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.