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)!