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.