Day 24 - Kenpo X

Kenpo X, or kickboxing today. I seemed to have lots of energy today and was able to put more into the workout than previously. I also had to hurry through it because I had things to do afterwards. I did the entire workout, but I skipped the breaks where you do the running and jumping jacks. I'm quite enjoying recovery week!

Unfortunately I was up 4 lbs today! Yikes! Just curious when other people started losing weight in this program. I'm starting to see more definition in my muscle tone and I know I'm decreasing body fat, but I kind of hoped I'd have dropped a couple of lbs by now. Anyone else out there seeing the same trend?

Day 23 - Core Synergistics

This is my second day of recovery week. I'm liking this workout more and more. The first time I did it, I really hated it, but now I'm starting to see why it can be a favourite. I don't really have much more to say. I did this workout yesterday and I seem to forget it already!

Day 22 - Yoga

By adding this picture, I'm kind of copying Crystal's idea, but I really love how she always adds interesting pictures to her blog. So I hope she doesn't mind my stealing her idea. At least I've linked to her blog so you can check it out!

This weekend I played in a soccer tournament, so Friday and Saturday I didn't do any P90X workouts. I played games Friday night, Saturday and this morning. One of those days was my rest day though, so after my game today, I started up week 4.

Today was the first day of my first recovery week. The yoga workout went well and faster than I expected. I usually find the first section is quite long (the vinyasa's), but today I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing, so that part went by pretty fast. I find I'm able to hold my positions longer and I'm able to get a little lower. I still have a hard time with some of the balance poses, particularly the section with the half moon pose. I just can't keep my leg in the air for that long. All in all a good workout though.

Day 20 - Kenpo X

Love this workout, maybe because I can actually do all of it! I felt quite energetic today so the workout went really well. I was pretty much able to keep up with them the whole time.

I think my extra energy came from the fact that it was "beautiful" out today. And I use the word "beautiful" loosely because it was only about +9C (48F for you Americans). But it was sunny and warm for March in New Brunswick and I took the opportunity to shovel some of the snow off my deck, wearing a tank top and slippers. I felt very Canadian!

Day 19 - Legs & Back and Ab Ripper X

I was a little late getting my workout done yesterday because we went out for supper with friends. So I didn't end up starting until around 9PM. I mixed it up a little bit last night by doing ARX before Legs and Back instead of after. I think I prefer it this way. It was good to get it out of the way so I didn't have to worry about it later. Plus, I had more energy to work my abs. I'm not saying I performed better at ARX this way, it was just less tiring.

As always, ARX is a killer for me, but at least it's short. I can manage to do 25 reps on the "in and outs" and on the "bicycle", but that's about it. For the rest of the moves, I can get to about 11-12 reps, then take a break and finish the last 5 or so with the group.

Legs and Back went well. I decided to use the stretch band for my pull-up moves. I think I prefer it this way. I feel like I have more control and that I'm getting a better workout that way. Eventually I'll go back to the pull-up bar, once I get stronger, but for now I'll stick with the band.

I think my favourite move on the Legs and Back DVD is the calf raises. Man they hurt, but I like them!

Day 18 - Yoga

I was originally planning on skipping yoga today because I had soccer practice at 8:30pm and I figured I wouldn't have time to fit both in. But since we're going out for supper with friends tomorrow, I thought it might be better to do yoga today instead of tomorrow. Yoga on a full stomach is not good! I did manage to fit it in right after work, then went to practice afterwards. I'm glad I did it today because I was nice and stretched for soccer and had a good cardio workout there. By the end of the day though, I was pretty pooped, but proud of myself!

Day 17 - Shoulders & Arms and Ab Ripper X

I bought myself some new stretch bands to try instead of weights, but I'm not really sure I like them. For some of the moves, they were way more of a workout than using weights and made me realize that maybe I should increase my weight when using dumbells. Overall, I prefer using weights, but having bands adds variety, so I'll probably use them every once in a while.

Shoulders and arms went really well last night. As I said, I ended up lifting more weight than last week. Ab Ripper X didn't go quite as well. I wasn't able to do as many reps as normal before needing to take a break. I think it will be several weeks before I'm finally able to do all of this workout!

Day 16 - Cardio X

I felt a little sluggish today doing this workout. I think it might be because I had supper before working out. I did wait about an hour after supper, before exercising, but I still felt like stuff was sloshing around inside. So the first part of the workout wasn't great, but eventually I got a bit more into it, possibly because I was drinking my energy-workout drink. I was sweating pretty hard by the end of it.

Day 14 - Rest / Day 15 - Core Synergistics

Yesterday was my rest day and that's exactly what I did. I originally thought I might do the stretch workout, but never really got around to it.

This is the beginning of week 3 and today I did Core Synergistics. I feel like I keep getting better each week. I still really suck at the push-ups though. Being a soccer player, I don't really have much use for my arms...they kind of just hang there like a T-rex's!! They're not really that bad, but I don't have a lot of upper body strength. Most of my push-ups are done on my knees, but I do try to do some in full plank position.

So since I've completed 2 whole weeks, here are some results:

Weight: Over the two weeks, I gained a little over 4 lbs then lost it, so I think I'm pretty much back to where I started now. If you want to get technical, I've lost 0.4 lbs since I started, but statistically, I'm pretty sure that's not a significant change.

Measurements: All of my measurements are still the same except for my waist. I've lost 1.5 inches there!

Overall: Overall I feel great! My back is feeling better, I feel like I have more energy and I feel like I'm getting stronger. I also think I'm starting to see a bit more muscle tone, but it's hard to tell. The other day, my soccer coach told me he noticed I was looking a bit fitter and I was surprised that others could see any change.

So things seem to be right on track. I didn't really expect to see any changes yet, so I was pleasantly surprised to see I lost a bit in my waist.

Another thing I should mention...I got this drink mix from GNC called "Endurance". You drink it while you work out and it's supposed to give you more energy so you get more out of your workout. I've been using it for almost a week now and I think I'm able to see a difference in my performance...or maybe I'm just getting fitter and can do the exercises better. So in addition to this, I often have a Myoplex bar about 1/2-1 hr before working out and I have a protein shake after.

Day13 - Kenpo X

I'm almost to the two week mark! Today was Kenpo. I like this workout and I can pretty much do the whole thing.

A co-worker/friend just started this program, but she is doing the Classic version, where I'm doing Lean. I'm getting the impression that the Classic is quite a bit more difficult than mine. I kind of knew this, but to hear her talk about her workouts, mine don't seem quite as bad. I've sort of been wondering which program I really should be on, but I think I've picked the right one for me for now. My main goal is to lose weight, and the Lean program sounds like it's best for that. I'm already planning ahead though and I think once I'm done the Lean program, I'll do P90X again and do the Classic version next time. I'll take the summer off though because I'll be playing soccer 2-3 times a week, but in the fall, I'll plan on doing it again.

Day 12 - Legs & Back and Ab Ripper

I split up the two workouts today. I did Ab Ripper after I got home from work and before a group of us went out for supper. Then after supper, I did the Legs and Back workout. I should be off to bed now after I shower, but I'm stuck on the computer and feel the need to write about my workout first!

Today was the first day that I was able to do all of the ab ripper exercises without back pain!! Yay! I still can't do all 25 reps, but I can do more than before. I can feel my abs getting stronger and I think that is helping me from putting strain on my back. I love seeing progress! I was also able to get more of a workout doing legs and back and now my legs feel like jelly.

I'm also quite proud to say that since I started P90X on March 1st, I've exercised 15 out of 18 days, between playing soccer and my 12 days of P90X! One of my days off was because I ate too much on the 6th and the other two I took off to rest my back.

Now one last thing before I go to bed, I'm going to decorate my blog! I know...sad!

Day 11 - Yoga

My second round of yoga went much better than last week. My back felt great and I could do the bends, pain-free! Some of the poses were still pretty challenging, but I was able to do most of them properly. Even though the workout is really long and there are endless vinyasas and runners poses, I feel great once I'm done. And I'm happy to say I'm pretty flexible too. I can touch my head to my knee doing the single leg stretch!

Day 10 - Shoulders & Arms and Ab Ripper

I felt I got a much better workout on my arms and shoulders this time around. Last time I only had 5lb weights and it didn't feel like enough, so I bought 8 and 10 lb weights. I'm not strong enough for the 10lb ones yet, but most of the moves I was able to lift 8lbs. I have to go to the 5lb weights for triceps though. I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow!

I'm still having some trouble with the Ab Ripper. A lot of the moves hurt my back, especially the ones where you start from lying down and have to roll all the way up to touch your toes. Ouch! So I've been doing a lot of modifications on this workout. I also think it will be a while before I'm able to do 25 of any of the exercises!

Day 9 - Cardio

Last night I had a soccer game so I skipped my P90X workout. This evening I did the cardio X workout and it went really well. I started off wearing my back brace, but ended up taking it off because I didn't need it. I felt I was able to do a better job with the workout this time around too. I like this workout, mostly because it's only 45 min!! I think my favourite move is the wacky jacks. I always start them off wrong, but once I get the hang of them, their fun!

Day 8 - Core Synergistics

I'm back at it again! That three day rest for my back did a world of good. Even though it's not completely better, it feels way better than it did for the past 2 weeks. And the neoprene back brace seems to work really well too. It doesn't provide a huge amount of support, but it does support a bit, and it keeps the heat in, which seems to help. I still have to take it easy, but the moves were a lot easier to do than before.

The second time around for core synergistics seemed to go better than the first. I was able to do more of the moves properly (not all of them, mind you), and I could do more reps. I still can't do everything they can do, but I do see progress, and I'm only just starting my first week! That's encouraging! Tomorrow night I have another soccer game, so I'll probably continue with day 9 on Saturday.

Ready to go again!

I took 3 days off to rest my back and I think I'm ok to continue on to week 2 of the program. It still bothers me a bit, but it's feeling much better than it was before. I had a soccer game on Tuesday night and it actually felt pretty good. I bought myself a neoprene back brace for exercising while my back is still bothering me and it seemed to help at soccer. So fingers crossed that it goes well tonight when I try core synergistics for the second time around!

Day 7 - Stretch!

Ahh, it felt good to do the stretches today. It was a nice, relaxing video, what else can I say?!

So I've finished my first week. I haven't taken any new measurements or anything, but I can tell you that I've actually gained a couple of pounds since I started last week. Let's hope it's just muscle and that it doesn't continue for too long.

Unfortunately, my back isn't getting any better. I don't think that the exercise is hurting my back, but I have a feeling it's aggravating it and preventing it from healing. I've been icing it a lot and I've been seeing a chiropractor, but I'm starting to think that maybe I should take a couple of days off and let it heal a bit better. I REALLY don't want to stop this workout, because I know my core has to be strong in order to help my back. So I think what I'll do is take 3 days off, ice it a lot and hope for the best.

I'll keep you posted and hopefully I'll be back at it again soon.

Day 6 - Kenpo X

I feel kind of guilty because I missed my workout yesterday and I don't really have a great excuse either! I had a few things to do right after work yesterday and I'm also taking care of my friend's dogs, so I was late getting supper. We ran into town to get a sandwich from Great Canadian Bagel (so yummy!) and oops, made a quick stop at Dairy Queen on the way home! I was so full by the time I finished that I couldn't make myself workout at 10pm. On the plus side, I have been eating really well all week, so I don't feel too bad about cheating with a sundae.

I guess I haven't mentioned this yet, but I'm not doing the P90X nutrition plan. I just decided that I'll try my best to eat healthy and see how that goes. If I need to, I can always try the plan and see if it works any better.

So today I did the Kenpo X workout. It was fun! I really like doing kick-boxing exercises, so I found this one was quite enjoyable. I still have to be careful of my back so I didn't get as much out of it as I probably should have. But it was better than nothing and it still had me sweating pretty hard.

I'm looking forward to the Stretch video tomorrow.

Day 5 - Legs & Back and Ab Ripper X

Just a quick note on today's workout because I'm off to bed in a minute. The leg and back workout felt good today and I finally got to try out the new chin-up bar. Couldn't do a chin-up without a chair mind you, but in my eyes, they were chin-ups none-the-less! I found the abs a bit harder today because of my back, so I modified and did my own ab moves for a lot of it.
Off to bed now - Kenpo X tomorrow.

Day 4 - Yoga

I was really pleased with myself that I actually did this workout today because I was thinking of skipping it. I had a bunch of things to do right after work today and then we met some friends for supper at 6pm. I tried my best not to eat too much (which was hard!) so I could do yoga once I got home. I figured Chinese food and up-side-down poses wouldn't mix well!

We got home after 8pm and I'm proud to say that I still did my workout, even though it made me late getting to bed. The workout is 1 1/2 hrs and I like to get to bed early when I'm working at 7:30am. Even as I was doing the workout, I was tempted to cut it short, but I didn't and I finished it all. I did have to skip a few exercises that hurt my back a bit, but I was able to do most of them.

I have been a little worried about my back while doing this program. I found out recently that I have a slightly compressed disc between L4 & L5, which has been bothering me on and off for quite a long time now, but it's been worse lately. They warn you not to do P90X if you have any problems, including back issues, and I was worried that someone might tell me not to do the program. But so far, I think I've been ok. I know my limits and I think I can adjust the moves so that I don't make my back worse, or I can just skip any moves that put strain on my back. I know I have to strengthen my core muscles to help support my back, so I don't want to stop exercising. So I guess I'll just continue on and hope for the best!

As for the Yoga X DVD, it was a lot more intense that I had expected. I have done lots of yoga and pilates in the past, so I didn't find it too bad. It was definitely challenging though and I just don't have the strength yet to hold some of the poses. I wonder how others would find it though, particularly guys who have never done yoga before. It would be pretty tough I would imagine! But then again, some of the people on the video weren't able to do a lot of the moves when they started either and they seemed to do a great job now.

I liked this video a lot and I was pretty limber by the end of it. It is a little long, but definitely manageable.

Day 3 - Shoulders & Arms and Ab Ripper

Another really good workout. I really liked working the shoulders and arms, but I think I'll have to go buy another set of dumbells. The biggest I have is 5 lbs, and I found that it wasn't heavy enough for most of the moves. So it's off to Walmart today after work! The Ab Ripper DVD was a lot harder and I couldn't do a lot of the moves. I've got a bit of a sore back, so I'm skipping any moves that bother it. Hopefully once my core is strengthened a bit more, my back won't bother me.

Day 2 - Cardio X

I had a really good time doing this workout today after work. I was actually able to do it all, minus one move that hurts my back a bit. It started off with yoga, then moved into more cardio moves that were kind of fun. This workout only takes about 45 min, versus the rest of them which are closer to an hour. I'm feeling a bit more sore today!

I'm also liking the guy who leads the workouts, Tony Horton. He's a likable guy and kind of reminds me of my brother-in-law!

Day 1 - Core Synergistics

I started the program last night. The first DVD that I had to do was Core Synergistics. It basically works your whole body, focusing on the core muscles. There is definitely a lot that I can't do yet...and may never be able to do! It's pretty hard core, but I tried my best and that's all they ask of you. It was still a good workout, and I'm not as sore as I expected to be today. That's a good start I guess!

For now, I think I'll forgo the nutrition plan and see what happens with just the exercise program. I'll try to eat really healthy though and will probably use the plan as a guideline rather than a bible.

I'm following the Lean program, which is for weight loss and toning muscles. So for the next week, I do a different DVD each day and I repeat this for 3 weeks. After that, there's a recovery week where my body has a chance to rest (not to the extent that you'd think!). Then I do the same thing again the next month. On the 3rd month, things change up a bit.

Tonight it's the Cardio X DVD!

Fitness Test

I received P90X in the mail last week and because I was away over the weekend, I'm just getting started on the program today. I took the fitness test earlier today and passed with flying colours...except for the chin-ups! Can't even do 1/2 of one! Oh well, I did better than the minimum required on the rest of the testing.

So I just spent some time getting things ready to start. I joined the website http://www.milliondollarbody.com/ but I'm not sure how much I'll use it yet. I also printed out a copy of the workout schedule (so I don't mess up the original if I need to use it again), and wrote in what I need to do each day. So I guess I'm ready to go! Oh yea, I also took my before pictures, but I'm not really sure I want to post them yet! Maybe after I can start to see a difference...or maybe I'll wait until the very end so you can see my results!

I plan on starting tonight. Wish me luck!