Its been quite some time since I've posted. I haven't abandoned being healthy and getting in shape. In fact I just spent the last 13 weeks doing BeachBody's T25 program. I'm down about 20lbs and for the first time in over a decade in the 170's. I have before and after pics to post, but that will be a few more days as life is very busy right now.
What have I been doing since I completed T25? Honestly I've kept busy with a Power90 hybrid program. T25 does very little in regards to working out with weights. Something I missed more than I thought I would. I've gone back to Power90 simply because the strength portion of this routine is under an hour (38 minutes for level 3-4). I'm happy to say I've been consistent and continuing to do T25 (mostly for cardio) 3 days a week and doing Power90 level 3-4 strength for 3 days a week. Its producing results. I know it is. I'm just not where I want to be yet. Although again, I've finally reached a "healthy" BMI for whatever that shit is worth. Well, I'll be honest. For someone who was really made some lifestyle changes in the past 3 months to get healthy, it means a lot.
I'm getting there. With the combination of eating mostly Paleo and regular exercise I have had some success and I plan on having more.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
May 3 (Day 72) - P90X [Day 26]
P90X - Yoga X (40 minutes)
Yoga really does push limits. I felt pretty strong, but I was tired. I really need to get better sleep and more often. Whatever. I did 35 - 40 minutes of it and it was pretty good. I wasn't nearly as open as I had hoped to be at the end of my session but it was still a good, strong workout. Worked all of my body.
Tomorrow Core Synergistics. YAY!
Yoga really does push limits. I felt pretty strong, but I was tired. I really need to get better sleep and more often. Whatever. I did 35 - 40 minutes of it and it was pretty good. I wasn't nearly as open as I had hoped to be at the end of my session but it was still a good, strong workout. Worked all of my body.
Tomorrow Core Synergistics. YAY!
Thursday, May 2, 2013
May 2 (Day 71) - P90X [Day 25]
P90X - X Stretch (58 minutes)
I can't say enough good things about this routine. Its not a workout. Its a phenomenal routine. Phenomenal. When all is said and done you feel better than you have felt in a LONG time. LONG time. It loosens up every single part of your body. Every muscle, every body part, everything. Its frigin great. HIGHLY recommended.
Tomorrow Yoga X. I'll probably get 45 minutes of it done. Which is clearly better than nothing. Then bring on the crazy ass weekend. Oy.
I can't say enough good things about this routine. Its not a workout. Its a phenomenal routine. Phenomenal. When all is said and done you feel better than you have felt in a LONG time. LONG time. It loosens up every single part of your body. Every muscle, every body part, everything. Its frigin great. HIGHLY recommended.
Tomorrow Yoga X. I'll probably get 45 minutes of it done. Which is clearly better than nothing. Then bring on the crazy ass weekend. Oy.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
May 1 (Day 70) - P90X [Day 24]
P90X - Kenpo X (58 minutes)
Not a bad workout. I'll be honest.... this is my 4th week doing P90X. Even though Kenpo X is in the routine at least once per week every week, this is the first time I've done the workout. What the hell do you want from me? The workout usually falls on the weekend when I'm at the busiest.
How was it? Pretty good. As I said to Christie, this workout is a sneaky sweat workout. You workout, you don't think you are working that hard....but every time you turn around sweat is dripping off you. I definitely have room for improvement on it. There were some kicking routines that I could have been better at. Especially when I had to kick with my left foot, that was an area I struggled with. Punching sequences I did pretty well. The only one I was having some issues with was when you would do a jump switch to do the other side. So lead with the left, do your punch sequence, jump and switch your feet and lead with your right and do the same sequence. Keep repeating until the set is done.
Tomorrow, X-Stretch. FINALLY. I can stop talking about how much I need this workout and missing it, this time actually get the fucking thing done. Should be 58 minutes of GLORIOUS stretching. Until then.
Not a bad workout. I'll be honest.... this is my 4th week doing P90X. Even though Kenpo X is in the routine at least once per week every week, this is the first time I've done the workout. What the hell do you want from me? The workout usually falls on the weekend when I'm at the busiest.
How was it? Pretty good. As I said to Christie, this workout is a sneaky sweat workout. You workout, you don't think you are working that hard....but every time you turn around sweat is dripping off you. I definitely have room for improvement on it. There were some kicking routines that I could have been better at. Especially when I had to kick with my left foot, that was an area I struggled with. Punching sequences I did pretty well. The only one I was having some issues with was when you would do a jump switch to do the other side. So lead with the left, do your punch sequence, jump and switch your feet and lead with your right and do the same sequence. Keep repeating until the set is done.
Tomorrow, X-Stretch. FINALLY. I can stop talking about how much I need this workout and missing it, this time actually get the fucking thing done. Should be 58 minutes of GLORIOUS stretching. Until then.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
April 30 (Day 69) - P90X [Day 23]
P90X - Core Synergistics (58 minutes)
I can't say enough good things about this workout. It just works you up and down. It's PHENOMENAL. You feel fantastic when its all said and done. It is tough. Definitely not easy, but so so so good.
What has always driven me nuts about this workout is that you have to wait until the recovery weeks to experience it. Then you get to do it twice in that week and then not again for another 4 weeks. Its a long workout, but it works all muscles. It really does. Even as I'm sitting here I can feel it in my quads, my arms, my chest, back, abdomen. Crazy good stuff.
Tomorrow is Kenpo X. A workout I haven't done in probably a year. All I can think about is hearing Tony Horton say "Hit with your hip & your body.... Hit with your hip & your body". Hopefully its a good workout. At least with it happening during the week I can't miss it. :)
I can't say enough good things about this workout. It just works you up and down. It's PHENOMENAL. You feel fantastic when its all said and done. It is tough. Definitely not easy, but so so so good.
What has always driven me nuts about this workout is that you have to wait until the recovery weeks to experience it. Then you get to do it twice in that week and then not again for another 4 weeks. Its a long workout, but it works all muscles. It really does. Even as I'm sitting here I can feel it in my quads, my arms, my chest, back, abdomen. Crazy good stuff.
Tomorrow is Kenpo X. A workout I haven't done in probably a year. All I can think about is hearing Tony Horton say "Hit with your hip & your body.... Hit with your hip & your body". Hopefully its a good workout. At least with it happening during the week I can't miss it. :)
Monday, April 29, 2013
April 29 (Day 68) - P90X [Day 22]
RECOVERY WEEK!!!!
Yoga X this morning (40 minutes). First and foremost, if anyone has followed me - I can't stand Yoga. I didn't like it last year and just because its a year later, don't think I have love for it because some time has passed. Its still a phenomenal workout.
So why only 40 minutes of it? I was struggling this morning. I woke up and was still exhausted from my weekend where I didn't sleep very well. My head was POUNDING. Really bad headache. My ears hurt. Still, I had missed 4 days in a row and I felt really fat and said... is this what you want? Is this the road that quitters go down? Do you really want to be fat forever? So I did the Yoga, but my right wrist was hurting really bad. Not sure why. Either way - I used my push up bars to help take the pressure off my wrists while I went through the whole 15+ minute vinyasa series. By the time I was halfway through that series my wrist was feeling better and I could put my weight on it and do things without the push up bars, so that's what I did.
Also I'd like to add that this morning I stole my wife's Yoga block. It helped for sure. I didn't have to stretch as far as I normally try to. At the same time you can use this as a tool to be lazier. lol I think I found that to be the combination. Yes, it made it so I could keep better form and not have to stretch quite as far, but it made me a little lazier to the point where I didn't work as hard for the exercise.
Tomorrow - CORE Synergistics. I remember this being one of my absolute favorite workouts. I haven't done any sort of Ab workout in weeks, so lets see what I think of it tomorrow. lol
Yoga X this morning (40 minutes). First and foremost, if anyone has followed me - I can't stand Yoga. I didn't like it last year and just because its a year later, don't think I have love for it because some time has passed. Its still a phenomenal workout.
So why only 40 minutes of it? I was struggling this morning. I woke up and was still exhausted from my weekend where I didn't sleep very well. My head was POUNDING. Really bad headache. My ears hurt. Still, I had missed 4 days in a row and I felt really fat and said... is this what you want? Is this the road that quitters go down? Do you really want to be fat forever? So I did the Yoga, but my right wrist was hurting really bad. Not sure why. Either way - I used my push up bars to help take the pressure off my wrists while I went through the whole 15+ minute vinyasa series. By the time I was halfway through that series my wrist was feeling better and I could put my weight on it and do things without the push up bars, so that's what I did.
Also I'd like to add that this morning I stole my wife's Yoga block. It helped for sure. I didn't have to stretch as far as I normally try to. At the same time you can use this as a tool to be lazier. lol I think I found that to be the combination. Yes, it made it so I could keep better form and not have to stretch quite as far, but it made me a little lazier to the point where I didn't work as hard for the exercise.
Tomorrow - CORE Synergistics. I remember this being one of my absolute favorite workouts. I haven't done any sort of Ab workout in weeks, so lets see what I think of it tomorrow. lol
April 28 (Day 67) - P90X [Day 21] MISSED!
Embarrassing at this point. Who misses 4 days in a row? This asshole, that's who. I have no excuses. Technically in P90X it was a rest day. I guess that is for the people that are actually DOING the program. Such a slacker. I've got to find a way to be more effective with everything on the weekends.
April 27 (Day 66) - P90X [Day 20] MISSED!
Saturdays (weekend in general) is always fucking crazy. No exception. This weekend I was on call as well. Which meant I had to be actively logged into a few different systems at all times. Being my first time I've experienced being "on call" I probably spent too many cycles actively waiting for work. I've learned that going forward, during the days - I should have more time than expected and I can make time for my workout.
April 26 (Day 65) - P90X [Day 19] MISSED!
The cold definitely kicked my ass and I didn't even wake up with the alarm. I just slept. It felt great.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
April 24 (Day 63) - P90X [Day 17]
P90X - Shoulders & Arms (44 minutes) [skipped bonus]
Great workout. I was really hungry before I started the workout so for the first time in a couple weeks I had a rice cake with peanut butter on it. It gave me what I needed to push through the workout. I was able to go up in weight on some of the shoulder exercises and most of the triceps exercises. I did a max of 33 reps on the chair dips. I definitely think my triceps are my strongest part of my routine. Felt good, despite lack of sleep..... or more accurately, really broken sleep.
In addition to the craptacular night sleep I woke up feeling like I got beat up. lol Whats up with that? All down the sides of my ribs were sore. Both sides of my body, but the left side was worse. It's kind of like the lat muscle, but I don't know. I definitely need a really good stretch. Yoga tomorrow, maybe that will help. I've got to remember to grab Christie's yoga block.
Until tomorrow.
Great workout. I was really hungry before I started the workout so for the first time in a couple weeks I had a rice cake with peanut butter on it. It gave me what I needed to push through the workout. I was able to go up in weight on some of the shoulder exercises and most of the triceps exercises. I did a max of 33 reps on the chair dips. I definitely think my triceps are my strongest part of my routine. Felt good, despite lack of sleep..... or more accurately, really broken sleep.
In addition to the craptacular night sleep I woke up feeling like I got beat up. lol Whats up with that? All down the sides of my ribs were sore. Both sides of my body, but the left side was worse. It's kind of like the lat muscle, but I don't know. I definitely need a really good stretch. Yoga tomorrow, maybe that will help. I've got to remember to grab Christie's yoga block.
Until tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
April 23 (Day 62) - P90X [Day 16]
P90X - Cardio X (44 minutes)
I really don't like this workout. Its labelled as a "cardio" workout. I guess everything needs a label. Personally I don't feel it really gets the heart & lungs pumping much. That's my opinion. You spend a couple minutes warming up. Follow it up with a few minutes stretching and then onto several minutes of Yoga. Finish that up and then they actually want to do some cardio! What a thought!! It took you 15 minutes to get there, but they are going to have you working your heart & lungs with actual cardio in a routine labelled Cardio X. Holy Crap. I never thought I'd see the day.
Let me continue on my rant about this workout and just mention "Wacky Jacks". What are wacky jacks? Quite possibly the dumbest fucking exercise known to man. I'm including a video link so everyone can see just how dumb this exercise is. I think farting gets my heart rate up more than this exercise does.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llWk2RYkc7E
I chose this video only so you could be distracted by this woman's large breasts bouncing around. Its got to be better than watching/doing that dumb fucking exercise.
You do some Kenpo stuff in there. You also do some core stuff. The core stuff is tough. Superman to Banana? HOLLY CRAP. I forgot just how much that thing worked you. Tough tough tough. Loved it though.
Bottom line if Plyometrics is too tough on your knees (it is for me right now) then this is what is recommended as the alternative. Is it less pressure on your knees? YES. Is it comparable to Plyo as a cardio workout? NOT EVEN CLOSE. Not even remotely close.
Tomorrow the glory muscles workout. Shoulders, Biceps & Triceps. Looking forward to it. Got to try and finish this week strong because next week is a recovery week.
I really don't like this workout. Its labelled as a "cardio" workout. I guess everything needs a label. Personally I don't feel it really gets the heart & lungs pumping much. That's my opinion. You spend a couple minutes warming up. Follow it up with a few minutes stretching and then onto several minutes of Yoga. Finish that up and then they actually want to do some cardio! What a thought!! It took you 15 minutes to get there, but they are going to have you working your heart & lungs with actual cardio in a routine labelled Cardio X. Holy Crap. I never thought I'd see the day.
Let me continue on my rant about this workout and just mention "Wacky Jacks". What are wacky jacks? Quite possibly the dumbest fucking exercise known to man. I'm including a video link so everyone can see just how dumb this exercise is. I think farting gets my heart rate up more than this exercise does.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llWk2RYkc7E
I chose this video only so you could be distracted by this woman's large breasts bouncing around. Its got to be better than watching/doing that dumb fucking exercise.
You do some Kenpo stuff in there. You also do some core stuff. The core stuff is tough. Superman to Banana? HOLLY CRAP. I forgot just how much that thing worked you. Tough tough tough. Loved it though.
Bottom line if Plyometrics is too tough on your knees (it is for me right now) then this is what is recommended as the alternative. Is it less pressure on your knees? YES. Is it comparable to Plyo as a cardio workout? NOT EVEN CLOSE. Not even remotely close.
Tomorrow the glory muscles workout. Shoulders, Biceps & Triceps. Looking forward to it. Got to try and finish this week strong because next week is a recovery week.
Monday, April 22, 2013
April 22 (Day 61) - P90X [Day 15]
P90X - Chest & Back (52 minutes) (skipped Ab Ripper X)
Pretty tough workout this morning. Just goes to show I've got to start treating my body better on the weekends. I definitely slack on the big 3 on the weekends. Water, healthy eating & sleep.
While I wasn't at my strongest this morning I still had a good workout. I definitely struggled on anything "pull up" related. All other back/chest exercises I did fairly well. Again, not my best performance but still a good one.
In other news I'd just like to announce that on Friday I had a follow up for my blood work. My cholesterol went down over 120 points. I believe it was 288 before and it dropped to 164. My Dr was ecstatic. I do want to state that I do take medication for my cholesterol but at the 288 reading I had not been taking it at all. After that reading I made a conscious effort to pack my cholesterol pill & vitamins in my lunch box and bring it with me every day. So if nothing else I get that 5 days a week, which is pretty good. My Dr said that typically with the use of the pill they would see the cholesterol drop 30 - 40 points. To see it drop as much as I did he attributed that to the cleaner eating (removing a ton of processed foods, breads, soda, etc...) and regular exercise. I don't go back until January but providing that I keep my ass on track I can't wait to go back and see the changes and hopefully see about getting off the medication all together.
Tomorrow - we'll give that Cardio X another shot.
Pretty tough workout this morning. Just goes to show I've got to start treating my body better on the weekends. I definitely slack on the big 3 on the weekends. Water, healthy eating & sleep.
While I wasn't at my strongest this morning I still had a good workout. I definitely struggled on anything "pull up" related. All other back/chest exercises I did fairly well. Again, not my best performance but still a good one.
In other news I'd just like to announce that on Friday I had a follow up for my blood work. My cholesterol went down over 120 points. I believe it was 288 before and it dropped to 164. My Dr was ecstatic. I do want to state that I do take medication for my cholesterol but at the 288 reading I had not been taking it at all. After that reading I made a conscious effort to pack my cholesterol pill & vitamins in my lunch box and bring it with me every day. So if nothing else I get that 5 days a week, which is pretty good. My Dr said that typically with the use of the pill they would see the cholesterol drop 30 - 40 points. To see it drop as much as I did he attributed that to the cleaner eating (removing a ton of processed foods, breads, soda, etc...) and regular exercise. I don't go back until January but providing that I keep my ass on track I can't wait to go back and see the changes and hopefully see about getting off the medication all together.
Tomorrow - we'll give that Cardio X another shot.
April 21 (Day 60) - P90X [Day 14] MISSED!
This was supposed to be X Stretch or Rest. Well damn it. I rested. I took that hour and napped. Don't judge me.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
April 20 (Day 59) - P90X [Day 13] MISSED!
Saturday's are tough. Don't know what else to day. Tomorrow is X Stretch and I could definitely use it.
Friday, April 19, 2013
April 19 (Day 58) - P90X [Day 12]
P90X - Legs & Back (58 minutes)
Just like last weeks workout, but with less energy. I should get more sleep.
No dedicated ab workout. Maybe another time.
Just like last weeks workout, but with less energy. I should get more sleep.
No dedicated ab workout. Maybe another time.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
April 18 (Day 57) - P90X [Day 11]
P90X - Yoga X [part 1] (46 minutes)
I procrastinated a little bit this morning. I wasn't really "up" for Yoga. Its not my first choice in all honesty. It is however an amazing strength workout. It really is. If someone has never done this workout and doesn't think that this will work their body and challenge them, then they are dead wrong. There are no weights here. The resistance that you face is your own body and what it can do. Simply an amazing workout and I once again didn't do all of it.
Honestly - when Tony gets to the "Warrior III" pose or "Half moon" or "Half moon twist", yeah... you've lost me. I can only balance so much. I can only bend so much. I'm not Adam the crazy dancer, trainer, super fit guy.
Overall I did well again. Some challenges with the triangle pose and prayer twist, but my strength & balance are getting better. I was sweaty, my body was shaking. I was definitely tired of doing fucking vinyasa sequences. How many times do you want me to go to plank, down to chataranga, up to upward dog and then do a push-up and do downward dog? HOW MANY TIMES?!?!?! Totally crazy. Next time I will have to steal my wife's Yoga block for that routine.
One side note... seemed to have hurt my right hip a little. Not sure what's up with that. Something definitely doesn't feel right. Maybe some sort of alignment issue. I'm sure I'll break the other side soon enough and everything will be evened back out. :)
Up tomorrow? Legs & Back. I can hear those wall squats calling my name. They have already made me their bitch.
I procrastinated a little bit this morning. I wasn't really "up" for Yoga. Its not my first choice in all honesty. It is however an amazing strength workout. It really is. If someone has never done this workout and doesn't think that this will work their body and challenge them, then they are dead wrong. There are no weights here. The resistance that you face is your own body and what it can do. Simply an amazing workout and I once again didn't do all of it.
Honestly - when Tony gets to the "Warrior III" pose or "Half moon" or "Half moon twist", yeah... you've lost me. I can only balance so much. I can only bend so much. I'm not Adam the crazy dancer, trainer, super fit guy.
Overall I did well again. Some challenges with the triangle pose and prayer twist, but my strength & balance are getting better. I was sweaty, my body was shaking. I was definitely tired of doing fucking vinyasa sequences. How many times do you want me to go to plank, down to chataranga, up to upward dog and then do a push-up and do downward dog? HOW MANY TIMES?!?!?! Totally crazy. Next time I will have to steal my wife's Yoga block for that routine.
One side note... seemed to have hurt my right hip a little. Not sure what's up with that. Something definitely doesn't feel right. Maybe some sort of alignment issue. I'm sure I'll break the other side soon enough and everything will be evened back out. :)
Up tomorrow? Legs & Back. I can hear those wall squats calling my name. They have already made me their bitch.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
April 17 (Day 56) - P90X [Day 10]
P90X - Shoulders & Arms (44 minutes)
I didn't do the bonus material. I did 4 rounds and that was good enough for me. I love this workout. Very simple. Very straight forward. Shoulder exercise, followed by biceps, followed by triceps. Finish that and go back and do those same 3 exercises again and that is round 1 done. Keep going with new exercises until you finish 4 rounds.
Great workout. I was pretty excited for it. I had a concert last night so I only got about 4 or 5 hrs sleep. It was really tough to get out of bed this morning. I almost didn't do it. Which the wife wasn't moving too quickly on that either. After I got up, she got up though. We definitely kind of hold each other accountable.
Its a great workout. I saw improvements on somethings. Definitely some weights went up for some exercises. I had some reps go up on certain things as well. A couple of exercises though I also had reps go down too. Just keep working at it.
Up tomorrow... YOGA! I was encouraged by last week's yoga workout. I'm hoping for similar results tomorrow providing I get some decent sleep.
I didn't do the bonus material. I did 4 rounds and that was good enough for me. I love this workout. Very simple. Very straight forward. Shoulder exercise, followed by biceps, followed by triceps. Finish that and go back and do those same 3 exercises again and that is round 1 done. Keep going with new exercises until you finish 4 rounds.
Great workout. I was pretty excited for it. I had a concert last night so I only got about 4 or 5 hrs sleep. It was really tough to get out of bed this morning. I almost didn't do it. Which the wife wasn't moving too quickly on that either. After I got up, she got up though. We definitely kind of hold each other accountable.
Its a great workout. I saw improvements on somethings. Definitely some weights went up for some exercises. I had some reps go up on certain things as well. A couple of exercises though I also had reps go down too. Just keep working at it.
Up tomorrow... YOGA! I was encouraged by last week's yoga workout. I'm hoping for similar results tomorrow providing I get some decent sleep.
April 16 (Day 55) - P90X [Day 9] MISSED!
P90X - Cardio X (15 minutes)
I got up to do this workout instead of Plyometrics. My knees and legs in general are not strong enough to do Plyometrics at this time. I still need to do a workout in this routine so I chose Cardio X as my substitute. I got about 15 minutes into this workout and stopped. I couldn't do it. I was very tired, unmotivated and honestly a little depressed since it wasn't Plyometrics. Its still a workout, but its a step back from Plyo.
Essentially I allowed myself to quit, which really sucks. That mistake is on me. Just have to do better the next day.
I got up to do this workout instead of Plyometrics. My knees and legs in general are not strong enough to do Plyometrics at this time. I still need to do a workout in this routine so I chose Cardio X as my substitute. I got about 15 minutes into this workout and stopped. I couldn't do it. I was very tired, unmotivated and honestly a little depressed since it wasn't Plyometrics. Its still a workout, but its a step back from Plyo.
Essentially I allowed myself to quit, which really sucks. That mistake is on me. Just have to do better the next day.
April 15 (Day 54) - P90X [Day 8]
P90X - Chest & Back (58 minutes)
Great workout. Skipped Ab Ripper X. Simply ran out of time. I did improve in some areas. More reps, more weight, etc... No complaints.
Great workout. Skipped Ab Ripper X. Simply ran out of time. I did improve in some areas. More reps, more weight, etc... No complaints.
April 14 (Day 53) - P90X [Day 7] MISSED!
It was a Sunday, I was busy as I chose not to get up at 4:30AM to do a workout. Sue me.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Friday, April 12, 2013
April 12 (Day 51) - P90X [Day 5]
P90X - Legs & Back (58 minutes)
Good workout. Definitely things to improve on. Overall a good workout. My right knee was very creeky. I don't know how else to describe it. Clearly lots of improvement can be done on my knee/leg strength... which is the only reason why I did this damn workout. I am very happy though that it was strong enough to let me do the things I needed to do to improve it. Baby step in the right direction.
What I did not do, AbRipper X. Why? Again, another 20 minutes added onto a workout I don't need right now. Oh trust me, I know my abs need all the work they can get. I just don't need to delay my morning by another 20 minutes, that's all. Maybe I'll do the TH200 later today.... maybe I won't. It is after all fun Friday.
Until tomorrow, which I believe to be Yoga X. I'll have to confirm though before I get up and do the wrong workout. later
Good workout. Definitely things to improve on. Overall a good workout. My right knee was very creeky. I don't know how else to describe it. Clearly lots of improvement can be done on my knee/leg strength... which is the only reason why I did this damn workout. I am very happy though that it was strong enough to let me do the things I needed to do to improve it. Baby step in the right direction.
What I did not do, AbRipper X. Why? Again, another 20 minutes added onto a workout I don't need right now. Oh trust me, I know my abs need all the work they can get. I just don't need to delay my morning by another 20 minutes, that's all. Maybe I'll do the TH200 later today.... maybe I won't. It is after all fun Friday.
Until tomorrow, which I believe to be Yoga X. I'll have to confirm though before I get up and do the wrong workout. later
Thursday, April 11, 2013
April 11 (Day 50) - P90X [Day 4]
P90X - Yoga X [part 1] (46 minutes)
Yoga-X (for those who haven't done it) is a 91 minute video. Personally, that is fucking insanity. Who has that type of time to do a single workout? Not me. I did the first half. Personally I thought I did awesome with it too. I don't know why, but I felt really really strong throughout most of it. My flexibility appears to be pretty good. It wasn't until the very end when they started doing some crazy ass half moon something or other moves that I had to bow out. I watched them to kind of familiarize myself with the moves so maybe next time I can give them a try. I'm not going to be balancing on 1 straight leg though, with my arms and other leg, and torso completely parallel to the ground. Crazy. Tony is VERY impressive when he does Yoga. Me, not so much. I did enjoy it and felt really strong after doing it.
Until tomorrow. Legs & Back. I don't like working my legs and my right knee still hurts.
Yoga-X (for those who haven't done it) is a 91 minute video. Personally, that is fucking insanity. Who has that type of time to do a single workout? Not me. I did the first half. Personally I thought I did awesome with it too. I don't know why, but I felt really really strong throughout most of it. My flexibility appears to be pretty good. It wasn't until the very end when they started doing some crazy ass half moon something or other moves that I had to bow out. I watched them to kind of familiarize myself with the moves so maybe next time I can give them a try. I'm not going to be balancing on 1 straight leg though, with my arms and other leg, and torso completely parallel to the ground. Crazy. Tony is VERY impressive when he does Yoga. Me, not so much. I did enjoy it and felt really strong after doing it.
Until tomorrow. Legs & Back. I don't like working my legs and my right knee still hurts.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
April 10 (Day 49) - P90X [Day 3]
P90X - Shoulders & Arms (46 minutes)
For the record, this workout is about 1 hr long if you do the bonus round. If you add in the Ab Ripper X workout that should follow it then you have 1 hr 20 minutes. I started this workout at 7:30PM, so I was not looking to finish up at 9PM. Especially when I need to be up at 4:30AM to do at least 1/2 of the 90 minute Yoga X workout waiting for me.
This workout is phenomenal. I LOVE it. It's called the glory muscles. Why? Shoulders and Arms. Someone calls it "the gun show", it might be Tony Horton that calls it that. lol Either way, its just a fun workout and you can see the pump in the muscles so it gets you excited about the progress your body is making.
Pretty straight forward routine. You do a shoulder exercise, followed by a bicep, then a tricep. Finish those 3 sets and then repeat them. When you have finished those (2) sets for each muscle group then you have finished the first round. I did the (4) rounds of this workout. I did not do the bonus round. Again, just a great workout. Really enjoyed it. I'm not really looking forward to the next 3 days of workouts, but I recognize they are part of the schedule so I'll honor the schedule.
Up tomorrow - Yoga X.
For the record, this workout is about 1 hr long if you do the bonus round. If you add in the Ab Ripper X workout that should follow it then you have 1 hr 20 minutes. I started this workout at 7:30PM, so I was not looking to finish up at 9PM. Especially when I need to be up at 4:30AM to do at least 1/2 of the 90 minute Yoga X workout waiting for me.
This workout is phenomenal. I LOVE it. It's called the glory muscles. Why? Shoulders and Arms. Someone calls it "the gun show", it might be Tony Horton that calls it that. lol Either way, its just a fun workout and you can see the pump in the muscles so it gets you excited about the progress your body is making.
Pretty straight forward routine. You do a shoulder exercise, followed by a bicep, then a tricep. Finish those 3 sets and then repeat them. When you have finished those (2) sets for each muscle group then you have finished the first round. I did the (4) rounds of this workout. I did not do the bonus round. Again, just a great workout. Really enjoyed it. I'm not really looking forward to the next 3 days of workouts, but I recognize they are part of the schedule so I'll honor the schedule.
Up tomorrow - Yoga X.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
April 9 (Day 48) - P90X [Day 2]
P90X - Plyometrics (42 minutes).
The workout itself is actually 60 minutes. I did do some modifications for this workout because of concerns for my knees. As it turns out I didn't do enough. lol My right knee was hurt before I finished. I tried to to keep pushing on but the "Rockstar" move where you jump up like you are strumming a guitar in the air and come back down. My knees just couldn't take it anymore.
I kept my heart rate between 130 - 150 AT THIS TIME. Probably not as high as I could get it, certainly I expect the intensity to pick up as I go along. However it was good to know where it was at during this workout.
Next week I'm thinking of doing Cardio-X. I'll be honest. I don't particularly care for Cardio-X and do feel it is quite the inferior workout to Plyometrics. However, I need to do something for Tuesdays. Plyo is too much on my legs/knees at this time, so until they get stronger Cardio-X will have to fill the void.
I'm not sure what tomorrow is. I think its a dedicated arm workout. That should be fun. I can say that my shoulders and forearms still hurt from the chest/back workout I did on Monday. I take it as "I'm building new muscles". lol Until then.
The workout itself is actually 60 minutes. I did do some modifications for this workout because of concerns for my knees. As it turns out I didn't do enough. lol My right knee was hurt before I finished. I tried to to keep pushing on but the "Rockstar" move where you jump up like you are strumming a guitar in the air and come back down. My knees just couldn't take it anymore.
I kept my heart rate between 130 - 150 AT THIS TIME. Probably not as high as I could get it, certainly I expect the intensity to pick up as I go along. However it was good to know where it was at during this workout.
Next week I'm thinking of doing Cardio-X. I'll be honest. I don't particularly care for Cardio-X and do feel it is quite the inferior workout to Plyometrics. However, I need to do something for Tuesdays. Plyo is too much on my legs/knees at this time, so until they get stronger Cardio-X will have to fill the void.
I'm not sure what tomorrow is. I think its a dedicated arm workout. That should be fun. I can say that my shoulders and forearms still hurt from the chest/back workout I did on Monday. I take it as "I'm building new muscles". lol Until then.
Monday, April 8, 2013
April 8 (Day 47) - P90X [Day 1]
P90X - Chest & Back (53 minutes) Ab Ripper X (3 minutes)
So it begins again. My quest to complete P90X. I got about 60 days through this program last time before I quit on it. Not because of the program. The program is exceptional. It was just a REALLY busy time in life with many things going on outside of my health and I stopped making time for this. No excuses, that is in the past. I'm glad that my brother's basement is finished and his wife now has her home daycare business. Most importantly, that project is behind us and all those deadlines.
Today was kind of a feel out process. I was reminded how much I really like the workout and the exercises chosen for this workout. Those are some of the positives. Some of the negatives is that I'm not as strong as I used to be. That's a temporary negative, because I know I'll get there. I can't really control the strength part - that will come in time as I continue to work through the program. Certainly I understand that. The effort though is something I can control. Too many times I think perhaps I stopped too soon. Maybe I was losing form a little, maybe I stopped because I had a certain number in my head that I was trying to reach and I got there. I need to push harder though.... I guess that is my point.
Intensity? I'm not sure it was completely there. I was definitely excited and nervous to start up P90X today.
Strength? Kind of already beat that one. It's not where it once was, but it will be there again.
I'm already cringing thinking about tomorrow. Plyometrics. The mother of all workouts. Yeah, that's right Tony. I remember what the fuck you call it. I'll be there with my little mop and bucket bitch. I won't be happy about it either. Also though I know I won't get a better workout. Until then.
So it begins again. My quest to complete P90X. I got about 60 days through this program last time before I quit on it. Not because of the program. The program is exceptional. It was just a REALLY busy time in life with many things going on outside of my health and I stopped making time for this. No excuses, that is in the past. I'm glad that my brother's basement is finished and his wife now has her home daycare business. Most importantly, that project is behind us and all those deadlines.
Today was kind of a feel out process. I was reminded how much I really like the workout and the exercises chosen for this workout. Those are some of the positives. Some of the negatives is that I'm not as strong as I used to be. That's a temporary negative, because I know I'll get there. I can't really control the strength part - that will come in time as I continue to work through the program. Certainly I understand that. The effort though is something I can control. Too many times I think perhaps I stopped too soon. Maybe I was losing form a little, maybe I stopped because I had a certain number in my head that I was trying to reach and I got there. I need to push harder though.... I guess that is my point.
Intensity? I'm not sure it was completely there. I was definitely excited and nervous to start up P90X today.
Strength? Kind of already beat that one. It's not where it once was, but it will be there again.
I'm already cringing thinking about tomorrow. Plyometrics. The mother of all workouts. Yeah, that's right Tony. I remember what the fuck you call it. I'll be there with my little mop and bucket bitch. I won't be happy about it either. Also though I know I won't get a better workout. Until then.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
April 7 (Day 46)
Missed workout. I had every intentions of getting up and doing X Stretch, but I instead stayed in bed this morning and then the kids got up, then the day got busy. I did spent 4 or 5 hrs at my brothers house helping him, but hey.... this is a frigin workout blog, not a life journal.
Tomorrow P90X. Should be insane. I'm not where I want to be, but definitely going in the direction I want to go. Wish me luck.
Tomorrow P90X. Should be insane. I'm not where I want to be, but definitely going in the direction I want to go. Wish me luck.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
April 6 (Day 45)
Power90 3-4 Strength (38 minutes)
Pretty good workout. I did not have the energy that I had for Friday's workout when I felt I could have jumped over tall buildings. I think my biggest challenge was the lack of sleep. I've really slept poorly the past few nights and I don't know how to correct that.
One disappointment I had was when you do wide push ups. I've been doing the 20 reps that they do typically without too much issue. I got 15 and then had to go to my knees (no, I'm not a prostitute). I got all 20 reps, just not in the form I wanted. The rest of the workout I was pretty strong in. That could be because I had to run upstairs a couple times (and pause my workout) to deal with Kiera. She didn't know it wasn't a school day so she thought 5:30 would be a good time to get up today. UGH. No, its not a good time. Then she finally came out of her room and wandered the house around 6 and that is when I wrangled her in so she wouldn't wake up the rest of the house and I could go back to the basement and finish my workout.
Pretty strong today on the lunges/squats. A little surprised by that. I know its not going to mean much when it comes time for Plyometrics on Tuesday (holy hell). Whatever. That's next week when I start P90X.
Tomorrow, treat my body to a great stretch (X Stretch) after I help my brother out with his garage. Then maybe take my girls to the playground or something. Should be a nice day outside. Until then.
Pretty good workout. I did not have the energy that I had for Friday's workout when I felt I could have jumped over tall buildings. I think my biggest challenge was the lack of sleep. I've really slept poorly the past few nights and I don't know how to correct that.
One disappointment I had was when you do wide push ups. I've been doing the 20 reps that they do typically without too much issue. I got 15 and then had to go to my knees (no, I'm not a prostitute). I got all 20 reps, just not in the form I wanted. The rest of the workout I was pretty strong in. That could be because I had to run upstairs a couple times (and pause my workout) to deal with Kiera. She didn't know it wasn't a school day so she thought 5:30 would be a good time to get up today. UGH. No, its not a good time. Then she finally came out of her room and wandered the house around 6 and that is when I wrangled her in so she wouldn't wake up the rest of the house and I could go back to the basement and finish my workout.
Pretty strong today on the lunges/squats. A little surprised by that. I know its not going to mean much when it comes time for Plyometrics on Tuesday (holy hell). Whatever. That's next week when I start P90X.
Tomorrow, treat my body to a great stretch (X Stretch) after I help my brother out with his garage. Then maybe take my girls to the playground or something. Should be a nice day outside. Until then.
Friday, April 5, 2013
April 5 (Day 44)
Power90 3-4 Cardio (42 minutes) TH200 Abs (6 minutes)
RIDICULOUS. That's how that was. I can not recall a time when I had that much energy and intensity. Its been a while since everything came together like that for a workout. AWESOME. I can't possibly say enough good things about that. I didn't just push play this morning. I stepped up and obliterated that workout. No pausing. No unexpected stops. Nothing. No issues with breathing, although I clearly still have some heavy mucus in my body and some congestion. It was just full throttle from beginning to end. I had just as much energy at the end of my workout as I did in the beginning. How does that happen? It's like a had a shot of Red Bull or something. Geesh.
TH200 abs. It took me a little bit longer to do the 200 reps. Maybe an additional 20 - 30 seconds, but I got all 200. Bicycles which are the next to last exercise I crushed. Felt really good about that. Total body crunches? Egh. My form could have been better and I did have to stop and start a couple times during that to get to the whole 20 reps. Whatever. Its done.
Not sure what else I'm doing today but I've got to do something. I've got some energy baby. Don't waste it!
RIDICULOUS. That's how that was. I can not recall a time when I had that much energy and intensity. Its been a while since everything came together like that for a workout. AWESOME. I can't possibly say enough good things about that. I didn't just push play this morning. I stepped up and obliterated that workout. No pausing. No unexpected stops. Nothing. No issues with breathing, although I clearly still have some heavy mucus in my body and some congestion. It was just full throttle from beginning to end. I had just as much energy at the end of my workout as I did in the beginning. How does that happen? It's like a had a shot of Red Bull or something. Geesh.
TH200 abs. It took me a little bit longer to do the 200 reps. Maybe an additional 20 - 30 seconds, but I got all 200. Bicycles which are the next to last exercise I crushed. Felt really good about that. Total body crunches? Egh. My form could have been better and I did have to stop and start a couple times during that to get to the whole 20 reps. Whatever. Its done.
Not sure what else I'm doing today but I've got to do something. I've got some energy baby. Don't waste it!
Thursday, April 4, 2013
April 4 (Day 43)
Power90 3-4 Strength (38 minutes)
This was not an easy workout today. It took me probably 45 minutes to do this 38 minute workout. lol My cold and congestion impacted my breathing and I did have to take breaks after each of the 4 sections. So essentially I took an extra minute or so after every 9 minutes of workouts. Whatever. Shoot me.
I just completed the Shakeology Cleanse (Beachbody) and haven't really had anything that I would consider "REAL" food in a few days. I was really concerned about how that would translate in regards to my energy level to do this workout. Plus missing the past 3 days with this cold, I was concerned about overall strength to complete the workout. To my surprise my energy was not an issue at all. My strength was also not an issue at all. I was able to pump out as many reps as I would normally do on all the exercises without issue. In some cases I actually did better today. My core felt strong when I planked and when I did the push-ups. I try and keep it tight anyway, but it felt REALLY strong. I don't know why, it hadn't been worked at all for the past 3 days. Whatever. It was good.
Overall my body feels really lean right now. Still muscular but very lean. That's both good and bad. lol Good because I want to be lean again. Bad because damn it I want muscles! lol
Tomorrow is Cardio/Abs. Hoping another day of fluids helps push this cold further out of me and I can have a rocking workout.
PS - I didn't eat ANYTHING before the workout (normally it would be rice cake with PB) as I didn't want to mess with my final weight from the cleanse.
This was not an easy workout today. It took me probably 45 minutes to do this 38 minute workout. lol My cold and congestion impacted my breathing and I did have to take breaks after each of the 4 sections. So essentially I took an extra minute or so after every 9 minutes of workouts. Whatever. Shoot me.
I just completed the Shakeology Cleanse (Beachbody) and haven't really had anything that I would consider "REAL" food in a few days. I was really concerned about how that would translate in regards to my energy level to do this workout. Plus missing the past 3 days with this cold, I was concerned about overall strength to complete the workout. To my surprise my energy was not an issue at all. My strength was also not an issue at all. I was able to pump out as many reps as I would normally do on all the exercises without issue. In some cases I actually did better today. My core felt strong when I planked and when I did the push-ups. I try and keep it tight anyway, but it felt REALLY strong. I don't know why, it hadn't been worked at all for the past 3 days. Whatever. It was good.
Overall my body feels really lean right now. Still muscular but very lean. That's both good and bad. lol Good because I want to be lean again. Bad because damn it I want muscles! lol
Tomorrow is Cardio/Abs. Hoping another day of fluids helps push this cold further out of me and I can have a rocking workout.
PS - I didn't eat ANYTHING before the workout (normally it would be rice cake with PB) as I didn't want to mess with my final weight from the cleanse.
April 4 (Day 43) [Shakeology Cleanse] (Day 23 FINAL results)
I completed the cleanse. Down 7.6 lbs in total. Day 3 was not as hard as day 2. Day 2 was extremely difficult, possibly because I was home ALL day. And the fact that I was sick. Yesterday (day 3) was not difficult at all.
Just like the other days I had (3) shakes. My first shake had 1 cup of frozen strawberries in it. The other (2) shakes did not have any fruit in them at all. I did have 1 cup of grapes throughout the remainder of the day to fill the void. Last night we had huge salads with 4.5oz of chicken in them. The usual gallon plus of water.
Conclusion? It worked. I lost 7.6 lbs. That fucking scale doesn't lie. I started this at 198 lbs and today I was 190.4 lbs (AFTER my workout and shower). Was I hungry during it? DEFINITELY at times. Especially on day 2. My energy wasn't always there, but again - this could have been due to me battling a cold. Cold is doing much better by the way. This morning I had my first workout of the week and despite not a great sleep night I still had plenty of strength for the actual workout. Can't complain about that.
Would I do it again? I don't know. I just don't know. I'd be hard pressed to. I would have to be really struggling to get rid of those last few pounds to reach a goal weight or something. I'd rather just keep doing my best to eat healthy and getting up and push play rather than go through this again. I felt too deprived during the process. Only time will tell though if I go through this.
Just like the other days I had (3) shakes. My first shake had 1 cup of frozen strawberries in it. The other (2) shakes did not have any fruit in them at all. I did have 1 cup of grapes throughout the remainder of the day to fill the void. Last night we had huge salads with 4.5oz of chicken in them. The usual gallon plus of water.
Conclusion? It worked. I lost 7.6 lbs. That fucking scale doesn't lie. I started this at 198 lbs and today I was 190.4 lbs (AFTER my workout and shower). Was I hungry during it? DEFINITELY at times. Especially on day 2. My energy wasn't always there, but again - this could have been due to me battling a cold. Cold is doing much better by the way. This morning I had my first workout of the week and despite not a great sleep night I still had plenty of strength for the actual workout. Can't complain about that.
Would I do it again? I don't know. I just don't know. I'd be hard pressed to. I would have to be really struggling to get rid of those last few pounds to reach a goal weight or something. I'd rather just keep doing my best to eat healthy and getting up and push play rather than go through this again. I felt too deprived during the process. Only time will tell though if I go through this.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
April 3 (Day 42) [Shakeology Cleanse] (Day 2 results)
Still sick, no workout this morning. I feel better in some regards but still definitely sick. My head has some congestion. Gotta flush it out. I miss my exercising. I miss the feeling when a workout is done. The lungs pumping. Blood flow to all the muscles. I miss it all. Looking forward to getting back to it. Hopefully tomorrow. This is SO not how my week was supposed to go before P90X.
After 2 days of this damn cleanse I can say I'm down officially 6.4lbs I weighed myself this morning and I was 191.6lbs (starting weight was 198lbs). I honestly have no idea where the weight is coming off of. I do not feel thinner. I don't feel better about myself. Actually I feel like my pants aren't fitting quite as well as they were before this and my stomach looks fatter to me. The weight loss number, is just a number right now. Yes, I'm happy to once again be in the low 190's, but I would have gotten there eventually anyway. I would have done it without feeling like I'm starving myself and to me, that is the healthiest thing.
From what I can tell (besides helping lose some weight) all this process has done is make me want to absolutely pig out. Some people may say "wow, you lost X amount of weight and your still fat, so that just goes to show you that your food choices before weren't good. Stay on the lean side and you'll be good". Most other people would say "wow, you lost X amount of weight, that's great, definitely tough parting with all those things you love. Now its time to enjoy those things again". I'm definitely one of those latter people who is currently saying "time to enjoy those things again". What do I want most right now? A big FAT, juicy bacon burger with tomato all wrapped in lettuce. OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I don't need fries. I don't need onion rings or anything else. Just the burger please. At least an 8oz burger.
This may be premature to ask this question and try to answer it, but here is the question: Would I do this again? Right now I will give this question a definitive NO. I would not do this again. Could I change my mind on that? YES. If this truly does jumpstart the weight loss process and get my body flushing the fat that I want gone, then yeah.... maybe I'd consider doing it again. MAYBE. Honestly though I don't eat poorly and nutrition wise I'm usually pretty good. So to give up so many things again, even if it is for just 3 days, to go through this. It would be a hard sell. A really hard sell. I'd need some time to pass so I could forget how difficult this process really was. Kind of like when you have a baby. It's hard, real hard. You get rewarded from it, but its still hard hard work. Then they get to the point where they are a bit more self sufficient, a toddler. You forget about how difficult the day to day was with the baby. Which is why you give in and have another one. lol
Until tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll post my final "cleanse" results. No matter what the results, this has been a learning experience. I've learned what shakes from Shakeology taste like. I've learned I prefer REAL food over liquid meal substitutions. I've also learned that a salad can be the most delicious thing in the whole wide world.... if you are hungry enough. lol
After 2 days of this damn cleanse I can say I'm down officially 6.4lbs I weighed myself this morning and I was 191.6lbs (starting weight was 198lbs). I honestly have no idea where the weight is coming off of. I do not feel thinner. I don't feel better about myself. Actually I feel like my pants aren't fitting quite as well as they were before this and my stomach looks fatter to me. The weight loss number, is just a number right now. Yes, I'm happy to once again be in the low 190's, but I would have gotten there eventually anyway. I would have done it without feeling like I'm starving myself and to me, that is the healthiest thing.
From what I can tell (besides helping lose some weight) all this process has done is make me want to absolutely pig out. Some people may say "wow, you lost X amount of weight and your still fat, so that just goes to show you that your food choices before weren't good. Stay on the lean side and you'll be good". Most other people would say "wow, you lost X amount of weight, that's great, definitely tough parting with all those things you love. Now its time to enjoy those things again". I'm definitely one of those latter people who is currently saying "time to enjoy those things again". What do I want most right now? A big FAT, juicy bacon burger with tomato all wrapped in lettuce. OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I don't need fries. I don't need onion rings or anything else. Just the burger please. At least an 8oz burger.
This may be premature to ask this question and try to answer it, but here is the question: Would I do this again? Right now I will give this question a definitive NO. I would not do this again. Could I change my mind on that? YES. If this truly does jumpstart the weight loss process and get my body flushing the fat that I want gone, then yeah.... maybe I'd consider doing it again. MAYBE. Honestly though I don't eat poorly and nutrition wise I'm usually pretty good. So to give up so many things again, even if it is for just 3 days, to go through this. It would be a hard sell. A really hard sell. I'd need some time to pass so I could forget how difficult this process really was. Kind of like when you have a baby. It's hard, real hard. You get rewarded from it, but its still hard hard work. Then they get to the point where they are a bit more self sufficient, a toddler. You forget about how difficult the day to day was with the baby. Which is why you give in and have another one. lol
Until tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll post my final "cleanse" results. No matter what the results, this has been a learning experience. I've learned what shakes from Shakeology taste like. I've learned I prefer REAL food over liquid meal substitutions. I've also learned that a salad can be the most delicious thing in the whole wide world.... if you are hungry enough. lol
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
April 2 (Day 41) [Shakeology Cleanse]
No exercise. Sick. Not happy. Whatever.
Cleanse - I weighed myself this morning before I started with the fluids I'm supposed to do for this cleanse. I was down to 194 lbs. Down 4 lbs. Its great, but is it great? I'm happy to be down the weight that I thought I should have already been down, but at what cost? Is it truly a result of this cleanse? Or is it because I flushed out so much of the Chinese food I had Sunday night? I don't know. I just don't know. If I lose another 4 lbs tomorrow I guess we'll know the answer.
What this has done for me is make me want REAL food. I'm talking BURGERS. Yes a real, juicy, beefy, fat drenched burger. Oh, with BACON on it too. Ridiculous? Try and do this damn cleanse and let me know what you want. I want a damn burger.
Tomorrow is the FINAL day and Thursday morning I can go back to eating my (2) eggs with veggies. I'm hoping to be healthy enough to exercise tomorrow morning. I need more rest though. It might be another allergy pill before bed and just zonk. We shall see. Until then.
Cleanse - I weighed myself this morning before I started with the fluids I'm supposed to do for this cleanse. I was down to 194 lbs. Down 4 lbs. Its great, but is it great? I'm happy to be down the weight that I thought I should have already been down, but at what cost? Is it truly a result of this cleanse? Or is it because I flushed out so much of the Chinese food I had Sunday night? I don't know. I just don't know. If I lose another 4 lbs tomorrow I guess we'll know the answer.
What this has done for me is make me want REAL food. I'm talking BURGERS. Yes a real, juicy, beefy, fat drenched burger. Oh, with BACON on it too. Ridiculous? Try and do this damn cleanse and let me know what you want. I want a damn burger.
Tomorrow is the FINAL day and Thursday morning I can go back to eating my (2) eggs with veggies. I'm hoping to be healthy enough to exercise tomorrow morning. I need more rest though. It might be another allergy pill before bed and just zonk. We shall see. Until then.
Monday, April 1, 2013
April 1 (Day 40) [Shakeology Cleanse]
I worked out. April Fools! I didn't.
Started to feel crappy yesterday. Went downhill quick and woke up with a full blown cold. I got up at 4:30AM like I normally do to go kick some ass. I drank my green tea/water. I started my stretch but felt wobbly. I couldn't maintain my balance. My throat hurt. My nose just kept running. My eyes were watering. A mess. I got through the 4 or 5 minute stretch and then started on PowerYoga. I needed to stop a couple of times in the first minute because I needed tissues. At that point I just decided today was not a good idea. I admitted defeat for my morning and crawled back into bed.
Got up and started getting dressed around 6AM for work and then Christie reminded me that we were doing the 3 day Shakeology cleanse and we needed to weigh ourselves before we started. My weight was 198lbs. Higher than I had expected. I've pushed hard for almost 6 weeks now and I certainly expected a larger amount of weight gone than 2 lbs. I'm trying not to get caught up on the weight thing because honestly, my body is changing. I can see it and feel it. My clothes are fitting quite nicely. Those are all positives. All positives. The weight will come off, I know it will.
I'm hoping to be back on track tomorrow with workouts. My head is still a little foggy but I'm pumping the water into my system and just trying to flush everything out. In with the good out with the bad. We'll see where it gets me.
Started to feel crappy yesterday. Went downhill quick and woke up with a full blown cold. I got up at 4:30AM like I normally do to go kick some ass. I drank my green tea/water. I started my stretch but felt wobbly. I couldn't maintain my balance. My throat hurt. My nose just kept running. My eyes were watering. A mess. I got through the 4 or 5 minute stretch and then started on PowerYoga. I needed to stop a couple of times in the first minute because I needed tissues. At that point I just decided today was not a good idea. I admitted defeat for my morning and crawled back into bed.
Got up and started getting dressed around 6AM for work and then Christie reminded me that we were doing the 3 day Shakeology cleanse and we needed to weigh ourselves before we started. My weight was 198lbs. Higher than I had expected. I've pushed hard for almost 6 weeks now and I certainly expected a larger amount of weight gone than 2 lbs. I'm trying not to get caught up on the weight thing because honestly, my body is changing. I can see it and feel it. My clothes are fitting quite nicely. Those are all positives. All positives. The weight will come off, I know it will.
I'm hoping to be back on track tomorrow with workouts. My head is still a little foggy but I'm pumping the water into my system and just trying to flush everything out. In with the good out with the bad. We'll see where it gets me.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
March 31 (Day 39)
P90X - X Stretch (58 minutes)
Great stretch. Worked really well in loosening up my body. No complaints.
Great stretch. Worked really well in loosening up my body. No complaints.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
March 30 (Day 38)
Power90 3-4 Strength (38 minutes)
Good strong workout. Body and lungs felt good. I wasn't nearly as winded as I've been in the past. Pushed hard. Anything that requires weights I've been sticking with 15lb dumbbells for the most part. Exceptions: Shoulder flies, upright rows & kickbacks are all 10lb dumbbells. I switch to 20lb dumbbells when its time for lawnmower and calf raises. Obviously we aren't talking about serious weight here. Which means I'm obviously not super strong. I'm fine with it. I'm looking to be fit and not fat. That's all. When I get to the point where I'm fit, maybe I'll change my goals to get much stronger.
I mean, obviously I am getting stronger. When I first started 5+ weeks ago most of the things I was doing I would use the 10lb dumbbells and very few things would be with the 15lb dumbbells. My reps weren't what they are today. When it came time to do push-ups, half of mine were from my knees. I was screaming more than my legs were when doing lunge squats. lol Everything has gone up. The weights, the reps. The only time I do any pushups from my knees is when I do the wide-try-die sequence. 7 wide armed push-ups, 7 tight to your body push-ups, 7 standard push-ups and then get comfortable and do whatever you can. I get comfortable alright. I go to my knees and do my best to push out 5 push-ups. lol Sadly it would appear after I get to 26 straight push-ups my body is tired. lol I'm working on it though.
Today towards the end of the workout I did feel my lower back tightening up a bit. It has been a couple of weeks (maybe this is the 3rd?) since I've done X-Stretch. I need to do it tomorrow. Easter or not, its got to be a priority. My body needs it.
That's it for today. X-Stretch tomorrow then my last week of Power90 for a while I think. Time to move forward with some P90X.
Good strong workout. Body and lungs felt good. I wasn't nearly as winded as I've been in the past. Pushed hard. Anything that requires weights I've been sticking with 15lb dumbbells for the most part. Exceptions: Shoulder flies, upright rows & kickbacks are all 10lb dumbbells. I switch to 20lb dumbbells when its time for lawnmower and calf raises. Obviously we aren't talking about serious weight here. Which means I'm obviously not super strong. I'm fine with it. I'm looking to be fit and not fat. That's all. When I get to the point where I'm fit, maybe I'll change my goals to get much stronger.
I mean, obviously I am getting stronger. When I first started 5+ weeks ago most of the things I was doing I would use the 10lb dumbbells and very few things would be with the 15lb dumbbells. My reps weren't what they are today. When it came time to do push-ups, half of mine were from my knees. I was screaming more than my legs were when doing lunge squats. lol Everything has gone up. The weights, the reps. The only time I do any pushups from my knees is when I do the wide-try-die sequence. 7 wide armed push-ups, 7 tight to your body push-ups, 7 standard push-ups and then get comfortable and do whatever you can. I get comfortable alright. I go to my knees and do my best to push out 5 push-ups. lol Sadly it would appear after I get to 26 straight push-ups my body is tired. lol I'm working on it though.
Today towards the end of the workout I did feel my lower back tightening up a bit. It has been a couple of weeks (maybe this is the 3rd?) since I've done X-Stretch. I need to do it tomorrow. Easter or not, its got to be a priority. My body needs it.
That's it for today. X-Stretch tomorrow then my last week of Power90 for a while I think. Time to move forward with some P90X.
Friday, March 29, 2013
March 29 (Day 37)
Power90 3-4 Cardio (42 minutes) TH200 Abs (6 minutes)
Not a strong workout. Opening stretch fine, PowerYoga I felt pretty good too. Moved onto the actual workout and my legs were dead. They were so tired. I pushed forward and had an epiphany that maybe this was related to my knee brace and it was too tight or something. So I paused for a few seconds, took it off and then got back to work. My legs felt a little lighter for maybe 30 seconds then everything got heavy again. I kept pushing through. There is no question I had the drive today, but intensity was lacking. Strength wasn't there, but that is my fault. My body is working hard for me right now. Trying to do everything I'm asking of it. Trying to get back in the shape I want to be in. The least I could do is fuel it better. Sticking to the right foods and getting more sleep would go a long way to helping me.
TH200 Abs - I did do this well. Apparently I got a second wind or something. I have no idea because right now I want to crash. lol Anywho, 200 reps again. Supermans are still tough for me. My form on that particular exercise sucks. My knees are bent, I can barely keep my feet touching each other. Whatever. Everything else looked good and I feel I did a really good job.
Tomorrow Power90 3-4 Strength.
Not a strong workout. Opening stretch fine, PowerYoga I felt pretty good too. Moved onto the actual workout and my legs were dead. They were so tired. I pushed forward and had an epiphany that maybe this was related to my knee brace and it was too tight or something. So I paused for a few seconds, took it off and then got back to work. My legs felt a little lighter for maybe 30 seconds then everything got heavy again. I kept pushing through. There is no question I had the drive today, but intensity was lacking. Strength wasn't there, but that is my fault. My body is working hard for me right now. Trying to do everything I'm asking of it. Trying to get back in the shape I want to be in. The least I could do is fuel it better. Sticking to the right foods and getting more sleep would go a long way to helping me.
TH200 Abs - I did do this well. Apparently I got a second wind or something. I have no idea because right now I want to crash. lol Anywho, 200 reps again. Supermans are still tough for me. My form on that particular exercise sucks. My knees are bent, I can barely keep my feet touching each other. Whatever. Everything else looked good and I feel I did a really good job.
Tomorrow Power90 3-4 Strength.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
March 28 (Day 36)
Power90 3-4 Strength (38 minutes)
This morning had everything lined up to be a failure. I woke up at 3AM. 3AM!!!! It wasn't what woke me up that was bad, it was what kept me up. I made the mistake of looking at my phone. Bruins up 4 -2 over the Canadiens going into the 3rd period lose 6 - 5? Really?? Bruins trading for Jerome Iginla don't get him, instead going to Pittsburgh?? REALLY?!?!?! I didn't sleep much after that. I fell asleep right before the 4:30AM alarm went off. I got up and wanted to skip this workout. I was so mad... SO MAD. Yesterday I was SO pumped up about doing today's workout. I couldn't wait. I had a great workout that day and today was going to be even better.
Either way. I did the workout. The negativity kept trying to pop in my head and I kept pushing it out. I didn't want any part of it. I didn't want the excuses. Yeah, I didn't sleep great. Yeah, I woke up earlier than expected. Whatever. Bottom line, skipping doesn't achieve the goals. All the excuses in the world don't solve problems. Actions solve problems. I put in my mind that I needed to take action and did. The workout was pretty good. I had a couple brief instances early in the lunge/squat sequence that I thought was a sign of a bigger problem. I widened my stance in the squats and the problem went away. So, I'm guessing it was a form issue. Either way - knees were good. My right knee feels so good with the brace on that my left knee is jealous. lol Hopefully soon though I won't even need the brace. That's my hope.
OK - time to get in the shower. Tomorrow is another day. Cardio/Abs.
This morning had everything lined up to be a failure. I woke up at 3AM. 3AM!!!! It wasn't what woke me up that was bad, it was what kept me up. I made the mistake of looking at my phone. Bruins up 4 -2 over the Canadiens going into the 3rd period lose 6 - 5? Really?? Bruins trading for Jerome Iginla don't get him, instead going to Pittsburgh?? REALLY?!?!?! I didn't sleep much after that. I fell asleep right before the 4:30AM alarm went off. I got up and wanted to skip this workout. I was so mad... SO MAD. Yesterday I was SO pumped up about doing today's workout. I couldn't wait. I had a great workout that day and today was going to be even better.
Either way. I did the workout. The negativity kept trying to pop in my head and I kept pushing it out. I didn't want any part of it. I didn't want the excuses. Yeah, I didn't sleep great. Yeah, I woke up earlier than expected. Whatever. Bottom line, skipping doesn't achieve the goals. All the excuses in the world don't solve problems. Actions solve problems. I put in my mind that I needed to take action and did. The workout was pretty good. I had a couple brief instances early in the lunge/squat sequence that I thought was a sign of a bigger problem. I widened my stance in the squats and the problem went away. So, I'm guessing it was a form issue. Either way - knees were good. My right knee feels so good with the brace on that my left knee is jealous. lol Hopefully soon though I won't even need the brace. That's my hope.
OK - time to get in the shower. Tomorrow is another day. Cardio/Abs.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
March 27 (Day 35)
Power90 3-4 Cardio (42 minutes) TH200 Abs (6 minutes)
I tried to use the velcro knee brace on my right knee this morning. I did not feel it provided any support at all. I had it tight and it was tight up top (thigh side) of my knee. It wasn't tight on the lower half of my leg. I didn't like it at all. I'm going back to the neoprene sleeve as that one worked really well. It's not a perfect solution, but it does work and I do feel as though my knee has a lot more support when exercising, which is the key right now.
This morning my belly did feel a little bloated. As it turns out I was gassy. It's a good thing I workout by myself on my side of the basement. lol I think I had a really good workout. Actually I think I turned a bit of a corner. I definitely felt really strong throughout the workout. There were moves that I could really really feel the muscle groups that I'm targeting, actually working. It was really evident when when I was doing some of the punching exercises I could feel it in my lats. It felt AWESOME. My whole body felt strong. There were no breaks or anything else. Just straight up work from from the second Tony said GO. It was good.
TH200 - I did all 200 reps. I'm definitely getting stronger there. Its interesting too what "other" muscles you work when doing this ab routine. I definitely felt some burning in my upper thighs when doing things like "in and outs" and "bicycles". Either way, it was my strongest AB workout yet.
Tomorrow Power90 3-4 Strength. Really looking forward to it.
I tried to use the velcro knee brace on my right knee this morning. I did not feel it provided any support at all. I had it tight and it was tight up top (thigh side) of my knee. It wasn't tight on the lower half of my leg. I didn't like it at all. I'm going back to the neoprene sleeve as that one worked really well. It's not a perfect solution, but it does work and I do feel as though my knee has a lot more support when exercising, which is the key right now.
This morning my belly did feel a little bloated. As it turns out I was gassy. It's a good thing I workout by myself on my side of the basement. lol I think I had a really good workout. Actually I think I turned a bit of a corner. I definitely felt really strong throughout the workout. There were moves that I could really really feel the muscle groups that I'm targeting, actually working. It was really evident when when I was doing some of the punching exercises I could feel it in my lats. It felt AWESOME. My whole body felt strong. There were no breaks or anything else. Just straight up work from from the second Tony said GO. It was good.
TH200 - I did all 200 reps. I'm definitely getting stronger there. Its interesting too what "other" muscles you work when doing this ab routine. I definitely felt some burning in my upper thighs when doing things like "in and outs" and "bicycles". Either way, it was my strongest AB workout yet.
Tomorrow Power90 3-4 Strength. Really looking forward to it.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
March 26 (Day 34)
Power90 3-4 Strength (38 minutes)
Good workout. I'm not as winded as I normally am during this workout. I don't know why. Maybe I'm actually getting better controlling my breathing. I really don't know. Last week I had upped my weights on a couple of exercises and the end result was my left shoulder was experiencing a lot of pain. Today I scaled back on the weight on only one exercise. Upright rows. One thing I noticed, even with the lighter weight, if I didn't do the exercise with perfect form I could feel pain in the problem area (front of my shoulder). I took the opportunity with the lighter weight to just focus on perfect form and get as many reps as possible (15). It felt good when all was said and done.
My right knee. This is my other problem area. My wife picked up (2) different knee braces for me to try. One is a neoprene sleeve that slides on over the foot and up the leg. I started wearing this around the house last night. The thing I like about it is that it has a gel like padding for the knee itself. So not only does it stabilize the knee from the sides and all around the knee cap, it also protects you when you go down to your knees for exercises. What I didn't like about it is that it kind of bunches up behind the knee. I can also feel that it is sweaty from my workout, which is kind of gross. I have no idea if these things are washable. The other brace is a velcro strap brace that isn't supposed to bunch up behind the knee. It is also machine washable. I look forward to trying that one on Thursday for my next strength workout.
Overall my knee discomfort was a lot less than it had been in the past. I do feel the knee brace helped. While it did feel like it provided the strength and support around the knee that I needed, I was still not pain free. I did have some pain in the knee cap itself at times. However it was minimal and it was manageable. One thing to note is I haven't done P90X X-Stretch in over 2 weeks now and that provides my whole body a great release of tension. I'd like to continue with a knee brace the remainder of the week. Do X-Stretch on Sunday and see how my knee(s) feel on Monday and Tuesday and determine if I still require the brace.
That's all I've got. Tomorrow is Cardio & Flabs. lol
Good workout. I'm not as winded as I normally am during this workout. I don't know why. Maybe I'm actually getting better controlling my breathing. I really don't know. Last week I had upped my weights on a couple of exercises and the end result was my left shoulder was experiencing a lot of pain. Today I scaled back on the weight on only one exercise. Upright rows. One thing I noticed, even with the lighter weight, if I didn't do the exercise with perfect form I could feel pain in the problem area (front of my shoulder). I took the opportunity with the lighter weight to just focus on perfect form and get as many reps as possible (15). It felt good when all was said and done.
My right knee. This is my other problem area. My wife picked up (2) different knee braces for me to try. One is a neoprene sleeve that slides on over the foot and up the leg. I started wearing this around the house last night. The thing I like about it is that it has a gel like padding for the knee itself. So not only does it stabilize the knee from the sides and all around the knee cap, it also protects you when you go down to your knees for exercises. What I didn't like about it is that it kind of bunches up behind the knee. I can also feel that it is sweaty from my workout, which is kind of gross. I have no idea if these things are washable. The other brace is a velcro strap brace that isn't supposed to bunch up behind the knee. It is also machine washable. I look forward to trying that one on Thursday for my next strength workout.
Overall my knee discomfort was a lot less than it had been in the past. I do feel the knee brace helped. While it did feel like it provided the strength and support around the knee that I needed, I was still not pain free. I did have some pain in the knee cap itself at times. However it was minimal and it was manageable. One thing to note is I haven't done P90X X-Stretch in over 2 weeks now and that provides my whole body a great release of tension. I'd like to continue with a knee brace the remainder of the week. Do X-Stretch on Sunday and see how my knee(s) feel on Monday and Tuesday and determine if I still require the brace.
That's all I've got. Tomorrow is Cardio & Flabs. lol
Monday, March 25, 2013
March 25 (Day 33)
Power90 3-4 Cardio (42 minutes) TH200 Abs (6 minutes)
My right knee and left shoulder are still problem areas for me. They both still hurt. They didn't hurt during todays workout but I also didn't have anything like lunges or squats that would irritate the knee. Or military or swimmers presses that would irritate the shoulder.
I blasted through the workout. My body & lungs felt great. Power Yoga was a breeze. I had to take a bathroom break during the actual break that Horton gives. Don't know what is up with my body and why it needs to do that, but whatever. So instead of a 30 second break, I got about 5 or 6 minutes. Came back and finished strong.
TH200 abs. I did them all again. Felt really good. No rests, just non stop abs. It was good.
I need to pick up a knee brace for my right knee before tomorrow's workout. I'll try and stop at CVS or something before I come home so I can get that. If not, I fear that tomorrow I won't be able to maximize my workout. I'm afraid I'll hurt the knee more. I need to stabilize it and see if there is still any pain while doing the routine. If there is, then I need to see the Dr. Wish me luck.
My right knee and left shoulder are still problem areas for me. They both still hurt. They didn't hurt during todays workout but I also didn't have anything like lunges or squats that would irritate the knee. Or military or swimmers presses that would irritate the shoulder.
I blasted through the workout. My body & lungs felt great. Power Yoga was a breeze. I had to take a bathroom break during the actual break that Horton gives. Don't know what is up with my body and why it needs to do that, but whatever. So instead of a 30 second break, I got about 5 or 6 minutes. Came back and finished strong.
TH200 abs. I did them all again. Felt really good. No rests, just non stop abs. It was good.
I need to pick up a knee brace for my right knee before tomorrow's workout. I'll try and stop at CVS or something before I come home so I can get that. If not, I fear that tomorrow I won't be able to maximize my workout. I'm afraid I'll hurt the knee more. I need to stabilize it and see if there is still any pain while doing the routine. If there is, then I need to see the Dr. Wish me luck.
March 23/24 (Days 31/32)
Total disappointment. Not a single workout. No excuses. I didn't make the time for what I say is a priority. That's on me. Back at it on Monday.
Friday, March 22, 2013
March 22 (Day 30)
Power90 3-4 Cardio (42 minutes)
What can I say? This workout SUCKED. SUCKED. SUCKED. I did have a beer last night with the awful nitrite free, apparent sodium filled, hot dogs. I stayed up later than I usually do (10PM) and I tried to stay in bed later than I usually do (5:30AM). I did not get up and eat my rice cake with PB on it. I also did not feel the need to poop before or during my workout (things that make you go hmmmm).
Effort, I question if there was any. Yes I did all the movements they did at the pace that they did, with the exception of side kicks. Those aren't my strongest exercise to begin with so I do my best, but I usually can't keep pace with them. I was frigin winded during Power Yoga. POWER YOGA. Seriously? Try breathing when you do that you idiot.
My right knee really hurts. Its weird. My leg is without question stronger, but the knee itself has some pain. I did not sleep well last night and every time I rolled over and if my right leg was on the bottom I felt I had to drag my leg across the bed. I didn't like that at all. I went through this a few weeks ago and thought I was past it, clearly I have to get back to doing my knee exercises. So, while tossing and turning I tried to sleep on my left side. My left shoulder has a lot of discomfort as well. Same injury I've been ignoring. If I sleep on that side I am guaranteed to wake up in discomfort. So I roll over to the other side. Rinse and repeat.
Lots on my mind this morning. It was ALL over the place. EVERYWHERE but my workout. Doing the routine, thinking about how my knee would do with the jumping jacks, running in place, run lunge sequence. How is my shoulder going to do with everything else where you seemingly have your arms up for 30 minutes of this damn workout. Today is a special surprise day for my wife and I have a lot of that on my mind as I want it to be perfect. Gotta make sure I get the kids off to school, want her to sleep in, still want her to have the opportunity to get in her workout before our fun begins, etc.. etc... etc.. Clearly everywhere but where I needed to be this morning.
I have not done TH200 Abs as of yet. I may do it later today, I may not. I need to clear my head for one and get some of this stuff off my plate. I'll revisit later.
What can I say? This workout SUCKED. SUCKED. SUCKED. I did have a beer last night with the awful nitrite free, apparent sodium filled, hot dogs. I stayed up later than I usually do (10PM) and I tried to stay in bed later than I usually do (5:30AM). I did not get up and eat my rice cake with PB on it. I also did not feel the need to poop before or during my workout (things that make you go hmmmm).
Effort, I question if there was any. Yes I did all the movements they did at the pace that they did, with the exception of side kicks. Those aren't my strongest exercise to begin with so I do my best, but I usually can't keep pace with them. I was frigin winded during Power Yoga. POWER YOGA. Seriously? Try breathing when you do that you idiot.
My right knee really hurts. Its weird. My leg is without question stronger, but the knee itself has some pain. I did not sleep well last night and every time I rolled over and if my right leg was on the bottom I felt I had to drag my leg across the bed. I didn't like that at all. I went through this a few weeks ago and thought I was past it, clearly I have to get back to doing my knee exercises. So, while tossing and turning I tried to sleep on my left side. My left shoulder has a lot of discomfort as well. Same injury I've been ignoring. If I sleep on that side I am guaranteed to wake up in discomfort. So I roll over to the other side. Rinse and repeat.
Lots on my mind this morning. It was ALL over the place. EVERYWHERE but my workout. Doing the routine, thinking about how my knee would do with the jumping jacks, running in place, run lunge sequence. How is my shoulder going to do with everything else where you seemingly have your arms up for 30 minutes of this damn workout. Today is a special surprise day for my wife and I have a lot of that on my mind as I want it to be perfect. Gotta make sure I get the kids off to school, want her to sleep in, still want her to have the opportunity to get in her workout before our fun begins, etc.. etc... etc.. Clearly everywhere but where I needed to be this morning.
I have not done TH200 Abs as of yet. I may do it later today, I may not. I need to clear my head for one and get some of this stuff off my plate. I'll revisit later.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
March 21 (Day 29)
Power90 3-4 Strength (38 minutes)
Late start (seems to be usual unfortunately). Overall a good workout. My right knee was bothering me. It wasn't the instability issue I had when I started back up again about a month ago. The knee itself feels pretty strong but I had some pain/discomfort that felt like it was under the knee cap. It wasn't enough to stop the workout. I did all lunges, lunge/squats, 3-part squats & max squats. Again, there was discomfort but I couldn't let that stop me.
Lately I have 3 different sets of weights setup. A set of 10lb, almost aerobic type, dumbbells that I think were my wife's. I have roughly 15 lb dumbbells that are free weights and then I have my select-a-weight dumbbells that I have set to 20 lbs. Different exercises I'll use whatever weight I can handle. Example, I'll use the 15lbs for almost everything from curls, military presses, swimmers press, back flys, etc... 10 lbs are perfect for me for shoulder flys, kick backs, etc... 20 lbs are really only used for lawnmower. I could probably actually go higher with that weight. Christie had a tough workout today and couldn't find the 2 1/2lb aerobic weights she once had so I stripped all the weight off the free weight dumbbells and set her up with just the bars. That seemed to be a big help to her, which is great.
Again - a really good workout. My lungs definitely get worked hard here because you are going from one exercise right into another, into another, into another, etc... You do that for 5 or 6 straight exercises and then take 30 seconds to stretch, then do it again for 5 or 6 exercises and take 30 seconds for a water break, then do it again for 5 or 6 exercises and take a minute to stretch (and catch your breath) and then finish up with the last 5 or 6 stretches before you get a gracious 90 second stretch/cool down.
Tomorrow is Power90 3-4 Cardio & TH200 Abs. It just might be the last time I do that workout for a while, so I'm going to push hard (I like to think I always do). Still haven't decided on what I'm doing next week. Leave that decision for Sunday.
Regrets? That small piece of ice cream cake at 8:15 last night. I can't stand eating that late at night unless it is a Saturday night and we are having date night. At least its one more sweet out of the house.
Late start (seems to be usual unfortunately). Overall a good workout. My right knee was bothering me. It wasn't the instability issue I had when I started back up again about a month ago. The knee itself feels pretty strong but I had some pain/discomfort that felt like it was under the knee cap. It wasn't enough to stop the workout. I did all lunges, lunge/squats, 3-part squats & max squats. Again, there was discomfort but I couldn't let that stop me.
Lately I have 3 different sets of weights setup. A set of 10lb, almost aerobic type, dumbbells that I think were my wife's. I have roughly 15 lb dumbbells that are free weights and then I have my select-a-weight dumbbells that I have set to 20 lbs. Different exercises I'll use whatever weight I can handle. Example, I'll use the 15lbs for almost everything from curls, military presses, swimmers press, back flys, etc... 10 lbs are perfect for me for shoulder flys, kick backs, etc... 20 lbs are really only used for lawnmower. I could probably actually go higher with that weight. Christie had a tough workout today and couldn't find the 2 1/2lb aerobic weights she once had so I stripped all the weight off the free weight dumbbells and set her up with just the bars. That seemed to be a big help to her, which is great.
Again - a really good workout. My lungs definitely get worked hard here because you are going from one exercise right into another, into another, into another, etc... You do that for 5 or 6 straight exercises and then take 30 seconds to stretch, then do it again for 5 or 6 exercises and take 30 seconds for a water break, then do it again for 5 or 6 exercises and take a minute to stretch (and catch your breath) and then finish up with the last 5 or 6 stretches before you get a gracious 90 second stretch/cool down.
Tomorrow is Power90 3-4 Cardio & TH200 Abs. It just might be the last time I do that workout for a while, so I'm going to push hard (I like to think I always do). Still haven't decided on what I'm doing next week. Leave that decision for Sunday.
Regrets? That small piece of ice cream cake at 8:15 last night. I can't stand eating that late at night unless it is a Saturday night and we are having date night. At least its one more sweet out of the house.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
March 20 (Day 28)
Power90 3-4 Cardio (42 minutes) TH200 Abs (6 minutes)
Almost typical workout. I pushed hard and did a great job (in my opinion). The downside? When your stomach says "hey, its time to go potty" in the middle of a damn workout. UGH.
The cardio portion of the workout is broken in 2 pieces as I see it. The first half is stretching, power yoga, and just regular cardio. You get a 30 second break and then you move onto the 2nd half of the workout which is kicking & punching before you do a cool down and stretching. This morning I was on my last 2 exercises (fast feet, cross hops) for my last set of round 3 before the break. Then my stomach said WHOA, you are breaking now. It was a 5 to 10 minute break and then I came back down, finished those last 2 exercises, hand the 30 second water break and then rocked my way through kicking & punching.
I then rocked through the TH200 abs. I did 20 reps of all 10 exercises for a total of 200 reps. Thus successfully matching them rep for rep. Yes, all 200 reps.
My problem with the workout? The fact my body had that break. I can't control it. It said it had to go so I had to go. I know my body though and I know when I get to that 3rd set of fast feet my calves are on fire. They hurt. Its tough to push through them. This time, I had just had an extended bathroom break and came back and was very fresh to do them. The pain or discomfort, muscle fatigue - not there. Cross hops, were cake. Clearly this also made the 2nd half of the workout easier and quite possibly the following ab workout more successful. I don't know. We'll find out on Friday when I do this workout yet again.
Tomorrow Power90 3-4 Strength. Until then.
Almost typical workout. I pushed hard and did a great job (in my opinion). The downside? When your stomach says "hey, its time to go potty" in the middle of a damn workout. UGH.
The cardio portion of the workout is broken in 2 pieces as I see it. The first half is stretching, power yoga, and just regular cardio. You get a 30 second break and then you move onto the 2nd half of the workout which is kicking & punching before you do a cool down and stretching. This morning I was on my last 2 exercises (fast feet, cross hops) for my last set of round 3 before the break. Then my stomach said WHOA, you are breaking now. It was a 5 to 10 minute break and then I came back down, finished those last 2 exercises, hand the 30 second water break and then rocked my way through kicking & punching.
I then rocked through the TH200 abs. I did 20 reps of all 10 exercises for a total of 200 reps. Thus successfully matching them rep for rep. Yes, all 200 reps.
My problem with the workout? The fact my body had that break. I can't control it. It said it had to go so I had to go. I know my body though and I know when I get to that 3rd set of fast feet my calves are on fire. They hurt. Its tough to push through them. This time, I had just had an extended bathroom break and came back and was very fresh to do them. The pain or discomfort, muscle fatigue - not there. Cross hops, were cake. Clearly this also made the 2nd half of the workout easier and quite possibly the following ab workout more successful. I don't know. We'll find out on Friday when I do this workout yet again.
Tomorrow Power90 3-4 Strength. Until then.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
March 19 (Day 27)
Power90 3-4 Strength (38 minutes)
OK - so I'm kind of getting bored with this workout too. Not because it is a bad workout. It isn't. It is actually a really good workout. I feel it in every muscle that we work. Thighs, glutes, calves, forearms, biceps, chest, back, triceps, shoulders. You name it, we hit it in this workout. Surprisingly enough, and I've mentioned this before, this workout really gets my lungs working as well. Yes, its that good of a workout. There is no question that I've gotten stronger and more muscular looking (definition) while doing the workout.
My problem? I do this workout 3 times a week. Just like the cardio workout, its every other day of the week. It gets old. It really does. I've been doing these for about a month. I can't argue with the results. I have ZERO 30 day measurements done (since that would be done on April 5, since we didn't do measurements until March 5). I don't know how much weight (if any) that I've lost. I don't know how many inches (if any) that I've lost on my waist or any other areas. I know my pants fit substantially better. That much I can confirm. My 36" waist jeans are kind of baggy in the crotch. They are no longer folding over on the top like they used to. They are VERY baggy in the legs. My Irish legs didn't stand much of a chance before this. lol
I'm going to finish out this week of Power90 and then spend some time on Sunday (after my X Stretch) and think about if I really want to continue on with Power90 or start up on P90X or something else. I'm not where I had hoped to be strength wise after nearly 30 days. I was hoping to be doing every exercise for maximum reps (same as they do) before moving on. I'm not there yet. Its the reality. A couple things I have learned in all my years of failure doing this. 1) You aren't going to do it if you aren't excited about it or seeing/believing you are going to get results 2) There simply has to be enough variety in it so you don't get bored. The workout can be solid, tough and produce results - but if you don't get some variety you aren't going to want to do it. Monotony is monotony.
So tomorrow is Cardio/Abs. We'll push play and go from there. Try and keep the intensity up and just keep working. That's all we can do. Until tomorrow.
OK - so I'm kind of getting bored with this workout too. Not because it is a bad workout. It isn't. It is actually a really good workout. I feel it in every muscle that we work. Thighs, glutes, calves, forearms, biceps, chest, back, triceps, shoulders. You name it, we hit it in this workout. Surprisingly enough, and I've mentioned this before, this workout really gets my lungs working as well. Yes, its that good of a workout. There is no question that I've gotten stronger and more muscular looking (definition) while doing the workout.
My problem? I do this workout 3 times a week. Just like the cardio workout, its every other day of the week. It gets old. It really does. I've been doing these for about a month. I can't argue with the results. I have ZERO 30 day measurements done (since that would be done on April 5, since we didn't do measurements until March 5). I don't know how much weight (if any) that I've lost. I don't know how many inches (if any) that I've lost on my waist or any other areas. I know my pants fit substantially better. That much I can confirm. My 36" waist jeans are kind of baggy in the crotch. They are no longer folding over on the top like they used to. They are VERY baggy in the legs. My Irish legs didn't stand much of a chance before this. lol
I'm going to finish out this week of Power90 and then spend some time on Sunday (after my X Stretch) and think about if I really want to continue on with Power90 or start up on P90X or something else. I'm not where I had hoped to be strength wise after nearly 30 days. I was hoping to be doing every exercise for maximum reps (same as they do) before moving on. I'm not there yet. Its the reality. A couple things I have learned in all my years of failure doing this. 1) You aren't going to do it if you aren't excited about it or seeing/believing you are going to get results 2) There simply has to be enough variety in it so you don't get bored. The workout can be solid, tough and produce results - but if you don't get some variety you aren't going to want to do it. Monotony is monotony.
So tomorrow is Cardio/Abs. We'll push play and go from there. Try and keep the intensity up and just keep working. That's all we can do. Until tomorrow.
Monday, March 18, 2013
March 18 (Day 26)
Power90 3-4 Cardio (42 minutes) TH200 Abs (6 minutes).
Everytime I think of this workout I almost get turned off and not do it. Its not because it is so incredibly hard that I can't do it. It's the Power Yoga segment. This stupid little 4 minute segment. I can't stand it. My dislike for this segment is so strong it almost ruins the other 38 minutes of this routine. Stupid, right? Whatever . I did it. All of it. Even Power Yoga. My legs felt a little tired during the high intensity stuff (jumping jacks, running in place, run lunges) but everything else seemed, well.... kind of boring. I still got a good sweat going. There were definitely times that my heart & lungs were pumping hard, but certainly wasn't the whole way through the workout. This could be my last week doing this workout I think.
TH200 Abs. Closer. Definitely closer. 186 reps. Things I failed on? Superman's I did 11. Probably could have done more, but everytime I did a rep I felt like I had to clench my butt so I wouldn't have to go to the bathroom. Full body crunches I did 15. Everything else I rocked a full 20 reps on. Feel really good about that. Hopefully by the end of the week I can just get the full 200. I have (2) more opportunities to do it before that time comes.
Other than that, normal morning routine. I ate a rice cake with PB and had to frigin poop before I worked out. So annoying to get up @ 4:30 only to not be able to start my workout until 4:55. Back at it tomorrow.
Everytime I think of this workout I almost get turned off and not do it. Its not because it is so incredibly hard that I can't do it. It's the Power Yoga segment. This stupid little 4 minute segment. I can't stand it. My dislike for this segment is so strong it almost ruins the other 38 minutes of this routine. Stupid, right? Whatever . I did it. All of it. Even Power Yoga. My legs felt a little tired during the high intensity stuff (jumping jacks, running in place, run lunges) but everything else seemed, well.... kind of boring. I still got a good sweat going. There were definitely times that my heart & lungs were pumping hard, but certainly wasn't the whole way through the workout. This could be my last week doing this workout I think.
TH200 Abs. Closer. Definitely closer. 186 reps. Things I failed on? Superman's I did 11. Probably could have done more, but everytime I did a rep I felt like I had to clench my butt so I wouldn't have to go to the bathroom. Full body crunches I did 15. Everything else I rocked a full 20 reps on. Feel really good about that. Hopefully by the end of the week I can just get the full 200. I have (2) more opportunities to do it before that time comes.
Other than that, normal morning routine. I ate a rice cake with PB and had to frigin poop before I worked out. So annoying to get up @ 4:30 only to not be able to start my workout until 4:55. Back at it tomorrow.
March 17 (Day 25) MISSED
Very simple routine. It is my "stretch" day. I was supposed to do P90X X-Stretch for 58 minutes and didn't do it. No excuses, it just didn't get done.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
March 16 (Day 24)
Power90 3-4 Strength (38 minutes)
Workout was pretty good. I had a banana, pb, whey protein shake about an hour before the workout. My body felt good then I had to use the bathroom. Never fails.
Overall though a great workout. My body & lungs were definitely stronger. I never went to my knees for any of the push up sequences. I couldn't do all reps for all the exercises, but it was still a good workout. My preference is still to get it done first thing in the AM.
Time to recharge my body tomorrow and do Stretch X or X Stretch, whatever the hell it is.
Workout was pretty good. I had a banana, pb, whey protein shake about an hour before the workout. My body felt good then I had to use the bathroom. Never fails.
Overall though a great workout. My body & lungs were definitely stronger. I never went to my knees for any of the push up sequences. I couldn't do all reps for all the exercises, but it was still a good workout. My preference is still to get it done first thing in the AM.
Time to recharge my body tomorrow and do Stretch X or X Stretch, whatever the hell it is.
Friday, March 15, 2013
March 15 (Day 23)
Power90 3-4 Cardio (42 minutes) TH200 Abs (6 minutes)
Without question my strongest performance for this workout yet since I restarted these workouts 3 weeks ago. No breaks (not that I usually do during Cardio). Intensity was high. I often found myself picking up the speed/pace and doing more reps than the instructors on things like Jumping Jacks, Elbows to Knee, pretty much all kicking & punching exercises. It felt great. Hell I was even mocking Tony during the process.
TH200 abs - Not quite 200, but again my best performance. Yes I did have to stop a couple of times during the different segments, but I never paused the video. With that I managed to get 185 reps today.
My weakest areas: Supermans (11 reps out of 20); Bicycles (18 reps out of 20); Full Body Crunches (16 reps out of 20)
I'm continuing to eat a rice cake with PB every morning before my workout. I'm also finding that my body feels the need to poop every day before a workout. I don't understand it, but maybe after I shed some of this fat it'll change. Only time can tell. I also continue to drink a gallon or more of water per day (weekends are tough, but I still push for 80+ oz).
Alrighty off to the showers.
Without question my strongest performance for this workout yet since I restarted these workouts 3 weeks ago. No breaks (not that I usually do during Cardio). Intensity was high. I often found myself picking up the speed/pace and doing more reps than the instructors on things like Jumping Jacks, Elbows to Knee, pretty much all kicking & punching exercises. It felt great. Hell I was even mocking Tony during the process.
TH200 abs - Not quite 200, but again my best performance. Yes I did have to stop a couple of times during the different segments, but I never paused the video. With that I managed to get 185 reps today.
My weakest areas: Supermans (11 reps out of 20); Bicycles (18 reps out of 20); Full Body Crunches (16 reps out of 20)
I'm continuing to eat a rice cake with PB every morning before my workout. I'm also finding that my body feels the need to poop every day before a workout. I don't understand it, but maybe after I shed some of this fat it'll change. Only time can tell. I also continue to drink a gallon or more of water per day (weekends are tough, but I still push for 80+ oz).
Alrighty off to the showers.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
March 14 (Day 22)
Power90 3-4 Strength (38 minutes)
Tough workout today. I had to stop a couple times and pause so I could catch my breath. The last couple of rounds whenever I went down to pick up weights and got back up I felt light headed and dizzy. Totally bummed by that. I did my best to make sure it didn't negatively impact my workout, but I think it might have to some extent. Maybe not completely focusing on the task at hand.
Anyway, all was pretty good. I pushed real hard - which is all I'm supposed to do. I couldn't do the same amount of reps they do on everything, but its a WIP. Back at it again tomorrow. Until then.
Tough workout today. I had to stop a couple times and pause so I could catch my breath. The last couple of rounds whenever I went down to pick up weights and got back up I felt light headed and dizzy. Totally bummed by that. I did my best to make sure it didn't negatively impact my workout, but I think it might have to some extent. Maybe not completely focusing on the task at hand.
Anyway, all was pretty good. I pushed real hard - which is all I'm supposed to do. I couldn't do the same amount of reps they do on everything, but its a WIP. Back at it again tomorrow. Until then.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
March 13 (Day 21)
Power90 3-4 Cardio (42 minutes) TH200 Abs (6 minutes)
The best thing I can say about this workout is that it's done. I was tired. I was cranky at first. I definitely didn't want to get out of bed. I got up and did it though and that's all that matters. Yeah, my leg raises exercises weren't my strongest. Whatever. I could really start to feel the difference in the sides of my abs when I was doing cross knees. That felt great. Kicking, still felt really good. Punching - part of me was kind of going through the motions. I definitely didn't feel I had it when I was doing cross/uppercuts. Again - the most important part is that I got up and did it. This HAS to be part of my regular every day life. Exercise is so important. I don't want to be fat, slow and unhealthy. I have enough of that around me. I don't like seeing it. I don't like seeing the limitations it makes people have and I don't like that they just don't like themselves. You should be proud of yourself. You should be proud of your body, your health and who you are. It is part of you.
TH200 abs - I pushed and pushed and pushed and what I got was one of my best ab workouts yet. I did 174 reps of the 200. Things I did not max out on. Supermans (11 reps); Hip Rockers (18 reps); Bicycles (15 reps); Full Body Crunches (10 reps). Areas to improve on no doubt.
And off to the showers. Keep up the hard work everyone. It is paying off, regardless of if you can see it right now or not.
The best thing I can say about this workout is that it's done. I was tired. I was cranky at first. I definitely didn't want to get out of bed. I got up and did it though and that's all that matters. Yeah, my leg raises exercises weren't my strongest. Whatever. I could really start to feel the difference in the sides of my abs when I was doing cross knees. That felt great. Kicking, still felt really good. Punching - part of me was kind of going through the motions. I definitely didn't feel I had it when I was doing cross/uppercuts. Again - the most important part is that I got up and did it. This HAS to be part of my regular every day life. Exercise is so important. I don't want to be fat, slow and unhealthy. I have enough of that around me. I don't like seeing it. I don't like seeing the limitations it makes people have and I don't like that they just don't like themselves. You should be proud of yourself. You should be proud of your body, your health and who you are. It is part of you.
TH200 abs - I pushed and pushed and pushed and what I got was one of my best ab workouts yet. I did 174 reps of the 200. Things I did not max out on. Supermans (11 reps); Hip Rockers (18 reps); Bicycles (15 reps); Full Body Crunches (10 reps). Areas to improve on no doubt.
And off to the showers. Keep up the hard work everyone. It is paying off, regardless of if you can see it right now or not.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
March 12 (Day 20)
Power90 3-4 Strength: 38 minutes
Overall no complaints. Continuing to get stronger. Of course today's performance could have been helped by the 2 days off vs the normal 1 day off between strength workouts. Who knows.
Chest - really well, I only went to my knees once for push ups and that was after I finished the normal 21 reps in "Wide-Tri-Die". On round 4 I did a max of 21 reps.
Back/Shoulders - continuing to improve. I know I need to up my weight on the "lawnmower" exercise. The other exercises I'm just trying to maintain good form and push for max reps.
Biceps - Std curls, no issue. Open arm curls I maxed out at 10. 7 - 7 -7 for me was more like 7 -7 -4. Things to improve on.
Triceps - Single arm extensions - maxed at 12 reps, kickbacks - maxed at 15, dips - 20 reps. Dips I may try and add some weight to my lap next time to increase the difficulty.
Legs - I was a little worried here at first because my very first lunge my right knee felt a little shaky. It didn't hurt, just felt shaky. I firmed up my form and wrapped out my remaining lunges. Lunge/Squat combo I ripped it. Not as winded as normal but I was definitely paying closer attention to my breathing throughout today's exercises. 3 - part squats, no issues at all. Max squats - I did 25 reps and felt good. A little winded at the end so I stopped with 10 seconds left.
At the end of the workout I was getting a little light headed and winded. I'm going to chug some OJ to see if that helps at all. My breath is almost back to normal as I type this. My stomach wants me back in the bathroom. Whatever. It was a good workout and another positive step towards being where I want to be. I'm really trying not to focus on things like my ginormous belly that is staring back at me right now. Just focusing on what I think I need to do to be successful. I can not forget that I am only 20 days into this and its a long journey. I've made tremendous strides so far and I'll continue to do so as long as I get up and push myself to do the right things.
Until tomorrow.
Overall no complaints. Continuing to get stronger. Of course today's performance could have been helped by the 2 days off vs the normal 1 day off between strength workouts. Who knows.
Chest - really well, I only went to my knees once for push ups and that was after I finished the normal 21 reps in "Wide-Tri-Die". On round 4 I did a max of 21 reps.
Back/Shoulders - continuing to improve. I know I need to up my weight on the "lawnmower" exercise. The other exercises I'm just trying to maintain good form and push for max reps.
Biceps - Std curls, no issue. Open arm curls I maxed out at 10. 7 - 7 -7 for me was more like 7 -7 -4. Things to improve on.
Triceps - Single arm extensions - maxed at 12 reps, kickbacks - maxed at 15, dips - 20 reps. Dips I may try and add some weight to my lap next time to increase the difficulty.
Legs - I was a little worried here at first because my very first lunge my right knee felt a little shaky. It didn't hurt, just felt shaky. I firmed up my form and wrapped out my remaining lunges. Lunge/Squat combo I ripped it. Not as winded as normal but I was definitely paying closer attention to my breathing throughout today's exercises. 3 - part squats, no issues at all. Max squats - I did 25 reps and felt good. A little winded at the end so I stopped with 10 seconds left.
At the end of the workout I was getting a little light headed and winded. I'm going to chug some OJ to see if that helps at all. My breath is almost back to normal as I type this. My stomach wants me back in the bathroom. Whatever. It was a good workout and another positive step towards being where I want to be. I'm really trying not to focus on things like my ginormous belly that is staring back at me right now. Just focusing on what I think I need to do to be successful. I can not forget that I am only 20 days into this and its a long journey. I've made tremendous strides so far and I'll continue to do so as long as I get up and push myself to do the right things.
Until tomorrow.
Monday, March 11, 2013
March 11 (Day 19)
Power90 3-4 Cardio (42 minutes) and TH200 Abs (6 minutes)
Cardio - it was good this morning. REAL good. I was pushing hard through it. You would never have known that I drank like a damn fish all weekend. UGH. I will be my biggest challenge. Overall though I felt great. My feet were sore today so things like "fast feet" were really hurting. Everything was good though. I plugged my way through everything and was pretty strong when doing it. Even PowerYoga, although I'll be honest. Just the though of doing it gets me angry. I just don't really enjoy it.
Abs - My stomach was a little upset before I started, so the bathroom break delayed the workout (shocking). Then it definitely wanted to interfere with my ab workout. I pushed through and did what I could with the abs but there were certain exercises I didn't do because I didn't want to run upstairs and poop again. I know I have to do something here, but I let my stomach tell me what its up for. lol
Nutrition - this weekend, not much. I continue to eat rice cakes & pb before my workouts.
Tomorrow Power90 3-4 Strength. Looking for a more consistent effort than Saturday.
Cardio - it was good this morning. REAL good. I was pushing hard through it. You would never have known that I drank like a damn fish all weekend. UGH. I will be my biggest challenge. Overall though I felt great. My feet were sore today so things like "fast feet" were really hurting. Everything was good though. I plugged my way through everything and was pretty strong when doing it. Even PowerYoga, although I'll be honest. Just the though of doing it gets me angry. I just don't really enjoy it.
Abs - My stomach was a little upset before I started, so the bathroom break delayed the workout (shocking). Then it definitely wanted to interfere with my ab workout. I pushed through and did what I could with the abs but there were certain exercises I didn't do because I didn't want to run upstairs and poop again. I know I have to do something here, but I let my stomach tell me what its up for. lol
Nutrition - this weekend, not much. I continue to eat rice cakes & pb before my workouts.
Tomorrow Power90 3-4 Strength. Looking for a more consistent effort than Saturday.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
March 10 (Day 18)
P90X - X Stretch (58 minutes)
Great stretch. My left shoulder still hurts, more so on the collar bone area. Not sure what is up with that, but I'll push through it as long as I can. Other than that it was great. My body is starting to regain its flexibility which will only help me in the long run. Some great hamstring stretches today. Loved it.
Back to Power90 3-4 Cardio tomorrow.
Great stretch. My left shoulder still hurts, more so on the collar bone area. Not sure what is up with that, but I'll push through it as long as I can. Other than that it was great. My body is starting to regain its flexibility which will only help me in the long run. Some great hamstring stretches today. Loved it.
Back to Power90 3-4 Cardio tomorrow.
March 5 - Day 1 Measurements/Pictures
Obviously we have been at this for a couple of weeks. Whatever.
Christie and I finally took pictures and measurements. All you are
really trying to do with this is capture your body's fitness level at a
given point of time and compare it at another point in time. This is
what I've got.
Weight: 196.4
Chest: 41 1/4" (around nips)
Waist: 42 (around belly button)
Hips: 41 3/4" (level to boxers front)
Right Thigh: 20 1/4" (7" up from top of knee)
Left Thigh: 20 1/4" (7" up from top of knee)
Right Arm: 15" (flexed)
Left Arm: 15" (flexed)
Here are the pics as dictated by the BeachBody programs. Facing front with hands on hips. Facing front doing a "bicep" flex. Side view. View from the back with hands on hips and the bicep flex from the back.
Weight: 196.4
Chest: 41 1/4" (around nips)
Waist: 42 (around belly button)
Hips: 41 3/4" (level to boxers front)
Right Thigh: 20 1/4" (7" up from top of knee)
Left Thigh: 20 1/4" (7" up from top of knee)
Right Arm: 15" (flexed)
Left Arm: 15" (flexed)
Here are the pics as dictated by the BeachBody programs. Facing front with hands on hips. Facing front doing a "bicep" flex. Side view. View from the back with hands on hips and the bicep flex from the back.
 |
| Day 1 - Front view |
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| Day 1 - Front view (bicep flex) |
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| Day 1 - Back view |
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| Day 1 - Side view |
 | |
| Day 1 - Back view (bicep flex) |
Saturday, March 9, 2013
March 9 (Day 17)
Power90 3-4 Strength: 38 minutes
Off to a later start than expected and my left shoulder was sore before I even started. Thankfully tomorrow is X stretch. My right wrist was bothering me today as well. To compensate for that I used push up bars to take the pressure off my wrists. I did my 20 decline push ups without too much issue, but the regular push ups were definitely tweaking it. Push up bars helped that a great deal. On the downside though, I didn't get as many reps as I might normally have done. On the plus side, I think my form was probably a little better, firmer and I definitely felt it across my pecs.
Leg stuff I rocked. I did everything without a concern for my knees at all. My legs are getting much stronger. That's a good thing. My arms and stuff feel really good. Again, just worked my whole body so it's tired, but over all its good.
That's all I have for today. I still have to do a post with my measurements and pictures. Maybe later today. Looking forward to doing X Stretch tomorrow though. MUCH needed.
Off to a later start than expected and my left shoulder was sore before I even started. Thankfully tomorrow is X stretch. My right wrist was bothering me today as well. To compensate for that I used push up bars to take the pressure off my wrists. I did my 20 decline push ups without too much issue, but the regular push ups were definitely tweaking it. Push up bars helped that a great deal. On the downside though, I didn't get as many reps as I might normally have done. On the plus side, I think my form was probably a little better, firmer and I definitely felt it across my pecs.
Leg stuff I rocked. I did everything without a concern for my knees at all. My legs are getting much stronger. That's a good thing. My arms and stuff feel really good. Again, just worked my whole body so it's tired, but over all its good.
That's all I have for today. I still have to do a post with my measurements and pictures. Maybe later today. Looking forward to doing X Stretch tomorrow though. MUCH needed.
Friday, March 8, 2013
March 8 (Day 16)
Power90 3-4 Cardio (42 minutes) TH200 Abs (6 minutes)
Up late last night (HA - take that Christie!). It was no one's fault but my own. The Bruins seem to be unable to hold onto a lead in the 3rd period, so I wanted to make sure they didn't blow the game. It worked. I'm not bitching I'm tired, so suck it.
Workout was great. Fatigue did not appear to be a factor at all during the workout. I went strong through all the exercises. I didn't have to pause or take breaks to catch my breath. My legs felt really good. Fast feet - well during that exercise my calves are on fire. lol I'll just assume (ass-u-me) that means shit is working. Overall really good stuff.
Abs - or as I know them, Flabs. Get it? Good. I'm doing better, which is all I can hope for. I kept track of what I did so I could document as a reference:
Std Crunch: 20 reps
Right Side Crunch: 20 reps
Left Side Crunch: 15 reps
Elbows to Knees: 15 reps
Supermans: 8 reps (need improvement big time)
Leg Lifts: 20 reps
In and Outs: 15 reps
Hip Rockers: 12 reps
Bicycles: 14 reps
Full Body Crunch: 10 reps
I guess I'll call today the TH149. lol Whatever. It's an improvement. Keep at it, it's the only way to get better.
One little food related note: Continuing with the rice cake with PB in the morning. Last night we had ice cream cake to celebrate Christie's birthday. The cake is gone, so we don't have to worry about that again until the next time we celebrate a birthday (Sunday).
Up late last night (HA - take that Christie!). It was no one's fault but my own. The Bruins seem to be unable to hold onto a lead in the 3rd period, so I wanted to make sure they didn't blow the game. It worked. I'm not bitching I'm tired, so suck it.
Workout was great. Fatigue did not appear to be a factor at all during the workout. I went strong through all the exercises. I didn't have to pause or take breaks to catch my breath. My legs felt really good. Fast feet - well during that exercise my calves are on fire. lol I'll just assume (ass-u-me) that means shit is working. Overall really good stuff.
Abs - or as I know them, Flabs. Get it? Good. I'm doing better, which is all I can hope for. I kept track of what I did so I could document as a reference:
Std Crunch: 20 reps
Right Side Crunch: 20 reps
Left Side Crunch: 15 reps
Elbows to Knees: 15 reps
Supermans: 8 reps (need improvement big time)
Leg Lifts: 20 reps
In and Outs: 15 reps
Hip Rockers: 12 reps
Bicycles: 14 reps
Full Body Crunch: 10 reps
I guess I'll call today the TH149. lol Whatever. It's an improvement. Keep at it, it's the only way to get better.
One little food related note: Continuing with the rice cake with PB in the morning. Last night we had ice cream cake to celebrate Christie's birthday. The cake is gone, so we don't have to worry about that again until the next time we celebrate a birthday (Sunday).
Thursday, March 7, 2013
March 7 (Day 15)
Power90 3-4 Strength: 38 minutes
This morning wasn't bad. I got 8 hrs of sleep last night and that was a huge help. I need to be more conscious of how much sleep I'm getting because I feel my body performs better when I've gotten sufficient rest.
Strength wise I'm really coming along well I think. I'm doing more and more push ups without having to go to my knees. There is a point where you have to do "max" pushups. Now by the time you get to that round (3 or 4), you've already done 60 or so pushups. So during this time I've only been able to eek out maybe 15 pushups. Today I did 20, but the last 5 were from my knees. I feel pretty good about that. I'm technically only 2 weeks into this, so I know I'll continue to progress and improve. By the time I'm a month into it I should be able to make it through all exercises without limits and hopefully doing "extra" reps.
Legs, no issues. I think I did great with them. Lunges, no issues. Lunge/squats - no issues. Tired at the end of them, but no issues. 3 part squats - did all 36 reps. Max squats - 25. No complaints. The knees felt good and my legs felt good.
Arms/chest/back - all that continues to come along. Of course I need to get rid of this belly fat, but you can't possibly expect that to disappear in 2 weeks. I'm continuing to progress though. I've got to cut my calorie intake I think. I'm honestly not sure where I am with it now, but it seems as though if I cut it more, I'll lose more weight.
I haven't decided what I'm doing next. Initially I told myself I was only going to do Power90 for 2 weeks and then jump on the P90X train. I'm not sure I want to do that right now. Doing P90X after 2 weeks would mean that I'm starting up on Monday. It's not that I'm not ready or scared or any of that nonsense, I just don't want set backs. I want to be able to push myself and succeed. I don't want injuries. Jumping ahead, with my conditioning the way it is and my weight where it is I fear the worst - injuries and set backs. Last time I did P90X I had already been working out for months. I had lost 12 or 13 lbs and weighed in at 191lbs. Physically I could breeze through Power90 3-4 cardio or strength and felt pretty damn good about myself. I knew that if I didn't step up and do something like P90X I was going to be bored and fail/stop. So at that time I was very comfortable moving forward. I'm just not there yet. Its an extreme program and although there are success stories of people getting off the couch and doing that and only that (good for them by the way) I'm listening to my body and saying no. I'm not ready.
Tomorrow more cardio, so another Power90 3-4 Cardio day. Gotta follow it up with flabs... I mean abs. Good times... good times.
This morning wasn't bad. I got 8 hrs of sleep last night and that was a huge help. I need to be more conscious of how much sleep I'm getting because I feel my body performs better when I've gotten sufficient rest.
Strength wise I'm really coming along well I think. I'm doing more and more push ups without having to go to my knees. There is a point where you have to do "max" pushups. Now by the time you get to that round (3 or 4), you've already done 60 or so pushups. So during this time I've only been able to eek out maybe 15 pushups. Today I did 20, but the last 5 were from my knees. I feel pretty good about that. I'm technically only 2 weeks into this, so I know I'll continue to progress and improve. By the time I'm a month into it I should be able to make it through all exercises without limits and hopefully doing "extra" reps.
Legs, no issues. I think I did great with them. Lunges, no issues. Lunge/squats - no issues. Tired at the end of them, but no issues. 3 part squats - did all 36 reps. Max squats - 25. No complaints. The knees felt good and my legs felt good.
Arms/chest/back - all that continues to come along. Of course I need to get rid of this belly fat, but you can't possibly expect that to disappear in 2 weeks. I'm continuing to progress though. I've got to cut my calorie intake I think. I'm honestly not sure where I am with it now, but it seems as though if I cut it more, I'll lose more weight.
I haven't decided what I'm doing next. Initially I told myself I was only going to do Power90 for 2 weeks and then jump on the P90X train. I'm not sure I want to do that right now. Doing P90X after 2 weeks would mean that I'm starting up on Monday. It's not that I'm not ready or scared or any of that nonsense, I just don't want set backs. I want to be able to push myself and succeed. I don't want injuries. Jumping ahead, with my conditioning the way it is and my weight where it is I fear the worst - injuries and set backs. Last time I did P90X I had already been working out for months. I had lost 12 or 13 lbs and weighed in at 191lbs. Physically I could breeze through Power90 3-4 cardio or strength and felt pretty damn good about myself. I knew that if I didn't step up and do something like P90X I was going to be bored and fail/stop. So at that time I was very comfortable moving forward. I'm just not there yet. Its an extreme program and although there are success stories of people getting off the couch and doing that and only that (good for them by the way) I'm listening to my body and saying no. I'm not ready.
Tomorrow more cardio, so another Power90 3-4 Cardio day. Gotta follow it up with flabs... I mean abs. Good times... good times.
March 6 (Day 14)
Power90 3-4 Cardio [42 minutes] + TH200 Abs [6 minutes]
I believe I did fairly well here. I was definitely fatigued in the beginning. At some point before the mid point though I got a second wind and kicked some ass. Definitely worked up a great sweat. Surprisingly though with this workout (cardio) I am just not sucking wind. I push and push and push, but it just doesn't appear to be one of those workouts that drives my lungs. The strength workout definitely does though.
TH200 Abs - well one thing for certain is I'm not able to do 200 reps yet. I am getting stronger though. I'm probably up around the 140 - 150 mark for this. Pretty good. Need more consistency though. Fortunately with the schedule P90 has, you get an opportunity every other day to work on that. lol Its good though. I'm 2 weeks into this and feeling great.
I believe I did fairly well here. I was definitely fatigued in the beginning. At some point before the mid point though I got a second wind and kicked some ass. Definitely worked up a great sweat. Surprisingly though with this workout (cardio) I am just not sucking wind. I push and push and push, but it just doesn't appear to be one of those workouts that drives my lungs. The strength workout definitely does though.
TH200 Abs - well one thing for certain is I'm not able to do 200 reps yet. I am getting stronger though. I'm probably up around the 140 - 150 mark for this. Pretty good. Need more consistency though. Fortunately with the schedule P90 has, you get an opportunity every other day to work on that. lol Its good though. I'm 2 weeks into this and feeling great.
March 5
Power90 3-4 Strength: 38 minutes
It was tough. I did it though. My legs continue to get stronger, which is great. I honestly stopped doing my knee exercises because my legs are really starting to feel that good. It's a mistake though. I really need to get back to doing them, even if it is just once a day. Since when does having extra strength hurt you?
I struggled on my upper body stuff today. I was weak on all the bicep stuff. Tricep stuff I was pretty good in. Shoulders, I'm usually pretty winded for. Not because they are such incredible cardio intense exercises, but I usually have some other exercise that just kicked my ass before them. Either way - up and DONE.
Oh and I continue to eat a rice cake with some peanut butter on it before my workouts. I have to find a way to speed up that routine though.
It was tough. I did it though. My legs continue to get stronger, which is great. I honestly stopped doing my knee exercises because my legs are really starting to feel that good. It's a mistake though. I really need to get back to doing them, even if it is just once a day. Since when does having extra strength hurt you?
I struggled on my upper body stuff today. I was weak on all the bicep stuff. Tricep stuff I was pretty good in. Shoulders, I'm usually pretty winded for. Not because they are such incredible cardio intense exercises, but I usually have some other exercise that just kicked my ass before them. Either way - up and DONE.
Oh and I continue to eat a rice cake with some peanut butter on it before my workouts. I have to find a way to speed up that routine though.
Monday, March 4, 2013
March 4
Power90 3-4 Cardio: 42 minutes. I did NOT do TH200 abs.
Let me start this post by saying I got sucked back in last night and had (2) beers and some Cool Ranch Doritos. End result? My stomach felt like shit this morning. I had to visit the bathroom after I did a warm up stretch before power yoga. I visited again immediately after completing the workout (when I was supposed to do abs). Again before I left for work. I really really enjoyed the beers. The Doritos, surprisingly not so much. Do I think there is a correlation between my food/drink choices and my stomach issues today? Yes I do. Do I think it is kind of crazy that I've only been on this path for less than 2 weeks and already my body is telling me when I fuck up? Yes I do.
Not much to report for this. PowerYoga was actually really good. I was extremely solid on my planks. Downward Dogs, Upward Dogs, Chataranga, push ups, lunges. I felt great and strong throughout all of it. Really strong. Moving forward to the cardio portion, I was just egh. I did it. I pushed through it. At first my run lunges weren't great. My left knee was hurting a little bit (feels better now). The "high impact" cardio (jumping jacks, run lunges, running in place) were tough for me today. I had to take a couple brief pauses. Just a couple seconds (2 or 3) but still. I understand I'm still working my body up and not every workout is going to be my best workout. I was cognizant of when my body wanted rest and I was also cognizant of when my body wanted to just go through the motions. When it wanted to do that, is when I made a conscious effort to pick it up a notch. I was sweating pretty good. I lost the shirt early too. Just too hot (body temp wise).
I'm still on the fence about doing the TH200 abs later today. I'm tired from the weekend and just not getting enough sleep last week. I've done the ab workout at 7:30PM before and got my body so worked up that I was still up at 11PM. I need a good night sleep. I'd love a good 7+ hr sleep night (who wouldn't?). I'll try for that tonight. Tomorrow is another strength workout. An opportunity to do better than I did today and push myself more.
Today is also 12 days in a row without a missed workout. My goal right now is to hit 21 days straight. They say that you can make or break a habit in 3 weeks time. Lets see if I can make a positive one and keep it going. I'd love to have some comparison pictures/measurements at the end of the first 30 days - but we still haven't done them and I honestly don't see them getting done tonight. [sigh]
Let me start this post by saying I got sucked back in last night and had (2) beers and some Cool Ranch Doritos. End result? My stomach felt like shit this morning. I had to visit the bathroom after I did a warm up stretch before power yoga. I visited again immediately after completing the workout (when I was supposed to do abs). Again before I left for work. I really really enjoyed the beers. The Doritos, surprisingly not so much. Do I think there is a correlation between my food/drink choices and my stomach issues today? Yes I do. Do I think it is kind of crazy that I've only been on this path for less than 2 weeks and already my body is telling me when I fuck up? Yes I do.
Not much to report for this. PowerYoga was actually really good. I was extremely solid on my planks. Downward Dogs, Upward Dogs, Chataranga, push ups, lunges. I felt great and strong throughout all of it. Really strong. Moving forward to the cardio portion, I was just egh. I did it. I pushed through it. At first my run lunges weren't great. My left knee was hurting a little bit (feels better now). The "high impact" cardio (jumping jacks, run lunges, running in place) were tough for me today. I had to take a couple brief pauses. Just a couple seconds (2 or 3) but still. I understand I'm still working my body up and not every workout is going to be my best workout. I was cognizant of when my body wanted rest and I was also cognizant of when my body wanted to just go through the motions. When it wanted to do that, is when I made a conscious effort to pick it up a notch. I was sweating pretty good. I lost the shirt early too. Just too hot (body temp wise).
I'm still on the fence about doing the TH200 abs later today. I'm tired from the weekend and just not getting enough sleep last week. I've done the ab workout at 7:30PM before and got my body so worked up that I was still up at 11PM. I need a good night sleep. I'd love a good 7+ hr sleep night (who wouldn't?). I'll try for that tonight. Tomorrow is another strength workout. An opportunity to do better than I did today and push myself more.
Today is also 12 days in a row without a missed workout. My goal right now is to hit 21 days straight. They say that you can make or break a habit in 3 weeks time. Lets see if I can make a positive one and keep it going. I'd love to have some comparison pictures/measurements at the end of the first 30 days - but we still haven't done them and I honestly don't see them getting done tonight. [sigh]
Sunday, March 3, 2013
March 3
P90X X-Stretch: 58 minutes.
I continue to do this routine to try and get my flexibility back. I've done this particular video 3 times in the past 12 days. I'm making some good progress. The shoulder plough is a bitch. I've got too much belly for that one right now. I'll continue to do it because it does help loosen up my neck & shoulders. The whole video is fantastic. It helps you stretch out every damn muscle in your body. Anyone with flexibility or tightness issues I'd highly recommend this video. SO SO good.
That's all I've got. Tomorrow moving back to Power90 3-4 Cardio. It'll be good to get back to that.
I continue to do this routine to try and get my flexibility back. I've done this particular video 3 times in the past 12 days. I'm making some good progress. The shoulder plough is a bitch. I've got too much belly for that one right now. I'll continue to do it because it does help loosen up my neck & shoulders. The whole video is fantastic. It helps you stretch out every damn muscle in your body. Anyone with flexibility or tightness issues I'd highly recommend this video. SO SO good.
That's all I've got. Tomorrow moving back to Power90 3-4 Cardio. It'll be good to get back to that.
March 2
Power90 3-4 Strength: 38 minutes.
Overall a good workout. Sometimes it is a challenge for me to do my workout if I don't get right up and do it. The bonus of doing it not when I wake up immediately is I'm more awake for it and my body is technically more ready for it. The negative is, I've already started my day. I already have a million and one things I want to get done for the day and the workout isn't one of them. So it is kind of tough to get back in that mindset.
I'm happy to report that the knee strengthening exercises are definitely helping. I was able to do all my lunges and then all my lunge squats (50 squats in that damn sequence). 3 part squats I also did. The max squats was challenging. I got maybe 20 of them. Overall though I can't complain. All the other stuff is status quo on. I'm pushing myself and doing my best which at this stage is all you can ask. My lung capacity is definitely getting better though because this routine really pushes you. It is non stop. One exercise right after the other. It used to really get me winded, but not so much now. I'm looking forward to starting my 2nd week of this routine next week.
Overall a good workout. Sometimes it is a challenge for me to do my workout if I don't get right up and do it. The bonus of doing it not when I wake up immediately is I'm more awake for it and my body is technically more ready for it. The negative is, I've already started my day. I already have a million and one things I want to get done for the day and the workout isn't one of them. So it is kind of tough to get back in that mindset.
I'm happy to report that the knee strengthening exercises are definitely helping. I was able to do all my lunges and then all my lunge squats (50 squats in that damn sequence). 3 part squats I also did. The max squats was challenging. I got maybe 20 of them. Overall though I can't complain. All the other stuff is status quo on. I'm pushing myself and doing my best which at this stage is all you can ask. My lung capacity is definitely getting better though because this routine really pushes you. It is non stop. One exercise right after the other. It used to really get me winded, but not so much now. I'm looking forward to starting my 2nd week of this routine next week.
Friday, March 1, 2013
March 1
Power90 3-4 Cardio (42 minutes) TH200 Abs (6 minutes). I hate a rice cake with PB on it before the workout.
Where do I start? Anger. I got less than 6 hrs sleep again last night. I didn't fall asleep until after 10 and I was up before 4AM. Personally - I am not one to have sleep problems. Any given night I can put my head down and within 5 minutes be asleep. My body and mind is not one that usually has to settle itself. Maybe that makes me a fucking simpleton I don't know. Anyway this was the 2nd straight night I had a really poor night sleep and I want the trend to end. I'm comfortable saying that the issue is I know when my body is tired. I know when my body needs rest and I'm not doing myself any favors by staying up beyond that breaking point. It is my fault because it is my actions (or lack there of). I'll correct it tonight. I don't give a shit if it is a Monday night or a Friday night. I'm married with 2 kids, where the fuck am I going? To BED that's where. Don't anyone come knocking unless its an emergency or for sex. Anything else I can't fucking be bothered.
Despite all the anger I had from not sleeping and what not, it didn't translate into a fantastic workout. Don't get me wrong, my workout was good. I was strong and I can definitely feel that strength and the workout in more muscles than last week. However - if you had any idea of how angry I was this morning, well then you, like me - would have expected a bit more focused intensity in that workout. I had the intensity, but definitely lacked the focus. That's my issue.
Hmmm....what else can I document about this workout. No breaks during it. Heart and lungs felt really strong. I was worried about my back because my upper back between the shoulder blades was still really tight and sore from yesterday's workout, but that didn't end up being an issue at all. Actually it feels a little better now that it is done. My knees felt pretty good. I definitely need to keep doing those knee exercises because I can feel the difference. I'd like to actually increase how many times I do them per day. Maybe twice a day. It takes less than 5 minutes and I can do them anywhere at any time so there is no excuse not too. The difference is truly unbelievable. The push I can get with my legs now, compared to before I did the exercises is just unreal. I can walk up the stairs again, without clutching the railing and wincing in pain after each step. The knee pain is just not something I ever experienced, now I have a glimpse into what my brother Jim lives through in that regard.
One thing that Christie asked me before I started back up and when I told her I was doing Power90 instead of P90X was "Are you going to be bored?". You've done this workout off an on hundreds of times. Is it enough to keep your interest? Fair enough. I told her, no problem, because I knew it was short term, not long. I knew I was using this as a stepping stone to get to the program I really wanted, not as the solution for my long term health. Do I get bored with it? Yeah, sometimes. There are things that keep me staring at the screen though and keep me going. 1) The results. I'm getting them. Personally I'm mad that we haven't taken pictures and done measurements yet because I feel my body looks much better than it did a week ago, but then again - does it really matter? I want my body to look 10X better than it does now. 2) The humor. Tony does try to be funny. More often than not, he isn't. One thing that is funny is Lisa. She is the dancer girl in the back during all these workouts. She's fit, has a nice tan and her Beachbody sports bra give her some nice cleavage. After about a half hour, that is nice sweaty cleavage. I must say though, during the punching sequence I just want to push her out of the fucking way so I can't see her on the screen. Really Lisa, you think what you are doing are hook/uppercuts? Really? I thought you were trying to hug something? Body blow punches, you call those body blow punches? It honestly looks like you are jerking 2 guys off at once. I know, I watch porn. UGH.
Anyway - it was a good workout. Not as focused as it needed to be, but definitely intense and I'm glad I got up and did it, despite my lack of sleep. Now off to get the kids up and get ready for work.
Where do I start? Anger. I got less than 6 hrs sleep again last night. I didn't fall asleep until after 10 and I was up before 4AM. Personally - I am not one to have sleep problems. Any given night I can put my head down and within 5 minutes be asleep. My body and mind is not one that usually has to settle itself. Maybe that makes me a fucking simpleton I don't know. Anyway this was the 2nd straight night I had a really poor night sleep and I want the trend to end. I'm comfortable saying that the issue is I know when my body is tired. I know when my body needs rest and I'm not doing myself any favors by staying up beyond that breaking point. It is my fault because it is my actions (or lack there of). I'll correct it tonight. I don't give a shit if it is a Monday night or a Friday night. I'm married with 2 kids, where the fuck am I going? To BED that's where. Don't anyone come knocking unless its an emergency or for sex. Anything else I can't fucking be bothered.
Despite all the anger I had from not sleeping and what not, it didn't translate into a fantastic workout. Don't get me wrong, my workout was good. I was strong and I can definitely feel that strength and the workout in more muscles than last week. However - if you had any idea of how angry I was this morning, well then you, like me - would have expected a bit more focused intensity in that workout. I had the intensity, but definitely lacked the focus. That's my issue.
Hmmm....what else can I document about this workout. No breaks during it. Heart and lungs felt really strong. I was worried about my back because my upper back between the shoulder blades was still really tight and sore from yesterday's workout, but that didn't end up being an issue at all. Actually it feels a little better now that it is done. My knees felt pretty good. I definitely need to keep doing those knee exercises because I can feel the difference. I'd like to actually increase how many times I do them per day. Maybe twice a day. It takes less than 5 minutes and I can do them anywhere at any time so there is no excuse not too. The difference is truly unbelievable. The push I can get with my legs now, compared to before I did the exercises is just unreal. I can walk up the stairs again, without clutching the railing and wincing in pain after each step. The knee pain is just not something I ever experienced, now I have a glimpse into what my brother Jim lives through in that regard.
One thing that Christie asked me before I started back up and when I told her I was doing Power90 instead of P90X was "Are you going to be bored?". You've done this workout off an on hundreds of times. Is it enough to keep your interest? Fair enough. I told her, no problem, because I knew it was short term, not long. I knew I was using this as a stepping stone to get to the program I really wanted, not as the solution for my long term health. Do I get bored with it? Yeah, sometimes. There are things that keep me staring at the screen though and keep me going. 1) The results. I'm getting them. Personally I'm mad that we haven't taken pictures and done measurements yet because I feel my body looks much better than it did a week ago, but then again - does it really matter? I want my body to look 10X better than it does now. 2) The humor. Tony does try to be funny. More often than not, he isn't. One thing that is funny is Lisa. She is the dancer girl in the back during all these workouts. She's fit, has a nice tan and her Beachbody sports bra give her some nice cleavage. After about a half hour, that is nice sweaty cleavage. I must say though, during the punching sequence I just want to push her out of the fucking way so I can't see her on the screen. Really Lisa, you think what you are doing are hook/uppercuts? Really? I thought you were trying to hug something? Body blow punches, you call those body blow punches? It honestly looks like you are jerking 2 guys off at once. I know, I watch porn. UGH.
Anyway - it was a good workout. Not as focused as it needed to be, but definitely intense and I'm glad I got up and did it, despite my lack of sleep. Now off to get the kids up and get ready for work.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
February 28
Power90 3-4 Strength: 38 minutes. I did once again eat a rice cake with PB on it before my workout.
Let me start by saying since I started backup on my fitness/health journey I have had knee pain. My knees hurt. I have lacked strength in them and even something as simple as walking up the stairs (or running, like I would typically do) I've had to clutch the railing and wince as I go up. Clearly an area I needed to improve on. I did some research yesterday at lunch and found some simple knee exercises I could do ANYWHERE, so long as I had a seat. It doesn't require weights and it helps strengthen up all the tiny muscles around the knee to help stabilize it. I did that last night before we headed to bed. When we walked up to bed my knees felt fantastic. Actually when standing I had a little bit of the shakiness in my legs like I had just had a great sex session, but sadly that wasn't the case. Still a sack full of sperm.
Anywho - this morning 's workout was going great. I was pushing further than I had the last workout during round 1. Final exercise in every round is legs. Round 1 is 5 sets of lunges. I was feeling great and the knees were feeling strong and I got cocky. Halfway through round 3 I didn't focus on my form and rushed it and sharp pain to my right knee. I tried to push ahead but I couldn't lunge to my right leg, I couldn't push off of it. Bummed? Yeah. I immediately started to think about the rest of my workout and how I could work around that. I don't like working my legs. I just don't, but I know its necessary, so I do it. The next time it came time to do legs I sat on the bench downstairs and did my knee exercises for as long as it took Tony and crew to complete their lunge/squat sequence (about 4 minutes). That really helped me It really really did. When it came time for round 3 (3 part squats) and round 4 (max squats) I was able to complete those rounds and finish strong doing the exercises I was supposed to without issues.
Aside from the legs, the rest of my body is definitely getting stronger. Chest - well I'm increasing how many pushups I do each workout so that is good. Wrists, I didn't even need my pushup bars today to take the pressure off my wrists, so clearly they are stronger. Back - yeah, I have to up the weight next time. Biceps - no question I'm getting more reps with a higher weight. Shoulders - tough, really tough. I'm trying to really focus on this area with my form to insure I feel it, so I'm not pushing the weight too much. Triceps, well again, I'm focusing on form (as I am with all exercises) and going slow with tricep exercises, but its going well. DIPS - I kill them. 20? Yeah - no issues there. Oh you don't want me to do bent knees and make sure I go all the way down and extend my arms all the way up. Yeah - I got that. Overall I'm feeling stronger and already I see a change in my body. I feel good. Just have to keep up the work. Tomorrow is another day and it's Cardio with Abs. Right now though its time to wake up kids and get everyone ready. Oy.
EDIT:
OK - between my shoulders are really sore and tight. I worked something good today. :)
Let me start by saying since I started backup on my fitness/health journey I have had knee pain. My knees hurt. I have lacked strength in them and even something as simple as walking up the stairs (or running, like I would typically do) I've had to clutch the railing and wince as I go up. Clearly an area I needed to improve on. I did some research yesterday at lunch and found some simple knee exercises I could do ANYWHERE, so long as I had a seat. It doesn't require weights and it helps strengthen up all the tiny muscles around the knee to help stabilize it. I did that last night before we headed to bed. When we walked up to bed my knees felt fantastic. Actually when standing I had a little bit of the shakiness in my legs like I had just had a great sex session, but sadly that wasn't the case. Still a sack full of sperm.
Anywho - this morning 's workout was going great. I was pushing further than I had the last workout during round 1. Final exercise in every round is legs. Round 1 is 5 sets of lunges. I was feeling great and the knees were feeling strong and I got cocky. Halfway through round 3 I didn't focus on my form and rushed it and sharp pain to my right knee. I tried to push ahead but I couldn't lunge to my right leg, I couldn't push off of it. Bummed? Yeah. I immediately started to think about the rest of my workout and how I could work around that. I don't like working my legs. I just don't, but I know its necessary, so I do it. The next time it came time to do legs I sat on the bench downstairs and did my knee exercises for as long as it took Tony and crew to complete their lunge/squat sequence (about 4 minutes). That really helped me It really really did. When it came time for round 3 (3 part squats) and round 4 (max squats) I was able to complete those rounds and finish strong doing the exercises I was supposed to without issues.
Aside from the legs, the rest of my body is definitely getting stronger. Chest - well I'm increasing how many pushups I do each workout so that is good. Wrists, I didn't even need my pushup bars today to take the pressure off my wrists, so clearly they are stronger. Back - yeah, I have to up the weight next time. Biceps - no question I'm getting more reps with a higher weight. Shoulders - tough, really tough. I'm trying to really focus on this area with my form to insure I feel it, so I'm not pushing the weight too much. Triceps, well again, I'm focusing on form (as I am with all exercises) and going slow with tricep exercises, but its going well. DIPS - I kill them. 20? Yeah - no issues there. Oh you don't want me to do bent knees and make sure I go all the way down and extend my arms all the way up. Yeah - I got that. Overall I'm feeling stronger and already I see a change in my body. I feel good. Just have to keep up the work. Tomorrow is another day and it's Cardio with Abs. Right now though its time to wake up kids and get everyone ready. Oy.
EDIT:
OK - between my shoulders are really sore and tight. I worked something good today. :)
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
February 27
Power90 3-4 Cardio + TH200 abs. Another day, another success story. What makes today a success? The fact that I got up and did it. I'm not where I want to be, or need to be yet, but I got up and gave it a shot. Made a conscious effort to push myself and do the best I could.
[Notes - got at least 7 hrs sleep last night (YES!) and did eat before the workout (rice cake + pb)]
Today I was definitely stronger. There were no breaks taken by me. I just kept going. The only break I had was the 30 second break Tony allots you. I was OK with it. I did the run lunges. I found out quickly that if I brought my left leg too far forward while doing it then that was when my left knee hurt. So I made adjustments. I did it as "high impact" I guess. Same with the cross hops. I was strong enough today to do it the way they do it. Its a good step forward. My right knee didn't bother me until I was on my last round of punches (jab/cross). When you go to pivot your hip I tend to twist the front leg's knee. It doesn't seem to be as much of an issue for the left one as it does the right. I could feel it in the right knee as I was walking up the stairs after my workout. It is definitely weak and needs some individual attention. I'll have to research that a bit more.
Abs - well I am just not strong enough to do 200 reps yet. I'd imagine that I did over 100, pretty confident in saying that. Again I sucked doing the Supermans, bicycles were not my strong point either. I still put forth effort. One thing that did hold me back though was the need to poop. I wasn't stopping and going back to my workout after that, so I took breaks when I thought I was pushing my stomach too much to the point where I would have to rush for the bathroom. Don't judge.
Christie got up and worked out again today too. Unlike Monday & Tuesday where she sprung out of bed and I kind of felt guilty and got out of bed after her, it was a role reversal today. I'm proud of her though, she got up and did it. One thing that I definitely missed and enjoyed was when she finished her workout and headed upstairs, we congratulated each other for our efforts. I had missed that. We did it all the time when we were successful. It takes a lot to get up and just do it before you have to take on your day, but we do it. We can continue to do it. Its just nice to have someone by your side committed to doing it, not just for their own success but for yours as well.
Still no "official" pictures or measurements, maybe tonight. We'll see. Baby Cole was born last night so we gotta make sure we go see him first. :)
[Notes - got at least 7 hrs sleep last night (YES!) and did eat before the workout (rice cake + pb)]
Today I was definitely stronger. There were no breaks taken by me. I just kept going. The only break I had was the 30 second break Tony allots you. I was OK with it. I did the run lunges. I found out quickly that if I brought my left leg too far forward while doing it then that was when my left knee hurt. So I made adjustments. I did it as "high impact" I guess. Same with the cross hops. I was strong enough today to do it the way they do it. Its a good step forward. My right knee didn't bother me until I was on my last round of punches (jab/cross). When you go to pivot your hip I tend to twist the front leg's knee. It doesn't seem to be as much of an issue for the left one as it does the right. I could feel it in the right knee as I was walking up the stairs after my workout. It is definitely weak and needs some individual attention. I'll have to research that a bit more.
Abs - well I am just not strong enough to do 200 reps yet. I'd imagine that I did over 100, pretty confident in saying that. Again I sucked doing the Supermans, bicycles were not my strong point either. I still put forth effort. One thing that did hold me back though was the need to poop. I wasn't stopping and going back to my workout after that, so I took breaks when I thought I was pushing my stomach too much to the point where I would have to rush for the bathroom. Don't judge.
Christie got up and worked out again today too. Unlike Monday & Tuesday where she sprung out of bed and I kind of felt guilty and got out of bed after her, it was a role reversal today. I'm proud of her though, she got up and did it. One thing that I definitely missed and enjoyed was when she finished her workout and headed upstairs, we congratulated each other for our efforts. I had missed that. We did it all the time when we were successful. It takes a lot to get up and just do it before you have to take on your day, but we do it. We can continue to do it. Its just nice to have someone by your side committed to doing it, not just for their own success but for yours as well.
Still no "official" pictures or measurements, maybe tonight. We'll see. Baby Cole was born last night so we gotta make sure we go see him first. :)
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
February 26
Power90 3-4 Strength. I feel I did better with this working than I did on Saturday. Although on some exercises I don't think my reps count went up, I do feel that I was stronger on the exercises and my form was better. It definitely seemed as though I was a little slower, or off pace with the instructors. Lunge/Squats as a good example. Lunge right leg forward, squat 5 times, then lunge left leg forward, now turn around and repeat...wait... those guys are already starting to squat again. DAMN IT! I don't like lunge/squats. I never have. However I used to be much stronger when doing them. This particular exercise I think I might have done better on Saturday than I did today. Either way, I sucked it up and did it today.
Before I worked out this morning I ate a rice cake that had a thin layer of Natural peanut butter on it. I had never done that. It was still kind of light (airy I guess you could say) but it was something in my stomach. During the lower back extensions (laying on your belly and bringing your arms and legs off the floor like you are flying like Superman) I could definitely feel like something was in my stomach. I didn't want to hurl, but I also wasn't comfortable. That will take some getting used to. I guess its good I still have another 11 rice cakes in the package.
So I did the whole workout. All 38 minutes. I did pause it for an extra 10 seconds when I got the 30 second towel/water break in the middle of the workout. I also took a little bit of a break right before the 3 part squats (3 different squat exercises, each one for 12 reps). Other than that I felt strong. You'd never know it because my body is pretty shaky right now, but I felt pretty strong. My right knee is really the only thing that feels kind of weak. I need to focus on that. I can feel the muscles around my left knee and feel it working during all the lunges, squats, etc... Not so much on the right knee, I don't believe I'm favoring it - but I don't get the same feeling with it that I do in the left. Just something to focus on.
Nutrition - lets talk about that. I'm feeling pretty good. Obviously during the week its busy and I like the way I eat/drink during the week. I'm great with my water consumption (already 30 oz this morning). My food choices aren't bad ones. I'm not all fruits and veggies, but I'm also not feasting on brownies and ice cream (that was Sunday. lol) Weekend I have my struggles. All I can do is take it one meal at a time and try and make the best choice available to me at the time of that meal. The weight isn't going to come off if I don't. I really want the weight off and to have a good strong body again.
I did take a couple of pics this morning after my workout because I don't know if Christie and I will be doing our initial pics and measurements tonight. I'm going to push for it, but there is no guarantee. Its a little misleading because after a workout your body doesn't exactly (nor should it) look the same as before the workout. Either way - its a point of reference and nowhere near where I want to be. OK - off to the showers.
Before I worked out this morning I ate a rice cake that had a thin layer of Natural peanut butter on it. I had never done that. It was still kind of light (airy I guess you could say) but it was something in my stomach. During the lower back extensions (laying on your belly and bringing your arms and legs off the floor like you are flying like Superman) I could definitely feel like something was in my stomach. I didn't want to hurl, but I also wasn't comfortable. That will take some getting used to. I guess its good I still have another 11 rice cakes in the package.
So I did the whole workout. All 38 minutes. I did pause it for an extra 10 seconds when I got the 30 second towel/water break in the middle of the workout. I also took a little bit of a break right before the 3 part squats (3 different squat exercises, each one for 12 reps). Other than that I felt strong. You'd never know it because my body is pretty shaky right now, but I felt pretty strong. My right knee is really the only thing that feels kind of weak. I need to focus on that. I can feel the muscles around my left knee and feel it working during all the lunges, squats, etc... Not so much on the right knee, I don't believe I'm favoring it - but I don't get the same feeling with it that I do in the left. Just something to focus on.
Nutrition - lets talk about that. I'm feeling pretty good. Obviously during the week its busy and I like the way I eat/drink during the week. I'm great with my water consumption (already 30 oz this morning). My food choices aren't bad ones. I'm not all fruits and veggies, but I'm also not feasting on brownies and ice cream (that was Sunday. lol) Weekend I have my struggles. All I can do is take it one meal at a time and try and make the best choice available to me at the time of that meal. The weight isn't going to come off if I don't. I really want the weight off and to have a good strong body again.
I did take a couple of pics this morning after my workout because I don't know if Christie and I will be doing our initial pics and measurements tonight. I'm going to push for it, but there is no guarantee. Its a little misleading because after a workout your body doesn't exactly (nor should it) look the same as before the workout. Either way - its a point of reference and nowhere near where I want to be. OK - off to the showers.
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