Month: November 2015

Loot Crate December 2015 Theme: Galaxy

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December is the month of Star Wars! With the new movie being released on the 18th, I can see why the theme is Galaxy. I hope the t-shirt or Funko Pop! is from Star Wars or Galaxy Quest. I wonder what else they will include. If it’s anything like the Time crate, I’m sure it’s going to be awesome.

If you want to sign up use this LINK, also use the promo code SAVE3 for $3 off any subscription. I also get credit towards more Loot Crates if you use the link. If you have any questions, leave a comment at the bottom.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!



Check out the theme reveal video as well produced by the people at Loot Crate.

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): November 16 – November 22

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Monday

Snatch Complex –  65% – 75% of Max Snatch (115 lb.)
Hang power snatch + overhead squat + snatch balance
I haven’t done snatches in awhile since we have been working on the clean and jerk. It took a few warm up reps for me to feel comfortable and add on more weight. The goal of the complex was to focus on technique. I need to work on my shrug and keeping the bar close.
WOD 1 – 7 Minute Time Cap
 
4 rounds for time
15 hang power snatches (75 lb.)
30 double unders

My goal for this workout was to finish under time cap. I scaled the snatches to 75 lb. from 95 lb. The first round was good. I went through the snatches fairly quickly but I could feel my grip weakening. The double unders didn’t give me any trouble, but I was out of breath by the end of it. I was only able to finish three rounds in seven minutes.WOD 2 – 7 Minute AMRAP

5 lateral burpees

15 overhead squats (95 lb.)

This workout was just as difficult as the previous one.  The burpees weren’t too bad but the overhead squats were giving me trouble. My wrist started to hurt even with the wrist wraps but I tried to power through it. I was also tried from the previous workout which is why I didn’t do as well in this workout. I finished two rounds and five burpees.

Wednesday

Front Squats – 3 at 60% (135 lb.), 3 at 65% (185 lb.), 3 at 70% (205 lb.), 3 at 75% (225 lb.)

Squats felt great. Worked on form and keeping my elbows up. Also worked on keeping a full grip on the bar and not letting it rest on my fingers.

WOD – “Squat Monster”

4 rounds for time

Run (400 m)

50 air squats

My legs were still tight from the front squats so I tried to loosen them up before we started this workout. I knew I had to pace the run and I would have to break up the air squats somehow. The first two rounds of the workout were okay. My run pace wasn’t too bad I did it in 2:00 – 2:30 and the air squats were done in sets of 25’s. After the second round, my pace stated to slow down. My 400 m time was slower by at least 30 seconds, and I had to break up the air squats into sets of 10. I finished the workout in 18 minutes but I didn’t feel good about my time. After checking out Beyond the Whiteboard, I realized I PR’d my time. This instantly gave me a boost of confidence. I came in second to last but I felt great. Seeing progress always picks me up. I hope to at least finish under 17 minutes next time we do this workout.

Farmer Carry – 15 lb. Bumper Plates

Ending our day we had to do a pinch grip bumper plate farmer carry. I was exhausted from the previous workout that I decided to only use 15 lb. I only dropped the weight twice which is a big improvement from the last time. My grip was also failing by the first 100 m, my hand started cramping. I hope I’ll be able to go up to 25 lb. the next time we do farmer carries.

Thursday

Skill Work – Handstand Walk and Rings
Thursday’s skill work was the same as last week Tuesday. I’ve made some improvements over last week in the handstand walk drill. I was able to complete a clockwise and counter clockwise rotation without stopping. Last week I was only able to complete one rotation before I had to stop.
5 sets – 2 second lockout
5 ring push ups
5 ring dips (strict)
5 handstand push ups (strict)
After the handstand walks, I started on the rings. The hardest part was the ring dips. I’m able to do a few dips strict but not many. I was able to finish three rounds before I had to scale. The ring push ups and handstand push ups were not too bad. I struggled on the last set but I managed to finish.
WOD
4 rounds, 2 minutes per station, “Fight Gone Bad” Style
Row
Wall balls (20 lb.)
1 minute rest
 
The goals for this workout were 450 m on the row and 25 wall balls. I was able to reach both goals every round but it wasn’t easy. After Wednesday’s air squat workout, my legs were sore and the row and wall balls were not helping either. I pushed myself throughout this workout and I’m happy with the results. I hope to increase my goals to 500 m and 30 wall balls next time.

Friday

WOD
30 toes to bar
–then–
2 rounds:
15 hang power cleans (95 lb.)
15 box jumps
15 push press (95 lb.)
–then–
30 toes to bar

After a short warm up we started the workout. The format today is a bit different, with the WOD being first and the strength portion after. The hardest part of the workout was going to be the toes to bar. I have been working on body weight movements and have made improvements but I’m not great at them yet. I tried to break up the toes to bar into three sets of ten but I couldn’t hold onto the bar. I ended up doing two sets of ten and two sets of five.I was a bit slow during the middle portion of the workout. The hang power cleans were a bit harder than expected. My grip started to fail around the tenth rep and I had to drop the bar. I kept trying to get a hook grip but I couldn’t pull it off. I need to work on that. I took my time on the box jumps, only doing step ups. The push press was the easiest part of this workout. I was able to go unbroken during the first round. The second round was just as hard. My grip was still bad and I had to break up the cleans into three sets. The box jumps were consistent and the push press were broken up into two sets.

The last set of toes to bar were the hardest part of this workout. I wasn’t consistent in my reps only doing a few at a time. I think this portion of the workout was also the longest, taking up a lot of time on the clock. I eventually finished in 14:45, but I was not done. We still had some bench press sets to do.

Bench Press  – 7×6 at 70% (175 lb.)

I wasn’t able to do all sets at 70%. My body was tired from the previous workout  and I was only able to complete five sets at 70%.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): November 9 – November 15

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Sorry for the late post, Otaku Recon zapped all my energy.

Monday

Skill Work: Clean and Jerks

After warming up we did a 15 minute skill portion for clean and jerks. I started with an empty bar and gradually added weight.

 

WOD – 20 minute time cap

In 7 minutes:

Max clean and jerk

–then–

Remaining time AMRAP:

7 lateral burpee over barbell
7 front squats 50% of earlier clean and jerk
7 chest to bar pull ups

Since the skill portion was clean and jerks, I worked my way up to 185 lbs. I began the workout with a 185 lb. lift, and completed a 205 lb. lift. I attempted 225 lb. but was only able to complete the clean. I was able to get the jerk overhead but I was distracted and dropped the bar forward. I didn’t realize how important focus was during lifts. Usually, when I fail to complete lifts it’s because I’m tired or the weight is too heavy. This was my first time failing a lift because of focus.

I was excited after this lift because 225 lb. is a new clean PR! I can probably add another 10 lb. to this lift if I attempt it again. I was able to complete four rounds and seven burpees but it was a struggle. The burpees and the chest to bars were my biggest weakness, with majority of the time being spent on those two movements. Surprisingly the front squats were not too bad and I was able to go unbroken during the four rounds.

Weighted Plank – 3 x 60 seconds (35 lb.)

Finished the night with three sets of weighted plank holds.

Tuesday

Skill Work
 
Started off  the day with gymnastics skill work which focused on handstands and ring dips. The first part of the skill work was a handstand walk drill. You would place your feet on a plate and then gradually move around a plate. I was able to move up to a 24 inch box and completed two sets of rotations.

WOD – Partner Jack 

20 minute AMRAP

10 push press (95 lb.)
10 Russian kettlebell swings (54 lb.)
10 box jumps (24 in.)

This workout was supposed to be done with a partner but I didn’t have one. I did a 1:1 ratio of work to rest to simulate a partner working at the same pace. The Rx weight for the push press was 115 lb. but I decided to scale down to 95 lb. My goal for this workout was to at least complete five rounds which would require me to complete a round every two minutes.

I probably wouldn’t have been able to keep that pace with a 115 lb. push press.  After round three I wasn’t able to complete the push press reps unbroken and broke them up into two sets. The Russain kettlebell swing was my strongest movement. I was able to go unbroken throughout all the rounds. The box jumps were another weak part of this workout for me, mainly because I was coming off of unbroken kettlebell swings. I had to do step ups but I maintained a good pace which was a victory for me. I was tired after each round and I was gasping for air while sitting on my box. I went above my goal of five rounds and finished with six round completed.

 

Friday

Bench Press – 5×7 at 65% (155 lb.)
I took my time on the bench press and didn’t rush. My bench press form is not great and I’ve been trying to work on it. I’m used to bench pressing with my elbows flared instead of keeping them closer to my sides.
WOD – AMRAP 7 minutes
7 deadlifts (225 lb.)
14 pistol squats (alternating legs)
21 double unders
At first, I was worried about the deadlift weight but I knew I could get through it. The last deadlift cycle gave me some confidence in my deadlift and I wanted to push myself. Also, I knew that the deadlifts were not going to be the hardest part of the workout. I recently started doing pistols unassisted but I couldn’t do them for a  lot of reps. Out of the three movements, this was going to be the toughest one.
Surprisingly, the deadlifts were not too bad. I focused on maintaining good form instead of speed. I was able to zip through this section and finish all my deadlifts unbroken. The pistol squats however, were a different story. I was able to do them unassisted but I broke them up into sets after the second round. My legs were on fire. The double unders were easy enough but I wasn’t able to do them all unbroken. I would always mess up around the 15th rep. I finished the workout with three rounds, seven deadlifts and six pistol squats.
Lift Heavy and Level Up!

Limitless Fails Gaming Group: Otaku Recon Recap

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Last weekend was a great step for the Limitless Fails Gaming Group. We had a booth set up at Otaku Recon, marking our first “big” convention. Recon was not our first convention hosted by Kai Productions (we had a booth at EpiXcon), but it had the largest reach. Our experience at EpiXcon was a great first step and we tried to make our presence at Otaku Recon even better.

Our first step was a better display. A bunch of models on KR cases and felt are a good first start but a diorama display board would have been better. I made a Protectorate of Menoth display board and other members made smaller diorama pieces. In the future, I would like to build a large diorama or at the least a thematic gaming table. We also made business cards to hand out to people interested in the group.

I had other ideas for Recon that I didn’t get to finish. I wanted to finish Reznik 2 but I had to choose between the display board or painting more of Reznik. I figured the board would make a bigger impact in presentation. I also wanted to build more terrain pieces for gaming tables. I have watched a few terrain tutorials and wanted to try to build houses and hills. I wasn’t able to start these projects since I did not finish the display board or Reznik. Hopefully by next year we will have enough terrain for a few tables.

We had a great turnout with many people interested in the hobby. We did a few demo games for people interested and some even came back for a second game. I hope we can keep the momentum going and get more people interested in the hobby. Check out some of the pictures from Otaku Recon posted below.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

 

 

Wargame Wednesdays: Protectorate of Menoth Display Board

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After months of sitting on my shelf, my Protectorate of Menoth display board is finally finished. I have learned a lot on this project and my terrain building skills have increased. Now, I need to build more terrain. I used my cell phone to take these pictures, but I will set up the light box and take better shots later. Also, I will be using this board during Otaku Recon. I will post some recap pictures as well.

Added some gesso to the board as a primer. I prefer a spray primer but it dissolves the foam. I’ve used gesso before but I diluted it too much. It wasn’t as opaque as I would like but it will do.

Started base coating with a yellow brown for the walls and a dark umber for the sand.

Sorry for the grainy picture. I dry brushed the sand with progressively lighter browns and shaded using a dark umber wash. The walls were shaded with the same dark umber wash, and highlight using the same colors. I’ve painted the gate/door but it’s not shown. I also painted the exposed pink foam black and added some flock. I will take better pictures over the weekend.

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to message me or leave them at the bottom.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

Limitless Fails Gaming Group at Otaku Recon 2015

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Limitless Fails Gaming Group at Otaku Recon

This weekend November 14 and 15, will be Guam’s largest anime video games and cosplay convention, Otaku Recon. My gaming group Limitless Fails, will have a booth set up to showcase Warmachine and Hordes, a miniature wargame. We will have a small army display and a space for demos. We will also have a few matches going on, so you can see what a larger game looks like. We will also be having a small panel on wargaming at 1 p.m on Saturday.
Lift Heavy and Level Up!

My Week As Rx (Probably Scaled): November 2 – November 8

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Monday

Warm Up – Cindy
AMRAP 5 minutes
5 pull ups
10 push ups
15 air squats
Monday Funday started off with Cindy. I’ve done this warm up before and I usually finish a round a minute. I wasn’t as energetic and I felt a bit drained. It was probably because I didn’t mobilize before class, traffic was a bit busy. I finished four rounds which wasn’t too bad, at least my hips and legs were warmed up for the back squats.Back Squat – 4 at 60% (225 lb.), 4 at 70% (255 lb.), 2×4 at 80% (285 lb.)

The strength portion for today was a moderately heavy back squat. I warmed up with 135 lb. and worked up to my first set at 225 lb. I haven’t done back squats since early October but I was able to adapt quickly. During my set at 80% my form was a little off. I could feel myself going onto my toes instead of my heels but I was able to adjust. One of my coaches suggested that I slow down on the decent. He noticed that I will usually ride the bounce out of the bottom of the squat and a more controlled decent will help with stability.

WOD – For Time

10 dumbbell snatch, alternating arms (40 lb.)
–then–
3 rounds:
6 burpees
12 wall balls (20 lb.)
–then–
20 dumbbell snatch, alternating arms (40 lb.)
–then–
3 rounds:
6 burpees
12 wall balls (20 lb.)
–then–
30 dumbbell snatch, alternating arms (40 lb.)
–then–
6 burpees
12 wall balls (20 lb.)

This workout was going to be challenging because of the movements. The workout was a sprint with a 20 minute time cap, and I wasn’t sure if I was going finish under it. I’m not proficient with dumbbell snatches and the heavier weights give me trouble. The Rx for the dumbbell snatches was 70 lb. but I had to scale to 40 lb. I think I could have done it at 50 lb. but I’ll try that next time. Burpees are burpees and I suck at them. They are easily the biggest speed bump for me in any workout. I was able to keep consistent reps and finish each round unbroken. Surprisingly, the hardest part of this workout was the wall balls. After the back squats, my legs were feeling a bit weak and the wall balls were not helping. I wasn’t able to complete 12 reps unbroken, breaking up most rounds in sets of six or less. I finished the workout in 21 minutes since the coaches let me finish beyond the time cap.

Tuesday

Started Tuesday with a short medicine ball warm up. The movements were medicine ball cleans, sit ups and walking lunges. I used a 16 lb. medicine ball.
Power Clean Complex – Find a one rep heavy
1 power clean + 1 hang squat clean + 1 jerk
Continuing with the Oly lifts, Tuesdays strength/skill portion was a clean a jerk complex. I didn’t have a goal weight but I wanted to at least hit my power clean PR of 215 lb. I started with 95 lb. and worked up to 205 lb. with six sets in between. I was able to power clean 205 lb. but I wasn’t able to complete the hang clean. My grip was a factor and I wasn’t able to re establish a hook grip after the power clean. I don’t think I was taking enough rest and I maybe had too many sets in between. I would like to attempt this lift after I have more rest and less reps in between.
WOD – 9 minute AMRAP
9 lateral bar jumps
9 hang power cleans (95 lb.)
9 deadlifts (95 lb.)
This workout is deceivingly hard. Even though the bar light, the reps add up fast. The most difficult part of this workout were the hang power cleans. I wasn’t able to complete them unbroken instead breaking them up into sets of five and less. The lateral bar jumps and deadlifts were easier. I was able to complete them unbroken during all rounds. I was able to complete five rounds.Lift Heavy and Level Up!

October 2015 Loot Crate Unboxing: Time

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What is Loot Crate?

Taken from the Loot Crate site, “Each month, Loot Crate™ ships a themed mystery box of the best geek, gaming, and pop culture gear to a subscriber base of over 100,000 Looters. We emphasize phenomenal support and content, and include gear from some of the most respected entertainment and consumer product companies in the world.” Loot Crate sells for $13.95 a month plus $6.00 shipping and handling. You can save on the costs by subscribing for longer periods as well. If you like this theme check out the link at the bottom to subscribe.

What’s in the Box?

First item from the box is a Bill and Ted t-shirt. I was hoping for the Wyld Stallyns logo but this design is also great. “Be excellent to each other” is one of the more memorable quotes from the movie. Party on dudes!

The next items are from the Back to the Future trilogy. Fans are gearing up for “Back to the Future Day” which falls on October 21, 2015, the day Marty makes the jump into the future. We don’t have flying cars and hoverboards but we do have some cool stuff in this box. The Doc Brown Funko Pop figure is the “past” version from the 1950’s. I believe Funko released another Dr. Brown figure which depicts him in the white jumpsuit from the first movie. The other item from Back to the Future is a replica Hoverboard. It’s not the same as a real Hoverboard but it still looks cool. I have a bunch of stuff to add to my desk this month!

Also included in this month’s crate is a Sonic Spork! The handle is modeled after the famous sonic screwdriver. I was hoping it would at least light up but it doesn’t. I will probably bring this to work as my back up utensil.

The button design for this month is the Flux Capacitor from Back to the Futrure series. It also has the words “we love you” which Loot Crate uses in their email.

Final Thoughts

Two of my favorite things from Loot Crate have been exclusive Funko Pop vinyls and nerdy t-shirts. My favorite items from this month were the Bill and Ted t-shirt and the the Doc Brown Funko. The Sonic Spork is cool but I wish it was more unique. The hoverborad replica was alright. I’m not sure if it will find a spot on my desk. Overall, I think this crate was worth it.

If you want to sign up use this LINK, also use the promo code SAVE3 for $3 off any subscription. I also get credit towards more Loot Crates if you use the link. If you have any questions, leave a comment at the bottom.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!

Wargaming Wednesdays: Display Board WIP

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I’ve been putting off my Protectorate of Menoth display board for awhile now, but with Otaku Recon just around the corner I figured it’s time to finish the board. So far I’ve glued some gravel in the gaps and glued some sand onto the pink foam. I should have cleaned the sand before gluing since some plant particles were still in the sand. After the glue dried, I started sealing the sand with some watered down glue. Next up, I need to add some gesso. The gesso will act as a primer since spray primer will dissolve the pink foam. Check out next week for the completion of this project.

Lift Heavy and Level Up!