Starting Phase 2

Alright, I started Phase 2 a couple days ago. The P90X Chest, Shoulders and Triceps is definitely challenging; lots of push-ups in awkard positions. The program is making me very tired and I was having a hard time last night with Plyometrics, legs on fire from the get-go, plus I've been kind of slack on the diet lately. I need to get my act together on this one...tonight is Back and Biceps (dvd10).

Day 28 - Phase 1 is Over!

Phase 1 is finally over - yeahhhhhhhh - Starting Phase 2 tomorrow.
So far, I have lost 4 pounds and 3% of body fat.  Nice!
I'm ready to Bring It again tomorrow....

Day 25 - Stretch X

I finally did the Stretch X; it was late, I was tired and I fell asleep on the floor at the very end! I did not even wake up when the commercial about Beachbody came on; My Tip of the Day : "P90X makes you tired as shit"

Day 26 - Core Synergistics & Tachycardia at once

Tonight was Core Synergistics; it went well until about 10 minutes before the end; my old friend Tachycardia surprised me and I jumped from 137 bpm to 216 bpm in 15-20 seconds without moving. I had to lay down for 2-3 minutes, and all the sudden it stopped, and jumped back down from 192 bpm to 107 bpm; amazing! I did not want to push it too hard so I stopped the workout at the steam machine (Booh)!
I'll Bring it next time....

First Core Synergistics - Day 23

The Core Synergistics comes at the right time in the P90X program.  In my experience, the first three weeks were tiring, so starting the Recovery Week with Yoga X was a plus that I actually enjoyed.  And today, the Core Synergistics brought some variety which I really enjoyed as well; Core Synergistics is not easy, but the moves are so unusual that it makes the whole workout different and fun. I liked it a lot, and hopefully you will too.  Watch out for those banana moves...

Week 3 almost over

I am so glad that week 3 of the P90X program is over; I have been extremely tired this week, and have not done a good job. Last night I was exhausted in the middle of Kenpo X. It all started after I ran that 5K race last Saturday; it threw me off schedule and I had to kick ass to get back on track after that. My average heart rate, speed and endurance have decreased this week. Not good. P90X is very demanding, and I think I will have to take a closer look at my diet from that point on. Today is rest day so I'll try to come up with an Excel sheet that automatically calculates the amount of Protein, Carbs and Fat per type of food your enter, and tells you when you have reached the P90X threshold depending on your level I, II or III.  If it works, I'll post it on this blog. 

Redeeming myself with Shoulders and Arms

I think I redeemed myself last night from that lousy plyometrics session on Sunday. I went to the gym from 6 to 7pm last night, for a cardio kickboxing session; we were only 3, so we had the sensei's full attention; it was pretty intense: 5 sets of 10x4-counts combinations+30 sit-ups punching+bear crawl across the room+lunges back; after that, major Abs sequence, similar to the mason twist in Ab Ripper X with a medicine ball, 200 reps total; then we had some jumping across a 2-ft high, roll under, repeat 10 times on each side, and once we were done we started the first 5 sets again, but we replaced the 30 sit-ups with 30 4-count mountain climbers.
When I got home, I got some water and did the P90X Shoulders and Arms program, using my new blue resistance band from Dick's.
When all of this was over, I was tired.
Bring it!

Lousy Plyometrics

For the first time I ran out of gas doing the Plyometrics and had to stop 15 minutes before the end. I am definitely not proud of this one but hopefully it will be better next time. Il y a des jours avec, et des jours sans!

Day 15 - Chest and Back

I could feel a difference today on the pull-ups; I actually tried to do them back to back, without pausing, and it was better. Push-ups are about the same. I drank too much water and felt terrible on the Ab Ripper X...or maybe it was the wine and cheese tasting from yesterday ???

Day 12 - P90X Legs and Back

Early start this morning with Legs and Back; this time, it felt better than on week 1, and so did the Yoga X last night. My body is getting used to the movements, and the $12.99 pull-up bar is still holding on...

Day 11 - Shoulders and Arms

I did not eat much today and actually felt better during the workout. I am getting used to Ab Ripper X, but still have a hard time keeping up with them on the last 1/3 portion.

Recovering from a night out with P90X Plyometrics

Last night was my boss' wedding, and I drank pretty much, basically until they ran out of Crown Royal...Today was payback, unfortunately. Headache, tired, nauseous, and really not in the mood to tackle the P90X Plyometrics. But, I'm glad it's over; and my performance was very similar as last week.

Tip of the day: Avoid drinking heavily before doing P90X, especially Plyometrics!

Day 8 - Starting a new week

I took a break yesterday, rather than doing the X-Stretch. Today was tough, starting a new week of the program with push-ups and pull-ups.  I think I went way too agressive on the first set and ran out of gas on the second.  Ab Ripper X kicked my ass again, and I felt dizzy around the last 2 exercises.
I am very excited about the results in only 7 days: I am 2 pounds lighter, and 1.5-2% less body fat around the same time in the morning. I have not really changed my diet either; I just try to watch the portions and eat more white meat and fish than usual, that's about it.

Day 6 - P90X Kenpo X

Last night around 8pm I did the Kenpo X; I closed the door, and "brought it".  Once I was done, my wife said that my breathing sounded like some kind of beast; oh well.  I actually felt good about that one; generally I can deal with cardio workouts much better than with weight training.
As of today, Legs and butt are sore as hell, left knee hurts from the previous lunges, left Achilles tendon is burning, so basically everything is going great; TGIF, which means it's rest or stretch X. I may try that P90X stretch this afternoon...can't hurt.

Day 5 - P90X Legs and Back

Damn I sucked on this one! I was sore to begin with, and it doesn't take long before your legs are on fire. I made it through, but struggled hard at the end. The pull-ups have never been my forte, so it was no surprise that I couldn't do more than 4-6 (Booooooohhhhh) per set; hopefully this will change. 
Final touch, the Ab Ripper X, which totally wiped me out; my legs were hurting, and I had a hard time keeping up. The reward: chicken breast with curry sauce and couscous...Yummy!

My first yoga experience

I did the P90X Yoga X program last night; it definitely shattered my expectations of what yoga was all about. I admit it is all new to me, and I could definitely feel it in some of the weird postures that you go through during this 1h30min session. I did not think I would sweat that much! I got a few leg cramps, in the quads, upper legs, and sides too.
The good thing is I can only get better on this one.