Well I went and had the BF test. How did I do? Simply put - not as good as I was last year.
2015 results:
172lbs body weight. 130.3lbs (75.5%) lean body mass. 41.7lbs of FAT. 24.3% Body Fat
2016 results:
171.9lbs body weight. 127.5lbs (74.2%) lean body mass. 44.4lbs of FAT. 25.8% Body Fat
I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little disappointed. But, hey - it is what it is. A point in time reference as to where my body is from a physical composition standpoint. It doesn't represent where I am from a physically capable point. I will try not to beat myself up too much over it. After all - I did ignore my nutrition for the better part of a year before I tried to tighten it up for P90x.
Going back to what's next.... Still not sure. I'm still leaning towards Convict Conditioning. I really want to do calisthenics work and work towards a handstand push up and pistol squat. Those are fitness goals, that are skill goals. I want to work on my mobility/flexibility. At the same time - I know I need to work cardio as well. Not having something mapped out for me does kind of suck. It does bother me a bit, but like anything else. Do the research. Do the work. Figure it out.
I plan to schedule another BF% test for March around when I turn 45. So it will likely be done on March 11, right before I turn 45. 3 months from now. I don't expect the scale to move much if I stick with my macros and nutrition, but I just don't know. I don't know if the calisthenics work will bring enough intensity or not - but it will definitely bring strength work to push my muscles. The nutrition, which is the biggest key, will be up to me.
Overall I'm happy I got my head out of my ass and did P90X. Those 90 days got me focused enough to lose 10lbs of what was obviously pure fat. My body feels good. It feels strong. I don't feel I have any weak or painful joints any longer. That isn't necessarily the result of doing P90X, more so of finding a balance between pushing my body with hard workouts and rewarding it with things like Yoga, stretching and foam rolling. The rest is up to me. Keeping my nutrition on track and keeping the balance with my body. Until next time.
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Friday, December 9, 2016
P90x - COMPLETE!!
Whoa whoa whoa.... not so fast. Actually today I completed day 89. Tomorrow is Yoga. I love me some yoga, but not Tony Horton Yoga. He moves really fast and doesn't take the time to enjoy the movement. Or, we spend 30 minutes doing fucking vinyasas. Yeah - I'm good.
So let's recap. I started P90x back on September 11, 2016. I have faithfully gotten up and done my workout every single day. Did I miss anything? Well, yes... I did. Anytime there was Yoga on the schedule, I did a YouTube workout from the channel Yoga with Adriene. She is funny, quirky and encourages you to explore how you are feeling when doing your practice. I really enjoy it. I missed about 6 or 7 Ab Ripper X workouts, but I'm OK with it. At least 4 or 5 of them are because I woke up, looked at my phone and got sucked into Facebook and when it came time to actually do my workout.... well, I was pressed to get the hour in and couldn't fit another 15min in. Also, my last (2) recovery weeks I substituted P90x2 - Mobility and Recovery in place of X-Stretch. You can do either one, but if you have ANY experience at all with a foam roller and usually use one to take care of yourself then you will possibly be like me. Angry that they again rush through the workout. Yes, its recovery.... take your time, find your spots, roll them out. No need to flipping rush!!! 20min is not enough time to foam roll my whole body.
Where did I land on nutrition? Well, I did stick to macros - but only the P90x macros for maybe 2 weeks. After that I was in "fat loss" mode using Eat To Perform macros. You know why? I felt it gave me WAY more flexibility in my eating/nutrition and I enjoyed that more. Plus, I got to participate in the Eat To Perform FB groups which helped keep me accountable. My caloric consumption ranges for "fat loss" mode were anywhere from 2000 - 2600 calories on a given day (no, not every day is a 2600 calorie day). You know what? It worked for me. I did not feel deprived. I enjoyed eating lots of food. Also I learned how to better track my food and my macros. Also - I lost a little bit of weight.
How is my weight? Well, when I started P90x, I weighed in at 182lbs. As of today, I'm down to 173lbs. A 9lb loss. Not too bad.
How about the food? As I said, I eat at a minimum of 2000 calories a day. Its pretty good. Not complaining about that quantity of food. I would always eat 175g of protein per day (some days I'd be a little over or under, but the target was always the same). I'd enjoy burgers, steaks, chicken, tuna, dairy, turkey.... you name it... I've pretty much consumed it. It has been nice. I'm going to try and continue to follow the Eat to Perform nutrition way as I enjoy it. On my SUPER day (more macros for carbs & fats) I typically end my day eating a pint of Halo Top ice cream. Yeah, that doesn't suck. :)
Am I rocking a 6pk or what? Nope. I'm not, but I'm totally OK with it. This was about me getting back into a 6 day routine. Being committed to something. Finding what worked for me and what didn't. Learning a bit about nutrition too.
Sleep - how did that go? Well in the beginning I was taking a sleep supplement to try and help with sleep, staying asleep and recovery. It worked more often than not. I tried melatonin but that just didn't seem to work for me. Also what I learned during this process is that when I consumed alcohol, my sleep really, really sucked. Not to mention the next morning when it came time for my workout, that typically wasn't a very good workout. This bothered me a little bit in the beginning, but not too much at the end of the day. It taught me to be more selective of when I drink. When I do drink, I enjoy it for the taste - not the waste. Clearly I haven't given up alcohol, but I've only had 4 or 5 beers in the past 3 months. Typically that would be 4 or 5 beers on a Saturday night.
Finally - What is next?!?! Well... Saturday (day 90 of P90x) I have a BodPod scan scheduled in Plymouth to determine if I've lost any body fat since last year. I really really neglected my nutrition for the better part of the year, so if I didn't then its shame on me. If I did, no matter how little the progress - it would still be forward progress. Either way - it will be a point in time reference.
Next routine? Well, I'm leaning towards going back to Convict Conditioning. At least for the next 30 days. I want to see how my body feels and how my nutrition is with it. Does my weight skyrocket? Can I break some of these plateaus I had previously doing Convict Conditioning?
My goal is to continue to dedicate 6 days per week and 1 hour per day for just workouts. I can continue to use nights when the kids are watching TV to stretch and foam roll. (Foam rolling is far more enjoyable than stretching, even if it hurts).
Concerns? Yup. Am I getting enough work capacity to build muscle and burn fat? Am I going to gain a shit ton of weight and get caught in the "caloric deficit" trap out of fear? Will I stay healthy while doing this? So far I have, no injuries at all while doing P90x (thanks to stretching & foam rolling). Will I get closer to doing some of the cool skill work that I want to learn how to do (pistol squats, shrimp squats, handstand push ups, one arm push ups, one arm pull ups, etc...)? Will my mobility continue to improve? I really don't want to take a step back. My body feels good. I'd like to improve my range of motion throughout my whole body. Specifically shoulders, wrists, hips, glutes & hamstrings. I can however get a standing squat with my ass to my calves and that feels really good. No weight on my shoulders, just body weight, but still good example of mobility.
I may or may not update my blog tomorrow with what my BF% comes back at. Either way, I'm healthier than I have been in some time from many perspectives. All my joints feel good. My body is strong. It is lean again. My knees don't hurt. My traps don't hurt. All good things. Amazing what happens when you listen to your body and stick with a PLAN.
So let's recap. I started P90x back on September 11, 2016. I have faithfully gotten up and done my workout every single day. Did I miss anything? Well, yes... I did. Anytime there was Yoga on the schedule, I did a YouTube workout from the channel Yoga with Adriene. She is funny, quirky and encourages you to explore how you are feeling when doing your practice. I really enjoy it. I missed about 6 or 7 Ab Ripper X workouts, but I'm OK with it. At least 4 or 5 of them are because I woke up, looked at my phone and got sucked into Facebook and when it came time to actually do my workout.... well, I was pressed to get the hour in and couldn't fit another 15min in. Also, my last (2) recovery weeks I substituted P90x2 - Mobility and Recovery in place of X-Stretch. You can do either one, but if you have ANY experience at all with a foam roller and usually use one to take care of yourself then you will possibly be like me. Angry that they again rush through the workout. Yes, its recovery.... take your time, find your spots, roll them out. No need to flipping rush!!! 20min is not enough time to foam roll my whole body.
Where did I land on nutrition? Well, I did stick to macros - but only the P90x macros for maybe 2 weeks. After that I was in "fat loss" mode using Eat To Perform macros. You know why? I felt it gave me WAY more flexibility in my eating/nutrition and I enjoyed that more. Plus, I got to participate in the Eat To Perform FB groups which helped keep me accountable. My caloric consumption ranges for "fat loss" mode were anywhere from 2000 - 2600 calories on a given day (no, not every day is a 2600 calorie day). You know what? It worked for me. I did not feel deprived. I enjoyed eating lots of food. Also I learned how to better track my food and my macros. Also - I lost a little bit of weight.
How is my weight? Well, when I started P90x, I weighed in at 182lbs. As of today, I'm down to 173lbs. A 9lb loss. Not too bad.
How about the food? As I said, I eat at a minimum of 2000 calories a day. Its pretty good. Not complaining about that quantity of food. I would always eat 175g of protein per day (some days I'd be a little over or under, but the target was always the same). I'd enjoy burgers, steaks, chicken, tuna, dairy, turkey.... you name it... I've pretty much consumed it. It has been nice. I'm going to try and continue to follow the Eat to Perform nutrition way as I enjoy it. On my SUPER day (more macros for carbs & fats) I typically end my day eating a pint of Halo Top ice cream. Yeah, that doesn't suck. :)
Am I rocking a 6pk or what? Nope. I'm not, but I'm totally OK with it. This was about me getting back into a 6 day routine. Being committed to something. Finding what worked for me and what didn't. Learning a bit about nutrition too.
Sleep - how did that go? Well in the beginning I was taking a sleep supplement to try and help with sleep, staying asleep and recovery. It worked more often than not. I tried melatonin but that just didn't seem to work for me. Also what I learned during this process is that when I consumed alcohol, my sleep really, really sucked. Not to mention the next morning when it came time for my workout, that typically wasn't a very good workout. This bothered me a little bit in the beginning, but not too much at the end of the day. It taught me to be more selective of when I drink. When I do drink, I enjoy it for the taste - not the waste. Clearly I haven't given up alcohol, but I've only had 4 or 5 beers in the past 3 months. Typically that would be 4 or 5 beers on a Saturday night.
Finally - What is next?!?! Well... Saturday (day 90 of P90x) I have a BodPod scan scheduled in Plymouth to determine if I've lost any body fat since last year. I really really neglected my nutrition for the better part of the year, so if I didn't then its shame on me. If I did, no matter how little the progress - it would still be forward progress. Either way - it will be a point in time reference.
Next routine? Well, I'm leaning towards going back to Convict Conditioning. At least for the next 30 days. I want to see how my body feels and how my nutrition is with it. Does my weight skyrocket? Can I break some of these plateaus I had previously doing Convict Conditioning?
My goal is to continue to dedicate 6 days per week and 1 hour per day for just workouts. I can continue to use nights when the kids are watching TV to stretch and foam roll. (Foam rolling is far more enjoyable than stretching, even if it hurts).
Concerns? Yup. Am I getting enough work capacity to build muscle and burn fat? Am I going to gain a shit ton of weight and get caught in the "caloric deficit" trap out of fear? Will I stay healthy while doing this? So far I have, no injuries at all while doing P90x (thanks to stretching & foam rolling). Will I get closer to doing some of the cool skill work that I want to learn how to do (pistol squats, shrimp squats, handstand push ups, one arm push ups, one arm pull ups, etc...)? Will my mobility continue to improve? I really don't want to take a step back. My body feels good. I'd like to improve my range of motion throughout my whole body. Specifically shoulders, wrists, hips, glutes & hamstrings. I can however get a standing squat with my ass to my calves and that feels really good. No weight on my shoulders, just body weight, but still good example of mobility.
I may or may not update my blog tomorrow with what my BF% comes back at. Either way, I'm healthier than I have been in some time from many perspectives. All my joints feel good. My body is strong. It is lean again. My knees don't hurt. My traps don't hurt. All good things. Amazing what happens when you listen to your body and stick with a PLAN.
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