Day 31...Back/Bi's/ARX

I went over Jason's tonight for this workout and after Friday's fiasco I was kind of worried. There was a lot of Bicep curls tonight...probably every style of bicep curl ever invented. The curls were not the biggest challenge tonight though, it was the Corn Cob Pull ups. Those suckers are one of the harder exercises I've done in P90X. The bad part was that I chose them as the Max Rep pull up at the end of the workout...when I was already way out of energy. I did a max count of 7. And I barely finished the last rep.

I am definitely improving on Ab Ripper. The only exercises I still struggle with are the reverse bicycles, crunchy frog, and Heels to the heavens. Otherwise I am able to complete most reps on the rest of the exercises. I'm getting better!

Today's Meals

Breakfast: Cheese scrambler with turkey bacon and wheat toast. OJ and coffee black.

Snack: 2 pieces of string cheese

Lunch: Leftover spaghetti

Snack: Protein Bar. Accelerade after workout

Dinner: Sirloin burger on wheat bun, with tomato, lettuce, ketchup, and mustard. Served with Grillin' Beans and a pickle.

More Yoga tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it. That hour and a half has become very therapeutic for me and the challenge it presents makes for one hell of a workout! Have a good night!

Day 29...Chest/Shoulders/Tri's/ARX

With Phase 2 starting today I felt it was a great time to gloat over my minor accomplishments...pat my back a little bit. After all, I just completed 28 days of really challenging workouts and I felt that I had taken the worst that P90X could throw at me...........and then I did today's workout....

Any thoughts of P90X being a piece of cake from this point on were thrown right out the window the minute I started the Chest/Shoulders/Tri's workout. Holy Shit!!!! THIS is a friggin' challenge! I was starting to struggle three exercises in and the nearest break was nine away...this wasn't good! And then came Pike Press. I did five reps....FIVE!! 

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!"

...was what I yelled as I completely forgot about all of my Phase 1 triumphs and faced a sobering fact...I have 60 more days of this shit! All the push up exercises were harder in this workout, the triceps exercises were VERY challenging, and I was struggling every step of the way. This was not how I expected to begin Phase 2 but I guess this is how it is. It's like going back to Day 1. So I have resigned to the fact that this will continue to push me to my physical limits and I am glad for that...because that is what will yield the desired results. 

And today I welcomed the return of Ab Ripper! Woo hoo!! I busted out full reps on Bicycles, Hip Raise, Wide leg sit ups, Mason Twist, and ALMOST all of the V-Up's. Fifer scissors, Crunchy Frog, and the sit up/V-up combo's still elude my abilities...but I'm getting better! Recovery drink was a needed addition to today's festivities.

Today's Meals

Breakfast: Cheese Scrambler with Turkey Bacon. OJ and coffee black.

Snack: Protein Bar

Lunch: 2 PB&J sandwiches

Snack: Accelerade

Dinner: Chicken Burrito from the Nutrition Plan...which is delicious! I highly recommend it!

So tomorrow is the return of Plyometrics! And Sunday I will join Jason for the last new workout, Back/Bi's/ARX. This is going to be a tough week but I am looking forward to these new challenges.....still though.......

...F**k the Pike Press...

Day 19...Legs/Back/ARX

Today was my final day of Resistance training until week 5 so I tried to really Bring It today. Key word there is "tried," because this is my least favorite workout. I'm just not a fan of lunges...there's nothing else I can say. The three position lunges and the ISO Lunges kick my ass every time. I increased my rep counts on all of the pull ups and was able to do full reps on the Seiber Speed Lunges, so I was happy about that. 

Ab Ripper is a pain in the ass after doing legs. I felt really whipped and had a tough time with the Heels to the Heavens and the Scissors. I'm consistently doing the full 50 reps on the Mason Twist and I was finally able to do all 25 reps of the Wide Leg sit ups. So I am seeing improvement, it's just a little at a time. 

Today's Meals

Breakfast: Whole Wheat English muffin with peanut butter. Orange on the side.

Snack: Protein Bar

Lunch: Two PB&J sandwiches with skim milk.

Snack: Accelerade after workout. 

Dinner: TACO NIGHT!! El Paso Taco Dinner kit made with black beans, lettuce, tomato, sauce, and jalapenos. No meat or sour cream for me so they were relatively healthy...and DELICIOUS!!

Kenpo tomorrow with an optional X Stretch on Thursday. After that it's Recovery Week and my first foray into Core Synergistics. Also I tried on a pair of pants today and I was amazed at how big they were on me. That is a GREAT sign!! The results are starting to show and I couldn't be happier! Until tomorrow...good night!

Day 17...Shoulders/Arms/ARX

Happy Easter everyone! Well, it's always tough trying to eat healthy during holidays and today was no exception. I was doing great until I had to go over my future in-laws house for dinner and they made Lasagna. So I ate it...absolutely delicious! Probably not very healthy because of all the cheese but I bet it's better than eating out. I know what you're going to say and frankly I don't give a crap. I'm a fan of making excuses so whatever...I enjoyed my lasagna thank you very much!

My living room was becoming crowded and cluttered with all the equipment I am using for P90X, and it's also tough on my feet and ankles when I have to do Plyo on the bare floor. So I turned my second bedroom into a workout room today. I had an extra TV that was in the basement and now I can do my workouts in privacy and without my feet taking a beating because the room is carpeted. Shoulders/Arms was a tough one today with the inside/outside fly's, in particular, being a big challenge as I tried to maintain perfect form by not bending my elbows. Perfect form was my goal today instead of increasing the weight. I increased rep counts from last week and was able to push out 26 reps on each arm during the side tricep extensions. I was pretty sapped of strength by the time Ab Ripper started that I was struggling big time during bicycles. I managed to push for full reps on the Hip Raise and the Mason Twist again. That made me happy!

Today's Meals

Breakfast: Cheese Scrambler with turkey bacon. Piece of wheat toast and Juicy Juice.
Snack: Protein Bar.
Lunch: 2 PB&J sandwiches with skim milk. Apple on the side.
Dinner: Homemade lasagna. We ate dinner kind of early so it screwed up my meal times a little bit. No second snack for me today.

Easter with Steph's family was fun. The dinner was delicious and I won $48 bucks playing Egg or No Egg...which is basically their version of Deal or No Deal...instead of briefcases to open, we open plastic Easter eggs. And her Mom isn't a bald person named Howie...so I guess there are some differences. Last year I only won 5 bucks so it was a definite improvement this year!

Yoga X tomorrow...time to burn some of that lasagna off! My friend Paige and his girlfriend Trista are now doing P90X lean and from what I can tell Trista is not a fan of the Superman Banana in Core Synergistics...which I have on Friday...I can't wait! Later.

Day 12...Legs/Back/Ab Ripper X

The days are just flying by aren't they? Not really, but I'm trying to forget the fact that it's snowing outside today...in April...technically Spring. When I'm at day 90 it'll be summer and I will be much happier. Just have to take it one day at a time.

Today was Legs/Back/ARX again and it was easier this week. I think all the Plyo and Yoga is increasing my leg strength because I was able to complete most of the exercises with full rep counts. Two position wall squats were still very challenging but at least I was able to push through the pain this time without taking a break. The good news is I only have to do this workout one more time next week and then I get a couple weeks of break from it...which is nice.

Ab Ripper went great today! I struggled in the beginning because the bicycles use the legs and mine were feeling the burn from the workout. However, when it came time to do the Mason Twist I was FINALLY able to do all 50 reps!! I collapsed to the floor and yelled out in triumph! HEYAHH!!! Great feeling indeed! I had my recovery drink as a reward and I will chill out tonight with Steph and a glass of wine...I love days off!

Today's Meals

Breakfast: Cheese Scrambler with turkey bacon, wheat toast, and Juicy Juice.

Snack: Protein Shake (Whey and Skim milk)

Lunch: Vegetarian Chili. Steph's recipe and it's delicious!

Snack: Accelerade and 1 piece of string cheese.

Dinner: Chicken Pita from the Nutrition guide. I love it!

I received my P90X protein bars today and I will use them as my a.m. snack here and there. I needed more protein so this will be a great addition to my plan. Tomorrow is Kenpo X again, which I am looking forward to, and then I will only have one more before I get the rest week. Later.

Day 10...Shoulders/Arms/Ab Ripper X

I am exhausted right now so I think I'm going to make tonight's post short. It's about 11:30 pm, I just got home from watching Wrestlemania (Which sucked by the way), and supposedly we are getting 3-6 inches of snow tonight...in APRIL!! Yayyyy!! I love Michigan weather.

Tonight's Shoulders/Arms workout was tougher than last week for some reason. I actually was under some of last week's rep counts on a couple of the exercises which bugged me. Whatever the reason, I still tried my damnedest to get through the exercises with perfect form...which in this workout is very important. When performing the Fly's you need to control the motion to achieve the most results, but a lot of times you end up using your back and swinging your arms, which cheats yourself out of the move. Maybe I wasn't maintaining perfect form last week and that's the difference? Whatever the case may be, I got through it and it was still a great workout. Ab Ripper was Ab Ripper. I did full rep counts on bicycles and wide leg sit ups, which was a major accomplishment for me today. I'm still striving to improve on the "Heels to the Heavens" and especially the Mason Twist.

Today's Meals

Breakfast: Cheese Scrambler from Nutrition guide, with Turkey bacon and Juicy Juice.

Snack: Protein Shake (Whey and Water)

Lunch: Turkey Samich on wheat with Romaine, Tomato, and mustard. Apple on the side.

Snack: Two Activia Raspberry Yogurts.

Dinner: Don't judge me but I had 3 slices of Pizza and a couple of wings from B Dubs. And 2 Miller Lights....if I don't treat myself once in a while I will fail at this Nutrition thing. I'm not making excuses...well, maybe I am...who the hell cares if I am or not? I've lost 5 lbs. and I was hanging out with friends for Wrestlemania...pizza just fits into that equation. And by the way, it was friggin' delicious!

I have Yoga X tomorrow and then I have two days off of work! Too bad there will be snow on the ground. Later.