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 2: Plyometrics

Daily Workout Summary:

Today was the dreaded Plyometrics workout. This is always a butt-kicker. And while still recovering and with a 2 week lay off, it worked me over pretty good. As I sit here, a few hours later, I can feel myself getting sore already- never a good sign.

I worked out later n the day then I like. This actually forced me to eat dinner later, etc. I was just so busy with work that I did the best I could. I used the NOXplode again today- though I backed off on the number of scoops. Went with 2 today instead of 3. 3 caused me to have some issues falling asleep last night. But I still felt energized during the workout and was able to "bring it" as much as possible.

Diet:

Diet went pretty well today. Breakfast was a protein bar and an EAS Carb Control protein shake. Snack was a few pieces of turkey jerkey. Lunch was two veggie burgers topped with mustard. Snack was some pine nuts. Dinner was a turkey tenderlon and some corn and peas.

Favorite Move of the Day:

Lateral Leapfrog Squats

I love this move. It isn't all the challenging, but it's fun. To make it harder you really need to sit down deep into the squat while keeping your back straight. When i do this move it brings back my college lacrosse days when we used to have to practice moving our feet while playing defense and having to shuffle back and forth between cones. Fun times!

P90X Round 2 Day 9: Plyometrics

Daily Workout Summary: Today was "the Beast"! This thing always lives up to the hype as the "toughest" workout in the series. This is such a buttkicker. I don't care how fit you are, you WILL get a workout doing this.

I felt pretty good today. A lot of the soreness in my legs is subsiding, so I felt like I was able to bring it with a lot of intensity today. My issue is my knees (as usual). Right now both are acting up and I'm wearing small braces on both knees. I need to buy some better ones for a little more support and for a little less slippage. They keep falling down!

I kept up better this week then last. I'm still a far cry from round 1 when I was ripping this workout up, but I did much better then week 1. Slow and steady wins this race, so I need to stay focused on the small positives each week.

Diet: Today was a good diet day. Breakfast was a protein shake. snack was a protein bar. Lunch was two spicy black bean veggie burgers wih a little bit of mustard and a salad. Snack was an EAS CarbControl shake. dinner was a large salad with grilled chicken topped with some fat free chedder cheese and some lite Italian dressing.

Favorite Move of The Day: Hot Foot. This moves is tough. for those of you who aren't familiar with it, you hop on one foot for 30 seconds and make a + with each tap. For the first few seconds you don't think much of it. But by the 15 second mark, your calves are screaming and your ankle is begging you to stop. Then you do the other foot for 30 seconds. Good times! I brought it hard during this move. I like to try and stay on beat with the music and with Tony's little chant at the beginning. It always helps keep my mind off the pain in my legs!

P90X Round 2 Day 2: Plyometrics

Day Summary: Ovrall,today was hell. This is the toughest workout in the P90X program. Add he difficulty to my relative out-of-shapeness andthrow in some chronic knee issues, and you have a bad day all around! I gutted through it. Yet I could tell I lacked the explosiveness I used to have in my jumps, etc. This will come as I get back in shape. By week 3 I shouldbe rocking again. Also, I went out and got some new knee sleeves, so that should help too.

Diet: Pretty good day diet-wise. Breakfast was a protein shake (40 grams protein). Protein bar for snack (15 grams protein). Lunch was a grilled buffalo chicken salad with fat free ranch as well as an EAS Body for Life shake (17 grams protein in shake). Snack was some sliced turkey breast. Dinner was a grilled chicken salad with the lite Italian dressing (only 2 carbs in dressing). I had some blueberries and a banana for desert.

Move of the Day: Jump knee tuck. This is the hardest move in the plyo video. It's basically a knees-to-chest jump for 30 seconds. Tough! I hate Dom during this move when I'm out of shape. He jumps like a freakin' EnergizerBunny (non-stop and fast)! Ill be there again someday soon!

Round 2 Day 9: Plyometrics

Plyometrics day!!!!!!!! I hate it- but I love it!

This is week 2 of my second round of P90X. however, as I mentioned, I am also mixing in some of the P90X+ stuff for variety. So, last week, I swapped in the Intervqals workout for Plyo. This week, I took a ride on the BEAST!

Plyo chewed me up and spit me out today. I am positive that I will be sore tomorrow. It's been over a month since I've done this workout and my body wasn't used to it anymore. I was struggling wih things like t was my first time. But the good news is my fitness base is better so I was able to rcover quicker and complete each move (barely).

The jum knee tuck move is still the toughest thing in this workout. I used to be able to do double time the entire time. Today? not so much. But I kept up with Tony and the others (except jumping bean Dom!).

Back to the weights tomorrow!

Day 79- Plyometrics

Today was the last tango with the beast- Plyometrics.

I can't believe it's been almost 80 days. I meant to get this post up last night. But after pushing it hard in Plyos I ate dinner and fell asleep on my couch (I was exhausted).

Plyo kicked my butt Monday. It was tougher as I tried every advanced or extreme variation of every move. I was jumping and squatting all over my basement. Domininc had nothing on me( he's the leap-frog like guy on the video).

Did well on the diet. Stayed in range calorie wise and had a decent balance. Weight is still holding steady at 198.5lbs.

See you later!

Day 72- Plyometrics

Hello and thanks for reading! Today was the Plyometrics day and it was as good/bad as always. It's good because it is a tough workout that kicks your ass. It's bad because it's a tough workout that kicks your ass!

I had some Nano Vapor pre-workout to get my energy level up. I brought it hard during the workout. I got as deep into the squat moves as I could- pushing anf fighting to get evry inch I could. My knees are both bothering me still and I wore a brace on both for the workout. It helped a little, but I could feel the lack of stability, etc. But I did my best and forgot the rest!

Again, my favorite stuff is the sports-related moves. The lateral leapfrog squats are great because they are really similar to some of the defensive shuffle drills we used to do in college for lacrosse. And the monster truck tire moves are straight out of practice as well. Then throw in the bonus moves at the end (the pitch and catch, the jump shot, and the football hero) and you have all sorts of great sport-related moves to keep you going.

See you tomorrow for shoulders and arms.

Day 65- Plyometrics

First let me apoligize for the confusion of two posts today. Somehow, my post last ight got saved as a draft and never posted. So I just posted it! Now I'm doing Monday's write up.

Today was the"east" Plyometrics day. I love this workout. We used to do a lot of plyo training in high school and college for soccer, so this is always fun. I did well tonight. I tried to keep up with the one guy on the video named Dominic, who is like a frog. He has crazy hops and is always doing the advanced options for the moves. On the jump knee tucks (Tony calls this the "mother of all the plyo moves"), I was able to do the intesified version both times all the way through. Also, just for the record, on the second round of Rock Star hops, Dominic quits early! CHEATER!

Anyway, I did well today overall. I felt like I got really deep in all the squats and got a lot of air in all my jumps. In fact on the front to back spins, I was able to do the full 360 spin like Dominc was doing. I got a bit dizzy by the end, but it was fun to push it.

Diet went well. It was a challenge as I was in the OR for the entire day (8 am til 6 pm). I had a protein shake in the morning before Ileft. Then I brought two protein bars with me in my bag. I ate one for a mid morning snack. I had a tuna salad on whole wheat sandwich and a side salad with fat free ranch for lunch. I ate the other bar for afternoon sanck. AndI'm having filet for dinner. See you tomorrow!

Day 58- Plyometrics

Monday was plyo day. I got back late from Atlantic City and hadn't splet much. Not because I was up gambling and drinking, but because the guy I had to room with snored and talks in his sleep! I got no rest, so I struggled with the plyos.

Nothing major to report about the workout. It was nice to get back into some workouts with more intensity after the recovery week.

Tuesday I have a big soccer game with major playoff implications in my league. Combine that with a busy day and it means I may swap in Cardio X on Tuesday and then do the shoulders workout Wednesday.

Day 44- Plyometrics

Today was another day of going tow to toe with "the beast". Plyometrics was on the workout menu today. I took my scoop of Nano Vapor and went to dance with the devil.

I did well today. I felt very "springy" and tried to be as explosive as possible with my movements. I usually struggle with some of the run stance squat switch stuff, but did them well today. Hardest move for me is still the gap jumps- but only because the form is tricky- not the movement itself.

My favorite part of this workout is the bonus sports section at the end. I love the pitching stuff and the jump shot stuff. Those are real-world movments that I'm used to doing. So none of the "feel" like a workout- even though you are breathing really heavy if you push yourself.

Overall this is a tough but fun workout and I continue to enjoy it.

FYI, I'm down to 202 lbs now. That's an 11 pound loss. I'm loving this.....

Day 37- Plyometrics

Day 37 is Plyometrics day. This day is an all or nothing workout. You better be ready to bring it because this workout will kill you if you don't go "all in". You gotta push yourself and really break through the pain barrier. It burns- but the results are worth it.


I was still dragging from the lack of sleep over the weekend. I wasn't able to sleep in because I had a really early appointment for work a good 90 minutes from my house. So when I got home to start working out, I used the Nano Pump to get me ready. I should really call this Nano Crack because I swear to God it hit me like a freight train. I was bouncing off the walls.

I had a really great workout. I even turned my chair around on the leg over exercises to make myself have to swing higher. I double timed the high knee jump thngs both times through. And I really did well on the sideways squat jumps. Overall my best Plyo workout by far.

Day 30- Plyometrics

Today is Day 30- the Beast is BACK!

The plyo workout is by far the hardest workout of this program. For the first three weeks, I felt like I did well on this. This week- I think the rest week impacted me. I was actually very winded during this workout. It hit me hard for some reason. I really struggled with certain exercises for the first time.

Of particular difficulty this week were the switch foot 180 pickups. They just kicked my ass. I was gassed after them. I'm sure I will have a nice soreness in my legs and ass tomorrow!

Diet went well today. Breakfast was a protein shake. Morning snack was turkey jerkey. Lunch was a 6" turkey sub on whole wheat from subway (with spicy mustard and lettuce, salt, and pepper). Afternoon snack was recovery drink. And dinner was two grilled turkey burgers and a small garden salad.

I will be taking my 30 day pics tonight and hope to get them posted some time tomorrow. My wife (Danni) isn't home until pretty late, so I may not have time to download them until the morning.

Day 16- Plyometrics

The BEAST was unleashed today. Due to a fussy/sick child, I barely got two hours of sleep last night. Let me tell you what- two hours of sleep is NOT a recommended amount of rest to try and tackle the Plyometric workout.

I did the best I could, but I was sucking wind and out of breath after the first set. I struggled all day, but still managed to do 90% of the stuff without it being modified. I had to modify a few moves. I still really hate the Rock Star Kicks. But my coordination on the creek gap jump move is much better.

Overall, I sweated my ass off, burned some calories, and worked my core and legs off. Every step is a step towards a new me.

Diet is going ok today. I had a protein shake for breakfast. A protein bar for snack. Some left over beef tips and broccali stir fry over brown rice for lunch. I'll be having a cheese stick for snack. And a small grileld chicken topped romaine salad for dinner.

Day 9- Plyometrics

Day 9 is here and I BROUGHT IT! Yep, the "beast" that is known as the plyometrics workout came around again. This time I was much more comfortable with it as I had been through it once before and now knew all the different movements. It was a lot of fun!

Seriously, some people really hate this workout, but I love it. It hurts but in a really good way. I used to do a lot of this type of training in high school and college for soccer, so I'm fine with it. I'm sure I'll be sore again tomorrow, but I really had a blast. I really tried to push myself this time. In fact, I was working so hard I got lightheaded twice and almost vomited once. But I held it together and kept going. I feel great right now!

Diet is back on track. I had two whole wheat english muffins with peanut butter for breakfast. A banana for snack. Some chicken salad for lunch. A cheese stick and 5 slices of turkey pepperoni for snack and then for dinner I'm going to have some shrimp stir fry.

I'm really enjoying the program this week. I really feel tighter and stronger and feel full of energy. So far, I'd rate the program as an "A".

Day Two

Day two is in the books! Today was the Plyometric workout. Affectionately known as "The Beast" it sure lived up to his name! My thighs are still burning as I write this, hours after I finished.

Ate pretty well today. Protein shake with strawberries and a banana. Protein bar for snack. Leftovers from last night's dinner for lunch. Two string cheese sticks for snack. And some salmon followed by a bowl of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries for dinner.

I'll be posting my "before" photos soon as well.