P90X+ Day 14: Kenpo Plus

Quick update today. Fired up the Kenpo Plus workout today. Love it! Lot's of cool new moves and lots of energy. The Gladiators were even more fun this time since I knew what the heck I was doing!

Back to work tomorrow. I'll be working out in the afternoon or evening and plan to post some stuff then- including my thoughts on the Plus so far and my future plans for the entire program. Updates soon....

P90X+ Day 13: Upper Plus

Day 13 brought the second weekly round of Upper Plus. My wife got me a nice set of adjustable dumbbells for Christmas. They change from 5-25lbs. This was my first opportunity to try them out, so I broke them out.

Overall, I had fun using them. It was nice to try some fo the curls with weights for a change.

I felt like I had decent energy levels today. I brought it hard. I felt pretty winded by some of the moves though- especially the spiderman pushups. Though I did up my reps on that move! I then did Ab Ripper X instead of Abs Core Plus.

Sunday will be Kenpo Plus workout!

P90X+ Day 12: Yoga

Friday was Yoga Day. I did the best I could. I was feeling completely exhausted from the past 2-3 days. I fit in my workout, gave it what I could, and moved on. Yoga is not my favorite thing to do and I struglle every time with my focus. It just isn't entertaining.

P90X+ Day 11: Rest Day

Christmas Day proved to be too hectic to fit my Yoga workout in. So, I made it my rest day.

P90X+ Day 10: Total Body Plus

Today's workout was the Total Body Plus workout. As I stataed last week, this workout is really a rocker! You are moving, sweating, and pushing yourself pretty much non-stop.

Here's an idea of how intense this workout is- the warm up for it is over 9 minutes long and includes things like the dive bomber pushups (a legend from P90X), squats, lunges, etc. It is like a mini-workout before the workout!

I was out late last night, so my energy levels were low. Combine that with the fact that due to traffic (and my lack of foresight) I didn't eat a lot before the workout mid-day. I had basically a protein shake at 7am and didn't eat again until after my workout ended at 3:30. I bonked hard during this workout. I need to make sure I eat properly, and I think I'm going to add more carbs back in. I still managed to burn about 615 calories, so I brought it pretty well considering!

I will be leaving you now to go wrap presents, hang with the in-laws, eat some food, and do the Santa thing with the kids. It's going to be another long night.

Hope everyone has a nice Christmas!

P90X+ Day 9: Intervals Plus

Today was an intervals day. This was my second time through this workout and I was really looking forward to it. I feel like it's a great overall cardio workout with lots of variety. It really is a butt kicker. I think it's harder then the plyometric workout but easier on the legs/knees.

I brought it today. I burned over 700 calories again in just the intervals section alone. I did the Abs/Core plus after and burned another 300 calories. Over 1,000 calories burned again!

One of the toughest moves for me is the 3 Point Push Ups. The first 20 seconds are no biggie. You hold yourself in plank. Then you stand up. Repeat. The second 20 seconds, you add a push up in plank. And the last 20 seconds, not only do you go as fast as you can, but when you stand up, you jump up. Plus there is no stepping back to plank. You jump into plank. It's a killer. My heart rate was way up during this one!

HEading home to PA today to see my parents and exchange gifts with them. Then the wife and I are heading out with a bunch of my old friends from high school. I'm going to try and take it easy with the booze!

See you tomorrow!

P90X+ Day 8: Upper Plus

Today was the Upper Plus workout again. I'm not sure why, but I felt really strong today. I think it's a combination of finally getting over the cold/sinus infection I've had for about a week and a half, combined with finally getting back into working out. Taking that week off was nice, but combined with the final week of P90X (which is a recovery week), I could definately feel it last week when I got started again. I felt weaker, with slightly less endurance. Not today!

Today I didn't use a chair for at least half the reps for every pull up move. I blasted through some of the other moves as well, really upping my reps. One move I felt really strong in today was the frog push ups. This is a move where you do a push up, then jump your feet up to the outsides of your hands and then back. Then you go faster! I really pumped through those. My arms were shaking at the end and I collapsed in exhaustion. Good times!

I also decided today to go back to the ab basics by doing Ab Ripper X instead. I just really don't feel like I get a good enough ab workout with Abs/Core Plus. It's a great overall total body workout, but it's just not ab-specific enough for me.

And I realized how much I missed Ab Ripper X when I tried doing it today. After essentially three wekks away from it, I struggled a bit. I still got through all the moves, but wasn't able to do some of the advanced options and could feel the burning in my midsection. It was glorious!

Loke I said, I was brinign it today. I burned a total of 779 calories in the workout. 587 during Upper Plus (vs 483 last week). Total calories were down slightly when Ab Ripper X is included (779 today vs 799 last week). However, the Abs/Core Plus is longer, and gets your heart rate up more as it is more of a total body/core workout.

Tomorrow is the intervals workout. I'm excited to do this again. I'm also off the rest of the week, so I'll be able to workout at my leisure......

P90X+ Day 7: Rest Day

Today was a scheduled rest day on the program. I took full advantage of it by playing with my kids and hanging out with my wife. Watched some football too.

Back in gear tomorrow. See you then!

P90X+ Day 6: Kenpo Plus

Today was the last of the "new" workouts within P90X+. This one is a new Kenpo workout called Kenpo Plus. It's 42 minutes long and is non-stop moving, kicking, and punching. It was a lot of fun.

One of my biggest issues with the P90X+ program is how little time Tony takes demonstrating and explaining new moves on the DVDs. In the original program, he explains how to do each one and usually does a rep at the beginning that doesn't count just to show you. With the "Plus", he doens't really explain it. This has lead to a lot of me having to pause anrewind the DVDs as I try and figure out what I'm doing.

This was especially the case with the Kenpo Plus workout. There are a lot of really great new combinations and moves, but I was constantly having to stop an go back just to figure out what was going on. For example, one of the coolest new moves, The Galdiator, was also one of the hardest to figure out how to do. It's basically a jump kick and down punch, but the way you do it isn't natural to me. You do 30 secinds from one starting stance and 30 seconds from the other. It took me quite a while to get this down.

That being said, I tried to bring it the best I could. I was also tired having spent most of the day at the mall with the wife and kids trying to finish up all of our last minute shopping. So working out was not something I was looking forward to. But, I still burned 685 calories. I'm sure I'll burn more the next time once I'm more comfortable with how to do the moves and can just concentrate on bringing it!

Tomorrow is a rest day. I may go for a run or something depending on my mood.

P90X+ Day 5: Upper Plus

Today was a repeat of the Upper Plus workout. I am still fighting a nasty cold or upper respiratory thing (have been for over a week). I tried to bring it as hard as I could. I ended up burning 799 calories between the Upper Plus and the Abs/Core Plus. Not too shabby.

I was a little more comfortable with everything this time around. I was more familiar with the moves and how to pace myself throughout. I feel a little better about this workout. Last time I didn't really feel like I got a great workout- today I did.

One thing I was really pleased about was my ability to really bring it in some of the moves. In particular, the "L" Chin ups. This move is one where you do a chin up, bring your knees up, extend your legs out (like an "L"), and then bring them back in and go down and repeat. I generally still use a chair for all or most of my chin ups and pull ups- though it's pretty far away from me and I barely have a toe on it (I think it's a mental thing). Anyway, tonight I was able to do 5 of those "L" chin uos with no chair and then still cranked out a few more after with the help of the chair. I was pretty happy. I felt pretty strong.

I also felt like this time through Abs Core Plus was my best so far. I really tried to concentrate of form and bust through the moves. The hanging moves are still the toughest ones, but I feel like I made good progress on all of them and felt a nice burn in my stomach today.

Diet went well today. I had a whey protein shake for breakfast and a small bowl of berries for snack. Lunch was some lean beef tips and green beans. Afternoon snack was a protein bar. Dinner was some turkey chili.

I'm excited to try the new Kenpo Plus workout tomrorow. See you after!

P90X+ Day 4: Total Body Plus

So today I tried out Total Body Plus for the first time. My overall impression of this workout is very positive!

This video has one goal: to rock you from head to toe. And it delivers! The variety of moves and the degree of difficulty really make this workout stand out from the rest. It is a great way to get your butt kicked!

One of the hardest moves for me was probably the balance curls. You use weights or bands and do curls. All the while, you need to raise one of your legs in the air and balance for 30 seconds. It is intense. Concentrating on your balance forces you to engage your core, and you are working your arms too.

Another tough move is the 3 & 3. This move lasts two minutes. You do 3 squats while holding weights. Then you put the weights down and do 3 pushups. Then you do 3 pull ups of your choice. Then repeat! Fun times.

I felt like Igot a great workout. I tried to bring it as hard as I could while still learning the moves. I managed to burn 663 calories. I feel pretty good about that.

Diet is going well. Breakfast was a whey protein shake. Snack was a protein bar. Lunch was some lean roast beef and a small salad with fat free ranch. Snack was a recovery drink. Dinner was some beef and broc.

Stay classy and thanks for stopping by!

P90X+ Day 3: Cardio X

Today was supposed to be Total Body Plus. however, I had a champioship soccer game tonight and didn't want to do something to make me too worn out or sore for the game. so I made the executive decision to swap tomorrow's workout with today. And because of time issues, I did Cardio X instead of Yoga.

I will be doing the Total Body Plus tomorrow and after reading Jeff's review of it, I am looing forward to it!

P90X+ Day 2: Intervals Plus

Today was my first try at the Intervals Plus workout. If you aren't familiar with the Intervals training theory, it is basically using varying degrees of intensity to allow you to work at your max heart rate for short periods while giving you active recovery time. Overall, it is usually highly effective- especially for peak cardio results. My college lacrosse coach used interval sprint training to get us into shape in pre-season and then to maintain our fitness during the season.

This workout is a real bear. It kicks butt, and I loved it. There are tweleve exercises. You do each one at three different intensity levels. 1/3 of the time at 60% intensity, 1/3 at 80% intensity, and 1/3 at 100% intensity. There is a nice mix of cardio, plyo, and kenpo moves in there. You do all 12 moves in a row. Then you take a 1 minute water break, and then repeat the workoput in reverse order.

One move that was pretty fun/tough was the 3 point push ups. You go down for a 1 count, then come up for a 1 count. This is the 60% move. Then after 20 seconds, you go down and hold for a 2 count, then up for a 2 count. This is 80%. Then the 100% effort move is a down for 3 counts, up for 3 counts. Tony also stresses engaging your core during this move. When you focus on keeping a flat back, tight butt and abs, it really burns!

After the intervals workout, you do the Abs/Core Plus workout again. I did much better today as I was a little more familiar with the moves. The moves felt much tougher today and I made it a point to really engage my core more this time. The hanging up and overs were tough today. This is where you hang from the bar, bring your knees up (together) from one side and twist them over to the other side. Then you put them down and then repeat going the other direction. TOUGH!

I wore a heart rate monitor for the first time. Jeff was talking about how many calories he was burning so I wanted to see how many I was burning. During the Intervals alone I burned 725 calories! I kept it going through the Abs/Core workout and finished at 1090 total calories burned!!! I really felt like I brought it and can't wait to see how many I can burn when I can breathe again (I still have that nasty cold).

Diet went well today. Protein shake for breakfast. Protein bar for snack. Lunch was a garden salad topped with shredded turkey breast and fat free ranch. Afternoon snack was my P90x recovery drink. Dinner is a protein shake and small salad with a little leftover beef and brochalli from last night.

See you tomorrow!

P90X+- Day 1: Upper Plus

Hello all! I'm back and ready to tackle the next finess challenge- P90X+. I started today along with Jeff (from DangletheCarrot) and Matt. I had taken a week off to relax and recover following my P90X completion. So, aside from a pretty nasty cold/upper respiratory thing going on, I was ready to BRING IT!

So, today was the first day. This workout is called Upper Plus and is a total upper body workout hitting your shoulders, back, triceps, and biceps. Yes there are still plenty of push ups and sit ups. But the variations are groovy.

I'll talk about two of my favorites from today. The first is the 7 point pull up. If you are using a P90X pull up bar, you know that there are some other handles/grips that aren't used. Well, this exercise has you do one rep on every grip working out to in, and using reverse grip a few times for a grand total of 7 different pull ups on one rep. It is intense! I made it through 3 rounds which I felt good about since it was the first time through and I had taken the week off.

The other great move on this workout was the Spiderman pushups. You basically have one are out further then the other and bring a leg in (like SPiderman crwling up a wall). You do a push up like that, then swithc your hands and feet and do it again. It is great and I really felt a good burn from it.

Also new to this workout routine is the all new Abs/Core Plus. This take sthe place of the Ab Ripper. I liked some of the moves, but some I'm not a fan of. In particular, there are a series of moves that involve hanging from the pull up bar. I felt like my shoulders were going to explode doing these and it really hurt my form.

On the plus side there are a few killer moves. The Cherry Bomb is a bear! You start in banana, roll on your side, roll back, bull in (like an in and out), then balance on your butt and extend your arms and legs, then back to the in and out, then back to banana. It's a killer!

I started back on phase ! of the diet plan which is the low carb higher protein section. I did well for my first day back on it. I started off with a whey protein shake for breakfast. Snack was a Myoplex Lite protein bar. Lunch was a chef salad with fat free ranch. Afternoon snack was a cheese stick. And dinner was some beef and brochali stir fry over a spoonful of brown rice.

I'll be back tomorrow for an all new Intervals Plus workout!

Final Photos

OK, so here are the final "graduation" photos from the P90X program. Overall I'm pretty pleased. While I'm not"ripped" , I'm still night and day different from where I started.

There are a few more shots, and some easier ways to view the photos by clicking on the link to the right under the "Pics" header. Especially cool is the 1/30/60/90 day progression photos. You can really see the differences!

Thank you to everyone who has helped me along this journey. There are many of you like Jeff (my workout partenr and the man responsible for talking me into this), Matt, Tai Chi Monkey Girl, and my wife Danielle, who helped me immeasurably with words of inspriation, motivation, encouragement, etc.

Day 90- Yoga X

Today is Day 90. It was a Yoga day.

I still hate Yoga. But I got through it. I figured I should close it out right. I did fine on all the Warrior poses. Worked my tail off in the balance poses. I held a crane for over 10 seconds today which is my best ever.

Overall, even though I hate Yoga, it has probably made the biggest difference for me in the program in terms of overall health and flexibility. I was the world's least flexible guy before this. I couldn't touch my ankles, let alone my toes. Now I can grab my toes. So I can see the improvement big time!

Since today is the last day, I will be posting my photos soon. I will probably check in sometime soon to give my final measurements, etc as well as discuss my overall review of P90X. Then I'm taking a week off to rest before starting on P90X+ with Jeff and Matt on the 15th of December.

Day 89- Core Synergistics

Today was the last tango with Core Synergistics.

I just love this workout. If I had to pick one workout of all the discs that I have and could only do 1 forever, this one would be it! It hits your entire body and keeps you moving and sweating. It's a killer.

One of the toughest moves is the dreaded lunge/kickback/curl/press move. It's 20 reps of sheer hell. I can feel my shoulders burning at rep 10 and I'm only using 8 lb weights!

Another killer is the prison cell push ups. You start from a standing position, jump down into push up position, do a push up, bring your knee in fast, do another push up, bing the other knee in, do a push up, and then stand up and put your arms in the air. That's 1!!! It goes for like 90 seconds and you hae to do as many as you can. It really works you hard.

So, tomorrow is the last day. I will probably try and do the yoga. I will also try and get pics up tomorrow night or Saturday and do my final measurements, etc as well as give my review and overall impressions on the program. On 12/15 I will be joining Matt and Jeff for P90X+. In fact, the DVDs are in transit right now!

Day 88- Stretch X

Day 88 was a stretch X day. I actually didn't do the official stretch x.

What I did was get to my soccer game early and spent about 30-45 minutes warming up and stretching before my soccer game. Got a nice sweat, the played 90 minutes plus outside in the 20 degree weather. Good news is we won in a penalty shoot out. Bad news is I felt like we played at the North Pole. It was freezing!

Day 87- Kenpo X

Today was the last Kenpo workout on P90X! I'm a little sad, but since I'll be starting P90X+ soon, I'm sure I will be doing more Kenpo sometime soon!

I brought it as hard as I could. I put everything into every punch and kick. I really tried to hit with my whole body on eveyrthing. When you do that, it really takes the intensity of the Kenpo up a notch.

Nothing more to say really. Did ok on the nutrition side. Two wheat waffles with peanut butter for breakfast. Protein bar for snack. Lunch was a turkey and swiss with fat free ranch on wheat. Snack was a cheesestick. Dinner was some grilled chicken (with a touch of hot sauce for flavor) and some peas,peppers, and potatoes.

Tomorrow is stretch X. I will probably skip that. I have soccer game tomorrow night, so I'll stretch then, plus play 90 minutes in the cold!

Day 86- Core Synergistics

Today was Core Synergistics. As you can see in the pics above, it is quite the workout. I was a sweaty mess! The wife took a couple pics because she couldn't believe how sweaty I was.

This workout is a killer. I forgot how much fun it was! It is 48 minutes (after warm up) of sweating, moving, and kicking butt. There are some killer exercises in this. The prison cell push ups are tough. As are the reach up and under push ups. Then there is the boat to bow move- killer. My abs feel like they are going to pop off during the bow!

But by far, the hardest two moves are the plan to chaterranga run and then the plank to chaterranga iso. These are where I could really see how much my strength and endurance have improved. A moth ago I couldn't complete these. Today, I got through both with no problems! There were beads of sweat pouring off my face during the iso moves, but I held firm with nothing touching the ground on the chatteranga except my fingertips and my toes (and I think my nose touched a few times- but that doesn't count, right?).

Feeling great right now. I'm not sure how dramatic the changes will be from 60 to 90 days in my pics, but I can tell I feel evenb better then I did 30 days ago.

I have also purchased the P90X+ and plan to start that with Jeff and Matt sometime in December. I have an issue at the end of January where I'm going on vacation to Hawaii (I won a trip there from work). So that week, I hadn't planned on working out much. Hopefully, I will either skip that week and come back and pick up where I left off. Or I'll talk the wife into letting me do it while I'm there and pack the bands and the videos. I'll play it by ear.

Kenpo tomorrow! See you then!