Anti-day 77 (non-Kenpo) So I'm human...

Kenpo didn't happen today.  I took the day off to go to the zoo with the family and one activity led to another and the day finally ran out of steam with the only time to do the workout being right before bed.

I would probably not miss a resistance workout.  But Kenpo...well, its easy.  It doesn't really build anything except a little coordination and balance.  It burns about 700 calories, but I'm not looking to lose weight and I don't imagine I'll lose much cardio capacity by missing a day.

Besides, I am starting to think of the P90X workouts as being integrated into an everyday fitness routine...not just 90 days that reach some arbitrary goal.  I'll be continuing this indefinitely, so I'm not going to beat myself up about missing one day.

So far I've missed one stretch routine in week 8 and now one cardio routine in week 11.  I actually probably would have made this up if I hadn't pushed Legs/Back off one day and ended up with no extra day to play with.

Day 76 (Legs/Back) Finally...feeling/seeing changes

Finished Legs/Back today.  I've had steady but slow improvement on this routine from day one.  Once my balance improved, I think things started to really kick into gear.  I think this is the result of extra strength being added from just being more successful at balancing.  Balance lunges, super skaters, toe iso rolls...all can now be done with no help from hanging on to a chair.  And I think the improvement builds more improvement...the more I can balance, the more small muscles get exercises, the better I can balance, etc.  It has just taken a very long time to start to arrive here.  The only real problem is the deadlift squat (squatting on one leg and coming back up).  I did MUCH better at that one today, but once I start to wobble and get out of rhythm, I can't seem to get it back.

When I talk about feeling changes, I'm talking about pull ups and all the calf exercises.  Regarding the pullups...for the past 11 weeks, I've simply struggled just to pull myself up.  To be honest, I've never really felt this as a back exercise...it has always seemed all arms.  Well today I started to feel something different.  I guess my arms are now strong enough that there isn't so much of a struggle getting halfway up.  But during the last part of the motion, I can now feel the focus in my back...I can really push that part of my body and slowly bring myself up.  I'm not sure if it makes sense the way I'm talking about it.  Let me try to make it more clear...first I'm pulling up with my arms and then I can now feel my back take over and bring me the rest of the way up.  It now feels like I am using all the muscles I am supposed to.  And I'm seeing results.  Although I can do at least 8 of about any type of pull up right off the bat, I could never before do that many after being in the middle of a workout.  I am now approaching that.  And I owe it all to the chair.  By maxing out with the chair and then continuing for a total of 12-15 reps with the chair, I've really allowed myself to build up strength.  Before when I wasn't using the chair and maxing out at 3-4 reps, I was going nowhere.

Regarding feeling it in the calf muscles...all the stuff geared toward the calf would really only make the arches of my feet sore.  I never felt anything in the calf.  Now that has started to change.  I'm not sure if I am doing anything different, but today I was really able to focus on how my calf felt during the exercises.

OK, I'm going to be honest here...when it comes to the muscle, I don't know what the plural of calf is...calfs or calves. 

OK, now onto seeing changes.  I haven't mentioned this before because I didn't want to feel like I was searching for results.  But I can now see definite improvement in my abs.  There is no doubt.  And it isn't from weight loss because I am at the same weight I was when I started.  There is definite definition.  Not sure if it will show up on camera or not, but I can clearly see it.

Day 73,74 (Shoulders/Arms, Yoga) Sitting down...

So I’ve had my first experience losing an entire post after I wrote it…and then losing it again after I wrote it the second time.  Let’s see what happens this time…

Finished Shoulders/Arms on Saturday and Yoga on Sunday.  I was actually supposed to do Legs/Back yesterday (Monday) but you know what…I just didn’t feel like it.  So I used Monday for the day of rest with Legs/Back today (Tuesday) and Kenpo on Wednesday.  Then I’ll start the final week of resistance on Thursday.  Can you tell I’m getting a little burnt out.  Or maybe my luck has run out.  I’ve gotten through almost eleven weeks without any real crisis that has prevented a workout.  I’ve worked out through illness and vacation.  But other than that, the past eleven weeks have been pretty laid back.  Now life it getting busy again and I can see working out will have to be more flexible.  That will all be taken into account once I complete the 90 days and figure out exactly how I’m going to proceed.

Shoulders/Arms went pretty well.  As I mentioned before, I sat down during the exercises (like presses) where weight is above my head.  That took some strain off my back and allowed me to focus on proper form where it counts.  I’ve also learned to keep my body more stable in the exercises where I stand.  Before, I’d look down and see my knees and feet all over the place like an idiot.  Now I’m trying to concentrate on having a very stable foundation.  One thing is that I’ve somewhat peaked out on weight over the past few weeks.  Maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise.  I am setting my goal at 8-10 reps, but I don’t think I’m really gaining bulk or strength because I’m not eating more and gaining weight.  We’ll see what happens.

Yoga also went well…pretty comparable to last time.  Was able to do Warrior 3 (although wobbling) on the second side…the first side had some stumbles.  The same thing happened with prayer twist in a lunge…first side had tumbles but second side was good.  Still can’t look up in that prayer twist lunge, but I’m happy I can hold it.  Tree was stable.  Royal Dancer had some stumbles.  Standing Leg Extension had some stumbles.  I can do Crane twice for about 10 seconds.  I stop after that because of knee strain.  Everything else went well.  Still trying to get lower in the second round of side twists.

Day 71 (Chest/Back) Peaking out?

Ah, Chest and Back...where it all began.  This was the first workout of the whole program and it always makes be remember the first morning.  When I started, I was scared...SCARED.  Chest and Back is basically a ton of push ups and pull ups with three exercises that require weights.  I started with five pounds...FIVE!  That is how scared I was (I had never done free weights before).  Now those exercises are taking 40-50 pounds each and I would up it if I had the weights (which I'll have to get eventually).

Also when I started, all I had was a pull up bar that went in a doorway.  That was a disaster for someone of my height...very uncomfortable.  Add to that, I wasn't using a chair or any assist and I was killing myself to get 2-3 reps.  That went on for several weeks before I swallowed my pride and started using a chair in order to get at least 12 reps.  Now, I can at least start out with 8 reps without a chair (although I go way downhill further on into the workout).

The thing is that I'm starting to plateau.  I've reached somewhat of a max rep count that hasn't increased for several weeks.  It stands at about 20-25 push ups (depending on where I am in the workout) and around 12 pull ups (with and without the chair added).  It isn't for lack of effort...I am pushing myself until my arms literally won't work anymore.  Since the third week or so, I've been using push up bars and I've been playing around with forgetting about getting high reps and focusing on just going lower.  I'll admit that I haven't been going as low as I could.  Part of it has to do with the speed that is suggested.  They go so freaking fast on the DVD that it is hard to get low enough. 

However, most of this doesn't matter for this first 90 days.  Because of the P90X schedule, this is the last time I'll be doing this workout.  I won't see it again until the next round.

That's right...I've said it.  The next round of P90X.  But to be honest, there isn't anything really special about that.  I worked out before P90X and I knew I'd continue working out afterward.  I like the way the program is set up and it simply seems like a workout now...nothing magical or too hard.  Three days of resistance plus two days of cardio and a day of Yoga.  It seems like a reasonable schedule that should be effective.  I won't be looking for dramatic change...just simply to keep in really good shape and continuing to improve upon the routines and exercises.

Day 68,69 (Legs/Back, Kenpo)

So I went back to the normal schedule...Monday Legs/Back and Tuesday Kenpo.  No Core as my back didn't seem to like it.  Not sure when/if I'll try that again.

I surprised myself with Legs/Back this time.  I didn't have any problem with some exercises, specifically one legged wall squats.  My balance has also improved...barely needed any chair on the balance lunges (first exercise) and the toe iso rolls.  Actually, the only exercise that really kills me is the deadlift squats...where you are squatting on one leg.  That is a balance AND strength move and I lack in both.  I really struggled through those...wobbling all over the place and I know my form sucked.  I have a tendency to bend over instead of going straight down.  I get distracted by the pace of the DVD.  Next time I do this, I plan on pressing pause and really focusing on my form.

Legs and Back has really risen to the top (or should I say dropped to the bottom) of my least favorite workouts.  I say least favorite, but I can see how much these are helping me.  My knees and legs just keep improving.  So it is a love-hate type of thing.

I really could see an improvement in balance during Kenpo.  I was able to do front kick/back kick without even touching the ground with the kicking foot.  Kenpo isn't so bad...just fairly easy.  And perhaps I need "easy" once a week.  Kenpo is the only workout in which I feel energized throughout instead of wiped out.

Well, that wraps up 10 weeks.  Only two more weeks of resistance and then a "recovery" week.

Day 67 (Yoga) Getting better every time...

Completed Yoga today and performed better than I ever have.  I am beginning to see that statement on several workouts lately.  It is cool to start mastering some of this stuff.

First, I woke up late today.  Usually, I need to start workouts at 9AM on weekdays to get done in time for other activities.  Today, I didn't even wake up until after 9.  I wasn't sure how I was going to fit a 90 minute routine in and I kept putting it off.  I wasn't in the mood to spend 90 minutes exercises.  But finally a window opened that seemed to make sense and I finally pushed play on the DVD player.  Like most other days when I don't feel like working out, once I start the workout my attitude changes.

I was a little worried at first.  For some reason, I found myself kind of wobbly.  I almost fell backward out of Reverse Warrior.  That hasn't happened since I started P90X.  I thought that this was going to be a bad day.  But somehow everything got better.  I finished the whole right angle pose and grab thinking, that was WAY easy.  I still fell out of prayer twist in a lunge on the first side, but was able to keep it in the second side.  The massive improvement was in the Warrior 3 series.  I was able to get into Warrior 3 and hold it on both sides.  I wobbled around a bit, but I was able to stay up on one leg.  That is a first.  As I did last week, I used a "yoga block" (actually the box my weights came in) and was able to get reasonably respectfully through half moon and twisting half moon without bringing the back leg down.  The only problem was through the first series (with the right leg front) my leg burned out trying to come back into crescent pose at the end.

Another huge improvement was tree...I stayed in it without even wobbling on both legs.  The bad news is that I got overconfident and sucked at royal dancer...a pose I am usually decent at.  Standing leg extensions were rough too, but I am making small improvements.  I can do crane now for 10+ seconds but it puts a lot of strain on my wrists so I don't put a huge effort into it.  I have a lot more control in crane through and I can feel myself compensating and moving back and forth to stay up.

Nothing else really special to report.  My lower back felt better for a while after Yoga, but then felt worse through the day.  No modified routine this week...no Core!  Going back to Back/Legs tomorrow and Kenpo on Tuesday.  Once problem I am having is a little bit of what feels like tendinitis on the outsides of my ankles.  This happened a day after Legs/Back last Tuesday...perhaps from the calf raises.  Not sure, but it prevented me from going full out in one of the sitting hamstring stretches (where your foot is against your upper thigh as you bend over your leg).  My ankle felt a lot of strain and I couldn't stay in that position.  We'll see how that goes.

Day 66 (Back/Biceps) Injury II report!

Finished Back and Biceps...essentially a bunch of pull ups and curls.  I was able to increase weight on a number of exercises.  I may actually have to buy more weight...I am doing 50 pounds on lawnmowers and it isn't enough.

But I am feeling a lot of lower back strain.  I first felt this during my last Core workout last Monday.  There is an exercise where you mimic picking up an object on one side and setting it up on a shelf on the other over and over again.  I was feeling a little bit in my back during the exercise, but I attributed it to the normal "burn" you feel in muscles while doing a routine.  Well, perhaps you don't want that "burn" in your lower back.  I think I made it worse on Thursday doing tricep exercises.  I mentioned this on Thursday's blog (day 65) that there is no reason to stand during those exercises as it puts unnecessary strain on the back.

It isn't serious, but enough to make me sore quite a bit...and enough to say screw doing Core during the normal weeks.  I'm going back to the normal schedule of having Kenpo on there until my back feels better.