star wars

Workouts: 6-7-09 to 6-13-09

/ Varza / Leave a comment

Its been a long week emotionally… stress levels are too the ceiling right now. Just getting in as much of a workout as I can right now. Taking each day as it comes…

6-7-09, Sunday

Forced Rest Day

6-8-09, Monday

cardio only today

45m – Elliptical, Weight Loss Mode, Resistance Level 5

Est. Cal Burn: 611

I would of done more but my nephew called and wanted to talk. Nephew trumps working out… at least in my book

6-9-09, Tuesday

Okay, todays workout – trainer day and he KICKED, and I mean KICKED! My butt! He actually pulled most of these from what I have been doing and added some twists and new things. Its nice to have a trainer that I work with so well and who knows my abilities… I’m guessing being friends helps a lot.

Warm Up
15m – Elliptical Cross ramp, Crosstrainer, Resistance Level 8

Workout – supersets… each pair is the super set.

Leg Press – super set with reverse lunges
20 @ 90# – Warm Up Set
20 @ 140#
15 @ 150#
12 @ 160#

3 x 12 – Reverse Lunges, Right Leg
3 x 12 – Reverse Lunges, Left Leg

Leg Extensions – superset with step ups
15 @ 70# – both legs
2 x 15 @ 30# – right leg, single
2 x 15 @ 30# – left leg, single

3 x 1m each round – step ups

Laying Legs Curls – Superset with Wall Sits
4 x 12 @ 60#
1 x 15 @ 40# (drop set)

3 x 40secs – Wall Sits

2 x 20 @ 75# – Seated Calf Press (all on their own)

2 x 12 – sit ups with 4# medicine ball. (basically, my trainer stood on my feet I had to sit up, grab the medicine ball from his hands. Go down and then go up one more time and give him back the ball – this was one rep.)

5m – Stretching of back and legs…. no cardio

My legs are killing me and I am so damned happy 😀 So far a great day!

Est. Time: 1h 15m (we actually did an hour today instead of our normal 45mins, I think we have too much fun at times.)
Est. Cal Burn: 942

6-10-09, Wednesday

Cardio Warm Up
33mins – Elliptical Crossramp, Glute Trainer, Resistance Level 7

Workout – each grouping is a superset or circuit

3 x 12 @ 8# medicine ball – back extensions
3 x 10 – roman chair leg lift, straight leg

3 x 12 @ 40# – squat w/ back row
3 x 12 @ 50# – fly
3 x 12 @ 50# – rear delt

10m – treadmill, interval inclines, 3.0mph

2 x 10 @ 8# medicine ball – Russian twists on medicine ball
2 x 30 – crunches on medicine ball

Tricep Pushdown w/ V Bar – superset with bicep curl
12 @ 35#
10 @ 45#
8 @ 55#
10 @ 40#
12 @ 30#

Bicep Pull Up w/ Rope
12 @ 30#
10 @ 40#
8 @ 50#
10 @ 40#
12 @ 30#

10m – stretching (I was really really sore)

Cardio Cool Down
20m – Treadmill, Random Inclines, 3.5mph

I feel like I am missing something but don’t know… surprisingly this was around a 2 hour workout… but seeing as over an hour of it was cardio, I guess that is why.

Est. Time: 2h5mins
Est. Cal Burn: 1,310

6-11-09, Thursday

Rest day, had planned on going in but lack of sleep this past week and the need to decompressed overwhelmed me. So I went home and rested.

6-12-09, Friday

Rest day…

6-13-09, Saturday

Warm Up
30m – Treadmill, 3.5mph, 6 Incline

Workout

Smith Squats
15 @ 50# (warm up set)
12 @ 70#
9 @ 80#
7 @ 90#
10 @ 80#
13 @ 70#

Calf Press on Leg Machine
12 @ 60#
10 @ 70#
10 @ 80#
12 @ 70#
14 @ 60#

5m – Row Machine

Hip Abductions (super set with adductions)
15 @ 135#
12 @ 145#
9 @ 155#
12 @ 150#
15 @ 140#
Hip Adductions
15 @ 130#
12 @ 140#
9 @ 150#
12 @ 140#
15 @ 150#
3 rounds of the following:
12 – stability ball leg pull in/bridge
20 – double crunch
10 – plank w/side rolls
2 x 5 @ 22# barbell – triple pump lunge, left leg
2 x 5 @ 22# barbell – triple pump lunge, right leg
2 x 15 @ 22# barbell – deadlights
stretching
Est. Time: 1h 40m
Est. Cal Burn: 1249

Another ComicCon?

/ Varza / 2 Comments

My friends and I have been waiting and waiting to see if C5 is ever going to happen (Star Wars Celebration 5 for those that didn’t know what I meant) and from the rumors I am hearing is that it won’t be until 2010 due to the insane schedule of LFL next year. And while its fine if it is… I can’t help but wonder if this is a red herring. And if so, should I still hold out hope?
The answer – nope. After talking with some friends we have agreed that since it seems like C5 won’t be happening next year (I believe we knew this far in advance if C4 was going to happen or not because I used my annual bonus to pay for my room and that was months after booking my flight), we have agreed to go to San Diego Comic Con next year.

I went a few years ago and while it was fun, it was also kinda crappy because being at a convention that has 120,000 people in attendance kinda sucks ass when you are alone almost the entire time. I had no one to really talk to or eat lunch or dinner with. I hung out with a couple people but in truth its not the same as going with friends. I would like to attend and see what its like to not eat every meal except lunch in my hotel room via room service. To wear a costume every day instead of just jeans and t-shirts. Even better – to be 100lbs lighter at the con may help myself feel more comfy in some of the situations. My life is pretty different since then – I belong to several groups for the past few years that I am very active in and they have a presence each year at the convention. So, we will see. Plus, it was when I was alone that I ran into Joss Whedon on the floor.

Now to start finding hotel rooms… that will help as well on paying for things. 😀 And I am trying to figure out if I can talk the guys into driving instead of flying. 😀 And of course this would mean 4 or 5 different costumes for the week… but nice comfy costumes. I will do my Fem Tusken for the group photo then change into something more comfy.

But if C5 does happen… well, I may go to that instead but it depends on where it is. Orlando, Baltimore yes. Other places (like Chicago) maybe not.

Random Star Wars References – 1

/ Varza / 1 Comment

I have been wanting to do this for awhile and just haven’t. Its odd and random when you come across a Star Wars reference in some way in the popular media and I thought it would be fun to start tracking it. Why? To really see how many odd references you can find just in your daily life of watching movies, tv, reading books etc… Today is the first one (I will do another post later on back tracking some of the ones I have found in the past):

Movie
Title: The Holiday
What reference: Jack Black playing the piano for Kate Winslet and showing her a piece he had written, he plays the Star Wars theme. (At another point, he talks about the Jaws theme as well.) She doesn’t mention Star Wars just says its John Williams not him.

If you have any that you know of yourself – please post a comment and I will add them in another post as well. If this is good, I will make a page for it.

The Clone Wars…

/ Varza / Leave a comment

There are spoilers to the movie in this blog review.
If you do not want to know anymore do not continue.

 

As I stated a few weeks back in my Flame Wars Begin blog post that I would have a review of the movie up today. So, here we are. I saw The Clone Wars movie last night and I have to say I enjoyed it. But I can see why many people are ragging on it. This is not the Star Wars movie we are used to. No big movie scroll at the beginning. The music is slightly different even the Star Wars theme. But I can see why there are changes, this is meant to be a precursor to the TV show starting on September 1st.

Is it worth a watch, yes. Is it worth full price night costs – not 100% sure on that. There are a lot of laughs, inside jokes, jawas, and some annoyances. But it is aimed for young kids not adults. My friends children that were at the movies last night loved it. Its not what adults are looking for. I know some people who hated it. And you would if you go in expecting to see a Star Wars movie not a kids cartoon movie.

On the side note, one of the main things critics and people are complaigning about is Ziro the Hutt, Jabba’s uncle. Why? Because it seems he is a crossdresser. Unfortunatly, due to the lack of explaination of this in the story line – Hutts are hermaphodites/asexual beings. You know like slugs. They can change sexes and usually still get referenced as male unless they are pregnant. This is not a generally known part of the Hutts but now you do. They actually talk about this in the Han Solo Trilogy when Han starts to work for Jabba.

There is one aspect I did not like of the movie and that was Anakin’s padaway Ashoko Tano. She annoyed me just a tad – like most people’s Jar Jar annoyance levels. I don’t know but I just wanted to reach into the screen and smack her. Maybe it doesn’t help that I don’t want to like her because you know she is probably going to die at some point in the cartoon. But I was able to ignore her enough to enjoy the movie. I loved the droids and I loved all the Jawa love.

The voicework was great. You can tell that the voices of Obi-Wan and Anakin are not the voices of Ewan and Hayden but little surprises Sam Jackson, Anthony Daniels and Christopher Lee reprise their roles in the movie. Which I loved. The woman who does Padme (Catherine Taber) – even cooler, she sounds A LOT like Natalie Portman and I look forward to hearing her play her own daughter in The Force Unleashed Game where she voices Princess Leia.

So, the rundown – its a great precourser to the tv show. Just go to it remembering that its a kids movie and while parts may not be the liking, that this is a different side of Star Wars. But from what I hear – if you don’t want to see the movie cause its kids, read the book by Karen Traviss. I’m picking mine up tonight on my way home. Its on sale at Borders! Yeah!!

The Flame Wars Begin

/ Varza / 1 Comment

I was just taking a few moments to look at the Fandango page for the Clone Wars, the new animated Star Wars movie/tv pilot coming to the big screen on August 15th and surprise surprise the haters are already blasting away. Seriously!? The movie doesn’t come out for almost two weeks and it has a so-so rating because people can’t help but blast away at anything that Lucas does. And unfortunatly, most of them are written with a severe lack of knowledge.

Several of the complaints are why would Lucas even think about making an animated movie! How dare he, he should just make the next trilogy of the Star Wars series. Well, to answer this: the movie is a pilot for the new tv series that is coming out starting on September 1, 2008 for the Cartoon Network. And its not like this is the first animation version of the series. Hello! Anyone remember the awesome shorts they did for the Clone Wars on the Cartoon Network between AOTC and ROTS? Maybe the reviewers never saw them? But this movie goes from where those take off and expand upon that part of the story and the war. We will finally get Assaj Ventress on the big screen! And more about the history between Obi-Wan, Anakin and Grevious and so on.

The other part of the flaming is just for the general hatred people seem to have with Star Wars and anything associated with it. Personally, which I don’t understand. Its not like the movies are a real war or anything to affect our daily lives. Real people aren’t dying but I swear you would think by the way people react that Lucas had mass murdered thousands of men, women and children. And I don’t understand, I just don’t. Its fiction, its not real people! Why waste so much hatred on something you could just ignore. In truth, this is nothing new. Ever since i got online and found a wider range of Star Wars fans I have been surprised about the venemance that people hate Lucas, even those who consider themselves fans. But this isn’t the first instance I have seen it online for this movie. I saw the same thing over at the The Leaky Cauldron when they annouced that the Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince trailer would be shown in front of the Clone Wars. Pages upon pages about how stupid and horrible Star Wars is and how could anyone ever like it. The movies suck, blah blah blah. And not just the PT but the OT. I mean, really? How much energy are you wasting? I can dislike people for their actions and what not but to hate a series? Whatevah…

And then the other complaint is the animation style. The stylized animation… nothing new and somewhat of a new technique in 3D animation. The style isn’t knew. If you watch the original Clone Wars animation you can see the stylized style which is simiular to other cartoons out there. It just takes that format and puts it into 3D and more rendered and relalistic looking then a flat animated image. God forbid they try something new.

But in truth, if people want to bitch and whine because they hate Lucas let them. Its annoying as hell, yes but why let it ruin our fun, right? Ignore the reviews you see online unless the person has seen the movie and not just the trailer. And pay attention to people who know what they are talking about and not just petty frustrated I’m bored so I will write this review. See it for yourself, judge for yourself and check back here on the evening of the 15th for my review. 😀

Here is the trailer everyone is either raving or bitching about:

And some of the original Clone Wars Cartoon:

Dang it! I want this shirt!!!

/ Varza / Leave a comment

I was wasting time today and buying a cute little Jawa shirt at 80stees.com when I came across this shirt: Jaws Chalk Shirt – I seriously should NOT have been drinking water when I saw it because I sprayed the computer. I desperately want one but can only hope that by next month it will still be there. I have to have that for when I go on the cruise in February. 😀

Imperial Crewman Update 1

/ Varza / Leave a comment

(To keep things going smoothly I am reposting my initial costume updates over here from my original myspace blog posts.)

Also on my list of costumes is an Imperial Crewman. This will give me the ability to troop at events where my Fem Tusken may not be acceptable.

I found a hat online but I think I may of done the wrong thing buying on ebay. I don’t feel as good about it now as I did when I said I would buy it. But I guess I will have to take my chances now. l’sigh.

And in case anyone was wondering – no set goal for finishing this one. I have some of the things already but all my money for costumes is coming out a savings I set aside awhile ago to fund my costuming. Stupid and weird. Yes.

You can read more about my IC costume here: https://varzaland.wordpress.com/costuming/imperial-crewman/