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.