Day 45...back and Bicep...ROUND 3

Halfway mark folks.

It's all down hill from here.

But it is not time to cruise and coast.

Finishing up Phase 2 strong here, and rolling into recovery week with a good attitude. Today was a good showing. Heavy'd it up on all the curl exercises and destroyed my biceps. Improved across the board on the pull up portion and am working hard to get to my 16 mark by Christmas. It's gotta happen!

My triceps are still sore as can be from Monday which is good because that means I worked hard there. I wonder how my biceps are going to feel tomorrow because I didn't back off an inch today...we shall see!

Tomorrow is Dec. 1. Brando is going to be firing up the motor on his P90 machine and burning rubber all month long in preparation for X2. I got your back brousaliah.

208.4

Day 44...Plyometrics...ROUND 6

I like doing Plyo with no shirt on so I can see my flabby gut dance.

I suppose the crowd is a little thinner than it was several weeks ago, but the dance party is definitely far from over.

Continuing to make incremental improvements here on Plyo. I only have 4 Plyo workouts left until I am done with P90 again. That should be enough times to really dial in this routine and ready myself for the X2 mayhem.

New goal is to be able to keep up with Dom on the second round of jump knee tucks.

It won't be easy.

210.7

Day 43...Chest, Shoulders, Tricep...ROUND 3

Chest, Shoulder, Tri, Chest, Shoulder, Tri, Chest, Shoulder, Tri....over and over like crimson and clover.

This is the workout that gets me the closest to ralping than any other. The types of pushups are so intense and make you squeeze your core so hard it just burns deep. You know you are taking your chest to school when you are knocked down to knee push-ups just to get some reps in. Brutal the first time...brutal every time.

The shoulder exercises are nice. I like to concentrate and do them slowly, focusing on my form, and achieving a slow building burn. I am a little timid to go too hard on my shoulders because I don't want to aggravate my left shoulder which stopped hurting finally a couple weeks ago. My approach has been successful in staying healthy as well as increasing strength week over week.

Triceps get hammered. By the end of this workout I am focuing all my energy in just keeping a degree of control of the weight.

So this was the last round of this routine in phase 2. We will be back in 3 weeks.

210.4

Day 42...KenpoX...ROUND 6

Little afternoon Kenpo session to break up the day.

I am glad I flip flopped yesterday and today. I was totally wiped out last night after the long day in the yard. I could have slipped in the Kenpo workout but it would have probley been sloppy and that is not what I am trying to do.

This morning I was feeling fatigued and did not want to get out of bed but I did around 7:30 and persevered through the morning. I felt like I was moving underwater. I ended up falling asleep on the couch for an hour around noon. Woke up with the sun jamming on my face, and got up and suited up and hit the garage hoping to jump start my day with some exercise.

Workout went good, got the blood flowing and a good sweat worked up and I finally feel like I have snapped out of this mornings sluggishness.

That was exactly what I was hoping to accomplish. Yeah!

211.7

Day 41... Rest...ROUND 6

If you are paying attention you would be saying, "today is not rest, it's Kenpo!"

I kinda got carried away with working in the yard today and packed it in just a few minutes ago after dark. It was a long day weeding the front slope, trimming trees, bushes, moving dirt around, weed whacking, and cleaning up basically the whole approach to my house.

I also installed my wall rack for my bike, and 86'd the shelf I made last week and installed a new one made of glass and metal instead of wood.

Got a ton done and am feeling it in my legs and back today for sure. Instead of rest tomorrow, I will Kenpo it up. Then it is will actually be like I did not have any rest days since I busted my ass today. Definitely didn't rest anything.

211.1

Day 40... Legs and Back...ROUND 5

For not liking leg workouts, this day is becoming a favorite somehow. I like alternating between leg exercises and pull ups. It allows enough rest in between sets of pull-ups so that I can do more of them in a clean and unassisted manner. I don't like having to throw the chair in the mix to help get more reps in. When the chair is there it messes with my head and I don't do as many as I actually could on my own. I know it is supposed to help but I think I like doing pull-ups unassisted until failure and then that's it.

Putting the hurt on the legs has become some kind of a challenge for me. There are still exercises that I can't do properly without a variation of the actual move. Dead lift squats for instance...I can do maybe 3, and they do 20. So I have to keep a foot on the floor a little to take off some weight so I can go all the way down and come back up again. One legged wall squats I have only recently been able to partake in properly. But now it is a matter of getting my leg up past the 90 degree point. And ultimately, I should be using weights on all the exercises that use them. I still don't on balance lunges, or alternating side lunges as they are challenging enough without....but I will get there.

Thanksgiving dinner must have been good...

213.2

Day 39...YogaX...ROUND 7

"Yummy yummy yummy...

Take in the fact that you just did that!"

Pretty good turnout today at Yoga. Getting deeper in the poses, did the warrior 3 and half moon section pretty much as good as Tony with good balance and everything. So yeah! for me.

The massacre just comes with the yoga belly 7 part. It only lasts half as long as the AbRipper routine, but it is intense like nobodies business! It's the isometric aspect that is tough for me. It's hard to sit for 30 seconds in boat, or half boat one after another. My gut and back just ignites on fire.

208.6

Day 38... Back and Bicep...ROUND 2

"I'M doing CORN COBB!"

Oh my goodness...the chick on this routine is so annoying. Everything that comes out of her mouth makes me want to do 40 reps of Congdon Locomotives on her face.

Sorry. Had to get that out of my system. Maybe I am cranky because the workout was not that good today for me. Was feeling distracted and less energized. I need to come back with a vengeance next week on this routine, no doubt about that.

208.8

Day 37...Plyometrics...ROUND 5

Raising up the level! Not waltzing but pushing it to the limit I can tell you that!

If I keep it up like this I will be waltzing through in no time. Just gotta keep healthy so I can keep bringing it up each week.

At the beginning Tony says "get your little bucket near by...". It's funny but I almost needed it today. Maybe that will be a good way to know that I left it all out of the mat, your know, if I throw up at the end of the work out. I was reading the Duff McKagen Autobiography, and he talks about throwing up all the time when he works out. Of course he was recovering from years of massive drug and alcohol abuse which may of had something to do with it.

Anyway...good Plyo today.

208.8

Day 36...Chest, Shoulder, Tri...ROUND 2

Not sure why exactly but I was feeling weak rolling into this workout...and that is not the way to approach this workout, what with all those flippin' slow motion push-ups! Those things really rip me up fast...UGH!

The push-up aspect of this routine gets me toasted about halfway through and I am reduced to knee push-ups...and they even are hard at one point!

Sure have a lot of work to do. The days and weeks are going by quicker than I could ever imagine. I hope I make some big improvements here fast.

I think I ingested too much salt over the weekend cuz...

213.1 !!!

Day 35... Rest....ROUND 5

...and that is just what I did.

If you don't count the shelf I built, the loads of laundry I did, and the general cleaning up around here.

Either way, I don't really like rest day. I feel blah in the evening every single time. Gotta get a nice recreational activity going that gets my heart rate up.

Guess I should just ride my bike.

212.3

Day 34...KenpoX ...ROUND 5

Owwww....the stretch and warm up for Kenpo was agony on my legs! Totally feeling it from yesterday's workout and was not sure if I was going to be able to be jumping around and kicking for an hour.

Well I managed, and my legs warmed up quick, but they felt heavy and I had to work hard to get through this routine today. I was slower and had to back up the disk a couple times because it was taking me longer to finish some sets of kicks etc...

No problem...do your bestband forget the rest baby!

209.1

Day 33...Legs and Back...ROUND 4

Killed my legs today. I upped my reps and weights on pretty much each exercise AND I finally was able to to one-legged wall equate with one leg. Today I felt the most burn in my life in my legs.

The pull-up aspect went good too. I am up to 12 pull-ups fresh so I am on track....sweet! I started off with a bang but then noticed in the middle of the routine my numbers were off from the last go at it. However, then I noticed I finished up better. Not sure how that works but that's how it went so it is what it is.

Arms are so sore from the Bicep blitz the other day!

208.6

Day 32... YogaX...ROUND 6

Dear Diary,

P90X YogaX is the only yoga routine I have ever done. Never took a class, bikram, yoga for surfers, or whatever the varieties may be. I like the P90X Yoga. It's a long session at 90 minutes, but it actually goes by pretty quickly. It is challenging and despite what some folks say, has variety. The routine makes sense as it builds and builds through the routine and then rolls right into a nice full body stretch, and then spikes you with a super intense but brief Ab workout before ending with some more easy stretching and relaxing poses.

I probley have a few more sessions before I am spot on again with this routine and the improvements I am making week to week are looking good. I will make sense to try an outside Yoga class at one point so I can see what the diff is all about. Especially since Brando is all about alternate Yoga classes. He seems to know what he is talking about, heck I believe him.

Still like YogaX though.

209.1

Day 31...Back and Bicep...ROUND 1

Ah yes the Corn Cobb pull-up...it's a thing of beauty. Took me a while last go round to get this one down. Looks like it may be a little while again to get back on the horse. I was already so wasted by the time the ol' Corn Cobb rolled around I needed the chair assist to do even one.

But what an awesome workout this one is. So many curls your arms lose their feeling. At the very end, the last exercise is 4 sets of strip-down curls. I had to start with 20 lbs only and ended up at 10 lbs! And that last 10 lbs set was pure pain!

Of course I am way off of where I left off after the last p90 adventure which sucks to think about, but I know I will snap it back in good time. I mean look....I am already on day 31. Halfway done with the first week of phase 2. Before you know it, I will be back at the boring rest and recovery week. Then it is all downhill from there.

209.8

Day 30... Plyometrics...ROUND 4

Back to the Plyometrics...

Good one today with the Plyo. My knee was feeling a little kookie so I did my best to go easy without sacrificing my workout. It all worked out and I was huffing and puffing and at the end i was not crippled.

I guess my goal for Plyo would be to be able to "Waltz" through the routine as stated was necessary to attempt X2 successfully. I have 6 more runs through Plyo so I gots ta mak'em count!!

Tomorrow is the great Back and Bicep workout so I will not be able to wash my hair til Saturday most likely.

Good thing I have a buzz. :0)

209.2

Day 29... CHEST SHOULDERS AND TRI'S (ROUND 1)

HOW IN THE WORLD DID I FORGET ABOUT TWO SPEED TWITCH PUSH UPS!!!! The complete chest massacre exercise!

This was definitely a good example of muscle confusion knocking the bearings loose! Probley the hardest workout yet for me in the resistance category and I loved it! This first day back on the resistance exercises was awesome. I know that muslces need to rest and repair and all that, but rest and recovery week was boring.

This is going to be an awesome phase I can just feel it already. My muscles were not timid as they were when I first started and I was all fueled up from my big spaghetti dinner the night before, and my monster omelette at breakfast. I am taking Hilarys advise somewhat and pumping in the carbs this month. Not crappy crappy carbs like chips and cookies and the such, but pasta, and whole grains.

Phase 2 is on effect!

212.2

Day 28...REST...ROUND 4 (REST AND RECOVERY)

Football, spaghetti, and Guns N Roses.

There is a theme here believe it or not. Football is played in stadiums, Guns N Roses also plays in stadiums, and also has an album titled " The Spaghetti Incident". Not that the 2 people that sporadically follow this blog know or care about that. Maybe by way of the TotaLiving matriarch, will Jason read this and remember the cool cover album GNR put out after the Use Your Illusion records.

You're my only home JAY-SHAF...

Anyway, at the "why not" suggestion my big sis made the other week, I am going to be carving it up this next phase. Lots of whole wheat pasta and the sort.

213.2 (the boy is growing!)

Day 27...YogaX...ROUND 5...(REST AND RECOVERY)

Ok, big difference. With the lights on I have regained my balance. The routine went well and without incident, but that damn Yoga Belly 7 part was painful! Huge weekness for me is boat and half boat. The goal is to get through this with no breaks even though Tony is cool and says that you can. Not me...I gotta hang with the kids on this.

Noticing better flexibility about now which makes sense. Still can't get my heels down in downward dog position. I used to be able to.

Tomorrow is rest day and concludes the first full phase of P90X. The clock is quickly ticking down to X2....

211.2

Day 25...Core Synergistics...ROUND 2 (REST AND RECOVERY)

Round 2 of this routine pretty much leaves me with the same commentary as the first. This time however seemed to go by quicker, but still was a good intense hour nevertheless.

This really is a good workout. I think I have said it before, that if I had just one workout I could do it would be this one...even though it's not my favorite. I think it is a very efficient workout and a great use of time. Core has not, is not, and likely will not be a strength for me for some time, but I am going to work hard here because I think this is another area of opportunity for me to improve like that Plyo workout.

Give me another couple months here and I'll show you the money.

209.5

Day 24...StretchX...ROUND 1 (REST AND RECOVERY)

Nothing like a full body stretch to make you feel like a million bucks!

I was really looking forward to this routine even though it is pretty boring. You know, just stretching for an hour.

After that hour though, I tell ya....you are feeling liiiiiiiiiiiimBER!! Even if you don't do P90X, this is a good thing to do every once in a while.

208.8

Day 24....KenpoX....ROUND 4 (REST AND RECOVERY)

Back at Kenpo today. Went quick this workout...just like Tony promised. I did notice a little pain in my right knee this time. Very minor but worth mentioning and worth keeping an eye on. I will have to make sure to pay good attention to form and the "quality over quantity" philosophy and I think it will take care of itself.

I may have switched Kenpo with Stretch but it shouldn't matter. I will be thankful for a nice stretch day tomorrow before I have to face Core Syn again on Friday.

208.5

Day 23...Core Synergistics...ROUND 1...(REST AND RECOVERY)

So here is the routine that in my humble opinion makes the name "REST AND RECOVERY WEEK" totally inaccurate. First of all you achieve a dripping sweat by the third exercise and you are still revving up for the good stuff! Engaging multiple muscle groups simultaneously really gasses you out. It is probley the closest exercise I have done that resembles the type of exhaustion a wrestling match results in. While it may be less intense than a wrestling match, it is 60 minutes vs. 6.

This is another routine that shows up twice this week. So there ain't no rest and recovery going on in this house.

208.8

Day 22...YogaX...ROUND 4 (REST AND RECOVERY WEEK)

Today Was my fourth go round at YogaX. I will have another whack at it on Saturday as the Rest and Recovery week starts and ends with the Yoga routine. I completed kyat the end of the day in one shot. I had ample energy and felt good throughout.

The one curious thing I did notice was during the balance portion of the routine I was seriously stumbling and tumbling. I couldn't keep my balance during "tree"' or " royal dancer" or "standing leg extension". Typically I am on point during this portion. Additionally, I was stumbling and tumbling during "standing splits" and "half moon" which are both pretty tough positions but ones that I had really progressed will into. I am wondering if the fact that it got dark toward the middle of the routine and I didn't break to turn on the lights if that had anything to do with it.

It was pretty frustrating but what ev's...

209.4

Day 21...REST...ROUND 3

Well, come the third round of rest and I think I pretty much have this routine nailed to perfection. This weeks rest went exceptionally well with a good day of NFL games and some pals to enjoy them with. Special thanks to BK for the homemade pizza. Not sure how healthy it was but the fact it was all made from scratch at least gives it a shot at having some nutritional value.

211.9

Day 20...Keno X...Round 3

Jab, cross, hook, uppercut....

210.4

Day 19...Legs and Back...ROUND 3

Big gains today, especially on the pull up front. Probley a 40% improvement over last week which is crazy! I held up much better throughout the workout and the numbers were up up up! A nice motivator for me as I move into the rest and recovery week here.

Burned my legs ut good today too. Lit them up more than I have ever done before so I am anticipating a rough morning getting out of bed and rolling into Kenpo.

Ab Ripper was also more agonizing today. I had shoes on so maybe my feet were heavier and made the bicycle and crunchy frog and fifer scissor segments harder....who knows? I usually am barefoot but wear shoes on days were I am working my legs like Plyo, today, and kenpo.

209.4

Day 18...YogaX...ROUND 3

Kinda worked this one a little different today. Had to get out the door early so I did the "hard part" early in the morning which is about 45 minutes, and then did the "easy part" when I got back at the end of the day. I don't really like breaking it up this way but sometimes life calls on you to improvise so improvise I did. Of course I could have just saved the whole thing for the end of the day but I knew that would be a pain after driving to the border and back.

All went well for the most part during both parts but I wil tell you...that damn Yoga belly 7 is big B! Going from boat to half boat and torso twist whatever the hell sets my gut on fire! It is the one part of the whole yoga routine that I do not look forward to. I guess that should tell me something.

Here's a curious fact:

210.4 (what the?)

Day 17...Arms and Shoulders...ROUND 3

I found out there is a new P90X man on the scene...ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Tommy "Aloha" Mohler!

It's good to have you amigo as misery loves company...nah, just kidding. But it does.

Today would be his 3rd day in as a freshy so this should be fun to watch. In a good way, I meant that in a good way!

Today's Shoulders and Arms routine was Awesome! Huge milestone reached today. I am finally stronger than Drea Webber!! I don't care if she is a girl, she is bad ass and cut like a stone and I can curl, press, and dip circles around her so let just let me enjoy that a while. ;0)

Seriously though, for the third round I cranked it out, paying attention to my left shoulder which is still bugging me, as well as that dang pinky finger. Nevertheless, my numbers were up and my form was on point. I am trying to be conscious of this, as I told Brando today. It's a quality over quantity thing. If you shop at Walmart you wouldn't know anything about it.

208.0

Day 16... Plyometrics...ROUND 3

This post is a day late...I was so tired yesterday I forgot to do it.

Anyway, round 3 of Plyo and I am looking good! I am especially wanting to make good and sure I can dominate this Plyo workout in my sleep by the time X2 comes out. I guess the Plyo on X2 is basically retarded. Somebody close to the Beach Body camp said that if you can waltz through P90X Plyo, then you will be ready for X2 Plyo.

What does that mean, waltz?

I basically means that you execute the workout smoothly, and gracefully without strain. There is no flopping around and that you complete the workout in it's entirety as such.

I am completing the workout in it's entirety, and I think my form is pretty good, however I am in no way "waltzing".

I'm a little worried about Brando because he subs Plyo out for other intense cardio.

Get out your bucket and your glucosamine...

208.5