End of week 10!

Today marks the end of week 10.  I'm nearing the finish of this crazy program.  Hard to believe that 10 weeks has gone by since starting in December.  One thing that I have noticed is I don't worry about doing the workouts, I worry about what time I can do it during the day.  When I first started I was anxious about what the next day would bring.  All I want now is to work out and get in shape!  I'm very glad my wife bought this program, because without it, I would have never gone this far.  Plus, she has the one that got me to eat better.  I owe most of my progress to her. 

So after a day of good stretching, I'm ready for taekwondo tonight.  My new goal outside of training is to complete a full 540 kick.  I know that mechanics of it, and now I need to put them in motion.  I'm not sure why I'm so anxious to try all of these crazy moves before I need to, other than the fact that I find them fun and challenging.  They look pretty flashy too :)

Getting Xtreme

Well I really pushed it to the limit today, about to the point where I wanted to crash to the ground from exhaustion.  It was a Core day, and I'm feeling it everywhere.  It is about time in my routine to really start going for muscle failure, especially if I want to see lasting results.  Some of the core exercises are becoming relatively easy, and more weight will  be needed next week.  The bananas, boats, and supermans are not as strenuous anymore, but still give me the workout that I desire.  Now I need to focus on getting my arms and legs up a little higher, to challenge myself.  I'm entering week 11 on tuesday, so its crunch time now.  My body keeps changing, and although it's not as drastic a change as I had hoped for, I'm very happy with progress thus far.  There is still a few weeks left, so that will give me time to really bring it.  Looking forward to stretching tomorrow, it will be great!  Then it's off to taekwondo lol.  So I don't really have much of a rest day, but I do need the martial arts training.  I may get tired, but I try to keep in mind that it only makes me stronger in the end. 

Calories, be gone!

Sweating like hell here!  Today's workout was kenpo X, and what a great workout today.  My twists and pivots are getting much better, and the punching series is finally coming together.  I'm not so uncoordinated with the combination of moves.  I'm still trying to get faster with the step-punch-drag-punch, and that wasn't too bad today either.  It still needs work, but as long as I'm busting my butt here, I'm not worried about it.  Kenpo is excellent for burning calories -- today I got rid of 660 of them.  Seeing those high numbers really makes me happy.  I think I have a great routine going for fitness, but I still need more focus on my diet.  I guess the occasional treat is okay :)

Last night we had a fantastic taekwondo class.  We did a lot of three-man drills, with kicks, and did the forms training that I was hoping for.  I got some feedback on things that need tweeking, or things I could sharpen up.  Overall it was a great workout, and I'm sure I burned a heck of a lot of calories there too.  It was also the extended class, which basically equals two classes worth of instruction.  Plus, since no one showed up for demo team, we did another 30-40 minutes of messing around with some judo and more difficult kicks.  The instructor is doing some research for me on how to do a 540 kick and a 540 back kick.  I only need to learn the latter of the two, but I just wanted to know a 540 kick for board breaking and demonstration purposes.  I gave it a shot last night, and I got the kick part down, but the landing needs work.  Not bad for my first tries.  Had an excellent evening of training, love it!

Yoga belly

It was another great yoga workout.  My body is feeling better because I was able to really twist and stretch today.  My hamstrings are a little tight, but other than that it was smooth sailing.  That right angle pose whooped on  me again, but I'll  get it down soon.  Usually I skip the yoga belly routine, but I decided to do it today.  Ouch!  Haha, it didn't really hurt that much, but my abs were burning up.  It was such a short session, yet it worked so many different muscles.  Although I was grunting and sweating like crazy, it felt good to get it done.  I'll be going to taekwondo tonight, first time in a week.  Looking forward to the class, and hopefully we get to work on forms tonight.  I'm pretty confident in the other belt level skills that I need to know, but I could always use work on the forms. 

Feeling good today :)

After about five days of feeling crappy, and not so fun workouts, today provided a much more productive workout.  It was back and biceps today, with the wonderful ab ripper.  Talk about an upper body workout today, WOW!  It was back to glamorizing and it burned like hell lol.  Lots of pull ups and curls today, and the occasional back workout, which coincidentally worked the arms and core at the same time.  A bunch of things going on in just a few simple movements.  Well, the movements are simple, but they burn depending on the size of your weights.  Sometimes I feel like I'm getting stronger, others I feel like nothing is going on.  But I think that is just because my muscles need that recovery time in between.  Toward the end of every recovery week I notice changes in my physique.  That keeps me going, knowing that what I am doing is not just for fun.  I'm trying to get something out of this whole workout and eating right routine.  I work hard (well at least I think I am!), and I've finally given in to the fact that results take time and effort.

What's goin on here?

So my weight has been consistent over the past month, but today I feel self-conscious about the way I'm looking.  I guess I'm expecting results faster than they are coming in :(  This sucks, because I work my ass off, and changed my diet; yet it sometimes seems like my tummy is expanding, not shaping up.  My arms, chest, and legs, on the other hand, are toning up nicely, and I'm more than happy with progress in those areas.  I can't wait to start running again when the weather warms up, at least a couple days a week.  That would burn off some of the excess junk I'm carrying around.   

Ohhhh I'm hurtin' today

It was a rough chest, shoulder, and tricep workout today.  I had to lighten the load on quite a few exercises, and my reps were a little low.  I'm blaming it on the bug I have, or maybe I'm still recovering from last week's upper body routines -- who knows.  All I know is that today was a struggle.  And then ab ripper was no picnic either.  Some of the exercises were tougher than normal, and my reps/form were not to standard.  I did what I could, but toward the end I didn't even want to get off the floor.  My body was actually shaking from the struggle.  I need to do a weigh-in today, and I'll post again tomorrow with what my weight is.  I burned quite a few calories this morning, and hopefully some more fat around my lower abdominal area.  The upper abs are starting to come around, but I still got a small band of goop around the obliques and lower abs.  I found some good core/ab yoga exercises that I am going to try out, and they look like they'll do the trick.  Never realized how much yoga can do for those nicks and crannies on your body.  My wife bought me a yoga magazine yesterday and I found it to be very good reading.  The website for the journal is great too, with a library of information on yoga and health. 

Modified schedule again

Today the family and I returned home after a small vacation to my sister-in-law's place in McMinnville.  I wasn't well for most of the trip, but I'm glad the family had a good time.  I did a couple of workouts while there, despite how crappy I was feeling, and I actually missed a workout this week.  I said in yesterday's post that I would push the schedule back, but I am not doing that now.  Today I wasn't feeling too well again, so I did the X stretch according to my normal schedule.  Tomorrow I will resume with week 10, upper body routines.  The stretching today was great after the long trip in the car.  Unfortunately I was unable to finish the last part because my stomach wouldn't allow it.  I sound like a whiner, but I haven't been as sick as I was over the weekend.  Sucks, but oh well. 

bleh :(

So I've been pretty sick the past couple of days and I missed my first workout.  Instead of skipping yesterday's routine, I decided to push everything back a day so I don't miss a workout day.  So today was yoga, which went ok, and tomorrow will be core, instead of my usual Monday X stretch.  I didn't have a yoga block today, no fault but my own, and some of the movements proved more challenging then usual.  I'm no where near 100% yet, so some of my postures and movements were lacking the effort I usually put into them.  I was hoping to work some of the bug out of my system, but it wasn't very effective.  I feel more tired now, and my stomach is cramping again.  Hopefully this crappy bug goes away so that I can enjoy this little vacation we're having.  So far I've been out of the house on one day, and that's no fun.  I worked on my taekwondo poomse this morning as well, which is needed after four days of putting it off.  More focus needs to be put into my martial arts, because this summer I would like to start competing more.  We have an in-town tournament in the June/July time frame, so I want to be ready to help represent our school.  We really do have a great group of students, and I see great things from them in the future. 

P90X on the road...

So our family is taking a little vacation to McMinnville, OR, where my sister-in-law lives.  I don't want to steer away from my initial P90X routine, so I decided to take it with me.  Today was the kenpo X workout, and it felt pretty good to stretch my legs and back after the long drive.  It was a great workout, and I burned a lot of calories this morning.  I kinda splurged on trail mix on the way over here, so I had to burn something off.  The workout went really well, I enjoyed it this morning.  I got my kicks a little higher than normal and my punches are getting faster and cleaner; in my opinion anyway.  I'm hoping that tomorrow will be another great yoga session, because I could use some deep stretching.  So far, the upper body workouts have gone great.  Next week is about the same as this week, only the Tuesday and Thursday routines are changed around; they are still upper body workouts.  I have decided to call these next four weeks the glamour weeks, because the focus is more on muscles that people recognize most -- arms, shoulders, chest, and abs.  I can't wait to see how things have changed after all of this is said and done.  It would be nice to workout without a shirt on, or go running in just a pair of shorts and shoes.  I suppose I need to start running first though...

Glamorizing the arms

Today was week 9's shoulders and arms workout.  This is one of two exercise routines that I love/hate.  I discussed this in a recent post.  I know I get something out of the workout when I have trouble typing on the keyboard.  My shoulders are burning, and my biceps feel a little swollen.  I feel like I'm finally getting into shape here.  Last night during taekwondo I noticed that I don't have to try so hard to kick the bags hard, and my overall agility has improved.  My speed kicks were great last night, and just last week they were ok at best.  I even had a few of the other students say that I was getting much faster.  That makes me very happy.  I want to be great at martial arts, and hopefully compete professionally in the future.  I do a little competing here and there, but I would like to do it at a national level too. 

Burnin' that goop off

Oh it was another wonderful cardio workout today.  I enjoy the cardio X routine because it isn't just a bunch of running and jumping around, but a variety of different types of exercises.  There's a little yoga, some plyometrics, kenpo, and core.  I'm glad it didn't involve the arms too much, because my arms are a little sore after yesterdays chest and back workout.  Tomorrow is shoulders and arms, with ab ripper afterward.  I have fairly weak shoulders, so my current relationship with the shoulder exercises is love/hate haha.  I'm sure I'll start to love em sooner or later, but I need to build them up first.  Ab ripper is always a good time (ok not so much), but I do get a heck of a lot out of it.  This is the only workout program that I have actually stuck with, probably because I already see transormations in my physique.  Tony kicks my ass every time, but I love the workouts. 

Holy push-ups batman!

Ok I think I've done enough pushups for the week!  LOTS of em today, and my arms felt like al dente noodles after I was finished lol.  I might be laughing about it now, but it was one heck of a tough workout, and I didn't laugh during the exercises.  Today was the start of week 9, and it came with a bang.  Chest and back, with some ab ripper at the end.  I am still feeling crappy, and the ab routine pretty much sucked today.  I didn't get as much out of it as I would have liked.  The good thing about today's workout is that I burned a heck of a lot of calories; just over 700.  That made me feel a little better, despite how icky I was feeling.  The heart monitor is really helpful, love using it.  Hopefully I start to feel better soon, I would really like to hit these next few weeks hard. 

Close of week 8

Today marks the close of another great week doing P90X.  After this past week my body had a slight cool down, a chance to recover and develop further.  I am noticing more changes, and I am happy with my progress so far.  I weighed-in today, same weight as last week.  The calorie counting has really helped in the past few days.  Its nice to know what I'm putting into my body, rather than just liking how it tastes.  Tomorrow starts week 9 of the lean routine, hitting it hard and heavy for the next few weeks.  Its crunch time now, heading into the third phase.  I'm excited to see where these weeks take me, as far as general fitness and strength are concerned.  Never thought I would be this motivated to work out; now if only this bug I got would go away!  Tired of feeling crappy. 

Feelin' icky

The past couple of days were a little rough, been under the weather from a bug/cold.  Still did the workouts, and they made me feel a little better afterward.  But the good feeling slowly dwindled back into icky again.  Yoga was relaxing today, and stretching, bending, and twisting came easier than in the past few routines.  One happy point in the workout, for me anyway, was getting really low in the right-angle pose and grabbing the hand behind my back.  I got it on both sides today, but not for the whole duration -- that will come with time.  I'm just happy to be improving on flexibility. 

Counting Calories

Last night my wife gave me a heart monitor!  Which was great, because just yesterday I have started to count my intake, and burning of, calories.  It is making me realize just how much I need to take in, and what I should be avoiding.  Today was a cardio X workout, so I had the opportunity to test out the new toy.  It worked perfectly -- told me my heart rate, how long the workout was, the amount of time burning fat calories, and how many total calories I burned.  I love it!  Thanks to this little machine I can track how hard I'm pushing myself in a workout, and where I need to back off.  Looking forward to using the monitor again for my next cardiovascular workout. 

Ahhhhhhh (sigh of relief)

I did some X stretch today, which felt great!  Muscles are thanking me now.  I got pretty deep in a lot of the stretches, despite how tight some of my muscles felt before starting.  The program says that I should feel stronger by the end of this week; I feel a little stronger after the first three days.  I'm hoping that the next few days of yoga, cardio, and stretching will leave me ready to hit week 9 hard.  I'm over the halfway point, and results should be coming again soon. 

Ow... ow.... ow

Title of this post is how I felt after last night's taekwondo class.  OW!  It was great workout/training session, but wow am I sore now.  I don't think I've ever thrown that many kicks before!  Then on top of that rigorous session, I had Kenpo X to do today, yippee lol.  I wasn't throwing very high kicks today, I can tell ya that much.  I did try my best though, and actually felt better after the workout.  My joints weren't so stiff, and my muscles weren't trying to exact revenge on me.  I would like to go back to sparring classes, but the times are not so doable (is that a word?) anymore.  I might try to get in for the earlier classes, but that requires a babysitter.  Not that finding one is a problem though.  I guess we'll see, I'll post it here if I get some sparring time in.  Oh, and I jumped on the scale again today, just because the last few days were really intense... dropped another couple pounds, lovin it! 

Synergistics

I like the word synergistics and I have no idea why.  Just an interesting word, with a whole lot of meaning.  And the core synergistics workout provides a whole lot of exercise.  Today was a core workout day, another one of my favorites.  Did the bonus exercises again too, that makes me feel good.  I took another glance in the mirror today, and I'm satisfied with how things are coming along.  I still have this band of fat around my lower stomach, but hopefully that will disappear in the next couple of months.  My legs are starting to show a little more muscle definition.  Which is great, because I don't want to be fit in just one area of my  body, but ALL parts. 

In taekwondo we have been focusing on forms and self defense techniques.  I guess I'm a little rusty on the forms, because I keep making mistakes on simple movements.  Same thing with some of the self defense techniques.  We have also learned a few new ones.  I am pleased with the classes, and it is neat to watch everyone progress as they move up in belt level or experience.  Its nice to be a part of a martial arts community. 

P90X Week 8 starts today

This week is another recovery/ab focus week.  Today I started the week with yoga X.  The first half of the movement exercises is starting to get a lot easier.  The second half I still have some issues with, mostly because my thighs are on fire by the time  I get to that point.  It makes it difficult to hold some of the poses or movements.  Slowly getting better, making some strides here and there.  I am able to complete the movement series though ,despite how tough it can be.  The balance postures I usually do good on, with the exception of crane and shoulder plough.  I can only hold those for a short time.  I really like the yoga routine; makes me feel more relaxed and invigorated.  Looking forward to the next session this week. 

X stretch, end week 7

Another week down!  I feel good after the x stretch today.  I almost feel limber again lol.  Not that I was super flexible before, but my muscles aren't protesting, and my body feels good.  Yay for me lol.  I'm ready for taekwondo too!  Looking forward to another small class, we seem to really focus on intermediate curriculum now.  I'm loving the martial arts, and I hope I can do it for a long time. 
I weighed in today, and not sure if I'm happy with the couple of pounds that I gained since last weeks weigh-in.  I feel stronger, and the goop keeps melting away, so I'm hoping that I have put on more muscle mass, instead of bad stuff.  It is only a couple pounds though, so I haven't stressed over it... yet, haha!  I'm very happy with our eating habits in the household.  More fruits and vegetables have found their way to the pantry and refridgerator -- and a lot of the sugary goodness has left the building.  My portion sizes are smaller, and I get full quicker.  I still get the craving to devour a chocolate cake, but slowly those types of cravings are fading away.  I want to be ready for the pool this year, and without wearing a shirt!  It's taking a lot of self control and focus to get-er-done. 

Add some intensity

Another Kenpo X workout is done, which also brings me to the close of week 7 tomorrow.  Can't wait for X stretch, really need it after these past few weeks.  So during the kenpo exercises the first half is at normal pace, minimal height or intensity, and the last 10 or so reps are higher with more intensity.  When I say higher I mean the height of the kicks.  That normally isn't a problem, but with my hamstrings still tight, it was difficult to reach the height that I usually do.  It was a little disappointing, but I still sweat like hell, and burned a bunch of calories.  If heart rate monitors weren't so dang pricey I'd get one.  That would help me determine if I am in my 'zone' -- how hard I'm pushing myself.  For now I just push it to the limit, almost to the point where I'm falling over when doing kicks.  At that point I back off a little to get the reps in.  In other workouts the tip is quality over quantity.  Well with this being a cardiovascular routine, I would rather do quantity over quality.  I think more is better in a cardio workout -- but what do I know lol.

With your legs, not your back

I have a hard time with bending my legs and not my back when doing the leg routine.  Not all the time, but sometimes.  Its just that I have little legs, and doing all of the reps takes a lot out of them.  I'm confident that soon I'll be able to really get low in the squats and lunges.  During some of the exercises my legs burn so bad I feel like falling over!  That's when I come up a little bit, or back off until I can go back down.  Every week I do a couple more reps here and there; which helps with the motivation to keep doing it.  Ab ripper was tough as hell, just like always, but still did a couple more reps with em.  Also finished all of the mason twists, including the bonus :)  That makes me happy.  I need to really push it during the pulse-ups.  If I can get those down, I'd be doing alright lol.  Next week is recovery / ab focus.  Kinda looking forward to that break from the crazy lifting routines, but don't want to get lazy on an easier week. 

Drop down!

That's part of  a phrase that Tony says to one of the workout buddies in the yoga X video.  He wants you down low in the lunges, which sucks sometimes, because my thighs feel like they're on fire.  This routine went pretty well as usual, and getting better every time.  I was happy with one extra balance posture that I was able to finally do, but there wasn't a name for it.  Its a right angle pose, one hand dropped behind your back and reach under your thigh with the other hand until they connect... Its supposedly an advanced move, and proud of myself for finally getting there.  Hamstrings were really tight today, I didn't reach or stretch as far as normal, but gave it my best shot.  Think that was because of all the axe kicks in taekwondo on Wednesday.  I should have stretched better afterward. 

J-e-l-l-o

Not the sweet, gelatinous snack either.  I'm talking about my arms and shoulders after the workout today.  It was chest, shoulders, and tris for week 7.  There were a few exercises where I did slightly less reps or weight, and others where I added more.  It takes a P90X workout just to tell me how out of shape I am!  Things are getting better though, gradually.  Slow process, but very effective so far.  I've noticed good gains in taekwondo, thanks to P90X.  I really love martial arts, and I'm really starting to like this working out thing.  Like I said before, I'm just impatient.  I did kinda check myself out in the mirror after the workout (for the first time) and I'm quite happy so far.  My darling wife wants to see how my abs are doing, but I haven't showed her yet lol.  I want the full effect of P90X before I display the ol' tummy.  Nothing special so far, but I've trimmed inches and lost pounds.  Can't complain there! 

Sweatin' like hell!

I did another cardio X workout today, and I was sweating and breathing hard.  I tried to put more effort into it this week, really go that extra mile.  I don't really have anything more to report about today's workout...  It is a fast paced workout designed to develop your breathing and cardio vascular endurance.  I know for I got both of those two things today. 

So in taekwondo we started the new schedule.  I like it.  On Monday we had only a handful of green belts in there, it was excellent.  I got to review my forms, and learn a lot of new green belt curriculum.  I wish I could go more often, but I would rather take it moderately for now, especially on top of P90X.  Hopefully class tonight will be like it was on Monday -- small group with new material.  Should be a good night. 

New month, new week

Today is the start of week 7!  Seems like the time has flown by, but I know that's not the case.  It was another core synergistics workout today, and it is probably one of my favorites now.  It works everything!  I weighed-in this morning, same thing as last week.  This makes me happy.  Our new diet and eating healthy routine is paying off.  I haven't put any weight back on, and I hope it stays that way.  At least until I can start to get more lean and muscular.  I have been more hungry in the past week or so, and I'm not sure if that is good or bad.  I think I'm eating the right things, but the further I get into the program, the more I want to snack and increase portion sizes.  I guess as long as the snacks and treats are good for me, then it can't do much harm.