Archives for March 2018

Beachbody On Demand Review

March 8, 2018 - Updated March 8, 2018

When Beachbody On Demand was released in 2015 it basically brought an end to the DVD as we know it.

Beachbody workouts were the very last DVDs I was buying and since On Demand has come around I have not bought a single one.

And that’s a good thing. Times change and pretty much everyone was wanting a way to stream or download Beachbody workouts for a couple of years. Beachbody held on for a few more years pumping out DVDs until they were ready to release a very good product. That’s kind of their deal.

A few things have changed since my first review of Beachbody On Demand in 2015 and I decided to bring it up to 2018.

You probably already have an idea that Beachbody On Demand is where you can access every single Beachbody workout ever made online. So lets start with the important stuff first.

Cost

You will be able to view every Beachbody workout online with any Beachbody On Demand membership. Meal plans and workout sheets are also included online. There are three options to choose from when selecting a Beachbody On Demand membership.

$99 Year Annual All Access Plan: Every Beachbody workout for less than the price of one workout on DVD. By far the best value.
$59 Six Month All Access Plan: Maybe you’re the sort of person who likes to do two 90 day programs a year and that’s it.
$39 Three Month All Access Plan: Maybe you only like to do one 90 day program a year.

All of the plans above are billed in advance and come with a 30 day money back guarantee. The three month plan comes with a 14 day free trial.

Workouts

The amount of workout programs included in Beachbody On Demand is vast. Here is an updated list for 2018.

SHAUN WEEK
SHIFT SHOP
YOUV2
3 Week Yoga Retreat
3 Day Refresh Yoga
10-Minute Trainer®
21 Day Fix
21 Day Fix EXTREME®
22 Minute Hard Corps®
80 Day Obsession
Active Maternity
A Little Obsessed
A Week Of Hard Labor
Autumns Exclusives
Beachbody Yoga Studio
Body Beast®
Brazil Butt Lift®
Brazil Butt Lift Carnivale
Brazil Butt Lift Master Series
ChaLEAN Extreme®
CIZE®
Clean Week
CORE DE FORCE
Country Heat
Double Time
FOCUS T25®
Great Body Guaranteed!®
Hip Hop Abs®
Ho’Ala ke Kino
INSANITY®
INSANITY MAX:30TM
INSANITY: THE ASYLUM® Volume 1
INSANITY: THE ASYLUM Volume 2
Jericho’s Exclusives
Joel’s Exclusives
Kathy Smith’s Project:YOU! Type 2®
Kids & Family Collection
P90®
P90X®
P90X2®
P90X3®
P90X ONE on ONE®
PiYo®
Power 90®
Power Half Hour®
Pre & Post Natal Fitness
RevAbs®
Rockin’ Body®
Sagi’s Exclusives
Slim in 6®
Tai Cheng®
The Master’s Hammer and Chisel®
The 20s
Tony’s Exclusives
Total Body Solution®
TurboFire®
Turbo Jam®
Yoga Booty Ballet®

Free Trial

Just want to kick the tires before committing? Thats cool. There is a 14 day free trial available. You’ll see the free trial option on the bottom right of the Beachbody On Demand signup page.

Stream

It’s quite simple to start streaming your favorite workouts with your Beachbody On Demand account. Besides a membership you will need a streaming device such as an Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or Chromecast.

I’ve been using the Roku 4 for two years and haven’t had a problem. It seems to work better with a HDMI cable versus wireless.

After logging into my Roku account you simply add the Beachbody On Demand app to your channels.

Which then takes you to the home screen for Beachbody On Demand.

Pick the program you want to do. I just so happen to be doing Insanity Max 30 right now.

Pick the workout you want to do.

And try not to puke.

App

You can also download the Beachbody On Demand app on iTunes for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

Apple Watch users can stream their workouts on their iPhone or iPad, and Apple Watch will project real-time heart rate and caloric burn on those screens.

The Beachbody On Demand app is also available for Android users via Google Play.

You will need a Beachbody On Demand membership to make the apps work.

Cancel

If you are wondering how to cancel Beachbody On Demand you only need to visit this link here. Refunds and cancellations are done very quickly.

Summary

Beachbody workouts on shelf — Two shelves of Beachbody dvds.

I’ve really enjoyed Beachbody On Demand. It makes everything so much easier to manage and its more affordable than buying DVDs. Think about all the shelf space anybody who is new to Beachbody is going to save.

All joking aside there is a ton of value with Beachbody On Demand. People can now sample all of the workouts for $40 for 3 months instead of spending $120 on one workout DVD.

That’s doable for just about everybody’s budget. If you don’t like any of the workouts – which is impossible – you can cancel your membership and not have to worry about sending the DVD’s back.

As an added bonus you can download workouts and view them offline as long as you keep your subscription active. They send you an encryption key which lets you access the files on your hard drive for those times when you’re not able to access the internet.

No more scratched discs. No more sending DVDs back. Theres only doing whatever workout you want whenever you want with Beachbody On Demand.

Insanity Asylum Workout Review: I Got Ripped

March 7, 2018 - Updated November 25, 2018

Back in the good old days of 2011 I finished and wrote this review about my first and only round of Insanity: The Asylum. It’s 2018 and all of this is still relevant.

When I did my first round of Insanity Asylum I was 31 years old and in very good shape due to finishing a few rounds of P90X and Insanity prior to starting.

I have not done another round of the Asylum since 2011 and it’s mostly because The Asylum is really tough. I just haven’t had it in me to try it again.

By now you probably know that Insanity: The Asylum is a 30 day program developed by Shaun T to improve your speed, coordination, agility, and strength with sports specific moves pro athletes do. I was expecting Insanity: The Asylum Volume 1 to be a lot like the original Insanity workout but to my surprise it was not.

Let’s get into it. I prefer to post my before and after photos at the top with the details below.

Insanity Asylum Results Before Photos — Insanity Asylum Before Photo

Insanity Asylum Results After Photos — Insanity Asylum After Photo

This is easily the most ripped I have ever been in my entire life. None of this would have been possible without the numerous rounds of P90X and Insanity I did before The Asylum. Saying all that it’s still impressive how much my body changed in just 30 workouts.

Insanity Asylum Workout DVD — Autographed by Shaun T. Because I’m cool and stuff.

I did do about 20 miles of mountain biking and played double-header softball games on consecutive nights weekly during my 30 days of Insanity Asylum. I work out of the house so my bike is my means of transportation.

I took a gander at the Insanity Asylum meal plan but kept up with my tradition of not following it.

I did like how it was much simpler than other Beachbody meal plans. I would give myself a B+ on the meal plans.

Usually have 1-3 cheat meals a week like Buffalo Wings, couple slices of pizza, or my weakness…french fries.

Yes, I do have a beer or two or more on the weekends. It probably would have made a subtle difference in my results if I completely cut alcohol but I’m not trying to make the cover of a magazine.

I took Shakeology daily and the P90X Recovery Drink after every workout. Would have a P90X Protein Bar every other day. Shakeology has made a big impact on my overall health and fitness since I started taking it daily.

When I went through my first round I only used the pull up bar for one move as the pull ups they were trying to do were ridiculous. I did the dumbbell move Shaun T said to do instead.

When I saw the agility ladder I kept thinking it was going to be like field day in elementary school. Speed has always been a weakness of mine so the jump rope and ladder are going to suck for the first couple of weeks but I know I’m going to get a lot out of it.

Started on April 19th and finished on June 24th taking me 67 days to complete. It took longer than 30 days because of double-header softball games twice a week and my stupid left knee. If I worked out on both days and played softball I would be gassed.

Would rather workout one day, rest the other, and have energy to play the games. My knee was the other issue. Occasionally I would skip a day or two of Asylum workouts and ride my bike to get a workout in. All of the lunges, jump roping, and running the bases put a toll on my knee in the beginning forcing me to rest.

What Did You Like Most?

All seven workouts were challenging and fun. Plus, most were only 45 minutes long.

Athletic Performance Assessment was one of the tougher Fit Tests. Speed & Agility reminded me of field day back in elementary school. Vertical Plyo was tough enough without the jump rope. Strength might be my favorite Beachbody workout of all time. Game Day & Overtime were equally brutal. Back To Core worked all of those small connector muscles. And Relief really didn’t give any relief at all.

What Did You Like The Least?

The Insanity Asylum workout is hard as hell. I guess that’s a good thing though. Kind of wish the Relief Workout would have been a little longer and involved more Yoga moves. Its hard to be critical in this review when I know The Asylum kicked my butt.

Who Should Or Should Not Do Insanity Asylum?

Athletes – (Should) – Probably had my best season of softball since starting Beachbody workouts four years prior. All of the sport specific moves carried over onto the field. Noticed a bigger burst of speed on the base paths and while fielding ground balls.

Footwork improved from the jump roping and arm strength from the Strength Workout. It made it easier to get to ground balls and throw people out from short stop. A perfect off season program.

Out Of Shape – (Should Not) – I could not imagine being overweight or very out of shape and doing Insanity Asylum. I was in decent shape prior to starting and it was hell. I’d go to Beachbody On Demand and select one of the beginner workouts instead.

Recommendation

If you want to torture yourself with a round of Insanity Asylum I recommend you get a Beachbody On Demand membership where you can view The Asylum and every other Beachbody workout online.

Much better than buying DVDs in 2018. I still have the Shaun T autographed DVD copy that I won in a Beachbody Coach contest in 2011 laying around. But who buys DVDs anymore.

Add the Insanity Asylum Deluxe Upgrade kit (pull up bar, chin-up assist, strength bands) and the agility ladder. A nice set of dumbbells is helpful.

Summary

When I first wrote this review in 2011 I thought the Insanity Asylum workout was the hardest workout Beachbody has ever made. And I still believe that to be true. It’s the only Beachbody workout where its required you do Insanity or P90X first.

You can’t modify your way through The Asylum. This is one of those workouts you could do 2 or 3 times in a row before you master all of the workouts without taking breaks. It’s that tough.

It’s also my favorite workout Beachbody has ever made. Everyday was so challenging but the results were worth it. And the moves were fun once you got the hang of them.

It did take me 67 days to finish a 30 day workout. This is true. I would have finished it sooner if it wasn’t for all the softball I was playing. You only get so many nice days here in Michigan.

Was so confident in my results that I even submitted them to Beachbody in the hope I might win a prize. This did not happen. It has to be my face that they just do not like. As a consolation they sent me an Insanity: The Asylum t-shirt which I guess will work.

I do not know if I’ll ever do another round of Insanity: The Asylum. I want to but I will have to commit to another cycle of Shaun T workouts to get my cardio up. Otherwise it will be miserable.

Realspace Magellan Pneumatic Stand Up Adjustable Desk Review

March 5, 2018 - Updated March 5, 2018

One common problem I continue to have with my working from home setup has been my desk. A lot has changed in my life since I started working from home a decade ago.

Mostly I went from having a home office in our house to kind of having a home office. And thats because we have two kids now and no more rooms for a home office. Into the un-finished basement I went.

What I know to be true after working from home is I need some sort of a stand up desk. We all know by now how bad sitting for long periods of time is and there’s even evidence that standing isn’t all that great either. Nothing can be simple anymore, right?

I’ve tried the Varidesk and didn’t really like it as it was too bulky and cumbersome. I’ve even tried putting my iMac on an odd workshop sort of table thing the previous homeowners left behind. That didn’t work either.

All I really want is a desk. One that goes up and down. Thats it.

I don’t know why I didn’t think to search for a pneumatic desk in the first place. My best guess is every time I searched for a stand up desk the results I saw were for the top of the line electric desks that cost $1k+ which is unnecessary for my needs.

Realspace Magellan Pneumatic Stand Up Adjustable Desk Review — Raised all the way up.

And then one day searching Craigslist I see the Realspace Magellan pop up for sale and I was like “yup, I’m buying that.” They retail for $300 (sale price) to $400 at Office Depot and I was able to get it for $150.

The guy I bought it from helped me load it into the truck assembled. I had to take one leg off to get it into the house which was kind of a pain but I was able to get it into the house by myself as the desk is light.

Its incredibly simple to operate as all you do is hold the little lever and push it down or pull it up to your height. It is so much easier to move than the Varidesk was.

Realspace Magellan Stand Up Desk Lowered Position — Lowered all the way.

And the Realspace is not heavy either. So even with the weight of the tabletop, my iMac, a printer, two small speakers, a lamp, and a fake plant it moves quite easily. I’m 5’11” and find the heights it raises to perfectly acceptable to work at when standing for an extended period of time.

Cable management is of course a problem with desks but I solved that with the Signum from Ikea. No cables dangling near my feet or in such a way where my kids would see them and grab them. For some reason it is half the price to buy it at the store versus Ikea.com or on Amazon. So I drove to the Ikea store an bought it there. Install was simple.

I believe mine to be the Espresso (dark brown) finish. So far its hiding any sort of scratches or dings it might have. A quick wipe down and I can’t see any blemishes on the finish.

I searched for other pneumatic desks and there really aren’t that many. Its unfortunate as I feel the manufacturers are not catering to the work from home types like myself who just want something simple. Heaven forbid I use a muscle to manually raise or lower the desk once or twice a day.

The last thing I want to do is spend $1k+ on an electric stand up desk and have to spend $100+ on an electric motor when it goes out.

After six months of owning the Realspace Magellan I am extremely happy I bought it. It classy’s up my part of the unfinished basement and makes it feel like a home office.

P90X Workout Review: It Changed My Life

March 3, 2018 - Updated December 4, 2018

Back in 2007 at the age of 27 I finished my first round of P90X and it’s when I wrote this review. Its 2018 and just about all of it is still true.

I have done many rounds of P90X over the years including hybrid programs. It became a big part of my life for the better part of five years. More on that below.

You probably know by now that P90X is a workout program based on the concept of “Muscle Confusion” where you do 12 different workouts over a 90 day period.

How I like to do my reviews is share my before and after photos first with my thoughts about P90X below. So here you go.

Round 1: 2007. Age: 27

Before starting P90X, my workouts consisted of running 20 miles a week followed with 50 push ups and chair dips with 100 sit ups. Six months before starting P90X I completed the Detroit Marathon. I was in good cardio shape but did not have a lot of muscle because of all the running. I was “skinny fat.” And I ate and drank whatever I wanted.

Upper body got bigger. From day 1 to day 60 I can see the V shape coming from my shoulders to waist. My forearms look bigger too. Probably could have gone without the flash on the camera for the Day 90 photo and not stuck out my chest either.

It looks like my chest and shoulders got a little bigger in this photo.

I can definitely see that my back, shoulders and arms got bigger and there is some definition now. I contribute a lot of this to doing chin ups and pull ups. I think all of those pull ups made me a little wider so I now have more of a “V” shape.

Either I had a little gut and no chest muscles when I started or I lost the gut and now have chest muscles. My arms and shoulders look bigger now too. I can see the outline for my oblique ab muscles now too.

P90X kicked my butt those first 90 days. Here I am thinking I’m in phenomenal shape from running a marathon and then I barely do 2 pull ups the first time I do Chest & Back. It was an eye-opener.

Week 1 resulted in soreness like I had not felt since practicing soccer 5 days a week when I was growing up. It hurt to walk, lift my arms, or do just about anything. The first month was a real challenge, especially doing pull ups.

Reps and weights gradually increased during Month 2. Definition started to show all over. Month three was a lot of fun. I was not as sore anymore.

The first time I did P90X Legs and Back I was only able to do 3 total pull ups. At the end of the 90 days I did 82. The first time I did P90X Chest and Back I could do 75 push ups and 2 total pull up / chin ups. At the end of P90X I could do 220 push ups and 52 pull up / chin ups.

It took 100 days to finish my first round of P90X. Started at 165 pounds and ended at 175 pounds. Body fat percentage went from 13% to 11%. What makes my results different from most is I put on 10 pounds of muscle where most people lose weight.

I did not follow the P90X meal plan during my first round at all. It was a bit complicated and I thought I ate well to begin with.

I started P90X in the beginning of summer and went out on my buddies boat almost every weekend partying my ass off. We only get a couple of months of warm weather here in Michigan so if you can get out on the lake, you do it. If I would have not partied every weekend that summer my P90X results would have told a different story.

Friends and family were telling me I looked different after my first round of P90X. None of them had ever seen me with muscle before.

The only downside to getting into great shape with P90X was I had to buy new clothes. None of my old clothes fit anymore. My “runners body” clothes were obsolete.

During my first round of P90X I used a Whey Protein Powder from GNC.

Sports

It was immediately noticeable how much of a difference P90X made in my overall fitness. Sports were so much more fun.

Golf drives went from 230 yards to 250 yards with occasional 270 yard drives. And while I took 100 days off from running I went for a 5 mile run after my first round and dropped 2 minutes off my time.

I went from hitting line drives and ground balls at softball to hitting them off the fence some 300 feet away.

Shaved nearly five minutes off my mile swim time from 50 minutes to 45 minutes. Mountain biking was noticeably easier from all the core and leg work. Skiing and snowboarding were a lot more enjoyable as I did not have to take as many breaks.

Round 2: 2010. Age. 29

After looking at my original P90X results I don’t think they give P90X any justice. I was very happy with my original results but to get the most out of P90X you really need to follow the meal plan and that was something I did not do.

P90X Workout Results — After Round Two Of P90X. Age: 30.

I have a lot more definition now then after my first round of P90X. It should be noted I did a round of Insanity and various Tony Horton 1 on 1 workouts in-between rounds of P90X.

Many of my reps (pull ups & push ups) along with the amount of weight I could lift were slightly higher. The biggest factor came from following the meal plan 90% of the time along with using Shakeology everyday. What a difference it made.

After hearing Beachbody sell me on why I need to take the P90X Recovery Drink and P90X Protein Bars a hundred times after each workout I went and bought it for round two. Soreness did seem to go down faster. My best guess is Shakeology did more for me than the other two did.

Ten Years Later

Since that first round I’ve done three more rounds, a number of hybrids, and individual workouts from time to time. Its my humble opinion that P90X is the best at home workout program ever made.

I think about how much my life has changed since 2007 when a friend told me he was doing P90X to get into shape for basic training for Marines Officer Candidate School.

He told me I should buy P90X, start on my own, and when we had the same workouts on a particular day to go to each others house. That is what we did.

My friend undersold P90X and told me nothing more than “its extreme”. What “extreme” means could mean a number of things. Six months prior to starting P90X I ran the Detroit Marathon and thought that was extreme.

When I went looking to buy P90X I viewed the P90X infomercial on Beachbody’s website. Did I see people doing pull-ups? P90X definitely got me out of my fitness comfort zone and it brought my base fitness level way up.

It’s crazy to think how much my body and fitness changed while using a pull up bar, Bowflex Dumbbells, and occasionally some resistance bands or push up bars.

Tony Horton and Beachbody put P90X together so well. And to think you could get in this sort of shape in your home. Plus it challenged people to get out of their comfort zones and try things like Yoga and Plyometrics. After I started to get the hang of pull ups I began to look forward to doing P90X all the time.

Then there’s the whole thing P90X did for me and countless others as Beachbody Coaches.

I cannot say for sure if I will do another round of P90X. But as I approach 40 years old I probably should as Tony Horton was 45 when P90X was released. Hopefully I’ll be able to hang with him when I’m 45.

Varidesk Pro Standing Desk Review: Not For The Home Office

March 3, 2018 - Updated March 5, 2018

Once upon a time in 2015 I wrote this review for the Varidesk Pro standing desk. After a year of ownership I had to sell it due to home office arrangements changing.

We had two babies a year apart from each other and our office was now a baby room. I bought a MacBook Pro and worked from the kitchen table for a while and still do.

I bounce back and forth between the kitchen table and a quasi office I have set up in our unfinished basement. In 2017 I purchased a Realspace Magellan pneumatic standing desk and have my iMac, printer, etc. down there.

I prefer that desk over the Varidesk. One, it’s a desk. And two its easy to maneuver. My guess is the entire desk is lighter than the Varidesk.

Everything below this is still true about the Varidesk and if you’re curious about buying one then I hope this helps.

What lead me to buy the Varidesk in the first place was after a bit of self diagnosing I concluded that years of sitting on my arse is a leading factor into these ailments. Knees and hips are not liking all the sitting. And I found a number of people saying the same thing and how they combat it with stand up desks.

That’s what lead me to the Varidesk Pro.

I had a very nice glass desk from Ikea and getting rid of it did not make sense at the time. I liked how the Varidesk sat on top of my old desk and could be moved anywhere. Figured my iMac would fit and look oh so pretty on it which it does.

Can’t remember why I went with the Pro version instead of the Single version besides it being only $50 more for the Pro. I got super-sized.

Varidesk Pro…um..Pros

Flexible – Move it where ever your standing desires are needed.
Sturdy – Put it down and the Varidesk ain’t moving.
Well built – Nothing flimsy about this bad boy.
Multiple settings – Works for people of all heights.
Varidesk app – Alerts you to stand up. Keeps track of calories burned.
Lives up to expectations – The Varidesk performs exactly how it says it would.

Varidesk Pro Cons

Heavy – Its 48 pounds. Thought it might break my glass desk but it didn’t.
Expensive – At $350 plus $50 in shipping it can put a dent in your wallet.
Large – 36 inches long by 23 inches wide. There is space for a notepad and you can store stuff between the upper and lower levels.

The Varidesk Pro has done exactly what I thought it was going to do. I spend quite a bit more time standing up now when I’m working and notice a difference in how I feel at the end of the day. More energy, bloods pumping through the body, stuff is stretching. All good things.

Saying all that I had to sell the Varidesk with my home office being eliminated due to babies. The amount of real work I will be doing at home will be done from our kitchen table and the Varidesk would look stupid sitting on it. I love my iMac but I foresee me switching to a MacBook so when I need to stand up I can slide over to the kitchen counter.

If you go the standing desk route you must buy an anti-fatigue mat to stand on or your knees will hurt something fierce.

I don’t think I’d spend $400 on the Varidesk again if I was in the market to do so. I feel the Varidesk Pro is geared more towards the corporate office instead of the home office. Just looking at it says “I’m designed to take a beating everyday and my black finish will blend in with any cubicle.”

I just checked the Varidesk Companies website for the first time since I bought mine and noticed they have come out with a few more models. Nothing that screams home office yet so maybe soon.