P90X Day 25 – X Stretch

I was really sore when I woke up this morning, probably as sore as I’ve been at any time since week 1. I’m assuming it’s from doing Core Synergistics for the first time a couple days ago, which introduced a bajillion new movements that I’ve never done in my life. X Stretch was just what the doctor ordered and I feel like a million bucks now.

Tomorrow I get another crack at Core Synergistics, so hopefully I’m able to bring it more than last time and concentrate on engaging the core.

August 17, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Fitness  No Comments

P90X Day 22, 23, 24 – Yoga X, Core Synergistics, Kenpo X

Got a bit lazy over the weekend with updates (but definitely not with working out), so here’s a 3-parter:

Day 22 – Yoga X
Easily my best day of Yoga X yet. I managed to complete every vinyasa, all the warrior poses, every optional pushup, and managed to do pretty well with the warrior three section as well. Crane is still an adventure, but I’m getting there.

Day 23 – Core Synergistics
I had no idea what to expect from this workout, but I can tell you one thing: P90X’s core premise is muscle confusion, and my muscles were definitely very confused doing this workout. Another thing I’ve come to realize is that I have very weak core muscles, which I think explains why I have so much trouble with the Fifer Scissors in Ab Ripper X, and making a good Table pose in Yoga.

It was a really good workout and I was really feeling it afterwards, but you’re told to make a conscious effort to engage the core during these exercises, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t do a very good job of that. I get another crack at it in a few days, so I plan to bring it like it’s never been brought before.

Day 24 – Kenpo X
Good old Kenpo X. It’s interesting that this workout almost feels like a rest day as I get in better and better shape and my heart and lungs are adjusting to a high heartrate. I pushed this morning, sometimes even going at my own faster pace instead of sticking with the video. I try to make sure my heartrate stays above 160 during Kenpo X.

August 16, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Fitness  2 Comments

P90X Day 21 – X Stretch

Day 21 is complete, and so ends week number 3 of P90X.

Once again, I did the optional X Stretch workout this week. That means I have not gone a single day in the past 3 weeks without doing a P90X workout. I also haven’t had a single unhealthy or processed meal, and I’ve gotten right around 40% of my calories from protein, 40% from carbs, and 20% from healthy fats. Honestly, after the first week it hasn’t been that difficult either. Once in a while I’ll have a craving for pizza or something, but it always goes away pretty quickly. P90X is a nutrition plan just as much as it is an exercise system, and when I made the commitment to do P90X I told myself it would take a pretty special occasion for me to break from the nutrition, and to miss a workout I’d have to be physically unable to complete it.

My weight this morning was 167.8 lbs, up 0.6 lbs from 6 days ago. No worries, I’m definitely putting on muscle, which weighs more than fat.

And so the first “rest week” begins. I refuse to say that without the quotations. The weekend for me will consist of Madden, Starcraft 2, maybe some Modern Warfare 2, Yoga X, and a new Core Synergistics workout. I’m pretty excited to see the new workout, which I’m sure will kick my butt.

August 13, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Fitness, Games  No Comments

P90X Day 19 & 20 – Legs & Back + Ab Ripper X, Kenpo X

Sweet, I’m in the 20’s now, and basically finished with week 3. Only tomorrow’s optional X Stretch remains, and then it’s time for the rest week! Or should I say, “rest week”. After looking into the Core Synergistics workout a bit, I’m pretty sure that it’s going to kick my butt.

Legs & Back really is a killer workout. I have no idea what happened in week 1, but in weeks 2 and 3 I was really feeling it, and completely exhausted by the time I finished. There is only 1 break in the entire workout, coming after the 13th exercise, I think. I’m normally pretty decent at pullups, but when you do like 10 sets of them with nonstop leg exercises thrown in, your arms quickly become jelly.

Kenpo X this morning was no biggie. I like this workout a lot because it’s fun, but I don’t like how Tony doesn’t seem to push you as hard as he does in the Plyometrics. It’s way too easy to dog it.

Not sure if I’m going to bother doing the optional X Stretch tomorrow since Yoga is on Saturday (and again a few days after that). I might end up becoming some weird contortionist if I do too much stretchy stuff.

August 12, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Fitness  No Comments

P90X Day 18 – Yoga X

18 days through, and that means that I have officially completed 20% of P90X!

I’m getting better at Yoga X everytime I do it, though there’s a certain part that I always struggle with the most. At the end of the first part of the workout with all the downward dogs and whatnot, there’s a part where you spend a good 3-4 minutes standing on one leg doing all kinds of impossible looking maneuvers. I have enough trouble trying to stay balanced enough that I don’t fall over, much less doing weird stretches and things from that position. I did a bit better at this today as well though. Next week’s rest routine includes 2 Yoga X workouts, so I’ll get plenty of practice.

One thing I keep forgetting to mention is my weight fluctuation since starting. Basically, there hasn’t been any. On day 1, I was 167.2 lbs. As of day 15, I was still 167.2 lbs. I’m eating right around 2500-2600 calories a day, and P90X recommends that I eat 2606 a day, based on my weight. Am I discouraged? No, not at all. Muscle weighs more than fat, so the fact that I’m staying the same weight leads me to believe that I’m both building muscle and burning fat. My goal wasn’t to lose weight since I wasn’t big to begin with, so no worries.

Also, I wanted to mention that I started watching Tosh.0 recently, and it’s the absolute funniest thing ever.

August 10, 2010   Posted in: Fitness, Television  No Comments

P90X Day 17 – Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X

Day 17 complete, minus Ab Ripper X. I guess it’s more like day 16.5 complete. Still chugging along and every bit as motivated as I was on day 1.

P90X really is seriously an awesome deal. You can go to your nearest Wal-Mart or whatever and drop 140 bones on a box of P90X, unwrap that beast, and suddenly you have workout buddies in the comfort of your own home, a fully laid out nutrition plan, and for many people the most intense and best variation of workouts they’ll experience in their lives. $140 is what, a couple months at a gym, or two 1-hour sessions with a personal trainer? I was a doubter, but I now consider P90X a steal at $140.

I realized something after I finished my post yesterday. There is no Plyometrics workout in week 4. Now the term “rest week” makes a lot more sense. That Plyo workout is a beast, though at least now I can finish it without hitting pause.

Madden 11 will be released tomorrow! I’m way too pumped about that. But Madden being released means football is on the horizon. The Hall of Fame game was last night. Nothing like getting to see three series of legit first-string football. Hey, it’s better than 0 series of football, which is what I’ve had for the last 6 months.

August 9, 2010  Tags: ,   Posted in: Fitness, Sports  No Comments

P90X Days 15 & 16 – Chest & Back + Ab Ripper X, Plyometrics

Nothing too exciting about yesterday’s Chest & Back workout. I’m getting better at all the exercises, though I really need to start pacing myself on the first sets because my muscles are completely gassed the second time around on some of the exercises.

I’m getting better and better at Ab Ripper X, and for the first time I finally completed all 25 repetitions of the Wide Leg Situps. The Fifer Scissors are still impossible for me. I’m lucky if I get 4 good reps. No idea why, really.

This morning I finally completed Plyometrics without taking any extra breaks! It amazes me that I’ve only done this workout 3 times now, and I’ve gone from having to hit pause 3-4 times for several minutes (not to mention feeling like I was going to die) to not having to do that once, in just 14 days.

By the way, if anyone caught last nights Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen fight….. wow. As soon as the 4th round started, I predicted that Silva was going to end up pulling off a match-stealing submission because despite winning the first 3 rounds with ease, Sonnen was still going all out on the offensive. I’m no expert, but I think he should have tried to slow it down and just lay on him as much as possible.

Of course, you can always make the argument that if it worked for 3 rounds against the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, then you should probably keep it up.

August 8, 2010  Tags: ,   Posted in: Fitness, Sports  No Comments

P90X Day 14 – X Stretch

Two weeks down, ten weeks plus six days to go. I went ahead and did the optional X Stretch routine this morning because I’m an animal like that.

X Stretch seems like it’s going to feel better every time I do it. Last week, a lot of the stretches were awkward or painful. This week, not so much. At this rate I’ll be like the Shauna girl that Tony is always making fun of for being so flexible in no time. Shauna’s really hot too, by the way. Just saying.

By the way, Tony’s kind of a creeper sometimes:

tony_creepy

So anyway, one more week of the same workouts, and then things get changed a bit for the “rest week”, which adds Core Synergistics, an extra Yoga X, and keeps Kenpo X.  Rest week… right.

August 6, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Fitness  No Comments

P90X Day 13 – Kenpo X

A baker’s dozen finished, minus the donuts of course. I dominated this morning’s Kenpo X workout. After last week’s lazy effort I made sure to push this time, even when Tony Horton and the other guys seemed to be taking it kind of easy. My heartrate is usually in the 160s and 170s during this workout. I have trouble getting it to the Plyometrics level, where it pretty much doesn’t dip below 180 for 40 straight minutes or so.

Tomorrow is an optional X Stretch, and then I’m officially two weeks down with 76 days to go. 76 days, schmeventy-schmix days. Bring it on.

By the way, after viewing some of the workouts several times now, some of Tony Horton’s one-liners seem to pop in my head at random times in the day. This one came while talking about lifting a weight above your head while laying down: “Tip of the day: Don’t smash your face!”

August 5, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Fitness  No Comments

P90X Day 12 – Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X

A dozen days down. Well, almost. This morning’s legs & back workout felt a lot more intense than last week, probably because I upped the weight in every exercise and performed more reps on all the pull-ups. I even started to feel a little sick towards the end, which definitely wasn’t the case last week. I’ve had this issue in the past with leg workouts, especially with shortened rest between sets. I’m no doctor, but I’m guessing it has something to do with legs being the largest muscle set in the body and expending a ton of energy to exercise.

Ab Ripper X after work, because that’s how I roll. Tomorrow I get my Bruce Lee on with Kenpo X.

August 4, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Fitness  No Comments