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 3 - Oh yeah.

Dear P90X Diary,

Day 3 was actually great. Shoulders & Arms. I wasn't sure how i was going to do it, since i was still hurting from DAY 1's Chest & Back workout, but i got home earlier than usual, took a short nap, and woke up ready to go. Made it through the workout. Made notes about what to do next time. Got exited when Tony Horton said, "We're done!" Even threw up the "X" at the end with the crews. I was just about done congratulating myself and about to eject the DVD when...

oh yeah. ab ripper x.

The rating on my iFitness Tracker 90 App, above, only allows for two things: a difficulty rating (as in, "How difficult was this for you, on a scale of 1 to 5?"), and a note. Yeah, who am i fooling with that "nearly" qualifier. This workout is the hardest i've encountered so far. And it's the one you do three times a week as part of the program. Well, i guess that just means more opportunities to get it right.

Damn you, Tony Horton! One of these days, i'm going to actually be able to fully execute all those moves. I mean, like actually doing at least ONE of each of those strange torture chamber maneuvers you pull.

Day 3 is done. Yoga tomorrow. Sorry, Yoga X. Lord only knows what he's come up with for that...