Days 69, 70, 71 - Kenpo, Stretch, and Chest, Back & Abs Ripper

This will be another quick post because I've gotten myself really behind again. My sciatic nerve is still bothering me, so exercising has been a bit difficult. But I managed to do the last 3 workouts pretty well, plus I played soccer on Friday night. I took a day off on Saturday too (unintentionally) because I had to work, then we were with friends for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

I really hope this nerve problem goes away soon. I'm finding it difficult to put my shoes and socks on and I limp for a bit every time I get up off a chair. Also, oddly enough, when I laugh, cough, sneeze, etc, it hurts my ass! (see previous post if you aren't sure what I'm talking about).

My massage therapist and fellow soccer player assessed me on Friday before my game and she can't figure out what's going on. She did a few tests on me to see where the pain originates, but they didn't really tell her anything. But she thinks the problem either originates from a tightness in my piriformis muscle in my bum, or from a known disc problem in my back...or both. So I'm not really sure what to do about it, aside from stretching the muscle. I'm going to try icing my back tonight instead of my bum and see if that helps. If it does, that will answer my question at least.

I shouldn't be having this many problems!!...back issues, sciatic nerve issues. The whole point of getting into shape was to get rid of these problems! I'm only 33! I can't imagine what I'll be like at 50 at this rate!

Day 68 - Core Synergistics

I have a really sore bum! As I discussed in my last post, I went to see my massage therapist yesterday to work on my piriformis muscle, which is causing some sciatic nerve pain. She worked REALLY hard on it and as a result, I have a big bruise on my left bum cheek!! I'm quite sore as well and still have nerve pain, so I have some stretches and exercises to work on.

I was a little wary to try core synergistics today because there are some exercises which work your gluts, but it wasn't so bad. The only part I had problems with was the 3 minutes of lunges with the barbells, where you do the kick-backs and overhead presses. But I was able to do the whole exercise, without too much pain!

I'm almost done week 10, which means that I've only got three weeks left!!! I'm excited to be finished this round, even though I plan to keep going and do the classic version throughout the summer. Because I play soccer, the last three weeks will probably take much longer than that. Once the season starts, I'll be playing 2-3 times a week, so I won't do P90X on those days. I'm really hoping I can finish the round by the end of June, so fingers crossed!

Soccer and Massage

Yesterday was my first league game of the summer. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we played on the turf, which is awesome to run on. And thanks to P90X, I felt amazing!!! I'm usually really out of shape at the beginning of the summer season and only really get into shape by the end of the summer...when the season is over. So it felt fantastic to actually be in shape at the beginning! Imagine how fit I'll be by August!

For the past several weeks, I've been dealing with piriformis syndrome, which is when your piriformis muscle pinches the sciatic nerve. It's rather irritating and aches most of the time. Today I went to see my massage therapist right after work and when I told her my problems, she asked if I had plans later in the evening "because this is going to hurt!" Holy crap, she wasn't lying! I've never had such a painful massage before. But it's all good and I know it will help in the long run. So my instructions for tonight are to rest and ice one area, while putting heat on another. So I guess I'll be skipping my P90X workout tonight.

Day 66 & 67 - Back, Biceps, Abs & Yoga

This will just be a short post, because it's a nice day and I don't want to spend too much time on the computer!

Two days ago, I did back & biceps for the very first time, since I'm doing the Lean program. It was a good workout and I can feel my biceps getting stronger. I'm still not a fan of pull ups and I still need the chair for them, but I've moved to using one foot for support instead of both. The corn cob pull ups (or whatever they're called) are killers though. And I kept banging my elbow on the door frame while doing them...ow!

Yesterday I mowed the lawn and did a bunch of yard work, so I kind of ran out of time to do yoga. So I did it today and got it over with early. I can feel my legs getting stronger and I can go longer now without having to take a break and straighten my legs in the vinyasa series. I can actually do half moon pose now, but struggle with the reversed version. I still skip over crane though!

I weighed myself this morning and I was the lowest I've been since I started P90X! Mind you, it's not by much, but since I've been hovering at around 158-159 lbs for so long, it was nice to see 156.8 on the scales! I've stopped weighing myself every day and I'm trying to only do it every couple of weeks or so. And I know I really shouldn't focus on my weight and should focus in inches lost and body fat% instead. But it's still nice to see a drop, even if it's slight, in my weight. I've been taking Osolean for about a week now, so maybe that has something to do with it!

Day 64, 65 - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Abs & Cardio

This picture doesn't really have anything to do with what I'm about to write, but I thought it was just so darned cute!

Yesterday was Chest, Shoulders, Triceps and Abs. I think this workout is the hardest for me. I can do all the moves (not necessarily a lot of reps), but it is really quite challenging. So many push ups!

Today was cardio. I'm not sure what was in my water today, but I had tonnes of energy! I really felt like I got a great workout and sweat buckets. I really like the cardio workout. It's great that it's only 45 min and I love the yoga at the beginning. The whole thing flies by so quickly and it's over before you know it.

This past weekend I didn't do very well with my nutrition. Today I'm getting back into it and did pretty well, except for a few Toffifee's someone at work brought in. I'm kind of thinking that I might need to adjust my nutrition plan. According to my weight, I should be in Level II of Fat Shredder, but I'm just barely in that level. When I'm following the plan properly, I feel like I'm eating too much and end up feeling like I do when I over eat. I'm not sure that I would get enough food if I move down to Level I, but if I pick something in between the two, I think I'll be alright. I'll play around with it and see how it goes.

I've also started taking a product called Osolean by Mannatech. My friend sells Mannatech products and suggested it to me when I asked for something to help me boost my weight loss just a little bit more. It is all natural and is supposed to help you lose fat, but not muscle, when you are following an exercise and nutrition plan. It's more about helping you to lose inches, rather than lbs. You mix it in a drink 2x per day, before breakfast and supper. The main components are whey protein and calcium, but apparently it's more than just taking protein and calcium. I don't really understand the chemistry behind it, but it has worked for others, so I'm willing to give it a go. So far I've noticed that it doesn't taste very good, but if you mix it with the right drink, it's ok. Chocolate milk hides the slightly bitter taste pretty well though. I've also noticed that it makes me feel full faster when I'm eating my meal, so I don't tend to eat as much....which is a good thing!

So I'll let you know how it goes with the Osolean. It will be hard to tell over the next phase of P90X, whether my inches lost will be from P90X, Osolean or the two combined. But if it can give me an extra inch or two off my waist, that would be great!

Day 60, 61, 62, 63 - Yoga, Core Syn, Kenpo, Rest

Wow, I'm getting really bad at posting aren't I? I used to be so good and post every day. Last Thursday I did yoga, Friday was Core Syn, Saturday was Kenpo and I opted to take a rest day on Sunday. I'm ashamed to say that I also took a rest day today, making it two in a row. I really didn't mean to take the day off today, but I painted all day yesterday and today (see previous post) and my shoulder is killing me and I just want to go to bed now! No excuse, but I still feel guilty. Tomorrow I start week 10!

Exercise room done!

Well I finally finished painting my exercise room! I decided to make it a little fun by adding a design to the walls. Here are some photos.

The first picture is where I got my idea for the whole thing - a t-shirt I got from Old Navy several years ago.



And here is the room:



Now all I need to do is paint the navy blue entertainment centre and shelves. I'll probably paint them either black or chocolate brown? What do you think?

Days 58 & 59 - Cardio and Shoulders, Arms

Two days ago, I did Cardio and yesterday I did Shoulders and Arms. I was late getting started yesterday, so didn't have time to do Ab Ripper. Every time I tried to start my workout, people kept calling on the phone. Eventually I stopped answering! Sorry Mom!

I'll try and fit Ab Ripper into one of my other workouts this week. It was either stay up past my bedtime and do Abs, or try and get to bed on time and get a good sleep. Sleep won!

Yesterday was the first time since week 3 that I've done Shoulders and Arms. I missed this workout. I really like working my upper body and I was really happy that I didn't have to do any squats or lunges! I noticed quite an improvement during this workout and was able to lift more weight than last time for all of the moves. I pushed harder than normal too, but I'm not even sore today!

Day 57 - Chest and Back, Ab Ripper

Day one of phase 3! This is the first time I've done this workout and I found it was challenging but not too bad. I'm getting way better at push-ups and I've moved to using only one foot on the chair when I do pull-ups. With this workout, I'm going to have to get heavier weights though. So far, in other workouts, I've been fine with 8lb weights. I used 10lb ones last night for this workout and it wasn't enough. I was able to get to 20 reps and that's too many. I should be failing at 10-15. Maybe I'll try my resistance bands too and see how that goes.

I'm liking the change in routine in phase 3. I was getting a little bored because phase 1 and 2 were pretty similar. One thing I'm a little concerned about is the fact that I don't do a legs workout at all this month in the lean program. I'll still working my legs a lot in other workouts, but not totally focusing on them. But, I figure the creators know what they're doing, so I won't stress myself out about it too much!

I've been thinking recently of trying BeachBody's Shakeology. It's pretty expensive, but when you break it down, it's not too pricey on a per day basis...that is if you live in the States. I had finally decided that I would order it to give it a try, but I forgot that I need to add the shipping, taxes and exchange rate. What started at $119 USD per month, ended up being $172 CAD per month!!! I'm disappointed because I did want to try it, but I just can't justify paying that much for a 30 day supply.

Day 1 to Day 60 Photos

Well I think I've built up the courage to show you all some photos. I wanted to wait until you could see some changes before I put them on my blog. You can view them here, or there is a link on the sidebar of this blog.

And here are my measurements since Day 1. I know I'm not quite at 60 days, but I'm sure things won't change that much before then.

Day 54, 55, 56 - Cardio, Yoga, Rest

Wow, I'm getting really behind on my posts! I don't really have a whole lot to say because I forget how the workouts went and I didn't do very well at all with the diet for the last few days. Today I was supposed to start day 1 of phase 3, but it got late and I decided to run/walk on the treadmill instead. Tomorrow I'll start phase 3 and I'll try and give you a review of P90X so far. If I'm feeling brave enough, I may just show some pictures. I'll at least try and post some measurements though.

Day 53 - Stretch

I know I've said this before but I LOVE the stretch exercises! They all feel so good!

I'm almost done decorating my exercise room. It's pretty much all set up. I've added a few lamps for some soft lighting, a fountain and another water/air bubble thing. All I need to do now is draw my design on the wall and paint it. It's going to look very zen in the end. I wanted to make it a place that I want to hang out in and it's just that. I love it!

I'm not going to comment much on my nutrition today. We had free pizza at work today and it just went downhill from there. I didn't go to McDonalds or anything like that, but I did have more than my alloted one carb, and I'm going to have popcorn at the movies tonight. All in all, it could have been way worse, but I wasn't nearly as good as I had intended.

Day 52 - Kenpo

I feel like I've been a little slack at posting lately. I've been pretty busy and just don't seem to have the time to post anything significant. Today is going to be the same...just a quick post.

Yesterday I took a day off because I spent the entire day painting my exercise room. I'm still not done yet, but I've got the walls covered. I just need to do the design next. But since I painted all day yesterday and the room was a mess, I didn't have the energy to exercise, even if I'd had the space to workout!

Today I cleaned and tidied up the room so that I was able to do Kenpo. I used the hand weights, but didn't use the ankle weights this time. I feel like I got a decent workout, but didn't push myself that hard. No excuse really, just didn't feel into it.

• Breakfast: Kashi Go Crunch (if that's the right name) and skim milk
• Snack: sliced peaches, V8 juice
• Lunch: ham, lettuce, tomato sub and salad with very little catelina dressing
• Snack: protein bar
• Supper: pork tenderloin and some low cal ranch dressing, salad with feta and olive oil, pudding

Day 51 - Core Synergistics

Another really quick post, because honestly, I'm just too pooped to write anything. I've pretty much been on the go all day today. I bought a bunch of stuff to make our back deck more appealing to hang out on, and I set it all up. I bought some paint to paint my exercise room and started painting this evening. And basically just did a lot of puttering around.

I did core synergistics before supper, amidst a messy exercise room. I've got to get it painted quickly because it's pretty crowded in there with everything moved around. I've come up with a neat idea for how I'm going to paint the room. I'm not going to describe it yet so it will be a surprise. I'll post pictures when it's finished!

• Breakfast: 6 egg white omelet with goat cheese, mushrooms, spinach and turkey bacon. WW english muffin, glass of skim milk
• Snack: protein bar, protein shake with milk
• Supper: Maple/BBQ salmon salad (with spinach and romain lettuce, olive oil, goat cheese, pine nuts, and spices) Yummy!!

Yesterday I walked on the treadmill for an hour and then played soccer for 1.5 hrs later on in the evening.