P90X: Day 27

I did Core Synergistics today. That was the first workout I did in P90X (because I was going to do Lean at the time) and revisiting it brought back memories from almost a month ago. My shoulder is a lot better than it was, but I forgot just how many pushups were in this workout. I did as many as I safely could, then finished out the time with crunches, leg raises, flutter kicks, and variations to work my abs. It worked the core and didn't risk injuring my shoulder further. I did make sure to do each type of pushup though, just didn't push myself too far with it. The one I didn't attempt at all was the Reach High and Under Pushups. That was just simply too much strain to put on my shoulder. I didn't just stand around though, at least I worked my abs.

I'm glad that the injury didn't set me back too far. I'd like it to be at 100% again, but the fact that I can do any pushups at all right now is great. Of course, I'm not all that fantastic with them to begin with.

Either way, it's a new year coming up in a few hours, and my resolution is obviously to get in shape. I would like to get back down under 200, and I think that's a fairly reasonable goal. Looking back on basic training, I lost tons of weight in a fairly short period of time, and I know I can do it again. Of course, the temptation of an unhealthy diet, night time snacks, and skipping workouts was never there. We were forced to work out daily, we only ate when we were marched to the dining facility, and there was never really anything to tempt you but your own imagination. Memories of pieces of cake, chocolate, ice cream, and all those tempting sweets were all in your mind. I'll have to have more willpower now than I did previously, but I think I can manage.

Above all else, I'm going to be back in school on Wednesday. It's my first day at my new school too. I just finished up my associates degree for transfer at a community college, and I'm going to the University of Pittsburgh now. The classes will be much harder, and I'm going 5 days a week. It's going to be like a full time job, but more hours will be required than your average 40 a week. I'll have no choice but to work out early in the morning. Maybe I can think about Calculus and Physics tests while I'm working out, and realize that the exercise is the easy part!

Well, a happy New Year to all! It's the last day of 2009. I'm using 2010 to change my life.

P90X: Day 26

Well I actually did X Stretch today for the first time, because it wasn't optional this time around. Looking at my schedule though, I think I screwed up and was supposed to do that yesterday, and Core Synergistics today. Yoga X the following day, then rest, which would bring me back into the mastry phase for week 5. Since I despise Yoga with a passion, I'll just do Core Synergistics tomorrow, then either do Yoga X on my rest day, or something else to make up for it. That will get me back on schedule.

The pain in my shoulder is definitely still there but only when I put stress on it, and it's not nearly as bad as it was. It's certainly not 100% but I think by the time any real stress is put on it in week 5 I should be fine. I'm glad I let it heal a bit though.

The X Stretch was awesome. Jeff and Lisa both recommended I try it, and I should have listened earlier. Some of the stretches are pretty difficult, and seeing anything from Yoga X make its way onto this DVD definitely made me cringe just a little bit. Regardless, it's done and I'm feeling better because of it. Let's see how it makes me feel tomorrow.

P90X: Day 25

So I got back on board today, but not exactly with P90X officially. I went to the gym today, EARLIER than normal, and did some cardio and abs. I was supposed to do Kenpo X, but going by some advice I received, I decided that it may be more risky with my shoulder to do that. I haven't ran for a while, and it was a little brutal on my knees, feet, and legs... but it was just good to be working out in general.

I'm going to try and work out earlier tomorrow also. I think working late at night was really bad for me in a lot of ways, and it screwed up my sleep schedule. I am hoping to eventually work out at around 5 or 6 AM every morning, but it takes some easing into.

P90X: Day 24

Well, I haven't worked out in a few days now. I've been as physical as possible, but I haven't done the P90X workouts for each day. I'm hoping to get back on tomorrow, but between my knee and my shoulder I'm not sure what I can really do. Upper body is too limited by my shoulder, lower body too limited by my knee, and cardio is pretty much out of the question as well. It's feeling better, but not good enough for the somewhat extreme P90X workouts. If I follow the schedule I should be on, tomorrow will be Kenpo X. Since there won't be any real contact or weights involved, I should be ok to do it. On the other hand, if I take it too hard and move too quickly I could easily overextend myself. I think I'll try it anyway and just make sure to ease into it. Either that, or I'll just go to the gym and do a makeshift workout not exactly on the P90X plan.

Oh well, I'll get back on track here soon. I didn't have the first month I really wanted to, and I'm considering just starting the whole program all over again or going to the gym to get more well rounded, perfect my diet, refine my schedule, and go at it again.

Ugh.

P90X: Day 19

Well, I woke up this morning with an extremely sharp pain in my left shoulder, and it's been bothering me since then. I had the legs and back routine today, which I'm not sure was the best routine for me simply because of the pullups. So, I skimped a bit. I don't know if I slept on my shoulder in some strange way that strained it, or if it's a result of lifting. All I know is that it hurts like hell, and I hope it goes away soon because I need to be at 100%.

Also, the holidays have made my diet difficult to adhere to at all times, and I must say that after Christmas I'm going to have to kick it into high gear. I've slacked a little bit and ate cookies and such here and there, but all that must stop after this holiday is officially past. In a way, I just can't wait.

I'm definitely making my "new years resolution" to get in shape and do P90X for the entire year. I know that after this first rotation, I'm not going to be anywhere near my goal. I haven't seen the results in this first month (although it's not over) that I wanted, and I know that can be attributed mostly to my diet rather than poor performance on the workouts. So, I'll be working hard at this for a long time to come and I know that no matter how long it takes, I'll see the results I want eventually.

P90X: Day 18

Yoga X today. I admit, I didn't have nearly enough energy or willpower today to perform at full capacity. Yeah, I had a busy day and exerted myself throughout, but that's really no excuse. This just demonstrates the absolute necessity of switching to a morning workout routine.

I've always had trouble with Yoga X though, it's pretty damn rough. I'm just not that flexible, and it's especially hard on my back. I'm a little disappointed, but I'll have to set that feeling aside and just do better next time. I'm finding it really hard to switch my schedule over. On the bright side though, my diet was better today! At least there's one trade off for me. I need to get this out of the way earlier tomorrow... can I make it happen? We'll see.

P90X: Day 17

Just finished Shoulders and Arms, feeling great. I used a little more weight on some of the exercises, and did more reps on just about all of them. I feel like, in a way, this is the easiest routine. I feel that way mostly before, and after I do it... but not really so much during. My shoulders and arms burn and I struggle to squeeze out more reps, but again I'm more familiar with the exercises. I also love working shoulders, because it just gives me a more muscular looking frame. Also, shoulders are usually pretty neglected and some of the lateral raise type exercises are extremely hard... mostly because you just don't lift things that way in every day life.

Anyhow, I'm going to try to actually get to sleep somewhat early tonight and shift my schedule a little more towards the daylight hours. I'm too lazy to write more, again... but you can't call me lazy in general! I just finished working out!!!

P90X: Day 16

Well, it's pretty late here and I just finished Plyometrics. My workouts have been going later and later into the night. I'm becoming more nocturnal now that I'm off school for a few weeks. I definitely need to change my sleep patterns, because I'm pretty sure working out this late is not good. I've always been a night person, but this won't fly when I'm in school again come January.

I definitely felt the drain on my energy tonight for Plyometrics, but I still did it and kept up with it. I modified a few things because of the impact though. I was doing some sort of squat recently and my knee just felt like it popped, which has happened to me in the past as well. I decided that I should be more careful with my legs and make sure I can handle whatever it is I'm doing. I'm glad I eased up on the impact a bit, but it didn't make it much easier either. The quads still burn intensely and I feel like I'm engaging my entire body when I run this routine, so I must be doing something right.

I don't think there's much more to say about Plyo right now though. It's a tough workout all around, and it is more or less in a league of its own. My HR stayed between 160-170 for most of the routine, dipping down to the 150-160 range for some of the less engaging exercises. My BPMs never dipped below the mid 150s however, so my intensity was probably where it should have been.

Too tired to write more now honestly, so my usual lengthy posting style won't be making an appearance tonight! That's P90X for you!

P90X: Day 15

Well, I go from day 13 to day 15... but only because yesterday was my rest day. Again, I wanted to do X Stretch because I hear it's great, but I didn't. I stretched a bit on my own, especially after shoveling snow several times throughout the day. It was the first big snow fall of the season, and I really forgot how exhausting shoveling all that snow can be! There was nearly a foot, and I worked up a pretty good sweat and exhausted myself pretty good shoveling the entire driveway, sidewalk, and walkway. Wow!

Today was Chest and Back, and Ab Ripper X. The chest routine was great. I did the pullups and chinups with the resistance band again, and this time I wrapped it around the hook as many times as I possibly could. The form ended up being much better, and much more difficult. I found that it worked better for me than the pullup bar and chair, because from the stationary seated and/or kneeling position, I am forced to isolate the proper muscle groups. That really added to the workout quite a bit, and towards the end of the second round I reached muscle fatigue fairly quickly on many of the pushups. The decline pushups in round 2 sent me tumbling to the floor actually, so I had to replace them with standard pushups (which were not much easier). Aside from the final set of dive bombers, I did as many pushups as possible in round 2 from the standard position, then went to my knees to squeeze out a few more. I think that really improves the workout, because while you think you've reached muscle failure, going to your knees just lets you fatigue your muscles that much more. In the end, that means more muscle growth, and every bit counts.

Overall, I was very pleased with the chest and back routine today. Ab Ripper X, on the other hand, was not so pleasing. It is the bane of my existence. It is easily my least favorite workout, even though it is the shortest. Go figure that it's the only one I have to do several times a week. Shoveling snow yesterday really screwed up my back, considering the handle on the shovel is only about 3 feet long. I'm too tall, so I have to literally bend all the way over the entire time I'm shoveling snow and lift the heavy, densely packed snow, then toss it. It's really not good. Anyway, for whatever reason, ARX seems to just make my back SCREAM in pain. I did it today anyway, but modified most of the exercises and for some of them I just did crunches or leg raises instead. I think I need to go to the gym and use some of the back and ab machines with weights to strengthen some of my muscles before I can really do well with ARX.

Again, my diet is my worst aspect right now. I'm hoping to improve it, but I just don't know how right now. Otherwise, I feel so much better and regardless of my results or lack thereof, I will continue the program. I'm loving it. I haven't missed a day yet, and although there have been may times where I just don't want to do the exercises... I do them anyway. That's the important thing. Like Tony says, just keep showing up. Do your best, and forget the rest.

Well, that's what I'm doing.

P90X: Day 13

Wow! I feel great about my workout tonight! I haven't been able to say that in a while either. It's been decent, or good... but not truly fantastic. P90X is hard, without a doubt, and I consider simply keeping up to be an accomplishment in most cases. I feel like tonight, I surpassed even my own expectations. I have been working out late at night, and I think that has an affect on my performance usually... but tonight was just fantastic.

I did Kenpo X, and I think it's become my new favorite workout. I have always loved martial arts, so it makes sense that this is my favorite. Honestly, martial arts has been my favorite way to get in shape for a long time. It's fun, and you know just how productive the hard work really is when you simply imagine being attacked and fighting for your life. Sometimes, you get so fatigued that you just want to drop your hands and let your body go limp just to rest. A little visualization provides a quick remedy for that. If I feel myself starting to slack at all, I simply imagine someone coming at me with a knife, or a blunt object, or anything for that matter... and my fists, feet, elbows, and knees are hitting that target. It definitely allows you to put more power into your attacks, think about keeping your hands up for defense, and maintain your balance throughout the movement.

I feel like my energy level and enthusiasm during the whole routine was at an amazing new high. During the designated break periods, I was actually jumping around with more energy than I probably should have had. I kept my knees up, did all the jumping jacks with great form, and put some real power into the X jumps. Seriously great workout tonight.

Sometimes, I think all it takes is to have one fantastic workout within any given system, such as P90X, to give you a little boost of motivation that eventually equates to better results. I got mine tonight.

Besides just loving martial arts, I think a big part of my success tonight was attitude. I know that I have talked about having a positive attitude before, but I mean it in a different way here. I actually took the time, before putting on the video, to mentally prepare myself to give 100%. I haven't really done that before, to be completely honest. I think to myself before a workout, "all right, I really need to get this over with... I can't skip a day... I need those results." It works, I haven't skipped a day yet -- but is it the best attitude to have? No, absolutely not. The difference with todays exercise was in the thought process here. Instead of just focusing on getting it over with, I got excited about it. I thought to myself, "Let's do this. I want to kick this workout in the ass and make it my bitch." Pardon the explitives, but that's exactly what I did.

Tonight was a mental victory much moreso than a physical one. Sure, working out at 100% is a physical victory, but if it's only one time it really doesn't matter all that much in the long run. However, when you connect the physical success to a particular state of mind pre-workout and during, you can continue to have those workouts every time. It's a step in the right direction, and though I don't expect to have such great workouts every day from now on, I'll at least have something to shoot for.

On a technical note, I paid attention to my heart rate monitor pretty closely tonight. I spent most of my time working out between 170-180 BPM, which is higher than usual but it felt right. Usually, I float around 160 and consider that "my zone" while 140 ends up as the bottom end for slightly less demanding exercises. I burned 1337 calories, which is pretty incredible over a one hour time span. At least, that's incredible in my book. I'd like to hear input from anyone else as far as their heart rate and calories burned during some of these workouts for comparison.

As for my diet, it's still not where I want it to be. It's slowly getting better, but I feel impatient about it. I want to just wake up tomorrow, and all of the sudden have the perfect dieting habits. It's not going to happen, at least not tomorrow. Something else to work for though.

Great night tonight though, despite the diet. This renewed my motivation in a way, not that I lacked it before this... just a much needed boost!

P90X: Day 12

Ok, so I did Legs and Back again today. I felt a lot better about some of the exercises this time around, as opposed to the difficulty I had the first time. I tend to neglect my legs when I work out at the gym without a guided routine such as P90X, so I look at this as a good opportunity to become more well-rounded. I have always had strong legs, which became pretty apparent through various tasks in the military (particularly, long road marches with lots of hills and heavy gear), as well as when kicking in Muay Thai and Kung Fu. Heck, when I was a kid, I could kick myself in the head easily... my flexibility and power was amazing. I guess it has always been natural. Now, it's been quite a while, but I see that strength coming back quickly. The Toe Roll Isometric Lunges I had such difficulty with last time were much better this time. In fact, my biggest issue with them today wasn't the leg strength, it was the balance. I stumbled around a bit at times with them, but I got low into the lunges and got a great range of motion, despite the fact that it was late into the workout and I was fatigued already.

I also tried using the resistance bands for the pullups tonight (thanks for the suggestion Lisa!) since I had issues with the pullup bar last time. I felt like I relied too heavily on the chair, and wasn't getting anything out of the exercise at that point. It seemed to be more of a leg workout, as I was just standing up on the chair, unable to actually use my upper body to lift myself up. Well, the bands kept me from doing that tonight. I tried several different postures while performing the various pullups and chinups in the workout, and I haven't decided whether I prefer kneeling or sitting. I just try to get really far back and use my full range of motion, and one way or another it just seems to work. I think next time I'll put a few more loops in the band though, because my set up has a lot less height involved than in the video. I'd like to be closer to the point of origin on the horizontal plane, but without losing any resistance. Unfortunately, it didn't cross my mind to put loops in the band until after I was finished with the routine. Sitting further back added a lot of resistance, but I feel like it was more of a row type exercise than a pullup in most cases. I tried to adjust for this, but I think next time it will be much better.

The whole thing is just trial and error, and perfection over time. I'm getting better each time, and it feels great to see it happen that way. I guess that's a motivating factor right there!

So far so good, haven't missed a day yet and my diet is improving over time. I couldn't realistically ask for much more at this point.

P90X: Day 11

I did Yoga X today. My flexibility has improved a little bit since last week, probably because of all the stretching and exercising I've been lacking prior to starting P90X. It's good to see that improvement, but I'm still nowhere near as flexible as Tony and his demonstrators. Of course, I don't expect to be... but there are particular things I'm just unable to do. For example, the entire Warrior Three set gives me problems. I modify the whole thing rather than just stand there, but I just don't have the balance or flexibility to be on one leg like that. Also, the pose where one leg is out in front while you balance on the other... Tony gets the toe lock in there and I can't even put my leg straight out like that! I end up just standing there on one leg, going between struggling to hold my leg up (a miserable attempt) or just pressing my knee into my chest and balancing. Other than the moves that involve that split-type flexibility and extreme one legged balance though, I'm pretty decent. Not a drastic improvement from last week necessarily, but an improvement nonetheless.

Also, I tried to change some of my eating habits that I talked about yesterday. I set alarms on my phone for every couple of hours, wrote down the food I was going to eat during the day, and calculated calories, protein, fat, and carbohydrates. It's pretty difficult to calculate all that with some foods, and it often involves looking up nutrition information either on the internet, or on my nutrition based apps for my iPhone. I have a couple of calorie tracking apps on the phone that work pretty good, and have incorporated databases with nutrition information on all kinds of foods. For example, I had hard boiled eggs for breakfast. Do you have any idea how many calories, grams of fat, carbs, and protein are in each egg? Neither did I. I'm pretty satisfied with how that went today, although in the long run I'd like to cut down on carbs, but that takes quite a bit of planning and I'll have to go shopping more specifically for low carb foods. I actually ended up in another pretty major caloric deficit today, but because I spread my meals out fairly evenly throughout the day, I didn't feel overly hungry at any point. In fact, I tried to eat more but was unable to. I don't think that's due to anything other than the fact that I'm used to eating more food later, which would explain why I'm starving right now. My biggest struggle is definitely going to be against eating late at night. So far, so good.

I'll try to keep my head out of the fridge for tonight. I have some things I need to take care of early tomorrow, including a trip to the financial aid office at school, and registration for classes. That will probably consume most of my day, and I have some preparation to do tonight and early in the morning. That's all for tonight, thanks for the support!

P90X: Day 10

Hey, what do you know? I'm in the double digits now, day 10. I'm feeling great after doing the Shoulders & Arms routine. That's one of my favorite so far, just because I'm more used to the exercises and it makes me feel good that I can keep up with the whole routine. Although, I need to experiment more with different weights, but I am somewhat limited in my choices right now. I'd like to get a full set of dumbbells soon though. For some exercises, the bands work great... but on others, I feel like the bands just don't give me enough resistance on the bottom of the movement. I put loops in them and try to give more resistance for the exercises I use them for, but for others I feel like that just isn't enough. Overall though, the routine went well today.

I skipped Ab Ripper X today. I just did it 2 days ago I believe, but my back is very sore and I think I would be better off skipping it. I'm still suffering from a back injury from the military, so I try to be cautious about certain things. Yoga tomorrow, if I'm not mistaken, will require me to be quite limber anyhow. I had some problems with it last week because of a sore back, so I'd like to be closer to 100% this time around. Some of those yoga stances are hard enough as it is!

Also, I really feel like I need to get my diet where it needs to be. I can't seem to eat right. I mean, I choose healthy foods as much as possible and try to space my meals out throughout the day, but it's not enough. Maybe I just have to get used to it and set some timers on my phone or something. I'm thinking perhaps I should even plan on my meals for the entire day and calculate calories the night before. I have a tendency to eat too little early on, which makes me extremely hungry later on. It would probably be better to consume more calories earlier rather than later, because if I sleep on it my body will not metabolize the calories. I skipped breakfast all together today, and didn't eat anything until around 4:30 PM. I know, that is really bad.... I had 1 cup of fat free cottage cheese (160 cal), a can of Progresso Light chicken and dumpling soup (160 cal). About an hour and a half later, I had two cheeseburgers with fat free cheese and light buns, with lettuce, tomato, and ketchup. I followed that up with two 90 calorie Special K cereal bars for "dessert" at 180 calories, and 2 cups of fat free milk (roughly 160 calories).

This brings my caloric intake for the day to about 700 calories. Under that really. It's definitely a caloric deficit, but because I ate everything in such a close time span, I feel like I over ate at the time. Also, it doesn't help my metabolism at all. My body will slow down my metabolism because irregular eating patterns will mean that it doesn't know when its next meal will be. My body will store more calories this way, rather than burn them for energy. I will feel more fatigued because of this, and I will not lose weight. So, I know this to be true... what do I do about it? Well, I definitely need to plan some things out. I know that eating 5-6 small meals a day, preferably low on carbs (especially later in the afternoon), is the best thing for me. I just can't seem to do that though. Maybe setting alarms on my phone for every 2.5 hours, reminding me to eat, combined with planning out my meals for the day, will help me eat better. Any ideas from anyone here?

Anyway, tomorrow is a new day, and hopefully I can manage to eat better. Once I get in the groove of eating right and at the right time for a few weeks, I'm sure my body will adjust and it will become second nature. I just get a bit down about my diet when I don't manage to eat the way I should though. That needs to change! Despite the imperfections in my diet, I'm still feeling much better now that I've decided to do P90X and commit to success.

P90X: Day 9

Plyometrics earlier today. I didn't have a chance to blog until now because I went to see Invictus in theaters, and was running late for the show. In fact, I showered and left immediately after finishing plyometrics, and sitting down was really a nice break.

I felt a lot better about plyometrics today than last time I did it. I knew what to expect, and aside from a few slight modifications when I got really tired, I did pretty well.

I'm cutting this post short though, I need some sleep. I consumed a little more than I would have liked as far as calories today, but I'll have to be extra strict about the diet tomorrow as much as possible and just forget about it. Yeah, I didn't have dinner tonight because I left right after P90X... I thought I could just skip dinner and not eat for the rest of the night, but I broke and bought a small popcorn at the movies! Sooooo incredibly bad. Anyway, more tomorrow... and hopefully a report on successful dieting!

P90X: Day 8 -- Week 2 start

Well I just got finished with Chest & Back, and Ab Ripper X. I feel like I just got hit with a bag of bricks. I didn't do X Stretch yesterday, but perhaps I should have. I don't know what to expect of it really, I just stretched throughout the day and tried to tend to my body as best I could. Today was still a pretty decent workout, but I definitely struggle when it comes to doing loads of pullups. I have a hard enough time doing just a few at the beginning of a normal workout, but when you throw them in as liberally as the Chest & Back routine does... I really feel it. I end up relying way too much on the chair, and I feel like I've got nothing left on my own and I'm basically just standing up on the chair to go through the motions of doing a pull-up. Literally, my muscles felt so fatigued that I couldn't do any "real" pullups. I tried to compensate for this by taking the negative portion of the exercise slowly, controlling my descent. I've always heard that this is a good way to improve your ability to do pullups. We'll see if it works.

My legs are ready for plyometrics tomorrow. The first run though, my legs were incredibly sore from Day 1 of P90X, which was Core Synergistics for me. I was going to do the Lean program, but since I switched I kind of overworked my legs for the first couple of days inadvertently. I hope to see some real improvement there though, and it's definitely going to be a nice break from anything upper body right now. It's a good thing too, because my arms, chest, and back are just spent.

Thanks again for the support folks!

P90X: Day 6 -- Week 1 wrap

Well I just finished Kenpo X. I'm still doing these workouts later in the night than I would prefer. I think I would be more fresh and rested up early in the morning, but with the semester finished and a rest day coming up tomorrow, I'll try and start out week 2 by working out earlier in the morning.

Overall I'm very pleased with the program so far, and I'm really looking forward to getting great results. I have only done each workout once so far, so I don't really have the opportunity to see improvement in specific exercises yet. I do, however, see an overall improvement in my energy and mood. I feel a load better than before I started this, and that's all I can really ask for at this point. When I get to run through some exercises that I'm now more familiar with next week, I'll be able to show some improvement in specific areas and make note of my progress. I think from week to week this will be really important for me to keep track of, but each day in between the week wraps are just as important because I need to stay motivated to make it to the end of the week. I suppose it would be easier to look at things in terms of weeks rather than days also, considering 90 days sounds like a lot more than 13 weeks. I can look at it as 6 days down, 94 to go... or 1 week down, 12 to go. I'm 6-7% of the way through the program, depending on whether you consider 1 week of 13 or 6 days of 90... either way it's not that bad.

I mean sure... it's difficult... but it's not doing me any harm. In fact, it's quite the opposite.

All in all, I chalk this week up as a success. Looking forward to somewhat of a break tomorrow though!

P90X: Day 5

I wanted to work out earlier in the day today, but ended up working out later than ever! I procrastinated a bit on my online final exam and it ended up taking longer than I expected, but I got Legs & Back done tonight anyway. I skipped the Ab Ripper X tonight, I think I'm just going to go to sleep and try to rest up for my Astronomy final tomorrow morning. I'm considering doing Ab Ripper X in the morning before I leave for school, then the regular Kenpo X in the afternoon, but we'll see how my timeframe works out. I actually need to study for the test tomorrow morning, considering the fact that I haven't yet cracked my notes for it at all! Uh oh. Haha, it's ok, I haven't had less than 100% on any of my Astronomy tests thus far in the semester. I'm a natural Astronomy whiz I guess. I usually study the morning before the test, more or less just to refresh my memory on certain things. This one's on the sun and stars in general, black holes, and galaxies. Interesting, yet easy stuff. Oh, and after that test, I'm officially done for the semester! I'm going to try and use the semester break to get in shape, maybe workout a little more than P90X even calls for since I'll have the extra time. I think I need to wrap up week 1 at least before I start doing that though, as I'm still incredibly sore and still breaking myself into the program.

Tonight's workout was good, I kept up just fine but on certain moves I would like to see my form improve a bit. Particularly, the exercises that required me to be extremely low, like the isometric toe rolls, were difficult to keep good form with. I attribute that partially to my degraded flexibility, and partially to just getting my ass kicked by the workouts and being sore. I'll be interested to see how much my form improves next time I do those exercises. As for the pullups, I've never been particularly good at them, but I used the chair and made sure to do at least 10 in each set. Towards the end of the workout, I relied on the chair much more than I would have liked. Again, something to improve on.

Other than that, I'm satisfied. Again, I kept to my diet all day and avoided any temptations. I don't think I hydrated well enough throughout the day though. I need to make a conscious effort to drink plenty of water throughout the day, at least as much as possible. Of course, I always say that and somehow I still simply forget to hydrate. Maybe I should tape a water bottle to my hand so I just can't forget? Maybe a little drastic, but just one more thing to improve on. Also, my weight was below 230 today for the first time in quite a while. Once I'm under 220, I may as well set a landmark. I haven't been less than 220 in probably a year, the weight has just hovered between 230-250, which is at least 30-50 lbs heavier than is acceptable.

Well, I have a busy day tomorrow, so I'm wrapping this up. So far so good. Thanks again to the few who read this, and to all who support me. Special thanks to Lisa for consistently leaving comments and being extra supportive, it means a lot to me!

P90X: Day 4

Well, I'm posting this a little late because I had quite a busy day today. I did Yoga X today at around 6:30, not realizing it was an hour and a half workout... then ate dinner and rushed off to the movies afterwards. Before that I was studying for my Trigonometry final all day, which was actually quite difficult. The worst is behind me for this semester though, and I'll have nearly the next month to focus on P90X. I'd like to start working out early in the morning now that school isn't currently an issue.

All I have to say about Yoga X is wow, I didn't expect it to be as difficult as it was. I've never done Yoga before, and although I've heard it was much more difficult than it sounds, experiencing it first hand was an eye-opener. It definitely makes me realize that my flexibility needs much improvement, but I'm sure I'll see some improvement there soon. I used to be quite flexible when I was younger, doing full splits and perfect axe kicks in the various martial arts I've practiced. I would like to be able to have that flexibility again, and with a lot of work I'm sure it's possible.

Overall, I'm still feeling great about the program. 4 workouts down, I'm still pressing play. I'm feeling better, eating better, and living better. As long as I stick to the program, I don't see any possible way that I would not get results. Doing the program obviously won't make me any LESS fit, so I've got nothing to lose really. This whole thing was a good decision, and I can't wait to affirm that belief when I start seeing some serious results.

Well, it's off to bed for me. I've got another busy day coming up tomorrow! Let's see if I can get P90X taken care of earlier rather than later now.

P90X: Day 3

Today was Shoulders and Arms, as well as ARX (Ab Ripper X). I must say, ARX was rough!!! I found the arm routine much more familiar than anything else I've encountered in the program before, and I absolutely loved it. My only setback was experimentation with different weights and resistance bands, but after a few runs through the workout I'll know exactly what I should be using each time. I did a pretty good job too, I was proud of myself. The core synergistics and plyo routines from the last 2 days have me extremely sore in the legs, but the arm routine just woke up a whole different set of muscles for me. It was great!

I'm really feeling good about this P90X now, and I'm glad that I started it. It's only been 3 workouts and I'm already feeling exponentially better than prior to starting the program. I've lost a surprising amount of weight in the first few days of this new diet and exercise routine also, which is great motivation to keep going with it. I'm sticking with my diet really well too. I have gone to the bar twice (to watch the Penguins and Steelers games) since I started the diet/exercise regimine and have been able to avoid the temptations of ordering drinks and bar food, which I'm really proud of as well! I ordered water (staying hydrated is important) and a salad with fat free italian dressing for the Steelers game... and just water for the Penguins game. I'm really getting used to healthy living and adjusting well.

Other than that, I'm extremely busy with school work this week. It's my finals week, and the dreaded Trigonometry final is coming up tomorrow. In fact, I have to take an online final exam right now, and study for trig the rest of the night... so I'll take my leave. Once again, thanks for the support. Bring it!

P90X: Day 2

So after talking to several people in the know, I've decided to do P90X Classic rather than lean. I have been convinced that through the process of building muscle with the extra strength training exercises, I will burn at least as much fat... probably more. I planned on doing the first workout in the Classic routine today, which focuses on chest I believe. That workout includes lots of pullups, pushups, and a good number of exercises that require dumbbells. Until today, I didn't have dumbbells, so after school I picked up an adjustable set that goes up to 40 apparently. Of course, when I opened the box one of the bars was missing... so I essentially only have one dumbbell. I'm going to have to exchange that tomorrow.

I got the Iron Gym pullup bar I needed as well, but without two good dumbbells I decided to skip the chest routine and go straight to Plyometrics. That's the normal Day 2 workout with classic, so essentially I'm on track, however the first workout was replaced with Core Synergistics. For those of you who may not know, Core Synergistics includes a decent amount of leg and ab work with it. My legs and glutes were pretty sore today, and that's definitely a set back going into something as rough as Plyometrics! Now I'm wishing I would have done the chest routine yesterday instead!

Regardless, I just got finished with Plyometrics about an hour ago. My diet has been on point all day, but I've been pretty hungry in the process. I guess it's just part of adjusting to the new lifestyle, so to speak, but my reward for getting through the insanely challenging plyometrics routine was a nice healthy post-workout meal that included my favorite egg substitute. My stomach is satisfied for now!

I'm so sore it hurts to sit down, and I'm walking like a zombie. I missed that feeling! It's just the consequence of a great workout, and it's something I've been lacking in the past few weeks.

Well, I have final exams all this week, so I have to get to studying of course. I've got lots to do tonight, and if I'm productive enough in the next hour and a half I may just be able to watch the Penguins game! So, I take my leave. For the few actually reading my blog in its young and fresh state, thanks for the support!

I'm loving P90X already!

P90X Lean: Day 1

So here we are, Day 1 of P90X. I decided to do the Lean program rather than classic because I think weight loss is the most important thing for me right now. I can round off my fitness with some more mass and definition later on. I am 6'3" and weighed in this morning (before my first P90X workout) at 235.8 lbs. When I graduated basic training, I was 195. I would like to get back under 200, and although it won't be easy, I'm prepared to work hard to make it happen.

So my first workout, as per the program, was Core Synergistics. I haven't worked out in about 3 weeks, and although I worked out steadily 4+ times a week for several months prior to this, those 3 weeks off really hurt my fitness. Needless to say, the workout was rough today!

I stuck with it the whole time, and did my best, but some of the exercises were quite foreign to me or they woke up muscles that haven't been used in a long time! I know that nobody starts out perfect, and I'm sure I'll master the exercises in the weeks or months to come. Regardless of my difficulties, it's certainly better than sitting around and doing nothing.

As for specifics, the abdominal exercises in this workout were a little tough for me and I found my core becoming quite shaky while trying to hold positions such as in the banana and superman type exercises. I haven't worked my abs for a while, but I know that shakiness is natural in this case. It just makes me realize how much work I have ahead of me. I've worked abs in the past, quite a bit actually, so I know that strength will return quickly and the abdominal exercises will be more manageable soon.

I kept up pretty decently with the pushups, although there were quite a few in the workout, so my arms started to get pretty shaky towards the end. I really felt the pain when it came to the walking pushups; holding the plank position became pretty difficult!

I must say that the most difficult exercises for me were: the Dreya roll, reach high and under pushups, bow to boat (just due to holding the contraction in my abs for so long), and the plank to chaturanga run. The plank to chaturanga run was difficult for me not only because it was late in the workout, but also because my flexibility has degraded with time as well, and my legs need a good stretch before I master this exercise.

I'm hoping that when it comes time for this Core Synergistics workout again, I'll be more prepared, more flexible, and ready to BRING IT on another level entirely. Overall, I'm proud of myself for taking the initiative to start the program, and for not quitting. I'm not all that disappointed that I couldn't keep up as well as the people on the video, it's only day one for me. 89 to go!

Comments please! I would definitely appreciate as much support as possible!

Introduction

So I've decided to start P90X in an attempt to get in incredible shape and feel great about life in general. Many people have seen successful results from this program, and with lots of hard work and dedication, it's only a matter of time before I follow suit. I'm creating this blog to track my progress, post my thoughts, and hopefully inspire some people later on down the road.

I'm hoping to get a little bit of support from friends and other members of the beachbody community, so please comment and keep up with me here!

A little bit of background information on me may be necessary. First, I'm 24 years old and I'm realizing that if I don't start getting in shape now, it will never happen. I spent a few years in the Army as an Infantryman, but since then my level of fitness has steadily declined. I'm going to change that though, and dedicate myself fully to succeeding in this new program.

Now, I titled this blog "Self-Improvement X" for a reason. It's not just P90X or fitness that I'm focused on entirely, it's improving my life in every aspect. I thoroughly believe that in order to be happy and successful in life, you can not have tunnel vision about your goals. What I mean by this is simply that to neglect certain aspects of your life while in the persuit of success in other areas is to doom yourself to certain overall failure. For example, let's say that in your endless persuit of a higher level of fitness you neglect your financial responsibilities and lose your job. Well, maybe you're in shape now, but with money problems it's only a matter of time before you can't support your healthy habits anymore, and everything you have worked for becomes erased. You won't be able to afford a gym membership, supplements, fitness supplies, good running shoes, or a healthy diet. Let's face it, getting in shape costs money, especially with a good diet. You can go to any fast food joint and get a meal for a few bucks, but you'll be paying for it in many other ways; clogged arteries and a fat ass are just a few examples.

I have gradually come to these realizations over time, as I've started to recognize the need for balance in my life. Without getting too philosophical, I'll just say that I see balance in every aspect of existence, and I have come to accept it as the universal binding factor that makes everything just work.

So here I am, ready to take my fitness and health to the next level. Recently, I quit smoking cigarettes... which alone is a big step in the right direction. My lungs will need some time to fully recover, but I feel much better already. Kicking any unhealthy addictions you may have is step 1 of creating a better life for yourself. This includes alcohol as well. I intend to limit my alcohol intake severely throughout the course of this program, or cut it out completely. If I do have a drink, believe that the calories will be accounted for!

So, my diet is under control, my unhealthy addictions swept away, and my attitude is positive. That's a great place to start.

Now, I'll try to post here daily, or as much as possible. I already started the first day of P90X today, but since this post is mainly an introduction, I'll continue with the specific details of Day 1 in my next post.

I'll be adding pictures at some point as well. Check in for that!