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!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Day 23+ YogaX now with Shoulder Pain
Pretty sore from yesterday's C/S/T workout (plus I mowed the lawn, and didn't stretch). So I'm not 100% sure of the origin of the pain, but I know it's my upper back and shoulders. Perhaps yoga is exactly what I need right now - but who knows if I can even make it through the suffering.
I thought about a topic for today's science related post... I figured I'd start off simple with something everyone doing P90X can relate to. Proteins (polypeptides). I just want to talk a bit about them - what they are, why our body needs them, which ones are essential/nonessential, types of proteins, etc. Let's see how this goes. Please leave your comments below if you enjoy reading about this kind of stuff.
Most of you probably didn't know this, but proteins make up about 50% of our non-water body mass. They are a macromolecule that regulates our bodys, as well as repair, protect, and reproduce (via DNA).
Proteins:
1. are required for building and repair of body tissues (including muscle)
2. are enzymes, hormones, and many immune molecules
3. are involved in essential body processes such as water balancing, nutrient transport, and muscle contractions require protein to function.
4. can be a source of energy .
5. helps keep skin, hair, and nails (keratin) healthy.
6. are absolutely crucial for overall good health.
Most of you probably remember from highschool biology that there are 4 distinct protein structures: Primary, secondary, tertiary, quarternary. The simplest of these structures is a linear sequence of amino acids -Arg-Thy-Cys-Ala-etc... The most complex being the 3-dimensional structures of many proteins mixed together that have active-sites and can perform complex actions/synthesis. These molecules (in most senses) aide in having the body-chemistry work faster. Life without proteins would be very slow.
Amino acids are what we commonly refer to as "proteins" when we think workout drinks/protein shakes and food. Amino acids are just molecules that contain an amino group (R-NH2) and a carboxyl group (R-COOH) *where R is the rest of the molecule. The simplest amino acid is Alanine (H2N-COOH, simply combining the amino and carboxyl group). The remaining amino acids are more complicated and contain ring structures and or long chains of carbon atoms. Amino acids come in two types for the human body; essential/non-esscential. Essential amino acids are only called "essential" because our body is unable to produce them on its own. They are not more important for life functions (persay) than the non-essential type, just we need to consume them to have them. But I'll list the 22 amino acids below by group.
Essential: Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Valine
Nonessential: Alanine, Asparagine, Aspartic Acid, Cysteine, Glutamic Acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Proline, Selenocysteine, Serine, Tyrosine, Arginine, Histidine, Ornithine, Taurine
Protein powders are made from four basic sources: whey (from milk), egg, soy, and rice. Let's take a look at whey protein (because it's probably the most common). The protein fraction in whey (approximately 10% dry solids within whey) comprises 4 major Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) and six minor BCAAs (we'll ignore). The major protein fractions in whey are beta-lactoglobulin (162amino acids), alpha-lactalbumin (14178amino acids), bovine serum albumin (66382amino acids) and immunoglobulins (varies in size). Together these supply high amounts of cystine and leucine, but should provide most of the other amino acids.
Most people don't require protein shakes. The only ones who really should be concerned with not getting enough protein are vegan/vegitarians, senior citizens, and annorexics. That being said, working out hard and wanting to rebuild muscles faster, protein shakes are probably a good idea. Many health studies are showing that protein shakes also raise the immune system (immunoglobulins!) and provide cancer fighting anti-oxidants. So having a few glasses a week could be benefitial, regardless of workout schedules.
Let's call that a day on Proteins and we can pick up class sometime next week, whe we can discuss something a bit more interesting like complex carbohydrates!
Today's weigh in: 147.0lbs.
I thought about a topic for today's science related post... I figured I'd start off simple with something everyone doing P90X can relate to. Proteins (polypeptides). I just want to talk a bit about them - what they are, why our body needs them, which ones are essential/nonessential, types of proteins, etc. Let's see how this goes. Please leave your comments below if you enjoy reading about this kind of stuff.
Most of you probably didn't know this, but proteins make up about 50% of our non-water body mass. They are a macromolecule that regulates our bodys, as well as repair, protect, and reproduce (via DNA).
Proteins:
1. are required for building and repair of body tissues (including muscle)
2. are enzymes, hormones, and many immune molecules
3. are involved in essential body processes such as water balancing, nutrient transport, and muscle contractions require protein to function.
4. can be a source of energy .
5. helps keep skin, hair, and nails (keratin) healthy.
6. are absolutely crucial for overall good health.
Most of you probably remember from highschool biology that there are 4 distinct protein structures: Primary, secondary, tertiary, quarternary. The simplest of these structures is a linear sequence of amino acids -Arg-Thy-Cys-Ala-etc... The most complex being the 3-dimensional structures of many proteins mixed together that have active-sites and can perform complex actions/synthesis. These molecules (in most senses) aide in having the body-chemistry work faster. Life without proteins would be very slow.
Amino acids are what we commonly refer to as "proteins" when we think workout drinks/protein shakes and food. Amino acids are just molecules that contain an amino group (R-NH2) and a carboxyl group (R-COOH) *where R is the rest of the molecule. The simplest amino acid is Alanine (H2N-COOH, simply combining the amino and carboxyl group). The remaining amino acids are more complicated and contain ring structures and or long chains of carbon atoms. Amino acids come in two types for the human body; essential/non-esscential. Essential amino acids are only called "essential" because our body is unable to produce them on its own. They are not more important for life functions (persay) than the non-essential type, just we need to consume them to have them. But I'll list the 22 amino acids below by group.
Essential: Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Valine
Nonessential: Alanine, Asparagine, Aspartic Acid, Cysteine, Glutamic Acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Proline, Selenocysteine, Serine, Tyrosine, Arginine, Histidine, Ornithine, Taurine
Protein powders are made from four basic sources: whey (from milk), egg, soy, and rice. Let's take a look at whey protein (because it's probably the most common). The protein fraction in whey (approximately 10% dry solids within whey) comprises 4 major Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) and six minor BCAAs (we'll ignore). The major protein fractions in whey are beta-lactoglobulin (162amino acids), alpha-lactalbumin (14178amino acids), bovine serum albumin (66382amino acids) and immunoglobulins (varies in size). Together these supply high amounts of cystine and leucine, but should provide most of the other amino acids.
Most people don't require protein shakes. The only ones who really should be concerned with not getting enough protein are vegan/vegitarians, senior citizens, and annorexics. That being said, working out hard and wanting to rebuild muscles faster, protein shakes are probably a good idea. Many health studies are showing that protein shakes also raise the immune system (immunoglobulins!) and provide cancer fighting anti-oxidants. So having a few glasses a week could be benefitial, regardless of workout schedules.
Let's call that a day on Proteins and we can pick up class sometime next week, whe we can discuss something a bit more interesting like complex carbohydrates!
Today's weigh in: 147.0lbs.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Dat 22+ C/S/T abs coreplus
So today is the big day - Starcraft 2 hits the shelves!! Technically, I've already purchased it... it won't be arriving at my door until Tomorrow sometime since I had it delivered (silly me). But the good news is, I'll be able to put in another solid workout before the game sucks my life away and I become a fat slob mindlessly clicking Drones and SCV's to build units and take over enemy forces...
On a completely different side note, I was talking to a guy at the gym (one of the biggest guys there) who was doing these bizarre kettle-bell exercises. Turns out he's in the USA Strong Man competition and he is one of the top 5 kettle bell lifters in the nation (for StrongMan). He was telling me how I should try it. But I think he was more interested in the fact that most of the strongman lifters are so big... there are almost no "light weight" strongmen. His thinks I should compete! I sorta laughed, but I don't know. Perhaps I'll give it a try at the gym? Maybe it'd be something I like? If not, oh well no big deal.
Listened to a song last night by Bob Sinclaire and Ben Ohono called "Rainbow of Love" was the most trippy experience of my life - but I was SO HAPPY when it was over. I don't know if it was the music or the video or both, but the whole package was just a smile-creating experience.
In the next couple of posts, I think I am going to try to do some research on different diets and exercises and talk about the physics, chemistry, biology of things. I don't know why I want to suddenly start talking about this stuff, but I feel the need to utilize some of my biochemical engineering background and share that with everyone... Not 100% sure what I want to talk about yet, but I'll come up with something, do some extra research on the side then piece it all together. Maybe I can do one a week for everyone to learn a little something. On slow weeks maybe I'll paraphrase an article on a fitness product and why/how it works.
In the meantime. I'm going to listen to some Bob Sinclaire!
On a completely different side note, I was talking to a guy at the gym (one of the biggest guys there) who was doing these bizarre kettle-bell exercises. Turns out he's in the USA Strong Man competition and he is one of the top 5 kettle bell lifters in the nation (for StrongMan). He was telling me how I should try it. But I think he was more interested in the fact that most of the strongman lifters are so big... there are almost no "light weight" strongmen. His thinks I should compete! I sorta laughed, but I don't know. Perhaps I'll give it a try at the gym? Maybe it'd be something I like? If not, oh well no big deal.
Listened to a song last night by Bob Sinclaire and Ben Ohono called "Rainbow of Love" was the most trippy experience of my life - but I was SO HAPPY when it was over. I don't know if it was the music or the video or both, but the whole package was just a smile-creating experience.
In the next couple of posts, I think I am going to try to do some research on different diets and exercises and talk about the physics, chemistry, biology of things. I don't know why I want to suddenly start talking about this stuff, but I feel the need to utilize some of my biochemical engineering background and share that with everyone... Not 100% sure what I want to talk about yet, but I'll come up with something, do some extra research on the side then piece it all together. Maybe I can do one a week for everyone to learn a little something. On slow weeks maybe I'll paraphrase an article on a fitness product and why/how it works.
In the meantime. I'm going to listen to some Bob Sinclaire!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Day 21+ Chest and Back
A couple things today... First, let me introduce you to P90X+'s idea of a rest week... Chest+Back, Plyo, C/S/T, StretchX, Back&Bicep, YogaX. Seriously!? This is standard P90X as a rest week. Joy, I can already see the how pace of the next 69 days are going to go - TOUGH. Not only tough because of a lack of a true rest week, but so much is happening in the next 2 months! I'm going to do my best to stay on schedule.
My weight this morning was 148lbs. I'm very surprised that I did not tip the 150lb mark over the weekend. I ate quite a few carbs and sweets, I even recall a soda in there. But it was the workouts that saved me. Specifically Kenpo Cardio X Plus.
The routine was short. 40minutes to be exact. The moves were fast! The breaks were short and the sweat was flowing! All I could do was try to keep up. A lot of the moves were very strange. Previously I was used to Jab,cross,hook,uppercut. But now the moves are Jab, Knee, Uppercut, back-kick, front-kick, pivot, stab, impale, roundhouse kick to the face, doublebackflip, kidney-blow. Among other things.
And the shuffling of the feet between moves keeps the blood pumping.
Only downside? The whole warmup and cooldown is basically 10minutes of yoga! Which could totally turn me off if I'm not in the mood for it. Nobody wants to taint KenpoX (a fun exciting fast paced workout) with yoga, eww!
Going to be an interesting week for me. Tomorrow, Starcraft 2 hits the stores (already bought my copy). And then Thursday, I take the afternoon off to go to a beach-house up in Ontario for the weekend. I'm going to sum this week up in 2 pictures:
My weight this morning was 148lbs. I'm very surprised that I did not tip the 150lb mark over the weekend. I ate quite a few carbs and sweets, I even recall a soda in there. But it was the workouts that saved me. Specifically Kenpo Cardio X Plus.
The routine was short. 40minutes to be exact. The moves were fast! The breaks were short and the sweat was flowing! All I could do was try to keep up. A lot of the moves were very strange. Previously I was used to Jab,cross,hook,uppercut. But now the moves are Jab, Knee, Uppercut, back-kick, front-kick, pivot, stab, impale, roundhouse kick to the face, doublebackflip, kidney-blow. Among other things.
And the shuffling of the feet between moves keeps the blood pumping.
Only downside? The whole warmup and cooldown is basically 10minutes of yoga! Which could totally turn me off if I'm not in the mood for it. Nobody wants to taint KenpoX (a fun exciting fast paced workout) with yoga, eww!
Going to be an interesting week for me. Tomorrow, Starcraft 2 hits the stores (already bought my copy). And then Thursday, I take the afternoon off to go to a beach-house up in Ontario for the weekend. I'm going to sum this week up in 2 pictures:
Friday, July 23, 2010
Day 18+ Kenpo Cardio Plus
I'd like to draw your attention to my counter! I added this little feature the other day in hopes to monitor just how many people visit my site and read my nonsense. Well as it turns out, everytime somebody clicks a link or is redirected on the site I get another tick on the counter. So, the reality of it is: Take whatever the counter reads and divide by 4 or 5 to get a true understanding of how many readers visit this site. (Plus probably half of them are me trying to make posts, which ultimately yields a ton of clicks).
Today will be Kenpo Cardio Plus day. Right on schedule with P90X+ program. Next week is my 4th week, but I plan to get back into early workouts (5:00am) I'm tired of having to go to the gym in the afternoon, so now I think I am going to flip back to morning workouts, which worked so well for me for so long. I'll let you know how the transition goes.
My first successful completion of "Abs Core Plus" yesterday, it's a hell of an ab-workout! 25 minutes long, intervals, leg raises from the pullup bar, cherry bomb, Russian twist situps, you name it and it's in there.
I really hammered through Legs&Back. Perhaps it was the hulk-drink talking, but I know some people at the gym and we were having chin-up competitions. In a 5 minute spurt I think I put up 45chinups. 21,8,6,6,3,1? Something like that! Very proud of myself. And then I continued to go through the Legs&Back stuff.
After work: Kenpo+ (and perhaps an ab routine).
Today will be Kenpo Cardio Plus day. Right on schedule with P90X+ program. Next week is my 4th week, but I plan to get back into early workouts (5:00am) I'm tired of having to go to the gym in the afternoon, so now I think I am going to flip back to morning workouts, which worked so well for me for so long. I'll let you know how the transition goes.
My first successful completion of "Abs Core Plus" yesterday, it's a hell of an ab-workout! 25 minutes long, intervals, leg raises from the pullup bar, cherry bomb, Russian twist situps, you name it and it's in there.
I really hammered through Legs&Back. Perhaps it was the hulk-drink talking, but I know some people at the gym and we were having chin-up competitions. In a 5 minute spurt I think I put up 45chinups. 21,8,6,6,3,1? Something like that! Very proud of myself. And then I continued to go through the Legs&Back stuff.
After work: Kenpo+ (and perhaps an ab routine).
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Day 17+ Legs and Back
I'm on week 3, headed into week 4... and just to get a feel for P90X+'s rest week, I took a glance at the schedule. To my surprise, the rest week for P90X+ is basically "regular" P90X! So much for having a nice and easy week 4.
I am really excited about tomorrow's Kenpo+! I think it'll be amazing! I really like the original kenpo, so I hope I get blown away by this one.
Apheresis went spectacularly uneventful - watched a terrible movie "Transylmania" and got a coupon for a free 1/2 gallon of Friendly's Icecream (WOOHOO)!
Got my hulkamania drink all lined up for today's workout. Gonna take it to the next level, adding heavier weights perhaps.
Weigh in for this morning: 150lbs (up about 3lbs from the start of P90X+, but mostly due to last weekend).
I am really excited about tomorrow's Kenpo+! I think it'll be amazing! I really like the original kenpo, so I hope I get blown away by this one.
Apheresis went spectacularly uneventful - watched a terrible movie "Transylmania" and got a coupon for a free 1/2 gallon of Friendly's Icecream (WOOHOO)!
Got my hulkamania drink all lined up for today's workout. Gonna take it to the next level, adding heavier weights perhaps.
Weigh in for this morning: 150lbs (up about 3lbs from the start of P90X+, but mostly due to last weekend).
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Day 16+ Apheresis (no workout)
Wednesday... always a potential that I'll be donating blood. Looks like today, after work, I will be hitting the apheresis clinic again. This means I will lose today's workout, and depending on how it all goes, I might lose tomorrow's also. At least on the bright side is this is happening on Yoga-Day, which makes the whole experience that much better. I'd be pissed if I lost a legs&back day or chest&arms.
P90X+ is brutal. Monday and Tuesday I did the "PLUS" workouts and holy cow. 90 seconds of Sphinx pushups!? 60 seconds of in and out shoulder flies!? Then 90 seconds of L-chinups!? Whoa! It's not a stroll in the park.
Turns out that there are only 2-Kids in the videos though. Traci Morrow and Mark Briggs. Both are absolutely jacked and ready to kick-some-ass. And the Ab-Plus routine is brutally long (25mins) and you have to record how many reps you do - which makes it even more a pain in the ass fumbling around trying to find your workout sheet, completely exhausted.
Everyone should check out Jaked's new background we whipped up yesterday, it's a pretty nice Tony collage for the world: http://p90xadventure-jaked.blogspot.com/
P90X+ is brutal. Monday and Tuesday I did the "PLUS" workouts and holy cow. 90 seconds of Sphinx pushups!? 60 seconds of in and out shoulder flies!? Then 90 seconds of L-chinups!? Whoa! It's not a stroll in the park.
Turns out that there are only 2-Kids in the videos though. Traci Morrow and Mark Briggs. Both are absolutely jacked and ready to kick-some-ass. And the Ab-Plus routine is brutally long (25mins) and you have to record how many reps you do - which makes it even more a pain in the ass fumbling around trying to find your workout sheet, completely exhausted.
Everyone should check out Jaked's new background we whipped up yesterday, it's a pretty nice Tony collage for the world: http://p90xadventure-jaked.blogspot.com/
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