martinp90x

I'm still horrible at updating this, and for that I apologize :P

At any rate, right now skeelig and I are plodding through Round 1, Phase 3 - we're halfway through Week 2 right now. Like I wrote in my last post, I had ordered the , and got them just in time to start with this week's workout. I have to say, so far I think they're much better than the resistance bands - on a lot of the exercises, the bands were too clumsy to work with. It is very much like starting over, though, since some of the exercise forms are quite different, plus I have to learn what the acceptable weight is for each exercise.

Will post again early next week with my "halfway through Phase 3" pics, most likely :)

( End of Phase 2 pictures )

( End of Phase 2 measurements )

In these pictures is where I'm really starting to notice the changes. It's still not the OMG!transformations of the informercials and YouTube users, but still... where I've gotten from 2 months ago is pretty damn impressive for me (the arms/shoulders area is where I see pretty big changes in definition). Same thing with the measurements - the inches didn't change much, but I see the changes, and the loss in weight and fat is incredible... I never pulled numbers like that when working out at the gym. skeelig and I have pretty much thrown the nutrition plan out the window, too, though we are sticking to it in an abstract sense - increasing the protein, not eating crap, all that stuff I usually go on about.

I'm definitely looking forward to Phase 3 starting this week. I decided to bite the bullet and ordered the Bowflex Selecttech Dumbbells and stand, since I feel like I wasn't pushing myself enough using the bands. We'll still keep both sets, of course, in case we travel, and if skeelig gets his European job assignment, he'll need to take a set with him there :P I'm sure I'll post my thoughts on the dumbbells here after I get them - probably won't get them for a week or more.

I'm getting really bad at updating this :P

At any rate, last week skeelig and I did a couple of days' workouts, but we put off most of it due to the SF trip. With the amount of walking we did down there, though, I think we most definitely made up for it. We also did fairly well on the eating front there, too - we didn't stay incredibly healthy, but we stayed away from too much junk.

As such, we're making this week another recovery week, since we only got to do 1 day of Yoga and 1 day of Core Syn last week. By the normal schedule, tonight would be Yoga, but we're pushing it off for one more day, mainly because (1) we still need a day to recover and (2) we have way too much to get done tonight when skeelig gets home. I figure we'll just keep the days pushed out like that - on non-recovery weeks, that puts Yoga on Friday instead of Thursday. It's a hell of a lot easier to devote an hour and a half to the Yoga routine when we don't have to worry about work the next morning.

Getting back into the nutrition routine will take a little effort, but I'll have to try as best I can. Neither one of us has been following the nutrition plan (anywhere near) to a T, but it's hard when you're working a job that has you on the road. If I was still working in a sit-down job, the fridge in whatever office I'd be in would be stocked up :P I think that may be what's been keeping me from the OMG!weight loss that you think you'd get... but at this point, I'm trying not to worry about it. I was told this weekend from a friend that he's clearly seeing the results of my working out, so that made a lot of difference. And, hell, I've lost 6 pounds since I started the program, and I even managed to lose weight while on the trip. The last time I lost 6 pounds in a 2 month span was when I first started going to the gym over 5 years ago. skeelig has also lost weight, and there's a visible difference in how he looks. Even if it works a little bit for us, it's worth it.

Haven't been keeping up with the blogging for this, but then again, not much has been changing. Today is the start of week 3 of Phase II... I have to say, I'm looking forward to the recovery week next week, though (though in actuality it'll be a two-week long recovery week, since I have my vacation next week). I haven't noticed much in the way of progress with reps or changes with weight and appearance, but I'm trying to not let it get to me.

skeelig and I were discussing the program over e-mail the other day, and we came upon some interesting conclusions - mainly, if there was a way to combine the two of us, it'd be amazing. He's killer when it comes to staying motivated and working out - there have been times where I've tried to say "Oh, let's push it out a day" but he keeps it on track. On the other hand, the diet is a little easier to stick to for me. I'm a bit of a creature of routine, so something like eating a protein bar every day in the afternoon is easy for me, while Dan gets bored with it and starts to get sickened by it. Another big thing we discovered is that it's far easier for Dan to not get caught up in his head. He mentioned that he thinks I give up long before I really should when it comes to some of the exercises - taking breaks, doing less reps, etc. I totally agree with him, but I wish there was a way I could learn to get out of my head when I'm doing it.

And really, with the way life seems to be getting in the way for us recently, I'm looking at this round as an "introduction" to P90X. We'll be doing at least one more round after this one, so it should be easier to know the form and the routine and really be able to push myself.

( Day 28 pictures )

( Day 28 measurements )

It's small, but I'm finally starting to see progress, and it's making me damn happy. While the pictures haven't changed that much, I can feel small differences that don't translate well into the photos (my shirts not being so tight around the stomach, seeing more definition in my arms, etc). Seeing the measurements and proof in the numbers is a big help, too. It's great, because even though I did get discouraged at more than one point, I really enjoy the program. I'm eating better, I don't miss the gym at all, I'm making myself work out instead of getting lazy... it's done a lot for me already. We'll have to see what happens after 60 days.

Today is the start of Phase II... I have to say, the recovery week last week was anything but - I feel like I worked harder then as opposed to weeks prior. Core Synergistics absolutely laid me out the first time, though I got slightly better on the second go-round. The one thing that does annoy me about the P90X videos is that there are some where Tony Horton does an excellent job explaining what to do (such as Yoga), and there are others where he just jumps in with little to no explanation (such as Core or Kenpo).

Well, week 3 was definitely an interesting one for us.  Both <lj user=skeelig> and I came down with a pretty nasty stomach bug on Memorial Day – I had it bad, but Dan’s was far worse.  We ended up pushing our workout out by two days, and skipped two of our workouts – Kenpo X and X Stretch.  If it weren’t for the fact that it was the last week before recovery week, we would’ve kept those days, but it was best to ease back in.  As it was, that was probably the roughest week that I’ve had so far.  My reps were far less than the week before, though I know I wasn’t doggin’ it.

Really, at this point with 3 weeks down, the main focus at this point is to try to get over the psychological blocks in my head.  Even though I’m not following the nutrition plan to the letter, the diet is fairly easy – I’ve really scaled back on eating the crap food and increasing my fruit, vegetable and protein intake.  My workouts themselves are pretty good, now that I’ve got the form down.  The “do your best” part of the motto is pretty easy, but it’s the “forget the rest” that’s giving me problems.

A lot of it is finding out where my limitations are – for example, my back (lower back in particular) is very weak, so my pull-ups aren’t as good as they could be, and it’s still impossible for me to do some of the Ab Ripper X exercises properly.  I’m seeing little changes in how I look, but part of me has been caught up in seeing the amazing transformation videos on YouTube and expecting that for myself.  At this rate, I know it’s going to take at least 2 rounds before I see any significant changes.  If I don’t see anything by then, obviously I’ll have to re-evaluate what I’m doing wrong.  It’s just hard when you know you’re busting ass but it seems like your body is holding you back.

I will say one thing that makes me happy, though – I haven’t missed the gym at all since I started doing this.  It’s a hell of a lot better to do all this at home without having to worry about driving to the gym, getting changed, risking having my workout disrupted because some jackass is spending 20 minutes on the equipment I need… it’s a good feeling.

( Pics after week 2 )

I honestly haven't seen a change at all, which is a bit discouraging, but I'm trying not to let it get to me.

On the plus side, the workouts are a little bit easier :) Once I got the form down, I don't have to stress so much about making sure it's proper. All through week 2 I wasn't nearly as sore each day than I was after the workouts during week 1. I did punk out during Kenpo X last Saturday, though - I had a rough morning, and when I was halfway through the workout my body was totally telling me "If you continue doing this, you WILL pass out." I figured it was best to just listen to my body and stop rather than try to be a hero... I'm considering trying to do it again a little later today since I'm off and have the time.

I’ve been pretty bad with updating lately, and I apologize – been having a busy past few days so it’s been hard to post.

Day 4 – Yoga X

It’s funny that there seems to be a general sentiment around the P90X community that Yoga X sucks, since both skeelig and I really liked it. Of course, we did have a bit of an advantage – back when we first started going to the gym we did a weekly yoga class, so it was a bit like getting back on a bicycle after having not been on it for a while. That’s not to say, of course, that it didn’t kick our asses :P Both of us were sweating like crazy, but it was definitely enjoyable.

Day 5 – Legs & Back

Not much about this one, from what I can remember. It kicked our asses as usual, but it wasn’t that bad. Ab Ripper X was murder as usual… and I’ve realized that I probably won’t be able to do some of the exercises correctly, well, ever. I have curvature in my lower back, so it’s literally impossible for me to do exercises like the wide leg sit-ups and pulse-ups/V-ups since I can not get my lower back up off of the floor. I suppose I’ll just have to do what I can with those.

Day 6 – Kenpo X

This day was interesting, because it was actually something that I did better on :P Usually I need skeelig to push me or to show me the proper form, but this time he was struggling a bit. Some of the combo moves were hard for me and murder for him, but the stuff that was just one move (for example, the blocks or the elbow moves) was fine. I’m sure my form wasn’t the best, but that day was mainly to learn the moves. Really, the whole first week I expected to not be the best in terms of reps since I was learning the form and order. I’m thinking that with practice, we’ll both get a lot better, particularly with this day.

Day 7 – X Stretch

Not much to say about this day either, except that it was a DAMN good thing we did it. The entire week we were totally sore, and doing the stretches here definitely lessened the soreness. I hope the soreness doesn’t happen every week, otherwise we’ll be hobbling about for a LONG time :P

Day 8 – Chest & Back

This day… oof, it was a bad one. I had to do a lot of driving for work that day, and I had forgotten to take snacks with me to have while on the road. As such, I barely ate that day (and had pretty much no protein), and it sure as hell showed in the workout. I tried my hardest, but I kept bonking out, and Ab Ripper X was nearly impossible for me. Let it be a lesson learned, I suppose, and a good thing that it happened fairly early.

In terms of the diet/nutrition plan… honestly, we just can’t follow the plan hardcore. Having to follow the regimented “you MUST eat X amount of Y food each day” is hard for us. So, what we’re going to do is basically just try to eat as well as possible. Increase the protein, have more fruits and veggies, and lay off the crappier foods. I think it’s working already – it’s only been one week, and it may be just in my head, but I swear that I’ve lost a small amount of fat already. I won’t know for sure for a while – I figure I’ll weigh myself once a week or so, do pictures every two weeks, and do measurements at the end of each phase.

And now that I’m done with the first week, I probably won’t be posting as much on here, but we’ll see what happens :P

My legs have not been this sore in FOREVER. In addition to banging out Ab Ripper X yesterday, they're still sore from Plyo on Tuesday. Then Friday is Legs and Back. I think I'm gonna be hobbling for the next 90 days :P

Day 3 was my easiest so far... my arms were definitely feeling it during the workout, but they're not sore today. My shoulders, however, are another story. I had some form problems during the workout yesterday, but fortunately skeelig was once again there to help.

I'm looking forward to Yoga X tonight, though right now I am just wiped.

Day 2: Plyometrics. A ton of jumping, basically a leg workout and cardio all in one. Let me tell you, it kicked my ass. I thought I was in decent shape, but there were times when my legs were literally seizing up and I couldn't do anymore.

I'm eternally grateful for skeelig being there, since if he wasn't, I probably would've quit about halfway into the workout. I wasn't able to do everything, but at least I stuck it out until the end, even though I was wheezing and covered in sweat. I seriously think I've never worked out that hard ever in my life. Dan thought I did pretty damn well, though I'm beating myself up a little for breaking so much during the workout. I know I can't perform as well as they do on the videos right out of the gate, but I thought I could've done better.

I'm still sore in spots from Monday, and my legs are definitely sore and tight, which should make the Ab Ripper X portion of today's workout interesting in the least. At least the rest is shoulders and arms, which I'm actually really looking forward to.

Well, this workout is certainly going to kick my ass, but I'm looking forward to it. I started with Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X yesterday... I did fairly well on Chest and Back, though I probably didn't push myself as hard as I could have. Ab Ripper X was a different story. It's really more core training than straight abs, and I just bonked out on it hardcore. My legs kept giving out, and on some of the exercises I couldn't do them properly at all, thanks to my lower back being so weak. I'm hoping it'll get a bit easier on days where I can do it with Dan - yesterday I did it on my own since we have just the one pull-up bar.

And today, I am sore like nobody's business. It doesn't hurt all that much, but I can feel the tightness and it's hard to lift my arms sometimes. I'm glad it's happening, though, otherwise I'd feel like I REALLY didn't push myself.

The hardest thing right now is the diet... we dropped down one level after realizing there's NO WAY we can eat all the food were instructed to. Even with dropping a level, we're going to just try eating what we can when we can - I don't want to force myself to eat all the food it says to and end up making myself sick, which will in turn compromise my workouts. As long as I stay fairly close to the plan and just steer clear of crappy foods, I think I'll be ok.

( Day 0 pics - ignore the obvious farmer's tan )

I am not happy with how I look right now, but I'm ready to say goodbye to it.

( Day 0 measurements )

Both skeelig and I did pretty well with the pre-program fit test - the only thing we didn't "pass" on was on pull-ups, but we're both pathetically bad in that area.

The nutrition plan is giving us a bit of a challenge, too - according to the calculations in the guide, we both should be at the highest level, which is 3000 calories a day. I haven't eaten half of what I'm supposed to eat today, and I already feel sick :( I think we're going to try dropping down to the next level, which is a fairly lesser amount of food. If we bonk out on our workouts, we'll adjust accordingly.

Haven't done today's workout yet - that's later on today when I know I won't have to go back out for work. I fully expect to be laid out on my ass, but I'm ready to bring it!