Day 76

Only 2 weeks left!  Holy crap-ola!  Today was Kenpo X as it always is on Saturday...as always, a lovely workout.  Broke a good sweat, felt the burn in the legs...good times :)

tomorrow morning I'm planning on getting out for a 5 mile run.  The Omaha Half Marathon is at the end of September and I need to get myself into running shape for that.  P90X has gotten me in way better shape than I've really ever been, but I need to get my knees used to running again so I can avoid pain.  I was really encouraged the other day when I got in a 3 mile run...it was really hot, but I felt great doing it...I felt like I could have gone much longer if not for the heat...so I'm excited to get out for 5 tomorrow and see how the extra 2 miles treats me :)

Days 74 and 75

Day 74 was supposed to be Yoga X, but I got super tired and didn't do it...consequently, I'll be doing it on my rest day tomorrow :)

Day 75 was Legs and Back just like almost every other Friday :)  Always a great workout...it's been nice the last couple weeks...I haven't woken up sore on Saturday.  I don't think I'm being a wuss on the workout, so perhaps that implies progress...I'm all for progress! 

Today's Day 76...Kenpo X...I'll write about that later after I've done it.  Assuming my legs feel ok in the morning, I plan on getting out for a 5 mile run in the morning...I did 3 miles the other day and felt great, other than it being super hot outside...so I'm excited to do 5 miles.  Joyful and I are doing the Omaha Half Marathon in September, so I need to be out running to get ready for it...

Day 73

Today was Shoulders and Arms...it's nice doing a workout I haven't done in a while...partly for variety's sake and partly to see progress...I definitely saw some progress...I could do more resistance on most of it, and I felt like I could do it better in general, so hooray for that!  Speaking of progress, the evil Mr. Scale actually told me I was down to 196.something!  I about crapped myself...I don't even remember what the exact number was, I was just stoked to see the 196...if I can get it to tell me 194.5, I'll be down 20 pounds...that's the goal by the end of P90X...my original goal was 30 pounds, but 20 is quite good, too.  In the nutrition book that comes with P90X, they talk a lot about how if you don't have the nutrition aspect as strict as the workout aspect, you'll be in great shape, but you won't visibly see the results as much as you'd like...that's definitely true.  I know for fact I'm in way better shape than I was 73 days ago, but I don't feel like my appearance has changed much since my day 45 picture..maybe I'm wrong...I'm trying to be good with the eating thing, and not drinking pop, and cutting back on coffee...I figure I just need to get down like 3 more pounds in 2 weeks...that should be totally doable. 

Here's a great video for your viewing pleasure about nutrition and why drinking diet pop is still bad for you:

Days 69-72

I think one of the things I'm looking forward to once my 90 days of P90X are done is not having to do my blog anymore :)  It turns out that I bore myself...I don't think I really have a whole lot worth sharing, but I keep doing it on the off chance that someone is actually reading this and maybe they find some level of encouragement from whatever it is I have to say.

So here's a recap of the past few days:  Day 69 was Kenpo X...I've decided that the Friday/Saturday combo of Legs followed by Kenpo is kind of evil...my legs were super tired this week while doing Kenpo anyways, and then I got pretty sore on Sunday like always...speaking of Sunday, it was rest day!  We had Joyful's brother and his wife in town while they were passing through, so it was nice to see them.  Day 71 was yesterday, and it was Chest and Back...I tried pushing myself on it, and it must've worked because this morning my back muscles were a little sore.  Today being Day 72, it was Plyometrics.  I felt like I did pretty good...I wore my heart rate watch, and the highest I saw my heart rate go was 171, which is better than the first time I did it...I think my heart rate that time was in the low/mid 180s.

It seems to me that when doing something along the lines of P90X, you either learn something about yourself, or something you already knew is highlighted.  The thing that has been highlighted for me is my complete lack of will power as it relates to food.  I love me some junk food.  I'm jealous of these people that can seriously pass up a free doughnut, or someone who can have 1 cookie and call it good.  I can do neither.  I eat reasonably healthy otherwise, but if I'm at work and there's doughnuts, you can bet I'll have a couple...or if I make some cookies at home (which I shouldn't be doing anyways), I'll eat a bunch of dough and then have a couple cookies when they're done....stupid food...why does it have to taste so delicious?

Day 68

Today was Legs and Back with Ab Ripper X...man, was I tired...not like my muscles were tired, but I was sleepy...we had the house dark so we could get Isaiah to sleep, and it put me to sleep, too :) But hey, I got the workout in...and it's before midnight, so that's good.  I like the leg portion of the workout...I feel like I'm good at it...I get frustrated with the pull-ups in P90X...I can't do many real pull ups, and I don't like using the chair, so I use bands, which I don't really care for, either.  On a happy note, I actually did 3 chin-ups today on my pull-up bar!  That's the best I've done since I was in elementary school!  My toe that I jacked up still hurts...I've got it iced up right now whilst I type this...hopefully someday it gets better :)

Days 64, 65, 66 and 67

So hey, I've sucked at blogging this week, haven't I?   So let's see here, how's this week been?  Monday was Chest, Shoulders and Triceps...I think that might be the hardest one for me...so many crazy, crazy push-ups that I can't do very well...I do every push-up in that workout on my knees just so I can get through it.  Tuesday was Plyometrics...super hard, super fun.  My stupid pinkie toe was hurting me some during that one.  It feels more or less fine until I put shoes on...then it hurts until my feet get used to shoes...but all the jumping around in Plyo made it sore...but as usual, I was a big ball of sweat by the time I got done with that one.  Yesterday was supposed to be Back and Biceps with Ab Ripper X...by the time we got around to working out, we were both soooo tired...so Joyful and I just did Ab Ripper X, and I'll make up the rest on Sunday (my rest day).

Today is day 67!  I was excited today...when I got home from work, I got on the scale and it said I was down to 197.6!  Normally if I want to see the scale tell me I weigh 198, I have to weigh myself right after I workout, but today it told me happy numbers prior to working out...hooray for that!  Today, we're gonna do the Back and Biceps from yesterday's workout...Yoga X is on the schedule for today, but that's what we're gonna do on Sunday...

Day 63

REST DAY!!!!!  I'm so happy about rest day this week...my butt is killing me...between Legs and Back on Friday and then Kenpo yesterday, my booty is super sore.  Yesterday I had these grand thoughts of going for a run on my day off today, but no no...that would be a bad idea right now.  I'm gonna stretch a bunch and work on getting my butt un-sore.

Day 62

Today was the Kenpo X...I learned recently that this whole time I've been spelling it wrong...I've been spelling it KeMpo, not KeNpo...oh well...either way, I like it a lot!  It's a great workout to end the week...it's fun, it's challenging, and it gets the sweat going :)  Today, I didn't take any of the breaks...for those who don't know, on Kenpo X, during the water break time, you can either take a break if you need it or you can jog in place/do jumping jacks with the people on TV...normally I take one of the breaks, but today I was feeling especially good, so I kept going...

My booty is definitely sore from Legs and Back yesterday, though :)  that one always gets me...

Day 61

Today's workout was Legs and Back with Ab Ripper X...I was definitely in a better mood today, which was nice...made the whole working out thing a million times better.  I like that on the Ab Ripper, I'm getting better at some of the stuff...I still have a hard time doing stuff that works the lower abs, but in general, I'm getting a lot better...I think back to when I first started and pretty much the whole workout was physically impossible for me, and now I can do everything...I may not be able to do all 25 reps, but I can do all the moves, which is sweet.

I did my Day 60 pictures tonight, and it was less depressing than I had imagined...so that was good.  The standing on the scale time was pretty much what I thought it would be..I was 198.4 pounds and 19.5% body fat, which is pretty much where I've been hanging out the last little while...but hey, I'm under 200 pounds most of the time anymore, so that's sweet!  I don't know that my initial goals of 185 pounds and 15% body fat are super realistic anymore for this round of p90x, but I'm certainly in way better shape than I was 60 days ago, and I'm down like 16 pounds and 5% body fat...not too shabby for 2 months out of my life. 

I really need to work on eating better these last 30 days (well really, I need to work on eating better as a general rule of life)...I know that if I can do that, the scale will treat me better on day 90...it just turns out that I lack will power...if I see cookies or doughnuts, and they're free and I can have them, I can't possibly turn them down...I just need to force myself for at very least the next 29 days to be super nazi-ish with my eating habits...

So here's the exciting progression pictures for day 60!

Day 1                                Day 60

Days 59 and 60

So apparently today is day 60!  I just realized that when I had to type the title for this...I guess I'll have to take some pictures tomorrow and put them up...plus I'll have to do measurements and weight/body fat.  I guess we'll see how that whole thing goes...I plan on being somewhat disappointed.  I know for fact I'm not eating as good as I should....but I suppose we'll see.

I've also discovered recently that I suck at keeping up with the blog...at first I was all excited to be blogging my p90x-ness, but anymore it seems so redundant, I have a hard time believing anyone cares to read it...but for whoever is out there actually still reading this puppy...yesterday was Shoulders and Biceps...I must've worked out good because I had a hard time with Yoga X today...it didn't help any that I was in a "meh" mood to start.  I despise doing Yoga when I'm in a great mood, so doing it in a less than stellar mood wasn't the greatest...but I suppose I did it, which is better than sitting on the couch the entire time.

Days 57 and 58

So between having what I'm pretty sure is a broken pinkie toe on my left foot, and working a ton yesterday, I didn't get my workout in...consequently, I had to do 2 workouts today.  AND, since I didn't want to wake up this morning, I had to do my 2 workouts back to back tonight...my saving grace was that since my toe is still killing me, I can't do Plyometrics, which is what today was to be...so I did Cardio X instead. 

Yesterday's workout that I did today was Chest and Back...that workout was good...I saw some sweet improvement over the last time I did that one about a month ago...the first time through the circuit when we did standard push ups, I was able to knock out 30, which I was happy with.  I saw some improvement on other things, too, but that was the best one.

Cardio X was kinda frustrating for me...I had to modify a fair amount since my toe wouldn't let me do stuff, and there was a couple things I couldn't figure out how I could modify it, so I just stood there and stared at the TV pissed off.  I'm really really hoping my toe stops hurting before too long...if I didn't have Joyful here to force me to work out, I would definitely be using my toe as an excuse to not work out at all...I just have to keep telling myself that even if i can't do everything, whatever I am doing is better than nothing...

Days 55 and 56

We had family in town all day yesterday, so I used that as my day off and did Yoga X today.  The thing that made it especially interesting today was that last night I think I broke the pinkie toe on my left foot.  I was going down the stairs when it was dark, and I didn't realize there was a cat there...I stepped on her and then that knocked off my balance and I stumbled down the stairs and whacked my toe really good.  When I got up this morning, it was pretty swollen and turning purple.  Right now, pretty much my whole toe is a lovely shade of purple.

I was still able to do the Yoga X, though...it did take a little bit extra positioning to get in some of the poses so that my toe didn't kill me.  I was surprised that I was able to do most of the balance postures on my left leg...there was 1 or 2, but for the most part I could do everything more or less normally.  We'll see how it goes when I have to do more active stuff, but for today it wasn't too bad.

Tomorrow I start my final 3 week segment of P90X...I'm down to only having like 33 days left!  that's crazy...

Day 53 and 54

Yesterday was the X Stretch...always a nice time.  We did it right before bed, and it was an awesome way to wind down from the day.  He's got so many great stretches...

Today was Core Synergistics...It was kinda nice this time around because I wasn't a giant ball of sweat when I got done....don't get me wrong, I was sweaty...just not like last time.  Last time, I think it was like 85 degrees in the house, this time the thing says it's 72, so that helped.  I was excited this time around, when I did the plank run, I was actually able to do it for half the time...that's about double what I used to be able to do...I was still dead by the end of it, but I was able to do better, so tha was nice :)

Day 52

Today was Kempo X...always a fun workout :)  I really tried to push myself today as far as intensity is concerned...I jogged in  place with my knees pretty high during the "break" time...did fast jumping jacks, and tried to generally push to bring up the intensity on everything.  I definitely felt like I got more of a workout :)

I'm altering the schedule a little bit this week...we've got some family coming to town Friday night and will be here on Saturday, so I'm going to take Saturday as my day off and work out on Sunday...We're going to celebrate our 8 year anniversary on Friday, so we're going to get our workout done in the morning that day...I'm sure you care deeply about my schedule, but alas, I told you all the same :)

Day 50 & 51

So yesterday was Day 50...I worked 14.5 hours and got home exhausted.  I left home at 6:15am and got back home a little before 10pm.  I didn't really feel like working out after that :)  So today I doubled up.  This morning when I got up at 5 I did Yoga X...I say I did Yoga X fairly loosely.  I was still pretty sore/stiff from my day at work yesterday, but I did what I could...and as Joyful said when I was getting angry at the workout, doing as little as I did was still more than sleeping...

Tonight when I got home from work tonight, Joyful and I did Core Synergistics.  It's a great workout...I think that one makes me sweat more than any other workout.  When I got done, I had gone through 3 towels, my yoga mat was soaked and the floor was slippery from all the sweat.  I feel like I did better at the workout than I did the last time I did it 3ish weeks ago.

So hey, when I weighed myself tonight I was down to 198.8 pounds!  I've had a hard time getting myself under 200 pounds...it seemed like I got down to the 203 range relatively easy and then I stopped going down.  When I got home from work tonight, I was at 200.0 pounds, so I decided to cheat a little bit and weigh myself right after my workout...so apparently I sweat out a little over a pound of sweat!  I don't care, though...the scale said I was under 200 pounds!!!

Day 49

Hooray Rest Day!  Plus this rest day happens to be on the 4th of July, so all the better :)  I just can't go super crazy on the burgers and hot dogs...we'll see how successful I am at that one :)

Day 48

Today was Kempo X...I like that one as the last workout for the week because you can do things to easily make it harder or easier as need be...I was feeling good today, so I tried to push myself pretty good.  I was going deeper in my squats, and I didn't take any of the optional breaks...I just kept going so I could keep my heart rate up there in the happy zone :)

Happy 4th of July everyone!  I'm going to celebrate by having my rest day, and hosting our college group at our house...should be a fun day :)

Day 47

Day 47 was Legs and Back with Ab Ripper X again...that workout always goes by fast since I've done it so many times....I decided to be smart this time and not go for a run today :)  Last time I ran after I did legs and back it killed me for like 3 days...

It's always interetsing when you do the same workout many times, how one time something will be really hard, and the next time that won't be bad at all, but something else will suck horribly...I suppose it's kinda like if you read something multiple times, each time you'll get something different from it...

deep thoughts by Todd Stoves :)

Next Generation P90X.....P90X: MC2

Check out this video....you can subscribe to get P90X One on Ones and get brand new P90X workouts and see the development of P90X: MC2 (Muscle Confusion 2) I'm so tempted to get this...it looks awesome...crazy, but awesome.

Day 46

Day 46 was the Yoga X...still not a huge fan, but it's better doing it with Joyful, plus it seems like I'm getting a little better at it.  The sweat pours off me while I'm doing it :)

Wow, I guess I'm not feeling overly wordy today...I did Yoga X...go team go :)

Day 45

Half way done!  It's crazy that I've been at this for a month and a half now...I feel like I'm seeing some good results...my weight isn't drastically doing down, which is a little sad for me...though I have done better with eating as of late, and my weight started going down again, which is awesome...I currently bounce around in the 201-203 range, which is definitely better than the 215ish I started at!  My body fat is going down, though, which I've really enjoyed.  Right now I'm in the 19-20% range, and I started at 24.5, so that's sweet.  I certainly feel like I'm more fit than I was 45 days ago :)

My day 45 workout was Back and Biceps with Ab Ripper X...I was stoked on Ab Ripper because I was able to do some of the moves the entire time that I hadn't been able to before...so that made me feel really good.  I've been trying to push myself a lot more on the workouts to get as much out of them as I can.  It's all about consistency...just keep pushing play 6 days a week :)

Here's a little before/after picture we took after the workout last night...I didn't get my workout in until almost midnight, so this picture is at about 1am :)

Day 1                                                         Day 45