Recovery Week Updates

2-26-10
Well, once again, work has caused me to skip a couple days on the workout. They are, however, still fresh in my mind.
Before I get into that, while I have had (what would be considered by most) and extremely stressful week at work, I have been in a WONDERFUL mood all week. Just have a positive outlook on everything. I blame Tony.

Core Synnergistics – I love this workout. I feel so good. I’m stronger. The pushup exercises get a little tough, but bring it, bring it, bring it!!! I could also do without the lunges, but if we got rid of all the hard stuff, the glorious dripping sweat wouldn’t happen. It was also nice being fresh for this workout. I felt so good all day. Core synnergistics rocks. Love it!

Kempo – Ok, normally I say. Kempo was kempo. It was easy… then I move on. Not today my friends. Throughout the beginning of the workout, I kept thinking, “Why are my shoulders hurting so much. This is ridiculously hard. What is going on?” Then after it was all over, I realized… it was that damn core synnergistics. Ugh. But let’s not make something out of nothing. It was Kempo and kempo is easy… let’s move on.

Stretch – Yea right. Slept in (‘til 5:50). Glorious!

Core Synnergistics- Well, this workout didn’t start out exactly as planned, because I didn’t set my alarm. Good news is that my body is trained to check the clock at 4:25 and 5:50. This happened, so at 5:50, I got out of bed and started the workout. No time issues here, but there’s always a bad feeling of what could have been when the alarm doesn’t go off. Today wasn’t as glorious as Tuesday, but it was still pretty nice. I really like this workout. Today, my shoulders are extremely sore, and that’s going to be fun for Yoga tomorrow. I’m feeling my core engage more and more when I’m not doing this workout. I feel like my core is wrapping me up and making me solid.

So, I just passed day 54. I’m impressed with myself. How do I feel? I really feel wonderful. What results am I seeing? Good ones. My chest is getting bigger. Lost a bunch of fat in the chest and arms. I feel like my arms are a lot bigger. Certainly more defined. My only issue is the stomach. So, I am starting to see some definition in the upper abs, just right under the ribs, and I can feel them all the way down if I rub my hands down my stomach. Problem is I have still have fat around my midsection. I don’t like that. The only way I think I’m going to get rid of it is to start running. I’m planning to go to the beach in May, so that only leaves me two months to get my act together.
My wife has not been real happy with me getting extremely tired at 8:30 – 9:00 at night. I know that this is the time I just run out of fuel. I can stay up if I keep snacking, but this is making the problem worse. I think that if I start running after work, it will jump start my metabolism and keep me up later. I plan to run both Saturday and Sunday. It’s just going to be hard to find the time during the week. I’ll keep you posted.

Good Bye Week 7... Hello Recovery Week!!!

2-19-10
It is finally Friday. This week has been extra busy and I’m glad that it’s almost over. I’m really excited to sleep in a little bit tomorrow (maybe I can make it to 6:30 or so). It’s amazing to think that for 7 weeks, I have been up before 5:00 and I’m still going strong. Legs was tough as always. I felt pretty strong, but body fatigue is certainly in play. Nothing really all that different today other than I’m pretty pumped that next week is recovery week.

2-22-10
Well, I didn’t get time to post the Friday workout in the blog, so I’m doing that today. I was extremely sore in my legs for Kempo. Having Sunday off is always nice, but I was really sore. Then we got to Yoga this morning. I’m not quite sure what was going on this morning, but Yoga was extremely tough. My shoulders hurt more than I ever remember them hurting with Yoga. My back is really sore as well. I powered through it, but it was strange to be this sore/weak following a day off. I didn’t eat all that well this weekend, but I didn’t pig out on ice cream or anything. I just ate too much. I would think that would just give me energy. My real theory is that my body is spent and needs a rest. That’s why we’re on recovery week. I’m kind of excited for core synnergistics tomorrow. It’s just nice to get to do something different. Another thing I noticed about my body today was that my abs didn’t burn nearly as much as usual on the Yoga Belly 7s. I’m not really sure how to explain this, but instead of feeling the isolation of each area of the abs, I felt that everything was engaged together, which made it easier. Not sure if this is a good thing for working hard, but seems like a good thing for body control purposes. I don’t know… I’m just pushing play.

Week 7 - YOGA!!! HIT MY HANDS! HIT MY HANDS!!!!

2-18-10
Everyone needs a little Yoga in the morning sometimes. I just don’t know if I like this workout. I went out last night and stayed up late, so I was a bit tired this morning, but the workout was ok. I’m a little sore/achey this morning, but I’ve certainly had worse. Everything is getting easier (largely due to the fact that I can probably do 100 push-ups in a row now), but the stuff in the legs certainly pulls on the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Getting through the first 49 minutes is quite a relief. I can almost hold crane for a full minute (balance is my issue there) and today I realized I can lift up a leg in wheel (I was shocked). I’m starting to feel that I can control my body. I love the abs part (but I hate it). The burn that the 3 part touch the sky gives, along with the “shake” that it causes may be my favorite thing about the entire P90X program (except for my upcoming 6 pack and how good being fit makes me feel).
It still hasn’t set in for me that I’m past half way. It’s really cool to think that every day the end is closer than were I’ve been from. Just need to keep widening that gap. Soon I’m going to have to think about what I’m going to do after the 90 days end. Round 2? Insanity? We’ll get to that later.

HALF WAY POINT!

2-17-10
HALF WAY THROUGH!!!!!!! It’s all downhill from here. I’m now closer to the end than I am to the beginning and that’s just awesome. I want my 6 pack and I want it now, but I thought about it this morning… If I make as much progress in the next 45 days as I did the first… I’m going to be cut up. Today was the biceps and back. Continually getting better on the pull-ups and even did some of those corn cobs without the chair. The bicep workout is always killer. It’s hard for me to type right now. My forearms are just clinched out. Yesterday was Mardi Gras and I stayed home (good for me!) So last week I just felt terrible about every exercise and I was completely wasted. This week: not so much. I feel pretty fresh. I did my best ab workout ever today. The only thing I didn’t keep up with was the pulse-up v-ups and I got 19 out of 25. I did do 6 extra on the first thing (I forget what that’s called… it like crunchy frog without the arm movement). It’s 9:00 am, and I’m starting to get a little sore. The only thing really standing in my way to recovery week is legs on Friday, but I’m going to knock those out. Finishing strong on the first half of P90X (call it completing P45X) feels really good. Grrrrr!…. And Bring It!

Day 44: Plyo X

2-16-10
Today was Plyo X. This is just one of those love/hate workouts. I find myself having the internal dialogue on the first squat jumps (yes, the first exercise) telling myself… “It’s only 40 minutes. You can do anything for 30 seconds… just get past this one… the next one isn’t that bad…” Well, it all sucks. I’m wearing a heart rate monitor these days and I was stuck up in the 170s for the majority of the workout… now that’s gettin’ it. But at the end of it all… it’s do-able. It wasn’t that awful. You just push through it and move to the next terrible move. The worst thing about this workout is knowing you have to do it all twice. The workout is really tough, but the “sports bonus” is pretty weak. I do have fun going through the pitching motion though. At least it keeps the heart rate up. I always try to compare my HR with Tony’s when he calls his out. I thought it was funny today at the end of the workout… Tony says something to the effect of “I’m at 153… not bad for an old man”… Well I’m 29 and I was at 174 and sweat was pouring off of me. Kind of makes you feel good when it’s all over.
Tomorrow marks half way: day 45.

Finishing up week 6 and starting week 7

2-15-10
Well, I’ve slacked off a little on updating the blog, but I’ll catch up now. Work has been kind of crazy. I’m basically non-stop work from 7:40 – 5:30 and haven’t had time to recap my workout thoughts. So, quickly… Yoga last week was not too bad. My biceps and shoulders were extremely sore from the workout the day before. It’s so nice to get past the first 45 min. It is the real deal. Legs and Back weren’t as terrible as it usually is, but it was still tough. I noticed through the week, my abs got weaker during the ab ripper x. The theme of weeks 5 and 6 continued to be wasted. I had too much stuff going on Saturday, so I moved Kempo to Sunday. I also ran a couple of miles with the dogs. The run (which I haven’t done in a long time) let me know how good of shape I’m in. I wasn’t even winded after 2.5 miles. That’s pretty awesome considering I haven’t run since August of last year (7 months ago).
Today was chest, shoulders and tris. It was pretty tough, but I’m finding that I’m just shutting my mind down in the middle of the workouts to push through. This workout always leaves me with an intense burn (especially in the shoulders). I could get about halfway down on the 1 arm push-ups. Learning from today: I continue to get stronger.
I once again made it through all 50 twisty things at the end of abs. Grrrrrrr…..

Back and Biceps + mind right

2-10-10
Well, although it was really hard to get up this morning, my mind has returned to being in the right place. I still have a little body burn out, but I have a much better attitude about it. One thing that kind of frustrates me about this whole process is that fact that it almost never leaves my mind. I talk about it too much, I think about it too much, I write about it too much, but hey, it is what it is. I don’t think you can do something this hard and not be consumed by it. Anyway, I’m going to try to not talk about it anymore, just be a soldier and get it done.
On that note, I’m hurting so bad, I can barely breathe this morning. Today was back and biceps, and Wow. Just getting strong enough to push myself harder (it’s the theme of the week). I knocked out 8 pull-ups without the chair this morning. Give me 7 more weeks of this, I might get 20 (and that’s just hard for me to believe).
I saw “it” this morning. I looked in the mirror and saw my abs changing. Not seeing any signs of a 6 pack, but things are flattening out and tightening up (there’s a few bumps in my upper ab area).
It’s hard for me to believe that I’m closing in on half way through and the end of the second circuit. The last two weeks have flown by. I can’t believe I only have 9 more workouts until another recovery week. And when I lay it all out, it just seems do-able now. I have Yoga, then the hated legs (but I make it through – last week didn’t suck nearly as bad as it usually does), then Kempo. The crazy chest, bi, tri on Monday isn’t too bad. Plyo is becoming enjoyable (yes, I said that). And back and biceps isn’t all that hard, it just makes me really sore. So as I said yesterday… I can do this.

Week 6 days 1 and 2. I'm getting burnt out.

2-9-10
Well, the Saint’s won, which is cool. I’m not a die hard fan, but I don’t like Indy. To the workouts. Yesterday’s Chest, Shoulders and Arms was more do-able this week, but it’s still really hard. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to do a 1 arm push up (much less 10) in the near future, but who knows, this workout has surprised me several times before. On the ab ripper X, I stayed with them the whole time and finally got to 50 with them on the final exercise (the twisty ones). I was pretty proud (and hurting)
Plyo X was pretty intense this morning. Really didn’t want to get up for it, but I did and ran it as hard as I possibly could. I’m wearing a heart monitor now, and it’s interesting that I’m able to sustain a HR over 160 easier in the kempo workout than in the Plyo X. Obviously, the Plyo X is much harder, but I guess it’s a bit less cardio. It’s just as much a leg work out as it is cardio.
As for the process, I’m in a bit of a rut and a little bit discouraged. I’m having a hard time really determining the proper diet and I feel tired much of the time. I know this is not good, and I know carbs = energy. I still have too much around my waist and I want it gone and I want it gone now. I should start running and I think I will. P90X + half marathon training anyone? But it’s not just the physical appearance thing, I just don’t feel right. This is where people get discouraged and quit. I think it’s all in my mind, but I believe my mind is trying to tell me it’s tired of being tired and tired of being sore. I’ve read about this, but I’m not sure if you get the “burnt out” feeling to go away, or if you just keep pushing through it. I think that’s the best way to describe it, I’m burnt out. It’s not going to stop me. I’m through day 37. I’m getting to 90 burnt out or not. Hey, just realized that one more week and I’m half way through. I can do this.

Wasted away in Week 5

2-5-10
The word of the day is wasted (not in the alcohol sense, but in the “I can’t move anything” sense). This has been, without a doubt, the most grueling week of P90X thus far. I was thinking that after a recovery week, I would be refreshed and things would be easier. I got one out of two right… I was refreshed but I worked my ass off and made it harder (that’s actually a good thing). So I talked about Yoga being extremely tough (tougher than normal) yesterday. I still had that feeling today.
BUT… as I have said before, I don’t like legs and back at all. Today, it was hard but I really owned the workout today. Didn’t miss a beat and did all exercises as hard as they can be done... Then we got to abs. I’m so much stronger with my abs, but my core is wasted. I just didn’t have anything left. I mean, we could compare this week to week 1 or 2 and say I really owned the abs workout today, but I had to work even harder to do some of the things that are simple.
Oh, and I forgot. Towards the end of the legs and back, I almost passed out three times. I got really dizzy and started to get some tunnel vision. I basically willed my way through the end, but I was in a fog towards the end. Now that’s working hard.
Favorite part of today’s workout… the way sweat began pouring out of my forehead (“I thought projectile sweat… that’s never happened”) during chair salutations. I those are hard. Harder than wall sits and harder than single leg wall sits. Chair salutations is when it begins to get ridiculous.
One more thing… today is the official day that I can do pull-ups. Can’t bust out the entire workout without a chair, but doing unassisted pull-ups is pretty sweet.
Super Bowl this weekend… I think Indy will win, but GEAUX SAINTS!

Yoga X

2-4-10
Yoga X
Well, I not feeling it today… well, no, I’m really feeling it today, but this isn’t good feeling. I think it’s time to make sure I get enough calories in a day, and I think I’m going to have to up the carbs a little. Got really sleepy around 8:30 last night and it continues at 8:00 this morning.
The last several Yoga workouts have been easy and refreshing. Today was terrible. My biceps and shoulders are so sore from yesterday they are almost making me sick. You know that feeling that you get when you work your legs way too hard and you get the whole body sick? Well I’ve done that with my arms (and I’ll do it to my legs tomorrow). The vinyassas would never end. Boo on Yoga!! (at least for today).

The intensity has absolutely stepped up.

My positive note of the day: My favorite part of the Yoga was the final 20 seconds of the Yoga Belly 7. It actually felt as if I was on fire. Love it.

Still going strong on Week 5... day 30 and beyond

2-2-10
OHHHHHHH!!!! I don’t know if it was the two days of shoveling snow off the driveway, or the new Chest, Shoulders and Triceps workout, the freshness I have after recovery week, or just getting to the point where I can push it (Tony would say “Bring it!”) harder than I thought I could go, but I’m hurting today.
Today was the forever favorite Plyo X. I pushed it hard. I actually had the thought towards the end of “what if I just do this plyo x twice in a row”… then I realized I was crazy and didn’t have enough time and moved on. I can say that I did the “hard way” hands up… double time… etc. for the entire workout. Grrrrrrrrr… Brrrrring It!

2-3-10
Before I talk about the new Biceps and Back work out, I have some thoughts. I was hit with some pride this morning. 31 days in. That feels good. Most people don’t make it this far. And the changes are happening. Certainly stronger, but things are tightening up as well. For the first 30 days, I just tried to watch what I ate and hoped the results would fall in place. Now that I’m seeing my body start to transform (and respond directly to my diet), I’m starting a food diary. I read on a message board that livestrong.com has a cool exercise/food diary and they were right. I’m focused on cutting out more carbs and getting more calories from protein. My body continues to function pretty well on a calorie deficit, but I think those days are numbered. I’m working out harder and pushing myself more than ever. I just want a freaking 6 pack… ok?
Biceps and Back.
So, this was not that exhausting for the whole body, but this was glamour muscle builder. The back exercises seemed to just be designed to give you a break on the 50 minutes of destroying your biceps. Not going to get out of breath here, but definitely putting the arms to failure. This is going to be the workout that makes the arms big. No doubt. Not sure why this didn’t come out earlier because it’s not anymore intense that the other workouts (and the chest and shoulders – day 1 - workout is, in my opinion significantly harder). I’m starting to love the ab ripper x. That’s because I getting good at it. And Tony’s right… I hate it… but I love it…

Recovery week continued + week 4 day 1

2-1-10
Well, I took off a little bit in updating my progress, but that does not mean I haven’t stayed true to the schedule. I have a few things to update you on. I’m just finished week 5 day one: Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. But before I get to that, I need to update you on the Core Synergistics workout. Looks like you only get this workout on recovery week but it’s pretty good. Got me sweating early. It’s hard (because it has a lot of things you just don’t do in working out). It’s an assault on the abs for 50 min. It’s not intense like plyo’s but you work hard, it goes fast, and you’re beat up at the end. Recovery week had two Yogas, two core synergistics , kempo, and two stretching days (which I did neither – It’s P90X people – do we not get enough stretching in the Yoga? – I think so).
Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps was hard, but just in a weight lifting way. I certainly was burnt out at the end (mainly due to a lot of pushups). This workout is just like the shoulders and arms in the way you focus on one area and move to the next (chest, shoulder, tri’s) then do it again. I like that it didn’t repeat itself. I made further progress on the Ab Ripper portion of the workout. The core is getting strong and I feel that I can push myself farther and through more pain than I have been able to before. I shoveled snow yesterday and my back is extremely sore. Nothing like getting in a little extra workout.