Pictures! Sorry they took so long to post

Picture pretty much says it all - you might need to click on it to see the whole thing properly.

Game plan is take 1 week off - celebrate - then back on the band-wagon, just as hard or harder than before.

Day 29+ Vacation is Over

I'm back from the Beach-House. I feel fantastically relaxed and happy. My liver, on the other hand, seems to believe it needs another vacation to recuperate from the previous 5 days. I certainly did not exercise or follow any nutritional guidelines over the long weekend... in fact I drank more soda, ate more chips, and consumed more carbohydrates than the whole of 2010. Sad to see the scale tell me I was 153.5lbs this morning, well over my previous weigh in, but we'll see what happens tomorrow after I workout today and get back on track with eating healthy.

I'll definitely have to tack on a few extra days at the end of the program to make up for this weekend's antics. I'm starting to feel a bit nervous about day 30photos being worse than day 1 photos after this weekend... Perhaps I'll wait till Saturday to take the photos, as usual. At least that way I'll give myself 4 days to get back into shape. I want to be accountable for my actions... but not THAT accountable! Plus nobody wants to see pictures of a fat-guy (we had this discussion at the beach - how fat men can go without a shirt...)

My chili peppers are LIMP AND DYING! I though I had a watering system figured out, looks like I did not! All the leaves are limp and wilty, I'm hoping that by this afternoon, they'll perk back up from this morning's watering... but who knows? It might be the end for them!

Oh and Starcraft 2 is out and installed on my computer! I didn't play it at all this weekend, but the intention will be to play it at least once a night! Pretty much everyone I know has it now so there will be lots of opportunities to play with friends! Yay!

Now I need to convince myself to work... Legs/Back Today

Day 24+ BEACH HOUSE WEEKEND!

I got some offline feedback about the whole educational blog thing... turns out people aren't diggin' it. They'd rather hear about my daily boring life and how I screw up and make mistakes. So perhaps I'll hold off on any more learning material for the time being.

In the mean time. I get to tell you about the wonderful thing that happened to me yesterday (I really wish I had some photos). Around 6:00pm, a storm hit my town and the wind/rain was so powerful that limbs were being RIPPED off the trunks of trees. When I say limb, I don't mean branch or twig... I mean LIMB about 1ft in diameter 10 to 20ft long with branches + twigs connected to it, coming down from 30+ feet in the air. I'd estimate some of these limbs weighed as much as 500-600lbs each. And I had 4 large ones in total and countless smaller branches.

Needless to say, I was basically outside from 6:00pm to 10:00pm picking up, sawing, carrying, rolling, dragging, and chopping. Thankfully I have a really nice neighborhood and had many people stop and help, even in the rain, to help me move these things.

Before I started moving stuff, my yard and trees look like a war zone. But now it's like a really organized war zone, with thousands of pounds of wood lined up along my curb (corner lot too). The only available space I have to get to my house is via my driveway - even my mailbox is blocked, it's just that much tree!

So needless to say, I didn't get the full filled afternoon of Starcraft 2 I was hoping for... and was probably one of the worst activities I could have been doing with sore shoulders/upper back. On the bright side, I did get to use a chainsaw for about 1hr. That's pretty uncommon for me.

But from about 3:00pm-onward, I have no time to think about anything else but the BEACH! Headed up for a good 5 day stint up at Wasaga beach. Gonna get rowdy, gonna get hyper, gonna party like crazy. Then reality will sink in and I'll have to stop and come back to work and my post-apocalyptic lawn. Which makes me think - so glad that didn't happen while I was away!

I'll be returning to P90X in 5 days! In the mean time - Congratulations to anyone finishing their respective rounds of P90X this week. I know there are a few of you out there!

Day 8+ Chest/Shoulder/Tris

Couple things today.

1. I want to direct some of my readers to the person who introduced me to P90X, and who did it with me in round 1. He's doing round 2, but this time with a blog:

http://p90xadventure-jaked.blogspot.com/

2. I also want to say "Welcome back" to a fellow P90X blogger who pounded through his first round without any problems, was steam rolling through round 2, then sometime in late phase2 (early phase3) he vanished for a few weeks. Well, HES BACK!

http://brettsp90x.blogspot.com/

3. My initial update on JACK3D: I took it about 30minute before leaving work yesterday. I took the half-dose and was expecting great things. I did workout pretty hard, but I had my typical highs and lows. I didn't become superman (although I was starting to believe I should have). I did about 152 pullups/chinups in the hour, not including the 12 I did at the end to prove to some Goons/Gymbos I could do rope pullups (where you dangle two ropes down, and do a pullup between them). It was a solid workout, but I don't think I can attribute much to the special drink, at least not yet. TODAY WILL BE FULL DOSAGE! If you don't hear from me in the next few days, I want you to call the military because I'll have likely turned into the Mighty Hulk and will be rampaging through cities.

4. Parents are coming this weekend. Hopefully I'll have time to make some posts and update my pictures (first picture since I've started P90X+). We'll see what happens, it might be a bit crazy at my place, who knows.

Day 110:FINAL PHOTOS

As promised, no alterations, no trick photography, no fake-bake, no tattoos, no new facial hair, no olive oil, no workouts prior (I did mow the lawn), nothing out of the ordinary... these are the GRADUATE P90X PHOTOS:

Day 110: CoreSynergistics + Final Week Review

"Party's almost over, makes me sad" -Tony Horton- Ab ripper X

HAPPY CANADA DAY (FOR ALL THOSE CANADIANS)!!

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)

Lets go back to one of my first posts...GOALS

March 12, 2010:
Old Me: - - - - - - - - - - - New Goal: - - - - - - - Current Status:

Wake up: 6:45am - - - -5:45am - - - - - - - - - - - 6:45am
Breakfast: Bagel - - - - -Egg Whites - - - - - - - - -PowerBar
Lunch: Sandwich - - - - -Bag o'Tuna - - - - - - - - - Bag o'Tuna
Dinner: Salad - - - - - - -Salad w/Chicken - - - - -Salad w/Chicken
Gym: Run 40mins - - - - P90X for 1hr 15mins - - -P90X + Running
&Lift for 20mins
Go to bed: 10:30pm - - - 9:30pm - - - - - - - - 10:30pm
Weight: 168lbs - - - - - - -158lbs - - - - - - - - -145lbs
#Chinups: 22 - - - - - - - -30 - - - - - - - - - - - - 28 (during P90X)
#Pullups: 15 - - - - - - - - 25 - - - - - - - - - - - - 24 (during P90X)
#Pushups: ?? - - - - - - - -45 - - - - - - - - - - - - 35 (during P90X)
Stomach: Flabby - - - - - -Six Pack - - - - - - - Something's there...
(ADDED)
Waistline: 31" - - - - - - No Goal - - - - - - - - - 28.5"

So I am sorry that this post will be short, but I really want to go home this afternoon and before doing coresynergistics try to pump out 30+ chinups, 25+ pullups, 35+ pushups, and take some "Day 89" photos. Currently the only numbers I have to justify my goals are those from the workouts, designated by (during P90X). Clearly I have resorted back to my original sleeping times and some foods have changed over the course of the program. But my overall fitness goals are really close to my current condition. I SMOKED my weight goal by nearly 13lbs. It was no my intent to lose a crap ton of weight during this program, but clearly it happened. But Like I said, short post for now, tonight I'll take pictures and update the results.

And Susan, I will do larger photos for day 1, 30, 60, and 90. But it might take me a little while to get those up because I have the photos on 4 or 5 different computers.

Oh and by the way for the day 90 photos I WILL NOT go out and get a fake-bake, cut my hair, shave my chest, grow a beard, shave a beard, put on makeup, work out right before, or anything that some people do to boost their appearance. I am going to post pretty much what I look like today photos. Unbiased. Talk to you again tonight.

Day 109: StretchX + Final Week Review

"I'm the leader, I can do what I want" -Tony Horton- Unknown (probably ab ripperX)


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)

I hate him, but I love him...

The review I have been waiting 109 days for: TONY HORTON

Welcome to the all out review and quote bank of the P90X instructor, Anthony Sawyer Horton Jr; the leader, the guide, and the face of P90X.

For starters, here's a little background information on Tony from wikipedia:
Born in Rhode Island, 1958 (making him 52 years old)
Moved to L.A. to become an actor
He started training stars in Gold's Gym
1998 Jon Cogdon and Carl Daikler formed beachbody company and had Tony star in Power90

So what gives? Does he do a good job? Without being too harsh, yes, he does the job. Tony sends the message through the TV and it's easy to follow. Does he ramble and talking nonsensical gibberish? Absolutely. But as far as being a reasonable fitness instructor I give him a 8/10. The only two points he's missing are -1 for not being eye-candy (like Chalean Extreme), and -1 for being a douche.

Okay, why do I think Tony is a scum-bag? Well for starters he's incredibly self centered, at least from what I can tell from the videos. Always talking about how many he can do or out-doing the kids in reps. Also, when Phil has a funnier line, Tony just gets flustered for the rest of the video because he didn't come up with such a whimsical thing to say. It's the little things. Doing 19 wide grip chinups when Erik did 18 just because he can't let anyone be better than him.

I also think there is something going on between him and Dreya Webber, even though I know Dreya is married to Ned Farr (Tony actually even says that in a video). But he says things like "Top's coming off!" and "Aerialist, gymnast, dancer, fitness extraordinaire, she's gorgeous. She's my buddy too" and just generally all the special attention she gets in the videos. If I were Dreya Webber, I'd be spending some time in the Beachbody HR department filing some complaints.


Over-acting? Absolutely. Do you think it has anything to do with being a failed actor but manged to star on infomercials? Perhaps. All I know is that he reminds me a lot of a commercials-actor that has advanced onto Hallmark movies but still retain that core idea of flashing pepsi-labels and saying "Ahhhhh" when he's finished. Maybe it's just me...Anyone have a sudden craving for a recovery drink?

He likes to comment on his age (at the time was 46 going on 47). But what he fails to mention is that those numbers accurately represent his IQ. He might know his fitness, but some of the random stuff he says makes me wonder if he paid attention in high school.

In general he just rubs me as a typical high school jock that's very pushy and always gets his way. But hate him all you want, he has been getting me into shape, so I need to give him some homage (in quote form).

I put together a quote bank...I thought it'd be silly not to provide that lovely little package for all of you:

AbripperX:
Fiffer scissors, flex your feet and straighten your legs.
Time for crunchy frog, EVERYBODY gets their hands off the floor!
They're working hard I know you are
Ab...Ripper...X
It's almost over, makes me sad
Halfway done, party's almost over what a bummer
This isn't Abripper 100 or 200, this is Abripper 339!
That's the face of a girl who's working hard!
Get em' up. This is AB RIPPER EX!
Tip of the day, don't do this everyday
Imagine you gotta do 100 of em, 25 doesn't sound so bad.
AbripperX, I hate it, but I love it

Back and Biceps:
'Semper Fi'... I'm not going to say it, I was never a Marine.
You don't have to write anything down for that one, just showin' up does the trick!
I almost blew out my esophagus!
You wanna see gorgeous, not this, my back!

Chest and Back:
haha...I love okra!
Scotty Fifer on the bands, he's the one man band-man.
German Potato Soup
Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was your body!
Look out dude, I'm coming with my bars!

Chest/Shoulders/Tris:
Stirring up trouble
Slow-mo-throw, here we go!
... NO!? He's a machine! They call him La Maquina!...that's Spanish...

CoreSynergistics:
I love love love core until my daddy takes my T-bird away.

KenpoX:
...otherwise get your knees up. Get your friggen' pants up!
This ain't no spray on... we do actual DNA removal!
Frog or Frag, depending on which part of the country you're from
I got shot in the buttocks, they say it's a milliondollar wound, but I haven't seen a dime
Wessly only bleeds on the inside
Cuz he's Mr. Flex-and-Breathe

Legs and Back:
Give me a 'Hey!', Give me a 'HoHo'
No Heels! I'll come to your house if your heels hit the deck!
I'm all rev'd up. I'm drooling for God's sake!
If you start to get squirrelly, come out of it.
He's from Belgium, that's what they do up there, it's cold all the time
Sounds like a bird in here.
Man lives on a boat... I don't get that.
Where do you feel that!? ... EVERYWHERE! *Dreya responds* "BOOTY!"
Man, I think I just ripped my pants...nope, I'm okay.
It's balistic, it's static, its Stablatic! I'm making up stuff!
Have you guys seen the world famous Karen potstirrers?
Women do what you feel, men do what you feel...I duhno there's a line there
Focus on my dinky calfs
I'd do this all day with you if I could, but I gotta check on the kids
That's strength, that's flexibility, it's the whole friggen' 9-yards.
The man's pure grissle from head to toe
Invented, well not invented, introduced to me by DRRRREY-YAAH
This is P-90-X, it ain't some silly little class...
Look at the teeth, WHYY? She's studying to be a dentist. Look at those teeth, unbelievable, off the charts, like chicklets going across...beautiful!

PlyoX:
Did you see what Erik just said? He said he'll do his best.
Give me the double-double... doot-doot
...I don't wanna hear no excuses from any o'you!
Listen to me breathe...Vrrrrrp...Vurp...VVURRRPPPP
Hamburger bad, fries bad, coca-cola bad. There you go, I said it, drink your water people!
Pam, we call her BLAM!
Leap over the river, and through the woods, to grandmother's house, we go...
That's a short uncle
Jump over the guy you just beat up
You can do anything for 30 seconds!
Cat's gonna be puurdy
If you get tired during the lunge sequence, you're gonna run outa gas in this workout
Get sexy with it...VRRRMMMM
Get your little bucket near by, this is the 'X' in P90X.

Shoulders/Arms:
Hey nice shirt man, you're wearing my shirt... guy stole my shirt
Tip of the day: Don't smash your face
Let the weight of your head do all the work. Mine weighs like 600lbs... and there ain't a damn thing in it.
I got one word for you WOW!" and what's wow upsidedown? "MOM!"
Like a pterodactyl backing out of trouble...CACAW

StretchX:
Slap it, slap it, make it feel good!

YogaX:
Get down into that Warrior2 Mr. Haas, this is YOGAX Ma-Brotha
Let's get BIZZ-EEE-YUR
You should feel this in your shoulders and biceps... I know I do
Yoga-belly-seven-time
If you don't have a yoga block you can use a cat or dog.
This isnt a crazy cult or religion...its just Ohms.
Do your vin-ya-sa!!
She makes gumby look like the Tin-Man
ooooo...that's cushier!
Shauna freak of nature, beautiful thing
I suggest foot spray
Lift the left tail...err...heel
Add the toe, or not... add the toe, or not…
Last vinyasa of the day!

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 103: Legs + Back Final Week Report

"The man's pure grissle from head to toe" -Tony Horton- Legs&Back

So today I am going to start something different. Since this is my last week, I want to start giving future P90Xers some insight on how the program went for me. Without being too unorganized I think I will give everyone a rough outline so that if you only want to read about a specific topic, you can tune in that day:

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)

Let's Begin: P90X Diet

For starters, I have never been on a diet before. It has never phased me that eating specific items would have such a large impact on weight loss (and for that matter, weight gain). To date, I have lost over 20lbs (168lbs --> 146.5lbs) which is fairly impressive considering I was told I didn't have much to lose.

The first two weeks on the P90X diet I was constantly hungry. The high protein diet does not give the satisfaction of a carb-rich meal. I called it rolling hunger, because you'd be hungry - so you'd eat - but you'd still be hungry. A few hours later, the hunger would go away. You wouldn't be hungry - and you'd eat your next meal - then hunger would come back and then vanish. It was a bit strange, but after week 2, I never felt that sensation again.

In my all honest personal opinion, I think the diet has had a more sculpting effect on my physique than all the exercises. But another thing I have learned is that dieting is NOT EASY. Temptation knocks at your door on a regular basis, sometimes daily, sometimes more frequently than that. I started my diet right at the height of "Birthday Season" where it seems like everyone you know is having cake and ice cream. But thankfully, that was when I was at my strongest. I resisted all cake-attacks up until almost Phase 3. But cake isn't the only temptation, and in fact it's one of the rarer ones.

The most frequent thing to resist is going out to eat. Eating out can be okay. I've found it possible to special request two sides of vegetables instead of rice/potato. You can often ask for calorie information and you have to make smart choices. But it is always hard to quantify how much you ate, and if you obeyed the P90X diet. The less eating out you do, the better your diet will be, WITHOUT QUESTION.

Eating with others or family is challenging too, I am lucky because I live alone. Although you want to eat healthy, it's not always true that your family embraces steamed broccoli with unseasoned chicken (a frequent meal I ate). Or, likewise if your family is cooking for you, it's all up in the air as to what's on the menu.

Your best bet is to prepare your food for yourself. You know what your goals are, you know the nutrition plan, you know what needs to be done. And like many things I will say in the next couple of days - it all comes down to you! You decide to go out to eat, you put the cooked food on your plate, you do your grocery shopping. If you have no will power and can't leave the bag of chips closed - give them away. If those cans of soda in your fridge keep calling your name and you crack them open, throw them out. Breaking the diet is just as bad (and in some cases WORSE) than skipping an exercise (we'll get into that on a later date).

Dieting is hard, I struggled, I cheated (although only a few times), but I've kept it up and the results show. I think if anyone is serious about starting P90X and decides to negate the diet, I'd suggest they highly reconsider. I've mentioned this before, but I think the diet is 60% of the results, so unless you want to exercise and listen to Tony for a total of 225 days (I just did 90days / 0.4 = 225 days of exercise without the diet = 90days exercise + diet) I'd start eating healthy.

For anyone who doesn't know the diet is mainly protein, reducing carbs, and no sweets or alcohol. If you're interested to know what I primarily ate during my journey, I posted it just a few days ago (perhaps I will throw in a link - if I remember to do that).

Day 94: Chest/Shoulders/Tri

"Cats gonna be puurdy" -Tony Horton- PlyoX

Feeling pretty dog tired from Plyo+Backpack. Today I'll be doing chest/shoulders/tri's at the gym (first time not with bands or video...). We'll see how well I do without timing/adequate weight information. Hopefully I make it through alive.

First day of reverse AbripperX.

Short post today because I'm very busy at work. But I'm 2 weeks from finishing!

Day 91: Picture Update (2x)

Last week I didn't have my camera cable, so I couldn't update my pictures. But I took the liberty to include them in this update. Photos taken this week were a bit blurry, but still show decent results.

Day 89: Pizza and Tax Returns make me happy

"I'm all rev'd up. I'm drooling for God's sake!" -Tony Horton- Legs&Back

Yesterday was tough. Mowed my lawn, did my laundry, and P90X'd all in about a 2.5hour time frame. I was pretty toasted last night. Today, however, will be an entirely different story. In fact, it's already spectacular. I finally got my IRS tax return today! Woohoo! I'm not poor anymore!

And ontop of a wonderful tax return finally arriving, I am going out for pizza at lunch. I debated for a long time if I would bag my lunch and eat healthy, or if I would actually eat pizza. After consulting a few others, looks like today will be my first pizza slice in over 89 days. The excitement can't be matched.

Supposedly tomorrow would have been my final P90X day for round 1. But because of my Spain trip, I have a few more weeks to go to truly be finished. I will keep updating the blog and pictures and I will officially end Round 1 when I have completed 90 days of exercise. But so far I am very pleased with the results.

Next post I will evaluate where I stand on my goals, seeing as how I only have two weeks left to reach them.

Day 88: Powerbar Flavor Guide

"Get down into that Warrior2 Mr. Haas, this is YOGAX Ma-Brotha" -Tony Horton- YogaX

I talked before about my morning diet switching from Egg-whites to Power-bars. Well, a lot of people have been asking "How can you eat those things? They're gross!" Or at least something to that nature. I thought I'd give you my interpretation...

1. Powerbars are not CANDY bars. That means, you shouldn't expect them to taste like Snickers or 3Musketeers or Almond Joys. They are a nutritional supplement and should be compared to things like Protein Shakes, Slim-Fast, and other Nutritional Bars (luna, harvest, etc.). So once you understand that, yes, you'll likely accept that they aren't a dessert you'd find on a restaurant menu.

2. They come in many different flavors and most flavors are okay - but there are some stinkers out there. Because I have tried them all, let me give you a quick rundown of the choices and then I will rate them by taste(T -how does it taste in my mouth?) and repeatability(R -can you eat it day after day?) and perhaps an explanation of why they were rated that way. (10=best, 1=worst)

Honey Roast (6/10)- One of the better tasting bars, but too sweet to eat daily
T=7
R=5
Chocolate Brownie (5/10)- Has these strange brown crunches in it very dry needs water
T=7
R=3
Cookies'n'cream (3.5/10)- One of the worst tasting bars and most easily melted
T=4
R=3
Peanutbutter (8/10)- Most probably the best OVERALL taste is good and can eat it repeatedly
T=8
R=8
Oatmeal Raisin (7.5/10)- Delicious! Tastes like and oatmeal cookie but like the honey, its too sweet
T=10
R=5
Vanilla Crisp (5.5/10)- Decent taste, but it's the kind of flavor you can't have too much of
T=7
R=4
Berries (2.5/10)- By far the worst power bar invention to date. Stay away! You've been warned
T=4
R=1
Caramel Cookie (5/10)- Very sweet, but it's different enough that you could have it a couple times a week
T=5
R=5
Chocolate/Peanutbutter (7.5/10)- Take what's good from the peanut butter and add some chocolate, it's a safe bet.
T=8
R=7

Today is legs and back w/a backpack! YogaX was fine last night. I wasn't as excited about YogaX today as I was last week. Probably because I was just not into it. I'm getting better and stronger in the half-moon section of the moving part (first part). Gonna really dig deep this afternoon for legs + back.

Day 87: YogaX

"haha...I love okra!" -Tony Horton- Chest&Back

2nd week in a row, where waking up at 5:15am is just NOT happening. I think this is the first time in P90X history, when I'll be doing YogaX in the afternoon. Previously, even bad weeks, I could wake up and get yoga done before work. I will NOT be wearing a backpack for yogaX.


I weighed myself this morning. 148lbs. That puts me at a total weight loss of 20lbs. Pretty good so far. I'm amazed that I can still lose a pound or two here and there. I thought after the initial first push, I'd be at my minimum. Well turns out that minimum is a moving target.

I do want to send out a warning to any video-game players (in particular RTS people)... Starcraft 2 is coming out in about 1 month. July 27th 2010. For many of you, this release won't matter. You're lives will continue on at a normal pace. But for many others, it will be a life-changing event that will be similar to a hostile takeover! I already know how the BETA has affected some P90Xers and I am pretty sure it will affect me when the game comes out, but hopefully P90X will be complete and I'll just be in either Round2 or doing the workouts semi-regularly. We'll see what happens, I'm super excited about the game. I've been watching some play-by-plays on youtube, very fun!

Day 86: Shoulders and Arms

"Did you see what Erik just said? He said he'll do his best." -Tony Horton- PlyoX

I don't think I'll use a backpack for today's workout. Shoulders and Arms just doesn't jive with added weight on my back, unlike many of the other workouts, this one is not body-weight dependent. So looks like this afternoon's workout will be pretty standard fare.

Let's review some more equipment that I have been using: Bands.
http://www.amazon.com/Resistance-Workout-Exercise-Including-Physical/dp/B002L6WO5U/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1275999819&sr=8-8

I'm using "B.M.P. Set of Five Resistance Bands". BMP Stands for Black Mountain Products, what that has to do with fitness, I don't know. But the bands were cheap and I got them for $32.53 (free shipping, but had to pay tax). The bands come in 5 distinct weight ranges 2-5 yellow, 5-10 green, 10-15 blue, 15-20 black, 20-30 red. They are fully formed handle + band, so there is no clips, handles, stoppers, or anything that you have to remove and re-attach. To date, I've primarily used the black and red bands. There are a few shoulder exercises that are too difficult to do with the heavier ones, but I have found no use for the lower-weight bands. Even when I "double up" and hold two in one hand, I stick with green/red or blue/red.

I find the grips are very nice, but I think they are just made out of thin plastic. So if you strain too much they might snap in the middle (some of the bands at my gym have snapped and the handles are terrible to work with - they really dig into your palms).

A nice bonus - the bands come with a small door-clip. This allows you to place the clip at the top of a doorframe (that has a door) and you can feed the band through it so you can perform band-pullups. It's a nice bonus. Again, I haven't used this feature, but it's there.

after almost 86 days of using them, I haven't had any indication of significant ware, tearing, or signs of degrading. They seem to hold up pretty well. And for $30, how can you say no?

My only complaint is that they don't have a 40-50lb band. I'm finding that red is not enough for some of the bicep workouts where you crouch down. Even making a double-loop around my feet.

Weighed- 149 this morning. Plyo was tough with a backpack, but do-able. Only ones I had problems with were: Twist Combo, Rockstar Hops, and Jump Knee Tuck... because the backpack has a mind of its own.

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.

I'm BACK!

"No Heels! I'll come to your house if your heels hit the deck!" -Tony Horton- Legs and Back

I'm back from Spain. Some of you might be wondering "So what's the damage?", "How much did you gain?", etc. etc. Well as the scale tells me this morning, I weigh 152lbs, which is actually 1lb less than I weighed before leaving for Spain. In all honesty, I know it's muscle mass... but knowing I didn't come back 165lbs or something atrocious, is quite appealing.

I'm sort of back on my schedule, Sunday I didn't have a pullup bar so I Kenpo'd instead... probably not the smartest substitution ever... but I think this week is going to be a bit discombobulated. Today I am doing Arms/Shoulder and I will be doing it at the gym, we'll see how that goes. I shouldn't have had any problem waking up at 5:00am today, the Jet lag should be working in my favor, but I was just generally tired from working 12 straight days.

Highlights from Spain (in bullet form):
* Plaza Mayor
* Pinto Punto
* Madrid Palace
* Iberian Jamon
* Tortilla (Spanish omelet)
* Tapas
* Paella
* European Coffee

I look forward to being back on the P90X band-wagon. But I need to be warned... Starcraft 2 looms out in the horizon, I hear it is a goals & productivity murderer and will stop at nothing to prevent my completion of P90X.

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 40: Earth DayX

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

+ =


"Man, I think I just ripped my pants...nope, I'm okay." -Tony Horton- Legs&Back

Today is Earth Day (04/22/2010). I just thought I would let everyone know that I am doing my best to partake in celebrating the Earth. First, I have decided not to club any baby seals for dinner. I've also decided, on my way to work, that I should run all yellow and red lights to conserve gas by not idling. Actually, who am I kidding, I didn't run any yellows... But I decided to post this picture of the Earth-Stamp because I found it funny. Only in America can we commemorate Earth Day by placing an image on something that represents the most inefficient method of communication - the U.S. Postal Service. Seems a bit out of place to me. But all silliness aside, I carpooled into work today and will do my part to try to be eco-friendly.

But this blog isn't about Earth Day (or other random Holidays), it's about P90X! And this day has not been a productive P90X day. I was up late last night and had a difficult time waking up at 5:15am. Let's face it... I DIDN'T wake up at 5:15am, more like 6:45am. Meaning, I did not do my workout as planned. So that means today after work, I need to do Legs and Back. I new eventually this would happen, I just need to make sure I don't make a habit of it!

Day 39: YogaX

"This isnt a crazy cult or religion...its just Ohms." -Tony Horton- YogaX

This is an Ohm:


And this is an Ohm meter:

Any Questions?

So my connection to Blogspot got lost somehow and I lost my post (silly me for not saving). I don't really feel like re-writing everything I had before, because it never quite comes out the same the 2nd time around (for whatever reason, forgot stuff, implied stuff gets lot, who knows). So I'll just say the hardest part about YogaX is waking up ontime to not be late for work.

A random comment I'd like to extrapolate on: Tony mentions... "Clear out all the garbage before and after, clear your mind..." and Wednesday is garbage day! So I always get a chuckle from that. Because it reminds me to take out the trash before I go to work!

But one more thing, if you want my opinion on recovery drinks (in general) I gave a fairly long answer to a simple question regarding them in my previous post's comment section. If you're too lazy to read it... I basically think the P90X recovery drink is a gimmick more than anything (even if it does work, it's way too expensive).