Day 11+ KenpoX to be Axed?

Before I get to today's workout plans, I just need to talk about yesterday's Legs&Back workout. HOLY COW. I did it at the gym and man-o-manchevits (and you thought I wouldn't be quoting Tony anymore) was it TOUGH! I did more pullups/chinups than ever before. I added curls to all the lunge sequences and half the time I was wondering if I should stop and let my body catch up or keep going to get it over with. I found that minute or two breaks were the key to making it through. Plus I saw some PSYCHO-LADY at the gym doing leg-raises (the ab kind) on the dip machine, but once her legs were raised she turned it into heels to he heavens. Not only did it look absolutely dreadful, but it looked physically impossible.

Oh well, back to today... Parents are arriving at 2:45pm, which means I get to leave work a bit early to go pick them up (YEAH!). But it also means I probably wont have any time this afternoon to do KenpoX. I guess I could have gotten up early and done Kenpo before I left for work... but there's a problem with that too. I just started played the Starcraft 2 Beta on my friend's account and I was up until 11 playing 2 rounds which I got absolutely annihilated. Everyone's a newb once right?

So we'll see. Perhaps my parents will be interested in knowing what I have been doing for the past 120+ days and will do Kenpo with me or watch me do it... but as far as I can tell at this point, Kenpo is going to be axed.

Tomorrow is rest day, Sunday is Upper and Monday is Plyo. And my parents leave Monday, mid-day. So I might lose 1 additional exercise.

Day 4+ KenpoX

I've reached 100 POSTS! Woohoo!

So looks like next week will be my official start to the P90X+ routine which has all new workouts and doubles and interval training and craziness that I can only imagine.

The past couple of weeks I have been doing P90X routines at the gym, since it's nicely air conditioned (and heck I'm paying for it). Well a lot of people have been asking me "Oh what's that you're doing?" or "What's a good stretch for (insert your favorite muscle group here)?" or "What program are you using?" and I tell them. But yesterday was a bit strange because one of the TRAINERS came up to me and was like "You'd make an excellent fitness trainer, have you ever thought about it" and I told him NO, because really I have a pretty good job and I don't think I'd switch to become a trainer. But the gears were turning in my head if I should take the course that certifies me... probably not my thing. Besides half the stuff I tell people to do is verbatum from Tony Horton, the other half is my crazy pre-P90X stuff I used to do.

Oh well, Kenpo tonight! Gotta get those 2.5lb weights out!

Day 108: KenpoX + Final Week Review

"Wessly only bleeds on the inside." -Tony Horton- KenpoX

1.Thursday - P90X Diet
2.Friday - P90X Exercises (Cardio)
3.Monday - P90X Exercises (Weight)
4.Tuesday - P90X Dedication
5.Wednesday - Tony Horton
6.Thursday - Results
7.Friday - Final thoughts (last day)

Time for another perspective - DEDICATION. This is ultimately what makes or breaks a fitness program. If you can't capture your audience or if you just have the personality that does not allow you to do something day after day after day, you're not going to see results. That applies to everything, not just diets and fitness.

"You can do anything for 30 seconds" but can you do anything for 90 days?

90 days is short for a workout program. But step back, it's not that short. It's 1/4 of a whole year. It's not like you'll be ripped and at the beach in a weekend. And it's most definitely not a miracle drug. Results take time, it takes effort, and it takes a lot of determination. It's as much of a mind game as it is a physical game.

P90X is a 7 days/week program.

Some people might consider exercise as "I'll just do it and get it over with" Watch out for this! It's very defeatist. You're telling yourself you don't like what you're doing. If you really want to make it to the end of 90 days, you really need to be excited about working out, or at least eager to reach your goals. Trying to get yourself to do something you hate is like teaching a cat to play fetch, its HARD.

The videos do a reasonable job keeping you coming back. You very often hear "KEEP PUSHING PLAY" which by most accounts is an effective way to get you rolling. Not in the mood to exercise? Push play anyway... sometimes you'll start doing the goofy warm-up march then (what seems like only moments later) it's over and it was actually not bad.

Missing days: try not to do it, especially early. If you start missing/skipping days in your first few weeks, it's hard to recover. You start justifying in your head that "Oh, I've already missed a day, so my perfect attendance is already blown. What's one more..." which ultimately turns into laziness and forgetfulness and 1 month down the road you've thrown in the towel or restarted from the beginning. It's best to stay on track as best you can and avoid any problems by adjusting your days accordingly. Can't make a Wednesday Yoga? Do it Saturday and skip StretchX. Your days got shifted around, but you still did all your workouts.

Going to Spain for 2 weeks REALLY through me off. Not only did I return weaker and fatter than I left, but I was much less motivated. I convinced myself that if I didn't start up immediately, I wouldn't start up. So I took it upon myself to really push hard to get back into the game. Long breaks/sickness really hinder your overall performance. I honestly think my results and motivation would be significantly better had the routine not been interrupted by my 2.5 weeks off.

Same goes for the diet. But I think it's easier to get back on track with the diet after a small hiccup. Just don't blow it by performing a weekend binge.

Was I dedicated? Let's put it this way, if I could chart my dedication (X being day, y being % dedicated/motivation) It would look like this:

--X--|--Y--
1 | 100%
10 | 100%
20 | 85%
30 | 100% - introduction to phase 2 EVERYONE LOVES CHANGE
40 | 100%
50 | 80% - about ready to leave for Spain
60 | 15% - in Spain
70 | 15% - in Spain
80 | 85%
90 | 75%
100 | 75%
108 | 65% - this last week I am so not motivated

It's easy to start strong and get pretty reasonable results and then crash after 30-40 days. Why not right? Well I think sticking with the whole program gives you better lasting results with habits which might stick with you. If you got do Phase 2 and stopped, chances are you've already returned to your normal diet and normal fitness routines (or lack there of). The longer and harder you invest your time, the longer and harder you will fight to maintain what you've worked for. You won't throw it all away at a moments notice.

Dedication can't be taught. It's just something you have to have. If you are thinking about doing P90X, set goals, ask yourself if it's something you can commit to, and be truthful to yourself and others. The best thing I have done to improve my dedication is to HOST THIS BLOG. Granted most of the people who read it I don't even know, and chances are I never will, and the blog writing process takes a lot of time... but it MAKES ME ACCOUNTABLE. If I skip a workout, I feel bad and that SHOULD be enough to keep me from skipping another, but having people read about my blunders makes me feel WORSE because I like to think they are on my side, they want me to succeed, and that they are struggling with similar problems.

So although just about any fitness program will help you lose weight / build muscle... if you can't stick to it, you won't get very far. So the big lesson of today is - Go get it. Want it. Just do it. Bring it. Keep Pushing Play. Get back on the horse. Man up. Get'er done.

Day 104: KenpoX + Final Week Report

"Invented, well not invented, introduced to me by DRRRREY-YAAH" -Tony Horton- Legs&Back

1.Thursday - P90X Diet
2.Friday - P90X Exercises (Cardio)
3.Monday - P90X Exercises (Weight)
4.Tuesday - P90X Dedication
5.Wednesday - Tony Horton
6.Thursday - Results
7.Friday - Final thoughts (last day)

P90X sends your body through 3 types of exercises; Cardio, Strength, and Stretching. I'm going to take the time to review and go over the effectiveness of the Cardio and Stretching exercises offered by P90X. The primary ones I will cover are: PlyoX, KenpoX, YogaX, and StretchX. Keep in mind these exercises are separated by a strength workout every other day.

By far the most effective cardio exercise in P90X is PlyoX "The Mother" as Tony would say. He's not lying. This is one of the hardest workouts in the whole program. Most people, who are not fit to start, cannot (or choose not to) do PlyoX. It really is designed for people who are already somewhat athletic. For those who don't know, Plyometrics is Jump Training. It's a lot of squat-jumps, lunge jumps, toe-taps, and it's designed to get the blood and sweat flowing. If you're doing PlyoX once a week, you will get stronger legs and burn a ton of calories, but unfortunately it's not for everyone. Some of the moves in PlyoX are a lot easier/harder than others. For example the three hardest are: Jump Knee Tuck, Switch-Run-Stance-Squats, and Rockstar Hops. Some of the easier moves are: Circle Run, Double Airborn Hiensmen, and River-Jumps.

Another cardio workout is KenpoX. Kenpo is very different from Plyo. It's a tae-bo style kick-boxing like workout. I found it to be very easy and required hand weights to increase the intensity. That's not to say I didn't benefit from the routine. Kenpo, although you think cardio, arms, and legs... it really works your core! I find my abs are tightest after doing Kenpo than they are after doing ab-ripperX. Perhaps it's all the body-turning punches or the balancing required to do an hour's worth of kicks. But the system works. Clearly being distracted with my arms and legs moving all over the place, I forget to realize the balance + core work required for me to stay upright. Kenpo also has a really long warm-up and cool-down, so the actual workout portion is very short. Great for those days when you just don't have enough time.

YogaX - what a great workout. Everyone dreads it because it's just too damn long. But when you do the moves and you breathe, do your vinyasa pushups, hold those poses, reach farther, stretch wider, it's a solid way to exercise. Prior to P90X, I had never done any yoga. Now that I have, I'm more inclined to believe it works. I like to think of yoga as ISOMETRICS. I doubt many of you are familiar with that term anymore, it's a dated exercise program that has you basically FLEX a muscle in a static position, which then helps strengthen it. A good example might be: pushing a wall or flexing your bicep for 1 minute. I think yoga works in a similar way. You're holding your body up in strange positions on one leg or face down and it does require strength to do that. Also I've been told Tony's yoga is just too hectic and not soothing enough to be considered "real yoga" but it worked for me, and each morning it's hit or miss whether I want to do it or if I'm just not feeling it.

One final cardio thought. All of these cardio workouts are "Get out what you put in" style workouts. If you're just doing the motions to make it through the DVD, you're not going to benefit. You really need to push yourself, JUMP HIGHER, PUNCH HARDER, STRETCH FURTHER. Without drive, these cardio routines are pointless. If they are too easy for you, add weight. If it's too hard for you, try to keep up as best you can, then take a 30 second break.

Lastly, StretchX. I only did stretchX twice. I don't have that strong of an opinion on it. I think most people skip stretchX. It's short, it's easy, and it's basically a watered down yoga. You don't have to skip it, but 6 outa 7 days is enough Tony for me. Kudos to anyone who is disciplined enough to include StretchX on that 7th day each week.

Day 97: KenpoX

"That's strength, that's flexibility, it's the whole friggen' 9-yards." -Tony Horton- Legs&Back

I think I am going to have to post a "Tony's Quotes" post. I'm realizing that by posting one a day, they are losing any kind of organizational quality. I think the next time I have some free-time at work, I'll try to put them together nicely into categories (or by video) and give everyone a nice bank of Tony quotes to work with. Feel free to add any quotes I haven't yet posted in the comments section, I'll add it to the list.

147.5lbs today, no changes from earlier this week. I do find I can see a six-pack sneaking its way out (about time too, program's almost over). I figure I have 1 more regular week and 1 rest-week left. Perhaps I'll throw in some ab-ripper-X's on my last rest week to finalize any definition down there.

The whole backpack thing is working well. My numbers are way down, but it's super hard. Legs&Back is always challenging, but adding 25lbs really takes it up a notch. I 'll be taking pictures tomorrow, hopefully they'll be good!

Father's day this weekend. I won't be going home to see him, but I've sent him a gift certificate to the Store de Liquor. So hopefully that is well received.

Day 83: Why P90X isn't fair

"If you start to get squirrelly, come out of it." -Tony Horton- Legs&Back

Before I say anything, the title of this post is not an excuse or me whining. It's a challenge.

Why I think P90X is not fair (and this may be different from person to person). When I started P90X I weighed 168lbs. Currently I weigh 149lbs, which is fantastic. Here's where the fairness comes in... nearly all of the exercises P90X requires are body weight (squats, lunges, pull-ups, chin-ups, sit ups, push-ups, the list continues). Granted, yes, when I started I could only do 20 chinups, now I'm doing 25ish, but where's the glory? I've lost 12% of my body weight (resistance) and am now doing 15-20% more reps. To me, that's not all that impressive - it's more like EXPECTED results.

So, what do I plan to do about this imbalance? Well, for starters, yesterday's legs and back I wore a backpack containing two of my heaviest college books (Anatomy and Physiology + Biology) throught the whole workout (with the exception of wall-squats). This brought my weight to 173lbs. Doing chinups and squats at this weight is far more note-worthy and respectable than doing them at my new weight. So my hopes for the rest of Phase 3 will be to continue challenging the system with improvements. Without added resistance, I'm mentally beating myself up.

I'm not yet sure what I'm going to do with ab-ripperX, perhaps 1 book on my chest, but we'll see. KenpoX tonight after work. I'll see what happens with the backpack.

Day 76: KenpoX

"...otherwise get your knees up. Get your friggen' pants up!" -Tony Horton- KenpoX

KenpoX, always a great way to wind-down the last exercise of the bunch. I actually did kenpoX in the morning, a rare thing for me. It was okay, I struggled a bit getting out of bed. Thankfully, kenpoX is short, one of the shortest P90X workouts.

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend, I'm not quite sure how fitting in the workouts will go, perhaps Sunday I will fail to do the chest/arms workout due to lack of equipment, but Monday should be okay for Plyo. All I need is the video and some shoes, which I will have both.

So the weigh in this morning was 149.0lbs. I've clearly dropped again. This is now the lowest weight I've been in a very long time and I still have a few weeks left of phase 3. I hope to put on some muscle mass and gain some weight back, but I need to be careful not to put back any fat weight.

I forgot pictures last week, so I'll be sure to note that in my photo update. But I expect to take one tomorrow and post it (like the others).

Day 48: KenpoX this afternoon

"Give me a 'Hey!', Give me a 'HoHo'" -Tony Horton- Legs & Back

Yesterday was a tough day, workout-wise. I did my legs & back in the afternoon, and for whatever reason it was that much harder. Perhaps it was the blood donation the day before, perhaps it was the fact the last time I had eaten was 12:00pm... who knows, all I know is that when I got to the Debbie Seiber 80-20's I nearly passed out.

To give myself some recoup-time, I laid down on my back and just hung out for at least 5 minutes making sure I would be okay. I drank some additional water and then finally got back up and finished the workout. Once I took my mini-break I was more than okay to muscle through AbripperX, but I really felt light headed/nauseous during the last leg exercise.

However, I added up my total pull ups for the 1hr workout: 151!! That's up 25 from last week. Granted I was all jacked-up about the numbers, sorry Tony... I know you said not to be. Perhaps I will tone it down next week.

Which reminds me: Next couple of weeks will not be standard P90X format... I will shift next week's recovery week to May 9th week, and I will shift the last recovery week (of Phase 3) to the week of May 16th. Leaving me with 4 workout weeks (one next week) and 3 upon my return from Spain. I figure this will have the least impact on the schedule as possible, even though I'm not too keen on having two rest weeks back to back.

Day 41: KenpoX

"Where do you feel that!? ... EVERYWHERE!" *Dreya responds* "BOOTY!" -Tony & Dreya- Legs&Back

So Earth day is over, I'm back to my normal routine of eating an endangered species for breakfast and washing it down with a Styrofoam glass full of gasoline. Yesterday was a productive afternoon. I was able to fix my lawn mower blade, start my new computer build, and do Legs&Back all in one afternoon. Plus I was able to watch survivor!

Today I'll be doing Wesley Idol's favorite workout; KenpoX. But I won't be doing it until the afternoon. I really enjoy KenpoX, I think it's one of my favorite workouts, and quite possibly the most fun cardio workout. I've even started to do some kenpo moves when I jog... Cross, uppercut, cross, uppercut... just don't fall over, and expect people to look at you funny in the gym.

My weight is down, yet again, this morning. 153lbs. The last time I weighed 153lbs I had just taken the training wheels off my bike for heaven's sake! And I think I had Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle bed-sheets too (FYI). Okay, okay, you got me. I still have TMNT bed-sheets... but only because they are awesome! That makes the total weight loss so far 15lbs in less than 6 weeks.

Day 27: KenpoX instead of YogaX

Like every Friday thus far, I will be performing my exercise this afternoon. However, due to the low desire to do a 2nd day of YogaX this week, I've decided to swap it out for KenpoX. It's just a personal choice. I really like KenpoX and I think 1 YogaX per week is enough to satisfy me.

Tomorrow is my day 28 photos (which I will likely label as day 30 pics). It will be the beginning of phase 2! Rest week is coming to an end, how sad. But I am excited to pick up the new diet and the new exercise routines! Bring it Tony! I got your aging right here!

I have a lot of housework to do this weekend, so hopefully I'll save enough time to make legitimate posts.

My weigh in was 157lbs this morning. Looks like I am tracking that weight, I've been there for nearly 1 week. Perhaps that is where my body wants to stay on this diet.

Day 24: KenpoX and AbripperX

Strange combination...

Rest week, not a whole lot going on. Since today would normally be my YogaX day, I was up a bit earlier than normal. When I finished KenpoX, there was enough time remaining to do a little bit extra. I busted out AbRipperX and did it. Tomorrow is stretchX, I'm not yet sure if I will replace it with something more challenging (Perhaps cardioX or coresynergistics).

But since it is a boring week, let me talk about another item I've been using.

Gold's Gym Fitness & Yoga Mat:
I'm not exactly crazy about this piece of equipment. It's thick and "cooshie" as Tony would say, but I don't think it's that durable. I've only used it for 3 weeks now and it already has scuff marks and places where the foam padding is rubbing off. However, I have been using it 5 times a week, sometimes with shoes.

The good part about it is that the padding is really thick. Great for standing poses in yoga and downward dog type positions. But if you plan to move on it, say stretching from pigeon to gluet stretch, the grippiness/friction from the pad makes it difficult to move and often the mat lifts or folds on the ground. Perhaps it would work better on a hardwood/tile surface?

I bought it for $19.00 at walmart. It will very likely survive my P90X adventure, but I doubt it'd last a 2nd time through. If you buy this item, I'd suggest not wearing shoes on it. I've found this really wears top of the material down.

Day 20: KenpoX & FastX

So, I was unaware that on Good Friday, you're not supposed to eat anything but lunch and dinner... hmm... plus you aren't supposed to eat any "meat" (I quoted meat because for some reason religious folks don't think fish - the animals that swim - are meat. Oh well. I guess the only downside to this fasting thing will be that I have to do KenpoX today. I'm glad this day fell on KenpoX and not PlyoX or Legs&Back day, because let's face it. After those days I need me food!

KenpoX was fine. I added 2lb weights to my hands for the whole routine, including the jumping jacks and blocks. It wasn't vastly harder, but I definitely could feel it working a bit more. The only downside is that I have a feeling my joints were extending fully, which Tony specifically suggets not!

Also, today I will post Saturday's photos as I probably won't be online.

Day 13: KenpoX (to be completed this afternoon)

Again, I got to wake up nice and late, as today I will be doing KenpoX in the afternoon. It still feels a bit strange not doing a workout in the morning, but I guess my body could use a little extra rest and some time to recuperate. My legs are still kind of sore from Legs&Back, and KenpoX does have quite a few kicks. Perhaps waiting 12 or so hours to fire-up the legs again is a good idea.

Tomorrow will be StretchX and hopefully a picture update. I have started noticing some changes to my front. And I can absolutely tell that I have lost weight. I think unofficially I weighed in this morning at 159lbs. That's only 1lb away from my goal of 158lbs. To imagine 10lbs in 2 weeks, that's pretty impressive. Especially from a guy that didn't have a whole lot to lose in the first place.

I've noticed that the number of followers on my site has grown dramatically since my first week of hosting. I hope everyone keeps reading, and keeps enjoying their time here! I have to admit, it's putting some positive pressure on me to keep going, and I thank you.

Day 6: KenpoX (to be completed this afternoon)

I actually feel more tired waking up today at 6:45pm, than I did all week waking up at 5:15am to do my workout routines. Either way, since it's Friday, I plan to do my P90X workout sometime after work. I've been told it's a snooze-fest, so the goal is to add 2.5 weights to my hands while I do the program.

Tomorrow will be my first rest day, and I very much look forward to that. I'll give StretchX a try, seeing as how I figure it's there for a reason. Plus I will take week 1 photos and post them.

I can already tell I have lost some weight. Probably in the 2-4lb region. Not bad for 1 week of diet & exercise, although in all honestly I think it's heavily bias toward the diet, and not the exercise.

I feel pretty good and I look forward to increasing my reps/weight next week!