Day 364 - Run & Chest + Back + Balance

I got out for a run during lunch today and it was a bit of a challenge because the walking path in the park was covered with ice, so I decided to run on the road.  That worked fine except that it was only 32 degrees outside and there were a lot hills, so I was breathing in a lot of very cold air.  I got in about a 3 mile run.  Tonight I decided to just do Chest + Back + Balance and save Ab Ripper until tomorrow morning since I'm off for New Years.  I'll then do Plyocide later in the afternoon.

Interestingly enough I was perusing YouTube today and I came across a video from John Schneider (You know, the actor from the Dukes of Hazard) where he shows how P90X and P90X2 helped him to get into shape.  Turns out he's a Beachbody coach.  Very cool.  I am constantly amazed at how many people have benefit from these Beachbody workout programs. 

Day 363 - Rest Day

Feeling some soreness today, so I guess the workouts over the last couple of days have been working.  Eating is going well despite all of the sweet things floating around the house right now.  I'm looking forward to getting back to phase 2 starting tomorrow.

Day 362 - P.A.P. Upper

Today I was at the grocery store and I decided to pick up a couple of things that I've been wanting to try.  I got a carton of egg whites and a half gallon of almond milk (unsweetened).  Tonight for dinner I made up some of the egg whites with onions and peppers and mixed in some salsa.  Delicious and high in protein without all of the negatives with egg yolks.  The almond milk is okay, but it doesn't seem to be that much more beneficial compared to 1% milk, so not sure I want to keep getting that.

The workout tonight went well.  I got it done early and it felt good.  I still hate Superman with weight, but otherwise I like the workout.

Day 361 - P.A.P. Lower & X2 Ab Ripper

Just Finished PAP Lower. I finally moved up from 20 to 25 lb. dumbbells for step up convicts and I know I'm going to feel it tomorrow in the legs. That's 50 lbs. total (or to put that into perspective - more than a third of my body weight). Ouch. I also threw in X2 Ab Ripper for the fun of it tonight and I have to say it was not feeling fun by the time I got done. I just bought a couple of sport coats today and I'm wearing a 38 short, but I noticed that the chest and arms seemed a bit snug, so minor alterations needed.  Woohoo.

Day 360 - Rest Day (not)

Tonight I was invited to go to a local gym with a friend to try a group circuit training workout.  It was fund to try something different on my night off from P90X2.  It involved some strength, stability and cardio moves all mixed together, so it was kind of an intro version of Base & Back.  I had a good time.  I was able to do pretty well to resist some very tasty looking cookies today that were brought in by a co-worker.  I had only one small cookie so as to not hurt their feelings.  It was amazing and I'm pretty happy with myself that I stopped at just one.  I weighed in this morning and I'm back up to 139, but pants are still fitting nice and loose, so I'm reasonably confident that it's not fat that I'm putting on.  I'm looking forward to getting back to PAP Lower tomorrow night.

Day 359 - X2 Yoga

I got a late start on the workout tonight because we had dinner over at Eli's family.  We had a great time, but the meal was also not exactly in line with my normal menu.  Baked Ziti with cheese.  Also has some really tasty salad and then gave in and had a bit of ice cream for dessert.  Thankfully I got a workout in tonight or I would really feel like a sloth.  Tomorrow night I'm going to meet Stacy at the gym to have a workout with her coach to get an idea of what they do there.  Not a bad way to spend my rest night.

Day 358 (ONE YEAR DONE) - P.A.P. Upper

Well, today officially marks the one year mark.  It's not day 365 because I had to take a week off early on while I recovered from a minor surgery.  Other than that I've been devoted to putting in the required workouts every single day without exception and the results have been amazing.

As far at eating goes today it's been okay considering it's Christmas Day.  For Christmas I got a couple of things to help me with my future workouts.  I got to use the chin-up bar today for towel pull-ups and it was really nice.

Day 357 (Start of week 52) - P.A.P. Lower

The workout went well tonight.  I think it's time for me to consider moving up from 20 to 25 lbs for the step up convicts.  By the fourth round I was feeling it, but not nearly as much as I have in the past.  I was considering going for a run tomorrow, but I just looked out the window and it seems we're going to have a white Christmas.  Eating is going well.  I've decided that I want to try to work a bit of protein powder in before the workout to keep me going throughout the workout.  I took one scoop about an hour before and it seems to have helped.

Day 356 - Rest Day

It's Sunday again and that means a true rest day.  I went to church in Pottstown with Dad again today and then took him out to lunch at Friendly's after church.  I had a pretty healthy chicken breast sandwich and side salad.  While at church I was a bit surprised to hear from a couple of people that I need to stop losing weight.  Surprising because I've kept my weight pretty steady now for months.  I suppose fat is the preferred "look" for some people.  I definitely do want to make sure not to lose too much more in terms of inches because I think my current size is good, so I continue to try to add some muscle by including more protein and focusing on the muscle building aspects of workouts.

Day 355 - Base + Back & X2 Ab Ripper

The workout today started out well.  I did really well in the first half of Back + Base, but quickly ran out of steam in the second half.  I slowed the pace and got through it well, but I could feel my stamina failing more than normal.  I suspect I didn't eat enough before the workout to keep me going throughout.  Ab Ripper went well, but I didn't do it with the same intensity as earlier this week.  Next week it's back to phase 3 for a week.

Day 354 - X2 Ab Ripper & X2 Yoga

 

I started off the day doing X2 Ab Ripper since I didn't do it yesterday.  I was able to get through most of the Ab Ripper workout without having to modify at all.  Tonight yoga was really good.  The video above is my best attempt to imitate Today doing leg extensions while in crane.  Yoga is awesome.

Day 353 - Run & X2 Shoulders + Arms

I started the day off with a run in the very brisk morning air.  It was only 34 degrees out when I went for the run, but the nice thing was that the trail was pretty empty.  Tonight I did Shoulders + Arms, but held off on Ab Ripper because I plan to do that in the morning tomorrow and still do yoga in the afternoon.  That allows me to be a bit more balanced since I did the run today.  Eating is going well so far today.  Breakfast was a banana, protein bar, two hard boiled eggs and a small apple.  Lunch was Turkey breast meat in a wrap with lettuce and Italian dressing along with some pretzel sticks.  Tonight for dinner it's baked chicken and some white rice and broccoli.

Day 352 - Rest Day

No workouts today.  I enjoyed the day getting ready for Christmas by wrapping presents, putting up the tree and decorating it with the kids.  I had hoped to go for a run, but had to go into work to pick up a package and then lost the desire to run when it got to be later.  That's okay, it's a rest day today, so I enjoyed resting and I plan to hit it hard again tomorrow. 

Day 351 - Plyocide

Busy night tonight, so I had to do Plyocide with no breaks.  Actually I didn't need any extra breaks anyway, so not a big deal.  Tomorrow I'm off from work, so I'm hoping to go for a run at some point if weather cooperates.  I've been doing a good job with eating so far today.  I'm feeling good.

Day 350 (Start of week 51) - X2 Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

I was struggling to be motivated to get through the workout tonight, but I made it through the workout and I'm very glad that I didn't give in the the temptation to cut it short.  10 hours in the car yesterday and getting up at 5 AM this morning was likely the reason for the lack of motivation, but it didn't stop me tonight and I'm pretty proud of that.

Day 349 - Rest Day

I spent the day in the car today going to pick Nicole up for her winter break.  I did pretty well on eating all day until we stopped for dinner at the rest stop.  The choice there were Popeye's chicken, Burger King and Nathan's hotdogs.  Nicole wanted Burger King so I got the Chicken Club sandwich and some fries and ate a little over half before deciding that was enough of that junk.  I stayed within calories today, but my protein level is down a lot today.  Tomorrow it's back to eating healthy all day.

Day 348 - Base + Back & X2 Ab Ripper

Such a good challenging workout.  I appreciated the difficulty of it today.  I took a few extra breaks throughout the routine as usual and it helped me to increase reps on a couple of the chin-ups.  Ab Ripper felt good as well because I pushed myself more than I normally do after this tough Base + Back workout.  Eating is going well so far today, but it's still early :-)

Day 347 - X2 Yoga

I was up really early this morning (5 AM) to take Kristi to the airport, so by the time I got home I was pretty tired.  I took a short nap, ate some dinner and then did my yoga.  It went well and flew by really quickly.  I'm still pretty tired so it's off the bed early tonight.

Day 346 - X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper

I went for a 5K run during lunch today.  I set a good fast pace (for me) of 8:30 per mile average. I felt a bit tired tonight when I did my workout, but was able to get through it okay.  Some of the reps with the 30 pound dumbbells were a bit tough.  I'm looking forward to doing phase 2 again next week to get more muscle building work in.  I did pretty well with eating today which is important because I ended up the day yesterday about 300 calories over where I am normally at.  Today was better and I got more protein in today.

Day 345 - Rest Day

Today was a rest day for me so I decided to do a first review of Insanity the Asylum Volume 2.  Wow, that's a lot of different moves to memorize.  That's going to take some time to get all of those moves down.  I definitely need the agility ladder before dong a lot with trying learn the moves because a lot of the workout requires it.  I have that and the chin-up bar on my Christmas list.  Tomorrow I hope to go for a run at lunch and then do Shoulders and Arms at night, so I'm glad I didn't do much tonight.

Day 344 - Plyocide

Another good workout is in the books.  Plyocide really isn't that bad for me any more.  Thankfully.  I guess I'm starting to look forward to the new challenge of Asylum Vol. 2.  My only concern is that I may end up losing some muscle if I'm away from X2 Phase 2 for too long.  We'll see.  Depends on how much Asylum involves weights.  I'm hoping to do a first preview of it tomorrow night during my Rest Day. 

Today I was faced with lots of temptations at work.  There was a dessert bar set up by the office company and people are starting to bring in lots of sweets like brownies etc.  So far so good with resisting.

Day 343 (Start of week 50) - Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

It's back to phase 2 this week and I'm glad because being away from phase 2 causes me to struggle when I get back to it.  My elbow is still hurting a bit, so I was a bit careful going through the pushups tonight, but it went okay.  I can tell I need to spend a couple of weeks in a row again on phase 2 because keeping up with the reps from 2 weeks ago was more of a challenge than it should have been,  Phase 3 just doesn't include enough of a workout for chest to keep the muscle that you get from phase 2.  Eating today is going well.  My protein is way up and I'm doing well on calories.

Day 342 - Rest Day

It's Sunday again and I had a nice day at church and then taking my Dad out to lunch.  I splurged a bit today and had some ice cream for dessert after lunch.  That put me over on calories today, so I need to be a bit careful in coming days to not make it a habit.  Tomorrow it's back to phase 2 workouts.

Day 341 - Run & P.A.P. Upper

I got out for a run this morning.  I only did 5K, but this is the second run for this week, so I'm not too upset about doing a shorter distance.  I didn't time myself, but I know I went at a quicker pace today because I kept my heart rate up higher throughout the run.  P.A.P. Upper went well tonight.  As usual, superman was brutal, but I also got a lot out of plank on a Med ball.  Tomorrow is a welcome rest day.

Day 340 - X2 Ab Ripper & P.A.P. Lower

I had the day off from work today and I didn't have much planned, so I decided to start the day off with Ab Ripper.  I just finished my P.A.P. Lower workout and it's only 3:30, so it's been a productive workout day.  Tomorrow morning I'm either going to go for a run or play some basketball (depends on the weather).  I keep wondering if I'm going to tire of this program, but so far it's not happening.  Thankfully.

Day 339 - Rest day

I was hoping to maybe spend some time tonight becoming familiar with the Asylum program on my night off tonight, but I had a Christmas party for work and then had to take a car in for repair etc, so I think I will just enjoy my rest night tonight and then get back to working out hard tomorrow.  I was pretty happy about my eating at the Christmas party.  No sweets at all.  I stuck to some Turkey, Ham, fruit and a bit of cheese.  Not bad at all.  I'm within my calories for the day again today. 

Day 338 - X2 Yoga & Run

I went for a 5K run during lunch and then did Yoga tonight, so my legs are feeling it right now.  I did okay on eating today. I stayed within my calorie limit, which was not easy considering Kristi made Mexican for dinner (Tacos and Burritos with hamburger and beans and Mexican rice).  It was really tasty, but not exactly very healthy and it was pretty heavy on calories.  So much for having snacks tonight.  That's okay, because I started yoga a bit later than normal, so by this time it is now getting pretty late anyway.  My goal tonight with Yoga was to work up a good sweat and I did an okay job of it.  I pushed myself during the strenuous parts and I could feel it making a difference.  Tomorrow is out company Christmas party after work, so I need to be especially careful about eating tomorrow.  This time of year can be so difficult to control the eating, but I have no plans to sacrifice all of my hard work at this point.

Day 337 - P.A.P. Upper

I enjoyed the workout tonight.  It was short, but intense and I did a good job with the towel pull-ups.  I continue to feel the need to eat more than 2200 calories.  I'm not adding inches or weight, so I'm okay with the calorie increase so far.  I continue to try to make sure it's healthy foods like protein, vegetables, fruits and grains.  Today was 2300 calories, so not a lot of a stretch above my normal goal of 2200.  The other things I'm realizing is that my heart rate is now lower than when I started P90X2.  Tonight I was in the 120-130 range after cardio moves instead of a heart rate of 140-150 before.  I'm definitely not getting winded as quickly as I used to (except when I do Back & Base because that is one nasty workout).

Day 336 - P.A.P. Lower

I started out planning to do Chest & Back and Balance, but while I was warming up I realized that my shoulder was giving me some issues, so I decided to switch plans and do phase 3 this week, so I did P.A.P. Lower.  If time allows I am hoping to go for a run during lunch tomorrow.  Yesterday I was pretty heavy on calories, so I'm trying to reign it back in today.

Day 335 - Rest Day

As usual I did not workout today since it's Sunday, but what is a bit different is that I didn't go to church today because a group of about 20 people from church all went up to Brooklyn to help people that are still trying to recover from Hurricane Sandy.  We spent the day doing things like ripping down ceiling drywall, carrying wet books out of basements and ripping up old wet carpeting.  It was humbling to see how much help is still needed up there.  Tomorrow it's right back to working out again.

Day 334 - Base + Back & X2 Ab Ripper & Run

I started the day out with a 4 mile run.  I didn't go at a fast pace, but got a good workout from it to start the day.  As usual Base + Back kicked my butt.  My right leg started to cramp up some during Ab Ripper because the legs were screaming from Base + Back.  Maybe did a bit too much all in one day, but I definitely can't say that I didn't bring it today.  Calories are up some today, but I figure I'm burning more than normal today, so probably not a huge deal.

Day 333 - X2 Yoga

Love it.  Love it.  As always I really enjoyed my Yoga workout tonight. It seemed like most of the moves were not overly challenging for me, so I guess I'm continuing to get a bit better at it.  Tonight I even worked on transition from Crane into a hand stand.  I'm not there yet, but I did a bit better than I expected, so I'm hopeful that I will eventually get it. I haven't been able to get a run in yet this week, so I'm hoping to maybe go tomorrow morning if the temp allows it.  Today I ordered an UnderArmour top so that I can get out and run in cooler weather.

Day 332 - X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper

Shoulders and Arms was a bit tough tonight.  I tried to make sure to hold good form throughout reps which meant a few less reps, but less chance of straining a muscle (which is good).  I really focused on muscle isolation during Ab Ripper and felt the difference from doing a bit more than usual.  Abs are feeling tight tonight.  I'm doing very well on eating today.

Day 331 - Plyocide

Feeling good after that workout.  I didn't add in any extra breaks and I did a good job of keeping up the pace throughout.  I worked up a good sweat.  I really am starting to enjoy this workout.

Day 330 - Rest Day

Well, I had things to do this evening that kept me from being able to workout, so my rest day comes early this week, but that just means "no more breaks for me".  Eating well today and looking forward to Plyocide tomorrow night.

Day 329 (Start of week 48) - X2 Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

One month to go until I hit one year.  The workout tonight was good, but challenging.  I enjoyed taking my time to try to get the most out of it.  It's hard to believe that a year ago I was more than 50 pounds heavier than I am now.  I weighed in this morning at 137.

Day 328 - Rest Day

I just woke up from a nap on this awesome rest day.  Church this morning, watching football and a nap in the afternoon.  Perfect.

Day 327 - P.A.P. Lower

Going into the workout tonight I knew I was in for a challenge because my legs were still feeling the effects of the run from yesterday.  By the time I was done tonight my legs were screaming bloody murder, but I got through the workout.  Next week it's back to phase 2 for a week after a nice rest day tomorrow.

Day 326 - P.A.P. Upper

Well, today was definitely not a rest day.  I started to day with a 4 mile run and then did P.A.P. Upper.  I decided to do Upper because I didn't want to overdo it with the legs after the run, so I'll do Lower tomorrow.  I really felt it doing Upper today.  Abs and arms were screaming, but I guess that's a good thing.  I wore my size 29" pants yesterday and they fit great, so I'm pretty happy about the fact that the transformation continues.  Fortunately my weight is not decreasing, so that means I'm increasing muscle mass.  This program rocks.

Day 325 - Rest Day

Happy Thanksgiving.  I played some football this morning with the gang from church.  I had a great time and didn't get hurt, so I'm happy.  My only other goal for the rest of the day has been to not overeat too much.  I went over my calories a bit, but not by that much considering I got to enjoy a fabulous dinner including pumpkin pie.  Tomorrow it's back to working out and eating right.

Day 324 - X2 Yoga

I got out for a run at lunch today and ran 3.5 miles.  I didn't time it since my main goal was to just enjoy the run.  It was really nice weather, so it was great.

Tonight I did my X2 Yoga and it helped with my legs after the run today.  Eating was okay today, but we had hamburgers tonight for dinner.  It;s been a while since I had a hamburger and I enjoyed it, but that put a hit on the calories today, so I had to scale back on other eating after dinner.

Day 323 - P.A.P. Upper

Another good workout is in the books.  I can tell that my continued devotion to working out is paying off because the workouts are getting to be easier over time.  I really focused on the moves today and felt it a lot especially during the Plank on a Med ball.

I weighed in this morning and I'm at 140 according to my scale.  That's a couple of pounds more than before, but my waist size continues to stay stable (actually even decreased to 29" now), so I'm not concerned by the couple of extra pounds.  I suppose it means an increase in muscle mass or a host of other things that can contribute. 

Day 322 (Startof week 47) - P.A.P. Lower

Aint no thing.  I didn't need any extra breaks tonight and the workout felt pretty good.  I brought it a bit harder than normal, so progress continues.  I got plenty of protein today as well, so recovery should be okay.  I'm hoping to get out for a run twice this week to help with the cardio since I need the help in order to prepare for Asylum after January.  I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Day 321 - Rest Day

As usual, it's a rest day today since it's Sunday.  I took my Dad to church and now am enjoying watching the Eagles game on TV and taking a bit of a nap. 

Day 320 - Base + Back & X2 Ab ripper

I played some basketball this morning, but that really wasn't much of a workout.  It used to be, but at this point running up and down a half court gym isn't really much of a challenge.  As usual, Base + Back kicked my butt.  That mixed with Ab Ripper really took the starch out of me today.  But, no pain, no gain.  Nicole will be home from UConn this week for Thanksgiving break, so I'm hoping we can go indoor rock climbing sometime during the week. 

Day 319 - X2 Yoga

Well, another enjoyable evening of folding myself up like a pretzel.  Ha.  X2 Yoga is awesome.

I bought a pair of pants today and they are size 29 waist.  Hard to believe I'm down 8 inches since starting.  I think the last time I fit into 29 inch pants was when I was in college.

I also had my Dr. Appt. today for my blood pressure medication re-check and he is suggesting I monitor my blood pressure to see if I may be able to get off of it since I'm getting down to numbers like 118/65 at times.

I was hoping to go for a run today as well, but I got too busy at work and then by the time I was able to go for a run it was getting dark already.  Oh well, I'm looking forward to some basketball in the morning.

Day 318 - X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper

Well, I learned yet another valuable lesson tonight.  I was using the 30 lb. dumbbells for the Arnold presses and was having to lean to get the last few reps in and I strained my lower back as a result.  Luckily it's not so bad that I couldn't finish my workout or anything like that, but it really helped to remind that form is important.  Tomorrow I go to my doctor for my medication re-check so I'll be able to get a more accurate idea of my weight (clothed and after eating, but still helpful).  According to my scale I'm still at 138, so holding steady at 50 lbs. less than when I started this blog almost a year ago now.

Day 317 - Rest Day

I enjoyed a night off from working out tonight.  I attended my son's Scout court of honor where he received his Eagle Scout award.  It was a privilege to be there.  It will be back to working out tomorrow.  It was not easy to eat well today.  We had a potluck lunch today at work and then lots of snacks after the court of honor.  I did pretty well considering.

Day 316 - Plyocide

I had a good workout tonight.  Not much to report other than a whole lot of sweating going on.  I'm getting pretty used to this workout now, so it's not really that bad.  Lunch was pretty big because it was served as part of a meeting I was in, so dinner was just some eggs and a piece of toast. 

Day 315 (Start of week 46) - Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

Good workout tonight.  I got a bit of a late start, but I didn't rush through the workout.  I took my time and got a lot out of it.  I got another compliment from someone that I haven't seen for a long time.  I guess the changes are somewhat noticeable at this point.  I'm glad people aren't saying something like "do you feel okay?".  It's usually compliments like "You look great".  Very encouraging.

Day 314 - Rest Day

I'm having a nice relaxing day today after getting home from church.  My only plans for this afternoon are taking a nap and watching the Eagles game.  On Monday it's back to Phase 2.

Day 313 - P.A.P. Upper

I had to take my Dad to a Memorial service for a friend of the family tonight and I didn't get home until about 8:30, so I was debating whether I should workout or not.  I started to rationalize that since I already did 5 workouts this week that it would be okay to take today off.  After sitting there for a while I started to feel like I was slacking, so I decided to get the workout done.  Now that I've finished I am very glad that I did.  I feel good.  The other good news is that I ate pretty well today.  I tried on some pants today.  The smallest size they had were 30" waist and they were a bit big, so I was out of luck.  Luckily not all 30" waist pants run that big, but it is getting hard to find pants in my size.

Day 312 - P.A.P. Lower

I went for a 5k run during lunch today.  I didn't time myself since I couldn't locate my ear buds and didn't want to carry my phone if I wasn't able to listen to music.  So, I just enjoyed the peace and quiet of a run around the park on a fairly brisk day.  There were only a few people out on the path, so it was nice.  My legs felt a bit like lead weights after the workout last night, so my pace wasn't great.  But, it felt good to get the run in for the week.  I need to consider how I will replace running once the weather turns colder.  Maybe a gym membership.

P.A.P. Lower tonight was a bit tough because my legs were like Jello from running.  I got through it, but I think I'm going to pay tomorrow.   Luckily no basketball tomorrow.

Day 311 - X2 Total Body & X2 Ab Ripper

Tonight is supposed to be a Recovery & Mobility night for me, but since I'm doing X2 Phase 3 this week I thought it would be nice to get a workout in that works the core some.  Earlier today I was looking back through the blog to the first few weeks of doing X2 back in December & January and I started to feel nostalgic, so I decided tonight I would go back and do a workout from phase 1.  I decided on the Day 4 workout (X2 Total Body & X2 Ab Ripper).  I even broke out the old worksheets from when I last did it in January so that I could compare my reps and weight and I had a great time.  Two realizations came from this:
1) I have progressed quite a bit in my abilities since January
2) Phase 1 still has some good challenging moves as long as I increase weight and reps
I've decided that I need to find a way to get phase 1 back into the mix on occasion because I got a lot out of the workout tonight.

Day 310 - X2 Yoga

I really enjoyed the workout tonight.  I went into it with the goal to just enjoy the overall experience of doing the workout and not worry about form or how much time was left etc.  It was really nice to just "enjoy the journey".  My hamstrings were really tight, but my muscles are recovering from the workouts I did on Monday and yesterday.  Less soreness.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day and the weather won't let me run, so I'm hoping to do something (maybe Ab Ripper).

Day 309 - P.A.P. Upper

Ouch, my glutes hurt after the lower body workout from last night.  I'm glad I've decided to get back into switching between phase 2 and phase 3 for the remainder of this year.  Including more of Phase 3 should also help me better prepare for Insanity: The Asylum 2.

Eating was not great today because I decided to be involved in a group at work that ordered some wings for lunch to celebrate it being voting day.  I only had 5 pieces, but that's still about 500 calories from almost nothing.  Oh well, every day can't be perfect.  Dinner was also not exactly healthy, but I don't control that.

Day 308 (Start of week 45) - P.A.P. Lower

I decided to get back to alternating between phase 2 and phase 3 so that I can better prepare for Insanity the Asylum vol 2.  The workout tonight went pretty well.  The only extra breaks I took was in the last two rounds of the second half right before doing side bridge leg lift.  I probably could have skipped the extra breaks, but I like a bit of a breather before that leg lift.  Everything else was pretty good.

I weighed myself today and I'm back down to 137, so recovery from the vacation didn't take long.  In fact I heard from a co-worker today that I need to buy some new pants that fit because my Khaki's are too big.  They are size 30, but I noticed the same thing.  Too much material in the backside area.  I don't have much of a "caboose" any more.

Day 307 - Rest Day

Once again having a nice Sunday by going out to lunch with my Dad.  No workouts today, but I'm eating right and giving my body a chance to recover.  I got over 10 hours of sleep last night, so really enjoying the chance to rest and get ready for another busy week.

Day 306 - Base + Back & X2 Ab Ripper

I started off the day playing an hour of basketball.  Not terribly strenuous because it's a half-size court.  We had our main dinner at 1PM today, so I decided to workout before eating.  As usual, Base + Back is a brutal workout, but I got through it okay.  By the time I got to Ab Ripper my legs were pretty much shot from running and yoga yesterday and basketball and the cardio portion of Base + Back.  I got through most of it, but was not able to do Abrinome because my left quad was cramping. I modified and did some leg lifts instead.  I sure am grateful that tomorrow is a rest day.

Day 305 - Run & X2 Yoga

I went for a run today during lunch and got in 5k in 26:51 which is a new best time for me.  It was only about 45 degrees out, so I wasn't exactly sweating a whole lot by the time I was done. I was going to use my heart rate monitor, but it appear the headphone pass through doesn't work well since it only gives me music from one side, so I had to abandon that idea and just use the running app.

Tonight I did my X2 Yoga workout and felt the burn.  I also have some sore muscles from shoulders & arms last night, so I know it was working.  Very good workout day.  I also did well at eating today, so I'm making up for the indulgence last week.

Day 304 - Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper

I finally got some 30 pound dumbbells and was able to put them to use tonight.  It was nice because with 25 I was having to do too many reps to get results for some of the moves.  I was feeling it by the time I was done.  Also, I determined to really put the effort in on Ab Ripper tonight (no slacking) and it paid off.  I could feel my abs burning throughout the workout.  I got a wireless heart rate monitor in the mail today and got it hooked up to the app I use on my iPhone called Runtastic, so I'm looking forward to trying it tomorrow during lunch.  I didn't run today because I needed to run out to get Kristi her birthday present from me.  So, plan is to run at lunch and then do Yoga tomorrow night.  Should be another good workout day.

Day 303 - Rest Day

It's a rest day and I'm using it because the last two days have made me a bit sore.  Also, I had to take my son out to get birthday presents for my wife.  Tomorrow it's back at it.  Also, tonight I went out and got 30 lb. dumbbells, so looking forward to putting them to use tomorrow night.  I was hoping to run during lunch today, but it was too cold out (low 40's).  Maybe tomorrow if time allows.

Day 302 - Plyocide

The pain of getting back into workout mode continues.  I had to take a couple of extra breaks during the workout today, but I put the effort into the workout and had the sweat dripping off of me to prove it.  Many muscle are sore from last night's workout, so that goes to show you that even a short break can make a big difference.  Hopefully I work be taking too many more week-long breaks.  It's too difficult to get back into the groove.  Depending on the weather and how my legs feel I may go for a run tomorrow during lunch.  We'll see.

Day 301 (Start of week 44) - X2 Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

Wow, I can tell it's been two weeks since I did phase 2.  That along with having a week off from working out results in me really struggling through the workout tonight, but I got through it and the reps didn't fall off by too much and I feel pretty good.  I'm back to eating right as well, so hopefully I can get back in shape pretty quickly. 

Days 294-300 - Myrtle Beach trip

I just got back from my trip to Myrtle Beach where I spent 4 wonderful days golfing with my brother and some friends from Utah.  I ate way too much and the only workout I got was golfing 36 holes of golf per day.  I can tell I've put on a few pounds, so I need to get back to my routine of working out and eating better.  Time to get back to work.

Day 293 - Rest Day

It's good that it's a rest day today because this annoying cold kept me from sleeping last night.  It's not a serious cold so far, but it's enough to be annoying.  I'm pretty much just resting all day today to see if I can get back to strength for starting my drive to SC tomorrow.

Day 292 - P.A.P. Upper

Well, I got back into the swing of things today.  I got in my workout for the last one before heading to Myrtle Beach for the week.  I'm still not feeling 100%, but I feel better than I did yesterday, so I plan to rest for the remainder of the day and continue to eat healthy so that I can try to stay strong.

Day 291 - Sick Day

I took a break from working out today because I was feeling really tired and my throat was starting to get that scratchy feeling like you get when a cold is starting.  To be safe I decided to not do my planned PAP Lower workout.  I hope to be feeling well enough to do PAP Upper tomorrow.

Day 290 - Rest Day

Ahhh, enjoying a day of rest from the workouts.  I'm eating right today and letting my body recover so that I can hit PAP Lower hard tomorrow night.  I think I feel the start of a cold coming on (scratchy throat), so I am very much hoping that it doesn't amount to much since I am supposed to be heading to Myrtle Beach next week for golf.

Day 289 - X2 Yoga / Run

My legs were feeling good enough that I got a run in today.  I did 5K in just under 28 minutes, so pretty normal.  I started to use the runtastic app and decided to listen to some music on my iPhone while running and that was nice to help me keep my mind occupied a bit.  My lower back was feeling a bit sore tonight when I started yoga, so I'm hoping the workout and some Ibuprofen will help with that.  Eating today is going well.  I even had a chocolate shakeology with my 6" chicken sub from subway after my run.  Dinner tonight was hamburger gravy over white rice, so I took it easy on the portion for that.  I continue to make it a habit to do 15 chin-ups before doing yoga and it does seem to be getting easier to knock out 15.  It was pretty good tonight.

Day 288 - PAP Upper

For the last month I've been focusing on X2 Phase 2, so now that I'm back to Phase 3 all I can say is "Ouch ouch ouch".  Everything south of my waist hurts today after doing PAP Lower yesterday.  I just finished PAP Upper tonight, so I expect tomorrow could be more of the same above the waist.  At least I'll be balanced.

I was hoping to run tomorrow during lunch, but we'll see if my legs will be able to handle that.  I may wait until Thursday.

Day 287 (Start of week 42) - P.A.P. Lower

I was a bit torn between staying with phase 2 for another week and getting the benefit of that versus switching it up and doing Phase 3.  I decided to do phase 3 because it's been a while since I've done it.  I don't think it's quite as challenging as phase 2, so I need to try to mix in some extra things to keep up muscle tone.  I plan to do Ab Ripper on my rest day and also work a run in during the week (maybe on Wednesday because that's yoga day).  I'm doing really well on my calorie count today, so it will be good to make up a bit of ground after going over yesterday.

Day 286 - Rest Day

I am enjoying my rest day today.  I went to church in Pottstown with my brother and Dad and we then had some lunch together at a Chinese buffet that has a Mongolian Grill.  I had a nice Shrimp and Chicken dish with vegetables and some hot spices to jazz it up a bit.  YUM!!!

Problem is that we had lunch pretty early, so I've been hungry again this afternoon and as a result I've been eating more than normal today.  I need to be pretty conservative for the rest of the day or I'm going to go way past my normal calorie limit.

Day 285 - X2 Base + Back & X2 Ab Ripper

I was able to increase reps on a few things this time, so it seems that doing phase 2 for 4 weeks in a row is paying off some.  I plan to do phase 3 next week before my week off for my golf trip to Myrtle Beach.  I need to work in more phase 3 in coming weeks before trying to tackle Asylum 2.  Eating so far today is going pretty well.  I'm above 150 grams of protein. I had a good golf lesson today.  I think I must have hit about 200 golf balls in the hour that I was there, so my lower back is feeling it a bit.  Not too bad though.   Once again I am glad to have a rest day tomorrow. 

Day 284 - X2 Yoga

I got a late start tonight because of needing to stay at work a bit later than normal.  I still got it done and got a good workout from the routine tonight.  I focused on the moves to get the most out of them tonight.  It seemed to go very quickly.  My back is feeling really good today, so I'm happy about that.  We'll see how it's feeling after a golf lesson tomorrow.

For lunch today I tried a vegetarian cafe just for the experience.  The food was pretty good, but not very filling.  I had a chocolate ShakeO afterward to fill me up.  I guess I'm not really much of a vegetarian.

Day 283 - X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper

I was able to improve reps on a couple of things tonight, but once again I was was most impressed with how hard I brought it with Ab Ripper.  I was really able to isolate the abs in a number of the moves, so I felt it a lot.  If I can keep that up the abs are going to be looking good.  I'm looking into ordering Insanity the Asylum 2 to start to mix that in with X2 once I hit the one year mark  Sounds like a good challenging workout.

Day 282 - Rest Day

I was off from work today and I went golfing with my brother this afternoon.  It was a real nice day golfing together.  It wasn't what I would consider much of a workout since we took a cart, but it sure was fun.  Tomorrow it's right back to working out.  I would consider going for a run tomorrow, but I already know that I won't have time during the day, so I'm not sure yet where I'll be able to work in a run this week.  There is still time to get that done, so I'm not giving up hope.  Maybe Friday if weather is okay.

Day 281 - X2 Plyocide

Once again I was able to keep the pace in the workout tonight without adding in any extra break.  As Tony says "No breaks for me".  As usual, I was sweating up a storm by the time I was done.  I am really starting to gain a good appreciation for this workout.  It's only taken 9 months for that to happen :-)

I'm a little heavy on calories today because I packed my lunch and the selection was not ideal to keep calories down.  Thankfully today ended up being a shopping day, so the rest of the week will not be as difficult to make good choices.  We now have a better selection of fruits and vegetables available.  I did stick with plain oatmeal with honey again this morning instead of the packaged sweetened oatmeal packs and I like the change.  It's a bit healthier and still tastes really good.  In spite of the tough start I should still end up around my 2200 calorie goal today, so not overly concerned.  It just means a bit more self control with snacking tonight.  I'm staying steady at my weight of 138.  It's still a bit hard for me to believe that I had 50 extra pounds on me when I started this journey. 

Day 280 (Start of week 41) - Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

I had a really good workout tonight.  Not only did I increase reps on some things, but I felt really good while working out.  By the time I got to Ab Ripper I was toast, but I kept it going and got benefit out of it.  No doubt the workout tonight is going to pay off for me.  My eating is right on track today as well, so I keep making progress on getting fit. 

Day 279 - Rest Day

Another week is behind me and it was a pretty good one as far as working out goes.  Yesterday I was out running some errands and I ended up stopping into the TJMaxx to see what deals they have.  I found two nice dress shirts.  I was looking for some 30" waist jeans and couldn't find any and then it dawned on me that I needed to be looking in the young men's section.  Too bad all of the styles were not what I was looking for.  Oh well.  I guess finding old man jeans in size 30 is not the easiest thing.  I think there is probably more I can be doing to be eating right to build muscle.  I am only doing "okay" at what I eat.  Today I made some edamame as part of my lunch since I had vegetable soup for lunch (which doesn't include any protein).  I keep trying to learn more about eating healthy.

Day 278 - X2 Base + Back & X2 Ab Ripper

Whoa, that was a workout.  I wasn't able to do this workout last week because of the trip to UConn, so getting back to it this week after having two weeks off was a bit of a wake-up call like "Hey, remember me?"  I increased reps on a couple of things, but most in the cardio moves and not in chin-ups.  I'm looking forward to a chance to do this again next Saturday to see if I can increase the reps on a couple more things.

Day 277 - X2 Yoga

I was really stressing over some things right before starting my workout tonight.  I now feel so much better.  The issues are not resolved, but my perspective on them just seems to be better.  I love this workout for so much more than the strength and flexibility it provides.  This should be mandatory training for anyone that has to drive during rush-hour traffic in PA.  I got to enjoy some dinner with Kristi and Stephen at Cracker Barrel tonight.  I had grilled chicken, rice pilaf, green beans and cucumber salad.  Delicious.

Day 276 - X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper

I found some of the reps to be a bit of a challenge tonight during Shoulders + Arms.  Lots of things can factor into why that is, so I'm not too concerned about it because it doesn't happen all the time.  I really got a lot of benefit out of Ab Ripper tonight.  I'm already looking forward to Yoga tomorrow night.  I guess that is a clear indication that I'm addicted to this program (as if that wasn't already obvious from this blog).

Day 275 - Rest Day/Run Day

Today is a rest day for X2, so I went for a run after work. My goal this time around was to keep my heart rate up for a longer duration, so I slowed my pace to just under a 10-minute mile and got in 4 miles. I then had a chocolate ShakeO for replenishment afterward. I'm looking forward to kicking back and enjoying the remainder of my rest day.  I had a Dr. visit to have him check my back and good news is that it does not seem to be an issue with discs or anything like that.  Likely just some muscle inflammation, but I'm getting an x-ray done to be sure. Better safe than sorry, right?

Day 274 - Plyocide

Good day today.  I made sure last night to sleep in a way that took some stress off of my back.  I didn't necessarily sleep very well, but it did help with the back pain when I woke this morning.  Plyocide was really good tonight.  I didn't add in any extra breaks, so by the time I was done I was a sweaty mess.  Eating is also on track for today, so overall it has been a good day for staying the course.  I don't think the weather is going to let me go for a run tomorrow, so I may need to wait until Thursday for that.  We'll see.

Day 273 (Start of week 40) - Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

Well, my back is still bothering me, so I've scheduled an appt. with a doctor to have things looked at.  It isn't getting in the way of working out, but sleeping at night is tough. I got through the workout okay and my back actually feels a bit better following the workout.  Eating continues to go well and clothes continue to fit well.  I'm not losing a lot of weight any longer, so it seems that my calorie count of 2200 is about right for maintenance.

Day 272 - Rest Day

We went to church with Nicole and then we drove back home, so a very long day.

Day 271 - Off Day

I was traveling to Connecticut to spend time with Nicole, so no ability to workout today.  We hit a large pothole in NY that bent the rim on two wheels on kristi's car and caused them to go flat, so we had to deal with that and I ended up straining a muscle in my arm while removing the lug nuts on one wheel.  So, now I need to see what impact that will have on working out.

Day 270 - X2 Yoga - Three full runs through X2 completed

It's hard to believe that I started this program 9 months ago.  It's amazing to me how well this program works.  It does take some time to devote to it, but less than I spend on something like golf and unlike golf I seem to be getting better at this.  I've found a 5K run I plan to do next month in West Chester, so I'm looking forward to that.  I won't be able to workout tomorrow because we're heading up to UConn to see a football game and (more importantly) visit with Nicole.  I'm not too concerned about skipping tomorrow since I've done a good job of working out this week.  I'll be right back at it for another round of phase 2 on Monday, so I plan to enjoy the 2 days off and eat right.  I plan to do another 90 days on X2 at least and will possibly consider mixing in a different program starting in the new year.  At some point I need to work in some swimming if I plan to try to do a mini iron-man next year.

Day 269 - X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper

I was thinking that today was day 270, so it ends up I took the pictures one day early.   No big deal.  The changes at this point seem to be a bit slower, but I can still tell that it's working based on how I feel.  The effort spent doing phase 3 along with running is really helping my legs to get tighter.

I continue to enjoy the P90X2 program and plan to keep going at it at least for a full year before considering if I want to try a different one for a while.

Day 268 - Rest Day / Run Day

This is normally my rest day from P90X2, so I went for a run during lunch.  I did 5K (3.1 miles) in 27:02, so just under a 9 minute/mile pace.  Mile 1 my pace was 8:42, so it didn't fall off a lot throughout the course of the run.  I had a subway 6 inch turkey on wheat (with mustard and no cheese), baked lays, and apple slices for lunch and had a chocolate Shakeology shake with 1% skim milk for an afternoon snack to help me get a bit more protein.  Tonight I plan to relax and enjoy my rest night so that I'm recharged and ready to go again tomorrow.

Day 267 - Plyocide

Wow, once again I was sweating buckets by the time I was done.  I was able to increase reps on a couple of moves tonight and continue to get closer to not having to modify at all for this workout.  I'm enjoying running once a week, but the explosive cardio in this workout puts running to shame.  It's also the shortest workout in X2, so it's nice to get done so quickly and have some time still available at night.

Day 266 (Start of week 39) - Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

The workout tonight seemed to go by pretty quickly.  I ate healthy today including having a serving of Shakeology with my breakfast and another with lunch to try to get my protein levels up a bit more than previous weeks.  I didn't sleep all that well last night (probably because I took a  nap yesterday afternoon), but in spite of that I really don't feel overly tired.  I'm psyched that in 4 days I will have completed this program three times through.  It's not easy to commit so much time and effort to working out, but it sure is paying off.  I was recently at the Dr. office for a follow-up visit and he reviewed my blood work results from the test done a couple of months ago and the words he used was "REALLY Good".  My response was, "That's good to hear" and he emphasized, "No, they are REALLY good".  Okay, I guess that's "REALLY good to hear".  My body fat % is now about 17%, which is pretty good for my age.  Ideally I would like to be more around 15%, so I keep going at this workout regimen.  Pictures in 4 days.

Day 265 - Rest Day

It's a nice Sunday with beautiful weather.  I enjoying going to church and then relaxing at home by taking a nap and watching some football and golf.  Days like this are so necessary to recharge the batteries.

Day 264 - Base + Back & X2 Ab Ripper

Wow, I must have forgotten how hard this workout is because it definitely caught me off guard today.  My breaks seemed a bit longer than usual and I definitely felt more tired than I would have expected.  That could be because I hit a lot of golf balls today and I was up late last night.  Not sure. I was able to increase reps on a  couple of things, but not many.  I hope to continue to increase a couple more next week.  I certainly am happy with how I look when I look in the mirror, so I know I'm not slacking off.  The definition in muscle tone is a slow, but continual process right now.  I'll take pictures again at Day 270.

Day 263 - X2 Yoga

I had a nice day off from work today and got to go golfing in the afternoon with my brother.  Tonight I got very frustrated because I tried to update the OS on my iPhone and it got completely hosed and now I have to take it into work to see what they can do with it.  So, to relieve some stress I decided to get my Yoga workout in despite the fact that my back was complaining from all of the golf.  So here I am at the end of a session of yoga and after taking a couple of Ibuprofen in hopes that I'll be able to sleep okay.  Eating today was a bit of a mixed bag.  Pretty good for most of the day except for the hotdog at the golf course.  Some things you just have to do when you;re golfing and a hot dog at the turn is one of them.

Day 262 - X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper

I worked it hard tonight and I can really feel the difference.  I especially worked hard at Ab Ripper and I worked up a really good sweat as a result.  My back is still a bit stiff from the backpacking trip.  Apparently hauling 50 lbs on my back did not do good things for the arthritis I have in the vertebrae between my shoulder blades.  I did some extra foam rolling, but usually it really takes some time of resting my back before it feels better.  That will just have to wait until Sunday.  :-)  I weighed in this morning and am now down to 138 (so officially total of 50 lbs gone since starting this journey).

Day 261 - Rest Day / Run Day

Today I went out for a nice run during lunch.  I was able to go 3.5 miles this time.  Woohoo.  I didn't time it, but I definitely took a reasonable pace to allow me to get a bit further.  I was concerned that my legs would be rubber after the hike, but it turns out things went fine.  The temperature was really nice today, so that helped a lot.  For lunch I made the vegan tropical Shakeology with milk and I actually liked it.  I'm not a fan of the chocolate, but tropical is pretty good.  Go figure.

Day 260 - Plyocide

No real issues with the workout tonight.  I felt the lower body part more than normal because of the workout I got from the backpacking trip, but all else was pretty okay.  I worked up a pretty good sweat doing this (as normal).  I'm looking forward to going for a run tomorrow on my rest day.  That should put my poor legs to a real test.  I have a feeling that doing phase 2 for 4 weeks straight it going to really help me continue to make progress.

Day 259 (Start of week 38) - Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

Wow, I can tell I've been away from phase 2 for a week.  I plan to stick with phase 2 for the next four weeks to see if I can increase reps on some of the workouts.  I didn't rush it tonight, so it was nice to take it at a reasonable pace and focus on pushing hard on each move to get the most out of it.  Ab Ripper was good, but it wasn't my best effort (pretty average actually).  Later this week I hope to really focus on getting more out of Ab Ripper when I'm doing workouts that don't wipe me out as much as this one does.  I had a good level of protein today.

Day 258 - Rest Day

Another Sunday which translates to another day of rest from working out.  I'm very happy to find that my legs today feel good in spite of the strenuous backpacking yesterday.  Rich and I spent the morning taking my Dad to church in Pottstown.  He's talking about getting into working out, so I was glad to hear that.  I hope he's able to find a way to do it in his busy schedule.  Tomorrow it's time to bring it again with Phase 2.  I want to do phase 2 for the next four weeks to see if I can have it help me build some muscle.

Day 257 - Backpacking trip

Well, this trip definitely qualified as a good replacement workout for PAP Lower.  My legs are toast after this trip.  We did close to 10 miles with fully loaded packs up and down hills that were fit only for billy goats and pack mules.  Come to think of it, I guess I was the pack mule.  Eating went okay in spite of being on the backpacking trip.  Now it's time for a good night's sleep and a rest day tomorrow before starting back with Phase 2 for a couple of weeks.

Day 256 - P.A.P. Upper

I woke up this morning and started off the day by doing this workout at 6:30.  It went well and I now feel like I'm staying on schedule for this week in spite of the backpacking trip that I'll be on tonight and tomorrow.  For the trip I packed some healthy snacks like dried fruit, oatmeal, and granola bars, so I'm hoping to eat right throughout.  It should be a good weekend for backpacking.

Day 255 - Rest Day / Run Day

I had good intentions today to run in the AM and then do PAP Lower tonight.  I got the run in and did a full 5K before work.  Tonight my legs were feeling tired from the run and I thought better of the idea of doing PAP Lower right before going on a backpacking trip.  I also spent a good portion of the night getting ready for the trip.  So, tomorrow I plan to work from home and I am hoping to do PAP Upper during lunch before going on the trip and then on Saturday (time allowing) I hope to work in a round of Plyocide or Yoga (depends on my needs).

Day 254 - X2 Yoga

I was hoping to run today, but I got too busy to get out during lunch, so I'll need to try again tomorrow (maybe before work).  X2 Yoga was good tonight.  Tomorrow it's back to PAP Lower with no break this week because I won't be able to workout on Friday night.

Day 253 - P.A.P. Upper

Towel pullups are awesome.  As much as I enjoyed them I did not enjoy the Superman with weight.  Overall this workout seems pretty okay compared to some of the ones in phase 2.  The first complex is a bit harder than the second, but even plank on a medball didn't seem too bad tonight.  My knee is hurting a touch tonight, but I'm hoping that it won't keep me from running tomorrow.  My plan is to run at lunch and then do Yoga in the evening so that I can get all 5 days in even though I'll be on an overnight backpacking trip on Friday night.

Day 252 (Start of week 37) - P.A.P. Lower

Okay, I still hate Side Bridge Leg Lift.  No change there.  Note, it's not a mild dislike, it's a deep rooted hatred because of how terrible I am at it.  In spite of that I continue to struggle through it in hopes of someday being able to do it properly.  The rest of the workout was great.  I also played some table tennis during lunch today.  Note, this is not your average (slap the ball around) table tennis.  Four of us at work play competitive table tennis to the point where we've play in tournaments and have rankings etc.  It's been a little while since I've played because of golf, but I'm trying to get back into it some.  We played doubles and I got a pretty good workout from it.  I also hit some golf balls after work.

Day 251 - Rest Day

I am enjoying a nice relaxing day at home after going to church today.  I'm eating okay and am resting up my sore muscles in prep for a new week of phase 3 coming up on Monday. 

Day 250 - Base + Back & X2 Ab Ripper

I got my shirt in the mail today for completing at least one 90-day run through the program.  Took me long enough to apply for it.  I'm about to finish it for the third time at this point.  This way I got it in a size that will fit now that I'm not losing much more weight at this point.

The workout today was really good.  This one really makes me work with all of the jumping around and all of the pull-ups, but I guess that's why I like it so much.  It's hard and it's beneficial.  This program rocks.

Day 249 - X2 Yoga

Good workout tonight, but I overdid it a bit on the splits and strain a muscle in my leg.  That will teach me.  It's not too bad, but it annoys me that I did that.  Hopefully it won't take too long to recover.  I am also feeling some tenderness in my left elbow from the workout last night.  I guess some of these issues come with trying to push it at this age.  I just need to take it a bit easier in coming days.

Day 248 - X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper

This morning I started the day off by going for a run as soon as I got to work.  I got in 2.6 miles (2 laps around the park) and was sweating like crazy when done because of the humidity.  My watch decided it didn't want to work for me, so I didn't get a time on the run, but I wasn't pushing it hard.  Lunch today was not great.  We went to a local Greek fair in the area being sponsored by a co-workers church and had lunch there.  I had pork kabob with rice pilaf, green beans and a Greek side salad.  Tasty and very filling.  If lunch wasn't good then dinner was even worse.  Rich asked me to go to Dyers deli with him for hot wings (guys night out).  I had garlic Parmesan wings and some french fries.  The only thing that saved me today on calories was that I didn't have a lot of snacks and breakfast was okay.  I had the Beach Body Results & Recovery drink, a banana and a protein bar.  The workout tonight was good.  I pushed it hard with the dumbbells and got a lot out of Ab Ripper as well.  Hopefully I burned off a lot of the calories from today's eating.

Day 247 - Rest Day

Biggest news today is the temptation I had to face down during lunch today.  There is now a food truck that stops at our work once a week that makes fresh hamburgers and french fries out of their truck.  You evil people, what are you trying to do to me?  I thought about it, but walked past and went to the local grocery store and got a Healthy Choice frozen meal and a fresh side garden salad.  It feels odd to not be doing any working out tonight.  I had to run Stephen over to an activity, so it works out well that it was a rest night.

Day 246 - X2 Plyocide

Wow, so much sweating tonight.  I was doing the 5th round and was literally dripping sweat onto the medicine ball while I was doing the toe taps.  My entire shirt was drenched.  Running is a great cardio workout and is great for the legs, but it's got nothing on this workout.  I feel really good after finishing this tonight because I know I didn't hold anything back.

Day 245 (Start of week 36) - X2 Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

I started off the day with a 3 mile run in a light rain.  I timed myself for the first time and the run came in at 26:28 (just under a 9 minute mile average).  I'm happy with that.  I had my heart rate watch on and checked my heart rate a couple of times.  By the time I finished I was up over 180, so that's kind of pushing it a bit.  I got home and made up a protein shake with frozen strawberries, took a shower and then ate a protein bar.  I needed to get my protein way up before this workout this afternoon.

Having just finished the workout I am now pretty tired.  That is a one-two punch that really hits hard.  Just made up my second protein shake for the day and I'm about to hit the shower again.

Day 244 - Rest Day

Today was a nice relaxing day.  I went to church and then took my Dad out for lunch.  I actually ate pretty well considering we ate out.  Soup, salad, chicken breast, broccoli and rice.  And I had enough left to have the remainder for dinner tonight along with some broccoli that I made.  To add a little flavor I put some Parmesan cheese on the broccoli.  Delicious.

Day 243 - X2 Base + Back & X2 Ab Ripper

Wow, that took it out of me today.  I increased my reps on a couple of things, but am happy to keep reps going in everything and doing them well.  I took a picture today and at first glance I don't really see much difference compared to 60 days ago.  Good news is that I am not back-tracking at all.  Eating today is going pretty well.

Day 242 - X2 Yoga

I was mainly off from work today because my son needed to have his wisdom teeth out and I spent the day taking care of home because Kristi had classes.  The only reason I mention it is that it was a lot of time sitting around thinking about what I wanted to eat next.  The capper is that we had a fondue night for dinner to celebrate Ashley's 20th birthday.  I tried to be good by eating a lot of the carrots and broccoli and beef instead of the bread and cheese dip.  So, it was a fight all day to try to keep the calories in check.  I did okay, but honestly I'm guessing on calories on some of this stuff.  X2 Yoga was pretty good. I didn't sweat as much as I have at times before, but I wasn't exactly slacking either.

Day 241 - X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper

I'm suffering from a sore neck a bit and that didn't help with this workout, but it's not a show-stopper by any means.  Ab Ripper felt really good tonight.  Eating was not great today.  I had leftover chicken casserole for lunch and Kristi brought home pizza for dinner.  I had two slices of thin crust cheese, so not awful, but not exactly healthy either.  I ended up a touch over 2200 calories for the day, so I need to be careful.

Day 240 - Rest Day / Run Day

It's my rest day for P90X2, so I went for a run during lunch today and got in 3 miles.  I suppose I should have gone .1 mile further so that I could consider my run a 5K run.  I plan to try for that next time and get in the habit of going at least that far.  I could tell that my pace slowed toward the end of the run, but I kept going which is my primary goal right now.  Weather was beautiful for a run (around 80 degrees), so I can't complain about that in August.  I also decided to do 50 pushups tonight as an added bonus.  I was happy that I was able to push out 50 fairly easily.  As of today I am 30 days away from doing this program three times through.

Day 239 - X2 Plyocide

Very nice Plyocide workout tonight.  It seems this is getting a bit easier over time (some days more than others).  I did really well at eating so far today.  I decided to do some chin-ups before starting the workout tonight and got to 15 chin-ups.  Otherwise it was a pretty normal day.

Day 238 (Start of week 35) - X2 Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

Ouch, this is one brutal workout.  I was struggling a bit with the pushups tonight, but I pushed through the pain and got my reps in. I did okay on the chin-ups and by the time I got to Ab Ripper I was spent, so I didn't exactly push it the hardest I ever have, but I still got good benefit from it.  I'm glad to be back to phase 2, but it takes a bit longer to get through the workouts than with phase 3.  Good things do take time.  I can definitely see continual improvement in definition, so I continue to be encouraged by my progress.  I am still amazed at how much weight loss it takes to get the belly fat off.  Almost there, but still have some around the middle.  The running seems to be helping to get my legs fit.  I can see some definition that I haven't seen in the past.

Day 237 - Rest Day

I started off the day trying a recipe with chocolate Shakeology.

1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup soy milk

It was a bit better than the last time I tried it, but still too much chocolate flavor for my taste, so maybe less Shakeology next time. I also had half of a cantaloupe and was pretty satisfied for breakfast with that.  Lunch was some salad, turkey breast, a protein bar and a cup of vegetable barley soup.  Eating healthy is becoming pretty easy at this point.  I was giving candy out to my Sunday School class today and didn't have any, so avoiding sweets is becoming pretty easy as well.

Day 236 - P.A.P. Upper

I made the transition to actually do some of the towel pullups like the workout calls for and wow those are good for the arms.  First two times through the complex I did towel pullups and then switches to chin-ups for the last two times through.  Arms are feeling tight after that workout.  I also increased to 20 lb. dumbbells for the renegade row which was good for the chest.  Next week it's back to a couple of weeks of Phase 2.

Day 235 - P.A.P. Lower

I got the package from my coach in the mail.  Sporting the new t-shirt here.

As for the workout, good news is that my legs are not nearly as sore this time after running yesterday, so that's a big improvement. No real issues with getting through the workout tonight, but honestly it's not one of my favorites.  I used 20 lb. dumbbells for a couple of moves that I previously had used 15, so that is also good.  I'm continuing to eat well, but have decided to try to stay around 2200 calories to see if slightly more calories will keep me from losing more weight.  My preference is to keep my current weight (140 according to my generous scale) and add some muscle.  At this point I've lost 48 lbs since starting to diet last year. 

Day 234 - Rest Day / Run Day

Today is a rest day from P90X2, so I decided to go for a run during lunch again this week.  I got in 2.6 miles this time and had some energy left, but not enough to get close to finishing another lap, so I decided this was good enough.  It's a bit of an improvement over the last run (2.4), so if I can add a little bit each time then I will eventually be up to three laps which is where I want to be.  That would allow me to feel pretty comfortable about completing a 5K run without much of an issue.  I also need to start to focus on some bike riding if I eventually want to try a mini iron man, so that's my next goal to work in some bike riding at times.  My legs are going to get fit if I keep this up like this.

Day 233 - X2 Yoga

My goal tonight was to relax and just enjoy this workout and I must say I accomplished that.  The routine flew by really quickly and I felt really good throughout.  I didn't get out for a run today at lunch, but fully plan to tomorrow since it;s my break day.  My traps are a bit sore today from PAP Upper last night, but that's a good sign that I wasn't slacking on Superman.

Day 232 - P.A.P. Upper

My "favorites" in this workout are Superman and Plank on a Med Ball.  Both are pretty tough for me and give me a lot of benefit. I'm hoping to get out running again tomorrow if time allows.  My legs are starting to feel better, so might as well try again.  If not tomorrow then I plan to run on Thursday. 

Day 231 (Start of week 34) - P.A.P. Lower

Well, it's back to phase 3 this week and doing P.A.P. Lower with my legs still sore from running was a good challenge.  I also increased the weight from 15 to 20 for the step up convicts (which was brutal). As usual, side bridge leg lift was also a killer for me.  Lots of sweating by the time I was done, so I know it was having some benefit.  I'm hoping my legs are feeling better by Wed or Thursday so that I can have another run later this week.  my protein level today was over 180, so doing well in that department.

Day 230 - Rest Day

I'm enjoying a nice relaxing day.  I spent the morning taking my Dad to church and am now planning to watch some golf and take a nap.  I'm fighting an insatiable appetite today, but trying to push through it by eating some extra carrots.  I may end over calories today, but I will continue to make healthy choices.  Every day can't be perfect, but I'm not going to completely blow the calorie count.

Day 229 - X2 Back + Base & X2 Ab Ripper

I started off the day by playing some basketball and then went and hit some golf balls at the range before starting my workout today.  My legs are pretty sore still from running yesterday, so I did some extra rolling of the thighs before my workout tonight.  Goes to show you that running does a lot for the legs.  I'm looking forward to making running a regular part of my weekly workout, but I have no plans to have it replace any of the workouts with X2.  I decided to have a protein bard about a half hour before my workout tonight and it seemed to help a bit with my workout endurance.  I increased reps on a number of the pull-up routines.  It's been a busy week for working out, so I am looking forward to my rest day tomorrow.

Day 228 - X2 Yoga

Today during lunch I went for my first run in almost 20 years and it was a bit better than I expected. We have a park close by work with a marked running trail that goes in a loop and has some hills to it to add some variety (real nice park). I got in 2.3 miles before having to finish with a cool-down walk. I didn't time myself yet because I want to figure out a reasonable running pace before worrying about time, but it seemed like I kept a pretty good pace up throughout the run. 

Yoga tonight was a bit more difficult than normal because my legs were already a bit sore from running.  Hopefully the yoga will help them to recover.  I was sweating a lot from the workout tonight, so I wasn't pulling back at all.  Eating was okay today as well.

Day 227 - X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper

Another day of working out is in the books.  Tomorrow I am hoping to go out for my first run during lunch.  It's been a very long time since I've been out for a run, so I'm curious to see how this will go.  I suspect that my cardio endurance is going to fail me pretty quickly, but that's why I'm interested in doing more cardio workouts like running.  I need it a lot.

Day 226 - Rest Day

Today is a rest day and that works out well since today is also my 25th wedding anniversary and I'm heading out to dinner with my wonderful wife to go to Buca Di Beppo's Italian restaurant.  I'm heading there equipped with nutrition info for items on the menu so that I can pick something that will not obliterate my healthy eating for this week.  Today I've been once again thinking about becoming a Team Beachbody coach.  I like the idea of being trained to hold some classes, but before doing any of that I think I need to explore some of the other workout programs first.  It seems more and more when I'm walking around I see the need to try to help others get the same kind of results I've seen from this program.  I'm not being critical here, I just want to see others get the same benefits I've seen.  The program really works.

Day 225 - X2 Plyocide

The workout tonight felt really good.  I put good effort into it and it seemed to go by very quickly.  Of course after the amount of time it takes to do the Monday workout, this one would seem pretty short.  I went out to buy more clothes today because I'm down to very few pants that fit again.  I'm now comfortably in the 30" waist size which is 7" less than where I was at when I decided to start lose weight at the beginning of December.  I accidentally pulled out a pair of 33" jeans this morning that I bought in May and put them on and was amazed and how much of a difference there is with 3" less around the waist. I couldn't even consider wearing them at this point, so it's another pair in the discard pile. 

Today I discovered pre-made meals that I can get at Trader Joe's.  I had a delicious Chicken and rice meal that was 400 calories and was only $4.00.  It's kind of hard to think about places like Subway when you can get something like that so cheap and delicious.  I'm also looking forward to trying Healthy Choice steamer meals because they have less sodium (which is good for me).  Even the salad meal I get at SaladWorks has more calories than this, so I think I need to start to consider more meals like this instead of SaladWorks and Subway etc.

Day 224 (Start of week 33) - X2 Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

Okay, vacation is over and so are the excuses.  I took my time tonight on my workout and got the most out of each of the moves.  I heard today that I have a bag of chocolate shakeology coming from coach Stacey James because I received the most votes for my transformation story that was done in the June challenge.  I'm looking forward to giving it a real try.  I had tried a sample before and didn't think much of how it tasted, but it's kind of hard to form an opinion from trying it just one time.  With a bag of it (30-day supply) I can try some different recipes and see how things go.  I checked the nutrition info and it also contains protein, so it could take the place of eating protein bars in the morning.  He's also sending me a P90X T-Shirt for finishing the July challenge to work out at least 20 times in the month.  I don't have any P90X shirts, so I'm also excited about that.

Day 223 - Rest Day

Nice relaxing Sunday at home.  I'm looking forward to getting another full week of phase 2 done next week before going back to phase 3 for a week.  This week I need to see if I can increase the reps on some of the workouts.  Too many weeks have showed no increase. 

Day 222 - X2 Base + Back & X2 Ab Ripper

This workout combo is brutal. I love the results, but the cardio portion of this is really tough.  By the time I got to Ab Ripper I was pretty spent, so I wasn't able to push it as hard as I did on Thursday, but still did pretty well.  Once again I did pretty well on eating today, so that's good.  It feels a bit wierd to had a break day so soon since I didn't workout as much this week, but I don't workout on Sunday's so sticking with the plan.

Day 221 - X2 Yoga

Wow, I felt it tonight.  Not sure if it's because of the break this week or if I was bringing harder tonight, but it was a good workout.  I also got my eating back into a good routine and kept my calories to 2100 today.

Day 220 - X2 Shoulders & Arms + X2 Ab Ripper

I spent 8 hours driving back from Niagara Falls today, so by the time I got home I was pretty tired and was trying to decide if I was going to workout tonight or not.  After relaxing for a few minutes I realized that taking yet another night off after having so many off for my vacation was not acceptable.  So, I did my workout and it actually went pretty well.  I pushed it pretty hard and got good reps.  Once again this time I did less modifying for Ab Ripper, so I got a lot out of it tonight.  Now I just need to get back into a routine of healthy eating after all of the overeating while on vacation.  I really need to continue to try to keep calories at 2000 or less per day.

Day 219 - Day off 3 of 3

Another really nice day in Niagara Falls with Kristi.

Day 218- Day off 2 of 3

We spent the day walking around Niagara falls and seeing the sights.  Lots of walking.  Had a great time and ate a bit too much, but it's a vacation.  I'm having a real nice time.  Here is a picture from last night.

Day 217- Day off 1 of 3

It's day one of my vacation with Kristi for out 25th anniversary.  I promised myself I was going to take this break since it's our anniversary and we're in Niagara Falls Ontario.  Enjoying the trip.

Day 216 - Rest Day

Today is the first of 4 days off from working out because of my get away with my wonderful wife for our 25th anniversary.  I got to take my Dad out for brunch this morning.  I had eggs, home fries, scrapple and toast.  Yum.  Over the next four days I still hope to keep my eating in line with where it should be, but may allow myself a couple of indulgences.  After all, it is a vacation.

Day 215 - X2 Back + Base & X2 Ab Ripper

Wow, am I feeling it after doing this workout.  I tried to do less modifying this time around and I really felt it.  Of course, playing golf and having a golf lesson in 90+ temps can take it out of you as well.  I was really wiped by the time I got around to the workout tonight, but I pushed through in knowing that it was the last day for a while since we'll bee on vacation most of next week.  Now I can go on vacation with no regrets about coming up short on working out.

Day 214 - X2 Yoga

It's a killer workout that leaves you feeling relaxed and refreshed.  How do they do that?  It's like a slap up side the head that puts a smile on your face.  I had lunch out today with some friends at a Chinese buffet, so the calories today were higher than normal.  Tomorrow it's back to being diligent with the eating.  I can't get away with eating like this too often, but one day not too much harm.  Tomorrow will be my last workout for a while since Kristi and I are starting a trip to Niagara Falls on Monday for our 25th anniversary.  I'm guessing taking X2 workout DVDs with me would not be a good idea.

Day 213 - X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper

Lately I've been a bit concerned that I may be plateauing with my workouts, but when I looked in the mirror after my workout tonight I could see that I'm continuing to get better definition.  It's going slow, but it's still happening, so I can't let up.  I pushed it harder than normal during Ab Ripper tonight and it felt really good to push it now that I'm back to 100% feeling better.  I has good protein intake today of 155 grams.

Day 212 - Rest night

I'm enjoying the chance to have a night off from working out.  I think I'm pretty much over the cold that I had, so it's good to be back to pretty much 100%.  I enjoyed doing some things tonight around the house like cutting the grass and now watching some of the Olympics. Tomorrow it''s back to the routine with gusto.

Day 211 - X2 Plyocide

When I got home from work tonight I was really tired, so I took a quick power nap before starting Plyocide.  Some parts were a real workout tonight, but I toughed it out and felt pretty good by the time I was done.  My pecs are sore tonight from the workout last night.  No surprise there since it's been a little while since I worked out the chest.  I need to continue to find ways to get more chest workouts included in my workouts.

Day 210 (Start of week 31) - X2 Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

Well, I'm feeling better and I'm back at working out.  I could certainly tell that it's been a few days since I worked out.  My arms were struggling to keep up with the pullup count tonight.  That's okay.  Do your best and forget the rest.  I did my best tonight and it was pretty good.  I'm glad to be back to phase 2 because Ab Ripper is something I miss if I don't get to do it for  a week.  So much benefit from that workout.

Day 209 - Rest Day

I'm feeling better today,so I am hoping to be back in action again starting tomorrow.  Having 4 days off from working out is bugging me a bit, but there is not much I can do about it if I'm sick.  I'm still trying to eat healthy.

Day 208 - No workout again today

I'm taking some time off to rest and get over this cold.

Day 207 - No workout

This cold has come back with a vengeance.  I came home early from work and went right to bed.  I hope to start back up at working out on Monday.  I need to allow my body the time to rest before getting back to it.

Day 206 - Rest Day

It's a rest day today and I'm taking it as one.  I'm really tired from this cold and from my job keeping me very busy all day.  I plan to just relax and see how I feel tomorrow. 

Day 205 - X2 Yoga

Wow, my legs were really sore today because of the increase in weight on Monday with PAP Lower. Doing yoga tonight helped with the soreness some, but I suspect it will be a couple of days before all of the soreness is gone.  I'm starting to get rid of my sinus infection, so that's becoming less of an issue with working out.

Day 204 - P.A.P. Upper

I really felt this workout tonight.  I was sweating buckets during the first half.  Second half isn't quite as intense, but still not a breeze by any stretch.  I increased my weight from 15 to 20 lb. dumbbells for the press move at the end of the second complex.  No doubt I'll feel that tomorrow.  I was fortunate the get the workout in tonight because I had my son's Eagle Scout board of review at 7, so things were a bit rushed, but it all worked out.

Day 203 (Start of week 30) - P.A.P. Lower

This week I'm back to the phase 3 workouts and feeling the pain of being away from it for a couple of weeks.   There is no doubt that there is benefit in switching between phases to keep that muscle confusion going.  My sinuses are feeling a lot better tonight, so the workout wasn't impacted too much tonight.

My weight has pretty much stabilized at 144 now for about the last 3-4 weeks, so my balance of calories (about 2000/day) and working out seems to be about right now.  Good thing too because it's getting expensive having to replace clothes multiple times.  My waist is now down to 30", so I don't think I want to go too much smaller at this point.  I'm still loving this program.

Day 202 - Rest Day

Today is a rest day like normal since it's Sunday.  It's a good thing it is a rest day because I'm still having trouble with my sinuses, so I took a decongestant and allergy medicine.  I got to visit with my Dad for his Birthday today, so lots of running around and fortunately I was still able to eat pretty healthy.  I'm down a lot on protein today, but still within calories for the day.

Day 201 - X2 Base & Back + X2 Ab Ripper

I've been really tired all day because of this stupid sinus infection or allergies or whatever it is.  Anyway, I was really lacking the motivation to work out today, but I did it anyway and I feel better now.  My back got a really good workout from my golf lesson today because I was focusing on making a full turn.  No doubt the increased flexibility from these workouts is helping me with my golf swing. 

Day 200 - X2 Yoga`

Wow, 200 days of staying with this program.  It sure is paying off.  I feel great and and I'm in the best shape of my life.  My brother is now finally really trying to lose weight so that he can also start some sort of workout program, so it seems the desire to workout is catching.  At some point I think I would like to try a different Beachbody workout program, but I'll likely stick with X2 for the rest of this year.  It's such a good program and I haven't plateaued in terms of results yet.

Day 199 - X2 Shoulders & Arms + X2 Ab Ripper

Wow, that's a lot of dumbbell work.  The arms are feeling tight after that workout.  I still need to get the 30 lb. dumbbells, but the 25 lb. ones worked out fine.  Instead I picked up a pair of 20 lb. ones so that I can up the weight for the ones that I've been doing with just 15 lbs.  I was able to improve on a couple of reps tonight, so I continue to try to improve.  Feeling good.

Day 198 - Rest Night (again, sort of)

Tonight I did some indoor rock climbing with Nicole, so my arms got a pretty good workout from that.  The climbs were a lot easier now that I've lost so much weight (makes a huge difference for rock climbing).  I've been doing good on eating today.
Breakfast: Oatmeal and protein bar
Lunch: Subway 6 inch turkey on wheat (mustard and no cheese), Baked Lays chips
Afternoon Snack: A few cashews and a fiber bar
Dinner: Mexican Beef skillet & corn (no control over this since I don't do the cooking for dinner)
Evening snack: Protein bar, some pretzel sticks & frozen strawberry bar (my favorite snack)

Day 197 - Plyocide

I was concerned that my cold would keep me from being able to exert myself for this tonight, but it worked out fine.  I was able to do well at the workout.  Actually, I got through it with little concern for being able to finish it.  I even did some chin-ups before starting to give my arms a bit of a workout.  My back is feeling much better these days, so I'm not too concerned about pushing it on the back any more.  Bring it.

Day 196 (Start of week 29) - X2 Chest & Back & Balance + X2 Ab Ripper

At the outset I decide I was going to do more reps on some of the workouts today. That positive attitude really helped me to do better on the reps tonight than I had on previous weeks.  It also helps that this is my second week in a row doing the phase 2 workouts.  It was a pretty time-consuming workout again tonight because I didn't rush things.  I'm not sure how I could spend all of this time on working out if I had more demands on my time.  Thankfully right now I don't.  I did okay on eating today.  I also weighed in today and I'm pretty much holding steady on weight.  Today was 144 again.

Day 195 - Rest Day

I'm enjoying my rest day quite a bit.  I spent some time relaxing after church and then decided to see if I could take in the waist on a pair of pants of mine.  It went okay considering I'm not very good with a sewing machine.  I'm trying to keep the protein up a bit more than I did yesterday in prep for hitting Phase 2 pretty hard this week.  Time to bring it with gusto.  I need to go out and get 20 & 30 lb. dumbbells.  I hope to do that tomorrow.

Day 194 - X2 Base & Back + X2 Ab Ripper

I was at a racing event most of the day, so by the time I got home I was pretty tired.  In spite of that I did my workout and I really felt it while doing it tonight.  I was sucking wind a lot during Base & Back.  And by the time I got to Ab Ripper I was pretty much spent, but I still pushed through it.  It won't go down in history as my most beneficial Ab Ripper workout, but I still got it done. 

Day 193 - X2 Yoga

Milestone alert: Before doing X2 Yoga tonight I decided to do some chin-ups to see where I'm currently maxing out. I can now do 15 reps. I've been trying to get to 15 since starting and now I can finally do it. To put this into perspective, when I started I was only able to do 3. 6 months later and things have totally changed for me because of P90X2. Very psyched. BTW, Yoga was awesome tonight. Serious sweating going on. I love that workout. Calories were again a bit high tonight because we went to Cracker Barrel for dinner.  I need to be careful not to let this overeating become too much of a habit.

Day 192 - Rest Day

I'm fighting a bit of a stomach bug that kept me up all night, so I'm off from work today.  I'm glad tonight is a rest day for me.  I need it.

I went off the good eating wagon a bit today.  Lunch was a Chick-fil-A sandwich and waffle fries and then for dinner Kristi made fried chicken strips and french fries.  Ha, go figure.  I even broke down and had a doughnut at Dunkin Donuts today. Oh, well.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit more controlled. In spite of these bad choices my daily intake was still under 2300 calories, so not the end of the world.

Day 191 - X2 Shoulders & Arms + X2 Ab Ripper

I'm a bit late posting this one, but no matter.  Tonight was supposed to be my rest day, but I need to go to an appt. tomorrow night, so I switched it.  My back muscle is still bothering me some, but I got through the routine without having to change anything.  I'm starting to increase my calories a bit more since it seems that 2000 is a bit low and I'm getting hungry by the end of the day.  I suspect I should be okay given the calories burned by X2.  Time will tell.

Day 190 - X2 Plyocide

I just finished my workout and took a quick shower and am feeling really good right now.  The workout seemed to help with my sore back again, so it seems the key here is to keep stretching and rolling the affected muscle.  Plyocide went pretty well tonight.  I was (as usual) sweating a lot by the time I was done.  What a good workout.  My brother mentioned the other day that I look too thin in the face.  I don't know about that.  I guess he's not used to seeing me as thin.

Day 189 (Start of week 28) - X2 Chest & Back & Balance + X2 Ab Ripper

Last night I had trouble sleeping because of my soar back muscle, so it seems that just resting it is doing nothing.  Also, I decided I was tired of having to modify my workout because of a sore muscle, so tonight I did the full workout and did some extra foam rolling of my back muscle to see if I can work out the soreness that way.  We'll see how things go.  Soon I want to start to hit some golf balls again to see if it will hold up to all of the twisting and straining.  I did okay at the workout tonight and I'm still convinced that phase 2 is more of a workout than phase 3, so it's good that I'm spending more time in phase 2.

Day 188 - Rest Day

Nice day of rest today on Sunday.  I went to lunch with my Dad and relaxed some today.  I kept my calories in check and am ready to get back to it hard tomorrow. 

Day 187 - P.A.P. Upper

The workout went fine tonight.  As planned, I substituted other workouts in place of Superman because of my sore muscle.  I did a combination of things in place of it like push-ups, leg lifts and phelan twist. Next week it's back to phase 2 for a couple of weeks again. I had the most amazing cantaloupe for breakfast with my normal protein bar.  The fresh fruits in season right now are truly a blessing.

Day 186 - P.A.P. Lower

I had to modify the workout a bit tonight because I am still having some muscle pain in my back.  I replaced the side bridge leg lift with push-ups instead and I think it was actually more strenuous than the normal routine, so I'm hoping to not have to make that substitution again in the future.  I do think there is value in trying to fit in more push-ups throughout X2 though because my chest doesn't get enough of a workout from the normal routines.  The rest of the workouts didn't bother my back much.  I plan to lay off of the golf lessons tomorrow and just do P.A.P. Upper and probably substitute push-ups in place of Superman, but hopefully everything else will be doable.  I'm enjoying lots of really good fruits and vegetables from the market and from our garden right now, so eating healthy is not too hard. I just ate the most incredible peach.  Yum.