Thursday, July 16, 2009
Day 31 - Arms and Back
Good workout, just as hard as Mondays. This phase is definitely more difficult than the first phase.
Day 30 - Plyometrics
I waited until the evening to do plyometrics, and sadly I got a phone call saying Jason had just got into a major car wreck, so I spent a few hours at the hospital and got home after midnight. No plyo today.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Day 29 - Shoulders, Tri's and Chest
Last night Christine and I completed the first day of week 5 and what I consider at this point the hardest workout routine in P90X. We struggled mightily! I'm not sure if it's partly due to the 3 week layoff from actual weight lifting or if the routine itself is just harder than the rest. My wrists were very sore and each exercise tested me to my breaking point. I can tell I will be very sore come Wednesday. Nonetheless, we finished the routine even though we didn't start until about 9:30 PM. I told myself I wasn't going to do it at about 8:00, but Christine gave me an evil look and I thought she would slit my throat if I didn't do it, so I changed and joined her in the garage for what ended up being a good workout.
I'm a bit discouraged at this point because I definitely feel like I've digressed in the strength column, probably because we took some time off in between the two phases. But it is what is and that is real life, so the 3 week layoff is going to be a very real part of my life that I will just have to learn to deal with. It's not like I didn't workout during that time, in fact I got a lot of exercise, but P90X took a back seat for sure. So from this point forward I need to put my head down and just do the workouts. My target finish date is September 26th. That's 4 weeks longer than originally expected, but I missed two weeks of workouts and I'm making up for that by adding weeks in each phase.
I'm a bit discouraged at this point because I definitely feel like I've digressed in the strength column, probably because we took some time off in between the two phases. But it is what is and that is real life, so the 3 week layoff is going to be a very real part of my life that I will just have to learn to deal with. It's not like I didn't workout during that time, in fact I got a lot of exercise, but P90X took a back seat for sure. So from this point forward I need to put my head down and just do the workouts. My target finish date is September 26th. That's 4 weeks longer than originally expected, but I missed two weeks of workouts and I'm making up for that by adding weeks in each phase.
Phase 2 and My New Plan
So, I haven't blogged in a while and I haven't worked out since my last recovery day which was 2 weeks ago. Instead of starting over at phase 1, I am going to continue on to phase 2 and pretend that I'm right on schedule, but instead of using 90 days it will be about 120 days. The next month is a pretty busy one, so i am going to have to schedule my workouts around vacations and miscellaneous trips. Here is the idea:
This week is week 5, the first week of phase 2. I will do phase 2 for the next 4 1/2 weeks until I leave for Utah. There will also be one week during those 4 1/2 weeks when I will be on the high adventure. That in fact begins next Monday. We leave late enough on Monday that I will be able to fit in a workout on Monday and then we get back early enough on Friday that I can fit in a workout on Friday. During the week, I will go running and since we are constantly on the move doing hikes, swimming, biking, etc. I think that week will be pretty well covered for workouts. I will also do Wednesday's lifting workout (which I will inevitably miss) on the Saturday after I get back, that way I will only miss out on yoga and Plyo. I'll be in Utah and on the Oregon coast for a span of 11 days. That will be my recovery week. Once I get back from the coast, I will begin phase 3 - the final phase in P90X. I shouldn't have any interruptions those last 30 days, and my plan for now is to prolong phase 3 by one week to make up for the last 2 weeks of inactivity.
So by adding a week onto each of the next two phases, I feel justified in not starting over from scratch at this point. While I'm in Utah and on the Oregon Coast, I will do my best to do all of the recovery workouts, but I'm sure I will have to modify a few of the routines to fit the circumstances.
Although I didn't finish my phase 1 blog, I did finish the end of the reocvery week. The following week came around and Christine was out of town and I just didn't get to phase 2. The next week came and P90X was the last thing on my mind, so I skipped last week as well. But here's to a new beginning!
This week is week 5, the first week of phase 2. I will do phase 2 for the next 4 1/2 weeks until I leave for Utah. There will also be one week during those 4 1/2 weeks when I will be on the high adventure. That in fact begins next Monday. We leave late enough on Monday that I will be able to fit in a workout on Monday and then we get back early enough on Friday that I can fit in a workout on Friday. During the week, I will go running and since we are constantly on the move doing hikes, swimming, biking, etc. I think that week will be pretty well covered for workouts. I will also do Wednesday's lifting workout (which I will inevitably miss) on the Saturday after I get back, that way I will only miss out on yoga and Plyo. I'll be in Utah and on the Oregon coast for a span of 11 days. That will be my recovery week. Once I get back from the coast, I will begin phase 3 - the final phase in P90X. I shouldn't have any interruptions those last 30 days, and my plan for now is to prolong phase 3 by one week to make up for the last 2 weeks of inactivity.
So by adding a week onto each of the next two phases, I feel justified in not starting over from scratch at this point. While I'm in Utah and on the Oregon Coast, I will do my best to do all of the recovery workouts, but I'm sure I will have to modify a few of the routines to fit the circumstances.
Although I didn't finish my phase 1 blog, I did finish the end of the reocvery week. The following week came around and Christine was out of town and I just didn't get to phase 2. The next week came and P90X was the last thing on my mind, so I skipped last week as well. But here's to a new beginning!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Day 24 - Recovery Week
Today is supposed to be Kenpo day, but I don't think much of that routine, so I played basketball this morning and am golfing tonight. Problem is, basketball was a nightmare this morning. I think last night's core workout made me a little more tired than usual. I had a hard time falling asleep last night after working out and probably managed about 4 hours of sleep. When the alarm went off for basketball, I almost didn't get up. Once I got to basketball, I stretched for a few minutes and started playing. My energy level was very low. I did break a sweat, but not like I normally do. I'm going to go for a run tonight after golf, at least that's the plan. I'll report tomorrow to see if I actually follow through with that plan. It's so nice outside right now, that I should be taking advantage of the weather anyway, so I'm going to run 3-4 miles tonight. Mark my words!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Day 23 - Core Synergistics
This was an interesting day for me. I woke up late and decided that I would try to workout at night. We had the missionaries over at 5:00, ward temple night at 7:15 and I really didn't think Core Synergistics was going to get done. I got home from the temple at 9:15, had some fruit, sat down on the couch, and flew through the tivo'd Giants game. I finished the game at 10:30 and due to some effective prodding from Christine, I went upstairs and changed into my workout clothes.
Core syn. was a good workout. It was a bit unusual, in fact 90% of the exercises were new to me, but I think all in all it was a decent workout. I tried to "engage my core" as best as I could per Tony's advice and I think I did a pretty good job of that. The main problem I had with this workout was the fact that I wasn't familiar with any of the exercises, so it took some time watching Tony to figure out the form. I tried extending most of the routines until a bit after the timer stopped. I finished by 11:30. I wander if working out at night is better for me. I felt better physically and I didn't mind doing the warm up or the cool down because I wasn't in any kind of hurry. In the mornings I'm constantly peeking at the clock in the garage calculating my arrival time to work. The main issue with working out at night is that it gets hectic and it's easier to miss a workout towards the end of the day. Tomorrow is Kenpo, so I'll substitute that with basketball and we're going golfing for scouts without the cart. So there you have it, 4 more days until phase 1 is complete.
Core syn. was a good workout. It was a bit unusual, in fact 90% of the exercises were new to me, but I think all in all it was a decent workout. I tried to "engage my core" as best as I could per Tony's advice and I think I did a pretty good job of that. The main problem I had with this workout was the fact that I wasn't familiar with any of the exercises, so it took some time watching Tony to figure out the form. I tried extending most of the routines until a bit after the timer stopped. I finished by 11:30. I wander if working out at night is better for me. I felt better physically and I didn't mind doing the warm up or the cool down because I wasn't in any kind of hurry. In the mornings I'm constantly peeking at the clock in the garage calculating my arrival time to work. The main issue with working out at night is that it gets hectic and it's easier to miss a workout towards the end of the day. Tomorrow is Kenpo, so I'll substitute that with basketball and we're going golfing for scouts without the cart. So there you have it, 4 more days until phase 1 is complete.
Day 22 - Yoga and Basketball
Today was the first day of the recovery week. While I'm excited to rest, I don't feel I'm ready for recovery week, because I haven't seen much change from the first phase. I don't feel any stronger, I haven't lost any weight and I generally feel the same as I did when I started P90X, which is weird since I've been working out pretty hard for the most part. But at any rate, on to recovery week, we'll see what this week has in store.
Monday's workout was no surprise - Yoga. Same as always, very uncomfortable, but in the end I worked up a good sweat and I feel good. Basketball was also good. Today was a success.
Monday's workout was no surprise - Yoga. Same as always, very uncomfortable, but in the end I worked up a good sweat and I feel good. Basketball was also good. Today was a success.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Day 20 & 21
I played basketball on Saturday for a good 2 hours. I also went rafting got a bit of a workout for the 7 mile course we went through. As far as P90X goes, however, I didn't make up the back and legs workout. Sometime this next week it will happen though.
I ate ok this weekend, not horribly but not good either. Recovery week is up next, and my goal is to really focus on my cardio. I want to have good workouts even though it's supposed to be a rest and recovery week. I noticed that Yoga is on the schedule along with an X-Stretch day, so I should feel loose and limber by the end of the week. I'll continue to play ball and see if I can't get into the gym to run on the treadmill this week. It's about time I actually do some long distance running.
I ate ok this weekend, not horribly but not good either. Recovery week is up next, and my goal is to really focus on my cardio. I want to have good workouts even though it's supposed to be a rest and recovery week. I noticed that Yoga is on the schedule along with an X-Stretch day, so I should feel loose and limber by the end of the week. I'll continue to play ball and see if I can't get into the gym to run on the treadmill this week. It's about time I actually do some long distance running.
Friday Day 19 - Back and Legs
Bad workout this morning, I was way too tired to complete the whole thing. I will try and make it up over the weekend or during recovery week next week. I just had no energy after basketball.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Day 18 -Yoga
This morning I attempted Yoga, I got through the first 50 minutes and completed all of the downward and upward dog exercises, but I had a lot of problems with the balance section. I also struggled with the core section, I'm seeing an underlying theme with each post here and that is - I have a weak core. This program is definitely bringing out my physical weaknesses. So from plank position I did a push up on every rep and I was able to go from downward dog to runners position without actually falling over or having to stand up in order to get my foot up by my hands. I must say I was pretty proud of myself. I once again skipped the two minute meditation, but I did everything else. All in all it was a good workout, obviously not intense like the other DVD's but still very uncomfortable for me at this point. I really hope to much more flexible when the 90 days is up, right now I have trouble touching the ground when my knees aren't bent. I should look into getting a Yoga block, I'm not nearly flexible enough to touch the ground with my legs straight, so that's probably something I should look into.
Breakfast was the same, protein shake, an orange and a nice treat in a sugar free popsicle. For lunch I ate a sandwich (no condiments), a mango and a nectarine. I'm eating way too much fruit the last few weeks, but it's natural and I won't do any diet that doesn't allow me to eat all the fruits and veggies that I want. That just doesn't seem right, plus fruit satisfies any sort of candy/sweet hunger that I feel throughout the day. I'm not sure what dinner will be, but today has been a good eating day and I think my appetite is slowly starting to change again.
When I started losing weight back in January, it was extremly difficult to start a diet, but it got pretty easy by the end of the 11 week challenge. I never actually eliminated any of my favorite foods, I just watched my portions, reduced the restaurant eating by about 90% and just flat out ate healthier. Once I stopped Autumn's challenge, I reverted back to the "eat everyhting under the sun" mentallity. I didn't gain any weight back, but it's definitely made it harder for me to start another diet. In retrospect, I should have started P90X the day after Autumn's challenge ended, but I'm hoping this week will get me on track and that I'll continue to do well on the diet until the 90 days are over. In the P90X material it talks about doing the workouts without the diet. It basically says you'll still get in shape, but you won't look in shape. So without the diet I'd have an in-shape body dipped in a layer of fat. So I better lay off the pizza and restaurant eating for a few weeks.
Breakfast was the same, protein shake, an orange and a nice treat in a sugar free popsicle. For lunch I ate a sandwich (no condiments), a mango and a nectarine. I'm eating way too much fruit the last few weeks, but it's natural and I won't do any diet that doesn't allow me to eat all the fruits and veggies that I want. That just doesn't seem right, plus fruit satisfies any sort of candy/sweet hunger that I feel throughout the day. I'm not sure what dinner will be, but today has been a good eating day and I think my appetite is slowly starting to change again.
When I started losing weight back in January, it was extremly difficult to start a diet, but it got pretty easy by the end of the 11 week challenge. I never actually eliminated any of my favorite foods, I just watched my portions, reduced the restaurant eating by about 90% and just flat out ate healthier. Once I stopped Autumn's challenge, I reverted back to the "eat everyhting under the sun" mentallity. I didn't gain any weight back, but it's definitely made it harder for me to start another diet. In retrospect, I should have started P90X the day after Autumn's challenge ended, but I'm hoping this week will get me on track and that I'll continue to do well on the diet until the 90 days are over. In the P90X material it talks about doing the workouts without the diet. It basically says you'll still get in shape, but you won't look in shape. So without the diet I'd have an in-shape body dipped in a layer of fat. So I better lay off the pizza and restaurant eating for a few weeks.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Day 17 - Arms and Shoulders
Like Tony says, "this is the glamour workout, the tank top workout." After I finish with this video I can hardly put my arms down. Today was another good workout, that's three in a row. I'm hoping that I'm setting a trend for myself. I got back from basketball and really didn't want to workout. I think it helps that I have to go through the garage to get into my house. As soon as I put the garage door up, i see the TV, put in the DVD, go get Christine, get my water, get Marcus all ready for breakfast and then by that time the Tony and the crew are ready to begin with alternating shoulder lifts. I matched all of my numbers from last week and even increased my reps in about 40% of the exercises, albeit only by a few reps in each exercise, but I definitely pushed myself harder that I ever have before.
Ab Ripper is still a major struggle. I can do the first 4 exercises, and that includes counting the bicycle as two - one for forward kicks and then one for reverse kicks, at full capacity (all 25 reps). Then from there I taper off pretty drastically. Every exercise from there on out I'm at the 10-15 range. Next time I am going to take a break after 10 or 15 and then see if I can at least finish the 25 reps at my own pace. I don't see myself getting any stronger if I don't do it that way. So doing the ab ripper has definitely exposed the weakest part of my body, my core. Christine is opposite, I think her core is the strongest part of her body, she can do ab ripper plus she adds some reps to each exercise all while maintaining near perfect form. Maybe she should hook up with that black dancer guy...he's amazing. I guess tomorrow's workout will expose my other weaknesses, balance and flexibility, but that also has a lot to do with one's core, so all in all that's where I need the most work. Ab ripper and yoga should help me with all of that.
I had an orange and some watermelon for breakfast. I didn't feel like anything else and that's bad, but I don't care. I'll fit my protein in elsewhere. I am going to go to http://www.beachbody.com/ today to buy some of that recovery drink stuff. It might not be necessarry, but I'm sure it will help...I mean it's got to help since Tony says so. He's not nearly as annoying as he was when I first started this program. I'm actualy starting to like him, perhaps next time I'll watch/listen to the DVD in the "normal" setting. In fact, for yoga I will for sure because I have a hard time seeing the TV, which is mounted several feet above the ground. I think he motivates and brings out the competitve side in me. BRING IT! Do your best and forget the rest! Ha, I'm such a loser.
For lunch I had a salad, chicken breast , 4 prawns and unfortunately some sourdough bread. Dinner - tacos.
Ab Ripper is still a major struggle. I can do the first 4 exercises, and that includes counting the bicycle as two - one for forward kicks and then one for reverse kicks, at full capacity (all 25 reps). Then from there I taper off pretty drastically. Every exercise from there on out I'm at the 10-15 range. Next time I am going to take a break after 10 or 15 and then see if I can at least finish the 25 reps at my own pace. I don't see myself getting any stronger if I don't do it that way. So doing the ab ripper has definitely exposed the weakest part of my body, my core. Christine is opposite, I think her core is the strongest part of her body, she can do ab ripper plus she adds some reps to each exercise all while maintaining near perfect form. Maybe she should hook up with that black dancer guy...he's amazing. I guess tomorrow's workout will expose my other weaknesses, balance and flexibility, but that also has a lot to do with one's core, so all in all that's where I need the most work. Ab ripper and yoga should help me with all of that.
I had an orange and some watermelon for breakfast. I didn't feel like anything else and that's bad, but I don't care. I'll fit my protein in elsewhere. I am going to go to http://www.beachbody.com/ today to buy some of that recovery drink stuff. It might not be necessarry, but I'm sure it will help...I mean it's got to help since Tony says so. He's not nearly as annoying as he was when I first started this program. I'm actualy starting to like him, perhaps next time I'll watch/listen to the DVD in the "normal" setting. In fact, for yoga I will for sure because I have a hard time seeing the TV, which is mounted several feet above the ground. I think he motivates and brings out the competitve side in me. BRING IT! Do your best and forget the rest! Ha, I'm such a loser.
For lunch I had a salad, chicken breast , 4 prawns and unfortunately some sourdough bread. Dinner - tacos.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Day 16 - Plyometrics
Today was by far the hardest I've hit any workout since the start of the program. I can get through, for whatever reason, plyometrics the easiest out of all the workouts, but today I focused on being very intense and giving it 100% the whole time. Notice I didn't say 110%, that's not even possible...stupid professional athletes don't realize that. So, each set of exercises has four different routines that you do twice. The first three exercises are only 30 seconds long with the fourth exercise is 60 seconds long. I did each exercise for the whole time limit and I did it just like Tony and the crew. In fact at times I was better than the black girl and the guy with one leg. By the way, that guy is amazing! He has one leg and he's doing an hour long jump training program that I bet most people couldn't even dream of finishing half.
I think I can only do it because I've been playing basketball consistently for the past 6 years, 3 to 4 times a week. That's a lot of jumping. So while Plyometrics is not easy for me by any means, I at least feel up to par with the guys on the video. It is a very good workout though and I have to push myself 100,000,000,000%.
I kind of skipped out on the sports bonus round today though and there's a reason why. I don't get much out of it, so I jumped rope instead. I think that's a better finish to Plyo than the bonus round, it at least makes me workout harder. Even if I am intense and giving it my all for the sports round, I just don't get much benefit out of it, especially the baseball part. The jump shots and the football training are decent workouts, but I prefer jumping rope. It gets my heart rate up and pushes me to the limit by the end of the program.
Normally I skip through the stretching, but I think from here on out I will include the st etching in each workout, at least the end of the workout stretching. I think it's a good wind down and it obviously will keep the soreness at a minimum and will ultimately help with my flexibility. On basketball days, i just skip through the first few minutes of the stretching since I'm already warmed up and ready to go, but I am committing to the end of the workout cool down/stretch for the next 75 days.
Breakfast was the same as usual, for lunch we went to Red Robin. I got a turkey burger on whole wheat, and it was really good, so I knew it wasn't good for me. Sure enough I got back to my office and looked online for the nutritional facts, and it had 700 calories, as much as a cheeseburger. Christine made some really healthy and good bean/brown rice tacos. I kept my calories down considering the mistake I made at lunch.
I think I can only do it because I've been playing basketball consistently for the past 6 years, 3 to 4 times a week. That's a lot of jumping. So while Plyometrics is not easy for me by any means, I at least feel up to par with the guys on the video. It is a very good workout though and I have to push myself 100,000,000,000%.
I kind of skipped out on the sports bonus round today though and there's a reason why. I don't get much out of it, so I jumped rope instead. I think that's a better finish to Plyo than the bonus round, it at least makes me workout harder. Even if I am intense and giving it my all for the sports round, I just don't get much benefit out of it, especially the baseball part. The jump shots and the football training are decent workouts, but I prefer jumping rope. It gets my heart rate up and pushes me to the limit by the end of the program.
Normally I skip through the stretching, but I think from here on out I will include the st etching in each workout, at least the end of the workout stretching. I think it's a good wind down and it obviously will keep the soreness at a minimum and will ultimately help with my flexibility. On basketball days, i just skip through the first few minutes of the stretching since I'm already warmed up and ready to go, but I am committing to the end of the workout cool down/stretch for the next 75 days.
Breakfast was the same as usual, for lunch we went to Red Robin. I got a turkey burger on whole wheat, and it was really good, so I knew it wasn't good for me. Sure enough I got back to my office and looked online for the nutritional facts, and it had 700 calories, as much as a cheeseburger. Christine made some really healthy and good bean/brown rice tacos. I kept my calories down considering the mistake I made at lunch.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Day 15 - Chest and Back
I'm ready to hit it hard this week, this is the last week before the recovery week. I'm still not sold on doing the recovery week, i might just continue with the week 1 thru 3 workout. I am not seeing any increases in any of the sets. I figured by week 3 I would be able to at least one more pull up, but that isn't the case. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, or maybe it's just early in the program, but for now I'm not any stronger and I haven't lost any weight since the start of P90X. Part of that is because of the diet and part of that is because I haven't worked out as hard as maybe I could, but give me a break, I'm doing more than I was before, so you'd think there would be some results since I've increased my calorie burn each day.
With all of that said, this week, I will not miss a workout and I am going to eat well. I am going to do the ab ripper three times this week and I am going to run at least 15 miles total for the week, in addition to basketball 4 times. If that doesn't work then I'm a horrible person.
I woke up really sore from the legs workout on Friday, basketball was good and my workout was decent, although like I mentioned I'm a little disappointed that my numbers are basically the same all the way across the board. I want to read other people's blogs and see if the recovery week is needed. i wander if my muscles will need that time to repair and then maybe after that I'll see better results. I want to be done with this program by our Utah trip, but that will only happen if I skip the 3 recovery weeks. I think for now I'll plan on doing the recovery weeks and just bring the DVDs to Utah with me to stay on track. I'll have to improvise for pull ups while I'm there. I'll look for an Anytime Fitness as well since I'm a member there. They'll have weights and a pull up bar and by that time I'll have the workouts memorized. OK, so that's what I'll do, writing it down made me realize that it's important to follow the program the way they've constructed it. It's not like I know better than them. Maybe I should be doing the Kenpo routine as well.
I ate pretty well today. Protein shake and an orange for breakfast. Soy nuts at about 10:00. I ate noodles with vegetables at lunch (probably not great, but I wanted some energy for plyo tomorrow), and stir fry with chicken and brown rice for dinner and strawberries as a desert. All in all it was a good start to the week.
With all of that said, this week, I will not miss a workout and I am going to eat well. I am going to do the ab ripper three times this week and I am going to run at least 15 miles total for the week, in addition to basketball 4 times. If that doesn't work then I'm a horrible person.
I woke up really sore from the legs workout on Friday, basketball was good and my workout was decent, although like I mentioned I'm a little disappointed that my numbers are basically the same all the way across the board. I want to read other people's blogs and see if the recovery week is needed. i wander if my muscles will need that time to repair and then maybe after that I'll see better results. I want to be done with this program by our Utah trip, but that will only happen if I skip the 3 recovery weeks. I think for now I'll plan on doing the recovery weeks and just bring the DVDs to Utah with me to stay on track. I'll have to improvise for pull ups while I'm there. I'll look for an Anytime Fitness as well since I'm a member there. They'll have weights and a pull up bar and by that time I'll have the workouts memorized. OK, so that's what I'll do, writing it down made me realize that it's important to follow the program the way they've constructed it. It's not like I know better than them. Maybe I should be doing the Kenpo routine as well.
I ate pretty well today. Protein shake and an orange for breakfast. Soy nuts at about 10:00. I ate noodles with vegetables at lunch (probably not great, but I wanted some energy for plyo tomorrow), and stir fry with chicken and brown rice for dinner and strawberries as a desert. All in all it was a good start to the week.
Day 13 - 14
OK, so Saturday is supposed to be my stretching, long run, and basketball day. Instead I did most of the stretching and played 18 holes of golf. I ate horribly this weekend as well, lots of candy, and went out to eat for 4 meals on Friday and Saturday combined. Sunday wasn't much better. Another bad weekend to report. I'm not going to drop any weight like this, I'm ruining a good 4 or 5 days by having bad weekends.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Day 11 -Yoga & 12 - Legs and Back
So when I skip a post it probably means I didn't do the workout, which is the case for Day 11's Yoga routine. I don't have an excuse, I just didn't do it. I woke up late and told myself I would do it after work, well after work there was an entertaining NBA game on, so I watched it instead while eating Pizza. Day 11 will go down as a bad P90X day, in fact it was awful.
Day 12 however, was a different story. i woke up and played basketball at a good level for 1 hour and 15 minutes, got home, put the DVD in the player and started Back and Legs. I even did the ab ripper. I completed all of the exercises except for the calf raises at the end, I felt like I was going to pull a muscle after a while, and since I've had bad luck with muscle strains the last two years, I missed about 20% of the repetitions. Today I also had a real hard time keeping my balance. It is definitely one of my weakest areas. All of the exercises that required standing on one leg made me look silly. I'm sure it's a mixture of balance issues and actual strength issues. As I get stronger I hope my balance will improve. The pull ups were a struggle and I'm not sure at this point if I'll ever be able to do them well. I am jumping up using a chair and then on the way down going really slow. I read on the Internet that that is a good way to get going if you can't do many pull ups, I guess you use the same muscles. So I'll do a few pull ups on my own and then use the chair to get to the peak and then release slowly to the bottom until I hit my goal. Hopefully I'll make some gains within the next few weeks.
Day 12 however, was a different story. i woke up and played basketball at a good level for 1 hour and 15 minutes, got home, put the DVD in the player and started Back and Legs. I even did the ab ripper. I completed all of the exercises except for the calf raises at the end, I felt like I was going to pull a muscle after a while, and since I've had bad luck with muscle strains the last two years, I missed about 20% of the repetitions. Today I also had a real hard time keeping my balance. It is definitely one of my weakest areas. All of the exercises that required standing on one leg made me look silly. I'm sure it's a mixture of balance issues and actual strength issues. As I get stronger I hope my balance will improve. The pull ups were a struggle and I'm not sure at this point if I'll ever be able to do them well. I am jumping up using a chair and then on the way down going really slow. I read on the Internet that that is a good way to get going if you can't do many pull ups, I guess you use the same muscles. So I'll do a few pull ups on my own and then use the chair to get to the peak and then release slowly to the bottom until I hit my goal. Hopefully I'll make some gains within the next few weeks.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Day 10 - Arms & Shoulders
Today I had a good workout, but once again I skipped out on the ab ripper. I was just too dang tired after basketball and lifting. I am going to do it tonight before I go to bed, which stinks because I will have that awful feeling all day that I still need to workout. It's so much better to get it done in the morning, so that the rest of the day I can relax and not have that hanging over me.
Today I did all the exercises with the intent of really focusing on my form. I am having a hard time with the switch flex tri workout and the congdigon curls. My form is poor even with relatively light weight, I may need to go down to 10 pounds on the tris and 15's on the curls. At that point of the workouts I'm usually pretty spent and can't seem to find any more energy to push through with good form. But at any rate, I did all the workouts and hit pretty good numbers. Not a lot of change since last week in my numbers, but I felt like I gave it everything I had. I think I'll see the biggest changes in my arms when all of this is over. Right now I'm a weakling, but hopefully that will change.
At this point I kind of struggle knowing what weight to use. I'm using 25's on most exercises and 15's on most of the tri sets. Some of the sets I can hit high numbers and some only 8-10. I'm not going for bulk, but if I use the 15's on the sets that I can only do 8-10 then I can do too many with the 15's. I probably need 20's, but I'm not about to go buy 20's because I only want to increase my weight as time goes on. Buying 20's seems a little counter productive. I think I will just do my best with what I got and hopefully after the first phase I can do everything with 25's plus.
I'm finding that most of my morning meals include a protein shake and some type of fruit. Sometimes I'll eat oatmeal or whole wheat cereal instead. Lunch has been all over the place and dinner is usually good with vegetables and a protein. This weekend I need to keep things in check. I get on the scale each day and I haven't seen the 190's for the last ten days, so this is definitely working. I need to be about 170 -175 pounds when this is all done. But my main focus is body fat, it'll be interesting to take my measurements after phase 1 is complete.
Today I did all the exercises with the intent of really focusing on my form. I am having a hard time with the switch flex tri workout and the congdigon curls. My form is poor even with relatively light weight, I may need to go down to 10 pounds on the tris and 15's on the curls. At that point of the workouts I'm usually pretty spent and can't seem to find any more energy to push through with good form. But at any rate, I did all the workouts and hit pretty good numbers. Not a lot of change since last week in my numbers, but I felt like I gave it everything I had. I think I'll see the biggest changes in my arms when all of this is over. Right now I'm a weakling, but hopefully that will change.
At this point I kind of struggle knowing what weight to use. I'm using 25's on most exercises and 15's on most of the tri sets. Some of the sets I can hit high numbers and some only 8-10. I'm not going for bulk, but if I use the 15's on the sets that I can only do 8-10 then I can do too many with the 15's. I probably need 20's, but I'm not about to go buy 20's because I only want to increase my weight as time goes on. Buying 20's seems a little counter productive. I think I will just do my best with what I got and hopefully after the first phase I can do everything with 25's plus.
I'm finding that most of my morning meals include a protein shake and some type of fruit. Sometimes I'll eat oatmeal or whole wheat cereal instead. Lunch has been all over the place and dinner is usually good with vegetables and a protein. This weekend I need to keep things in check. I get on the scale each day and I haven't seen the 190's for the last ten days, so this is definitely working. I need to be about 170 -175 pounds when this is all done. But my main focus is body fat, it'll be interesting to take my measurements after phase 1 is complete.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Day 9 - Plyometrics
I feel good about today's workout. I didn't cheat once and I stayed the course throughout each set of each exercise. To date, this morning's workout was probably my best, especially since starting last Monday. I think playing basketball 3 to 4 times a week helps me with this workout. It is difficult to finish and I sweat like a hog, but I feel like I can do everything just as well as the guys on the video, except for maybe the guy in the back. Today I got lower on my squats than normal, and I really made sure to focus on my form. As a result I felt the burn and feel good about the whole workout. I even finished the video's last 5 minutes by stretching with the crew. I normally just skip that part in the interest of time, each video takes forever to fully complete.
My only complaint about this Plyometrics video is the bonus round or the "sports round." The baseball pitching exercise is a joke. I tried doing it with more intensity, but I wasn't feeling a thing. That's why baseball players can get away with being fat. The jump shots were good because I was trying to jump as high as possible while maintaining good form. The football exercise was pretty good and I think if I intensify that part of the workout it will be even better. So yeah, I think the bonus round is a bit anticlimactic, but it's probably used more as a decent cool down than a vigorous bonus round and sprint to the finish line.
All in all, my best workout to date. Somewhat looking forward to tomorrow to see if I can repeat the quality of workout for my arms and shoulders.
My only complaint about this Plyometrics video is the bonus round or the "sports round." The baseball pitching exercise is a joke. I tried doing it with more intensity, but I wasn't feeling a thing. That's why baseball players can get away with being fat. The jump shots were good because I was trying to jump as high as possible while maintaining good form. The football exercise was pretty good and I think if I intensify that part of the workout it will be even better. So yeah, I think the bonus round is a bit anticlimactic, but it's probably used more as a decent cool down than a vigorous bonus round and sprint to the finish line.
All in all, my best workout to date. Somewhat looking forward to tomorrow to see if I can repeat the quality of workout for my arms and shoulders.
Day 8 - Chest and Back
I started pretty well on chest and back, I increased all sets of my pushups by at least 2, most sets by 5. Pull ups remained the same and everything else remained about equal. I got to round two and was just gassed. I ate horribly over the weekend and I was just tired. I'm not sure if it was because I tried working out after an hour and a half of basketball or if I just was mentally over matched. I need to figure it out soon, if working out right after basketball is too difficult then i need to make some changes. I basically quit the second round and to make things worse I unfortunately didn't do the ab ripper again. So out of 4 tries, I've only done it once and that one time was a pathetic attempt at that. So I'm definitely not taking advantage of the entire program, I'm sure I'll see some changes, but obviously not what I could see if I were to give it 100%. I ate well today after having a bad weekend of sweets and going out to eat. Hopefully this week will prove to be a good one with respect to my eating. I need to step it up with Plyo and then keep things going on Wednesday with arms and shoulders.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Day 5 thru 7
What an awful weekend with regards to P90X. I can't find Day 5's DVD, so i improvised and did my own workout. I've already made a decision with regards to Kenpo, I'm not doing it. And Sunday is a rest day for me.
So, there you have it, I failed over the weekend and now I need to get back on track. I still haven't found DVD 5 on legs and back, but Stebbins is going to let me borrow his, so at least I'll be able to do it until it shows up. I'm sure Elise accidentally hid it somewhere.
I've decided to skip Kenpo days and instead replace it with the stretching DVD, a long run, and some work on the heavy bag. I haven't hung the heavy bag yet, so that's my job for the week, to get it hung before Saturday. I tried Kenpo and just didn't like the workouts, I've done some boxing workouts in the past so I know I can get a very good and similar workout on my own. Plus the long run will probably drain most of my energy, especially once I get into the double-digit-mile runs.
So, there you have it, I failed over the weekend and now I need to get back on track. I still haven't found DVD 5 on legs and back, but Stebbins is going to let me borrow his, so at least I'll be able to do it until it shows up. I'm sure Elise accidentally hid it somewhere.
I've decided to skip Kenpo days and instead replace it with the stretching DVD, a long run, and some work on the heavy bag. I haven't hung the heavy bag yet, so that's my job for the week, to get it hung before Saturday. I tried Kenpo and just didn't like the workouts, I've done some boxing workouts in the past so I know I can get a very good and similar workout on my own. Plus the long run will probably drain most of my energy, especially once I get into the double-digit-mile runs.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Day 4 - Yoga
This was by far the hardest workout for me. I think it was a combination of not being flexible and not enjoying the uncomfortable positions throughout the workout. I definitely think that Yoga will benefit my coordination, flexibility, balance, strength, endurance, etc. The whole humming thing at the end was silly, so I'll skip that part from here on out, but the rest of the workout will help out a ton. I'm not so convinced on the ideology of the spirit being at peace during this workout. I can't help but think that anybody doing those exercises is thinking like me. There was not a single second of the 7,920 seconds involved in Yoga where I wasn't thinking I wanted to stop, quit, and just give up. While it may not be as intense as the other workouts, there is no relaxation period that I experienced during Yoga. I guess...at some point it will be easier and then perhaps I'll be able to focus on my mind and spirit being relaxed. Until then I'll scratch, bite and claw to finish each uncomfortable position and continue to hate every minute of it. I did feel good after though, not relaxed, but...flexible and lose.
I probably lost a pound or two in sweat as well. I can't believe how much one sweats in that workout, it's pretty impressive to say the least. I am looking forward to doing it next week to see if I can improve in any of the areas. One problem I have is that the TV is mounted about 7 feet off the ground and I have a hard time seeing what each position/move entails or looks like. Unfortunately I'll have to listen to Tony Horton the whole time and use his cues to change exercises. By the end of the video I could pretty well do everything without having to look up, instead just listening to Tony's cues.
I went to the gym today after work. I ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes at an 8.5 min/mile pace. I got a good sweat going and am hopeful to run 6 miles on Saturday. Christine is running a half marathon in Gold Hill, so I should be able to find the courage to run half of that at the very least. It will be about finding time between watching Christine cross the finish line, helping on Greyson's eagle project, finishing a bunch of honey do's and going out at night. Maybe we'll play ball at 9:30 too, no one has mentioned it yet at morning ball, but I assume most everyone will be interested.
I probably lost a pound or two in sweat as well. I can't believe how much one sweats in that workout, it's pretty impressive to say the least. I am looking forward to doing it next week to see if I can improve in any of the areas. One problem I have is that the TV is mounted about 7 feet off the ground and I have a hard time seeing what each position/move entails or looks like. Unfortunately I'll have to listen to Tony Horton the whole time and use his cues to change exercises. By the end of the video I could pretty well do everything without having to look up, instead just listening to Tony's cues.
I went to the gym today after work. I ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes at an 8.5 min/mile pace. I got a good sweat going and am hopeful to run 6 miles on Saturday. Christine is running a half marathon in Gold Hill, so I should be able to find the courage to run half of that at the very least. It will be about finding time between watching Christine cross the finish line, helping on Greyson's eagle project, finishing a bunch of honey do's and going out at night. Maybe we'll play ball at 9:30 too, no one has mentioned it yet at morning ball, but I assume most everyone will be interested.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Day 3 - Shoulders & Arms
I started my day out by playing basketball, we played from 5:30 to 7:15, I need to get home by 7:00 so I can start P90X right away and make it to work by 8:30 or so. I also need to figure out the DVD situation because I'm already well warmed up from basketball and I should be able to skip the first 10 minutes of stretching on the video. My only complaint about these videos is that they are too long, but I guess that's why a lot of people see results, the workouts are intense and long.
Shoulders, bis and tris today. It was a good workout, I felt up to par. I obviously couldn't lift as much as the beefcakes on the videos, but I was lifting 25 pound dumb bells for most of the workouts. I did use 15's for some of the tricep work and a few other sets of other various exercises. I definitely felt the burn and I can tell I'll be very sore in a couple of days.
Speaking of being sore, I only took 4 outside shots this morning at basketball, because I could hardly lift my arms from Monday's workout. That's a good sign that this thing is working. I need to do better at stretching post workout. I didn't get to Ab Ripper, so I'll attempt to do that tonight, but it probably won't happen because I have mutual tonight.
Shoulders, bis and tris today. It was a good workout, I felt up to par. I obviously couldn't lift as much as the beefcakes on the videos, but I was lifting 25 pound dumb bells for most of the workouts. I did use 15's for some of the tricep work and a few other sets of other various exercises. I definitely felt the burn and I can tell I'll be very sore in a couple of days.
Speaking of being sore, I only took 4 outside shots this morning at basketball, because I could hardly lift my arms from Monday's workout. That's a good sign that this thing is working. I need to do better at stretching post workout. I didn't get to Ab Ripper, so I'll attempt to do that tonight, but it probably won't happen because I have mutual tonight.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Day 2 - Plyometrics
I woke up this morning and completed Plyometrics. This workout reminds me of the Air Alert programs I used to do in High School. Air Alert guaranteed an increase in vertical jump of 8-12 inches. Since high school basketball consumed my every thought, the Air Alert program was a natural fit for my life at that time. Unfortunately they make that program so difficult that by week 7 , out of 12, you physically can't complete the workouts. So while that program is harder than P90X Plyometrics, I can at least be satisfied in knowing that I can finish this workout. My heart beat definitely was going at a fast rate and I felt the burn in my legs throughout the program. At 15 minutes to go, Christine accidentally turned the power off on the DVD player, so I jumped rope and tried to remember what the rest was all about and did that for the last 15 minutes. In our garage we have a TV/DVD combo and for whatever reason we can't get the DVDs to play (Scott Shirts would know why). So we hooked up another little DVD player, but it doesn't have a remote and it doesn't have fast forward controls on the machine itself, so instead of waiting 45 minutes to get to the 15 minutes mark, we just continued on our own. It was a good workout and it tested my will to finish each exercise. I can definitely see the benefits of Plyometrics.
I had that same protein shake this morning, but before the workout we ended our fast and I had an orange and some crystal light to give me a bit of energy during Plyo. I didn't want that same feeling I got last night to reoccur. I went to Subway for lunch, 6 inch sandwich is not going to do it for now, so I had the $5 foot long, chicken breast, no cheese and lots of veggies. It was decent, but truth be told I'm not a subway fan. I need to drink more water throughout the day. I probably consumed about 40 ounces of water, that's not nearly enough. I didn't go running, so I'll have to see if I can will myself to the gym tomorrow. Lettuce wraps with ground turkey, watermelon and corn for dinner.
I had that same protein shake this morning, but before the workout we ended our fast and I had an orange and some crystal light to give me a bit of energy during Plyo. I didn't want that same feeling I got last night to reoccur. I went to Subway for lunch, 6 inch sandwich is not going to do it for now, so I had the $5 foot long, chicken breast, no cheese and lots of veggies. It was decent, but truth be told I'm not a subway fan. I need to drink more water throughout the day. I probably consumed about 40 ounces of water, that's not nearly enough. I didn't go running, so I'll have to see if I can will myself to the gym tomorrow. Lettuce wraps with ground turkey, watermelon and corn for dinner.
Day 1 and My Plan
So last night I started day 1 of this 91 day journey. Truth be told I actually started P90X about a month ago and got through the first 10 days before bailing, so I knew what to expect. This time I installed a homemade pull up bar in my garage (pictures coming), last time through I used weights to assimilate pull ups. Needless to say, actual pull ups are much more difficult than what I was doing, so this change will be good.
So chest and back is day 1 of P90X and it was a beast of a workout. I think I did horribly on it, I made it through all of the workouts, but with plenty of time to spare in almost all of the individual sets. So while Tony (the P90X guy) does 10 pull ups and then hangs there for a few seconds as a break and then finishes with another 7 pull ups or so, I just quit after the first part. I'm only doing about 3 to 5 pull ups in each set, usually with the help of a chair in the second round. Part of my problem last night was that I was fasting for Jared Vance and my energy level was low (not that fasting is ever a problem, I just mean that my workout suffered because I didn't have much "energy"/food in my body). The first half of the workout was fine, but by the end of the workout and especially during the Ab ripper part I felt like I wanted to puke. Christine started the program with me and she also fasted and she felt the same way, so I assume that feeling was because we hadn't eaten lunch or dinner. For my morning meal I had a protein shake, which consists of two things, milk and EAS protein powder. Most people add some fruit and blend it all up with ice, but I actually prefer mine without fruit. I love fruit, but it seems like the protein powder has such a strong taste that the fruit only adds to the sweetness, not the taste, and it's plenty sweet on its own. I also had about 20 ounces of water. So when we finished the Ab ripper, I laid on my mat for 15 minutes thinking there was no way I could get up. Once I did muster the courage to get up, I fainted. First time in my life that I fainted. That was probably due to a combination of exhaustion, lack of food, and possibly a lack of blood. Two days ago, I lost a lot of blood when somebody threw a huge log at my head (on accident) which required stitches in my forehead, so that perhaps was a factor in me fainting as well.
I should note that the Ab Ripper was the most difficult part of last night's workout, my core is indeed the weakest part of my body. Christine was completing each workout just as if she was one of the demonstrators on the video and I was struggling to finish half of each set. I could completely do the bicycle kicks, the V obliques and one more exercise that I'm forgetting, but the rest was pathetic. I'm hopeful to make significant gains in this area and since it's three times a week I think I should improve rather quickly.
I also played basketball for an hour and a half, which I'll do every Monday, Wednesday and Friday...probably for the rest of my life. Pop still plays and he's 61, it's the funnest hobby that i have and I actually can't imagine life without it. About twice a month we'll also play on Saturday, which is usually the best run of the whole week. In addition to basketball three to four times a week, I want to run 4 times a week. For now the plan is to bring my gym clothes to work with me and on the way home from work, stop by the gym and run for 30 minutes twice a week and 45 minutes once a week, all of those days running at an 8 or 8.5 minute mile until I get faster and can increase. Then on Saturdays, I will do a long run, this Saturday I'll start with 6 miles and then each Saturday I'll increase until I figure out what race I will sign up for next. One of my life goals is to successfully finish an Iron Man race. I've never been a big runner, I've done three races in my life that involve running distances of more than 7 miles, all three in the last three years, and I've never trained for any race. My first race was the ten-mile Pear Blossom run a few years ago. I finished in an hour and 40 minutes, not fast, I only did it because my brother, Damian said I couldn't finish it in under 1 hour and 40 minutes...push. Last year I did an Olympic triathlon, which consisted of a 7 mile run, 25 mile bike ride, and a 5 mile kayak down the Rogue River. I actually started to train for that race and about 3 weeks in I tore my calf muscle playing basketball and I was shelved from any running/basketball for more than two months. I did the race because Dave Cerecedes was coming from out of town to run it with me, but because I didn't train well I didn't do well. I finished and never walked on the run or stopped on the bike or kayak, but I was slow. A couple months ago, I did the Pear Blossom 10 Miler, I finished 10 minutes better than my first time, but this time I actually ran 4 times before the race which helped immensely, two of those runs were 6 milers. Unfortunately I had some stomach issues during the race and needed to find a bath room, but I couldn't get to one, otherwise I think i would have finished about 5 minutes faster. That's why Christine beat me by one minute.
Ok, so that's my plan for the next three months. I need to post my before pictures and i need to take pictures of my pull up bar, I think I did a pretty good job on it and it only cost me $30. I'm actually somewhat excited for next Monday, I really want to improve on my pull ups.
So chest and back is day 1 of P90X and it was a beast of a workout. I think I did horribly on it, I made it through all of the workouts, but with plenty of time to spare in almost all of the individual sets. So while Tony (the P90X guy) does 10 pull ups and then hangs there for a few seconds as a break and then finishes with another 7 pull ups or so, I just quit after the first part. I'm only doing about 3 to 5 pull ups in each set, usually with the help of a chair in the second round. Part of my problem last night was that I was fasting for Jared Vance and my energy level was low (not that fasting is ever a problem, I just mean that my workout suffered because I didn't have much "energy"/food in my body). The first half of the workout was fine, but by the end of the workout and especially during the Ab ripper part I felt like I wanted to puke. Christine started the program with me and she also fasted and she felt the same way, so I assume that feeling was because we hadn't eaten lunch or dinner. For my morning meal I had a protein shake, which consists of two things, milk and EAS protein powder. Most people add some fruit and blend it all up with ice, but I actually prefer mine without fruit. I love fruit, but it seems like the protein powder has such a strong taste that the fruit only adds to the sweetness, not the taste, and it's plenty sweet on its own. I also had about 20 ounces of water. So when we finished the Ab ripper, I laid on my mat for 15 minutes thinking there was no way I could get up. Once I did muster the courage to get up, I fainted. First time in my life that I fainted. That was probably due to a combination of exhaustion, lack of food, and possibly a lack of blood. Two days ago, I lost a lot of blood when somebody threw a huge log at my head (on accident) which required stitches in my forehead, so that perhaps was a factor in me fainting as well.
I should note that the Ab Ripper was the most difficult part of last night's workout, my core is indeed the weakest part of my body. Christine was completing each workout just as if she was one of the demonstrators on the video and I was struggling to finish half of each set. I could completely do the bicycle kicks, the V obliques and one more exercise that I'm forgetting, but the rest was pathetic. I'm hopeful to make significant gains in this area and since it's three times a week I think I should improve rather quickly.
I also played basketball for an hour and a half, which I'll do every Monday, Wednesday and Friday...probably for the rest of my life. Pop still plays and he's 61, it's the funnest hobby that i have and I actually can't imagine life without it. About twice a month we'll also play on Saturday, which is usually the best run of the whole week. In addition to basketball three to four times a week, I want to run 4 times a week. For now the plan is to bring my gym clothes to work with me and on the way home from work, stop by the gym and run for 30 minutes twice a week and 45 minutes once a week, all of those days running at an 8 or 8.5 minute mile until I get faster and can increase. Then on Saturdays, I will do a long run, this Saturday I'll start with 6 miles and then each Saturday I'll increase until I figure out what race I will sign up for next. One of my life goals is to successfully finish an Iron Man race. I've never been a big runner, I've done three races in my life that involve running distances of more than 7 miles, all three in the last three years, and I've never trained for any race. My first race was the ten-mile Pear Blossom run a few years ago. I finished in an hour and 40 minutes, not fast, I only did it because my brother, Damian said I couldn't finish it in under 1 hour and 40 minutes...push. Last year I did an Olympic triathlon, which consisted of a 7 mile run, 25 mile bike ride, and a 5 mile kayak down the Rogue River. I actually started to train for that race and about 3 weeks in I tore my calf muscle playing basketball and I was shelved from any running/basketball for more than two months. I did the race because Dave Cerecedes was coming from out of town to run it with me, but because I didn't train well I didn't do well. I finished and never walked on the run or stopped on the bike or kayak, but I was slow. A couple months ago, I did the Pear Blossom 10 Miler, I finished 10 minutes better than my first time, but this time I actually ran 4 times before the race which helped immensely, two of those runs were 6 milers. Unfortunately I had some stomach issues during the race and needed to find a bath room, but I couldn't get to one, otherwise I think i would have finished about 5 minutes faster. That's why Christine beat me by one minute.
Ok, so that's my plan for the next three months. I need to post my before pictures and i need to take pictures of my pull up bar, I think I did a pretty good job on it and it only cost me $30. I'm actually somewhat excited for next Monday, I really want to improve on my pull ups.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Start Line
This will hopefully be my final start to one of my many failed attempts to actually accomplish a difficult task for a certain period of time in my life. There are two types of people in this world when it comes to getting something done; you have the 'doers' and then you have the 'lazy-non doers.' I, unfortunately, fall into the latter category. Without getting into too much detail about all of my failed attempts of incorporating worthwhile daily activities into my life, suffice it to say that I just can't seem to stick to a program for more than a couple of weeks. I have a hard time staying motivated. Whether that be because I'm lazy, dissatisfied with an apparent lack of results, or because of a hectic lifestyle leaving little free time for ME, it all comes back to root of the problem, I just don't like being uncomfortable. Perhaps to stay completely motivated for an extended period of time, I need to hit that proverbial 'rock bottom'. I've always dealt with challenges in my life with a les se fair attitude, I see a problem or a challenge, and I don't stress out about it, I just work on it until it's done and that's it. If I get some bumps and bruises along the way, I'm fine with that, as long as I can maintain my way of life of "comfortability."
So this blog/journal is going to be 'my space' for the daily tracking of my P90X results. It won't be easy, I'll probably be uncomfortable, I'll want to quit some 90 different times, but I'm hopeful that this blog will give me some incentive and be a source of motivation for me to follow through with my workout goals. I'd like to see if I can actually follow through with the 90 day challenge. In the past I've started different workout plans, different diets, joined several gyms, even turned 1/2 of my garage into a at-home gym, and much more, but to only see myself give in to the temptations of the flesh (food, TV watching on the couch, restaurant eating, etc.) and instead decide to quit.
I have recently lost 20 pounds because several couples in our stake took part in a "Do Hard Things" challenge. That really was the first time in my life that I followed through with any sort of diet and saw real results. I started the competition on January 12 and it ended on March 27. So i lost about 2 pounds a week, but my workouts left a lot to be desired. I only ended up losing 3 percent of my body fat during those 11 weeks, but did manage to lose a total of 13 inches in different areas of my body. So while I did manage to lose weight and get skinnier, I didn't lose as much fat as I would have hoped. I pretty much curbed my eating and increased my cardio and got pretty decent results, but I am in no way the physical specimen/machine that I want to be. So here's where P90X comes in. I'm going to take before pictures, during pictures, and after pictures. I'm going to blog daily, or almost daily to to track my thought process and see what happens at the end of 90 days. This should be fun.
So this blog/journal is going to be 'my space' for the daily tracking of my P90X results. It won't be easy, I'll probably be uncomfortable, I'll want to quit some 90 different times, but I'm hopeful that this blog will give me some incentive and be a source of motivation for me to follow through with my workout goals. I'd like to see if I can actually follow through with the 90 day challenge. In the past I've started different workout plans, different diets, joined several gyms, even turned 1/2 of my garage into a at-home gym, and much more, but to only see myself give in to the temptations of the flesh (food, TV watching on the couch, restaurant eating, etc.) and instead decide to quit.
I have recently lost 20 pounds because several couples in our stake took part in a "Do Hard Things" challenge. That really was the first time in my life that I followed through with any sort of diet and saw real results. I started the competition on January 12 and it ended on March 27. So i lost about 2 pounds a week, but my workouts left a lot to be desired. I only ended up losing 3 percent of my body fat during those 11 weeks, but did manage to lose a total of 13 inches in different areas of my body. So while I did manage to lose weight and get skinnier, I didn't lose as much fat as I would have hoped. I pretty much curbed my eating and increased my cardio and got pretty decent results, but I am in no way the physical specimen/machine that I want to be. So here's where P90X comes in. I'm going to take before pictures, during pictures, and after pictures. I'm going to blog daily, or almost daily to to track my thought process and see what happens at the end of 90 days. This should be fun.
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