DAYS 15 & 16 - First Milestone Up Ahead

Dear P90X Diary,

Now that we're into Week Three, it's time to go full out, time to push everything to the limit. Next week is the first rest week, so i need to go hard all the way until then. Tonight, for example (Day 16).

I was at work late dealing with a nightmarish situation, got home and ate dinner (probably a little too much because i had been crushed all day at work and didn't get a chance to eat), then i realized that Plyometrics was tonight. As in, the routine that had me thinking i was having a heart attack the last time i tried it. So i knew i had to wait an hour or two after eating. That put me around 10:00.

Do you think i did a friggin' Plyometrics workout at 10:00 PM when i have to be up at 6:00 the next morning? Am i writing this at midnight?

Damn skippy.

I worked my ass off and did every last one of those moves. I'm gonna bring it all right. Next week means the end of Phase I, a third of the way through P90X. And time to take pictures again to show some progress. I feel it, but i don't see it yet. So i gotta push a little harder. Go flat out. Balls to the wall, all those platitudes that are so overused, but still come to mind when you need to remind yourself to keep going. I kicked ass tonight!


By the way, i'm still laid out on the basement floor. I don't think i can climb stairs.

Could someone come carry me?

Please?

DAYS 11-12 – A Fumble, A Recovery.

Dear P90X Diary,

I slipped. Already. Saturday was just one of those days i couldn't motivate myself to do anything. I mean nothing. So i missed my Yoga X workout. (And i actually like that one.) Before i went to bed, though, i had a plan. Yoga in the morning, Legs & Back in the evening, and i'd be good to go. Except for the fact that since i didn't motivate myself to go into work on Saturday either, i ended up having to go in on Sunday night. Which kind of rolled into Monday morning. As in, i'm just getting home from work at 1:00 in the morning. And have to be back at 7:00.

Okay, Plan B.

I started this whole thing on a Wednesday, which means my "rest day" is on Tuesday at the end of my week. (Tuesday is my sabbath and i shalt honor it. Don't mess with me.) So i just carry things forward a bit: Yoga was Sunday morning, Legs & Back will be Monday evening, Kenpo X on Tuesday morning, and X Stretch on Tuesday evening. Easier to double up on the day when you're supposed to be resting, especially if you rested on a day you were supposed to be working.

We'll see how this goes. I think i've said that before. I'm still committed to P90X in 90 days.

DAY 10 - Like A Song in My Head

Image courtesy of Soul Food Music

Dear P90X Diary,

It was Shalamar who sang "The Second Time Around," right?

Yes, in a lot of ways it's better than the first time. Having a better idea of what's coming up lets me pace myself and work harder. It's a good feeling. Of course, there is that small problem i'm having with feeling like i'm actually a bit weaker this week than i was last week. Could be a couple of things: fatigue from working out (sort of the dip before the rise), or the fact that i still haven't found the right nutritional balance.

I think i need to revisit the calorie calculator in the nutrition guide. According to that, i should be shooting for something along the lines of 2400 calories a day in food. Keeping in mind that i've cut out a lot of carbs, virtually eliminated fried and processed foods (except for protein bars), that just seems impossible. I wanted to keep better track of what i was eating, so i did test runs on several [FREE] iPhone apps designed to help you count your calories. I settled on one by – and i hate this name – Fat Secret. Don't believe me? Check out the FatSecret.com web site. Or download the Calorie Counter App for yourself. According to the calculations on the app, i'm averaging about a 700 calorie deficit every day. That's either accurate and i'll be dead next week, or inaccurate and i need to recalculate some things.

In any case, i'm really appreciating the design of the P90X program overall. Just as soon as you're likely to get settled, it's three weeks in and time to switch things up. Also, the second time around i realized there was a version without the music overlay on the DVD. Which means this week i'm listening to Tony's instructions, but bouncing around to my [now vintage] iPod shuffle. My music, his moves. It works.

On to Yoga X tomorrow...

DAY 8 - Here We Go Again

Dear P90X Diary,

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. No, wait, that's the wrong sentiment.

I won't put of until tomorrow what i can do today! Um...

The sun'll come out tomorrow! (Ouch. It's getting worse.)


Basically, today i started the whole thing over again. Chest & Back. And Ab Ripper X. And then i remembered why i hate Tony Horton. So... nothing much to report other than that.

Week Two.
First time repeating.
Hate Tony Horton.

Still going.

DAY 5 - Um... easy? WTF?!?!?

Dear P90X Diary,

Okay, weird. I couldn't shake the feeling i was doing something wrong. I actually did all the exercises, in most cases at all the reps they were doing in the DVD. I think i confirmed what i already suspected: my legs are stronger than they look. Must be all the walking i do (or used to do) on a regular basis. That means i'm going to have to work extra hard to actually see some development in my legs. WHAT?!?!? A routine that i'm going to have to push HARDER on? Well, that definitely made my day. I was starting to second guess my decision to jump into P90X without any preamble. Now i know i have at least two routines each week that i have some competence in.

Feels good.

Then, of course, there was Ab Ripper X again. I actually felt better about this today. I was able to execute all the maneuvers for the first time. Even if i couldn't do all the reps. Now my focus is on perfecting the form. The reps will come as i get stronger, but it won't matter much if i'm not doing the moves the right way.


*****UPDATE 9/6/2010*****

Yeah, it's confirmed. Today my legs feel fine. Like i just walked a few miles yesterday or something. Definitely will have to push harder on leg days. Gotta get some more dumbells (i only have 5lb and 15lb now), for this and for a couple of other exercises. I figure it's an investment, since i'll be moving up in weight anyway as i get stronger all around.

DAY 2 - The morning after

Dear P90X Diary,

There it is: the ugly truth about my first day's workout. I worried that i couldn't do very many reps on each of the exercises. Even as i was doing the Chest & Back workout, i thought, "Maybe i'm in over my head." Then i woke up this morning with that good kinda soreness. The feeling in your muscles that lets you know, "Oh, you worked all right." And i realized my goal now is just to get up to speed. To make sure that i can do every move in every workout and do it well. And repeatedly. Then i realized i had started setting goals for my fitness.

And that really feels good.


[Screen shot from the iFitness Tracker 90 App for iPhone. I give it four of five stars.]