Workout of the Day: The Power of Carl Compels You

After a month of my take on the Daniel Craig circuit routine, it was time to change things up. While it's good to lift weights to keep your bones strong and body working, as you get older, cardio and flexibility become a bigger part of the equation. So does what you eat but you know, I like to eat. It's no secret that guys like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Arnold Schwarzenegger start their day with empty stomach cardio. For Van Damme it's the stationary bike with some kicking and stretching, for Johnson it's the elliptical machine and for The Oak it's the bike as well. But riding a bike or elliptical for 35-45 minutes just sounds frigging horrible to me. Instead, I opt for either an empty morning weight session or Frank Zane style ab-aerobics.

For weights if I'm not doing circuits it's supersets for Chest/Biceps, Back/Triceps, Legs and Shoulders/Arms. To change things up, I'm throwing in sessions with more functional for the whole body exercises like Weight Sled Push, Battling Ropes, Step Ups and body weight favorites Chins and Push Ups. I push to get my weight sessions done in 35-45 minutes so the tempo stays high and since you're on an empty stomach, energy and focus can start to fade.

For cardio and to keep things interesting I employ Zane's method of doing any particular exercise for 1-2 minutes then moving onto an ab exercise, repeat. At home that's looking like Treadmill on an incline, Stationary Bike, Stair Climber, Jump Rope and Shadow Boxing. That way you're not getting bored and you can push it with some intervals. If you don't have access to a gym you can always get a jump rope for under $10 bucks and run sprints, do jumping jacks and mountain climbers and shadow box. A few rounds of this and before you know it, 25-30 minutes has passed. It feels good to break a nice sweat but just remember to cool off by taking a few minutes to do some focused breathing and thinking about your goals. That way you're not still frazzled and sweaty trying to get ready for the day. A few sips of ice water supposedly tells your body to stop sweating and I find sitting down in front of a fan for a few minutes while I read e-mails releases any lingering tension.

It's almost Anime Expo, San Diego Comic-Con and D23 time so keep pushing!

San Diego Comic-Con 2014: Thursday w/ Turtles and Paramount

Hot Damme, Thursday, literally, it's hot out!  Welcome to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Thursday because it's TMNT all over the Con.  After walking the floor for a bit, I ducked into the Marriott's screening room to catch, you guessed it, 1990's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!  A classic comic book movie before there were comic book movies, TMNT still holds up with it's deft blend of action, laughs, brotherly love, production values and Henson assisted costumes and animatronic heads.  Back on the floor I scouted out Mondo's booth and picked up their selection of Batman: The Animated Series vinyls of Clayface, The Joker, Mr. Freeze and Harley Quinn.  NECA was sold out of exclusive Pacific Rim Jaegers but may have more tomorrow.  Remember yesterday when I told you I bet I could walk right into Hall H for Paramount's 3:00PM session?  Yeah, totally did.  Even stopped to get lunch and grabbed a decent seat near the first pillars.  After Hall H welcomed Benedict Cumberbatch for DreamWorks' latest animated romp then The Dude himself Jeff Bridges showed up to talk about The Giver.  Bridges' advice for young careers was to pull a Stallone and go out and make their Rocky since anybody with a cell phone is now a filmmaker. 

After a short intermission it was time for Paramount's panel.  The guide listed no information, just a look at their upcoming slate.  Ninja Turtles was up first as a quick clip showcasing the awesome franchise going from simple sketch to the comic book, cartoon, live action movie, toy and video game empire played before TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman took the stage to somewhat surprisingly muted applause.  I'm guessing the crowd is still on the fence about the new Turtles movie as it looks like they've been "Transformer-ized" or "Bayhem-ed" with a super slick, destruction heavy trailer which I didn't mind but their borderline grotesque design and CGI appearance hasn't whet my appetite.  The producers claim to have been longtime fans and one even produced a signed photo of Kevin from 21 years ago.  Eastman says the flick is fantastic and that the producers were intent on making the best TMNT movie possible from the start 3 years ago.  A clip introducing reporter April O'Neil and the turtles rolled which was surprisingly enjoyable with a nice mix of big action and humor, mostly coming from Michelangelo's wise cracking.  Actors Megan Fox and Will Arnett were brought out with the former being a fan since childhood and the latter just being an extremely funny guy.  Another clip played showcasing another big action scene involving snow, big rigs, hummers, rocket launchers and bulletproof shells.  The voices of the Turtles was a little hard to get used to as it's Johnny Knoxville as Leonardo, Anthony Shalhoub (PAIN & GAIN!) as Splinter with Mikey sounding like a little kid and Raphael coming off as RZA. 


Some other movie about time travel was previewed before audio from Hercules filled the room and boom, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson walked onto the floor and greeted the fans before taking the stage and welcoming himself back, WWE style.  Funny, huge and seemingly happy to be there, The Rock let us know he bought out 3 theaters and would Tweet the details to attending a free screening.  Clarke Duke came out with two lovely ladies on his arms to show us a trailer for Hot Tub Time Machine 2 which looks pretty Damme funny as they're sent to the future this time around.  Then a new trailer for Christopher Nolan's Interstellar played, this one interspersing snippets from former astronauts in with the film.  Our moderator introduced a first time Comic-Con attendee, Matthew McConaughey!  The Reign of Fire star and Oscar winner looked very ruggedly handsome while explaining that he got a call from his agent to meet Chris Nolan, went to his house for a 3 hour meeting where they discussed everything except working on a film together.  A week later a script showed up and Denton Van Zan was in.  Guess we can really call it the McCONaissance now huh?  McConaughey wanted to hear Hall H's legendary hollering before describing Nolan as an original, the director might have been inspired by a Stanley Kubrick movie but his interpretation would be wholly new.  Another Comic-Con first, director of Inception and The Dark Knight Trilogy Christopher Nolan walked out looking as dapper as can be.  Without giving too much away, Nolan discussed his love for science-fiction and how in his youth, becoming an astronaut was the highest career someone could aim for.  Influenced by the likes of 2001, Star Wars and Blade Runner (his favorite film), Nolan talked about making things as real as possible for the actors in terms of sets and production and using IMAX to enhance the experience. 

Next on deck is a panel on the history of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the form of a new documentary as well as Hero Complex's Comic-Con soiree and maybe a movie trivia contest.

I'm Hot! I'm Big! Big-uh!

"It'll make you great, man.  You already big but you could be bigger.  

You know?  I'm big.  Imma be swole though. Walk sideways through doors."

Nothing like a little Pain & Gain to get you back in the mood for working out.  It's been nearly a year since the best movie of 2013 hit theaters and took in $50 million on it's way to cult movie status complete with a bare bones and Collector's Edition home video releases.  Mark Wahlberg scored a late summer hit, sharing the screen with Denzel Washington in 2 Guns before making an even bigger splash with the true events based Lone Survivor.  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson showed up for Fast & Furious 6 and WrestleMania while teasing the world with the in progress flick Hercules which just saw it's trailer hit.  In a bit of timing coincidence, Anthony Mackie is currently onscreen in mega hit Captain America:  The Winter Soldier which was written by Pain & Gain and Captain America:  The First Avenger's Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

To ease my way back into training after a pseudo week off where I stuffed my face with burgers, fries, pizza, fried chicken, Chinese food, subs and so much more I opted for a traditional Back and Triceps workout followed by cardio.  Still implementing a pyramid rep scheme to warm up, work and back off, I completed 5-7-10-12-7 of the following:

1) Deadlift - For lower back, forearms and quads.  Want to avoid back pain?  Train it!
2) Bench Dips - Pyramiding up and down but starting at 10 reps, then with a 25lb plate on my lap
3) Chin Up - Alternating grips each set
4) Dumbbell Extension - Behind the head, keeping elbows in tight, lowering as far as possible
5) Dumbbell Row - Alternated rowing close to the side of my lats with rowing wide to the outside to work different angles, these got my back, rear delts, biceps and forearms really pumped
6) Close Grip Push Up - I had used all my weights for heavy DB exercises so used different hand placement: close parallel, diamond and fingers facing in to burn out the tri's

This was followed by some Ab-Aerobics where I'd pedal and jump rope for 2 minutes each followed by some crunches, trunk twists and ab wheels.  This went on for 5 rounds while I watched Messrs Wahlberg, Johnson and Mackie blow shit up and get swole.

Cut the check!

I'm Hot! I'm Big! Chicken

"You know I could have got you ripped, man.  But you know what your problem is?  Skinny ass quads.  You got no quads, man!  That was my problem, spent a lot of time building up these bad boys."

End of Watch(ing): 2013

Another year, another 80 movies in a theater.  First run, revival, special events, anniversaries, midnights and outdoor screenings add up in the city of lights and angels.  Looking back, I got to see some of my favorite movies of all time on the big screen like The Great Escape (2nd time), The Terminator (3rd time), Robocop (2nd time) and Escape From New York (3rd time) as well as see some of my favorite actors in person like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kurt Russell and Peter Weller.

On the new movie front, three flicks hit cinemas that became instant favorites:

Pain & Gain

Hands down my favorite movie of the year.  Why?  Because it's a movie about DOING.  Not talking about it, being about it!  Just because it's about the dark side of the human condition doesn't take away from the fact that P&G was the most hilarious and fucked up good time I had in a theater.  Of course I'm partial to the flick as well due to it's 90's bodybuilding backdrop which I find hysterical.  Mark Wahlberg is great as the determined, positive, yoked out, manipulative and demented ring leader following a three finger plan to rid the world of a douche bag while getting rich in the process.  Dwayne Johnson's freakish physique and boyish charm are put to good use as the dim witted weak link of the group and Wings' Tony Shalhoub is fantastic as the self made, total asshole, non-salad eating mark.  Michael Bay brings his usual vibrant, over the top and kinetic style to a low budget classic that shows he knows what he's doing even if people try to give him crap about it.

Pacific Rim

The most fun I had at the movies this summer.  Maybe it was the low expectations, maybe it was the horrid trailers, maybe it was the new yet familiar concept of Transformers fighting Godzilla but I was not looking forward to it.  Imagine my surprise when I found myself grinning ear to ear from the very start.  The soundtrack is catchy and rocking while the giant robot destruction was near heart stopping and exciting.  Rim almost spoils you for other movies because it makes you feel and yearn for a higher purpose.  We all go to movies to be entertained and sometimes educated but Rim is truly cinematic magic as it makes reality seem oh so boring compared to the world created.  Guillermo Del Toro brings out your inner 12 year old while making your 31 year old self wish he had a higher calling as singular and important as defending the world from massive, angry alien invaders.

The Last Stand

Arnold's would be comeback vehicle might not have set the box office on fire but that doesn't take away from the fact that it's an age appropriate and rollicking fun time showing the King still has the goods.  A modern western realized by easterner Kim Jee-Woon, Stand is a violent and quirky thriller that pits Arnie's small town rag-tag Sheriff's Department against the merciless army of an escaped cartel leader.  For me, Stand ranks among The Oak's best flicks, especially trumping anything he's done since True Lies in 1994.

Other flicks I enjoyed or at least made me pay attention:

Star Trek Into Darkness
Ender's Game
World War Z
Thor:  The Dark World
Only God Forgives
Rush
Don Jon
Prisoners
2 Guns

I haven't gotten around to seeing most of the award fodder yet, that's what January is for.

I'm Hot! I'm Big! Getting Radical

"When it started, America was just a handful of scrawny colonies.  Now, it's the most buff, pumped up country on the planet.  That's pretty rad."

Sup all my internet lawn dogs, hope you're all staying swole and badass as the holidays start showing up with turkey, pie, stuffing and people complaining about other people working on Black Friday.  If you didn't shop on Black Friday then they wouldn't be open on Black Friday.  That's called capitalism.  Just like all them mo's who complain about traffic when they are traffic because they're doing 35 and looking around instead of trying to get somewhere.

Anyways, I was kinda right but more wrong, 2013's best movie is coming to Special Edition Blu-Ray only it ain't coinciding with Transformers IV, it'll be here just after gobble gobble day to get you motivated after gorging yourself and falling asleep on the couch watching Highlander.  Pain & Gain comes loaded with several featurettes but no commentary, a bit of a surprise since the Michael Bay dog has never been shy to lay down a track about his flicks.

Keep on rocking:

I'm Hot! I'm Big! #NoSympathy

"The way to prove yourself, is to better yourself.  That's the American dream.  I have no sympathy for people who squander their gifts.  It's sickening, it's worse than sickening...it's unpatriotic."

It's Tuesday baby, Monday was hard but it's time to move on.  Be a doer.  But don't hurt anybody.

Ripspirational: Pain and Gain

2013 has brought us new movies from Stallone, Arnold, Statham, Van Damme and Iron Man but you know what just might be my favorite movie of the year so far?  Pain and Gain.

Why?  Because it's a movie about DOING.  Sure, their version of the American Dream is bigger and more fucked up than yours but damn is it entertaining to watch.  Michael Bay's mini budget opus still looks as flashy and hyper real as his astronomically expensive projects but doesn't quite bludgeon you into a coma with car chases, explosions and fighting robots.

It's becoming common knowledge that Mark Wahlberg gained 40 some pounds of muscle for his role as Daniel Lugo, personal trainer turned kidnapper and extortionist.  The former Marky Mark is a father of four now so training starts early, like 4:30/5:00AM early.  Wahlberg had gotten lean for Broken City but bounced back for P&G by hitting the gym hard, eating 10 meals a day, waking up in the middle of the night to eat and working with GNC on his own supplement line.  In the flick, Wahlberg is all neck, traps and arms.  He's so swole you're not sure he can put his arms down.   Check out an old school workout of his here and a new one here.

The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson plays a newly released convict with a kind heart and evil demons who falls in with Wahlberg's crew after meeting them at the local gym.  If you follow the big man's Twitter you know he went through a rigorous eating and training program to be in top condition for his big year of GI Joe, Pain and Gain and Fast and Furious 6.  A former college football player and professional wrestler, The Rock has always been in great shape.  Lately he's really been going for it, 4:00AM cardio, heavy weights, plyometrics and old school bodybuilding compound exercises.  Rock's eating plan had him consuming 7 clean meals a day and by the end of it, gorging on pizza, brownies and giant pancakes.

Anywho, back to me and the flick.  Growing up idolizing Arnold, Frank Zane and Jean-Claude Van Damme meant I was reading Flex Magazine and not knowing bodybuilding professionals do it for a living and are on some kind of supplementation (legal and illegal).  So watching this time capsule of a movie complete with hip packs, cut off jean shorts, white high top sneakers, Otomix workout shoes, Zumba pants, striped leotards and cut off flannels made me crack up regularly.

On a deeper level, it struck a chord because the characters GO FOR IT.  No half assing, no second guessing, they grip it and they rip it.   I know they're all vile human beings for it but you can't help but laugh at them, especially Lugo's attempt to assimilate into suburbia.  You can relate to his character's constant optimism, positive energy and can do spirit that is twisted by his desire to be more than the guy who is liked but to be the guy who is admired (and rich).

Not sure if further (and ho hum looking) adventures of Superman, Wolverine or The Wolf Pack are going to top this one.

Take a look at Wahlberg and Johnson's eating routine, you'll get full just reading it.