.

There is a “unbusy movement” going on in the world of minimalists. Basically, people are paring down their lives by removing clutter, reducing expenses, and others. I am a fan of this movement.

But when I thought about being busy with kids I could not relate it to times in my life when I knew I was busy. Like at work calling people, responding to emails, making sales, etc. While all of those things were apart of my job I felt a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.

Or when I was at college juggling classes, the occasional job, sports, studying, and a full social calendar. There were no down days and it was awesome.

I feel none of those with kids. Especially babies, infants, and toddlers.

My best guess is I feel unbusy because for the first time in my life I am not doing something for me. For the last three years I have been doing things for two people incapable of doing anything for themselves.

While I do not feel busy, I know at any moment one of them will need me for a minute here or ten minutes there. Forcing me to drop everything I am doing at that moment to take care of the situation only to wait for it to happen again. Its the “Hurry Up and Wait” analogy people in the Military say.

There is no reward.

There is no accomplishment.

There is no clocking out.

You are constantly unbusy as a parent to very young kids. It doesn’t make sense, but its a thing. Well, its my thing.

**An example of being unbusy as a parent happened thirty seconds after typing what I thought would be the last sentence above. I added what happened below the next day.**

As I finished typing on the computer in my basement, me and my two year old daughter were making our way upstairs for dinner.

She was half way up the stairs when she missed the railing, lost her balance, and instead of falling forward into the steps she freaked out and fell backward down the steps.

Thankfully (for lack of better word) she was on the fifth step and not at the top. Her arm took the brunt force of the hit from the second to last step above the basement floor. She bounced off the step in a spinning like fashion and her butt hit the floor absorbing the remaining force. She broke out in tears and I went into high alert. I was four feet away and could do nothing.

Even though both of my kids have gone up and down the steps on their own a hundred times, it is the second time I have seen one fall down the basement steps. The first time was pretty bad.

My now three year old was two when he misstepped from the very top and somersaulted all the way down (thankfully) bouncing off that second to last step with his shoulder which kept his head from hitting the basement floor.

He was ok, but Ill never forget seeing him tumble down the steps head over heels four feet away and not being able to do anything about it.

Back to my daughter. She was ok, but for the next twenty minutes I held her in my arms consoling her. Unbusy.

There’s A Lot Of Money In Money

November 21, 2017 - Updated November 21, 2017

A couple of months ago we went out to dinner with some friends (six couples) at HopCat in Detroit before heading to Little Caesars Arena for one of the Kid Rock concerts its opening weekend.

Halfway through dinner one of my friends (we were in the same fraternity) tells us how he went to visit one of his friends from college (who was not in our fraternity) recently. I met his friend a decade ago in Kentucky when my buddy and his wife lived there. They invited a bunch of friends down to go to the Kentucky Derby.

While talking about his visit my friend mentions how the two of them went out to breakfast one day and his friend spent $30 on a dozen donuts. Fricking donuts. Turns out these donuts were amazing. They better fucking be.

After seeing his friend spend an amount of money much higher than he would spend on donuts and then lunch he asked his friend the question most friends don’t ask each other. “How much money do you have?” He had over $1.5 million saved and invested.

He is 34. No kids. Drives a ten year old Jeep and I think he owns a home. Even though his dozen donuts cost him $30 you could say he lives frugally for the amount of money he earns.

Everyone at the table has two kids, mid 30’s, owns a home with a mortgage, has at least one nice car, and combined couple annual incomes are $90k to $250k. My guess, and from what I know, is my buddies friend is worth $700k to $1.2 million more than each of the couples.

My friend had an idea his friend had some money but not that much money. The same sentiment was felt throughout the table. Not so much for me.

When I was 25 years old I worked as a mortgage banker at Quicken Loans (My brother works there. Call him). One day my parents had family friends over and I began telling them about my job. During the conversation I told them how much money some of the people I was working with were making.

I had only been there six months at the time so I was not making much. But when I heard some people were making $20,000+ a month and had only been there two years. All I could be was shocked and motivated.

This is when my parents family friend, a man who has known me my entire life, and somebody who has been a father figure type leaned over and said “There’s a lot of money in money.”

That line has stuck with me for 12 years.

People need money. If they can’t get it themselves then they have to pay someone money to get money.

My buddies friend has been working for Northwestern Mutual as a Financial Representative selling insurance and their other products since he graduated from Central Michigan in 2005. The man has paid his dues and is now at a point where he is earning some insane residual income from all of the insurance policies he has sold over the years.

What does this all mean?

It doesn’t mean anything. He made the most of an opportunity and now can do whatever he wants to do. Like eating $6 worth of $30 worth of donuts and throwing out the rest.

Are we impressed with his net worth? Probably.

Are we impressed with his work ethic? Probably.

Are we impressed with the way he did it? Sort of.

And I say sort of because “There is a lot of money in money.”

It is amazing how much money is out there flying around looking for a place to land. And it is also amazing how much money people can make when it lands on them.

My buddy Dave likes to joke about all of the Vice Presidents or Senior titles thrown around the financial world. Its funny to me because I made it to Senior Mortgage Banker when I was at Quicken Loans and I didn’t do anything more when I made Senior. It was the same job, they just paid me a little more.

Would I like to be worth $1.5 million right now? Absolutely.

Am I impressed he has $1.5 million right now? Its more of a “Good for him.” The real shocker would have been if he didn’t have $1.5 million.

I would expect it after doing that sort of job for twelve years. The residual income is huge. Every time one of his past clients renews their policies he gets a residual commission. This is how you build wealth.

If you want to make money and being something like a pilot, teacher, lawyer, engineer, Dr., etc. is not in the cards for you than the financial industry might be your way to financial freedom. I can imagine most jobs where you sell money comes with an opportunity similar to the one my buddies friend took advantage of. Whats funny is I interviewed with Northwestern Mutual my senior year of college but bombed the interview. I did not grasp it at the time. Balls.

A simple request to those that work in the financial industry. If you have done well for yourself. Congrats. But please don’t walk around like your Tom Brady (there’s only 1 Tom Brady) or an Astronaut (833 total) or a SR-71 Pilot (477 pilots have flown the most badass plane in the history of ever).

You did not invent money. You are not a badass (at least your job). Nobody likes a smug, know it all rich person who sells money for a living.

I am happy for people who do well with their careers. Especially friends of mine who are making some serious money. Maybe next time my buddies friend comes into town he could pick up some $30 donuts and hook a brother up. You can bet your ass I’m not treating myself to $30 worth of donuts.