Week 6

3/31/10 Day 38 Chest, Shoulders and Triceps, Ab Ripper X

I apologize for not updating this but things got busy with work and life in general. Today was Chest, Shoulders and Triceps. Last week when I did this exercise I think I over did it. My arms pits and chest muscles hurt for most of last week. I did the workouts but I pulled back a little bit. Wednesday's I have bowling league as well and I did not want to over work my arms.

Despite pulling back this week, I feel I made improvements with most of the exercises. In fact the only exercise that I really had difficulty with was One-Arm Push-ups. Last week I was able to do 6 of them, barely. This week my arms gave out and I collapsed on my self each time I went to do these push-ups. I am hoping that I will be able to do these next week.

Week 5 End

3/28/10 Day 35
I havent posted in a couple of days. My arms have been hurting since my workout on Wednesday and then going to bowling league that night. They are finally feeling beter. I also had jury duty tuesday and friday, thank god that is over. I think that just the presence of a jury influenced the guy to plead guilty. We sat in the jurors box for all of 10 mins after waiting in the juror assebly room for 2 hours.

Yesterday was Kenpo karate workout. I really enjoy doing the kenpo. I seem to be getting better balance everytime I do it. For those that think the Kenpo is not instense, yesterday brought rivers of sweat coming down my face. That was a first for me. In all my previous workouts (gym class in school, going to the gym at work, playing sports... etc...) I have never been able to break out into a sweat like that. I feel proud!

Today was X-Stretch and boy do I feel good after stretching my muscles. I think during this week for Chest, Shoulders and Triceps I am going to take it easier then I did last week. As I have bowling league the same night I do those exercises.

Also I weighed myself this morning (I really have to break this habit.....). I measured 199.0 with my shorts and boxers on. I used the bathroom, got a drink of water put on my sweats, t-shirt and did my workout. I weighed myself again and I was still at 199.0!

Week 5

3/24/10 Day 31
This is going to be a tough week for me. I need to re-arrange my schedule significantly due to having jury duty. Yesterday was the first day and after I got home I was able to do my exercises, but it just did not feel the same.

Today was gruelling. Being its week 5 the exercises change up a bit. Today was Chest, Shoulder and Triceps. My arms feel like Jell-o and I still have to bowl tonight. Pretty much any of the push-up exercises are crazy. Plyo push-ups for example are the form of doing a push-up then launching yourself into the air clapping your hands and landing back in push-up position. I did this on my knees, I just do not have the arm, back and leg strength to launch myself. I guess just like the first week, I am going to have to get used to the new exercises. Thats why the program is designed the way it is.

I also think that I am 'bonking' during my workouts. I get to a point that I just get sick and begin to cough. This not good because it means I am not eating enough to sustain the energy required for each day. This means further changes to my diet and nutrition to compensate. This is going to be tough.

Week 5 P90X

3/22/10 Day 29

Well I just started my 5th week and I am noticing results everywhere. Tomorrow is my 30 days so I will be taking my 30 day pictures and posting them. Today I did Core Synergistics and again like last week I started to feel sick about half way through the workout. I am wonder If I am 'bonking' or hitting a wall. One of the biggest parts of the P90X program is the diet and while I have changed my eating habits significantly, I wonder If I am taking in enough calories for the demand that I am putting on my body.

Another thing, which I am hesitant to bring up and I know not everyone wants to hear this, is that when I got sick I also felt like I needed to go #2. This happened to me last week as well and I felt better after I went. This week I took a few minutes to calm my breathing and pulse down and then I completed the work out. I am usually regular and my work-outs are usually well before the time I have to go. I am not sure if the changes in my eating habit have changed my regularity or if this is just part of the natural cycle of changes that my body is going through. I have to look into this more.

A couple of physical changes that I have noticed over the course of the last 5 weeks are definition in my arms, legs, neck and abs. My MOOBs have gone down significantly, and my double chin seems to be almost non-existant at this point. Again my 30 day pictures are going to be taken tomorrow. I cant wait. Its been an amazing 5 weeks.

3/18/10 Day 25

Today was supposed to be an easy day. This week is the recovery week and its mostly cardio and stretching. I had a hell of a time doing my exercises today.Yesterday being St. Patty's day my diet sucked. I had a few beers (3 to be exact) and today I had to stop mid way through my workout because I got nautious.

The hardest part of this program truly is the diet and when you deviate from it you pay for it. Yesterday I think was the most I have deviated from my diet. Today I am paying for it. Today I pick up were I left off.

Week 4

3/15/10 Day 22
I started Week 4 today. This week is going to be different from the other weeks. According to the workout guide it looks like this week is going to be mostly stretching and cardio. This morning was Yoga. I still can not do crane pose. I do not have the balance, arm strength and muscle flexibilty yet. Tomorrow is one of my favorite exercises, Kenpo X.

I am also struggling with the 200lb barrier. I seem to be inching closer to it and at times when i weigh myself I am just under it, but it remains elusive. This week was pretty stressful and I did not follow the diet as much as I should have. I cheated quite a few times during the week, however I seem to have maintained where I was at. With the amount of cardio this week, I can not WEIGHT to see what happens. Yes that was intentional, yes I realize it was cheesy.

3/13/10 Kenpo X

Its been a few days since I updated my journal. Today my workout was interrupted by my grandfather dropping by. While it was nice visiting with my grandfather, I think I lost some of the burn of my routine. The kenpo is intense and it gets your heart rate, However, the last 20 minutes or so of Kenpo are arm blocks variations and cool down. I stopped the video at about 18 mins and after my grandfather left rewound it to the 25 min break, which is really just moving around for 5 mins to keep the heart rate up. However, I do not think that I quite got the workout that I usually feel.

Day 17 Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X

I hate Ab Ripper X

I was able to do more for the shoulders and arms today. My form is getting better with each exercise and I'm getting both strength and definition in my arms. The Congdon Curls I dont know if I am doing right. I seem to be getting more of a stretch in my back doing them then working my arms. Maybe its the weights I'm using. I think I am ready to go to heavier weights. I just have to get some.

I hate Ab Ripper X. I dont think it would be so bad, but my lower back muscles are too tight. I believe they are starting to loosen up from the exercises. Today I was actually able to touch the floor a few time while doing the mason twists.

Day 16 - Cardio X Kicked my butt

Cardio X is great. Its a combination of the cardio aspects of plyometrics, yoga, kenpo karate. A little bit from every aspect of the program. I was able to do the workouts faster and in better form this week. However, I still cannot do Dreya Rolls.

Im am also trying to change my eating habits more. Its not good to exercise with food in your stomach as blood flow doesnt go to the muscles that you use and you end up not working out as efficently as you could. The blood ends up getting split between your muscles and digestion. I did not eat anything this morning before working out and I think it feels better to do it that way. I feel as if I was able to push my muscles more.

I also cheated on my diet last night a little bit, When I got home there was pizza sausage and peppers. I decided I was going to take a piece and eat a little bit. I ended up eating the whole slice with a small glass of soda. Time to refocus and stick to the diet.

Week 3

3/8/10 Back to Core Synergistics

Well today started week 3, back to Core Synergistics. I am definately seeing physical results. I now have a defined line going down the center of my back and my mid section is starting tone as well as my arms. Not only that but I am sweating harder when working out, In other words, my work outs are becoming more effective.

One of the best things now about my new daily routine is taking the protein shake afterwards. I finally found one that tastes awesome. I originally was using Twin Labs chocolate and had to force myself to choke it down. I am now using Syntha-6 Vanilla Ice Cream. It tastes frigging awesome and has the nutritional stuff I need for the p90x diet.

I also found my heart rate monitor! yeah for me! Damn thing must have fallen behind my computer when I moved my keyboard tray. Last time I put my HR monitor there.

Week 2 - Day 14

Stretch X
Well I am definately getting more flexible! I am now able to do a shoulder stand with a little effort as opposed to not being able to do one at all. Now I have to work on turning the shoulder stand into plough, which is bringing the feet over the head. Week 3 starts tomorrow! Core Synergistics again!

Week 2

3/2/10 Day 9
Okay, so I am probably going to change the format a little and make my logs adapatable. I have not been able to write everyday like I did in week one. Even then it was a struggle to keep up with it. Today I am on Day 9 Cardio X. I love the Cardio X routine. It touchs on little bits of every exercise through out the program and gets your heart rate up. I just have to stop leaving my watch / heart rate monitor at work. I am not used to wearing a watch so when I take it off to do dishes I forget that I have it off.

I was definately able to do more of the exercises this week. The first week I struggled, trying to learn the right exercises and how they want them done. It was less of a struggle this week and I feel I got more accomplished.

I also weighed myself today. I know they say not to keep weighing yourself if your on a diet, and I really have to break myself of doing this. I am just excited to keep seeing results. I calibrated the scale with two 5lb weights on either side. I am officially at 200lb's. That was after eating breakfast, before any constitutionals. I can't wait for my pictures on day 30 to show the results of this.

3/3/10 Day 10
omg.... I hate the ab ripper, mostly because I dont have any. The ab ripper is really killer especially if you do not have the abs or back and hip muscles to keep up with it. Im just glad I did not have an audience when I was doing Crunchy Frog. They showed up just afterwards.

I also worked out arms and shoulders today. There was definately an improvement and I corrected my tracking from last week to today. I made the mistake and thinking the tracking sheet tracked both arms. Instead it was for total number of reps per exercise.

I definately made improvements from last weeks workouts to todays. I hope that the progress continues. I just have to keep applying myself and 'bringint it'.

3/5/10 Day 12
Day 12 complete... legs, back and ab ripper. And I still can't shake this cold. Its alot better then it was last week, I just still congested. Despite that I feel I am working out a little harder each time and the moves are getting easier. One thing, I'm weak. During the first week of doing the legs and back routine I could barely do a pull-up. This week I scaled down to 20lb resistance bands for the modified exercises. I am going to stick with the bands until I lose a little more weight and build a little more arm muscle.

I have also been taking protein shakes for meal replacement and after workout recovery. The first one I had was Twin Labs chocolate shake. This was VERY chalky tasting and hard to swallow. I ran out of that and picked up Syntha-6, Vanilla Ice-cream flavored. Its tastes good, even mixed with warm water. I turned the faucet the wrong way and I did not realize it. Boy was I surprised when I took a big gulp and it was warm ice cream. One thing about the warm water, It definately helps to disolve the powder. I may start making my drinks before my work outs and putting them in the fridge so they cool during my workout.

Bob suggested that I put my exercise notes into a seperate blog for more options. I'll have to look into what my options are. I know that alot of people that started p90x has started a blog of somesort. I do have some trepidations with starting things like that. Other websites / blogs that I have started never really got the traffic to justify keeping it or the expenses incurred with maintaining. Although on the other hand, I've never put 100% into getting traffic and keeping it. Theres alot to think about before starting that. If anyone has any ideas, opinions or other thoughts I would love to know them. If enough people would want this I'll look into this more.

Day 13 - Kenpo X

I think Kenpo X is my favorite of all the exercises. The Kenpo days come and go too fast. I love it! Also, I'm almost done with week 2. That means 17 more days and I get to take the first photos. I took a walk up my hill afterwards to see if I can see what burnt down last night in parksville. Im thinking I shouldn't have done cause my legs are killing me now. All I seen was som residual smoke.

Week 1

Day 1 - Core Synergistics
I definately was not ready for this. The work out are intense and are intended to engage every muscle you have. I think I discovered Muscles that dr's don't even know about. I was not able to do everything exercise in the video, but I pushed through and did the a full hour of work out. I did not do the bonus workouts. Those are WAY above my level at this point, but once I build up some lean muscle mass it should be good. Im going to go get a protein shake now.

Day 2 - Cardio X
Ok... I honestly thought I was not going to be able to complete this today. I am so sore from yesterday's workout. My legs are screaming. Also i seem to not be able to get my pulse to go down. I think I am getting sick. What a great way to start out this intense program. Do some stretching, some Yoga, some plyometrics and when your done hack your brains out. At the very least when my abs are srong i'll be able to cough for longer periods of time before getting the dreaded 'sore' abs and lungs.

I completed the workout today however. It was definately less intense then yesterday and I actually feel beter now. Maybe I exercised the cold out of me.

Day 3 - Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X
I definately did not work the cold out of me yesterday. I also had an audience for my workout today. It was great being grilled by Mike when I had to put the 20lb resistance bands down for the 5lb dumb bells. Its tough doing these work outs as is, let alone being under the weather with someone cracking jokes on you in the room. After each workout, despite being under the weather I feel great. I hope this cold passes soon.

I thought that the shoulders and arms were going to be extremely hard, but they weren't. I did have to step down the weights like I said previous but thats part of the learning process in being able to exercise properly and in the correct form.
Ab Ripper X was BRUTAL!!! The whole 15 min workout is meant to define your ab muscles. For me the exercises were especially tough because I do not have strong back muscles. The Mason Twists were especially brutal.

Day 4 - Yoga X
I was excited to start today's exercise. Today I got to do Yoga. I always thought to myself "Yoga, thats for buddhist's and health guru's". I have been to Yoga seminars offered by work during our all staff training days but never really got anything from it. Todays 1.5hr exercise not only changed my mind about Yoga but helped with my sore shoulder from bowling last night.

Imelda posted in the comments that the crane postion was tough. I did not even attempt it after seeing what was expected. I just do NOT have the arm strength or flexibility to be able to do that yet and that was during the stretching! The balance part of yoga was tough but less intensive, and YES, I did tumble a few times. Twisting side arm extensions from a runners pose, yikes! Almost makes me want to stick to doing the basic yoga, but I realize I wont get the full effectiveness of the program if I do that.

I think my favorite part of the Yoga was the meditation at the end. I have tried meditation in the past, but never really got anything out of it. Apparently I was doing it wrong. I felt kind of silly at first. I think everyone know the basic meditation position; sitting crossed leg elbows at the knees, palms up. Combine that with the 'chant'. Basically humming 'ooohhhhmmmm'. Now you see why I felt silly at first!

After I did the first 'ohhhmm' I didn't really feel anything. For the second one I relaxed my body more and did the 'oohhmm' and BAM. I dont know what hit me. I felt the vibrations move through me to the floor, felt lighter, I dont even know what. It was an awesome feeling. After the third one, I did not feel silly at all. I felt energized. I have never felt anything like that before.

All in all todays work out I think was the best. I am psyched and I can't wait! I'm only 4 days in but I'm feeling good already. I cant wait to do the Yoga again!

Day 5 - Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
I honestly felt weak today going into the exercises. This cold just wont go away. I wish I could say I was full on sick, but I am not running a fever. I am just congested as all hell.

I was expecting to have to do pull-ups but I could barely do 2. I know it will come with time, its just frustrating to not be able to do more then 1. The wall squats suck period. Ab Ripper is a pain in the abs........ I wish I could write more but its late and my brain is starting to shut down. I'll write a better note tomorrow for day 6 - Kenpo X! Woot!

Day 6 - Kenpo X
Today was fun! Im still congested as all hell, but I was able to hack, cough and snot my way through the kenpo workout. Kenpo is truly fun. I have always wanted to take a martial arts class and for the moment this is as close to taking full on martial arts courses as I can come.

One thing I have to note over the last week during all my workouts is that I need to focus on my breathing. I find myself holding my breath and that is not helping me workout effectively. Theres a lot to remember with these workouts but once I get the postures, movements and breathing down it will become instinctual. Should I rest tomorrow or do stretch X?!?

Day 7 - Rest or Stretch X
Well I decided I was going to do the stretch today. I'm going at this to the best of my ability, I might as well "Bring It" everyday. The stretchs were not bad at all and some pain I had in my calfs from yesterdays Kenpo, I think went away.

One thing I need to focus on in doing these exercises is breathing. I notice I tend to hold my breath ALOT. Thats not a good thing. One of these days, I'm going to pass out in the middle of an exercise from lack of O2. I guess it comes with time and experience learning how to breath correctly, but who knew that such an 'instinctual' necessity was so hard to control.

Week 2 Starts tomorrow. Instead of adding to this log, Im going to start a new log for each week.