Day 10, Arms and Shoulders with Abs...Rocked it Out.

Hey everybody...Day 10 down. 80 Days to go!

Today was Arms and Shoulders. This was the first workout where I could really use the new Power Block dumbbells and put them through their paces. The only negative thing to say about the Power Block Dumbbells is that you have to spend a few seconds switching the plates etc. Its a minor problem. Its not even a problem. But when you're trying to keep pace with the DVD it forced me to hit the pause button a couple times.

The workout was great. I'm definitely feeling it now and I'll be sore in the morning. I even did the bonus round this time through. I was able to do 30 Side Tri-Raises a side on the last set. (In the DVD, Tony Horton says if you do more than 25, he'll come to your house. So I guess I need to put out the good china.

Ab Ripper X was a good time today. I'm still not keeping pace with the studs in the disc, but I'm getting better every time through.

Tomorrow brings Yoga...so I'll get up for that.

Still Bringing It!

John

Quick Note!

I'm down a notch on my belt...that is all.

Day 9...Go Ahead and Jump!

Well, I've successfuly completed 10% of P90X. Today was Plyometrics. Last Sunday, when I first tried Plyo, I barely completed half of the 55 minute DVD. So, 81 days to go, but I'm loving it.

Plyo last week kicked my butt. I felt like I had to puke 25 minutes into the workout last week. This morning I was able to push through the whole workout and could have gone a few more minutes. I loved it today. It was tough...it hurt...I was sweating. Yet the workout was fantastic.

My diet has been really good, I've been avoiding carbs successfully. Yet I probably need to review the nutrition guide to make sure I'm spot on. As Brad told me, "Great Abs are built in the kitchen." While my diet has been good, and I'm already suspecting some good results, I know I could be doing better with my diet.

More to follow tomorrow. I drive out to Michigan in the morning then I'll do Shoulders and Arms with my new Power Blocks in the afternoon.

Day 8, Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X...Brought It!

Well, Got up this morning and after shaking out the cobwebs for a half hour, I hit up Chest and Back X right away. I was able to finally get a pull-up bar. Now that I have Power Blocks and my portable pull-up bar, I can take my gym with me back and forth as I travel. (Long story, but I live in Illinois, but work during the week in the Michigan area. Its a temporary thing...) I can throw the pull up bar and the Power Blocks in my car and that leaves very little room for excuses.

So, started right away with the push-ups and pull-ups in Chest and Back. The workout went great. I presently struggle with pull-ups, so I had to use a chair to help me get in some decent reps. This workout kills me. By the second time through to the "Dive Bomber" push ups I'm thrashed. My reps drop off in the 2nd circuit. However, I also noticed the guys on the tape have their reps drop considerably as well. (And is the girl in the Chest and Back DVD not hilariously cute? ..."German Potato Soup." LOL)

So, I'll definitely improve. Soon I'll look like the guy pictured above, assuming I get adequate air brushing.

Ab Ripper X...what more can I say. I presently struggle with most of the core exercises on this disc...but I'm noticing improvement. Thanks to Brad for the heads up to ditch the shoes. It helps a bit.

More to follow...Plyo tomorrow! Bringing It!

Day 7: X Stretch

Day 7 Down everyone.  X Stretch was a nice little breather, although it wasn't easy.  Some of these stretches hurt.  I can also see why P90X shouldn't be sold to the prison community, but that's another story.  I've never been flexible, so this emphasis on stretching is good for me.

I got home today and hopped on the scale.   I probably shouldn't do that yet, but I liked the results considering I'm normally heavier in the afternoon and evening.

I got a pull up bar today.  Its a door mounted pull up bar.  We'll see how it works out.   I have a feeling my workouts are going to get a lot harder.

Chest and back tomorrow, but I'm 25% of the way through phase one.

Bring It!

Days 5 and 6, Legs Back and Kenpo X

Well, I meant well to post every day.  However, when you do 2 P90x workouts in less than 12 hours, I didn't have time for much else.

I'll start off with yesterday, got a haircut, got home and went straight into Legs and Back.  I love this workout.  As a former long distance and track runner, I rarely worked out my legs.  It was a big no-no for us.  So, this is a workout that will help build strength in a weak area.  I was able to use my new Power Blocks for the first time.  They worked great.  My pull up bar arrived at home, and I'll be able to ditch the bands once I get home and put it together.  The back workout suffered because the bands don't give me the intensity I need.

This morning, I rolled out of bed at 5:45 and started Kenpo X promptly at 6:00 am.  

Kenpo X is tough.  It made me realize how little flexibility I have in my body.  I need to keep it up and I'm sure the flexibility will come.  Also, some of the moves in this DVD require a bit more coordination than this pasty white guy currently possesses.  By the end of the DVD I was getting the hang of most of the moves.

So, this is the first time I've worked out 6 days in a row since college.  My diet has been spot on this week.  I even ate plain oatmeal yesterday.  Yup, when the waitress brought out the brown sugar (I love brown sugar) I pushed it aside and ate plain oatmeal (with a little milk.)

I'm also totally done with caffeine.  I have cut most pop/soda out.  I had a Diet Pepsi Max two days ago after not having soda for a couple days.  I had a headache within 5 minutes.  So, water only for me.

Take care all!  Bring It!

Day 4...YogaX

Yoga Video 2 - Watch more free videos

Ok...before today, I thought all Yoga was like the video above.

My Yoga experience was nothing at all like this!  I felt completely and utterly out of my element doing the Yoga X DVD.

I'll work on this and keep giving it a shot.  I could only get through about 40-45 minutes of the video.  But, for not running or jumping etc, I was sweating so damn much.  I was dripping wet.  So, I see the potential benefits with strength and flexibility.  But, I feel its definitely not a beginners yoga program.

My diet today has been good.  I have been cutting way back on caffeine.  One thing I realized is that I need to ditch all caffeine.  I've been holding on to one a day, and now I get headaches right after drinking my one Diet Mt. Dew or Diet Pepsi.  So, I'm definitely cleaning out the body and giving it a good cleanse from the inside out.

So, 4 days in, loving the P90X program thus far.

Day 3 Down!

Bring It On!  Completed Shoulders and Arms today.  The workout was fantastic.  My only problem is that I didn't have dumbbells.  I'm working with bands right now and I know I'm not getting as good of a workout as I could get if I was using dumbbells.

So, I'm working on Monica (my wife) to get some adjustable dumbbells.  I'm looking into the dumbbells made by PowerBlock.  If anyone out there has some feedback on adjustable dumbbells such as these pictured here or perhaps the Bowflex Selecttech dumbbells I'd appreciate it.

On a second note...I did the entire Ab Ripper X workout.  Now, I didn't get all the reps done, and was hurting a lot, but I was at least got in a few reps in of all the exercises.  Those damn Mason Twists...they were fun, but man they hurt.

More to follow...lets Bring It!

John

Day 2

Well, I'm posting today.  That means I worked out.

So thats a positive.

Now with the rest:

Day 2 of my p90X experience was with the Plyometrics X DVD.  The workout was brutal.  I was only able to do about 35 minutes of the 55 minute workout.  I had to shut it down as I was getting light headed and my head was pounding (yes, at the same time.)

I did well though, some of the moves take more coordination than this white guy currently has.  I'm getting better though, I was able to get some of the moves down the second time through.

My diet has been going well.  I've been eating a lot better foods.  However today with the Bears game on, I had to make some Chili.  The recipe I have is pretty good, and actually is probably a very healthy recipe.  Its Buffalo Chicken Chili.  I had 2 big bowls of that for lunch. I cut out the heap of tortilla chips and Blue Cheese I'd normally put on it.

I'm noticing that with the Lean phase of the P90X diet, I'm craving carbs...lots of carbs.  I've been good at not eating many, just one serving a day.  However I can tell my energy levels are low.  I'll get better as I get used to this.

Oh, scale this morning read 207.6....It probably was a loss of water weight, but potential progress nonetheless.  Much better than the 215 I threw up 2 weeks ago.

John

Day 1

I feel trashed....

I did Day 1 of my P90X journey today.  Started out with the Chest and Back DVD.  2 years ago, I could have done well on this workout, today I just survived.  I did ok the first time through the circuit, the second time through was really tough.  My reps on push-ups died off to barely half of my first time through.  I'll get better, but need more practice.

Now, on the matter of the Ab Ripper X DVD...well, that kicked my ass good.  I could barely get through the DVD and only did a few reps of each exercise, and had crap form.

So, there are some exercises I need to master...but Day 1 is completed.  No...I'm not posting my "after" photos yet.

D Day -1

Well, I start P90X tomorrow. I just finally need to do something about my body.

I've been in a slow decline regarding my health and fitness, especially since leaving the military in 2006.

So, tomorrow I begin p90X. It'll be tough. I'm posting a sample of before pictures here...sorry to anyone who's looking at these photos.

Here are some stats.

Height, 6'2" Weight 212.2 lbs. (I hit 215 on the scale last week, it was depressing and it was the "rock bottom" I needed to get motivated to get back into a routine. Although p90X may end up being more than a routine, it will be a certain challenge.)

So, with that height and weight my BMI is a hefty 27.2

My gut measurement is about 39.5" sucked in, 42" pushed out. Thats huge.

Chest about 43"

Biceps about 15"

Around the shoulders 51"

Now all these measurements are possibly off since I took them myself.