Day 35

Tonight was my favorite workout, Kempo X!!! Woohoo!

It's so much fun!!! The hour flys by. I still have problems with my side kicks, forward and back kicks are getting better and higher. I was able to get really deep into my horse stance and feel the burn on all of the blocking, elbow series and punches at the end. Overall the best workout of the week by far. I burned 974 calories and feel great!!!

ciao,

jofis

Day 34

Last night was Legs and Back.

I do fairly well at this workout, but this time around my quads were killing me. I am getting better at squatting lower so that explains the extra extra burn. The pullup portion of this workout still sucked but still givin' it a ton of effort. I am really good at the calf exercises so that makes me happy.

ARX once again to follow. My abs were still sore from ARX a couple of nights ago so I had to push hard but it was tough. A little disappointed that I was only able to do 40 of the Mason twists. Oh well next time around, 'I WILL PWN YOU MASON TWISTS!!!'

lol, w/e, lizate

Day 33

This night was Yoga X.

It's odd that since I have lost some weight, you would think that this would get easier. I struggle with flexibility but generally have good balance. What I have come to realize that even though I am carrying less weight I find other parts of my body hurt. LOL. I have noticed great improvement in my flexibility so that is great. I burned about 870 calories during Yoga, not sure why but that's about 60 calories less than previous Yoga X workouts. Whatever, still workin at it.

late

Day 32

This nights workout was Back and Biceps and 2 days later I am still sore.

I started this workout strong and finished half decent, lol. It was tough. It consists of several sets of various pullups and curls. I still suck at pullups but I am working hard. I still using a chair but am working til exhaustion so what else can I do? Doin' my Best and forgetting the rest!

Followed up with the usual Ab Ripper X. I swear that recovery week was a layoff from working the abs so getting back into ARX has been hard but still bringin' it.

Burned about 1300 calories during these workouts.

Oh yeah, BTW, WTH is with them ridiculous Corn Cob Pull-ups? Those things are a joke and I can't wait until I am able to do them unassisted.

Day 31

It's been a couple of days since I've updated this blog. I'm still working hard at P90X and enjoying it.

I am actually a day behind because I took Sunday/Mother's Day off from working out. I have decided that it will be easier for me to move my off day to Sunday, so from here on out I will have it has my off day. That means I will be working out this Wednesday which is usually my day off. I am still eating the right foods, just not as often/timely as I should. I am definitely losing weight slowly but surely. I was a little bummed at my 30 day photos, but it just encourages me to continue to work hard, if not harder.

cya,

jj

Day 30

WOW!!! Day 30!!!

Today's workout was Plyo-X. This is my second favorite workout so far, second only to Kempo-X. I struggled this time through but still pushed hard. I felt a little sluggish which my diet may have something to do with. Overall this is a great workout and I still love doing it. The sports bonus moves are my favorite, the rockstars and knee up jumps are my least favorite. LOL.

Today I will be taking my 30 day pics. I haven't decided if I will post them now or wait until after the full 90 days. When I decide you'll be the second to know.

cya,

j

Day 29

This is the first week of the next phase of workouts. This night was Chest, Shoulders and Triceps. This workout consists of a variety of extremer pushups and tricep extensions. I worked hard and feel great. The soreness will be welcome as I have missed it over the passed week since last week was my recover week consisting of cardio.

I was surprised at how well I did with ARX. I was able to keep up with this workout just as well and maybe even better than the previous times even though I didn't have this workout for over a week. Was great to be able to get through it without regressing.

cya,

j to da j

Day 27 & Day 28

This night was Yoga. I really really enjoyed this workout. I was able to push myself on most of the postures and focus on good form. Afterwards I was really sore in places I haven't been sore from Yoga before, so I know I was pushing myself harder.

Day 28 was rest day.

Day 26

Tonight was Core Synergistics. I did much better with this workout this time around. I felt good, winded but good through-out the whole workout. This workout is difficult because you are supposed to focus on keeping your mid-section taught and when your mid-section hasn't been used much for the past 10-15 years it's difficult to accomplish, LOL. Oh well Tony says, 'Do your best and forget the rest!' So that's what I did and I feel good about it. I burned about 950 calories during this workout.

cya,

jj

Day 24 & 25

Today was the day to get back on track. So I woke up early and knocked out Core Synergistics. This workout was probably my least favorite of all the workouts so far. It was hard and not as enjoyable as any of the others. I pushed myself hard and did my best. I burned almost 950 calories and felt pretty good about that.

After helping my son make ourselves breakfast we took in a movie, the X Men Wolferine one. We thought it was good. Then we went to my work to get some stuff done after which I had to take him home to his moms house which is 45 miles away.

After the long drive back I was focused on getting in Kempo X to catch up on the day I missed. Fortunately for me Kempo X is my favorite workout! And I kicked ass tonight! I was able to bring up the intensity, really focusing on using my core and squatting low to get more out of the workout. I burned over 1000 calories doing this workout.

I feel great and have redeemed myself from the missed day. Now if I can only find a way to get more rest...

cya,

jj

Day 23

DISASTER!!! Damn it! After going through the motions this week and only getting about 5 hours of sleep each night, my body just gave up. I got home from picking up my son Friday night and I just crashed at 8:30. I slept pretty much through the night. My body was telling me that I need more rest. A couple of nights this past week I didn't sleep until 1:30 AM or so and then woke up at 6:45. I missed my Friday nights workout and felt really guilty. I also had to work on Saturday so I wasn't able to get up early and knocked Core Synergistics. When I got home from my son's baseball game it was already 10:30 and having reviewed the workout in advance I knew that I wouldn't be able to do the Core workout since it was after 11 when I would be able to start. I decided I would switch up this weekends workouts, so I did Stretch X.

This workout is a nice loosening workout. I enjoyed it.

Day 22

This night was Yoga X. For some reason this time around this workout completely worked me more so than before. Even though I just did it a few days ago. I think it's because I really focused on my form and pushed myself. After all it's P90X, right? Continuing to Bring It!

Day 21

This night was Rest or Stretch X. I did most of Stretch X. This was a nice stretch workout quite a few notches down from the intensity of Yoga X. Burned about 450 calories. Nutrition has been good, still finding it hard to eat on time.

Day 20

Last night was Kempo X. This is definitely my favorite workout of all of them. Even though my balance was off, I eventually got into a rhythm and kicked some ass. Was feeling super energetic towards the end and wanted to do it again.

Now, the next day feeling sore and diggin it.

cya,

jj

Day 19

This night was Legs and Back. Still struggling with pullups. I noticed that reverse grip chin-ups seem to be easier for me than over-hand grip ones. I did fairly well with the legs exercises. Wall squats are still killer!!!

ARX, whew! I am so stoked that I was able to get all 50 Mason Twists done without pausing. I am pausing lesser and lesser through-out this whole workout. Feeling great!

cya,

jj

Day 18

Tonight was Yoga X. Having a tough time with some of the balance postures. But my flexibility is improving. Who knew that I would burn 820 calories doing yoga!

Tomorrow's Legs and Back. Need rest and to keep eating when I supposed to.

cya,

jj

Day 17

Tonight was Shoulders and Arms. I am still either increasing my weight or improving form on every exercise. Really pushed it hard tonight, hoping to feel the fruits of my labor in the form or soreness tomorrow.

Ab Ripper X. Once again kicked my ass. Every exercise is getting better. Pfiffer scissors, Hip Rock and Raise, Heels to the Heavens and of course them infamous Mason Twists are the toughest ones. I have to pause to get through these. I am still cutting down the time it takes for me to complete this workout. I burned about 334 calories from this workout alone.

cya tomorrow,

jofis

Day 16

Last night was Plyo X night. I love this workout but struggled with it. It was the toughest time I've had with this workout yet. The problem stemmed from my shoes hurting my feet and I had read on the forums that some do the workout without shoes, so I tried it. My feet hurt just as bad if not worse. I ended up adding Ab Ripper X to this workout since I missed it on Thursday. I burned approximately 1200 calories combined!!!

I am feeling good, flexibility is improving and as long as I eat when I am supposed to my energy level is great! I am really enjoying this workout program! Nutrition planning and budgeting is still work along with finding the time to eat.

cya,

jofis

Day 15

Yesterday was Chest and Back.

I actually woke up early and did the Chest and Back part. This was difficult because I am definitely not a morning person but since my daughter had Open House at school I knew it would be difficult to get the workout in later. It was harder for me to get out of bed than to do the actual workout itself.

I started this week doing negative pullups. Hopefully this will aid in building the strength to do the pullups without the chair. I feel like I am cheating too much with the chair. I can feel a big difference. Ran out of time, so had to do ARX later.

Day 14

Today was my day off.

Since I never really shopped and prepared my meals before starting this program so I have been grocery shopping a ton and spending a ton. As I have been getting into a groove with my meals I have now moved on to working on spending as little as possible. This has been almost as much work as planning and preparing my meals. Eating healthy is expensive.

Tomorrow is Chest and Back.

cya,

jj

Day 13

F YEAH!!!!

Tonight was Kempo X!!! This has been absolutely the best workout I've had yet!!!

This workout is so fun, I could do it twice. (I know I said that before but it's so true) I was feeling so good I was doing the jumping-jacks during the little rest time and double-timing them to keep my heartrate higher! WOOHOO!!!

Tomorrow is Stretch X or rest.

Day 12

Legs and Back. Tonight was the toughest workout so far. My diet and rest were off today so I struggled more than usual. My balance was bad, the pullups were horrible I didn't catch my rhythm until the end of the Legs and Back workout.

The great news is I kicked it into gear on ARX. I struggled with the Pfiffer Scissors the most, every other exercise I did great on even though I had to pause a few times. I even did a few extras on 3 or 4 of the exercises.

Nutrition has crept back up as an issue. I'm starting to get burnt out on mowing down mass quantities of chicken breast and tuna salad. Also, my work schedule is making it difficult to eat every 2-3 hours. I need to refocus. I have been on the beachbody.com forums looking for some alternatives. I am doing my best with eating so far and I am still pretty close to the proper caloric intake. I just want to spice it up with some alternatives. I am committed to bringin it so this speed bump is something I just need to get passed.

cya,
jj

Day 11

Yoga X last night. My flexibility is getting better but some of those postures are ridiculous, lol. Was able to reach further and hold some of the postures much better this week. Breathing and relaxing (well, trying to relax) really helped. The yoga block helped a ton, definitely pick one up if you are not that flexible, trust me, you'll thank me.

Nutrition has gotten to be a challenge again. I am eating the right things, it's just very tough to eat every 2-3 hours. With a busy schedule I find myself trying to get caught up on meals constantly, and trying to eat the amount of portions. I feel good but still trying to get the nutrition dialed in.

cya

Day 10

Minor set back.

I got up early and cooked breakfast and had a great morning. In the afternoon I had to take my son to his baseball game 40 miles away. The drivetime plus gametime alone is at least 4 hours. I planned ahead and had my meal (salad with chicken breast) ready for me. But I got asked to keep score of the game so I wasn't able to eat. I was finally able to woof down the chicken after the game which was probably already 5 hours after my last meal. I have been pretty good at eating every 2-3 hours. I was invited to my buddy's to watch UFC afterwards. He was serving sushi for dinner so I figured that wouldn't be bad. I had one beer. We watched most of the fights and ended up leaving at almost 11, so I missed doing Shoulders and Arms last night, I just didn't want to work out at 11:30 and finish at 1 am, so I got up early and knocked it out.

I was able to finish the 80 minutes in 90 so I am shortening the time I need to pause. Increased the weight over last week on every exercise except Static Arm Curls, Two Angle Shoulder Flys and In Out Shoulder Flys.

Ab Ripper X, what can I say except WHOO!! Bringin it better everytime. Form is improving.
I have Yoga X tonight, looking forward to it. Oh btw, picked up a yoga block today so that should help

jj

Day 9

Last night was Plyo X! WHOOHOO!!! What a kick ass workout! I was able to really push myself during this workout. Was in the zone most of the time. Couple things I need to focus on are; getting my knees up higher on some of the moves like the Rockstar, and also landing softer. The apartment I live in has hardwood floors and landing hard sounds really loud. I am planning on getting one of those folding wrestling mats to help soften my landing and the noise.

Tonight is Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper X.

Day 8

Just finished Chest and Back with Ab Ripper X. Still struggling bigtime with pull-ups. I can only do 3-4 without using a chair and it's hard not to over-use the chair. I did figure out that moving the chair out further forces you to use more arms than legs. (I know Tony says it in during the workout but when I first tried putting the chair further is kept sliding away, LOL, it's definitely a balancing act of sorts) I was able to cut the workout time from 2 hours which is how long it took me the first time to 1:40 minutes, so that's a plus. Was able to completely finish Ab Ripper X, only had to pause a couple of times for a few seconds. One thing that helped me this go round was to focus on breathing through my nose while fighting through the pain, this allowed me to finish the different ab exercises.

Day 7

Yesterday was my off day. I decided to rest and spend some time with a friend. Tonight is Chest and Back with Ab Ripper X. Gonna be sore tomorrow. I can't wait.

Nutrition has been good. I am on the 3000 calorie Fat Shredder plan and I am consuming almost exactly 3000 calories. I am doing the portion approach. Even though the servings are set, it has been a challenge to figure out what to eat when. The servings in the Nutrition guide are not exact. For instance, the Nutrition guide says I am supposed to have 1 serving of Carbs, equal to 200 calories. Listed under the carb choices is 1 cup of whole grain cereal, but the whole grain cereal I have is only 100 calories per 3/4 cup, so I need to eat 1 1/2 cups of my cereal to get the 200 calories needed. I have also been shopping every 2 to 3 days. Burning through Nonfat yogurt and Nonfat milk along with chicken breast, strawberries, bananas and egg whites. It's been very hard to eat every 2-3 hours at work. It seems like I am always in the break room and I'm sure my boss thinks that way too. I don't care though my goal is to get through this and be in the best shape of my life.

This first week has flown by. My rest has gotten much better. I've been crashing around 11:30 and get up at about 6:45. So I am getting just about 7 hours, which is what they recommend. This has been a big challenge for me since I am a night owl and can easily stay up until 1:30 or 2 am. That's it for now. Will try to post a post-workout update.

jj

Day 6

Last night was Kempo X. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!! This has been my best workout so far. Even though the kicks were completely different than anything I am used to, I eventually got the hang of them, now just need to work on form. (Form is going to be a major focal point for me in all of the X workouts) The only other thing I fell behind on and had to rewind was the star blocks. These require some concentration and coordination so I had to rewind and practice them a few times to get through them. I felt so good and had so much fun I wanted to do the workout again, but I didn't. Don't get me wrong, I was sweating and worked hard, it was just so much fun for me. The 56 minutes flew by.

Rest and nutrition are falling into a more consistent schedule and getting easier. I still need to spend some time to discuss my nutrition and will do so in the next few days.

Do your BEST and forget the rest!

Day 4 and 5

Day 4 was Yoga X. This was tough and enjoyable. I have done bikrim yoga before so I was familiar with some of the postures but it was still very difficult to get through all of them. My stomach gets in the way of me swinging my leg through from downward dog to runners pose, so if your heavier expect that. I was trying to focus on form and breathing. I really enjoyed this workout.

Day 5 was Legs and Back and Ab Ripper X. My diet was completely thrown off on Monday. It all started with getting up late and then being completely slammed at work. I was so busy that by the time I checked the time for my mid morning snack, it was lunchtime. I am doing the portion plan so I had to try to revise my eating schedule and had a hard time with it. I ended up having a shake about an hour before the workout. I think the shake coupled with the 2 cups of water I drank at the start of the workout bogged me down. I could hear the water sloshing in my stomach. This was the worst workout I have had so far. Not from the intensity or difficulty but because of how I felt. Ab Ripper X kicked my ass again. I struggled more than the previous Ab Ripper workouts because of the waterlogged feeling. But I did kick it up towards the end. I actually paused the dvd and would do a few of the exercises to catch up and then finish off with a few extra. I was even able to do the side tappers (Mason Twists) with my feet off the ground and even did a few extra! X-TREME BABY!!! WOOHOO! lol.

Haven't forgotten about the nutrition just haven't had enough time to go over it. As I said before I am doing the portion plan. I knew this would be the toughest part of this program and it definitely is, along with trying to get enough rest. More on this later.

Day 3

Tonight was Shoulders and Arms. I was surprised at how well I did. Don't get me wrong, it was a kick ass workout and I struggled. It took me 2 hours to get through the workout and Ab Ripper X. I had to pause through out and also change weights. The toughest part of Shoulders and Arms was the In & Out Straight-Arm Flys, I had to reduce the weight for the second set. I am really trying to work on my form, which isn't the best so that will be a challenge.

Ab Ripper X was better than the other night but still struggling with that last exercise, the side taps (Mason Twists). Whew!! That one kicks my ass! It's really hard with this pony-keg in the way so I look forward to losing it just so I can do these properly.

Tomorrow I will write about my nutrition.

Oh, by the way, I have NEVER, EVER been this sore in my life. I have been sore for days from a single workout and that would be in one area. I am sore all over right now, and it feels amazing. Can't wait to push play tomorrow.

j to da ofis

About me...

My name is Joey. I, like I'm sure many have, saw the P90X info-mercials for the passed year or so. Everytime I saw it I was glued to it. Even though the shows never really changed I found myself watching the entire thing. I contemplated buying P90X seriously around June of 2008, I'll get back to that later.

Some info about me. My current weight starting the program is/was 212 lbs. and having joined a gym in January and having a fitness assessment my body fat percentage is about 23.6 %. I was a very athletic and active child. I grew up playing baseball, football and in high school did some gymnastics. At 5'7" (I haven't grown since :o( unless you count outward) my weight in high school and after was between 145-165 lbs. Around the time I hit my mid to late 20's I started to gain weight. By exercising less and continuing to eat horribly I was up to about 185-190 at 28. At 28 that is when I got into running. Being shorter and husky I had always been more of a sprinter, short quick bursts. Other than the 1 mile fitness test in high school I had never ran a mile. I instantly loved running but being heavy with short legs means slow, LOL. After running 2-4 times a week inconsistently for a couple of years and doing a few 5K races and a half marathon I ended up doing a couple of sprint triathlons. My eating habits would fluctuate and I continued to gain weight. Over the passed 6 years I had eventually ballooned to 216. My weight would go down 5 lbs. every now and then but never more than that. This leads to why I started to really consider P90X.

In September of 2007 a great friend of mine challenged me to quit drinking soda for a month. I could easily drink a six pack of soda a day. So I took him up on the challenge and went for a month without. Then we started hanging out and working out. Sometimes we would surf but mostly running the stadium at the local high school or a couple mile loop by his house. Having gone over a month without soda he convinced me to cut out red meat, which was a challenge but I was feeling better about myself so I was all for it. We were running consistently 3-4 a week for a couple of months and I was losing a little weight. He would also keep our workouts fresh, after doing a sprint workout we would play a game of one on one basketball or work on old school football moves. One time after a workout we even played handball with one of them big red balls at the local elementary school. It was fun and kept things from getting boring. For Christmas that year he received a 6 month membership to a local gym and suggested I join so we could kick it up a few notches. So I signed up and we started working out with weights. I started to get stronger. We eventually started working out twice a day. We would usually lift in the morning and run after work. Sometimes we would sneak a run or lift in at lunch if we had to. I put in a lot of hard work and my buddy was an awesome workout partner and motivator. The problem was that I plateau'd. I had dropped to about 202 lbs. I was working my ass off and eating the healthiest ever but my weight was staying the same. I know I was stronger but I wanted to lose this gut. The fact that I had plateau'd along with my 6 month gym membership expiring and the gym wanted to raise their rates lead me to stop working out. Even running wasn't as fun.

So, why now? Well, my 20 year high school reunion is just over 90 days away. So on top of the fact that I want to be fitter and more active with my kids, I want to bring the sex back for this reunion. Ok. Thats enough for now. I need to post about the passed 2 workouts.

cya,

jofis

Day 2

Wasn't able to post a follow-up last night. The Chest and Back workout followed by the Ab Ripper X took me over 2 hours to complete because I had to pause to catch up and catch my breathe. LOL. I struggled mostly with all of the pull-ups, and the Diamond, decline, and under the fence pushups. I am using pushup stands so I think those are working me harder. The hardest parts of Ab Ripper where the leg climbers and side-tappers (Mason Twists).

I am very sore today which feels good. I suggest you set up your dumbells for Lawnmowers (lunge to one side, start with the weight at your forward foot, reach across your body and pull the weight across your body as if your starting a lawnmower), and Heavy Pants (again lunging to one side leaning forward over your forward foot with a weight on each side of your forward foot then pull up as if you were pulling up a pair of pants). If you have multiple sets, have each set ready, if not, set up your dumbbells so that you can adjust them quickly. You may want to do a few of these exercises to get an idea of how much weight you will want to work out with.

Tonight is Plyometrics. So I will try to follow up again tonight.

Ok, this follow up is actually after the Day 3 workout.

Plyometrics, what can I say? It was AWESOME!!! Difficult and fun. Worked the crap out of me. The most difficult move was the side tappers, whew!!! This workout was so much fun, I loved the different moves. Feeling the soreness from last nights workout. It feels good.

Day 1 of P90X

Hiya, my name is Joey and today is my first day of P90X. I received the kit last Friday and have been preparing myself since then by purchasing a dumbbell set and reading the Fitness Guide and Nutrition Plan.

I spent an hours reviewing the forums on the Beachbody.com website. Mostly reading about nutrition but also any other threads that caught my eye.

One of the issues I came across was trying to select which dumbbell set to purchase. I read many positive reviews for the quick adjusting dumbbell sets and would have loved to pick up a set but I just couldn't afford to spend at least $350. I also searched for the cheaper non-adjusting sets online but wanted to have the set asap so I could start working out. So that left me with searching the local retail stores. Most of the sets I found were either 40 or 50 lbs. sets, that ment that at best I would only have 2 25 lbers. (is that a word? LOL). These sets ran about $50 to $60. So I figured I would just pick up 2 sets but doing so would mean that I would have pieces that would likely never get used. I checked out quite a few stores but finally purchased a set from Sports Authority. I was looking at the 40 lb. set there and was going to buy 2 of them and by chance happened to look at the barbell w/dumbbells sets. They have a 100 lb. set which includes a 60" barbell, 2 14" dumbbell bars with the squeeze clamps. This set allows me to adjust the dumbbells from like 7.5 lbs. to about 48 lbs so the only piece that will go unused in the set will likely be the 60" bar but I can live with not using the one piece. I only mention this because someone else might be going through the same thing, so hopefully that will help. I start using them tonight so I will report back if I have any issues with them.

I will try to post a post-workout update.

jofis