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