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.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
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!!!
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!!!
Monday, December 21, 2009
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!
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!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, December 18, 2009
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!
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!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
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.
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.
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