21 Oct 09

Ok folks, it has been a while since I have worked out. I was able to power through the first two strength programs, chest/back and arms/shoulders without too much trouble. However, I did the legs/back routine today; wow did I pay the piper for not maintaining my conditioning. I am already dreading the ensuing pain from today's workout for the rest of the week.
Nevertheless, it was a great workout, loaded with sweat and total fatigue of my entire lower body. I look forward to a much needed day of rest tomorrow.

10 Mar 09 Day 61

I know I am supposed to do plyometrics on this day, but I just did not have it in me to do that jumping around. I am on the night shift, and it is really taking its tole on me this time. Nevertheless, I did get on the treadmill and ran at an elevation of 1.0 and ran at speeds between 6.5 and 8.2 for 45 minutes. The last 10 minutes I also traversed two sets of stair cases along with intense speed on the treadmill. After it was all said and done, I wonder if it would not have been wiser to just do the plyometrics after all.

9 Mar 09 Day 60

My goodness, day 60 already? Time has really flown by doing this spectacular program. Monday is a great workout for me on the rotation of P90X. The chest, triceps, and shoulders routine is such a challenging workout. I love the subtle pain that is felt from my deltoids all the way down to my lower pecs. This is my last week of phase 2. I will do a week of recovery and then knock out the final phase of the program.

8 Mar 09 Day 59

Yesterday was an unexpected day off. However, it is not the end of the world. I got back into the garage and found it to be so nice and warm for a change. I jumped right into the workout.
Even though the p90x legs and back is limited in the use of extra weight, it is still a real fanny kicker. As a matter of fact, the only weight I used were the 2 30# dumbbells and they really did the trick. I am sore already. I also increased my pull up numbers again.
In all honesty, the increase in pull ups speaks volumes for the success of the p90x program

5 Mar 09 Day 56

I did another round of p90x yoga. I am really beginning to feel comfortable doing the different moves, and I really enjoy the quick transitions from one pose to the next. As a matter of fact, now that I am more comfortable, I found that I could really concentrate on the breathing and stretching. As a result of the newly found comfort with the program, I started to sweat pretty early on and by the end of the 65 minutes I could dedicate to the routine, I was soaked. I am glad that I stuck with this particular portion of the program, and I really look forward to future results.

4 Mar 09Day 55

This is my favorite P90X workout, the arms and back. Not a routine for the meek, but really does make for a great routine. It is non-stop and works both body parts very thoroughly. I now know why it is in phase two of the program. I think I am going to do one more week of phase 2, do a recovery week and jump into phase 3, which looks like it will be 8 weeks.

3 Mar 09 Day 54

Today was supposed to be plyometrics, but I had the opportunity to go to the Y with the family. Also, I do not feel that there is enough cardio in the P90X program, so I opted to hit the treadmill. Additionally, I felt that I really need to follow a lesson that I learned. As a matter of fact it may be one of the most important lessons I have learned during my physical fitness journey.That lesson is that one must exit his comfort zone to see progress.
Of course, this does not always make workouts a lot of fun, especially on cardio days, or at least in my opinion. Nevertheless, I hit the treadmill today with an idea of getting out of my comfort zone and burning some serious calories. I used the program for random elevation and did my best to maintain a 6.5 speed regardless of the elevation. I did not have total success, I did have to slow down at times and even lower the elevation. However, my heart rate was pounding as much as 20 more bpm than if I was performing a tempo run at a consist speed and elevation.
After 60 minutes of the random elevation settings, I was really spent. I wont lie, I did want to quit a couple of times. I was even hoping that someone signed up for the treadmill and kicked me off, but no such luck. In the end, there was a true sense of accomplishment, and I am sure there will be a really good night of sleep.

2 Mar 09Day 53

Since yesterday was a total bust due to going to the hockey game and a bad snow storm, I decided that I would double it up today. I also wanted to see just how difficult 2 P90X workouts would be if completed on the same day .
Therefore, I did the chest, triceps, and shoulders as scheduled for today. This is a very challenging workout that really does not allow one to rest unless they hit the pause button. So I breezed through and even increased some of my weights.
Then, case round two, the back and legs routine. This is a grueling workout which is fast paced and moves from exercise to exercise. Fortunately, my pull up numbers have really begun to increase and everything else remained the same as in last week. Personally, I think the pull ups are the best over all exercise one can do, and they are definitely a show off exercise for the beach, but that will have to wait for another couple of months.
Happily, I made it through, but I was really spent. It is not something I would recommend for a first timer, but for an experienced P90Xer, I would say go for it, and really challenge your body and mind.

28 Feb 09 Day 51

Today is a Kenpo workout, but I decided to set my ring timer for 12 three minute rounds with a full minute of rest between each round. I hit both the double end bag and the heavy bag and incorporated kicks and blocks to increase my heart rate.
I am totally spent. I got little sleep and basically had a double day of workouts. The combination of it all has really have taken its tole on my bod. Off to sleep soon.

26-27 Feb 09 Days 49 & 50

Yesterday (26 Feb) I did the p90x yoga. I only did the first 45 minutes, but it is the best part of the dvd. I love the upward dog to the downward dog transitions. Great shoulder burn.
Today, I did the back and biceps routine. Wow do we work those biceps hard. It is one of the few times were I cannot wait to do pull ups just to give my arms a rest.
I have noticed that I need to concentrate a great deal more on my nutritional intake. The scale has shown a bit of an increase over the last couple of weeks. Time to reel that in before things get out of control again.

24 Feb 09 Day 48

I decided to give the treadmill a go today, but I used the programs on it. I first set it for random at level 16, wow, I was running at an elevation of 9.2. Needless to say, I hit the stop button and reorganized my thoughts. I hit the hill button at level 10 and had a great 50 minute run. I have to admit, the use of the program really contributed to a very challenging run. And, as all of the great trainers say, one has to get out of his comfort zone to make any progress.

23 Feb 09 Day 47

Well, finally back on track. I took a mini vacation down to South Carolina to see my oldest daughter. It was a great time, but between visiting her, the sites, and completing homework for my master's, there was little time for exercise. Therefore, I did not exercise for 3 days. All in all, it really felt good to take some time off, but my eating habits left much to be desired as well. The good news is, today is a new day and I am back on track.
I did the P90X chest, triceps, and shoulders. I am also starting phase 2 all over again. There is nothing to lose and lots to gain by adding an extra week or two. Beside, phase 2 workouts are so good, why not get a little extra.

19 & 20 Feb Days 45 &46

Yesterday (19th) was legs and back. All I can say is my glutes and calves are screaming. The back routine I like because it is a bit watered down in comparison to the back and bi routine. However, those switch grip pull ups really take their toll on the body

Today, (20th), is my day off. I traveled down to South Carolina to see my oldest. So, I have been visiting her, eating like a pig and just overall being bad.

Tomorrow will be run and some yoga or some type of P90X routine.

18 Feb 09 Day 44

The bicep and back routine for P90X is such a great workout in my humble opinion. This is a non-stop fanny kicking routine that just keeps attacking the muscles. I know I will be sore tomorrow.
Also, just as I thought, the number of pull ups I am doing has increased greatly now that I am back in the swing of things. The week of "recovery" as the program calls it did set me back a little, but the rewards now are fantastic.

17 Feb 09 Day 43

I was supposed to do the P90X plyometrics, but I decided to do some interval running and then a couple of lifts and called it a day. I went to the Y and set the treadmill for an elevation of 1.5 at speed of 6.5 for ten minutes. For the remaining 40 minutes I set the treadmill at 2.0 and completed the following intervals of 1.25 minutes at 8.1 followed by 2.25 minutes at 6.5.
Following this routine, I went into the weight room and completed four rounds of incline bench with 65# dumbbells followed by 4 sets of 3 repetitions of 285# dead lifts. A nice steam bath and hot shower to follow.
Keep on Keeping on!!

16 Feb 09 Day 42

Once again, I had to take my daughter the doctor's office. This is a 3 story building with a staircase that is very seldom used. So, I brought along my running shoes, shorts, heart rate monitor, mp3 player and ran up and down the three flights of stairs for 35 minutes. It was a tad warm in the stairway, but it was a good run nevertheless. Once I got home, I warmed up the frigid garage and started my second week of the phase two P90X. The chest shoulders and triceps is a tough workout, but i do really like it. I know I will feel the soreness in the AM. Keep on keeping on. 

New pics are up on photobucket too.

15 Feb 09 Day 41

It was an early workout today, I am off to an afternoon hockey game and needed to get my workout done so I can enjoy the game without having to worry about a late night workout. Kenpo with gloves and heavy bag; nothing is better. If you are ever looking to delve into the P90X program and you have the space, I highly recommend that you invest in a heavy bag. It makes the workout so much more fun and more realistic as well. Keep on keepin on and GO DEVILS!!

14 Feb 09 Day 40

I decided to take it easy today and did power yoga today and will do Kenpo tomorrow. I could not dedicate an entire 94 minutes to yoga today as the protocol calls for, but I did get in 70 quality minutes. I still want to get that crane down pat, but it will take some more practice. I was able to hold a full wheel for 25 seconds or so before having to go back to the bridge. By the end of this journey, I should be able to to both holds without any problems. Keep on keeping on!!

13 Feb 09 Day 39

Today was the grueling workout consisting of the legs and back P90X style. I have found that the week of recovery really set me back. My legs are super sore already and my pull up numbers were lower than the last week I did legs and back. I also did the ab ripper, and that my friend, is never a fun workout. However, it is so important to have that strong core to perform daily functions in life.

After I did the P90X, I set up the double end bag and boxed for eight 3 minute rounds with a minute of rest in between. I really did not have a lot of energy, but I pushed through and still had fun.

12 Feb 09 Day 39

A day of rest. Normally this day of rest would be on Sunday, but I am working on Sunday and I get an hour of workout time then. Therefore, I will take full advantage of working out on company time and relaxing on my own, if you get what I mean.