Relaxing and invigorating

Today was a stretch or rest day, and I chose to stretch.  I needed it pretty bad, I was feeling really tight toward the end of last week.  My legs and butt feel it the most.  Must be from all the kicks and squats haha.  But its all good, its for the best.  The X stretch really calms me down and gives me focus.  Aside from that, I really don't have much to report.  I'll weigh-in before I start week 7's workout, make sure I'm doing good on the diet routine too. 

So tonight I'll be jumping back into taekwondo after a week off.  I wanted to give my foot some time to recover again before I make another dumb mistake.  And tonight will be the start of new intermediate classes, pretty excited about that.  We'll be able to cover a lot more ground and not have to worry about lower level belt review all the time.  Review is good, but the focus will now be better distributed between all belt levels. 

Wax on, wax off

Every time I get to the blocking and punching series of the Kenpo X workout, it reminds me of the Karate Kid.... the Daniel-son kind.  The movements are almost identical, and it sure does do the trick.  I kind of vary the blocks and punches though, so that they are closer to my taekwondo techniques.  My butt is sore from all the kicks and lunges from the past couple of days -- thought I'd throw that out there hehe.  I need to do some extra glute stretching in order to fix that.  Burned a lot of calories today, I feel good about the workout.  The back kicks didn't affect my hips and hamstrings so much today, that is great.  I shot for more height and intensity, and I feel it now.  Tomorrow's X stretch will be great, looking forward to it.

On another note, tomorrow starts a new schedule for taekwondo.  The instructor is starting an intermediate class, which means green belt and above.  This is great, because those of us that are green or higher can focus more on new techniques and defenses, rather than jumping around between the higher belt and the lower belt curriculums.  It will be a good change for sure.  And hopefully my foot is up to sparring this week.  I would really like to get back into that too.

Intensity

The title of this post was the focus of my workout today.  I tried to do more reps, or hold longer on isometrics.  I tried to get lower in my squats and lunges.  Today's workout consisted of legs and back, with ab ripper X afterward.  The back exercises weren't so bad, but my legs are on fire!  I went upstairs to grab a pair of socks and my thighs were burning lol.  My calves aren't so sore though, which is great -- otherwise my legs would be like my arms were after Thursday's workout:  noodles! 
The ab workout was great, but I'm still lacking some reps here and there.  The heals-to-the-heavens exercise is what kills me the most.  I absolutely struggle to do those correctly, nevermind all of the reps.  I really need to focus on my core more, and work up to at least getting the reps completed.  I missed a couple of mason twists too, which do wonders on the obliques.  I sure do wish the results would show more haha.  I'm actually quite satisfied with what I'm seeing so far, with changes in my physique (sp?).  Can't complain too much, it's only been about 6 weeks, and I feel stronger and more flexible already. 

Not so bendy...

Ok I wasn't as bendy as usual for my yoga X workout.  Some of the exercises I could see improvement on, but for the most part my muscles felt really tight.  I had some trouble with the twists and advanced moves.  I can usually do at least a portion of the advanced stretching or movements.  My hamstrings were holding me back from doing what I wanted to do.  That must be a part of the whole patience thing... The deep stretches and crazy twisty bends won't come over night; they take some time.  I love the yoga routine though.  If I had stronger legs, especially my thighs, I could keep up more.  But they burn so bad sometimes, and I have to straighten or bend a little more than I should.  Patience again lol.  It gets better every week, just need baby steps. 

Mason twists!

I had to blog right away today, I am excited about today's performance!  Well the first half of the workout was chest, triceps, and shoulders.  That workout makes my arms feel like noodles; bendy and weak lol.  But I feel those exercises all over, so that makes me feel better.  The second half of the workout today was ab ripper X.  I did every exercise today, but missed a few reps here and there.  The exciting part for me is that for the first time I was able to complete every mason twist, including the bonus ones.  That pumped me up -- but not enough to make me wanna keep working out haha.  Gotta thank the kiddos again, they were well behaved while I did the workout. 

Burnin' the goop off

Today was cardio X again, second day in week 6.  I like it.  The workout combines a few different routines, from yoga to kenpo, to plyo and core.  It's not the normal cardio workout, which keeps it interesting.  As long as I'm sweating and burning calories, they could throw whatever exercise they wanted at me. 
I did my weigh-in today, a day late, but who's counting!?  Yea, i'm bad at this blog thing, I know.  Anyway, I weighed in at 161 today.  What the heck!  I thought I would be putting on more weight, but I guess the lean routine keeps you down while building you up.  Sounds wierd, but it must be working.  I'll take it lol! 

Buzz lightyear + core workout = difficult

So today I did my workout in the living room while Eli was doing school work.  Noah was behaving well, so I thought what the heck, I'll see how much he lets me do.  So the first 10-15 minutes are great; until Noah starts flying around pretending he's Buzz Lightyear!  It was hilarious, but frustrating trying not to run into him during my lunges.  Then when it came time for banana/superman, he called out each move when Tony did, it was funny.  Laughing in the banana position is kinda tough, it added a little something extra to the exercise.  After two days off the workout was kinda tough.  My body must be adjusting to the workout schedule.  Which is great, can't complain there.  I should thank my wife for giving me the opportunity to work out and go to school :)

Ouchie!!

I feel the burn once again!  My thighs and abs are burning lol.  I really pushed it today, and it hurt so bad!  But afterward I'm so happy that I finished the workout.  Oh, today was legs & back, and ab ripper X.  I did all the pfifer scissors today, super psyched about that.  I was having trouble with just doing 10-15 last time.  That really boosted my confidence.  There is hope for me yet; one day I'll be able to keep up with that crazy Tony guy.  Well, maybe.  If not, I'm sure gonna give it my best try.  Can't expect to workout like that after only five weeks.  He's whipping me into shape, I know this much. 

Gettin low

Another wonderful day in the land of yoga X.  I can tell I've made a lot of progress as far as flexibility and endurance are concerned.  Today I tried to really focus on getting lower in my lunges and balance postures.  The routine seemed to go a lot quicker than usual.  I think maybe because I look forward to it, rather than dreading it, that makes the time go by quicker.  It's a little difficult to keep the mind clear with the boys running around being silly, but I thank them for giving me the time to do the exercise.  They are quite entertaining!

And I weighed in again this week, right at 165.  I'm quite content with that so far, and don't really expect to dip too much lower.  With all the weight training in the next few weeks, I expect to put some pounds back on, in a good way.

New exercises this week

Holy crap I'm sore!  But I feel pretty good, considering the workout I did.  I have spaghetti arms, they're just kinda hanging on by the sockets.  I was having to do push-ups on my knees!  I've never done that before.  Maybe it was a bad day, rough routine, I don't know.  All I know is I feel it everywhere.  Oh, the workout was for chest, shoulders, and triceps today.  And to top everything off, there was some more ab ripper X, yippee!!  I was very satisfied with the ab workout, I did way more than in previous weeks.  That must mean something; or I'm hoping it does anyway.  That break from abs last week must have provided some much needed recovery.  Tomorrow is yoga X and I have a feeling its gonna be a rough one lol. 

Week 5 Cardio

Today's cardio X routine had me sweating like crazy!  I was able to do all of the reps and exercises, and I think the extra effort went a long way today.  I felt pretty good afterward; that's a good sign.  Lately my muscles have felt really tight, and a little extra stretching has helped me get through each day. 
Yesterday I decided to start doing the sparring classes again.  Felt good to get back into it.  I was having a great session too, except in the last minute of sparring I stepped back to avoid a kick and reinjured my foot.  It was a stupid mistake too; I stepped too far back to avoid an oncoming kick, and instead of landing on the ball of my foot, my toes took most of the weight.  Didn't feel too good, but was more pissed about the mistake than the injury.  It was careless, but hopefully I learned from it.  Still had an awesome class and I think I did really well.  Got quite a few tournaments coming up, and hope to compete in at least a couple. 

Hooray for core!

Just finished another crazy, yet wonderful, core workout.  I was pretty satisfied with how much I could keep up with today, but still a tad frustrated when I can't finish an exercise.  It's the first day of week 5!  These next few weeks are going to be tough, and hopefully I can achieve greater success with each workout.  After weeks 5-7 I'm hoping to see some good changes in my body and overall physical performance. 
I've really been trying to gather some self-discipline and eat better foods.  This is the hardest task for me, because up until about 2 years ago, I had always eaten boxed foods and lots of sweets.  Our family has really cut back on a lot of those unhealthy snacks and goodies, and focused more on homemade, fresh foods.  If only our garden would cooperate more and give us some good plants, we'd be all set!  The soil isn't the greatest, but hopefully our compost project helps that out.  Then we can have fresh veggies and do more canning.  Thanks to my wife for those inspirations :)

Dang it all!

Well I suck at this blogging everyday thing!  I missed Saturday and Sunday, so this post will contain three days worth of blogging.  On Saturday we had belt testing for taekwondo, and it went very well.  Everyone passed!  The instructor did the testing differently, which I feel was much better than previous testing days.  I hope he continues on that same path.  I got my green belt, super excited about that.  It symbolizes the transition from beginner to intermediate; so I'm an intermediate martial artists now.  Ready to learn new things and ascend to new heights.

Right after testing on Saturday I went into my Cardio X workout.  It wasn't too bad, mostly because I was still limber and worked up from testing.  I still sweat my ass off though.  Sunday, yesterday, was more Yoga X.  I continue to struggle with some of the stretches and  movements, but I give my best effort.  Even if that means falling over because my thighs are on fire!  My body just doesn't turn and twist like theirs yet.  Making progress though.  Today is the rest or X stretch day, and I'm choosing to stretch.  I'll be getting back into taekwondo more, now that my foot is better, and week 5 of the P90X program starts tomorrow.  Looks like a crazy week of exercise! 

Gumby and the Tin-man

The title of my post today relates to the stretching and flexibility exercises that I do for P90X.  Tony always says so-and-so 'makes gumby look like the tin-man'; meaning that person is really flexible.  Today was the X stretch routine.  Nothing strenuous or overbearing, but a nice break in the week; a good time for recovery.  I also have taekwondo belt testing tomorrow, so I'm glad it worked out that way.  For some reason I am still anxious about the testing.  I'm positive I am ready to go, but something is making me second guess it.  I go over everything in my head and think 'yep, I can do that... yea, ready for that....' and so forth.  Hopefully there are some pictures taken tomorrow so that I can show Melissa and the boys.  We'll get ya tested next month Eli!  Just gotta break that board :)

Kenpo X, kicking booty

That kenpo did it again... my legs and butt are sore!  It was another good workout though, and found myself keeping up with more of the exercises again.  That gives me hope and confidence in seeing the program to the end. 
Belt testing is in a couple days and I'm actually a little nervous about the board break.  I haven't practiced that break at all.  I can perfom a back kick just fine, however, I haven't worked on accuracy very often.  The rest of the test should go fine.  Luckily tomorrow is an X stretch day, the week 4 schedule worked out perfectly. 

Core city

First off, I forgot to post for yesterday's workout.  It was yoga X, nothing out of the ordinary.  It was, however, the start of week 4.  Today was core synergistics, my favorite.  Its actually my least favorite when I'm doing it, but I love it because it works everything.  I guess we have a love/hate relationship lol.  In previous weeks I wasn't able to keep up, or even do some of the exercises.  Today I did everything, even the bonus round.  I still couldn't keep up on reps for some of the exercises, but I did more than in previous weeks.  So I'm happy with that. 
Oh, one more thing, my weekly weight report.  It's nothing major, but when I weighed in on Monday I was at 164.  So the weight is gradually coming off, but I also see more mass coming in.  Not bad mass, but muscle in new areas, and fat gone from others.  So I don't expect a whole lot more weight to come off as far as pounds are concerned; I'll probably be putting it back on.  In a good way. 

Another week is gone.

Today marked the end of week 3, with some X stretching and rest.  Some of those stretches were overdue, because lately I've been sore and tight.  Tomorrow will be a nice transition to week 4, beginning with some Yoga X.  This will probably be one of my favorite weeks in the program, working all areas that I am concerned with:  cardio, core, and flexibilty.  There is no ab ripper in week 4, and I'm not sure if that makes me happy or not lol.  I hate doing ab ripper, but when I'm finished I feel invigorated.  I love the feeling of accomplishment afterward; although I still can't keep up fully.  But I work my butt off, and I'm positive the effort will be worth it in the end.  I continue to see small changes here and there, which helps my motivation.  I've also realized that after this program comes to an end, I can't expect to look like them folks on the dvd.  That will take some time.  However, I hope to see a fairly new me once this is said and done.  And after the program ends, I'll just start it back up again; only next time with more resistance, weights, and effort. 

Woopin' my ass!

I got my butt handed to me today, by another KenpoX workout.  The nerve!  Lots of punching and kicking, and I can feel it everywhere.  Honestly,  I had trouble keeping up with some of the back kicks this time, and I think it's because my legs feel really tight lately, and my hips are sore from all the workouts.  There is a lot of twisting and bending though -- that might be one excuse I'll use for now.  I am definitely doing the Xstretch routine tomorrow.  Two reasons:  Week 4 of P90X starts on Tuesday, and I want to be ready to dive into the workouts.  Next, I have belt testing for taekwondo next Saturday, and I want to be ready for that also. 

My legs AND my back...

Well today I was able to keep up with most of the leg and back exercises.  I still have some weak little legs, but hope to improve that over time.  I'm starting to feel a little stronger with each workout, which makes me happy.  It also keeps me motivated.  I need to work on acquiring more dumb bell weights, so I can transition between exercises easier. 
Also had some ab ripperX in the workout, yippee...  Boy I hate doing some of them exercises, but it feels good to actually do them -- or make the attempt to do so.  I think I did pretty well today.  I did almost all of the mason twists, and with the exception of the pfifer scissors (sp?), completed about everything else.  I missed a couple reps here and there for a quick respite, but proud of what I did. 

Stretchy and flexy

YogaX again.  Sometimes I think that workout is harder than most of the other ones.  I used to think yoga was just a bunch of silly stretches, and crazy twists and bends; not the case at all!  Well, there are some crazy twists and bends, but WOW, it takes some real physical strength to get it done.  Today I didn't feel very limber.  However, I found myself struggling a little while doing the normally easy routines.  I noticed that I was doing a lot better with some of the more advanced routines.  Almost a backwards workout as far as progress is concerned, but I was happy with what I had done after it was over.  It works muscles you don't ever think of using, or muscles you should probably use more often.  Got a long way to go before I can keep up with the gumby-people on the dvd!  Its only week 3 though, and I'm quite happy with the yoga progress so far.  It has done great things for my martial arts training too.  Belt testing in one week, wooohooo.

Glamour sets

Today is the workout that Tony dubbed glamour muscles.  Upper body.  Shoulders and arms again today; oh, how could I forget that wonderful ab ripperX.  I was hurting after today's workout session.  I increased all of the weight today, and went for failure on the last few reps or each exercise.  My arms were like noodles, and my shoulders burned like crazy.  The ripper really worked the core today, but my abs were not hurting as much.  Maybe I'm making some real progress here.  But just when I thought the workout was over for the day -- taekwondo had a very intense workout session this evening.  I'm not sure we've ever done exercise like that before.  It was like seeing Tony on the mat, telling everyone to do these exercises that I see on the dvd.  I tried to enjoy every minute of it though.  Honestly, the P90X that I do at home has been a big success for me so far.  Why, you ask?  Because without the two weeks of P90X that I have done so far, I would never have been able to keep up with the instructor this evening.  It was intense, and hurt so bad that I felt good about it.  That's crazy!  Tony's turning me into a monster lol.  Love every minute of it though, no matter how crappy it gets. 

Banana! Boat! Banana! ugh...

The title of the post is one of the exercise routines that I have to do for P90X.  I won't go into details about it here, but its tough.  Well maybe not for those guys and gals on the dvd, but it works the hell out of my core.  Today was cardioX again.  I love the workout, but it burns like hell sometimes.  I'm in week three now, and I really want to start pushing myself more, try to keep up with the hotshots on the dvd.  I'm glad Tony isn't one of those drab, infomercial-type workout gurus.  Otherwise I don't think I would have lasted this long. 
Oh, I said a few days ago that I would post my weight at the end of each week.  That would have been Monday... oh well.  So when I started the program I was at around 170; now at the start of week three I am at 165.  I can't believe I lost more weight already.  Around four months ago I was at 190.  I'm so happy with the weight loss, but now I want more.  No, not more weight!  Well, yes and no there.  I want more weight, but I want it in lean muscle mass.  No more of this tummy fat, no more flabby underarms.  That's the direction I hope I'm heading in by doing P90X. 

Start of Week 3

Ok, so week 3 kicked off today, with some core synergistics.  Let me tell ya, it whooped my ass today.  I think I know what the problem was too.  Yesterday was rest or stretch day.  I decided to spoil myself with a rest day.  Turns out, I should have just done the Xstretching, and got a light workout in.  Today I was not feeling it, and had to really turn up the motivation to get through it.  I even did the bonus exercises at the end, to teach myself a lesson lol.  It was a tough workout overall, and I'm feeling it everywhere.  Bring it!  On top of that, we had a small physical fitness test in taekwondo this evening!  Surprise!  I think I could have done better than I did, but still satisfied with the results.  Two workouts plus a fitness test isn't so easy for me.  I got my share today, but at least it will benefit overall.  I'm tired -- now on to school work. 

End of week 2

Today marks the end of another week in the P90X program.  It was a rest or stretch day, and today I chose to rest.  I do a lot of stretching on my own anyway, so I didn't bother popping a dvd into the player.  Tomorrow is week 3 of phase 1.  I'm still seeing some changes in my body, so I know something is going right with this program!  Although I am happy with the P90X program, I really need to focus on a more balanced diet.  Without the diet, the exercise will seem counter-productive.  I think that with the holidays gone, I can try to focus on more healthy cooking and eating.  Our family eats pretty healthy though; my biggest problem is the sweets.  Darn that sugar monster... I'll defeat him some day. 

Ayyyyyyaa!

Today was another fantastic KenpoX workout.  I'm sweating like crazy!  That workout is one heck of a calorie burner.  Every time I wiped my face to get the sweat off, more came right back.  Now its time to work on some split stretching and have my wish-it-was-wonderful recovery drink.  It doesn't taste all that great, but it does help my body and muscles feel better.  I am starting to see some results and changes in my body that I hadn't seen before.  My waste is much slimmer now, fat is starting to gradually melt away, and I feel better about myself overall. 
On another note, belt testing is in less than two weeks!  Seems like I have been where I am for forever now, but its only been a few months.  I'm confident that I'm ready for the testing, but I need to work on improving my forms and speed.  Flexibility has come a long way for me, and I will continue to work on that until I can't flex anymore.  I really want to be able to do the splits, to help with the height of my kicks.  I can kick fairly high, but compared to great martial artists, I still have a ways to go. 

Happy new years!

I had a wonderful new year's eve with the wife and friends.  We went to a friends house, played games, stood by the fire, chit chat with people we didn't know, and had a little bit of apple pie; hot apple pie, very good :)  Anyway, I completed another day of P90X, bringing day 12 to a close.  I have a good routine going now, and things are working out great.  Today was back to Legs & Back, and my favorite, Ab RipperX.  Yea, really not my favorite!  But it's important if I want to get the chiseled abs that I see on people in magazines.  I don't care so much about their abs -- I want that for ME.  Nothing motivates me more than looking in the mirror and thinking 'its about time you made some changes'!  So here I am.  Tony is also a good motivator during the workouts.  He's not just serious about the exercises, he's entertaining to listen to and watch.  That makes my workout seem less dreary and stressful. 
I haven't put myself on the scale lately, but I'm guessing I've at least dropped another few pounds, despite the holiday munchies.  Which is tough, because my wife is an excellent baker!  It's hard to fight that temptation to indulge in candies and goodies because they are within reach.  I have had my share of treats this year, but not like in the past.  I think I'll put myself on the scale at the end of this workout week.  Actually that's a great idea... I'll weigh-in once a week, at the end of each week of the program.  I'll try to remember to post my weight here.  I also need to have a BMI done, or at least an estimate of fat percentage.