The Return...And A Bonus

Hello all! I'm not sure if anyone out there si still reading. I've been away from both the blog and the P90x for a while. To sum it up in a nutshell, a combination of an injury (non P90X related) and job issues forced me to take some time off. But I'm back and ready to go.

Actually, I'm not just back, I'm on Day 10 today. That's Shoulders and Arms tonight. But the bonus is, my wife Danielle decided to join the P90X party. She and I decided to start together on June 1. So we've been rocking it out together (and apart) ever since.

I only have time for a quick update for now, but rest assured I'll be back with more details. I hope to post our pics as well, though they may not be up until Day 30. So far so good. I've been sore, but not too bad. The wife is doing really well. She's always been pretty fit. She teaches dance and coaches dance at her old high school. And she still dances in some adult groups as well. So her cardio is pretty good and her flexibility is tremendous. We're focusing on gaining some strength in her core and arms. But she's been DESTROYING the ab ripper already. makes me sick....

Anyway, hope everyone is well. nice to be back on the X!!!!

P90X Round 2 Day 36- Plyometrics (and catching up)

Just when I though things would settle down for me, things got crazy again. For work this week marks the close of our financial year so we are just slammed right now with things we have to do. I also found out that I'm being given an extra person to ork with as well as having a significant portion of Pennsylvania added to my Maryland/Delaware territory, so itlooks like I'm going to be doing a lot of traveling soon. good news is that P90X travels!

So anyway, while I may not have been blogging as much as I'd like to have been, I have been "Bringing it". Took care of Plyometrics yesterday and was pretty excited. It was the best Plyo has felt in a while for me.

I also did pretty well om Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps the toher day. I even rocked out 22 Pike Presses- which was a new record for me. So, things are coming along nicely.

The funniest thing is that the fitter you get and the more into P90X you get, the more people want to talk to you about it. Because of what I've been doing, my boss is now doing P90X with his wife and one of my doctors is doing it now too! It's just funny because months ago these people were all picking on me about doing the "infomercial" workout, but now they are all converts!

Back tonight with an update. Keep pushing play!

P90X Round 2 Day 31- Back and Biceps

Quick post tonight as I have a few things to do for work. Today was the Back & Bicep workout. Man, this one is a killer- in a good way. All sorts of funky pull ups and lots of vein-busting curls just punish you. I love it!

I felt pretty good today. Was pretty pumped up on my NOXplode and my Volumaize and brought it hard. My biceps were so pumped that my right one felt like it had a pulse! My arms were absolutely burning today. I struggled with the pull ups (especially the dreaded corn cobs). But I did my best and forgot the rest.

I did well on the ab Ripper as well. full reps (plus some extra Mason twists). I just had one of those "good" days today.

Anyway, looking forward to the Yoga tomorrow (did I really just say that?).....

Mike Out!

Day 30- Intervals

Daily Workout Summary:

Happy Birthday....to me. I'm now an even older bastard. But at least I can't say FAT bastard anymore!

So, today was Day 30 and was supposed to be a Plyometrics day. But I decided to give myself a little present by kicking my ass with the Intervals workout from P90X+. Fun Times!

I brought it ok I guess. My balky right knee really acted up today so I had to modify a few moves and take it easy. But I still got a nice little workout in. I also played an indoor soccer game tonight which helped burn off a few more calories!

Diet:

OK diet day-but could have been better. I had a protein shake for breakfast. missed my snack. Had lunch with the wife and kids at Panera Bread where I had half a bacon turkey bravo on wheat. Afternoon snack was a protein bar. And dnner was one slice of the wheat crust pizza with turkey pepperoni.

Favorite Move of The Day:

Super Skaters

I like this move a lot. It's basically the speed skating move from one of the other workouts. But as you add intensity, you end up making these huge leaps from side to side. I felt like Apollo Ono!

P90X Round 2 Day 29- Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps

Daily Workout Summary:

Today was the first "new" workout tis round. I got to rock the challenging Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout today. I forgot how much fun yet how challenging this workout is! It's an absolute killer and I KNOW I will be sore tomorrow.

All sorts of cool push up variations. And for whatever reason, my triceps felt like they were going to literally pop off my arm. It was intense. I used my two scoops of NOXplode, rolled up my sleeves, and brought it.

I felt pretty good. It had been a long time since I had done this workout so sometimes I had to atch the move be demonstrated first. Then I would just hit rewind and go back to get my full reps in. I really like all the push up wariations in this one. And a lot of the crazy push ups demoed in the infomercial show up in this workout (like the plyo push ups and the one-arm balance push ups).

Solid day with Ab ripper- all reps on all moves. Not quite ready to add advanced moves yet, but it won't be too long!

Diet:

Decent diet day. Breakfast was some turkey sausage and a banana. Snack was a protein bar. Lunch was a 6 inch trkey sub on wheat with mustard. Missed my afternoon snack. Dinner was a slice of pizza with a whole wheat crust and turkey pepperoni. I would have liked to add a little more protein into the mix, so I may polish off a protein shake before the evening is over.

Soundtrack of The Day:

Bleeding Me- Metallica

I just love this song- especially the version that is on the S&M album (symphony & metallica). It builds slowly and gets more intense with every second. Finally it gets intense and loud at the end- which is just like my workout!

Move of The Day:

Two-Twitch Speed Push Ups.

I hate and love this push up. You crank out four pushups of your choice as fast as possible. then you do 3 slow ones (down in 4 counts, up in 4 counts). then you repeat. I only made it through 2 sets (there are 3). It just kicked my ass today.....

Day 28- Rest Day

Saturday was a scheduled rest day. While i was at the beach, I was hoping to get in a nice jog along the shore. however, we had extremely cold, windy, and rainy weather, so I took the day off!

P90X Round 2 Day 26 and 27- Core Synergistics and Yoga

Hello All!

This week has been nuts- so nuts that I've barely had time to breathe. But after this holiday, things will be much easier to manage and daily posts WILL be the norm again.

Anyway, on Thursday I decided to actually do the Yoga instead of Core Syn (I just switched them). This was because I knew we were leaving for the beach on Friday and I would not have 90 minutes to do Yoga. But I did on Thursday. So I made the executive decision!

Daily Workout Summary (Thursday):

Yoga still sucks. I don't care what Jeff and some of the others say, I don't think I'll ever "grow to like it". The workout is just too long. I have a short attention span and need to have variety to keep me interested. The first 45 minutes of Yoga are all a variation on the same thing. So it gets old really quickly. However, the last half is much better. When you get into the balance poses, it becomes both challenging and exciting as you move from pose to pose- even getting some ab work in with the Yoga Belly X. Much better for someone like me.

I felt like the workout was good. I'm making gains in my flexibility and overall core strength. I still struggle with the Crane, but every time is an improvement!

Daily Workout Summary (Friday):

I freakin' LOVE Core Synergistics. Seriously- I love it. I could do it every day. It works your entire body- there's nothing spared. Arms, Legs, Shoulders, Back, Abs/Core- it's all there. And it sneeks up and kicks your ass just when you think it's not too bad.

I used my NOXplode and tried to really bring it today. Just because it's a recovery week, doesn't mean you can't work your ass off. So I got hopped up on my pre-workout drink and pushed myself. I did more push ups on all of the push up type of moves then I did earlier in the week. And I had an extreme sweat going today- good times.

One of the keys to this workout is making an effort to really engage your core on every move. For some of the moves, this is easy. But for others, you really need to concentrate on it and keeping your form. The easiest way to do this is to..... remember to breathe! I know Tony talks about this all the time, but it's really true. If you don't keep your breathing regular, you don't fully engage your core and your posture and form suffer. So for those of you who are newer to the workouts, please KEEP BREATHING!!! : )

Post Workout Rambling:

Just as an FYI, I'm going to be at the beach this weekend celebrating Easter with my wife's family and our kids. Since I'm at the beach, instead of resting, I plan to go for a nice jog along the beach. Maybe I'll see some dolphins or whales or big fish while I'm running. Anyway, if I don't post again until Monday, I hope everyone has a Happy Easter (or Happy Passover for all the folks out there who may be Jewish)!

P90X Round 2 Day 23 and 24- Core Synergistics and Kenpo

Work has been crazy this week. So my plan to post more regularly got fouled up yesterday. I got my Core Synergistics wokout in, but didn't get a chance tyo post. I had a late soccer game. So as soon as I finished work, workinging out, and getting a quick bite to eat, I was heading out the dorr to my game. I'm actually playing soccer 5 nights a week on top of the P90X- so I'm keeping busy. To be fair, even though I'm not quite 30 days in, the only reason I can play so many nights is because of the fitness base I got from my first time through P90X as well as the few weeks I've been on it again. Before P90X, there was NO way my body could have handled that much. But now the lighter, fitter me is going balls to the wall and loving it!

Anyway, Kenpo today was fine- nothing special to it. I worked it hard and got a nice sweat. But yesterday's Core Synergistics was something else! I really forgot that Core Syn is a TOUGH workout and I also forgot how much I liked it.

The toughest move of the day for me (outside of the stupid Drea Rolls- which I struggle with and hate) was the prison cell push ups. For those of you who are new to the "X" and haven't done core Syn yet, the prison cell push ups are TOUGH. You start at a standing position, drop down and do a push up. Then you bring one knee in, do a push up, bring the other in, do a push up, then jump back to your feet. Now, REPEAT for about a minute. It's an absolute killer. I was sweating like a pig and when I was done, I was doubled over with my hands on my knees gasping for air. The funny thing was that I started off well. I did like 3 times through really fast and thought, "thisisn't so bad". Then I hit the wall. It felt like someone threw a piano on my back. I struggled the rest of the way.

Anyway, tomorrow is a stretch x or rest day. I'm probably going to go for a run if it's nice. Plus I have a soccer game tomorrow night (shocker, right?). Talk to you soon guys and girls!

P90X Round 2 Day 22- Cardio X (plus catching up!)

Hello all! Sorry I've been absent from the blog for the past few days. Things have been crazy. There's been a lot of stuff going on at work plus at home. The good news is I've been keeping up with my workouts. the bad news is I haven't been able to find a few extra minutes to update my blog.

Anyway, things have settled down here a bit so I wanted try and post just to stay in the loop. Today was the first day of my recovery week. Due to some time issues today I only had time to fit in Cardio x instead of the scheduled Yoga. But, with this beignthe recovery week, I'll see Yoga again later on this week. So this way it won't be boring (at least AS boring!).

Overall things haven't been too bad. I've dropped about 4-5 pounds the first 22 days- and that's without being as strict as I'd like to be with the diet. I started this round of P90X at about 204 pounds. I'm down to about 199-200, depending on the morning. The last time my most significant weight loss came during the middle phase, so I'm hopeful I'll continue to drop a few pounds. I plan to go really low carb for a while after this recovery week as well, so that will help me drop some weight as well.

Also, I've been using the WorkOutSoft sftware to track my workouts. It's pretty cool stuff. I hope to post some screen shtos or something in the next few days and will give soem inital thoughts on it as well.

Anyway, this is just a quick post. I should be back to more normal posting routines come tomorrow. Take care!

P90X Round 2 Day 15: Intervals (not Plyo)

Daily Workout Summary:

Due to tim constraints I opted to go with Intervals (from P90X+) today instead of Plyometrics. It saves me an extra 20-30 minutes. But it is no way easier- in fact I still think it's the hardest single workout Tony has put together in either of the P90X series.

During the video, Tony talks about studies that have shown that interval training is 2-3 times more effective in regards to cardio training then anything else. From personal experience, I can attest to that- and not just with this workout. Back in college, we used interval trainng in the pre-season for my lacrosse team to get in shape for the season. It was a different type of training then this. It mostly invovled track workouts (running different distances within set time limits- mixing short sprints and longer distances). But they were always killer.

This workout is just balls to the wall for 38-42 minutes (with warm up and cool down). You do 12 exercises at three different intensity levels, take a water break, and then do those 12 again in reverse order. It literally leaves me gasping for air and shaking all over. Of all the workouts, this is still the one I have trouble getting through no matter my fitness level. It really is that tough.

I prepared with my NOXplode and did the best I could. My bad knee decided to act up today, so some of the moves were a bit painful and I had to modify a few. but overall I brought it with a pretty good intensity level and felt like I got in a pretty good workout!

Diet:

I had a solid diet day today. Breakfast was a protein shake. Snack was a protein bar. Lunch was a large Galdiator Protein Shake (banana strawberry!). Snack was some turkey jerky. Dinner was fun. It was very spring like tonight so I fired up the grill. I cooked some hot dogs (for the kids and wife). I also made some turkey hot dogs and some turkey italian sausagues. I had one of the turkey dogs on a whole wheat bun with some mustard and I had one of the sausages. Plus a salad. I have to admit, the turkey dogs were pretty bland (especially as I could SMELL the hot dogs!). But the sausgae was excellent!

Favorite Move of the Day:

Tires

This is a take off of some of the moves from plyo and cardio x. The first 20 seconds are some easy tires standing in place (think slow high knees). The second 20 seconds were a very fast high knee/run in place like you were running in place with your feet in some truck tires. the last 20 seconds are the "wacky jacks" from cardio x as fast as you can go. This move killed me today for some reason. I could really feel my obliques being hammered on by the wacky jacks. Good times!

Soundtrack of the Day:

Mama Said Knock You Out- LL Cool J.

Another classic- probably my favorite LL song. This song just makes you want to go kick someones ass! It's a must-listen for me when I workout and it keeps me pumped. This came on halfway through Intervals, and really heped re-energize me and keep me going.

P90X Round 2 Day 15: Chest and Back

Daily Workout Summary:

Today was the last time with Chest and back until week 9. For some reason, I have been CRUSHING this workout. Maybe it was the rest day yesterday. Or maybe it was the three scoops (as opposed to my normal 2) of NOXplode. Either way, I was rocking it again.

I added 20 more total pushups in the day to bring the grand total up to 218 (versus 158 from week 1!). But I just felt more pumped, stronger, and felt like I was recovering more quickly. I think all the supplements I'm taking are really helping and I know I'm starting to feel great again.

Did well on Ab Ripper X also. Very few breaks and again all reps on all moves. I'm thinking I may start to add in some abs Core Plus from P90X+ on some days to push the abs even more!

Diet:

Decent diet day. Breakfast was a banana and a wheat english muffin with peanut butter. Snack was a protein bar. Lunch was a small salad, some chicken salad, and a small bowl of fruit salad. Sanack was some turkey jerky. Dinner was some grilled chicken topped with a little crab meat and some fat-free cheese.

Favorite Move of the Day:

Standard Push-Ups.

Nothing exciting or sexy about this move. Just some good old-fashioned push ups. ButI felt like I had a ton of energy and rocked out a personal best without completely killing myself for the rest of the workout.

Soundtrack of the Day:

Slam- by Onyx.

This is a little old-school but it's got a great beat and gets your head bobbing while you rock out on the pull up bar or on the push-up handles! Just really got my grooving today!

P90X Round 2 Days 12, 13, and 14- Legs and Back, Cardio, and Rest

Hello all. I've had a few crazy days and the ability to sit down and blog about my workouts was pretty limited. Now that all my commitments, etc are over for the last few days, I have a few minutes to get caught up. So, here's a quick update.

Friday was Legs and Back forme. I have always liked this workout. AsI mentioned many timesbefore, I was a soccer player and my legs have always been my strongestmuscle group. However, this week I decided to take it easy for the workout. I was committed to play in a soccer tournament on Saturday and didn't want to be too sore for the day long event. Got through the workout using body weight resistance only (no weights added). It was still a tough workout and was feeling it after! I also got through Ab Ripper with no fuss, taking less breaks and doing all reps. Progress is being made...

Saturday was supposed to be my Kenpo day. However, I never did it. That's because I spent all day playing in an indoor soccer tournament. I actually played on two different teams. One was in the Men's Open tournament (ages 18-whatever) and the other team was in the O-30 tournament. all teams are guaranteed 3 games and then more if you make the playoffs. both of my teams made the playoffs, so I was there for a while. We both ended up getting knocked out in the first round, but it still meant I played 8 games. By the end of the day I was wiped out. I figured I burned plenty of calories so I'm counting that as my workout!

Sunday was a much neeed rest day. Again, at some point I'm going to skip a rest day to have my weeks start on a Sunday, but not this week. I was so sore, bruised, and banged up, I needed today to recover. Spent thday up in Pennsylvania visiting my sister and her husband and then a quick stop over at my parents' house to let them give my kids their Easter baskets. So, I just got home a little bit ago and am finally able to post. I'm looing forward to feeling a little less sore tomorrow and "brining it" for chest and shoulders!!!

P90X Round 2 Day 11: Yoga (and a little more Shoulders and Arms)

Daily Workout Summary:

Because ofsome unforseen interruptions yesterday, I didn't complete the Shoulders and arms workout yesterday. I did some of it and then work isses arose and I had to bail and never finished. So today I doubled up. I re-did the entire shoulders and Arms workout in the early morning and then did Yoga after work.

I felt strong during the Shoulders and Arms workout. I was able to up some reps and some weight on a few exercises. I also completed all reps on all moves of Ab ripper with the least amount of breaks thus far this round of the "X".

Now, if any of you have read some of my older posts from my first time through the program, you would know that I hate YogaX. and really, nothing has changed. But I did the entire 92 minute workout today and survived. I still hate it, and am not sure I'll ever love it. But one thing that made it bearable today was listening to my own music. At least during some of the painful and/or boring parts I was able to listen to some music and forget about how much I hated what I was doing for a second. It really helped!

Diet:

I rebounded from yesterday with a better diet today. Breakfast was a proetein shake. Snack was a protein bar. Lunch was a small salad. Snack was a string cheese. Dinner was some grilled chicken and some salad.

Favorite Move of the Day:

Tree

I like the balance moves in the Yoga workout much more then the Warrior stuff. The warrior stuff is too repetitive and is just plain boring. The balance poses are different poses that work on both your balance and your core. Out of all of those, my favorite is Tree. Youbalance on one leg with the other leg folded inward and your ands up in the air. I can actually do this pretty well, so that' s pretty much why I like the move the best!

Soundtrack for the Day:

Jaco's Ladder- Huey Lewis & the News

I am a sucker for '80s music and one of my favorite bands from then was HLATN. This song hapened to shuffle on while I was working out and it kind of summed up how i feel about this P90X journey. I'm climbing and climbing and all I want is to get it better then today. And I do it step by step. Makes sense to me. And in that "spiritual" moment of clarity while doing Yoga, this song really seemed to hit home!

P90X Round 2 Day10: Shoulders and Arms (Sort of)

Daily Workout Summary:

Just a quick blastabout today's workout. I was all set to bring it when some things happened very late in the day with regards to work. By the time I finished dealing with the situation, I needed to leave for a soccer game. When I got back, I was able to get in some of the workout for today, but was interrupted by my wife and kids getting home. I had to cut out on the workout to have some "family time."

Because of this, I'm going to pull a sort of double tomorrow. I plan to finish the rest of the workout and Ab Ripper X in the early morning and then do Yoga at the end of the day to get caught up.

Diet:

Strange diet day today. I had an early OR case and didn't have my normal protein shake. I did manage to get some egg whites and turkey sausage at the Johns Hopkins Cafeteria, so I was still pretty healthy. But then I was stuck in cases and a dentist appointment with my wife. Therefore, I missed some of my mid morning and mid afternoon snack. Lunch was a slice of cheeze pizza (starving nd all that was around). Dinner was leftover baked chicken and peas from last night. Too light on prtein today and too heavy on carbs. must do better tomorrow!

P90X Round 2 Day 9: Intervals

Daily Workout Summary:

After listening to Jeff rave about how great the Intervals workout from P90X+ is, I decided to go ahead and give myself a refresher as well. Boy was that a mistake. Intervals kicked my butt! In fact, it ate me up, spit me out, and stood over me laughing.

This workout is short by P90X standards. It clocks in around 35-40 minutes. But it is non-stop with only one water break halfway through. You do 12 moves at varying degrees of intensity levels, and then you repeat in reverse order. There is everything from plyo to Kenpo in this and it is clearly the hardest workout of either series. I had to ake several breaks. I think it was a little ambitious of me to try this workout in week2. I should have help it for my recovery week when I was a little more fit. But it was a great workout nontheless.

Diet:

Decent diet today- though a little heavier on carbs then I wanted. Started off with a protein shake. Snack was a protein bar. Lunch was a turkey and chedder on wheat from Quiznos I forgot to put my fod in the cooler on the way out today so I only had my waters!). Snack was a hndfull of pine nuts. Dinner was some baked chicken and peas.

Favorite Move of the Day:

Jacks

The Jacks move is a killer. You start with 20 seconds ofhalf jacks (you don't bring your arms all the way up). Then 20 seconds of full on jacks at a good pace. Then the final 20 seconds you do the infamous "X" jacks from the Kenpo workout. I's a killer!

Soundtrack of Today:

I Wanna rock- Twisted Sister

I was really hurting during the workout today. I was having trouble keeping up, taking extra breaks, etc. But then this song came on in the mix and I was re-energized. Just something about this song that gets me going and puts a smile on my face. Is it wrong to be such a fan of '80s hair bands????

P90X Round 2 Day 8: Chest and Back

Daily Workout Summary:

I ultimately decided not to workout yesterday and to stay on the monday workout schedule for now. I was really sore yesterday and decided to listen to my body and give it a day of rest. As I get back into the groove I may ultimately decide to switch back to a Sunday start for the week. But as of now, I'm still on the regular schedule. As such, today was chest and back day.

I don't know what it is, but I was PUMPED today during the workout. I think a large part of how I'm feeling right now has to do with the upping of my Nitrix from 3 to 4 pills at a time as well as the addition of the Volumaize during the workouts. Whatever it is, it's working. I absolutely CRUSHED my workout today. I felt strong and really brought it hard.

I consider a workout crushed when I blow away reps from the previous week. In week 1 I did a total of 158 oushups (all push up moves combined) and 71 pull ups. this week, I did 198 push ups and 82 pull ups. Unbelievable! In fact, in the second round of the decline pushups, I did more reps then I did the first round! Amazing! Like I said, I think those supplements plus theCellMass andtheNOXplode are really helping me bring it right now!

I did ok on ab Ripper X as well. I was able to do all reps on all moves and cut down on the breaks. I'm still not where I want to be with Ab Ripper yet, but I'm making progress!

BLOG SIDE NOTE:

I have entered into an agreement with a company that writes software for tracking workouts. This company is called WorkoutSoft and they have written some really cool programs to help track your progress using P90X and P90X+. I placed a link to their site on the side of my blog. feel free to give it a click and browse what they have to offer. Or click here: http://workoutsoft.com/index.html

I downloaded my copy and will be entering in my information. I have promised them I would write a review of the software after I finish using it this round. So far, at first glance, it looks pretty cool. It provides some pretty insightful information and graphs regarding your progress. It even has a place for you to insert pictures! So far it passes the "look" test. I plan on getting up to speed and letting you know if it's any good.

The other cool thing is that if you decide to buy the software, if you go to their site through my blog you will get a discount. I'll have more details on this as I'm not sure if this will happen until after my review. But regardless, it's pretty cool!

Diet:

Decent diet day. Protein bar for breakfast. Snack was some turkey jerky. Lunch was some grilled chicken and broccoli. Snack was apiece of string cheese. Dinner will be some chicken on a bed of greens.

Favorite Move of the Day:

Military Push Up

I hate this move and love it. The close-in position of the arms really engages your triceps as well as your chest and gets the body hurting! In a good way of course. With the addition of push up bars, this move really works you and allows you to get really deep into the move. I brought it today and was able to really crank out some reps on this one!

Workout Song:

As I stated previously, I've begun listening to my own music during workouts. Todays workout can be summed up by the song of the day: B.Y.O.B. by System of a Down. If you have ever heard this song, it's pretty hard rocking and gets you head-banging! This song came on about halfway through the workout and I was bouncing my head to the beat and going crazy during the faster sections. I jusy felt like this song summed up my day amdwhat I felt like during the workout! Lots of crazy energy today!

P90X Round 2 Day 7: Rest Day

Today is supposed to be a scheduled rest day. However, I'm skipping it this week. I'm doing this because I generally like to have my off day be Saturday. When I started last week, I was still in Houston on Sunday coming back from visiting Jeff and Annie (Dangle The Carrot). So, I went ahead and started Monday. So, I'm going to skip the rest day and go ahead and do my workout later today to kick off week 2. Check back later to read my wrap up.

P90X Round 2 Day 6: Kenpo X

Daily Workout Summary:

Today ends week 1 of the program (again). It is the Kenpo workout. I've said this time and time again, but I just love this workout. It kicks your butt if you push yourself but it's so fun you don't realize how hard you are working! At the end of this workout, I'm always a sweaty mess.

I used the NOXplode again as well as the Volumaize with this workout. I finished all 20 oz of the Volumaize by halfway through the workout! The few weeks off due to my walking oneumonia seemed to have killed my cardio fitness much worse then my strength gains. I was STRUGGLING by the mid-point of this workout. But I just kept trying to push through and keep moving.I got my second an third wins and made it all the way through.

Diet:

Overall the diet went well today. Breakfast was a protein shake. Snack was turkey jerky. Lunch was some italian turkey sausage and a small salad. snack was a protein bar. Dinner was a personal pizza (wheat crust) with fat free cheese and turkey pepperoni.

Favorite Move of the Day:

Jab Cross Switch

Unlike many people out there, I like the punching moves more then the kicking moves in Kenpo. I just find it easier to bring more force and push myself on the punching type of moves. So this move, which is a simple 2 arm combo, is fun. Then to mae it harder, he has you jump in the air and switch your feet after every combination you throw. It takes the intensity to another level. I love this move and the one after it because of the switch part. It really pushes you- which is the point!

P90X Round 2 Day 5: Legs and Back

Daily Workout Summary:

Today was legs and back for me. I loved this workout during my first tour of duty on the X. However, when I recently started up again I pulled a muscle in my butt the first time out on this workout. so, after re-booting again aftermy recent illness, I was worried I may suffer another injury. Not to worry though- I made it through just fine.

I like working on my legs as these muscles have always been my best feature. So, when it comes to this workout, I have no trouble finding the motivation to "bring it". And I'm also really noticing a difference in my workouts now and I think a lot of it has to do with the supplements. The NOXplode is probably the best pre-workout drink I've used. Not only does it get me revved up, but it tastes great too. Also, the Volumaize during the workout I think is helping with myrecovery in between moves. But I think the biggest change is due to the Nitrix.

When I restarted last month, I was only taking CellMass and Nitrix. And I was only taking 3 Nitrix tablets at a time. The directions say if you weigh 200 lbs or more you need to take 4 each time. I'm right at 200, so I always took 3. but since the illness and my re-boot, I've been taking 4. And I think it's keeping me pretty pumped and helping with my performance.

Another thing I'm doing now is working out withthe videos in silence and cues mode. It only allows you to hear Tony talking as the build up to a move or when you change sides. I've been working out to my own music and it's been a very fun difference for me. I recommend it if you are starting to get bored with the videos.

Did fine with Ab Ripper X. I can still complete all reps on all moves. but I'm still having to take breaks that I didn't have to at the end of my first time through P90X. I can't wait to be that fit or better again!


Diet:

OK day for the diet program. Breakfast was two whole wheat waffles with sugar free syrup. Snack was a carb control protein shake. Lunch was some grilled chicken over greens. snack was a large strawberry banana Gladiator protein shake from smoothie King (Jeff's favorite). dinner wassome grilled chicken fajitas (minus the shells).

Favorite Move of the Day:

Switch Grip Pull Ups

This pull up is cool. It works you very hard and wears me out quickly. You do two standard pull ups. Then you switch to a reverse grip for two. Then you switch back, etc. It's good because it pretty much prevents you from cheating by getting help by rocking yourself up. Before you can really get your momentum going, you have to stop and switch. I think this is one of the top two most demanding oull ups in the entire P90X series.

P90X Round 2 Day 4: Cardio

Daily Workout Summary:

Today was supposed to be Yoga day. However, I had to work in the morning and in the afternoon I had to wait for the Direct TV guy to come (between 12-4). However, he didn't show until after 6pm! He got done around 7:30 (with the inside stuff), and I had a soccer game at 9. So instead of Yoga I went out and played soccer to get my cardio in today. I usually play in goal, but onight I played in the field and ran hard for 90 minutes. It felt good but I'm still sore from plyo the other day. this may help with that...or it may have made me more sore!

Diet:

Not too bad with the diet today. Breakfast was a whole wheat English Muffin with peanut butter. Snack was a protein shake. Lunch was half of a small personal pizza on a wheat crust with fat-free mozzarella and turkey pepperoni. Snack was a protein bar. Dinner was some sliced turkey over some lettuce and carrots.