P90X Round 2: Weeks 3/4

Well, week 3 started out pretty good, but didn't end well.  I let the lazy Dan talk me into not doing the workouts anymore...I'm ashamed.  So, I spent all last week telling myself that I "just wasn't motivated" to do the workouts.  Hogwash!  I was making excuses so I didn't have to do them.  Also, since I wasn't doing the workouts anymore, I was eating pretty much what I wanted.  At work, I was still eating good...probably so my co-workers didn't know about not doing the workouts.  Again...ashamed.

Well, today I'm stopping all that crap and going back to the "new" Dan, who does the workouts every day and eats like he should!  I missed an entire week (plus Yoga and one Ab workout during week 3), so I'm onto week 5 now.  I did Chest, Shoulders and Triceps today.  Pretty much sucked at it, but that's what I get for quitting!  It's only uphill from here!

Dan

P90X: Round 2: Week 2

I had an OK week this week...still not eating nearly as good as I'd like to be.  As I said last week, that 6-week in-between period really screwed me up and had my mind telling me it's OK to eat that way...I've already lost 50 pounds!  True, but I really want to get down below 200 and that will take another 27 pounds.  I don't think I'll get there eating like this.  I'm not sure how to fix it...but I need to...soon.

As for the program, I had to adjust again.  Monday was our last Senior legion baseball game so I missed that workout and moved everything out.  Then, it was so hot Wednesday night (when I was supposed to do Plyometrics...which I have to do in the garage) that I did Kenpo inside instead.  This was supposed to push Plyometrics to Friday but it was 100+ degrees again and I decided to do Yoga...hoping it would be cooler on Sunday...which it was.

Basically, as you can see below...I did no workout on the day it was originally scheduled.  :)  Oh well, I got them all done, so that's the important thing.

Monday: Chest and Back No Workout
Tuesday: Plyometrics Chest and Back
Wednesday: Shoulders and Arms Kenpo
Thursday: Kenpo Shoulders and Arms
Friday: Shoulders and Arms Yoga
Saturday: Yoga Legs and Back
Sunday: Stretch Plyometrics

I think I'm going to try to do Stretch tonight if I have time to (which I should).  I really enjoyed it last year, when it was the only workout on Sunday and especially after I did Legs and Back, which leaves me sore every time.

Dan

Round 2, Day 4: Yoga X

All I can say is WOW!  I've never had a Yoga X workout like that before!  I don't know if it's just my energy level today (can't be that...I've had 11.5 hours of sleep the past 3 days) or what, but I "brought it" during the workout today.  I was down farther than I'd ever been before on the Crescent/Warrior poses.  The only thing I can this of is I was really trying to work on my breathing during the poses..that and closing my eyes when possible.  I've been told it helps...maybe they're right!!  I sweat my "you know what" off!!

Report for Legs and Back coming up!!

Dan

Round 2, Day 4: Baseball!!

We had a juniors-only double-header Thursday night in Holton, KS.  Beat 'em 13-2 and 11-0!  Got home a little after 11pm.  I considered doing the Yoga workout, but I would have ended at nearly 1am (too late) and I also had another job to do.

We are using iPads to keep our baseball scorebooks this year.  The app we use is good, but it takes some getting used to...I still get stuck with it sometimes.  Anyway, last night the Seniors had a double-header too...at home against Hiawatha, KS.  The senior coach usually keeps the iPad for our junior games, but of course he wasn't there.  I could have kept it, but I was coaching 3rd base, and it's hard to relay signals when you have an iPad in your hands and are trying to keep score.  So I had one of the parents of a junior player keep the book on a regular paper book.  Because we send our results to the newspaper and radio guys in town, I needed to get the results from the paper book into the iPad, so I spent some time doing that rather than the Yoga workout.

I have to go into work for a bit this morning, so the plan is to do Yoga around lunch time and then do the regular Friday workout, Legs and Back, later this evening.  Should the situation arise where I only have time for one workout, I'll do Legs and Back.  I don't mind the Yoga workout, but my goals with this program are to 1) Lose weight and 2) Build muscle.  The Legs and Back workout better supports those goals, so I'll pick it if I'm forced to choose.

Dan

Round 2, Day 3: Shoulders and Arms with Ab Ripper X

Great workout tonight!  I upped many of my previous weights, and was still able to complete the exercise in the 8-12 range.  Many of the curl exercises are now done with 30lb weights, where I used 20lb weights before.

Ab Ripper was great as well.  On fifer scissors, hip rock and raise, and pulse ups, I was a little short of the 25 reps when the DVD exercise was done, but I went ahead and took a few extra seconds to get to 25, which is fine by me.  I'm doing extra reps, which is never a bad thing, right?

I'm really starting to feel now like I'm turning a corner with my fitness because of this program.  I have a ton of motivation this time around, and I'm really excited to see what my "day 180" pictures and weight/body fat percentage will be.

Yoga is on the menu for tomorrow.

Dan

Days 90 & 91: Yoga X and REST!!!

Sorry for the last post, folks, but this was an extremely busy weekend.  Falls City hosted a 6-team American Legion Junior baseball tournament.  3 teams from Nebraska (Falls City, Auburn, and Tecumseh) and 3 teams from Kansas (Sabetha, Holton, and Doniphan County).  The teams from each state played each other on day 1 (Saturday) and then today we had the 5th, 3rd, and 1st place games pitting teams from each state against each other.  We were fortunate enough to not only win the tournament (we beat Doniphan County 10-6), but Auburn and Tecumseh also won, so it was a clean sweep for Nebraska.

Because we hosted the tournament, we all spent all day Saturday there, and all Sunday afternoon and evening as well.  Therefore, I got up early Saturday morning the completed my final Yoga X session for this round of the P90X program.  It really feels good to get the workouts done in the morning, and not have to worry about doing them so late at night.

For Sunday, I fully planned on doing X Stretch when I got home from the games, but I'm spent, folks!!!  I'm going to go ahead and take option #1 of that "Rest or X Stretch" wording in the P90X workout guide.

As for final results, I had a slight problem with my scale.  It decided to crap out on me with dead batteries, and it uses the watch battery style.  Therefore, I fell back to the Wii Fit scale.  While it does read about 10 pounds light compared to my regular scale, I did have an early March (when I started the program) weigh-in on the Wii to refer to.  Therefore, according to the Wii, I lost 46.1 pounds total (265.7 to 219.6). Awesome!!!  Of course, it doesn't measure body fat, so I'm going to have to replace the batteries in the regular scale to get that.

Also, I have updated the final pictures to the website as well, and they are accessible from the "P90X Pictures" link at the top.

What a ride this has been for me.  I've been looking so long for something to help me get in better shape and lose weight, and this program nailed it for me.  I'm so happy that I stumbled upon those commercials way back when.

Where do I go now?  Well, I can pretty much guarantee that this will not be the only time I follow the program. As for when I start again, I was first considering the end of baseball season.  However, the nuclear plant I work  at has a refueling outage coming up in October.  As I work 60 hours a week during an outage, I don't want to be spending an additional hour doing workouts.  I then considered just starting up again, but baseball keeps me so busy that I really need to conserve my free time.

Therefore, here is the current plan:

1. Do Plyometrics, Kenpo, Cardio, or Core Synergistics 2-3 times as week as time permits
2. Eat the same healthy foods I ate during the program.
3. Start up with the next round of P90X after the refueling outage.

This plan should help me to still drop weight (slower of course) until I'm ready to start up with the program again.

Thanks for following me throughout this journey!

Dan

Day 89: Core Synergistics

Another workout retired...this time it's Core Synergistics.  I've really kind of grown to like this workout!  Not that I don't like the resistance workouts...trust me, I do.  But the cardio workouts (Core Syn, Kenpo, Plyometrics) really make me sweat and work off those extra pounds I've been keeping around for all of these years.  So, they have an extra-special place in my heart!

Actually, I'm considering doing each of those 3 workouts once a week during my down-time after this round of P90X is complete.  I want to make sure I at least maintain my new weight, and don't gain any back.  Continuing to eat well (with reduced snacking) and doing these cardio workouts 3 nights a week should do the trick!

All I have left is Yoga and X Stretch.  Since we have a baseball tournament all day tomorrow, I'm getting up nice and early and getting Yoga done.  I need to be at the baseball field by about 7:30 or 8:00, so I'll probably start about 5:30 or 6am tomorrow.  This will work just fine, because I should be able to get to bed plenty early tonight...I've already done today's workout!

Dan

Day 85: Yoga X

Had a great Memorial Day holiday today!  Slept in...until about 9:30.  Hit the baseball field for an informal throwing session.  Went to a Memorial Day dinner (ate pretty good...had a piece of apple pie, though.  Too good to pass up!), took the kids to the pool for a few hours, did some work around the house, watched some NBA playoffs, and finally did Yoga X!

Not much has changed on the Yoga X workout.  I still struggle with the same balance issues I've had pretty much throughout.  I do know that I've improved over these 13 weeks, so that's all I can ask for.  I've really tried to push myself each time I've done the workout, so there had to be some improvement.

Day 2 of the final week of this program is tomorrow...Core Synergistics.  Going to be a late workout, though, as I have baseball games at 6 and 8 tomorrow night.  Oh well...only 6 days to go, right?

Dan

Day 84 (part 2): X Stretch

Late night stretching!!!  Started after midnight tonight!  Had baseball today and then a family get together with the in-laws on the back deck with a fire in the chiminea.  After that I compiled some baseball statistics so I could send them to the boys and coaches tomorrow.  So, X Stretch got pushed way back.  It's ok, though, because tomorrow is a holiday and a day off so I can sleep in!

Well, today ended Week 12 of P90X, and al I have left is a recovery week next week.  2 Yogas, 2 Core Synergistics, 2 X Stretch and a Kenpo.  It's pretty amazing to look back on all of the work I've put into this program over the past 3 months!!

Off to bed!  I really need my beauty sleep...ask anybody!  :)

Dan

Day 82: Yoga X

Another late night workout!  Just finished at a quarter until 1am!  Hoorah!  Despite the late hour, this was the easiest (and quickest) Yoga X to date.  Now, the question is can I get up early enough to do my Legs & Back workout (with Ab Ripper X) before leaving for the baseball games?  I'm thinking I can.

BTW, Wendy and I went and saw What to Expect When You're Expecting in St. Joseph Friday night.  Pretty good flick...lots of funny parts.  Elizabeth Banks is hilarious in this movie!

OK, so off to bed.

Dan

Day 81: Back and Biceps with Ab Ripper X

Back on track tonight...because there's no late baseball!  :)  Did the final Back and Biceps workout tonight, and it went pretty good.  I'm up 10-15 lbs in almost every exercise in the workout, and the new band is really giving me some extra resistance I didn't get with the old one.

I don't think I told you about the band...I was working out to one of the back exercises a little more than a week ago and my band broke!  Luckily it broke right by the handle and not in the middle.  Gave me a little scare for a split-second there, but nobody was hurt!  So, I got a new band at the new Dick's Sporting Goods that opened up in St. Joseph about a month ago.  It's one that has the handles that can be placed on any band.  I'm using the green band, which I think is 80 or 90lb of resistance.

As for Ab Ripper, I barely made 349/349 again.  During the pulse-ups, my last two "reps" were done after Tony and the gang were done.  Not exactly what I wanted, but I did do 25 reps!

OK, on to Yoga tomorrow.  Again, a good day for it because we have no games or practice tomorrow.  Saturday (Legs and Back with Ab Ripper) and Sunday (Kenpo & X Stretch) we have a tournament in Auburn.  I'm hoping to get the workouts done in the morning so I don't have to worry about them.  Doing that last Saturday made such a big difference!

Dan

Day 74: Yoga X

Well, I did a weigh in yesterday morning, and I'm now down 38 pounds from "Day 0" of the program.  That's down 4 pounds from day 60, so the progress has slowed down somewhat.  But, as you  know from previous posts, my eating has been sliding slightly the past few weeks for some reason.  Still, I'm losing weight and feeling and looking much better.  I really couldn't be much happier!

Did Yoga last night, and it was a little tougher for me than it had been the past few weeks.  Again, I did it late, so that may have been a factor...but I did complete it.  Only three more of those left...not that I'm counting or anything!  :)   One positive on the workout was that I didn't have to use a block on any of the exercises (triangle, half moon, right angle, etc.)  I was able to get the other hand into the air just fine without needing the block, so that's good.

Anyway, on to today's "bun bruising" Legs and Back workout and another Ab Ripper!

Dan

Day 73: Shoulders and Arms with Ab Ripper X

Another one bites the dust...  -Queen


Another workout can now be retired, as tonight was my last Shoulders and Arms workout.  Again, I'm pretty amazed at my progress...largely on the amount of weight I'm using for each exercise.  Many of the exercises are now done with the 30lb weights I have.  This includes the static arm curls, which I have to admit are tough with 30's right now.  But I was doing 20's and thought it was time to move up in weight.  Obviously, this workout (along with the other arm workouts) was huge for me, though, because I can really tell a big difference in the definition of my arms.

On to Ab Ripper.  My goal is still to be able to complete all 349 reps in the allotted time for each exercise.  Tonight, I upped my previous best from 332 to 336.  I'm only short now in 3 exercises (Crunchy Frog 20/25), Fifer Scissors (20/25) and Pulse-Up (22/25).  We'll see how Friday goes.

Not the greatest day eating today.  Had a good, normal, breakfast and a good lunch.  For supper, I had another of my "snack" binges.  Then, after supper Wendy asked me to get her something for dessert, so I got her a Snickers blast from Sonic.  She couldn't eat it all, so guess who finished it.  Grrr.  I don't understand why the willpower is lessening now...I've done so well so far.  Something to really focus on these last few weeks and after as well.

Tomorrow is Yoga!  Yay!  :)

Dan

Day 67: Yoga X

A busy day today!!! Worked for 1/2 a day. Then helped out at Avery's field day at North School. If you're wondering, she got 3rd in her class in the frisbee throw and also competed in softball throw, football throw and soccer ball kick. In the running events, she did the 50yd dash and the sack race. After that, I had baseball practice until almost 6:00 and finally Megan had a South School Musical at 7:00! What a day! To top it all off, I got the distinct privilege of doing Yoga X! All kiddIng aside, this Yoga X workout was better than some in that it didn't seem like it took as long. I'm not sure why but I like it! Nothing really changed tonight...still got up into wheel (for a few seconds) and did crane some. Still cant get my feet or knees down in plough. Also, I'm using the yoga block for both hamstring stretches now. I'm almost to the heel of the block on the left foot so I may soon be rotating it to get more reach. Work day tomorrow, so I'd better get to bed. Legs and back tomorrow. Night all!! Dan

Day 60: Yoga X

Well, I'm pulling double-duty on an off-Friday again.  I didn't do Yoga X on Thursday as scheduled, but instead did it this morning.  First of all (as as before), it's mostly the same issue of not getting enough sleep.  I really would like to do the workouts earlier in the evenings, but I don't want to infringe on family time, so I wait until they go to bed.  Then, I get done with the workouts late.  Some days I get up at 4 so I can leave work early enough to make morning baseball practice.  It all adds up to not enough sleep.  Not sure how to fix it...but I definitely need to do something!

Secondly, we went to the brand new Dick's Sporting Goods in St. Joseph yesterday after work!  I could spend hours in that place....there's so much to look at!  I needed a new ball glove anyway, as mine was pretty much toast after 10+ years of use.  We didn't get home until about 9:30, so the combination of the last of sleep the night before and the late hour pretty much knocked me out.

So I did Yoga X this morning, and I still struggle a lot with it...by far the most of any workout in the program.  I don't feel to bad though because I've heard from a lot of people that it's the toughest for them as well.  Like I've always said, it's a great opportunity to improve myself in the areas of flexibility and balance.

DAY 60!! The official weight loss numbers are 34.3 pounds lost and 3.9% body fat shaved off...I'm now below 35% body fat!  34.3 pounds was more than I expected, so I was happy about that!  Also, the new pictures went up last night and can be viewed from the "P90X" Pictures link at the top of this blog.  You can definitely see improvements in the back flex pictures and in all pictures, you can see the reduction of the spare tire and general loss of the gut.  There's still plenty there, but it's certainly getting smaller.

OK, so now I need to mow that jungle I call a front yard.  Take Megan to the dentist...and then do Legs and Back before we head to Auburn to have a birthday dinner with my mom!  Busy day!

Dan

Day 59: Shoulders and Arms with Ab Ripper X

Had a pretty good...but long...day today.  We had an intra-squad scrimmage tonight, so I was at the baseball field until after 8:30.  Then, I had supper (grilled steak and vegetables...very good!).  I started the workout around 9:45 and finished just after 11.  I know that's late, but on days like these...I have no choice!

On the workout, I found that going up 10 lbs in some exercises wasn't too much weight.  That means that I'm getting stronger!  I knew it!  :)

Ab Ripper X was another record setter...up to 323/349 reps now.  I maxed out on all exercises except for Crunchy Frog (17/25), Fifer Scissors (20.25), Hip Rock and Raise (20/25), Pulse-Up (20/25) and Roll-Up/V-Up Combo (22/25).  I've really been working on getting the form better as well, so making good progress there.

Day 60 tomorrow!  New pictures will be taken sometime tomorrow evening and I'll be stepping on the scale tomorrow morning. I know what I was about 10 days ago, so I want to be below that a little bit, but again I'm not making any goals or getting my hopes up for some number.  As I've said before, the goal is to follow the program for the full 13 weeks.  If I do that, I'll be happy no matter how much I lose.

Yoga is tomorrow's workout.  Yay!!!

Dan

Day 55: Yoga X

It's been a busy day, but the night it still young!  In about 3 hours I'll be heading over to the high school to help out with the Post Prom party.  Brandt is a Junior this year, so us Junior parents get to help out.  I'm not sure what I'm going to help out with exactly, but I hope I get to watch the laser tag, which is the big thing this year.  Some outfit out of Kansas City brought a laser tag setup that supposedly takes up the entire gym floor.  Should be lots of fun.  Breakfast is at 4am, so I won't be home before then.  I should have napped earlier today, but I'm pretty much unable to sleep during the day.  I could try and nap now, but with 3 hours until I have to be there, it wouldn't do much good.

I did the Yoga X workout this afternoon after lunch.  As I've mentioned before, it appears to be getting somewhat easier, but it still pretty tough for me.  One thing I was excited about though...I DID WHEEL!!  Ok, so it was for about 3-4 seconds, but it was the first time I was able to get up into it.  Other than that, everything was about the same.

X Stretch tomorrow then back to "work" next week!

Dan

Day 50: Yoga X

Had a pretty good day today...day #1 of the 2nd recovery week (and day #1 of week #8 overall) of the P90X program.  This week, I do Yoga X twice, Core Synergistics twice, X Stretch twice, and Kenpo once.  You still work your butt off...just a limited number of resistance exercises...all in the Core Synergistics workout.

Unfortunately, I really see no tangible progress in Yoga X.  As I've mentioned before, I get the double whammy on this workout because 1) I'm not very flexible and 2) I have poor balance.  This is why postures like Half Moon give me fits.  A few of the postures (i.e. Shoulder stand, crane, etc.) I do see some small improvements.  However, easier postures like getting down to 90 degrees in the crescent and warrior postures sometimes seems to get worse!!  In spite of all of this, I trudge on faithfully following the program...realizing that any of these workouts I do only help to improve upon these shortcomings.

I haven't posted much about my nutrition lately...only because I really haven't eaten anything different.  I'm actually quite lucky that I'm not one of those people that can't eat the same thing every (or every other) day because I'd probably lose it.  I still have turkey bacon and cottage cheese for every breakfast during the week and most weekends.  I still have either a Boca burger or a turkey sandwich for lunch.  I still quite often have BBQ chicken for supper.  Pretty exciting stuff, huh?

Off to bed...we have early practice tomorrow, so I'm up at 4am (4.5 hours from now).

Core Synergistics tomorrow.

Day 46: Yoga X

Well, I had my first P90X program "boo-boo" yesterday.  I was so tired from the limited sleep the night before that I fell asleep last night without doing Yoga!  Around 9pm, Wendy asked me if I wanted to watch Modern Family on our DVR.  As it's our favorite show, I made the mistake of saying "yes" and got into bed to watch it with her...fully planning on doing Yoga after it was over.  Oops!  Obviously, the issue of doing the workouts as early as possible is a concern, because I don't want this sort of thing to start becoming a habit!  I need to work on my procrastination!

Therefore, I did Yoga X this morning, and will be doing today's regularly scheduled workout, Legs and Back, after lunch.  I would wait a little later in the evening, but our baseball team is going to Lincoln to watch the Huskers play Purdue tonight, and I won't be back until probably Midnight at the latest.  Don't want to wait that long.

Not much change on Yoga, though I did do Crane for a bit longer than I have in the past.  It helped to touch one toe on the floor when I felt I was coming out of it and then went back up again, which helped reduce the down time.  I also tried Wheel, and I can get into position, but can't get the head off of the floor.  I'll have to continue to work on that one.  Also, Half Moon seems a bit easier...I remember at the beginning I couldn't do it at all!

I'll be back in a few hours with the Legs and Back post!

Dan

Day 39: Yoga X

Another day...another workout!  Yoga yesterday in my hotel room here in the Cornhusker Mariott in Lincoln.  Not much to say about the workout other than I still struggle with the same poses.  Last Thursday I was able to do the half moon (normal and twisting) as lot better.  Yesterday it was tough again.  That one leg that is down during that sequence gets on fire in a hurry!

For lunch yesterday I had chicken and steak fajitas with rice.  The fajitas had a little cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and salsa.  For dinner I had a salad and then a smothered piece of roast beef, mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. Obviously the gravy on the roast beef wasn't the greatest for me and the potatoes (I only ate half) busted my carb portions.  However, I didn't have a choice as to what was on the plate.  If you've ever been to any conference like this, they bring you the plate right to the table.  No worries, it was minor and it was one meal.  My goal is to continue to make the right choices when I do have a choice...which is the majority of the time.  I'm doing great on this so far, so I have no concerns.

Heading home later this afternoon and then I have the Legs and Back workout.