After Week 1 - Insanity Blog

After Week 1 of Insanity Blog

Weight I’ve lost: None. I actually gained a pound. I went from 168.1 to 169.7

What Hurts the Most: After a workout, usually my knees and calves. I found during a workout that my knees would be the body part bringing me the most pain.

What I did: A lot of cardio workouts (which included high knees, butt kicks, suicide drills, among other things), and a body test

Diet: Breakfast: Small bowl of Wheaties Fuel or Total cereal, morning snack: banana and NutriGrain Bar, Lunch: Either a small turkey sandwich or peanut buttered toast, afternoon snack: Varied… usually included a Power Bar. Dinner: Varied, often an Eating Right Frozen Dinner. I also ate out once (Blackened Chicken Pasta at Canyon’s) and had Thanksgiving Dinner

Summary: Well, I actually gained over a pound. I didn’t see that coming. I think I can attribute it to my couple of splurges this week because of Thanksgiving. I also may have gained some muscle mass, which weighs more than fat. I definitely noticed in my legs there is more there. I’ve heard that happens a lot in the first week of a workout, especially if you start like I did, sort of out of shape. I expect to definitely lose some weight for next week, especially if I stick to my diet. This first month is all about cardio and being able to last long during a workout, and of course, burning those extra pounds off. We’ll see if that starts to take effect this coming week.

My 60 Day Insanity Workout

Brian Holland’s 60-Day Insanity Workout

I am announcing that I will be doing the 60-Day Insanity Workout over the next two months (from November 22^nd to the middle of January). It is a workout routine on DVD that only requires 45-60 minutes a day of exercise. I have already received it in the mail and I am very excited to get starting and being in the best shape of my life by the end of this workout.

Here is a video in case you have never heard of it:


I will be posting a blog every Monday to let people know of my status on the workout. I’ll include what I’ve done, how hard it’s been, my diet, and my current weight. My weight right now stands at 168 pounds, so I could stand to lose a bit of weight. I plan on losing 20, 25 pounds to get under 150.

I know this is going to be hard for me. It’s going to be the most difficult thing I’ve ever done physically. But I’m ok with that and I’m ready for the challenge. I know what waits for me at the end. I want to be in the best shape of my life. And I’m willing to give it everything I’ve got, just one hour a day, for 60 days. It will be worth it.

My thoughts on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part one, in my opinion, is the best Harry Potter movie to date. The amazing and exciting book sure helped, but this movie, to me, outshone all others. Here are some scenes I thought they did beautifully:

- The seven Potters scene. PERFECT. Hilarious, accurate, and even better than I imagined it would be.
- The scene at the ministry. Sure, they didn’t rescue a lot of muggle-borns in the movie, but I felt that was a necessary cut to the film.
- The locket and doe scene. Just as I imagined. I couldn’t have written it better.
- The story of the Three Brothers. I am actually pleasantly surprised that Hermione’s telling of the story was left in, but seeing as it has to do with the title of the movie, then again, perhaps not that surprised.

Here are some that I thought they did ok, but a bit rushed:
- The wedding, including the preparations. Sadly, no ceremony, but the reception was pretty-well covered.
- The Malfoy Manor scene. The only thing that was really left out was Ron’s sobs for Hermione (which would have showed a strong bond between them) and Pettigrew’s hand turning on him and killing him.

Here’s what I missed:
- Lupin arriving at Grimmauld Place and his confrontation with Harry.
- The tale of Kreacher/Regulus. It’s a shame they never fully revealed how he did it. I was hoping they’d explain that Kreacher was used to not only put the real locket in the cave, but to get it out. Oh well.
- The statue/the letter Lily wrote to Sirius. While not essential to the plot (which is probably why they were cut), they would have been nice, touching additions to the movie.

All in all, however, I was very pleased with this movie. More so than any other movie, I thought the acting in this one was great. Dan was at his best, and so was Rupert. Emma Watson, formerly cringe-worthy, is now a very decent actress. She portrayed the scene where she removed her parents’ memories very well. I would give this movie a 4.5/5, or a 9/10. I cannot wait for Part 2, which unfortunately is not for another 8 months! Yikes!

Congrats Giants, but championship is bittersweet for me

I wanted to first start out by saying congratulations to my second favorite baseball team, the San Francisco Giants, on winning the 2010 World Series. They played incredibly and deserve it. They won it the same year I went to see one of their games, the first time I’d ever seen a non-Seattle pro sports game.

However, this title was bittersweet for me. If you’re reading this and you know me, you know that I am an even bigger—in fact, much bigger—fan of the Seattle Mariners. They are MY team. They always will be. I’d take one Mariners championship over ten Giants championships. As you can tell, there is a substantial gap between my first and second most favorite baseball teams.

What puts the bitter in bittersweet for me is that the Mariners have failed to do what every team except for one has done: get to the World Series. The only other team is the Washington Nationals, formerly the Montreal Expos. My Mariners have struggled in their history, but that’s not to say they haven’t had their bright spots. They had one of the most magical, franchise-saving seasons in baseball history in 1995. They tied the MLB record for wins in a season in 2001. And they have had a handful of future Hall of Famers don their colors.

But never have the Mariners won it all or even been to the World Series. And, as I watch the Giants and their fans celebrate, I hope that someday I will be one of those fans rooting as the Mariners win their first World Series championship. It’s bittersweet to watch that, because I haven’t rooted for the Giants all my life like I have with the Mariners. I haven’t donned Giants jerseys, caps, and shirts all my life. I haven’t been to more than one Giants game. And I haven’t bled Orange and Black, like I bleed Navy and Teal.

The Mariners will someday win it all. I know they will. And when that day comes, I will be the fan cheering hardest. They have to win it all. They just have to. After all of the torture they have put us through, they have to pay us back some day. If I have to wait until I’m 90 and have players win it whose GRANDPARENTS aren’t even born yet, then so be it. I will always root for my Mariners. I would definitely prefer a championship sooner than later, but at the same time, however long the front office and coaches need to put together a championship team, I will wait. Take your time, Mariners. I will be patient. BUT… GET—IT—DONE.