Update: Where I'm at post P90x?

Yeah yeah, locker room pic...I know...


After some traditional weight training for about two months, I've found it really easy to put on noticeable size gains. I've been eating at just around 2700-2800 calories a day (200 or so over maintenance) and I've gone up about 6 lbs from my lowest P90x weight (159lbs).

Before/After Photos

Start and Finish.

90 days.

Take a look.



Week 1:






Final Results:





(Sorry about the pull-string for the lightbulb. I didn't even notice that.)

-Thanks to those who've preceded me in their P90x journeys, especially those who've followed my blog and commented/critiqued my progress where comments/critiques were needed.

-The P90x Shirt and Supplements from www.sheafitness.com were an awesome mid-P90x morale booster, and really made me feel like I'd solidified my spot in the P90x family (That and all the P90x inside jokes, i.e.: "They're working hard...I know you are!").

-I know they won't read this, but thanks to Tony, Eric, Pam the Blam, Dreya, Sophia, Audra and all the rest of the P90x crew (even Dom).

-Last but not least, thanks to my family, friends and everyone else who's voiced their support or helped motivate me throughout these 90 days. This was a lot harder than I thought it'd be but thanks to numerous Facebook messages/comments, friendly ribbing and a few flat-out insults it sure made it a lot easier to bear down and finish this! I only hope that doing this would maybe motivate someone else to do the same thing and get in better shape because you better believe that if I can do it, you sure can.



"If this is your last blog reading of the day, it's time for some of your P90x recovery drink...I highly recommend it."

Holy cow...I think I actually finished!

The sweetest-tasting recovery drink yet...


You don't know how good it feels to be sitting here sipping my P90x recovery drink SHAKE and replaying the last 90 days over again in my head.

No more corn cob pullups.

No more crescent pose.

No more sneaky lunges.

No more slow-mo 3 in 1 pushups.

No more Dom jumping like an idiot during the Rockstar Hops.

No more Pam the Blam or *sigh* Sophia.

It's actually a little bit sad in a way knowing that never again will I see Tony's creepy leer as he Monster Truck Tire-leaps towards the camera. It's sad that I'll never grunt out "SIDNEY RICE TONY!!! SIDNEY RICE!" when he asks me who my receiver is during "Throw the Bomb". It's even a little bit sad that I'm not going to be able to grunt out "PUMPKIN AND CARROT" along with Eric as we both get ignored by Tony. The very worst part is that these inside jokes and comments are no longer going to be understood by anyone as I make my foray back into the regular weightlifting world, especially not the 305lb bro squatting the Buick in the parking lot.

Since I'm fresh off the program and still very gung-ho on fitness, I figured I'd list the pros and cons of P90x the best I can as my biceps shrink back to their regular size from my non-P90x *gasp* Back/Biceps routine I completed about 15 minutes ago.


I'll start with the Cons:

1. For me personally, I feel that P90x is not a very effective mass-gaining program. I think that on first glance alone the sheer amount of cardio and the super-set structure of the resistance workouts resemble more of an overall fat-loss and toning program than any kind of mass-gaining workout. Then when you factor in the reduced calories and structured eating plan...well, it just basically sums up the fact that you're not going to get big doing this program. Some have experienced size gains through P90x and I think that's pretty impressive, but for me personally I would have to be eating a LOT more and lifting a LOT heavier weight to be gaining mass on P90x.

2. Everyone says this and I know that I should do it because it's good for me and it completes the P90x program and blah blah but I really really really wish Yoga was shorter. I don't have much more to add to the hate on Yoga except to say that it's probably the hardest workout to get up for. Even though the payoff at the end feels teriffic, I wish they would've split it up differently or something...I don't even know. Even the two babes in the video don't make up for it.

3. Dom




Pros:

1. Sophia

2. I owe my current state of physical fitness mainly to the Plyometrics as it kicked my butt like no other workout has. Even at the end of P90x when I was able to do it pretty efficiently, it still had me breathing hard and dripping with sweat. If anything, Plyometrics and P90x have definitely conditioned me to the point where I feel like I can hurdle any kind of physical barricade life would throw at me.

3. You'd have to be pretty dense to not be able to follow the instructional videos that basically hold your hand through the entire workout, so for a pretty dense guy like me I appreciate how P90x doesn't leave any guess-work to distract me from my lifts. I'm never worrying about if I've done a certain move out of turn or if I need to take a break because P90x lets me know and FORCES me to do it. Some people who are versed in weight-training may turn their noses up at this and consider it restrictive, but I would like to remark that there is definitely something to be said for being able to put your mind into "Park" and let Tony and Co. guide you through your workout. One of the biggest problems I had when weight training was staying focused on what I was doing and risking a loss of intensity if I ever got off track in my lifts. P90x isn't really an intensity-machine but once you push play and get going with your workout you don't stop until it's done... and that's something that was a real change for me.

4. Whether it was trying to get more work done in a day in order to get home a little earlier for a workout or else preparing my daily meals a week in advance, I found that P90x had me filling in a few cracks here and there with my normal everyday life and helped me feel better about what I had to do in order to get my workout done for the day. It was kind of a give and take situation considering how awesome I felt once I was finished Plyometrics or Chest/Back for the night, but I really think P90x put me into a mental state that helped me take care of things in other areas of my life more efficiently. If that's getting a little too deep for some of you, don't hold it against me.



I'll post another final stats page at the end of the week with my Post-P90x fitness test results as well as some progress pics. Stay tuned till then, and once again thanks for reading.

Turtle Power

I feel like those who embark on the P90x journey are kind of like those baby turtles you always see on nature shows or at IMAX features. You know the ones...they have to scramble across the beach like mad in order to get to the freedom of the ocean while risking being eaten by birds and stuff. For my analogy to work however, you have to replace "birds and stuff" by "Being tired and stuff etc", and you need to change the turtles into people doing P90x.

After tonight's legs/back workout I will officially be finished the hard part of my P90x journey and have only one more recovery week left before I am 100% finished. No more gritting out sets, no more grunting out reps and no more snapping teeth off at the roots as I try to get one more corncob pullup out. In a way I'll miss it, but at the same time it's finally starting to sink in that I'm going to finish!

I apologize for abandoning this blog like I have, but I have to admit that there hasn't really been anything of note worth reporting. I'm still getting lean and still feeling better and better as I go but I didn't want to continually talk about turtles in the last few weeks, etc. I'll have a good finale post, don't worry.

So near so far...

Almost there...



Two weeks left? Three weeks? I hardly want to look....
It's a good thing I started P90x in the cold months, because there's no way I'm going to be able to continue to do P90x workouts in 30+ degree weather. My motto has always been "If your underwear's not soaked, you're not working hard enough" and lately it's proven true with the combination of Legs/Back plus the heat and humidity that's common with the climate of my hometown Winnipeg.

I was thinking that having done some cleaning and painting before my workout tonight might have been a good enough warm up but in the end, not surprisingly, I was still nearly dry-heaving after the last set of switch grip pullups. Even the P90x recovery drink was sitting a little uneasy in my stomach afterwards and that alone is a testament to how hard I worked, since it always goes down smooth and STAYS down smooth. Rah-rah, right guys? *burp*


Fail-Diet
Lately my diet's kind of sucked. I guess I lost a bit of focus last week for some reason, and maybe wasn't as strict on my diet as I could have been. A few family functions and mandatory cake-servings had me feeling a little bit guilty so as a conscience-soother I've been doing a little bit of running here and there. I'm not so sure how beneficial it is to my goals or what effect it REALLY has after a piece of Strawberry-Rhubarb pie with ice-cream, but it goes a long way to appeasing my eating disorder known as P90x.

Enough for now. Time to air out my shorts, shower and literally watch the paint dry on my walls.

Ok, that P90x recovery drink...?

Sluuuurrrrrrpppp


....as Dreya would say (Less annoyingly though) "SO good!!!"

Last week a package arrived on my desk at the office, and upon opening it I found that my awesome P90x sponsor at www.sheafitness.com was generous enough to send me a free sample of the P90x Recovery drink formula along with a very intimidating P90x "Bring It" T-shirt (You'd better believe work got DONE that day!). Regardless of the benefits and fancy packaging of the P90x Recovery Formula, I have to tell you that the taste alone is enough to make you want to hurry up and get your workout over with. Remember those orange creamsicles you'd get from the Dickie-Dee vendor as a kid or perhaps the days when your mom would plop a dollop of vanilla ice cream into a tall glass of Orange Crush for you? Heck, to a lesser extent perhaps one of those Orange Campino hard candies? That's what this stuff tastes like, it's that good. The only thing I don't like about it is the low protein to calorie ratio in it (10 grams of Pro to 220 calories) but I suppose that's why one buys Whey Isolate as a supplement. This stuff tastes too good to worry about that, right?


*hnnnnnngh*
Even though I put it off longer than I should have, my Chest/Shoulders/Triceps workout went great tonight and my early supper of grilled chicken and asparagus did plenty to keep me fuelled (I love summer veggies. Home-grown asparagus is Mother Nature's natural answer to Cocaine). I'm usually too spent at the end of my workout to do the Plyo Pushups where they're required and have to settle for the clap variety. This week was no exception and I had to bear down to get my clap pushouts finished. Mark my words though, in my last week of P90x (which isn't that far away) I'm going to attempt the Plyo's, smashed face or not. They're a snap to do when you're fresh but after numerous upper body exercises that leave you gasping for air, it's a chore to even get yourself standing again at the end of the workout, nevermind defying gravity with your face merely inches away from the unyielding basement floor.

I'm pretty tired, and up a little past my self-imposed curfew. Thanks again for reading. Plyometrics and Habs/Flyers tomorrow...not sure which will be more exhausting to endure.




P.S. Yes, I know Cocaine is derived from naturally-growing plants. I don't care, Asparagus is still better.

Holy embarassing...

Not quite, but almost



So I played my first (touch) football game today. Rather than receiving for over 600 yards like I expected, I tweaked something during warm-up and as a result played only about half the game. In the end I picked up a sack and a nice reception over the middle but for the most part my lateral movement was pretty much rendered nonexistant by whatever I did to my hips/legs. It's not quite a hamstring-pull and not quite a quad-pull, but if I plant my feet and twist from side to side I feel it in my glutes.


Ugh, what an unfortunate, embarassing blog post. I'm not even going to proof-read this one.








On a side note, P90x is still going good.

Florida is a fantastic place to stay on top of P90x

Because you can get wrecked by a Gator if you're not careful



Gators and Golfballs
When I first heard I was being sent down to Florida on business my initial thought was that my P90x journey was yet again about to be tested by inadequate gym facilities, restaurant-based nutrition and . Two days after landing in the sunshine state and sitting through meetings all day, I can still proudly say that I've bashed out both Chest/Back and Plyometrics with zero trouble. The Hotel's gym had no pull-up bar so I had to substitute heavy cable pull-downs in place of my pullups (Did the job pretty well, I will admit) but the dumbbells were top notch, so I had no problems with Heavy Pants. The 4 other people slugging it on the Elliptical machines watching me do multiple forms of pushups might have wondered what was up but I'm pretty sure they were impressed.

Oh, I took advantage of Dick's Sporting Goods low prices and bought myself and my brother 48 Nike MOJO golf balls for something like $12 bucks. Stars and Stripes forever, baby! I've got two more days here and then it's back to Winnipeg and +24 degree temperatures...it'll be like I never left Florida.


Oh, and go Jets go.....

Yes I'm still going, no I haven't given up.

This was me on Saturday, minus a few key differences...



Sorry for not posting in a while. I'm near the end of my recovery week and I just don't get as pumped up for blog posts as I do when I'm doing resistance workouts and cardio. Besides, how much can you write about Kenpo and Yoga that hasn't already been said?

On Saturday, I had my first practice with the touch football team I joined this summer. Not entirely sure what to expect, I was totally surprised by the skill and the professionalism of the guys that play on my team and the way our practice was carried out. Rather than bore you with accounts of our route-running and defensive-scheme exercises, I figured I'd just let you know how sore my legs are today from 2.5 hours of continous stop and go sprinting. While my cardio was fantastic, I think that I may work some running into my schedule to keep my legs accustomed to the movement they don't get a lot of in the P90x cardio programs.

Oh, and here are my weeks 1 through 8 progress pics...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrsMgav1YHQ

45-20

I'm drawing a blank...voting is just not that funny

I forgot to thank everyone who voted "Yes" in my Poll that's been festering over there on the right-hand side of my blog. I guess I appreciate those who took the time to vote "No" as well, but really...you shouldn't have bothered, I'm rolling! I never thought I'd say this but even with a third of the program to go I really feel like the end is in sight. Now that I've nearly completed Phases 1 and 2 I know for a FACT I'm going to finish and now it's just a matter of bearing down in the details to make sure I'm not wimping out anywhere, especially in my diet.

My weight's staying the same and while I still feel trim and lean (all my pants have gotten looser and I've switched pant sizes from 32-34 to size 30's) I don't feel quite as strong as I was during my conventional weightlifting days prior to P90x. I guess this is to be expected with the decrease in muscle mass and lack of heavy lifting, but while I should know better than to get discouraged at this point in the program...I'm still feeling a little bit wimpy. P90x claims you can build mass with proper nutrition and focusing on 8-10 reps per exercise but with the reduced calories and sheer amount of cardiovascular intensity involved, there isn't much extra nutrition to build your muscles unless you're a genetic freak who gets big no matter what he does. I'm realizing that P90x is PERFECT for the middle-aged dude or overweight guy who wants to shed some pounds, especially since they can dedicate themselves 100% to losing weight as their main goal without having to be worried so much about muscle mass.

While I appreciate the program and what it's doing for me, I find myself yearning for the day where I can settle under the flat bench and smash millimetres off my teeth as I grit out my last set of bench-presses. I'll be smarter with my cardio and with my diet, and if P90x has taught me anything so far it's to keep my intensity level up while at the gym. Having Tony holler at me has done WONDERS to keep me focused and zeroed in on the task at hand, and I'm hoping I can apply this same focus to life AFTER P90x.

Recovery/Healthy Eating Week

Time to get serious.

Only 11 days remain (including today) until it's time to take my 60 day pictures. Regardless of how good I've felt or how well I've been doing with P90x, the proof is in the pudding/pictures and I really hope I'm able to show improvements from today to day 60. I know that without the weights I tend to slack a little bit in the commitment department and with that comes slacking off in the eating department so as long as I can make sure my pantry's full of delicious, healthy things I'm pretty confident I'll be able to stay lean until Phase 3. I don't have too much time left and depending on where I'm at once this recovery week finishes, I'll alter my caloric intake accordingly.

My weight continues to sit at 160 and I see that along with reducing my bodyfat, the weight routine of P90x is JUST doing enough to maintain the muscle mass I have. A lean 160lbs is a great finishing point and I'll be thrilled if I'm able to walk around at that weight and 10% bodyfat.

I'll be closely monitoring my mood and my energy levels throughout this recovery week since I know at the end of this past week I was starting to feel a little bit drained (which is weird for me). I'm not sure whether it was a calorie deficit or perhaps not getting enough sleep that sucked me dry by 4:00, but I'm going to make an effort at a solid 7.5 hours of slumber every night this week...

...except for when the puck drops on Vancouver/Chicago at 9:00pm.

Puddle of Warm Human

Yes, this is how I feel right now.


There is nothing that takes away your desire to get off the couch more than the P90x Legs and Back workout followed by a boiling hot shower. I stepped out of the shower and barely had the energy to towel off, nevermind get dressed and then phone my buddy Mark to see what he was doing tonight. He responded "Just went for a run outside, then had a warm shower so I'm feeling nice" and we mutually decided to skip the action-packed Friday night we most likely had ahead of us and just stay home with a book or perhaps a salad. What a healthy network I'm a part of. Tony would be proud.

Now I'm contemplating getting in the car and driving to Safeway for more Ambrosia apples (they were out last time I was there) but I'm worried I might fall asleep in the produce section right next to the Dragonfruit. I don't think the recovery week could have come at a better time for me as I was barely able to complete my workout tonight. Even though I hit or eclipsed all my previous numbers for some reason I really felt like I was dogging it. I think the mouthguard definitely helped me out and I managed to grind out my moves the best I could, however I was SERIOUSLY considering bagging out halfway through and starting over the next morning to do it properly. I don't care who you are or what you say, pull-ups are never a "Fun" exercise.

I've been doing a little research into a gym near where I'll be moving to and I've got to say I'm getting excited to start working out around people again. Don't get me wrong; working out in my basement has been fantastic and it's something I'll miss when I move to my new place, however I have to admit I'm looking forward to getting back into the "Public Gym" routine especially since it allows me to go shopping for a brand new pair of kicks. My trusty New Balances have just about given up the ghost and were literally tripping me up tonight since the material on the bottom of the shoe which has seperated from the sole was catching on my rubber mats.

I'm looking forward to some solid cardio in Kenpo X tomorrow and plan to go as hard as possible before I dip into my second recovery week starting Monday.

I'm going to try sleeping with my mouthguard in tonight, as I find I grit my teeth a lot before I go to bed (Yeah, I don't get it either...). If I choke to death on my mouthguard this will most likely be my last blog post. Go Canucks.

Mouthguarded

How much are your teeth worth to you? $2.49 before tax!


Wow, I can't remember the last time I paid less than $3.00 for ANYTHING that didn't come in an aluminum can or have "Diet" and "Coke" in the name. $2.49 is what this bad boy (The EZ Gard Strapless Mouth Protector from Sportchek) set me back today, and while reluctant to pass up the fancier ones labelled "Shock Doctor" and "Super Mouth Protector" and "Tooth Guardian" and "Bicuspid Befriender" I decided that the small price was more easily absorbed than the +$20 hit of buying the latter if my experiment turned out to be a waste of time. After arriving home and setting a pot of water to boil (got changed into my ultra-cool grey sweatshorts during the boiling phase) I followed the instructions closely on the package and let my mouthguard sit 12 seconds in the boiling water before removing it, shaking out the still very hot water and popping it into my mouth where I bit down hard and pressed my tender gums up against the searing hot plastic. I winced back tears and did my best Bulldog impersonation on the mouthguard for a solid 30 seconds while using my fingers to press it against my teeth, long enough for the Polymer blend to conform to the shape of my unfortunately British-looking grin. After trimming the ends a little bit with a pair of scissors (They stuck too far back and made me gag) I ended up with a reasonably comfortable mold of my top-teeth. Since you've already most likely viewed the picture above, you can imagine somewhat how much my incisors must protrude from my top row of teeth. Maybe I can attract some cute "Twilight" fan-girls.

Luckily as nasty as my mouthguard looked, I have to admit it definitely made a difference in my Back/Biceps workout tonight. At first it was a little uncomfortable learning to breath past it, but after a while I got used to the foreign lump of slimy plastic in my mouth and began to appreciate the way I was able to set my jaw against it during the "Go" phase of my curls and pullups. I've always had a tough time remembering to regulate my breathing while lifting, but curiously enough it was almost like wearing the mouthguard FORCED me into keeping a steady breathing rythm in which I'd inhale/grit my teeth during the concentric motion and unclench/exhale on the eccentric.

There's something comforting about being able to grit your teeth as hard as you can during a pullup without smashing the enamel on them into powder and feeling it the next day when you dunk your front teeth into a stream of hot coffee. This is a great new twist to my workout regime and I can't wait to apply it to Legs/Back on Friday! I'd recommend that anyone pick up one of these cheapos and give it a shot, it's definitely worth the $2.49.

Delt Burn/Real Estate Rush

Come on Supes, 8-10 for mass...12-15 for toning



So I just bought a house...

Unfortunately it was in the middle of Shoulders/Chest/Triceps when I got a call from my Real Estate Agent asking if I wanted to accept the buyer's counter offer, so with endorphins flowing through my body the conversation went a little like this:

*ringa da ding ding ding dee donng*

"Hello?"

"Hi Sam. They've countered with ___________________"

*Tony Horton yelling in background*

"Wow, alright. Let's go to __________ (my original intended offer)"

"Ok....are you alright?"

"I...I'm bringing...it"

*click*


Anyway, after getting another call 20 minutes later in which I learned the house was mine I did about 6 more clap pushups than last week, strictly from adrenaline and excitement coursing through my body. Without said adrenaline, pushups are kind of a weird exercise in that once you're toast you're toast, and no amount of cheating or bad form is going to get you off the ground. I find that the Switch Speed Pushups are what consistantly "get" me and I can do no more than 14 or so before my torso glues itself to the basement floor and I end up snapping a couple more millimetres off my front teeth as I grit and grind trying to get up. I guess it's a good thing to wreck your muscles that badly, but at the same time I'd like to see a little more progress in that move specifically.

I'm also considering buying an athletic mouthguard while doing my workout, just to keep my jaw in place and to prevent me from actually gritting my teeth (I'm serious when I mention chipping my teeth from trying to smash out a few last reps). Put a comment under this post if you've got any input on what would be a good kind of mouthguard to buy.

On that note, it's time to browse colour palettes and alternative decor for my new place.

*grunt*

"Yo Adrian, write down "16 reps" for me!"

Pull-ups and Kenpo and Rest...oh my
After a weekend of Legs/Back, Kenpo X and a rest day for good measure, I'm still waiting for these workouts to get easier. Maybe the fact that I "feel" my legs should be stronger than they really are is what drives me to give 100% everytime, because after my lunges, squats and calf-raises I feel somewhat like Rocky did after the first time he fought Clubber Lang. My pull-ups are increasing each week by a few reps every week, however I think it may be a stretch to say I'll be counted in among the people that do "Over 160 pullups" like Tony claims at the end of the video. That's insane. That might be exactly double of what I'm doing right now.


Diet, or lack thereof...
My diet this weekend was probably the worst it's ever been. I partly blame the beautiful weather for both my appetite and for the flawed reasoning that had me think Friday night's touch-football followed by an 18 hole performance on Saturday means it's perfectly acceptable to have 6 pieces of Pizza for supper. It obviously won't make too big of a difference in the long run, but I'll admit I felt like a spanked dog today and could barely look at the pictures of my 18 blog-followers (including the anonymous silhouettes) without feeling shame.

I'm looking forward to trying a few different things for meals this week and hope to bring everything back under control again diet-wise. It'd sure be a pain to drag my sorry rear through these workouts for a full 90 days but not get the results I want because I was too busy stuffing my word-hole with crispy, golden-brown, topping-laden dough.

ugh, brb...time to supplement with an apple.

So here's the next shirt I'm going to buy

I wish



Back and Biceps
It kind of makes me cringe to think of a hardcore bodybuilder reading this blog and thinking "What's this kid know about a bicep pump?" after I go on and on about how this workout made my biceps feel like they were about to hop outside my arms, wave jauntily and shout "See ya later, Sam".

Regardless of the ultra-high amount of hardcore Bodybuilders that read/scoff at my blog, I apologize for NOTHING when I say that it does not change my opinion on how this workout is able to annihilate your muscle fibers, especially if you're doing all the exercises with the most weight you can manage using good form. In fact, I like this routine so much that even several months from now when I'm off of P90x and on the beach knocking a volleyball around with many fit, beautiful women (Like the commercial promises) I can totally see myself returning to Back/Biceps because of the scaleable intensity it offers. If you're feeling strong you can just keep the weight high and blast out your curls but if you're not looking to chip the ends of your front teeth and pop your eyeballs onto your cheeks as you grit out your last 2 reps, you can always lighten the weight and STILL lather up a good burn. To me that spells "versatility" and "Rad mental image" and those are the top two things that I'm always looking for in a workout.

Ab-Ripper X
Nothing to report. Mason Twists at the end are laughable now. Can almost do the entire thing for max reps start to finish, but am still plateauing at oblique side raises (at 16 or 17 reps I fail)

Me > Plyometrics

Whoosh

Before I credit a supplemental 3 pm cup of coffee for my stellar workout tonight I'd like to first mention that I was amped and in the PERFECT mindset for Plyometrics, so it may have been a little more than the caffeine.

I had hardly stepped through the door and taken my shoes off before I was already humming the theme for Football Hero and visualizing doing my Rockstar Hops and Gap Jumps in my cool grey sweat-shorts. As expected, my silly and positive attitude suffered a big, sloppy hit after the first 30 minutes of Plyo X in the way that only silly and positive moods meeting Plyo X can...however the difference this time was that I was still going deep in my squats, high on my jumps and faster on all my repeat-moves than I ever had before!

Maybe it's my cardio improving or maybe it's the newly-renovated state of my overall physical conditioning. Heck, maybe it really WAS that last cup of Keurig-brewed coffee that I slammed back while staring at an estimate during the dying hours of my business day. Regardless of what it was, I'm trying to memorize exactly how it happened in order to harness this effort for next week. For crying out loud, I was so pumped after my workout that I still had energy to shower, grab my clubs and hit up the local driving range to slash a large bucket of yellow Srixons.

How's that for motivation?

Still plugging away...

Not much to report. Everything's going great and I wish something a little more exciting would have happened in my Chest/Shoulders/Triceps workout tonight. I bumped all my numbers after a mediocre effort last week and I'll go into next week's effort with a renewed sense of confidence.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this last time, but I finally figured out how to do the Oblique Raises. Originally I wasn't putting any weight on the arm laying flat on the ground, but I realized that you're supposed to balance a little on that arm in order to get up and crunch your obliques. Great discovery...now they can suffer like the rest of my abdominals.

Weight.
I'm still sitting at roughly 161lbs, so after my initial 6lb loss I'm now sitting comfortably at a weight that seems to be where my body prefers me to be at. We'll see how I end up after day 90, but it's nice to know that I don't need to continually stuff myself in order to gain weight beyond what I'm capable of maintaining.

Tee-Time at 2:17

Left arm straight Sergio!! LEFT ARM STRAIGHT!


Saturday Afternoon, 18 Holes!
There is no better mix of concentration and relaxation than 18 holes of one of the world's most distinguished pastimes. Being able to shunt aside the pressing issues and frustrations of the world and focusing your rage completely on a little white ball marked "Titleist" (in my case "Sportek" or "RAM Laser") does wonders for your stress levels and really helps you mellow out. Granted, certain personality types don't jive well with the game of Golf and occasionally you get the odd meltdown on the course, putter-throws and club-slams being the direct result (Not from personal experience, of course). When Golfing so early in the year, I find that it's fun to just be outside and to enjoy the fresh air without having to worry about freezing the surface of your skin to death. Winter's gone and now it's finally time to start DOING stuff again...hopefully my P90x schedule doesn't suffer as a result.


Kenpo X this morning, Legs/Back yesterday evening
I'm sitting here at my kitchen table oozing sweat from my pores once again as Kenpo X is a 10 minutes-distant memory in the back of my mind. My side-kicks still suck, but I'm pretty confident I could break your nose/smash your face with my front kicks. I'm not sure why such a thing is, but I really want to go out and try to kick someone/something with these moves. It's a good thing I didn't discover these videos when I was in High School...

Yesterday I had to go home early in order to let the Locksmith in to re-key my front and back doors. Since they stayed too late for me to go back to work, I was able to get in an earlier Legs/Back workout and was EXTREMELY relieved to find out that I maintained all my old pull-up numbers from week 3, while even bumping a few. I've definitely been eating more since my recovery week so it really shouldn't have come as such a surprise to me. The secret now is to find that fine line between continuing to build on that strength, but also shedding the blubber that had been falling off pretty easily through the four weeks previous.

Time to go practice my chipshots in the backyard.

Two Tickets...

To the Gunshow?

Nope.

Paradise! (Press play, and then read the rest of my blog for an out of this world experience)



Now we're rocking.



Back and Biceps
My energy levels have never been better and I absolutely LOVED this workout...loved it so much that when Tony asked me if I "had my tickets" I felt like responding "Tony, I'm already there..." but then he busted out the tired old Gunshow-line and I realized that I was probably born in the wrong era. This workout is basically curls on top of curls on top of curls and as a result it's something you can really sink your teeth into. I found that if you keep your intensity level and weights as high as you can manage, you're able to get an insane pump running to your "guns" and feel fantastic when you take your standard post-workout mirror-glance. I ran out of gas during pullups near the end (See: 0 pullups for the "Max Reps" exercise) but that didn't come close to discouraging me or minimizing the pump I got from the arm exercises. The frat boy in me cannot wait to get back on the curls.


Om nom nom
As far as my diet goes I've decided that my calorie intake should increase and I'll be shooting for more meals throughout the day, subsequently adding 300-500 calories of clean carbs/protein where I can. I'm getting more in-tune with my body and feel pretty confident in being able to guess when I'm at a deficit where perhaps the calories I've already taken in aren't going to cut it before a workout, etc. The target calories I set for myself are more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule and I'm guessing that by the 60 day mark I'll have a pretty clear idea of where I'm at, where I should be and what I need to eat in order to get where I want to be. I've already pre-made my meals for this week but am planning on mixing it up next week with a wider variety of foods and storing them in smaller portions to keep it fresh, new and exciting like the rest of my fresh, new and exciting life. Baby.

Anyway, I've got Yoga tomorrow night and then legs on Friday before heading to Mom and Dad's for my sister's birthday supper. She turns 22 tomorrow (April 15) and reads this blog so I figured I'd give her a shoutout. Anna, by the time you read this it'll be your birthday or else many days past it, so consider me the first to say Happy Birthday! (The Facebookers who wished you happy birthday two days ago don't count).

Plyometrics is still pretty awful

Nice glasses, bro

Like Pete Townsend....
My brother and I went to see Sonata Arctica last night and didn't end up getting home until about 11:15ish. The fact that I was dead tired, plus the fact that I hadn't gotten a great sleep the night before should've automatically put me in the sack and had me taking a day off. HOWEVER, that's not the P90x way (Right?) and I hammered play just the same as any other day. I should also mention here that it sure helps to bear down in fitness when you split a pizza at Sorrento's with your brother while watching the Blue Jays before the show. Even though it was the only thing I ate after lunch and probably JUST put me over my calories for the day, I was still harbouring some serious guilt.



A few things:
1. Even though it had been 5 hours since I had eaten, pizza in the stomach is still not advised for Plyometrics...AT ALL.

2. I hate that Dom guy. What a showoff. Stop jumping so high and please stop lifting your legs kind of "sideways" during the Rockstar Hops...you make me want to smash you.

3. Don't leave Plyometrics to that late at night. Even though I was able to shower and then pass out in bed immediately after, I'm convinced that my body was still doing Squat Switch Pickups until about 4:40.

4. 30 Days up, 60 days to go. Still feeling great, still feeling motivated!



Note: Seeing as there are one or two girls following this blog I thought I'd give a shout-out to http://www.facebook.com/sheafitness who gives great advice on anything fitness-related and has made great progress on P90x herself. I know of at least two girls following this blog who are doing P90x, and I recommend to both of them to check out her fansite on Facebook for some solid advice and a great resource. If anything, you can just take a look at her progress pics to get motivated!

Who's your receiver?

When Tony asked us who our receiver was during the "Throw the Bomb" exercise, I exuberantly answered "SIDNEY RICE, TONY!!!".


Back to the weights
Chest, Shoulder and Triceps day was great and I really enjoyed getting back to some resistance training after the week long lay-off, but the one thing I forgot was how much quicker you tire while doing resistance training than cardio. I've got to admit that I burned out on pushups real quickly...like, REALLY quickly. I'm not sure if it was the layoff, not enough food, not being able to get to sleep until 3:30 last night or even locking myself out of my house this morning and needing someone to come pick me up to drive me to work, but I didn't even manage ONE one-armed pushup (knees down or otherwise). I'm sure this is one of those "blah blah Don't get discouraged, blah blah it's a hard exercise to do, blah blah you'll get better" moments but this is the first time where I've not been able to do even one. I felt pretty feeble.

I've got Plyometrics to look forward to tomorrow too. Ugh. I'm so glad I made venison tacos for my lunch tomorrow. Here's to me not forgetting them at home....

Progress pics for REAL this time...

Ok, did a little more cropping...

I got a bit of flack for showing too much skin in my first edition, so I toned it back a little.

I also heard one complaint about the music I added, so you better believe I stepped it up a notch this time around.


Phase 2 Starts tonight. I can't wait!

Progress Pics

*Temporarily down...hang tight*


Also known as: "If you've ever wanted to see Sam in his underwear, here's your chance"


4 Weeks done, several long weeks to go.



Here's your chance to motivate me the best you can, my 15 faithful readers!



P.S. You're not allowed to hit "Pause" during the video.

X Stretch? More like........

What the....




Since my scheduling was all fouled up (As you must surely know if you happened to read my last blog post) the one thing I wanted to make sure I did during my recovery week was fit in an X-Stretch. My calves and rump were still pretty tender from all the lunges I did two days previous on Legs/Back day, so ANYTHING resembling a stretch felt like a tall, cool glass of water to...yes...my rump and calves.

This workout was just what the doctor ordered (especially after 18 holes of golf) because it wasn't too strenuous but enough to make me feel like I still accomplished something afterwards. There's something about stretching before an exercise that can get somewhat monotonous but when you have a whole workout that's geared towards doing only that and nothing but, it's a great motivator.


In other news
-The cardio and stretching has been good but I'm REALLY looking forward to getting back into the weights on Monday. When it comes down to it there's really no substitute for pushing the iron and getting your sweat on in a more caveman-like manner, and I especially can't wait to start socking back the protein and knowing it's going somewhere.

-I need to find a Yoga mat.

-My flexibility is surprising me. Reed Richards is so jeal.

I hate it...but I love it

The knowing glance says it all...


There is nothing better than how you feel after a P90x workout, especially if the workout that you just finished is a result of looking back through your workout log and noticing it was the one you missed while you were travelling last Friday. Seeing as how everything was hopelessly out of whack, I decided it'd be better to squeeze that workout in tonight before I got too close to the next phase of my resistance training in order to...you know... let some "recovery" take place.

Now as I flounder in a puddle of my own spent electrolytes and exhaustion, legs aching, the only drawback of this whole unfortunate event is that somehow my smallish brain has once again not failed to fail me. However, the fact that I still managed to squeeze this workout in without wrecking the rest of my schedule or demolishing my morale speaks wonders to the state of my commitment to P90x.







I hate it....but I love it.

Wow, hold on a second...

Dummy
So while in Arizona, sometime between golfing and trying to not eat everything in sight, I realized I must have screwed up my schedule a little bit and was required to do a bit of juggling to get things back into place. When I was doing Core Synergistics, I should have been doing Yoga X and today I had to do Kenpo in order to get everything back to where it SHOULD be...ugh, how hard can it be? I know reading this blog is a stretch for most of you guys so I appreciate you not telling me "No dummy, you did Core Synergisticisics on the wrong day. FAIL". I appreciate it.

I'm finding that this recovery week is a little harder than I was expecting it to be. While the lack of weight routines is a nice break, I've got to admit that it's harder to keep my intensity and focus up with just the cardio/yoga based exercises and since my bodytype is more prone to lose muscle/fat when I'm not eating and lifting, I find it a little discouraging to feel my strength leaving me after only a couple days of "recovery". It might all just be in my head, but I've never really weighed so light before in my life (minus grade...like...9) and perhaps it's starting to wreak havoc with my psyche? I dunno...I can't wait until I finish the 90 days and am able to look back and say "well that's that...now what?".


Back on the food-wagon...
So after some SLIGHT deviation in my normally clean diet I've returned to Canada where I have my own kitchen and own pantry to deal with for meals/snacks/etc. I loaded up on Apples, 80-calorie wheat tortillas and pro-biotic yogourt cups (6 for $4.00 at Safeway) among other things to add to my meals as snacks. I still have to swing out to Costco to get a few platters of boneless/skinless chicken breasts as well as a few other things, but the aforementioned snacks combined with the loads of lean ground beef and venison in my freezer should last me for at least another month.

Core Synergisticisicics

Go get em Supes!!!



The Banana-to-Superman move in Synergistics is frustrating enough as it is, but it sure doesn't help when Tony makes me switch JUST as I'm settling into either position. Since I don't want to hear the word "Superman" or "Banana" again, I've vented my frustrations by showing a depiction of the former being punched out by a hardcore-looking robot who clearly knows what's up (EDIT: The link died, so I changed it to Doomsday smashing Superman). Take that Superman. Take THAT Tony. Aside from those moves, this was a great workout with a lot of sweat, a lot of grunting and a ton of "it" being "Brung".

My diet has been a little bit messy this weekend but I've been active enough with golf and P90x that I think it'll come to a wash calorie-wise. Week 4 progress pics might not show too much, but I've definitely felt leaner and less jiggly when I do my jumping jacks. That being said, the full-length mirror in my cousin's guest room still doesn't do me any favours when I'm crunched into "Boat" position and the midsection fat is the one thing I'll miss the least when it's gone.

Time for dry toast, scrambled eggs and a lounge by the pool/NHL 09 on Xbox

Hangin' Tough

Don't let their boyish good-looks fool you...the New Kids on the Block could hang with the toughest of them.



In the land of Putters, Woods and Irons, 54 holes of golf in two days has done it's best to try and throw a monkey wrench into my P90x journey. I'm sure a lesser man would have trembled and quaked at the thought of mixing P90x with cruising the beautiful fairways of Arizona while sipping cool beverages and draining 24-foot putts, but I'm happy to say I've persevered and am still on track.

I finished Yoga on Friday night at roughly 11:30pm and just finished Kenpo X 10 minutes ago as evidenced by my post-shower glaze of sweat and still slightly-elevated heart rate. I go into my recovery week tomorrow and luckily have a day off (from Golf) tomorrow morning to try to fit in Core Synergistics. It's the first time I'll have done the video so I'm excited to see what Tony has in store for me and I'm hoping I can "bring it" before we hit the Arizona Diamondbacks home opener against the feared and perennial National League powerhouse favourite San Diego Padres. I might limit my peanut and cracker jack intake...




Note: Before boarding our plane to Arizona I realized I had forgotten my paperback in our vehicle back in the parking lot. I sprinted all the way out, got "Christine" out of the truck and sprinted all the way back with MINIMAL heavy breathing as a result. Probably the first pure instance where I've noticed P90x ameliorating my way of life...

Like a Pterodactyl, backin' out of trouble...

Comics are about as rad as it gets: Babes in distress, Pterodactyls, ripped dudes with metal helmets...why, it makes me want to run downstairs and do Shoulders/Arms all over again!



You don't have to be a Pterodactyl to "get" girls like Marian, although the warm up portion of Shoulders and Arms is sure to eventually bring them running, especially if you make the "KAW" noise as you're doing it. (Sort of like a late-Triassic pick-up line). I don't think there's been a time where I've watched that video and not felt embarassed for Tony.

Nothing much new to report besides having nearly finished the last few days of Phase 1 and just in time too! We're headed down to Arizona tomorrow for the weekend and it just so happens that my P90x schedule should accommodate me perfectly over the 4 days I'm gone. I have Yoga scheduled Thursday and Legs on Friday, but since I'm going to be busy all day Friday and not even have access to a proper set of weights or a pullup bar, I'll be doing my leg workout Thursday morning right before we head out. This way I can swap my Yoga into Friday evening before hitting the hay (as usual) and enjoy a leisurely Kenpo X session with my cousin on Saturday. That leaves a solid day of rest on Sunday and since the recovery week which begins on Monday doesn't really require a lot of pullups or weights (As far as I know) I'll be able to squeak through Monday and get back on track in Winnipeg on Tuesday. Who SAYS P90x is too hard a commitment to make? It's all about dedication and a littttle bit of flexibility in your routine.

Bringing the Ripper to it's knees
Ab-Ripper X, while still rather hellish, is NOT the obstacle it once was! The Fifer Scissor routine that used to crush my spirit and make me squeal like a baby is now in my rearview mirror (not without a lot of squealing) and it's the Oblique Raises that are the one bastion left against the soft, still fleshy machine that is my mid-section.

Hopefully Arizona doesn't soften me up too much...

Don't eat an hour before Plyometrics.

Seriously.

I clearly didn't leave enough time between eating and Plyometrics tonight, but rather than go to bed and attempt waking up early enough to fit it in the next morning I gritted my teeth and gutted it out. Any moves that had me leaving my feet (Which is roughly 3/4 of them) made me want to hurl. I don't even really want to talk about it, it was that gross.

Great times with P90x!

BABY!

Tonight I absolutely crushed chest and back. I was looking at my upper torso's silhouette on my basement wall after the last set of pushups and the angle at which the single lightbulb cast my shadow against the Brick backdrop made me look huge. Ultra v-taper, bulging delts, everything. It was all I could do not to run upstairs and find a camera to take a picture of my silhouette until I realized what I was about to do and sort of got a little embarassed. I quickly transitioned to Ab-Ripper X...



One extreme positive I've taken from tonight's work is that I can't remember feeling this exhausted or out of breath in either of my first two weeks of Chest/Back. I'm chalking it up to knowing that tonight was my last go-around on these specific exercises before recovery week and really wanting to go all-out in order to get the most work possible from my muscles (The muscles that sometimes still seem to be on Hawaii-time). I hit 40 pushups with good form and then proceeded to bump the reps/weight on the next several exercises. I may have gotten a little bit ahead of myself since it wasn't until the dreaded repeat round that the wheels started to come off. Not realizing that my reps weren't ultra-high, my intensity level and Range-of-movement was better than ever before and while grunting out the exercises with superhuman intensity, I hit the wall with a resounding squish. The whole last quarter of my workout was a bit of a mess, but the pinnacle "fail moment" was during the Dive Bombers pushups when I scraped my lips twice on the gross rubber weight-mat that covers my basement floor. Since my body was caught halfway between exhaustion and wanting to crank out more reps (The body was weak) the low point of the Dive-Bomber pushups movement (And subsequently my workout) proved to be my undoing.

Anyway, I'm full of protein now and enjoying the evening on my couch. I busted out the entire Fifer Scissors portion of Ab-Ripper X and now have the "Heels to the Heavens" portion to whine about on my blog.

Thanks again for reading. Do your best, forget the rest!

What a motivator...

Not only did Georges St.Pierre clean the floor with the englishman Dan Hardy last night, he did it in the most dominant fashion possible. Serious credit to Mr. Hardy for not dying, as well as managing to hold off GSP while on his back nearly the entire fight. That being said, takedown defence percentages have a weird tendency of dropping when guys fight the French Canadian.


More P90x-type stuff tomorrow, trust me.

Kenpo X

Finished.

Went hard.

Had fun.







GSP's turn now.

Pysanky for Post-workout relief...

Carrots, Celery, Hummus and Pysanky. What go together better than these four things, you might ask? Well let me tell you: Legs, P90x, Protein and...Pysanky. There is nothing more traditionally Ukrainian then a good Pysanky night complete with Timbits, snacks, fellowship, coloured dye, and room-temperature eggs. Credit to my sister for the fantastic-looking bit of work featured above (In the last stages of melting the remaining wax off the egg) as well as the delightful evening fit for ANY P90xer (minus the Timbits)


Legs/Back Week 2!!
My leg/back workout was 2x better than last week! I figure I was a little more focused this time around because my form was good, my lifts all jumped, and I was sweating twice as hard than I did in my first go-around. Since I've made it very clear in previous posts that I've had issues with my knees, I feel like I should let knee-painers who are looking to try P90x know that if they've ignored the "Quality over Quantity" method until this point, they should wake up and appreciate it's merit with the Leg/Back exercise video. The pain that I'm always prepared for in leg exercises has been kept to an extreme minimum during these last few workouts, as I've focused fully and completely on my form and staying in control, even at the expense of one or two extra reps. I know that as soon as I hurry a movement or try to force a few extra reps, that's when I start to lose it and am then treated to the familiar situation of ol' Patella tracking over Mr. Incorrect Place and the subsequent pain that follows. While I know that my Patello-Femoral issues might not be as severe as what others experience, I fully believe that the exercises laid out in P90x Legs/Back coupled with Plyometrics and Yoga are physiotherapy lessons in disguise. I'm experiencing less knee pain now in every day life than I have in the past two years, and I'm only through 2 weeks of P90x (Knock on wood).

Note: Staring at Sophia during the deep lunge segment of the video, while a boost for morale, may not be the most advisable method to keeping your knees healthy. Focus on your moves, stay tight, and don't try to do too much. Even Captain America has Patello-Femoral issues sometimes, and even he knows to keep his wits about him (Although he agrees that Sophia is indeed attractive)


The dreaded two flights of stairs back up to my bedroom were hard enough after all was said and done, never mind having to fall backwards a full two feet onto the toilet. It's kind of ridiculous, but add exhausted leg and abdominal muscles to your daily life and you basically become a pink, human version of Gumby that can't climb stairs, can't sit down normally on the can and can't get up from his office chair without making sure the rest of the office knows how hard he worked his quads and how fit he's becoming. This brings me back to my squatting days, really.

Can't wait for Kenpo X tomorrow. I'm about to BRING IT Georges St. Pierre style, roughly 12 hours before he walks through Dan Hardy in similar fashion.

Ooooh, good morning.

7:00AM? NO PROBLEM....

Seriously, I have never slept as well or felt as calm, rested and AWAKE in the morning as I have when I complete the Yoga X exercises just before I go to bed the night before. The combination of concentration and relaxation makes for an interesting combination that has a near drug-like quality in it's ability to make you feel drowsy, as evidenced by me falling asleep in the "Corpse Pose" "Fetus Pose and "Child's Pose" segments of last night's workout.

I've noticed my flexibility has gone up significantly since last time and I was able to grab my heels on both single-leg hamstring stretches as well as the double-leg hamstring stretch. It's cool to feel the tendons and muscles in your body tighten up as you reach toward your toes, but then sloooooowly melt away into a nice, gooey, warm buzz as you duck your head and lace your fingers around your feet.

For those worried about not being able to fit this one into their schedule, I recommend leaving it to the last minute on Thursday night and do it once you've brushed your teeth and have turned off all the downstairs lights. Knowing that you can hop into bed (After maybe a quick shower) right after this video makes it easier to finish, especially if the novelty wears off.






P.S.I took some progress pics this morning but I'm still going to wait a while before posting any "Before" or "During" shots. I'm JUST getting comfortable with the idea of putting my thoughts down onto a blog, nevermind putting pictures of my half naked body, so you're all going have to wait until I've put my insecurity behind me and only THEN will you see anything resembling a progress pic.






P.P.S. Big fan of the two girls in the Yoga video.

I'm not sure what's going to be harder...

...completing 90 days of this exercise, or posting on this progress blog every day.


Regardless, Shoulders and Arms went off without a hitch and I even got a few more Oblique Crunch thingers in this time during Ab Ripper X.

I'm looking forward to Yoga tomorrow night, I must say. I feel like I'll be able to really focus this time around, since I now have a better idea of what I'm in for and what to expect.

One of the interesting developments that I've discovered with P90x is that the pain in my knees from a previous injury (see my post on Day 1) has dissipated to the point where I feel like I have my knee braces on when getting up from a crouch, or squatting down. I still have that feeling like pain is about to flare up any second so I cringe involuntarily and always take it easy, but it seems like the Plyometrics and balance exercises have really strengthened up the muscles around the "pain area" so that they're now carrying a little more of the load.

Everything's rosy in P90x land.

So I may be the only one like this in the world...

...but once you've finished a workout does anyone else get the urge to clean the house/move furniture/do some yardwork, etc?

There's this dead spider that had been sitting in the neon light fixture above my kitchen for months and everytime I tilted my head back to get the last of my protein shake in the morning I'd see it and it would gross me out to no end. It wasn't until I just finished Plyometrics from P90x five minutes ago that I suddenly had the urge to pull up a chair, pull off the fixture and clean out the spider.

Now I'm sitting in my kitchen with a still higher-than-average heart rate but with a newly established lower-than-average amount of dead spiders sitting in my light fixture and I feel fantastic. Better than fantastic, ECSTATIC!

Exercise rules... seriously. FEEL my endorphins all over you.

Starting week two.

Week 1's over...time to get busy.
Did Chest and Back for the second time around today and felt great the whole way through, bumping weight or reps in every single one of my exercises. I was worried I didn't get enough protein during this last week to fill in the gaps, but clearly my muscle memory's going to give me a break and help me out with some initial noob gains as I try to right the protein ship. Ab-Ripper X is slowly becoming something to look forward to rather than a frustrating and maddening 15 minutes of failure, as I completed all the exercises (Even the Fifer scissors, albeit with lousy form) until the Heels to Heaven raise thingers, where I failed out about a quarter of the way in.

Results already...?
It's amazing what a regular exercise routine will do for your mental state of well-being, especially when you're combining it with healthy eating patterns and a good sleep schedule. Physical results probably aren't as obvious as I think they are, but it's incredible to think that a simple week of rigorous exercise and strict diet has made my mood and outlook so positive to the point where I'm starting to see perhaps-imaginary POSITIVE changes, rather than the self-destructive muscle dysmorphia I was stricken with when I was trying to lift heavy.

Morale is as high as it's ever been and on top of it I've been granted the luxury of having my cousin start his P90x journey as well alongside of me. He started a week later than I did but fortunately his workouts are going to coincide with mine since he started on a Monday. I just got word from him that he finished his first day of P90x, self high-five included, and it'll be great to have someone else's enthusiasm to feed off of for the rest of these 90 days.

Summer's just around the corner...

Ready for a title shot

Like my good friend Georges St. Pierre I must have a natural talent for kicking and punching due to my high-octane performance in Kenpo X which I completed less than an hour ago. I found the movements to be instinctive and the pace that the instructors set to be very natural and I think this really allowed me to boost the intensity of my punches and kicks. It helped to imagine I was fighting an actual opponent so that rather than tossing my fists and feet wildly towards my kitchen's walls, I was keeping my body tight and throws precise and aiming at a head or chest of...say... Dan Hardy. I think doing this established the proper mindset over the duration of the workout, because I found myself breaking out into a grin and even throwing a few headfakes between reps (showboating for the kitchen table, fridge and Blendtec). I performed it on the lino floor in barefeet and not only would I recommend doing it this way, I'm almost convinced that it's better for you. While the Plyometrics are difficult to do in barefeet for the first time, I think that Kenpo X is conducive to a more natural type atmosphere and the barefoot approach really helped me enjoy the workout that much more. As I get more flexible I'm sure my sidekicks will improve, since I could barely get my leg over the height of my waist to start, nevermind throw them with any kind of power behind them (GSP would catch the kick, shoot, and finish me in about 4 seconds. Actually, he'd probably just check my kick and I'd fall down)

As usual I had a healthy sheen of sweat once I was finished and required a towel/water several times throughout that workout. HOWEVER, I don't think I got to nearly the same level of exhaustion that I did with Plyometrics or even some of the resistance workouts. While this one had my heartrate at about 120 (and 140 after the flurry of punches to close), I think Plyometrics nearly stopped my heart entirely. It's not to say that Kenpo X is easy, but I found myself having more fun doing it than any other exercise in P90x yet and I can't wait until my chance to do it next time. I might see if I can find some cool fighting gloves or shorts so I can feel like I'm in the Octagon, then once the workout's finished I'll do a backflip before speaking to a fake audience in a heavy French Canadian accent.

Legs and Back...

Legs and back was probably my most uneventful workout to date. I came into the workout a little bit hungry and I think it played with my mind a little because I WASNT as intense on the pullups or the wall-sits as I think I could have been. Wall-sits, for the record, are what one would do in a Lost Eternity...I really really really hate doing them. This whole workout in general (minus the pullups) seems like a good way to build strength in your legs, however mass gain is not really going to happen doing bodyweight exercises like they suggest. I'm tempted to maybe swap out a few exercises with some plain old-fashioned leg presses or squats, and try to blend it in with the rest of the routine...what do you think?

Ab-Ripper is steadily getting better for me and I go deeper and deeper into the routine before tiring, although I only got about 10 reps into the Fifer Scissors before I had to put my legs down this time. Next time I'm shooting for the entire Fifer Scissors exercise...no excuses. (Side Oblique Raises still kicked my A).

I've got Kenpo X this morning and will most likely supplement it with a shopping trip to Costco X. I might have to pick up a new jacket at the Mall X and will probably see if I can meet up with some of my friends later for Supper X.

P.S. I had my first bad-eating day tonight, where I had Pizza with my relatives. Pizza and Nanaimo bars. Pizza and Nanaimo bars while doing ukrainian Pysanky (egg painting with wax, etc etc google it) and a bowl of chocolate covered almonds. I'm not too worried though, since I know for a fact that I don't have nearly enough fat to last me for a whole 90 days of this routine.

Also...

I feel fantastic this morning. Yoga right before bedtime might become part of my routine.

If someone says Warrior or Downward Dog one more time, I'll cry...

Yoga X

Yoga X wasn't at ALL what I expected. Not even close.

I didn't get home until about 10:30 and was worried I might miss my first P90x workout 4 days into the program. Thinking that Yoga X was a fringe-type exercise, I was half considering blogging about it the next morning and saying how "relaxing and rejuvenating" it was, etc, and not actually DOING it. Not only would that have been a lousy blog post, but all 5 of my readers would then know I skipped it because I'm sure all 5 of them are way less ignorant about Yoga than I was before I pushed play...

I consider myself to be a pretty flexible guy, considering I play as a hockey goalie in winter (No, not field hockey) and I figured that this exercise would basically be a few stretch moves held for ultra-long periods of time and some "Ohms". I had no idea that 95% of my clothes would be off before I was halfway done and that I'd leave a sweaty wet spot on my bedroom floor after I was finished. Heck, I was so ignorant that I almost went straight to my Aunt and Uncle's place from the office without a change of clothes, thinking that I could do Yoga while babysitting my little cousin Roman in my business-casual attire. Not only would I have most likely split my only pair of slacks over $100.00 from seam to seam, but I would've been able to change all Roman's hyper-colour Hot-wheels into whatever their "heat sensitive" colour was with a drop of my sweat. (No Yoga got done while there anyway...Lego, Batman and hyper-colour Hotwheels really DID take up most of the evening).

Overall, it was a very new and refreshing experience for me and I'm looking forward to trying it again. A few things that are a bit of a bother are the length of the video (Nearly an hour and a half) and some of the ab moves they throw in at the end. To me, they just served to further aggravate the whipping I gave to my abs the day before with A-Rx, so I couldn't really do them justice. I found that the recovery period between the two wasn't QUITE long enough for me.



In closing:

-I think I sweated nearly as much during Yoga X as I did while doing Plyometrics and am finding that most of my "workout clothes" are too bulky and restrictive for most of these exercises. I think it's a fine time to hit Lululemon up for some pants and a mat...

-I need some Hyper-Colour Hotwheels

-Canucks 3 Sharks 2

Just finished day 3! Overhead presses, anyone?

Another day, another notch on my P90x belt.

Shoulders and Arms

After work I quickly zipped home to change into my gear, hauled the Laptop downstairs and got into my routine. Shoulders and Arms was the workout tonight and after a quick warmup with Tony and the Gang (big fan of Drea, or whatever her name was) we got going. Right off the bat I realized that this workout was going to be a little trickier due to the weight selection being MUCH more crucial, and I found that I was often hitting pause to quickly switch up weights in the middle of a set after I realized I was going too heavy or too light. The first part of this workout doesn't give you a whole lot of time to write down your reps and weight in between sets, so next time I'll be a little more prepared to zap over to my P90x Workout Log (complete with Stoner Cookie-Cake Dog on the cover) and get my info down quickly during the first few movements.

All the exercises were pretty basic for biceps/triceps/shoulders, and I was glad they'd included curls, dips and shoulder presses since those three things are familiar and comfortable movements for me. I can see myself really bumping up the weight in the future for lower reps and higher intensity on these exercises, and I think this part of P90x is where one who's wishing to gain mass can really control the outcome. It's tempting to go to lighter weights, but think back to your heavy lifting days and realize that you were most likely doing 3 sets of 10 at a time anyway, it's easier to handle. I found that while I didn't seem to have that sick bicep pump I used to get after doing three isolation movements in a row at the Gym, my arms had definitely lost their strength in a more drawn out and consistant manner. Think of it as climbing a mountain slowly and steadily rather than dashing up a rope (Bad analogy? Cut me some slack, it's my third day).

AB RIPPER PART 2

Wow, it's amazing what one day of rest can do! Not only did I pass the Crunchy Frogs and whatever was after it without any problem, I didn't find myself hitting pause until about 6 exercises in! PLUS, I pretty much completed 25 reps of every exercise, except the one that targets the Obliques (The one where you're lying on your side) as I don't even think my Obliques can move in that direction. Holy fail, there's nothing more discouraging than trying to work a muscle you've never touched in your entire life. That being said, I'm MUCH more confident about my ability to do the Ab Ripper next time around, and I'm looking forward to seeing how far I can get before I have to hit Pause.

Just finished my shake and am about to hit the sack...still suffering a little bit of jet lag from Hawaii, so hopefully by the end of this weekend I'll have it licked and can really sock it to P90x on Monday!

Starting to feel it...

If my body was an NHL Franchise, 3/4 of my roster would be on the disabled list.

My butt is sore, my chest and delts are sore, my legs are sore and even my abs are sore. Whether this is a testament to the rigours of P90x or the unfortunate lack of exercise for several weeks leading up to P90x I don't know...all I know is that I'm definitely feeling it after the first two days. I've got more resistance training tonight (Shoulders and Arms) and I can't wait, even though I don't imagine it'll be nearly as grueling as Plyometrics.

Whenever I sneeze today, I wince...here's hoping I can get up off the mat to give Ab Ripper another honest shot.

Eating...
I believe in the "Calories in, Calories Out" way of thinking when it comes to nutrition, so as far as my diet goes I'm continuing with my modified P90x plan where I stay within 2,500 calories and shoot for at least a gram of protein per lb of bodyweight. I figure that if I'm hitting 160-180 grams of protein a day the rest of the calories I get from my carbs and fats will fill in the gaps (I like to load up a little on carbs before resistance training). I'm still eating "clean" but mainly just so I can spread my meals out as efficiently as I can and not lump too many calorie dense meals together. I'm not as hungry for lunch anymore and I'm also not eating as much at noon as I usually do which keeps me from hitting that post-lunch fatigue I used to experience back in the day. Granted, I'd cook a pound of ground beef and mix it with green peppers, rice and pasta sauce, so just in re-reading this passage I can tell P90x is already helping my portion control. (Kind of miss those days, but heck...the times they are a-changin').


Day three, going strong!

Plyometrics? More like Plyometricaust...

Just finished 5 minutes ago, and I can honestly say it's the hardest thing I've had to do in a while....I can't remember the last time my body has sweated this profusely. I have a metal and glass coffee table that I've set my laptop up on and as I rest my forearms on it's surface to type, the sweat they're excreting is enough for them to continue slipping outwards.

My knees gave me a little bit of trouble at the start but I'd like to think that near the end of the video they were loosening up a little and that if anything stabilizes the muscles around the Patella, these exercises will be IT. How cool would THAT be if P90x also helped out my knee issues...

I've got limited space in my house, so once it gets warmer out I'll probably consider doing these outside. I hope the neighbours don't laugh (harder) at me.

Can't wait for my next resistance workout tomorrow. Time to go throw up in the shower.

First day of P90x

Intro (or "Why I got into P90x, lol")

After a two week binge of fun and sun in Hawaii with virtually zero physical activity, I got tired of looking at my deliciously tan, yet sadly soft belly and chest, and decided to embark on the quest promoted by infomercials that have been the scourge of late-night televison: P90x. Having maintained an average to above-average level of physical fitness in the past made me wonder if P90x was something I should bother with, especially when such trendy fitness "fads" are frowned upon by the message board crew and serious BBers. Obviously their scorn had me concerned, but upon digging a little deeper I found out that those who poo-pooed it were the same ones who had no idea what kind of a physical demand it required of it's participants.

I found out that behind the meatheads, there were those who promoted an ideal state of overall fitness and agreed wholeheartedly with P90x and it's merits, as well as it's ability to help the participant continue on staying healthy AFTER they've finished their 90 days. Being healthier, to me, is definitely more attractive than just being "huge" and eating everything in sight to maintain that size. The heaviest I ever got to was just over 180 lbs, and after a couple months with a knee injury and the inability to do squats or deads I was back down to below 170. It was a serious morale-killer to see all my hard-earned weight disappear, and it became a struggle just to get back into the gym knowing that it'd take a LOT more work to get back to where I was, nevermind what it'd take to stay at that size.

With P90x, I'm convinced that it's going to take me to a physical state of being where I can be comfortable with my self image as well as allow me to continue to enjoy and excel at the high-octane activities I enjoy, like hockey, football, ultimate and crokinole. I find that I work out better with a bit of motivation and guidance, and following the DVD format of the exercises is a method that allows me to bear down on the task at hand and not let anything else distract me from what I'm trying to accomplish.

DAY 1 (including Fitness Test)

My fitness test (required by P90x before you start, to gauge your level of physical fitness) was uneventful, besides the fact that there aren't any ceilings high enough in my house for me to test my vertical, forcing me to go outside and awkwardly jump against the brick exterior of my place while people stopped and watched.

At the time, I was pleased with my 30 pushups and 12 pullups considering the length of time I'd gone without doing any significant chest or back workouts, but knowing what I know now I realize I'm going to be a pullup machine if I can get through 90 days of this.

The heart rate test went ok, and although I suppose my heartrate may have been a little high for a simple 2 minute jumping jack exercise (P90x'ers know what I'm talking about) I still managed to crank off the last "sprint" 30 seconds with a ton of intensity.

I managed 10 curls with 35 pounds and might have tried a little harder with 40's and probably could have hit 10 reps but I'm pretty sure my form would have sucked. My 35 lb curls were textbook.


First EVER P90x workout...Chest and Back.


Downstairs I go with my laptop and water bottle (light protein and carb meal from an hour ago sitting lightly in my belly) and my mood at a relative high. I plug in the Shoulders and Arms workout video, mash play and go to work, carefully following the examples delivered by the overly-jolly group of instructors on my screen.

It wasn't until about 8 exercises in that I realized I might be in trouble, as not only had I pretty much expended my pull-up power to the point where I was hanging limply off the bar like a retard, but I had also finished my water and developed a light sheen of sweat which I could do nothing about as I had neglected to bring a towel downstairs. The situation continued to worsen and soon the shirt was off and being used as a makeshift sweat-sponge, while the rest of my body continued to scream "HEY DOUGH-HEAD, STOP! WHAT'RE YOU DOING? OWWWWWW". I have to admit, I was not prepared for the wringer it put me through and it was all I could do to keep up with the four hambones on my computer screen.

After clearing away my dumbbells and rearranging the basement a little (as well as skipping upstairs for some more water and a towel) I tentatively began to attempt the scheduled Ab-Ripper X routine. S-word..... I didn't last long, because soon after the Crunchy Frogs (about the 4th movement in) I was hitting the pause button every few reps or so due to the screaming mass of molten flesh and tissue that was left of my stomach. I found that not only were the motions hard, but it was difficult to get the balance right on a few of the moves (With the bicycles, I kept switching up my legs involuntarily...) and I often would fall to my side or onto my back since the muscles that were supposed to hold me up were long gone. With this exercise video I found that I really had to focus my mind on my abdominal muscles, or else the rest of my body would start to kick in in and as a result my hip flexors, etc would to play a lot into the movements.




Anyway, I've downed a shake now and am relaxing on my couch writing this. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's pre-made meals (Look who's gung-ho...) and am excited to continue down the P90x road. Feel free to leave comments as you see fit. I'm not sure who all is going to read this but I'd like to have this on record to look back on while I'm mincing around the beach in a Speedo this summer, looking fantastic.