Mastering the Manliest Workout

Working Out With Insanity If you have ever wanted to be manly you need to realize that you need to get yourself in gear and get in shape! I am going to help you with my own plan of following Shaun T!

It pushes you to your limit and drops the pounds really quick. Here is a beginners guide from "That_Guy_On_Reddit" congrats for taking the first step towards a healthier you! You will find that the workouts are, as the name implies, insane and will test your limits physically and mentally. However, as you progress through the weeks, you will find that your limits will increase and you will be able to push yourself further and further (and look better in the process). For those of you who are still not sure about starting the program or if you need some motivation to start day #1, do the following: 1) Take a deep breath and relax. This is not an easy workout or an easy decision to make. 2) Consult your doctor/physician before starting this workout program. Most of the workouts require fast-paced movements and physical agility to complete (i.e. jumping, squatting, sprinting, etc.), and your doctor/physician will be able to best gauge whether you should enter into this program. 3) Talk or consult with some other people and Redditors who are in the middle of the program. We’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have (to the best of our ability, of course). Before getting into the first day, here are a few suggested starter tips shared on this subreddit (some by Shaun T himself): Find a safe surface to perform the workouts on. I do the workouts in my carpeted living room, which, for the most part, helps a little when landing each of my jumps. Your situation may vary (hardwood floors, gymnasium, etc.), but always make sure it is a solid surface that does not move from your impacts to help prevent injury. Form over speed! You will be tempted to “break form” to get those last few reps in or to make the exercise easier, but the form of each exercise is safely designed to keep you from injuring yourself while maximizing effectiveness. If you find yourself losing form, take a quick break and get back into the workout. Make sure to land softly on jumps, hops, and leaps (recommended by ShortWoman). You will be performing a lot of jumps and various hops, especially in the warm-ups. It is important to not only maintain form, but to land softly to keep the floor impact minimal on your knees and legs. This may also minimize noise if you are doing this above the first floor in a multi-story apartment complex. Rest when you need to! You will find all of the people working out in the background are physical trainers or instructors of some kind and you will not be able to keep up with them the entire time, especially when you are just starting out the program. Instead of focusing on keeping up with them, focus on doing as much of the workout you can and take an unscheduled break or two when you find yourself exhausted. Drink lots of water! We’re not talking about before, during, and after the workout; we’re talking all day! Water, in combination with a recovery/protein shake and a sound nutrition plan, will help minimize soreness overall. Plus, it can be cost-effective in the long-term versus soda or other unhealthy beverages. Breathe and keep your core tight! Most of the exercises will focus on your legs and core (hip flexors, glutes, and abs). Make sure to inhale and exhale deeply and often to work and contract your abdominal area. Try not to slouch too far back or forward. Do the warm-ups and stretches EVERY time! You may be tempted to skip the warm-ups or the stretches before and after the workouts, but do not do this! Make sure to do the warm-ups and stretches before and after each workout to maximize your efforts and prevent injuries from occurring. Utilize your rest day! Your body needs time to rest and recover from the workouts, so this day is equally important to observe and follow. If you must be active on this day, make it a light workout (running/walking, light weights, etc.) so you can still slightly recover and give it your all the next day. Drink the recovery formula (recommended). While this is not a bare necessity to this workout, it does help in giving your muscles the necessary nutrients to rebuild and recover quicker. You can also substitute the formula for a whey protein shake or another post-workout solution if you’re working on a budget. Some folks have even suggested low-fat chocolate milk for its many beneficial recovery properties. Take a photo of yourself before starting the program and every few weeks after starting (recommended by Micosilver).This, along with monitoring weight and your cardio endurance, may help motivate you and allow you to see your visible results as you progress through the program. Also, if you send in your "before" picture and your final "after" picture, the Beachbody team will send you a free Insanity shirt! (links to the PDF form with the details; need a PDF viewer to view) Find a workout buddy to do Insanity with you (recommended). While you can do this program by yourself, you will find that having at least one workout buddy will push you even further than you could by yourself. You also have accountability in performing the workouts each day and eating right with this person or people. It’s a win/win for everyone involved! With all of that out of the way, you are now ready to start the first Fit Test (FT). This test, which you will do about every two weeks in the program, will gauge your overall level of fitness and improvement. The FT will start with a warm-up and a stretch before going into the individual exercises, which Shaun T will demonstrate before you attempt them yourself. You will have one minute (60 seconds) on each exercise to complete as many of them as you can, followed by a brief rest period. During each rest period, you will get an opportunity to write down your results. We recommend writing down your results on the same sheet of paper each FT so you can compare your prior results and see how much you have improved throughout the program. If you cannot complete the first FT, then write down what you did and try the FT again after completing the first two weeks of the program. You will more than likely complete the full FT this time around and beat your other established results in the process! Typically after the first and second days, you may start to feel quite sore, especially in the groin and glutes (buttocks area). Just remember to keep performing the warm-ups and stretches (as much as you physically and safely can do) and keep moving. This week will prove to be a huge hurdle as you and your body adjusts to the intensity of the workouts, but your body will feel better after the first full week (rest day included). I hope this guide helps in giving you a realistic and positive mindset going into your first week! Please make sure to share your experiences with us and, once again, ask us any general questions you may have. For anyone reading this – if you have any starter tips that you think everyone can benefit from, please leave a reply and I’ll add them on when I can.

The Next Review is a little special to me. For years men have been shaving with razors that are no good, get gunked up easily, and use canned foam. In the past they did it right there are things called double edged safety razors. I used to shave with a mach 3 and I was prone to occasional irritation and bumps on my neck. Since switching to my DE I no longer have this issue. A while back, I had to use a mach 3 again in a pinch, and bam, bumps / irritation.

I recall reading something on this a while back. Something about having several blades is too agressive for your face.

I've found using a bath towel to work best. It retains enough hot water to last 3-5 minutes without having to make hot again. The hand towel is probably the worst, but still effective. I find myself having to run hot water several times over the towel to keep it hot for good prep. I have no experience using a barber towel but I like the idea of having a larger towel that isn't as thick as a bath towel. I usually add a couple drops of Trumpers West Indian Limes Skin Food to my face or Proraso's Pre/Post Shave Cream to my face before adding the hot towel. My wife recently introduced me to the following which works well but is time consuming: Bring water to almost boiling, add some cloves, lemon peel or anything else or nothing to the water, put the pot of water on a heat resistant surface, put your head over the water and cover both your head and the pot with a large bath towel. Making sure no steam escapes. Come up for air when you need to. You just made a mini homemade steamer for your face. It feels damn good and after 5 minutes your face is more than ready, better than a shower IMO.

Run brush and soap tin under hot water in sink.
Remove both...create lather.
Lather face in quick stabby motions.
Shave north to south.
Lather again.
Shave outside in.
Lather again.
Shave south to north.
Lather again.
Touch up ..usually chin and jawline.
Rinse face well with lukewarm water.
Apply alum to face.
Rinse brush and razor with piping hot water.
Shake out brush, hang to dry.
Rinse razor head in small cup of alcohol/aqua velva mix.
Dry razor.
Put on deodorent, powders, etc.
Rinse face again, this time dry with towel.
Heavily apply witch hazel.
Get dressed, add cologne.
Apply after shave lotion.
Drink coffee.
Go to work.
Sleep.
Repeat.

Here is the DE I use, I highly recommend you check it out!

OLD SPICE COLOGNE!

This stuff pretty much rocks your sauce and its legit. It smells a lot like the original deodorant and attracts all the ladies with its clean yet fresh scent. Its price is not bad either. The downside however is that it seems to be only available in splash on. There are those old spice sprays in the aerosol cans but they suck and smell like axe usually. So I would say 4/5 stars on this for price,smell and ability to bring in the ladies!

After Hours Old Spice it UP!

Tried this Deodorant and its my goto. Literally use this for After Hours, set it and forget it. This one is Legit. The Old Spice Man Approves too!

4/5

GET IT HERE

Body Wash - Old Spice Afterhours

Today I will review Old Spice's Afterhours Bodywash.

First Look: 

It has the recognizable old spice red zone design bottle and claims 8 hours of odor protection (hence the afterhours).




Smell: The smell is quite good on the product but has a bit of chemical bite to it that you cannot get around, but overall it is nothing amazing but nothing bad.

Use: It lathers well and moisturizes decently for a body wash that doesn't cost a lot of money. It is blue in color and does the job its meant to do.

Price: Can be picked up almost anywhere its availability and price range are good.

Final Score: For a product targeted towards men it is a good budget body wash that gets a man clean and does the job. 3 / 5 Stars.

                                     

Fragrances - Versace The Dreamer

First Review I will do will be a fragrance of Versace's The Dreamer designed in 1996 and is the last fragrance by Gianni Versace before his death.

The first thing you notice when you receive it is the design of the bottle. It is absolutely fantastic.

Design: It is very elegant glass that carries the Versace logo.

Smell: Now the fragrance itself carries top notes of Juniper and Lily, the middle notes are that of Iris, and the base notes are Tobacco, Amber, and Tarragon. The smell is fantastic and can almost be described as a unisex fragrance because it is flowery, but it is a pleasant fragrance. The opener of this fragrance is a bit harsh though and can come off too strong depending on who is using it. I personally love the opener but I can see how many would see it as too strong. The dry down is the best part about this fragrance because I cannot get enough of the dry down and have received complements on this cologne. It is almost a bit powdery, but I personally have started using this fragrance as my signature scent.

Price: I found this online for roughly about 40$ for a 3.4oz tester which is a fantastic price for the size and quality of the product. Since it is relatively old I doubt you can find it in most department stores so your only option is to find it online.

Final Score:

I give this product a 4.5/5 - It's design is fantastic, the smell is pleasant and even greater during the dry down, and the price is just right for the quality. The opener is a bit strong and might put some off, but if they can hold for the dry down it might just grow on them.