After a poor workout in Kenpo X, followed by a day off yesterday, there was a tiny feeling of doubt starting to set in. Not enough to really faze me, but enough to ask the question “why am I not pushing it hard?” Well, today that little bit of doubt was squashed with a solid Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, and ARX set.

Yesterday, after work, I decided to get a good workout in at the gym to make up for not do anything in the morning. My concern last night was I did a little too much and would be feeling it today during my P90X workout. Sure enough, there was a little soreness. It didn’t impact the routine too much, however, I was only able to match the number of sets I did last week during the routine.

Tony’s advice for this workout is to make sure the last three sets are really tough and make sure you are feeling the burn. I can say I was feeling the burn on the last three for a majority of the workout. I was happy to be back in action and on track with the system. I am looking forward to Plyo tomorrow and I am also toying with the idea of doing doubles for a few weeks. There are only a few weeks left in the fitness challenge at work and I really want to maximize my weight loss. I will be researching Doubles tonight to try and make up my mind.

For the last couple of weeks I did the X Stretch routine instead of just resting. Today I decided to be a bum and take advantage of the Rest Day. It was nice sleeping in, however by the time I got out of bed I felt guilty for not doing anything. To make it up, I decided to get a solid 60 minute workout in after work using the gym near my work. It was good mix of running, some weights, cycling, and a bit of ab/core work. I felt good and was sweating nicely. After the routine I was feeling good and happy I got some work in.  My only concern is that I did too much and will be feeling it during my biceps/triceps sets tomorrow.

Next week I will be using the X Stretch option again to ensure I am doing something.  Even though a good workout after work is nice, I want to try and follow the defined P90X system as close as possible.

After the 3 workouts I did yesterday, there was no way I was going to miss a solid morning of stretching. I went down the stairs in my house slowly this morning because there was a lot soreness all over.  The stretches started off slow, but my body warmed up quickly. It felt great working the hamstrings, back, neck and everywhere in between. X stretch is only 57 minutes and it goes by very quickly. There are little places to do a little extra push up, or engage your core to get an extra burn. I do not have much more to say other that THANK YOU TONY FOR X STRETCH. After the routine I had a bounce in my step because almost all my previous soreness was gone!

Today is my last day of recovery week! It is also the last day of phase 1 in the Nutrition Plan. Now my fat/carb/protein ratio will be 20/40/40 for the next 30 days. Although I will admit during Fat Shredded, I rarely got the 20/30/50 as recommended. That being sad, I was still very happy with my diet and the weight I lost. I am looking forward to getting back into the regular routine and really bringing it!

Workout 1 – Yoga X

My morning started off the same, a solid Yoga X routine. This was my first time using my new Yoga Block, and it really helped. My moon poses where a lot wider because I could balance myself on the block. For $10.00, it is well worth it. During the routine I really fought to keep my thighs off the ground during upward dog and adding push ups between upward and downward dog. I was happy with progress I made at that. There was only one time I hit a child’s pose during the transition. My balance poses are getting better and I feel myself reaching and stretching further.

Workout 2 – Team Workout

As I mentioned in previous posts, my employer is sponsoring a fitness program at work. You create a team of 8 fellow employees and work out twice a week with an instructor pushing you for an hour.  There are a number of teams participating and the winning team will be the one who looses the most weight. This ties into my P90X program very well. What is really nice is it takes place during business hours. So you basically get paid to work out! We do a lot of different exercises in one hour including cardio, upper body, legs, and back. I enjoy working up a sweat but a lot of the routines go against my P90X goals. The instructor likes us to 75+ reps with routines mixing on and off with a partner. I am a firm believer in 1 -3 sets doing as many as you can and alternating routines. However, I still enjoy getting two extra workouts in a week.

Workout 3 – Basketball

After work I decided to play some basketball with a co-worker. It has been about 5 years since I played basketball last, and it really showed. My ball handling and shooting was aweful. I could not find my rhythm for the tempo of the game. Not to mention the fact that I was sweating like a pig. If I was not 27 days into P90X, I may have had heart failure. Well maybe not, but even with the exercise I am getting from P90X, I was still way out of basketball shape. So, I am going to add basketball to my weekly exercises and focus on getting what little skill I used to have back.

Overall, today was burner on my body. On the way home from basketball I tried having a healthy sub at Jersey Mike’s. After researching nutrition facts online after eating my tuna sub, I realize there is no such thing as a healthy sub at Jersey Mike’s. It was loaded with fat and calories, however I worked extremely hard today and I am sure my body burned right through it. I am off to grab a Casein protein shake and then hit the hay. Hopefully I can catch some good REM sleep and let my body heal.

Yesterday morning my X Stretch was cut short due to issues at work. I got a solid 30 minutes in, but would have liked to finish. As part of a fitness program with my work, I get to work out two days a week in a gym with a trainer. Yesterday afternoon he worked our group good. We did a serious set of lawnmowers, leg raises, presses, squats and some jump training. The only thing I did not like was the fact that he did multiple reps w/o rest. So the muscles were completly wasted after word. I prefer to mix it up with different sets. Regardless, it was a solid workout and my knees felt it this morning, which is why I was looking forward to a little core work.

Today was my second round of Core Synergistics which means my recovery week is coming to an end. The first time through Core, I paced myself and really didn’t listen to Tony besides when he was explaining how to do the moves. Today I listened and took note of focusing on engaging my core while doing each routine. From what I understand it is basically flexing your butt and your belly. Sort of like when you force a six pack on your stomach. Only you do it the whole routine even while doing push ups, etc. Really made the routine that much harder.

My first impressions of Core Synergistics this past Saturday were not positive. I thought it was  a silly workout and didn’t give it much mind. However, when you engage your core and really push it, this thing is a worker. The one arm push ups, the plank runs, the squat-lift combos. I had a real good sweat going. After the workout I did a quick set of 27 push ups. Really proud of that considering I was pretty beat.

In November, when I decided I wanted to start and finish the P90X program starting January 1st 2010, I wanted to research my tail off. I wanted to figure out:

1. Why I failed in the past
2. What would be different this time

I have mentioned in previous posts why I had failed with previous P90X attempts, and one of those was not having a routine. For my personality, having a routine is crucial for my success at anything I do. Granted I am able to handle change and adept, however when it comes to me digging deep and pushing to my limits on a daily basis, I need a routine.

Morning Workout

The first part in setting up a good routine is finding 90 minutes for yourself to workout. A time that is free of all your daily distractions like work, family, personal issues, etc. For me, that time is the morning. I really enjoy waking up an extra 90 -120 minutes earlier each day to do the P90X routines. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a morning person at all! However, here are 10 reasons to workout in the morning:

1. No distractions from the rest of your daily life.
2. Easier not to make excuses for not working out.
3. It is colder in the morning, so I can open a window and cool off my gym (AKA my office).
4. Get to work out in my boxers!
5. Finishing a solid workout routine is a great motivator for the day.
6. Post workout meals are easier to plan because I have breakfast right after with protein shake and recovery drink.
7. Ability to shower right after the workout and get the day started.
8. I am half awake for the first part of the workouts, still pushing it hard, just not fully awake yet
9. Once I do get into work, I am wide awake and ready to take on any challenge.
10. Improving your body is a great reason to get out of bed in the morning!

The imporant thing to remember is your body needs sleep to rebuild. So if you are waking up 90 minutes earlier to work out, go to bed 90 minutes earlier. I just finished Day 14 of the P90X and I am feeling great and loving my morning workouts.

Leave it to Tony and the P90X program to make everything a workout, even stretching routines. Last week is took my rest day and did nothing. This week I was committed to doing the X Stretch. Ideally I would like to be more flexible. Be able to touch my toes during streching without even thinking about it or having to work for it. The X Stretch is a nice program because you are constantly moving from one position to the next. There are a number of Yoga X moves included in the routine which help break it up. The variation between static and ballistic moves is a nice change up as well.

Cutting it Short

Unfortunately I had to end my X Stretch early today because of an issue at work. This is extremely frustrating because I now wake up 2 hours earlier each day to work out. The last thing I want is working taking up that time as well as the rest of my day. Due to the fact that this workout was not as intense and the fact that I had to end early, I did not mix up as much Whey in my shake and I also cut back on my breakfast.  However, I do plan on making up the rest of the routine tomorrow morning before my next routine.

Doing a Little More

Last night before bed I decided to crank out a set of push ups to see how many I could do. I was able to do 11 consecutive using the Perfect Push-up before having to take a rest set. At this point, I thought I would be able to do a few more than that. So before each workout I plan on doing push-ups and sit ups to try and get a little more work in. Maybe incorporate a few exercise from Ab Ripper X and vary it up with some different types of push ups.