P90X Day 5

Back at it again today. Completed the "Legs and Back" workout, burning 842 calories. The workout has an interesting title. Perhaps I just thought "back" meant back exercises, but it's really just upper back, specifically PULL-UPS. Having lived through some absolutely crazy workouts with Insanity, and clearly remembering those "power jumps" that put you in your place, I can safely say pull-ups are the hardest thing I've ever done. I probably hadn't done a pull-up since I was in high school. Put simply, they suck. They're painful and awkward, and I'm just weak at them. They probably did 3-4 different kinds, for about 40-50 seconds at a time, spread evenly throughout the 1-hour workout. I could do 2-4 each time. The models were doing 10-20. Yikes! Some were easier than others. The close-arm forward pull-ups were the hardest for me. The wide-arm was easier. And the reverse pull-ups (i.e. chin-ups) were the easiest. But they were still all hard, and I will be one sore puppy tomorrow!

I suppose the elephant in the room is, "Where they heck have I been since last Thursday?", and you'd be right. I haven't worked out for a week. I have accepted the fact that because of changes in my job at work, I don't have as much time as I had back when I did Insanity. I will not get up early to workout. Sorry, but sleep is more important to me. Others may choose differently, but that's my choice. I do, however, continue to diet, and I've reduced my calories on days I'm unable to workout. I'm not going to set a goal for a number of days per week. I'm just going to do it every day I can, and continue through the P90X Lean schedule. If things quiet down and I can get on more of a schedule, I will do so.

Ok so perhaps there's one more elephant: "Why didn't I do the Yoga workout for Day 4?" The answer is simple: It's TOO long. I don't have 90 straight minutes of free time. I know it's a great, but hard, workout. I will do it when I can.

On a much more positive note, my weight has come down 9 pounds in the past 2 weeks, so I'm doing something right. Eating unlimited fruit and veggies, minimizing carbs, avoiding saturated fat, minimizing sodium (or at least trying to not eat more than you should), and trying to eat 4-5 meals a day....It's all working. I feel great, but I'm already sore. Tomorrow morning is going to be rough!

Til tomorrow!

Cardio Burn

Today's workout was supposed to be P90X Yoga, which is a 90 minute torture-fest (or so I hear). I simply did not have time for that, so I'll continue with Day 4 tomorrow. However, there was no way I was skipping a workout, so I pulled up the free workouts on Comcast On Demand, and found Cardio Burn, a 28 minute workout that started out very easy, but got to be almost Insanity level for a few minutes. I'll admit I was impressed. If you have Comcast, just go to the Fitness section, then find the Advanced Cardio workouts.

I burned 474 calories in only 28 minutes, with my heart rate peaking at 179 and averaging 149. With Insanity Month 2 workouts averaging about 60 minutes, the calorie burn rate is on par.

No picture today because it wasn't P90X.

See ya!

P90X Day 3

Tonight was Shoulders and Arms. I was also supposed to do Ab Ripper X but my abs were still sore from the past two days so I skipped it. My wife Meghan joined me again tonight, but the kids were nowhere to be seen. I guess once was enough for them!

I burned 713 calories. There no cardio whatsoever. It was pure weightlifting, but it was actually really fun! Tony Horton is a complete cheeseball. He reminds me of Steve Carell on The Office, especially (in previous workout) when he kept calling Pam "Blam". He even smirks at the camera. He's the fittest geek I've ever seen, but I'm enjoying his workouts.

It could not be more different from Insanity, in just about every way. The moves in P90X are trickier, and he doesn't give much instruction, so you really have to watch the people in the videos. I like how each of them do the exercise a bit differently.

That's it for now!

P90X Day 2

Day 2 of P90X lean and I just completed the Cardio X program. While I burned 587 calories, and my heart rate peaked at 179 and averaged 141, I wouldn't consider this to be a pure cardio workout. It was not only certainly easier than the Core Synergistics I did yesterday, but also much easier than any of the Insanity cardio workouts which have almost no rest whatsoever. Still, today was a good mix of yoga, kempo (punching and kicking), and plyo. We did some more "Superman Banana" (see yesterday's post) as well.

While it's far too early to judge P90X, there are some things that are already apparent. It will have less cardio than Insanity, as I already said above. I think this is pretty consistent with the "non-coach" reviews (if you can actually fine any online). But I think it will tone muscle, especially the core, much better. I definitely prefer the core moves in P90X over Insanity so far, but I haven't done Ab Ripper X yet (which comes later this week).

As for my diet today, I started with oatmeal as usual. I had a business lunch and did a salad with some shrimp on top, balsamic vinaigrette on the side. Lots of water today, but I did have a couple diet Cokes which I generally avoid. Dinner will be some turkey tacos once I cool down. I'll be in a more normal rhythm the rest of the week, with morning workouts and most meals at home.

I also restarted my favorite P90X recovery drink, which tastes as good as I remember!

Take care!

P90X Day 1

Just completed my first P90X workout, titled Core Synergistics. It was about an hour long, and was pretty much a full body workout with an emphasis on core. It had some cardio and some weight work, but the most memorable section was "Superman Banana". Yes, you read that right. It's basically two moves that alternate back and forth. Superman is you laying on your stomach, then lifting your arms, head, feet and knees off the floor. Then he says Banana, so you role over onto your back and do the same thing, keeping your feet, legs, head and arms up. It's a brutal core workout but it's kind of fun.

I'd say compared to Insanity, this was definitely easier, but that's probably because it wasn't so hard cardio-wise. Still, I burned 878 calories, with my heart rate peaking at 191 and averaging 149. That's a bit too high from a peak perspective, but that will improve over the next 2 weeks as I get back into some cardio shape. It's amazing (and disappointing) how quickly that fades! Good thing is, it comes back just as fast (or so I'm told!).

The bonus for tonight was we all did the workout, including the kids. Everyone finished it, too!

As for this blog, yes I will be doing it every day, and yes I will be including a picture. I just don't trust myself without it. And one more yes...yes, I'm wearing the yellow shirt again! (for those who read my last Insanity blog!)

Finally, I'll be dieting again. Back to about 4-5 meals a day. Low sodium. Low fat. Only good carbs. Lots of fruit and veggies. And I need it, having put about 10 pounds back on since I limped across the finish line of my second round of Insanity. It's great to be back!

A new beginning!

I'm back! After pretty much taking the summer off, the kids are back at school and I'm heading back to the basement. 

But no Insanity this time around! I swapped programs with my brother-in-law. He'll be doing Insanity, and I will be doing P90X! 

I put about 10 pounds back on over the summer, in large part due to the 7-day cruise my wife and I took. 

So I'll be doing the "lean" P90X which has more cardio then the "regular" P90X. 

I decided I need to blog to keep myself accountable, so I'll be posting 6 days a week with photos once again!

Wish me luck!