P90X Week Nine

Monday - 1 Mile Run
Started my run schedule, very slow, very carefully.

Tuesday - Chest & Back / ARX + 1 Mile run
Had a tough day today, great with the back...slightly a bit better than Week 3 for push ups. As of Tuesday PM, I'm sore. Unclear as to why I didn't make the progress I was anticipating. Made SOME increases in push ups, but just not as much as I was hoping for. Kind of disappointing and frustrating. Was unable to complete ARX...was just fried, and couldn't finish. Again, frustrating. Very good progress with back, SEEMINGLY no progress with push ups, and a step back with ARX.

Wednesday - Plyometrics + 1 Mile Run
Went about 85% for most exercises. Did not do the one leg jump (over the creek), or hot foot. No issues with the calf. Good to get back into this workout. 1 Mile run not that much fun.

Thursday - Shoulders & Arms / ARX + 1 Mile Run
Had a very good shoulder/arm workout this AM. Increase in all weights in either lbs or reps. Had no time for the run or ABX, so I did those in the evening when I got home from work. Finished ABX very strongly, making me feel better after Tuesday's debacle. Overall, a strong gain today.

Friday - Yoga + 1 Mile Run (BOWDEN DAY!!)
Can't believe I got up at 4:10AM to d othis workout. Did the abbreviated workout, with no Yoga Belly 7. Finished up with a nice mile run. Bowden Day was great.

Saturday - Legs & Back / ARX + 1 Mile Run
Back portion was great, tough but great. Legs are always tough, and my tail and quads (as of Sunday PM) are still sore. ARX went fine as well, so it must have been a one-shot deal with my difficulties on Tuesday. Mile run was easy. Overall, a good gain.

Sunday - Kenpo X (did in PM)
Was excited to do this workout, as I had a nutritional breakdown for lunch (two slices of cake, some greek salad (w/ potato salad!!). Was just excited to workout out and by the time I Was done had sweat pouring off me.

NUTRITION
Have no summary right now, as I don't feel like calculating it. Probably will do tomorrow.

P90X Week Eight, Recovery Week

Week 8 - Recovery Week
This was, without a doubt, my worst nutrition week I've had. Not that I ate too much, but I just didn't eat right. Travel, coupled with some extenuating circumstances just left me in a position where I wasn't strong enough to have the discipline. I did have the nads to complete all the workouts, getting up too stinking early...but oh well. A few general notes:

- This week will be challenging because it's Bowden Day in Tampa on Friday. And since I'm in charge of the whole thing, Friday is almost a complete loss...but we'll worry about that on Friday.
- I had to change the schedule around a bit from the plan. It was a must to be able to complete the week.
- I started running on Monday, only one mile a day for two weeks, so it won't impact my ability to complete the program. But it's time to get back in tri shape.

Monday - Off

Tuesday - Yoga X
Finally got a mat and was able to do this workout in the garage on the matt. Made a difference as I wasn't slipping on the carpet and all. Worked up a good sweat. Not easy, but I'm very glad I didn't quit this aspect of the program.

Wednesday - Core Synergistics
This is an awesome workout. Like I said last time, I wish it happened more frequently, as every four weeks doesn't seem enough. I'm certain I did more reps than last time.

Thursday - Kenpo X
No change, and while I like this workout, I can sense internally that I'm tiring of it a little bit (not getting tired, but getting a bit bored).

Friday - Core Synergistics
Woke up at 5 to do this, drove to Charlotte that day for family stuff. Glad I was able to do it. Again, this is no recovery workout.

Saturday - Off
Nutritional breakdown big time. Fried fish and cole slaw for lunch and 5 slices of pizza for dinner.

Sunday - Yoga X
If you would have told me two months ago that I'd VOLUNTARILY wake up to do yoga at 5AM before a 10 hour drive, I'd have told you that you were nuts. Well, that's exactly what I did. Minor nutritional breakdown this day.

Monday - Off
No P90X, just did a 1-mile run.

Nutrition
No data this time

This last phase, I'm going to try to average 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat for the diet. Week 9 is the original workout in Phase 1, Week 10 is the workout in Phase 2, repeat. So, chest/back is tomorrow. I can't wait to workout tomorrow to see the progress I've made.

From a "how I look" standpoint, I have lost weight, trimmed and tightened up, but would most likely need to do this program again completely to see the results I would like to see. That's not going to happen, since I'm goiing to be focusing on triathlon again, while incorporating some p90x workouts. But if I focus on nutrition, I'll be fine.

This week, like I said, is Bowden Week. Friday (Yoga Day) might be a loss, since I'm not going to want to wake up at 4AM to do yoga. Saturday (Legs/Back) will be a tough one, because I'll be whipped from the day before. Just one of those things where I'm going to have to suck it up and deal with it. Can't wait to fill you all in on my progress...

Week 7

Week 7 Summary

General Comments:
- I like the music in Kenpo X. I'm pathetic.
- I'll never be able to do one-arm push ups.
- I have injured my left birdie finger; it hurts so bad I can barely do pull ups, and the 'outside' part of it by the big knuckle is a bit numb. Not good.
- I was expecting a tough/bad week, from a results standpoint, but that wasn't the case. I had a good week.
- Had a tough week schedule wise, as this was my Holy Week, so nutrition was a complete mess, from a P/C/F ratio perspective. All considered, did fine here.

Tuesday - Chest, Shoulders, Tris / Ab Ripper X
This was a surprisingly good day. Almost all sets had increased reps and/or weights. The ones that didn't were almost all after a gain in the previous set. Felt fried after this. Did complete Ab Ripper workout, no rest. Overall, a gain from the previous week.

Wednesday - Off
Went to pool to swim and it was closed. By the time I returned home, it was too late to workout, so I had to take a day off, as I had a meeting that evening that prevented me from working out then. Was the first workout I missed. Not happy.

Thursday - Back & Bi's / Ab Ripper X
Left birdie finger is in pain, so it affected me somewhat. But I was able to get through it. Nearly all sets were at least the same as week prior, with no setbacks. Very pleased at results of this day. Fully completed ARX. Overall, a gain today.

Friday - Yoga X
Was unable to do complete workout, so I did the abbreviated version. Was pretty fried from the back/bi workout. Just pleased I was able to do it.

Saturday - Legs & Back
Was a tough day, but again made progress. Had a great back workout. As I write this (Monday night), legs/glutes are still really tired. I think this is the toughest workout of this series. Did ARX, and was unable to go the whole way through...would take a 5 second break, and was just unable to do it. Was still sore this AM from this workout.

Sunday - Off
Had a long evening at Church on Saturday, so I took the day off. Did Kenpo Monday AM. Not ideal, but couldn't miss it.

NUTRITION:
Like I said above, Church commitments reeked havoc on my nutrition, but that was okay. The numbers below do not include Sunday, as I hate a whole lot of crap. Had no way to measure (or had no desire) cake, ice cream, sugar cookies, etc.
Calories - 1871
Carbs - 172
Fat - 55
Prot - 174
Dates covered: 4/13 through 4/18

P90X, Week 6

This past week, at least the latter part of it, proved to be a tough week. Week 7 will prove to be the most difficult week of this cycle; this is my Holy Week, and there are a lot of Church services that I go to, some early, some late. I’ll just have to suck it up and deal with it…next week (Week 8) is a recovery week. And my whole family is back in town, adding some much needed normalcy to life. So, focus and discipline are the keys of this week. But back to last week:

Tuesday: Chest/Shoulders/Tris & Ab Ripper X
While this day wasn’t easy, it went better than Week 5. I realize that in this phase, my chest (or back for that matter) doesn’t get the work it needs because I’m stressing my arms so much. By the middle of the workout, my shoulders and tris are so fried that I can barely do 10 push ups. Still, an overall decent day. Completed the full Ab Ripper. Overall, No major gains, no major losses. Thanks to a full Ab Ripper routing, this is a small positive gain.

Wednesday: Plyometrics…ACTUALLY SWIM
Decided against Plyo today with my sore calf. I didn’t want to take any chances in re-injuring so I went to the pool in the am to get in a good workout. Not quite as intense as plyo, but got the job done. Funny, I missed Plyometrics…or at least the challenge of trying to finish it. This is my first workout that I’ve “missed” up to this point.

Thursday: Back/Bis & Ab Ripper X
This day is brutal for me. Basically, curl-curl-pull up-row. Do that 4 times, and that’s this workout. I again used the gardening gloves and this helped. I didn’t lose any ground on the pull up exercises, and upped the arm weights a bit. But again, the back was sacrificed a bit by the arm workout. Am having some serious pain in my right birdie finger. Tough to grip anything. Unsure if it’s the gloves or something else. Looking back, I had some small gains here. Overall, a gain here.

Friday: Yoga X
Did whole routine in the evening. No back discomfort. Yoga Belly 7 sucks. Overall, a positive gain.

Saturday: Legs/Back
I think this day is the hardest for me. As I type this (Monday), my glutes are still sore. Made progress on pull ups (total of 8 sets of pull ups), and I did ~10 per set (some assisted). Had to pause the tape a couple of times. Did NOT do calf raises. Birdie finger still hurts really bad. Was gassed…did NOT do Ab Ripper. Overall, a positive gain.

Sunday: Kenpo X & Ab Ripper
Again, in garage with fan only. Sweat up a storm, and HR was elevated. Completed all Ab Ripper. Good day.

NUTRITION
Ate out once or twice and had some home cooked meals. So, while the numbers are what they are, I’m not as confident that they’re accurate. Still, they are ball park figures, so while I'm trying to be anal about it, it's difficult when I'm not totally sure what ingredients (was it butter or oil?) make up the menu. Bottom line is that I need to continue doing what I’m doing. While ~200g of protein is my goal, if I’m close, I’m not going to sweat too many bullets about it. I'm feeling pretty good, and losing fat, while beginning to see some muscle definition. And when I start tri-training again, all calorie intake will need to increase. Fat was elevated because of two specific days that I ate out…but those meals were so good!! Averages:

Total calories: 1970
Carbs: 174
Fat: 68
Pro: 168

Got to get through this week to the recovery week.

P90X, Week 5

PHASE TWO
So Week 5 starts Phase 2, Days 1&3 are changed up, all the rest are the same. I was anxious to get back in workout mode after last week's recovery week.

Tuesday - Chest, Shoulders & Tri's / Ab Ripper X
There was a 45+ year old lady on the video, she was the "beginner" level, and that's not been on any videos before. Bottom line...this lady was doing one-arm push ups and I couldn't do one of them. Felt great for the ego.

I was unable to do one-arm push ups AND "clap" push ups (only did 4 of those). To be honest, I was worried I'd fall flat on my face. And in my garage, with the concrete floor, that wasn't a fun thought.

This day was brutally difficult. All press-type moves, which is really a weakness of mine. By the end, I was able to do about 4 push ups. Did full Ab Ripper routine. Overall, a push (no gain, no loss). Looking forward to this workout again.

Wednesday - Plyometrics
This day will never be easy as long as you continue to bring an effort. I ended up pulling a calf muscle and was barely able to walk the next day. Pulled on the one-leg jumps (like jumping over a puddle).

Thursday - Back & Tris / Ab Ripper X
Alternating pull up/row/curl set/curl set. Brutal. First pull up set, I was able to crank out 10 (a lot for me). By "set 2" I was able to do 6. By the end of the workout, I was doing one pull up. My arms were fried...I was able to work them hard, but to the detriment of the back sets, specifically the pull ups. Bi's were sore for two days after. Did full Ab Ripper routine. Overall, another push.

Friday - Yoga
Did full routine, to give it one more shot. No back pain, so I'll continue. A major gain from the last four weeks.

Saturday - Legs & Back / Ab Ripper X
I decided to wear gloves, specifically, my manscaping gloves. They have rubber 'palms', so it was easier to grip my gym rings for pull ups. Made a difference. Each set I was able to do 8 pull ups (some assisted). Legs day is a tough one, lots of burning and sweating. Heck, my HR is higher on this day than Kenpo. By the workout's last set, I hurt so bad I was literally in tears. No joke. Did full Ab Ripper routine. Overall, a big gain today.

Sunday - Kenpo X
Finally really worked hard this day. The difference...was in the garage, no AC and it was hot in there. Worked my tail off. I also am realizing that I'm unable to kick as well with the left leg as I am with the right leg. Just an interesting observation. Overall, a big gain today.

NUTRITION
Weekly average (3/30 to 4/5)
Calories - 1964
Carbs - 170
Fat - 58g
Protein - 184

I was having dinner with a buddy last night and we agreed that it was just difficult to hit 200g of protein a day if you're eating properly. So, I'm pleased with the above numbers. Progress continues.

P90X Week Four, Recovery Week

So, after three weeks of tough work, I got a needed recovery week. I was sore and tired from a lot of travel and I was able to still workout hard and effectively. So, I was thankful for a break. What I didn’t realize is that two of the days in this “break” were as hard as any other day. On to the abbreviated recap…

Tuesday - Yoga X
Did the same shortened version, and felt good for the first time. No back issues the next day. Dare I say, I’m improving in Yoga??

Wednesday & Saturday - Core Synergistics
This is no recovery workout. Frankly, I wish it was a weekly staple, as this is a tougher, more complete core workout than Ab Ripper X; by that I mean it more completely works the core area. ABX “only” works the abs. I’ll take core. Various rolls, pushups, lunges…vey challenging workout, and one that I’ll continue to use well after my P90X time is done.

Thursday - Kenpo X
I still enjoy this workout, it’s a change of pace, although I can’t imagine ever getting my HR up to 160 like Tony does. Regardless, I sweat like a pig here, and feel like I’ve gotten a good workout when done.

Friday - Stretch X
Okay day, but I’ll stick to the stretching routine that makes more sense for me. Nothing wrong with it, but I’ll take a pass.

Sunday - Yoga X
So, I decided that since I had roughly three weeks of okay Yoga work, and that the last time I did it, I experienced no pain or discomfort; I went with the full blown Yoga X workout. Do about 500 pushups, and warrior poses (kind of like leaning squats), a lot of sun salutations (leaning over to touch your toes), and other poses. I felt okay through this, and by the end of the workout, I was sweating up a storm and new that I had a great workout. But…

I get into the shower and all of a sudden my back feels funny. I’ve experienced this before, and right now (2PM on Monday) my back is so sore I can barely walk. So, it’s official…no more yoga for me. Unless I’m standing next to a teacher (highly unlikely). I’ll substitute swimming instead. Too bad, but it’s not worth it.

Nutrition
Goals: 2000 calories, (225g protein, 150g carbs, 56g fat)
Averages for the week: 1791 calories (175g protein, 175 carbs, 44 fat)

So, I’m still not hitting the target with my nutrition. It’s been more challenging to hit this mark. But a slice of pizza here, a few too many grapes another day. And one of my “meals” every day (a nutritional supplement taken with apple juice) strays it automatically. While I’m not exactly on target here, I’m close enough and happy with where I’m at. I’ve lost inches on my waist, since all my pants fit better, which is where it really counts. I mean, I could eliminate a plum or wheat bread…but my calories would be WAY too low, and that wouldn’t be any good either. Also, it’s entirely possible that my numbers aren’t 110% accurate. They’re close enough to use as a tool, but the tracking site I’m using (mydailyplate.com) has some variance in it, so I’m just being as consistent as I can with data.

All in all, a good recovery week, except for Yoga yesterday, as I was able to rest up a bit and recharge my batteries. I’m anxious to start Phase Two, with new/different lifting routines. Next week’s update to come next Monday.