P90X3: Day 8 of 90. Core Synergistics. Improvement.

Week Two.  For the first time, I have repeated a workout.  Major improvements for me on everything.  Feels great.  Couple observations on Week One and Day Eight.

I saw great improvements today.  I felt stronger on the exercises that I did completely, and there was a rep increase to the complete required number in every exercise.

My chest hurt this week.  Not a heart thing, a pushup thing.  I don't know why I was so strained and it wasn't the biceps and/or triceps, it was the chest muscles.  I took a lot of protein and creatine this week for the muscles and, as of today, it seems to be helping.

My diet.  I cut back significantly this week.  I don't usually discuss my diet.  I think people get very focused on food...almost obsessed.  I don't think about food as entertainment, just fuel.  I literally can eat the same thing every day.  Some folks need variety, and different tastes, and color, and a blend of sweetness.  Not me.  I try my best to take decisions about food right out of my life.

I am going to make an exception as an example today.

Breakfast.  One cup of oatmeal.  Handful of raisins.  Half cup of all natural applesauce.

Lunch.  One can of spinach.  One can of tuna (in water, not oil)

Snack.  One Nature Valley Granola Bar with water.

Dinner.  Shakeology and one Nature's Path Gluten Free Bar.

Exercise in evening.

One self made shake of seltzer water, vitamin C mix, Protein powder, Creatine Powder, Vitamins.

Two Apples.

Sleep.

If you add up these calories, and then you think about 30 minutes of walking and P90X....this is not enough to keep you rolling.  I felt exhausted and my muscles could not recover sufficiently.  Keep your calories in mind and make sure you are getting enough protein.  I know I am short because I felt like this the first time I did P90X.

Okay, time for some New England Patriots football.  Get your protein and sleep and have a great week!!

P90X3: Day 5 of 90. CVX. Sweating.

And, we sweat.  CVX.  Boy, it looked easy on the DVD when I was previewing it.  I started with a 10 lb dumbbell.  Here is what I sounded like on the third set, "Lexieeeee???"

"What?" came the sound far away from my kitchen upstairs.

"There's a five lb dumbbell next to the fireplace...bring it down here quick!!"

Oh, the male ego.  Yes, I looked at the ladies.  Then, I looked at the guy in back.  Saw him grab a 10 while the ladies took less.  Well, I'm no lady.  I'll have what HE's having dammit.

This was a good workout.  With the fives, I finished and finished well.  Completed all circuits and sweat like a dog. THIS will someday be a favorite.

Day five update...there are muscles that were sore four days ago that feel stronger today.  What I realized doing P90X, and it seems to still hold true here, is that the next days exercises are designed to rest the previous days burnout.  That's what puts P90X at the top of my list.

Props to Traci Morrow, who I follow on Facebook.  She kicked ass on this workout.  Tony paid her a little too much attention but, hell, can you blame him?  Tony's jokes are still funny too, they keep me going.

Okay, all the best and tomorrow, when you get up, just do it one more time.  It gets easier.  Promise.

P90X3: Day 4 of 90. The Challenge.

The Challenge.  That about says it.  I don't have to add anything else.  My arms and chest hurt.  This is the first time I have done this in about 8 months, to repeat my other blogs.  I'm fried.  My reps weren't awesome...and I knew they wouldn't be.  I know how to handle this though.

Mentally, I know that how I did today is the bottom of the barrel benchmark.  We only get better from here.  I don't feel "bad" that I couldn't do what the folks on the DVD could do.  Really, I weigh about 15-18 lbs more right now than I did the first time I did this.  Also, I had been doing pushups back then.  Not this time.  So, in about four weeks, when I am down about 15 lbs, and my arms have been pushing all this extra weight, but it's not there anymore...watch me rock.

So, for now, to do the set, I do as much as I can and when I am burnt, I modify.  Down to the knees for pushups until I fail there as well.  As Neil Young would say, "It's better to burn out, than to die."  So tonight, I burnt out good.

The pullups?  I use the bands but they are modified for the pullup bar.  Some night, I will photograph it, because I've never seen anyone else doing it quite this way.  I may be a trend setter on this one.  I did many more pullups than pushups.  But, like I said, tonight was where we break off the rust.

Okay, time to check the kids' homework, take a shower, drink some protein/creatine, watch Weeds Season One reruns, and eat some fruit, and sleep.

Food tip for the day.  It starts with a question.  What comes in a jar, is about four inches long by an inch thick, and if you eat four of them, you are full and have only eaten 20 calories?  Glassen Kosher Dill Pickle Halves.  When I feel a need to snack, I eat two. 

P90X3: Day 3 of 90. Yoga X. I'm the Chairman.

I'm the Chairman.  More accurately, the Chair Man.  Yoga is not my thing.  I freely admit it.  There are those that I have done P90X with that are probably laughing right now.  I am fairly flexible.  I am also very bulky in terms of muscle.  Big in the thighs, barrel chested, big calves.  I have never been what you could call "lean."  Also, I kind of pulled something last night (more on that in a minute), so I'm a bit tender in some areas today.  That's my mea culpa.  I am not a Yoga guy.  To add to that, in P90X, Yoga is 90 minutes.  That's right, 90 minutes.  I hated it.  I cursed all the way through it.  I made fun of (because in my home, alone, I have that luxury...) everyone on the DVD and I would curse Tony every time he failed to do balanced reps.  Basically, I was surly and didn't need a reason to 'get my hate on.'

P90X3 Yoga is only 30 minutes.  Seriously?  You had me at 'hello.'  Yes, it is still Yoga.  And yes, it still has things I will NEVER be able to do unless I have some serious gene therapy and alter my body's structural design.  But, at 30 minutes, I will work through it.  It does still have the same flaw as every other Yoga DVD and that is, as you are focusing on what you are doing, they are progressing to the next move.  And, I swear, Tony Horton has HDD and just moves without telling you he's going.  That's fine too.  I'll catch up.  Hell, at 30 minutes, I'll hit pause and repeat it.  Not a problem.

So, I actually am cool with P90X3 Yoga X.  Now, for my injury.  It's cured.  Don't know how.  Don't care.  The muscles felt great today, just a little stiff...and Yoga and stretching was the perfect cure.  Loved doing it today.  Don't know what did it, the Protein, the Creatine or the Ice...maybe all three.  Either way, I felt like a million bucks doing Yoga X tonight.

Finally, why am I the Chairman?  or Chair man?  You should see me trying to do some of these poses.  It's ridiculous.  Now, I can do one of two things.  I can NOT do the pose, or I can find a way to do it so that I can stretch, achieve some balance and improve for the day when I can do the pose without help.  That's where the chair comes in handy.  I will use it to balance but only for the second I am losing my balance.  Then, I let go.  Sometimes I just use it to get into position.  Is it cheating?  Not really, it's cheating if you don't do it.  (In my mind, anyway.)

"Now, pull you foot into your crotch area and grab your toe.  Now, extend your leg straight out without letting go of the toe."  Really?  Dude, I have breakable stuff in my house.  I can fall and cover 15 feet of room.  That's just the balance part.  Also, you would think last night's injury would have kept me from doing that one.  Nope.  It's the extending of the leg, of course.  If you think touching your toes is tough, you are never going to make it through that.  What I do is slide my hand to my calf and I have the chair under the extended leg.  I lift the leg for as long as I can and hold it.  If I let it down, it's for a moment and then back up.  When I did P90X, by the last phase, no chair was needed.  You do what you have to do to get through the workout.  Make it happen.  Be the catalyst for your own change!  Good luck and see you in the AM!

P90X3: Day 2 of 90. Agility X. Crap, now I've done it! Again.

And, by 'doing it again,' I don't mean the Agility X routine.  I warmed up by doing 30 minutes on the treadmill.  All was going great until the first lunge set.  I felt a tightness in a muscle that has never given me problems before.  I pushed it for a couple more and it pulled tight on me.  Painfully tight.  I hit pause and backed out and stretched.  I didn't stop, just stretched the area that was affected.  I'm not sure, but I don't think it's the groin muscle.  If I look at a muscle map, it seems like it's the Gracillis.  Also, many pictures online show the muscle, oddly enough (and I say that sarcastically) with the leg in a lunge.

It's a small pull.  So, I kept going, I stretched frequently, and I modified to keep an eye on it.  Bottom line, I finished the workout.  But, it's pretty sore.  I iced the muscle and drank my protein and creatine shake when I was done.  For those of you over 50, that's spackle and glue for building up old muscles.  It'll be a few days of modifying the exercises that affect that muscle.

Here's the thing for you new people, kind of a "Coaching Moment" if you will.  When you feel your muscles pulling back in weird ways, hit pause before they react badly.  I've done this twice before in P90X and should have learned my lesson about listening to my body.  It's okay though, nothing permanent.  When it happened in P90X, I modified those exercises until I could do them again and did the rest with vigor.  Listen to your body.  Don't let your brain or ego write a check your body can't cash.

Here's the second part of this.  I'm not stopping.  I'll be on the treadmill for 45 minutes in the AM, and I will stretch it during the day so it doesn't get tight...and I will stretch better before each set.  Thirty minutes goes by quickly...if you need it, go "Cold Start."  I'll be doing heat before exercising and ice afterward.

So, it's deja vu all over again.  I pushed too hard and strained something.  I'll be fine.  Learn from my mistake (the third time) to listen to your body.  It's late.  Great Wildcard Weekend of NFL though!