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.

Tip of the Day : Do an odd number of reps!

Tony seems to get really excited when people in the video do 11 or 21 reps.

Day 23: CoreSynergistics

Alright, so a new workout today! A fresh change of pace! And I really liked it. To start, you get hurled into staggered pushups (a personal favorite of mine), but they want you to max your reps. 45 pushups is not the most fun way to start a workout. And keep in mind there are plenty more pushups to come after that initial surge.

But the pushups get intermingled nicely with ab-poses and lunges. So thankfully I didn't burn myself out in the first 10 minutes.

Speaking of the first 10 minutes, I liked how the warmup was nice and long... and the cooldown was nearly just as long. It really cut the workout down to less than 40minutes.

The harder of the workouts were: Steam Engine (50reps both sides), Superman, and Sphynx Pushups. If you can do those 3, you've got this exercise down.

Day 22: EasterX

Today is Easter. It's a lovely day, and the beginning of my "Rest Week." I had to put it in quotes, because I doubt it will be very restful. I've already been informed that CardioX and CoreSynergistics are both challenging routines that will get my blood pumping. So although, yes, it will probably be easier than a regular week, I doubt it will be a piece of cake.

As for sticking to my diet, I think I did pretty good over the holiday. I didn't eat a whole lot extra, but I did eat a bunch of foods I wouldn't have normally ate. Still no carbs though, so I shouldn't feel too guilty. I am finding that coffee is my nemesis. It would be fine... but the beastie boy's put it best; I like my sugar with coffee and cream. I think I had a total of 4 coffees this weekend. Perhaps I should be more conscious.

I did complete YogaX.

Day 21: Photos (of Day 20)

So It's really day 20... but I am posting this as day 21. I am still the same weight ~159lbs. I think my back and chest both show a mild improvement. And with a rest week coming up, I plan to hit the treadmill a bit more than last week. But enough with the delay. Here are the pics.

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 19: Legs & BACKPACK

I woke up this morning... I was a little nervous about doing heavy lifting. My blood donation ended at 7:30pm the night before, and it's 5:15am the next day. Clearly still within the 24hr no-heavy lifting ban. But my arms felt good, I did not experience any bruising or tenderness, so what the heck, lets do this!

I went through legs and back pretty swiftly. I didn't jump during the 80-20's... for whatever reason I just couldn't muster up the gumption to leave the ground. However... in my defense, for EVERY EXERCISE (with the exception of wall squats) I wore a backpack filled with my gym stuff + water bottle. That's right, pullups, chinups, lunges, groucho walk, squats, and even the warm-up, I wore a 3ish pound backpack! I really liked it.

When it was all over, and time to do abripperX, I felt exhausted. Most of my chinups/pullups came down significantly from 15-17reps to 10-12. Which is better for muscle building. I think next time I'll start adding some educational material to the pack. For now, I'll call it "my homework assignment." I'm looking forward to picture day on Saturday. I'm starting to see a lot of definition in my front/chest/abs.


Weekend challenge: Stay away from bad food over Easter.

Next week: Easy workouts.