Day 72, Home Sweet Home

I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself. Over the past week my wife and I drove 2000+ miles round trip to my in-laws and back. I didn't miss a single workout. I skipped my rest day and moved it to today.

The other day I did cut plyo short by about 10 minutes. My left knee was tweaked a bit and I didn't want to push it too hard. Its feeling better today.

Sorry I don't have more to post. Still getting unpacked back at home, will be heading out to Michigan tomorrow or Tuesday depending on the weather.

Keep pushing play!

John

No letting up, No Excuses.

You know what I love about P90X?  Its portable.  Here I am 1000 miles away from home.  Yesterday I did Yoga in a hotel room.  Today I was rocking legs and back from my in-laws house in Colorado.  What other workout program can you take with you like that?  I threw my PowerBlocks and my pull up bar in the car and I was set.

Today was awesome.  I started off with hitting double digits for one set of unassisted pull-ups for the first time since starting P90X.  I did 11 unassisted reverse grip chin-ups to start.  Over-all in the workout I did 57 unassisted pull-ups.  That is freaking huge for me.  I now have officially transitioned from "presently struggle" with pull ups to being "OK" at pull ups.   For the first time I actually can picture myself knocking out 20 pull ups.  I'm not there yet, but its coming.

Oh, and no, I don't normally do pull ups with a hat on backwards.  That was my solution to make sure I didn't scrape my head too hard on the ceiling.  Not much clearance.  I was actually tilting my head to the side to get my chin over the bar.

Tomorrow is Turkey Day.  I am going to just have a "cheat meal" tomorrow and not worry about it.  I actually might decide to do two workouts tomorrow, but I'm undecided.  I'll probably do Kenpo in the morning and possibly Cardio X at night, or do some Turbo Jam along with Monica.  We'll see.

On the road again

Hey everyone!  This post will be very very quick.  I'm driving to Colorado today with my wife and puppy.  It was a good first leg of the trip last night and we'll do the majority, about 700 miles, today.

I just want to report that traveling is no excuse to not to P90X.  I was able to get in an abbreviated Yoga X session in our cramped motel room this morning.  My dog kept putting his head under the pillow, I think he wanted to sleep longer.  

Well, off to see if I can eat somewhat healthy at the free breakfast, then we're on our way.  Next blog post will come from Colorado!

Beyond 90 Days!

As you may notice, this blog is transferring from "My P90X Mission" to "Tough Fitness."  The thought behind this is with the finish line of my first round of P90X in site, I realize that I don't want to stop.  I want to continue and keep going with this journey.  P90X was simply the catalyst I needed to spark a lifestyle change.  With that in mind, I'd like to thank Mike French, fellow Beachbody coach for letting me reprint the following article he wrote.  Its great stuff.

Our Society is obsessed with Fitness and Nutrition. There are new workout programs and nutrition “miracles” being produced everyday. Some people have decided that Fitness just “isn’t for them”. 

Our Society has grown to accept that is “ok” to be sluggish and overweight. Eating whatever people want and wondering why they feel and look worse, month after month.

People find every excuse to eat something they shouldn’t or to skip a workout. “When I get home from work, I just don’t have the energy to workout.” “Its too expensive to eat healthy.” 

My personal favorite is “I just don’t have the time to workout.” LOL! I have the same 24 hours that that person does and I manage to work a full and part time job, give my wife and children the attention they deserve, and workout EVERYDAY!

People are constantly looking for the “Secret” or something that will give them that extra edge. Doesn’t matter if it’s a diet, workout or supplement. “THE ONLY THING YOU NEED TO ACHIEVE FITNESS IS YOUR BODY, A MINDSET OF REFUSING TO QUIT, AND WHOLE HEALTHY FOODS THAT YOU PUT INTO YOUR BODY.”

Don’t fall into the trap of trying to use science as a crutch to make up for lack of workout effort and nutritional discipline. An example of this is someone that uses a “Fat Burner” and their Nutrition isn’t spot on. Its like eating a combination pizza and a “Diet” soda…What’s the point?

There is a saying that I absolutely love:

YOU CAN'T OUTRUN A BAD DIET!

What does this mean? You can't burn enough calories in a day to make up for poor nutritional choices. The calories it takes you an hour to burn can be ingested in 30 seconds! Not really fair, but its the hand we have been given! 

Want me to make it simple?

EXERCISE REGULARLY AND EAT HEALTHY FOODS IN MODERATION

Do both of those things every day, for the rest of your life. Stop making excuses and start taking responsibility for your own Fitness.

The Key to real Health and Fitness is consistency. Most people lack the commitment to get in shape and really make a difference in their lives. 

We live in a world of fast food results. We want our food NOW! (Why do fast food restaurants serve more people daily than any other type of restaurant? Why do people continue to eat there, even though they KNOW for a fact that there is nothing that could be worse for them and their health?) We want results NOW! When it doesn't happen we get frustrated and start looking for other ways to do it.

We want the quick fix. Six Pack Abs in 6 weeks! Get ripped for summer with the latest routine and diet in Muscle & Fitness magazine. Magazines LOADED with the latest supplements to add muscle, get rid of fat quicker than the next guy. Are they concerned with our health or making money?

That is why Beachbody products are such a blessing for all of us. Fitness first. REAL programs and supplements that WORK! We need to think beyond 90 days from now. Think 5, 10, 20 years from now! 

All that really matters is how long we live and how healthy we are during that lifespan. Our health is precious and we need to take care of it. 

Do everything TODAY to give yourself the best chance to live a long and productive life. Then replicate it tomorrow!

Fitness success comes from relentless hard work. Once you have it, you need to work to keep it. If you don’t it leaves allot quicker than it took to achieve it. Train hard. Be proud of your Fitness and don't apologize for it!

Get in shape and then NEVER put yourself in a position where you have to “Get back in shape.” 

Train to be ready for ANYTHING that might come your way. Running, swimming, and obstacle course, a pick up football game at a Family Reunion. 

I hope it never happens to any of us but what are we going to do if we have to swim out into the ocean to save a loved one, or your Family is involved in a car accident and you are forced to “run” to get assistance? Will you be ready? That is not the time to wish you had paid your dues with your workouts and nutrition. That is the ONLY reason that I run every week. I am NOT a runner. I would much rather lift something heavy over my head than run a step. Being in the Military, I have to prepare for the worst and in that preparation, I HAVE to run. Of course wearing 65+ extra pounds of body armor, chemical protective suit, Kevlar helmet, rifle and a full load of ammo makes it allot more interesting!

Granted, those are worst case scenarios but if you prepare for the worst, you will be prepared for anything.

Build lean, flexible, muscles, improve your cardiovascular Fitness, and burn calories. 

LEAN AND MEAN rules the day. 

CHALLENGE your heart and lungs everyday! True “MASS APPEAL” is a lean, trim, physique with long flexible muscles. It contributes to our overall health and longevity and makes us look and feel better!

WE CAN GET LEAN AND STAY LEAN ONCE WE HAVE COMMITTED TO TRAINING FOR LIFE.

Don't let your GOALS become your limits. Its easy to “relax” once you have achieved a goal. Don't waste time and let what you have achieved slip away slowly. Set new goals and then set out to accomplish them! Move forward and really see what you are made of and what you can accomplish!

One of my favorite quotes:

“YOU KNOW WHY I WILL ACCOMPLISH MY GOAL? BECAUSE YOU SAID I COULDN'T DO IT!”

Its not how much weight you lift, its how hard you work when you lift it. Remember, we are not just training for today but for many years down the road. Pay particular attention to your ABS and lower back. Your CORE is the key to your future health and fitness.

What you do today affects the rest of your life. We want to look and feel good right now, but we also want to look and feel good when we are eighty. Our lives are the sum total of our daily activities. 

Are your activities going to be positive and healthy, or negative and unhealthy? The choice is ours.

What should be EVERYONE’S goal? 

GET BETTER EVERY DAY!

Strive for daily improvement. Vow to get better every day. Forget about the past and don’t worry about the future. Concentrate on the present, what you can control RIGHT NOW. 

If you improve your Fitness today, the future will take care of itself...

Even the best exercise plan can be destroyed by eating too much or eating the wrong types of foods. Eating a dessert can add more calories than you could hope to burn in an intense hour long workout. 

Scary as it is, you could ruin your entire day of nutrition and hard work in your workouts in less than 5 minutes by eating junk food.

Exercise: Body Weight
130 lbs. 155 190
Calories Burned in 1 hour 
Calisthenics (Total Body PLUS), vigorous effort 472 593 690

(1)100 gram Kit Kat Candy bar has the following “Nutritional Value” 
a. 520 calories
b. 32 grams of fat
c. 46 grams of sugar

Depending on your body weight by eating ONE candy bar you have exceeded or almost exceeded ONE hour of a Butt Kicking workout like Total Body Plus.

It doesn’t need to be a candy bar. It could be a forkful of our kids macaroni and cheese followed by a “small” chocolate and “Only one soda”. It all adds up and before you know it you have taken in hundreds of extra calories that you don’t need. 

Believe me, I know because I did the same thing AFTER my spectacular Day 90 results in July 07. I “relaxed” and put on 15 extra pounds, quickly. (By Oct 07)

I had to fight each day to reclaim my “Abs” and conditioning. Don’t make the same mistake I did.

No more excuses. No more , “Well it was only something small, it won’t hurt me.” You better believe it will. Make no mistake about that. Once you get into the habit of having “something small” every once in while, it quickly becomes every day.

Am I saying NEVER eat cake or candy again? Of course not. Make it a special treat, like at a Birthday Party or Holiday, not something you do because you are bored.

No More Excuses, make a difference in your future...TODAY!

Live stronger EVERY day!

Mike 

Happy Sunday Morning

Good morning everyone.  This will be a quick update as I'm getting ready to watch the Bears play today and enjoy a beautiful sunny (albeit a bit cold) day.

Yesterday was Chest, Shoulders & Triceps.  This is a great workout.  I decided to wear a heart rate monitor for the workout.  It was interesting that for the lifting workout and Ab Ripper X I burned over 700 calories.

This morning was Plyo.  I wore the Heart rate monitor again.  Almost 800 calories burned during Plyo.  My heart rate topped at 182 bpm with an average heart rate of 139 bpm.  This is great info to know.  Like I said previously, a heart rate monitor is a great tool.  (I'll give a full review of my Polar F6 after a couple weeks of use.)

This week will be interesting.  Monica and I are driving out to Colorado tomorrow.  I'll do Yoga in a Hotel on Tuesday.  We'll be at my in-laws this week and driving back on Saturday and Sunday.  Friday is my normal rest day.  However, this week I plan on skipping my rest day and moving the rest/stretch day to next Sunday when we're driving back.  It might be a bit tough getting my workouts done on the road, but I've come too far to slack off this week.

I also have to give a public recognition out to my lovely wife Monica.  She has completed 3 weeks of Turbo Jam and she's loving it.  I'm very proud of her commitment.  Great job babe!!

Week 9: Update and Friday Morning Humor.

Today is my Rest/Stretch day to finish out week 9. I'm so pumped that I've come this far. I remember having conversations with Brad a couple months ago begging him to check in on me around week 3 because I had a habit of falling out of a program after a few weeks. Not this time. I've completed 9 weeks and going strong.

I'll go with some real content before I get into my selected comedy of the week. Yesterday I did Kenpo X. However, this was my first time doing Kenpo X with a Heart Rate Monitor. What a difference did that make. I have previously commented that I thought Kenpo was an easy workout. Well, it was easy for me, because I wasn't bringing it. I was going through the motions and lacking intensity. As a result, my heart rate wasn't that high.

This past week I purchased a Polar F6 Heart Rate monitor. I'll give a more extensive review after a few more workouts. I'm still getting to learn the device. But one thing is for certain, my effort in Kenpo wasn't good enough. When that "out of zone" alarm started beeping at me I knew I needed to make my kicks a bit higher, my punches a bit more intensified to get my heart rate back up in the zone. During breaks I needed to get my knees up higher to make sure I didn't drop below my target zone. In the end it told me I burned 578 calories and 50% of those were fat calories. All good stuff, so if you don't have a heart rate monitor...get one.

So, here it is. This is especially for all my Canadian readers (and apparently looking at my site meter map there are a bunch of you.)

Thoughts on new layout

Anyone have any thoughts on the new layout. I was a bit annoyed that the old template didn't show the full width of some of my embedded content like videos etc.

Please comment with any feedback on the new layout.

Oh..Day 61 down, Legs and Back today. Lots of progress on pull-ups. More to follow tomorrow.

**********UPDATE***********

Discovered how to change some of the dimensions. (I'm a geek who just learned some HTML. So sticking with the old template with some modifications.

John

60 Days In

Hey everyone, today is Day 60. When I get back to my apartment here in Novi, MI and complete Yoga X, I'll have completed 60 Days of P90X (Anyone realize that P90X is actually 91 Days?


Yesterday I did Shoulders and Arms. First time with this workout since week 3. I still think it's my favorite lifting workout in the program. I definitely felt the burn yesterday. I also did OK at Ab Ripper X.

Well, its a short post today. I'll leave you guys with 2 things.


1. This picture is probably offensive to some. Its a 60 Day Sobriety chip for Crystal Meth Addicts.


2. I am now over 1000 hits on this blog. That's probably not a ton, but its good. Every day more and more people are stopping by to read. Thanks for your support.


********* UPDATE************

Here are my 60 Day Results (Actually, Day 58, but close enough)

My home made pull-up bar

If you're tall like me you might not like some of the "door frame" pull up bar options out there. I'm 6'2", have long arms, and when I'm hanging from a door frame mounted pull up bar with my knees bent my knees are seriously about 8" from the floor. I don't feel like I can get an effective workout with these options. They work well, but they aren't my preference.

So, I decided to make my own pull up bar. And, it cost me less than $25 at Home Depot. The basic design is a few lengths of 3/4" pre-threaded pipe, some pipe elbows, and some 3/4" floor flanges. I didn't use the pre-cut and threaded pipe since I had access to some pipe, and a pipe cutter and threading machine. However, you could easily pick up a few sections to your desired size. My dimensions are 42" wide, 8" in length from the ceiling which works well and gives me plenty of room for my noggin above the bar. Check out the pictures below.

Now, I put the pipe pieces together with the elbows and secured them tightly with a pipe wrench, and ensured they were square and level. I then attached the floor flanges securely. As you can see I also used a 2"x6" board. I marked out where the bar would line up on the 2x6, marked the hole locations and pre-drilled the holes where the floor flanges would be mounted.

I also pre-drilled and made sure to countersink the holes where the 2x6 would mount to the ceiling. I secured the board to the ceiling with some 3" long wood screws, ensuring that I was very secure into the floor beams. After the beam was secure, I mounted the pull up bar to the 2x6 with some #14, 2.5 in. wood screws.

Finally, I'd recommend getting your wife to try out the bar first. When I was sure it could handle my beautiful wife Monica, I tried next. (If your wife happens to be much heavier than you...skip this step.)

I'd like to caution all of you that you need to use your own judgement regarding how secure this bar will be. Mine seems rock solid currently, but like any piece of equipment you might hang from, check it regularly to make sure its still solid. If it seems to develop any wiggles or jiggles, you aren't secure and discontinue use.

******UPDATE*******

This by far is the most popular post to date on my blog. So I figured I'd write a bit more.

One thing I've noticed as I've gotten stronger and more confident at pull ups is that the problem I thought I had wasn't a problem at all. When doing pull ups from my door frame mounted bar, I was concerned with my feet hitting the floor. Funny thing is, now that I have the strength to go out and do 10 pull ups, I don't notice this anymore. I just cross my feet, bend my legs and crank out some pull-ups. Funny thing how excuses go away once you get stronger huh?

That being said, I now use my door frame mounted bar about as much as my home made bar. It mainly depends how cold it is outside and whether or not my wife's car is in the garage. Going forward, I'd probably be just happy with a door frame mounted pull up bar. That being said, the best door frame mounted bar is easily the P90X pull up bar pictured here. if you are looking to get a bar like this, please visit my coach page and click "shop for products." You can get this bar through me for $49.95 plus S&H.

Day 58, Ups and Downs (aka Plyo X)

Hey everyone, had a great weekend. My dog Buster is well on his way to becoming head of the class in his PetSmart training class. It was fun, Monica and I got to enjoy working with him at the new store in Yorkville, IL.

But, that's not why you're here. I guess I'll write about P90X.

So, on Saturday something happened that I haven't experienced in over 2 years. I woke up, went to the scale AFTER breakfast mind you and weighed in at 198.8 lbs. I haven't been under 200 lbs since I left the Air Force back in May of 2006. In fact, the last time I am sure I was under 200 lbs was late 2005 when I took my last Air Force fitness test. I was 193 lbs back in September of 05. My weight started going North when I knew I was separating from the military. Plus, we didn't own a scale until late 2007 and by that time I was around 205. My accu-measure body fat calipers are continuing to show progress as well.

I was very excited to get back into Chest and Back! I posted on facebook that I'd miss Chest and Back. Well, I loved going back to it. I actually pushed too hard at the beginning. I nearly doubled my reps from week 3 on the first few sets. By the end I wasn't quite keeping up that spread, but still drastically exceeded my reps on all my exercises. (I also got to do the workout on my new home-made pull up bar. I'll blog more on that and how to build one later this week.)

Today was Plyometrics. I always love this workout. I did very well, nailing 63 Jump Knee Tucks (but no video this week, sorry) on the second round. I actually focused on improving my form on a lot of the exercises, I focused on getting a bit more height and just upping the intensity level. I'd like to see where my heart rate has been. I have a Polar F6 Heart Rate monitor on order from Amazon. It should show up this week. I'll review it after a couple workouts.

Finally, I took my day 58 pictures since I'll be traveling this week on day 60. I am a bit disappointed in the results. I know I'm making progress, I know I'm stronger, I know my body fat is decreasing, but I'm just not "thrilled" with the results. When I post them, please let me know what you think. Maybe you'll see improvement that my jaded eyes are missing.

Well, keep it up everyone and remember:

HOPE IS NOT AN ACTION PLAN.

John

Friday Morning Humor

Since Friday is my rest/stretch day, I normally don't have a lot to report.

Therefore, I've decided that a new tradition will be for me to post something funny or humorous, maybe something that is barely mildly amusing. It could be anything.

Today, for the first ever weekly Friday Morning Humor Post on P90X Mission, I bring you this video.

What happens when the sound check guy goes on too long:

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Day 54 or 55...somewhere in there. Anyone have a calendar?

Core Synergistics is quickly becoming my favorite workout in the P90X program. Ever move is designed to activate the muscles in your core to support your body throughout the exercise. From the first exercise to the last you are pushing your body, getting a good sweat going and having fun.

I love that it has push ups, lunges, a bit of yoga type moves throughout that all work what seems like your whole body. Yesterdays workout tore me up, but in a good way. I was loving it.

So, today is day 55 (I think.) Funny how the days start to run together. Tonight I have Yoga X and I'll be done with my first recovery week.

Next week starts Phase 3. I haven't decided yet, but I'm considering adding some morning cardio to my workout. I might go roll a bit on an elliptical machine a couple days a week to help burn off a bit more fat.

Well, that's all for today. More to follow I'm sure. Oh...and this Sunday I may post my day about day 60 photos.

Ignore the scale!

This post is just a quick note to talk about my progress for the past couple of weeks. My weight on the scale has been hovering right around 200-203 lbs give or take.

However, one thing that is drastic is to look at my body fat percentages. I've been using accu-fit calipers to measure my body fat. When I first started at Day 1 I was 215 lbs, and my body fat percentage was about 25%. So, that meant I was 53.75 lbs fat and 161.25 lbs of lean mass.

A couple weeks ago I was 202 lbs and 21% body fat according to my caliper test. That puts me at 159.6 lbs of lean mass and 42.4 lbs of fat.

This past Sunday I was right at 201 lbs on Sunday morning. But my body fat was 19.5%. Basic math would put me at 161.8 lbs of lean mass and 39.2 lbs of fat.

So, these may not seem like dramatically amazing numbers or anything. But there are some very noticeable trends and lessons you can take away from this. In the past two weeks I've shed 3.2 lbs of fat, and increased my muscle mass by 2.2 lbs.

I think in phase one, with the super low carb diet I was dropping a lot of fat, and making some changes in my body. I wasn't really putting on a lot of muscle, in fact I may have lost just a bit. However the body was making some drastic changes. Now, with that groundwork laid and my body ready and primed to work hard and make progress, I'm able to do the hard work and reap the results.

Another lesson to be learned: Ignore the scale. You don't work out to just lose weight. If that were the case, and your goal was to lose weight, you wouldn't mind if I came by and cut off your leg. I'm sure you could drop 20 lbs easy if I chopped your leg off above the knee. You could be at your goal weight in a couple hours right? Of course that's nonsense. A fitness goal should never be based on a goal weight unless you fight people for a living.

Focus on how you look, how you feel, how you perform in all areas athletically. Focus on the old pair of jeans you own that don't fit so well anymore, focus on the inches you'd like to lose around your waist. Don't depend on the scale alone to measure success. You need to use the scale along with the context of body fat.

Remember: Hope is not an action plan!

John

Day 51...Core Synergistics (Quick Post)

Today I got up and went right into Core Synergistics.

Since this workout is only during recovery weeks, its been about a month since I last did this workout.  What a difference a month makes.  I did considerably better on every exercise across the board.  Right out of the gate I was doing 30 staggered arm stacked foot push ups.  I had no problem with the banana rolls.    On Prison Cell Push Ups, where I was getting about 4-5 a month ago, I was able to do 11 today.

So, this P90X thing sure as heck works.  My functional strength is noticeably improved.  My flexibility is probably the best its been since I was 7.

Well, like I said, this would be a very quick post.  Keep on Bringing it.

Remember: Hope is not an action plan!

Day 50!

I don't know what the stats are of people that start P90X vs the number of people that finish it.  I'm sure there are some folks that buy the DVDs, do the first workout, and quit halfway into Plyometrics on Day 2.  The reason I bring this up is that I wanted to quit on Day 2.  I sucked at Plyo and thought I was absolutely terrible.

However, here I am, sitting on Day 50.  I'm starting the 2nd recovery week and my 60 and 90 Day photos are just around the corner.

On Wednesday during Legs and Back my right knee felt a bit of pain.  Because of this I made Thursday a rest day and pushed Kenpo X back to Friday morning.  I think this was a good decision since I'm feeling no pain now.  Kenpo went off without a hitch on Friday and I was able to do Yoga X today.  My wife Monica has started Turbo Jam this week.  Today was an off day for her, but bless her heart she did Yoga today with me.  

Thats a short post for today.  My weekend was very busy.  We took Buster, our mutt, to Petsmart this morning.  A new store opened up just down the street.  He was very excited.  He starts obedience school next Saturday.

Hey...I have a new reader!

Its fun when I get some feedback that my blog has inspired or motivated some folks. I mainly write here for my own gratification and journaling, but knowing a few people are checking in on a regular basis is a good feeling.


I met another person starting off P90X. His name is Matt and he's blogging about his experience as well. Check out his blog: P90X Beat Down!


The past couple days have gone well. Tuesday was Yoga, and like every week in Yoga I'm making definite improvements. This past week I probably produced more sweat than any other week in Yoga, but I was hitting a lot of the moves. Here's a tip I like to use. For me, I don't like to do the Yoga. I find any reason to procrastinate. So Tuesday morning I moved the coffee table out of the living room and put my Yoga mat down on the ground before I left for work. When I got back home, I had that visual reminder staring me in the face. It helped me to get right into it when I got home. I didn't waste any time at all.


Yesterday was Legs and Back. About 15 minutes into the workout I felt a little tweak in my knee. It was a bit painful, so I lowered the intensity and weight on some exercises. I also cut back on lunges with my right knee bent. I finished the workout and by the end the pain was mostly gone. I'm just hoping it was one of those random pains but I'll be keeping a close eye on it. My original plan was to put off today's Kenpo until Friday but as the day goes on I think I'll get Kenpo done this afternoon.


Finally, I'd like to let you all know that I've signed up as a Beach Body coach. Beach Body is the company that produces the P90X program along with several other popular home workout programs. As a coach I'll be able to help other people reach their fitness goals. My first customer is my lovely wife Monica who just started Turbo Jam this week.

As a coach, I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you all to play WOWY or "Work Out With You" on the Beach Body site. Every day you log your workout on the site you're eligible for the daily prize up to $1000.00 in cash. If you want to sign up to play the game you can follow this link to my coach page. Go there and click on "Play the Game."


Well, that's all for now. I'm almost to the 2nd recovery week.


Remember: Hope is not an action plan!

Weekend Update!

Hey everyone out there in cyberspace. The past few days have been absolutely crazy for me. Here's a quick run down.

Day 43: Saturday.
-Had a lot of chores to do around the house. I put off a lot of the stuff I needed to get done before the winter hit until too late. Monica and I were able to get a lot done in the yard etc on Saturday. Due to Halloween festivities I had a bit of a headache when I woke up. But I was able to get to Chest, Shoulders and Triceps in the late afternoon without much trouble. I really pushed it during this workout.

Day 44: Sunday.
-Today was the mother of all days for me. I started out with Plyometrics around 7:30. I didn't do anything crazy like 60 Jump Knee Tucks but worked my way through the entire workout pretty hard. Its funny, during the first exercises in the Plyo program (squat jumps) my legs always feel terrible. I get this sensation that I'm going to suck and have a tough day. Without fail this sensation starts to disappear and I can push hard through the workout. So, a lesson to be learned is if you're hurting, push through for another 2 minutes. You'll often get past that resistance and find you're 2nd (or in this case...my first) wind.

After Plyo I had a very busy day. First off we put some waterproof/stain on our deck. Then we took almost everything out of our garage and reorganized it so we could get Monica's car back in our one car garage for the winter. After that I fixed a doorbell, installed a programmable thermostat, winterized the lawnmower etc. It was a very long day, but very productive. Next weekend I have to finally organize my toolbox for the first time since we moved into our house 15 months ago.

Day 45: Monday.
-This was a very rough day. I had a meeting I needed to be at near Detroit, and I needed to get out here by 11 am ET. So I woke up at 4 am CT and was in my car and out the door by 4:40. I drove out to Novi, MI and got into the office at about 10:30 am. I took a 5 minute break and was back out the door to go to a sales presentation. It was a 45 minute drive to the client where we had our presentation last for a couple hours. My plan was to cut my day off after that, yet our office is small and 2 guys were out sick. So I had to return to our office and man the phones until 6PM. I so did not want to complete my workout. I had every excuse in the book on my side. Yet I didn't give in.

I got back to my place, and just focused. I told myself I'd start Back and Biceps and just get through it to the halfway point and stop for the day. Well, when the first break came I couldn't stop. So I told myself to finish it up and we'd skip Ab Ripper X for the day. Yet, when the disc started playing Ab Ripper I threw my mat down on the ground and just brought it. I was so proud of myself for not succumbing to the temptation to skip a workout.

Also...yesterday was day 45. That means I'm halfway through P90X. I was once a very avid runner. Often, I'd run out and backs, which meant I'd run out a few miles in one direction and come back home or to school etc. The best feeling in the world was when you got to your furthest point out, tagged that telephone pole or stop sign etc and did a quick pivot and started to run back home. You knew that with every step you were on your way home and you'd be finished any minute. This feeling helped you to push harder until you saw "home" again. Well, that's where I'm at on this P90X journey. I just tapped the telephone pole...I'm heading home.