Saturday, June 30, 2012

Day 180 - X2 Base & Back + X2 Ab Ripper

Today marks the final day of 6 months doing this program.  What a busy day.  I started the day doing a makeup session of yoga in the AM (see day 179) and then had a golf lesson for close to an hour and then did this routine and finished up the day hitting some golf balls.  I'm beat. 

Hmm, looking at this picture I think I need some sun.

Day 179 - X2 Yoga

I had to play catch-up and do this Sat. A.M. because Kristi lured me out to see Snow White and the Huntsman last night.  So, I got up at 6:00 today and did yoga.  I was a bit tired and stiff from the golf yesterday, but quickly got loosened up.  I went over my calories yesterday because of the golf outing so I'll need to see if I can keep things more under control today and make up some ground.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Day 178 - X2 Shoulders & Arms + X2 Ab Ripper

I hit about 100 golf balls today n prep for the golf outing tomorrow, so the back was feeling that a bit.  I'm also a bit surprised that I have some soreness in the chest tonight as a result of the pushups last night.  Goes to show you that I need to find a way to mix in more of a workout for the chest.  The workout went well tonight.  I did it after dinner and for this one I think it helped to have some food in me before the workout since it doesn't involve much jumping around.  With dinner I had some nice tomatoes and cucumbers from our garden.  Yum.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Day 177 - Rest Day (sort of)

Officially it a recovery & Mobility or Rest day for me, but I decided to do my own thing again instead.  I did the following with about 3-5 minutes in between each:
  • 13 Chin-ups & 50 Push-ups
  • 12 Chin-ups & 45 Push-ups
  • 12 Chin-ups & 45 Push-ups
  • 11 Chin-ups & 40 Push-ups
  • 11 Chin-ups & 35 Push-ups
This actually felt really good for my night off because it helped me to focus on some areas that need extra help and I was able to do it at a pretty relaxed pace.  It was nice.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Day 176 - X2 Plyocide

I'm psyched.  I got all the way through Plyocide without having to add in any extra breaks.  I pushed it throughout and was very happy that I recovered quickly in between the routines.  I was sweating so much by the time I was done that I had a hard time with the stretching at the end because my legs kept slipping off of each other while working the ham strings.  As I continue to lose weight and tone my body I continue to be amazed at just how much fat I must have had on me before starting this journey.  I sure am going to do my best to make this a long term routine to keep this weight off.  I can't see going back to where I was before and all of the stress it puts on the body.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Day 175 (Start of week 26) - Chest & Back & Balance + X2 Ab Ripper

Today's workout is a combination of Chin-ups and Pushups and then Ab Ripper is obviously all about the core.  I created this video with one of the workouts from each to show a sampling of the type of things included. 

I increased my protein today after this workout in hopes to keep muscle mass up as I continue to lose weight.  I was able to get to about 170 grams today, which is pretty good.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Day 174 - Rest Day

I had a hard time sleeping last night.  Apparently going to bed right after a stressful workout was not a good idea.  My body was in full on "burn" mode and I was hot all night to the point where I couldn't sleep.  I had this same feeling once before after an especially strenuous day of working out.  Good thing today is a rest day so that I can recover. I got a real nice nap today, so I'm now feeling much better. I weighed in this morning and I'm now at 144 lbs. (down a total of 44), so progress continues.  Today for lunch Rich and I took our Dad to a Chinese buffet where they had a Mongolian BBQ, which was pretty good and fairly healthy since I included shrimp and vegetables.  I did have one indulgence and had some mint chocolate chip ice cream (not much). For dinner I kept it real light.  Salad and some turkey breast meat.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Day 173 - X2 Base & Back + X2 Ab Ripper

My day started off by playing basketball for about an hour.  I then had a golf lesson and hit some balls while Stephen had his.  Later in the afternoon I played 18 holes of golf and then later came home and did the workout.  I have to say, I was really tired before starting the workout and my back was really feeling it from hitting so many golf balls today.  I got through Base & Back and didn't drop off on reps, but I was really sucking some wind for the cardio portion of the workout.  When I got to Ab Ripper I got about a third of the way in and had to stop because my legs were cramping up.  Just too much all in one day I guess.  I had my protein shake, plan to take a shower and then go to bed and hopefully get some good rest.  I really need the day off from working out tomorrow.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Day 172 - X2 Yoga

Still love yoga.  I really put in the effort this time through and I like how I feel at the end.  I also did some chin-ups after and I can now do 14 good chin-ups without stopping.  I was very sad to find out that the nice reasonable calorie meal I sometimes enjoy for lunch at Baja fresh called the skinny chicken bowl is loaded with sodium.  Wow, can't win.  Cross another item off the list of what I am able to eat.  Too many things are either loaded with fat or loaded with sodium.  ARGGGH.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Day 171 - X2 Shoulders & Arms + Ab Ripper

Good workout tonight.  I felt strong and put good effort into the workout.  Especially Ab Ripper.  I did really well with the routines in it and could really feel it by the time I was done.  I had to move in a notch on my belt today and ended up having to cut some length off of the belt because it was sticking out too far.  I continue to see small improvements in my abs, but I'm pretty sure it's going to take a while to get to tthe point where all of the belly fat is gone.  That's okay, the journey is the goal here.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Day 170 - Rest Day

No workout today since I'll be attending a Phillies game after work.  My only goal today is to keep my calories in check with all of the free food offered at the game.  By the way, I put on my 33" slacks today and am noticing that they are "falling off" loose.  It's almost to the point where I'll have to consider not wearing them any more since I have to keep pulling them up.  I'm now firmly in the 31-32" waist range and it's time for new pants again.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Day 169 - X2 Plyocide

I must have been a bit tired before starting tonight because I had to take a couple of extra breaks along the way. No matter. The most important thing is to hit play every day. Done.  Feeling good now.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Day 168 (Start of week 25) - X2 Chest & Back & balance + X2 Ab Ripper

Well, my motivation was a bit lacking tonight, but I pushed through the workout and felt much better by the time I was done.  Some days it's just a bit hard to get started, but I am still committed to doing the workouts every day.  I'm finding that upping my calorie count to over 2000 calories had really limited my ability to lose these last few pounds that I want to get rid of, so I think my limit has to be 1900-2000 if I plan to get the rest of this fat off.  I was able to increase my reps on a couple of the workouts tonight, so I feel good about that.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Day 167 - Rest Day

I woke up to a real nice breakfast that my family made for me for Father's Day.  I plan on today being a very lazy day involving lots of resting (after church) and watching U.S. Open golf on TV.
Update: I went a bit over calories today because of the heavier than normal breakfast, but overall not terrible.  I weighed in and I'm holding steady at a weight of  148, so that's not bad considering the last few days of eating.  Now it's time to get back into my normal eating routine.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Day 166 - P.A.P. Upper

It's always a challenge to do two workouts in the same day, but doing P.A.P. Upper and Lower in the same day is a real challenge.  I'm very glad I don't have to make up days very often because it was difficult to do this.  Since it's Father's Day tomorrow I get to go out to dinner with the family tonight at Red Lobster.  I checked their web site and have put together a fairly healthy dinner that won't blow my calories for the day:
  • Shrimp cocktail appetizer
  • Salad
  • Fire grilled Tilapia
  • Broccoli

Day 165 - P.A.P. Lower

Once again I am having to do a makeup workout, so I did the workout this morning (Saturday) instead of last night because I was traveling back from Connecticut and didn't get in until 10:30 PM.  Yesterday was pretty tough for eating.  The only real food option on the golf course was pizza and then for dinner we stopped at a rest stop and the only options were McDonald's, Pizza or Dunkin Donuts.  ARRRRGH.  So I had a chicken sandwich at McDonald's and some fries.  I hate their salads.  I was over on calories for the day, but not ridiculous.  The workout this morning was tough because I'm not used to working out at 6:00 in the morning.  But, I got it done.  This afternoon I'll do my normal workout and will be back on track.

Day 164 - X2 Yoga

I brought Yoga with me and was able to do it int he hotel room.  Not quite as nice as doing it at home since Stephen had the TV going in the background while I was trying to relax and focus, but still a pretty good workout.  I did okay on calories today in spite of being on the road.

Day 163 - Rest Day

I'm playing catch up on posting to the blog because of my travels to University of Connecticut with Nicole for her freshman orientation.  We got up there pretty late so the day did not allow me to include a workout.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Day 162 - P.A.P. Upper

Great workout, but I hate doing Superman with weight.  That is one brutal workout for me.  The rest of the routine I can handle fine, but that one is very difficult for me.  I plan to take Plyocide and Yoga with me on my trip to see if I can do one or the other on Thursday night.  That way I won't have too much of a break from working out.  Right now it seems I'm continuing to lose fat, but not in the belly area. More in the glutes.  I can tell from how my pants fit.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Day 161 (Start of week 24) - P.A.P. Lower + Ab Ripper

I started back to Phase 3 for this week, so I was doing P.A.P. Lower tonight.  I then threw in Ab Ripper because Phase 3 doesn't include it and I don't like going too long without doing it.  Well, That was a brutal combo.  Quite tired.  This week I need to do what I can today and tomorrow because we leave for Connecticut Wednesday night, so workouts the rest of the week will be difficult.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Day 160 - Rest Day

It sure is nice to have a day to recover from working out.  I'm heading up to Pennsburg to take my Dad out to lunch today.   I got on the scale this morning and found I had lost another pound, so the weight continues to come off in spite of me increasing my daily calorie limit to almost 2000 calories.  I just need to make sure to continue to watch what I eat so that I get the right kinds of calories.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Day 159 - X2 Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

Wow, doing this after doing X2 Yoga this morning is making for a very tiring day.  This is an awesome muscle building routine and between all of the workouts I did today I pretty much got a full body workout all in one day.  Sweet.  I should sleep well tonight.  I had protein shakes after each of the workouts today, so my protein level will be plenty high today (which is good).  So looking forward to my day off tomorrow.

Day 158 - X2 Yoga

Okay, technically it's a few hours late since it's currently Saturday morning and I just finished the yoga routine this morning.  Nicole had her High School graduation last night and we went out to dinner afterward, so I had no time to fit in a workout.  No issue.  I got my yoga done this morning and will still plan to do my normal workout later this afternoon (see Day 159).  For dinner out I had the blackened Tilapia and some zucchini along with a nice garden salad.  As of this morning I am still at the same weight of 147-148, so no change there recently.  I am continuing to see some better definition in the ab muscles though.  Ab Ripper sure does help with that.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Day 157 - X2 Shoulders and Arms + X2 Ab Ripper

It's only been a week since I've done this workout and I can tell you that going too long without working this routine in has an impact on arm strength.  Being back to phase 2 for a third week now is helping.  I was able to increase some of the reps tonight.  I also did well with Ab Ripper, so getting back into a good routine with that is also helping.  Next week I plan to go back to phase 3 for a week and then I'm considering doing the phases in order.  It's been a long time since I did phase 1, so that will be interesting when I get back to that.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Day 156 - Rest Day (not really)

Tonight is supposed to be Recovery and Mobility, but I had different ideas. I decided to do a light workout that included the following:
- 13 Chin-ups
- X2 Ab Ripper
- 50 Pushups
- 13 Chin-ups

Sometimes it's nice to just make up your own workout for a change of pace.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Day 155 - X2 Plyocide

Tony calls it death by jumping and it lived up to it's nickname tonight.  It felt that way to me tonight by the time I was done.  I was a little heavy on the calories today, but still under 2000 and I got a good portion of it in the form of protein.  I'm glad to be able to rest for a bit tonight after dinner. 

Day 154 (Start of week 23) - X2 Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

I decided to do one more week of phase 2 before doing a week of phase 3, so I got to do another round of Chest and Back.  I was a bit short on time tonight because of a concert I needed to get to for my daughter, but I was still able to get everything in, but had to minimize rest periods.  I'm trying to decide what my next goal should be.  I still need to increase my reps on the workouts, but I see that as an ongoing thing rather than a short-term goal.  I keep thinking % body fat, but I'm having too much trouble trying to calculate it that I don't think I can trust the measurements.  My max push-ups right now is 45, so I know I want to get back up to at least 50.  That's certainly one goal, but not much of a stretch.  15 chin-ups is also fairly close since I am currently at 13.  Not sure yet, but I'll keep considering.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Day 153 - Rest Day

Yesterday was pretty busy, so I sure appreciate Sundays and the chance to relax a bit.  My only plan today related to this program is to eat healthy.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Day 152 - X2 Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper

I was able to increase reps on a couple of the pull-up routines today and the plyo didn't seem too bad either.  I still took my usual breaks to let the heart rate get down a bit, but nothing out of the ordinary.  Ab Ripper was also pretty good today (especially considering I had to do it after this workout).  Later today I plan to go golfing with Stephen, so I plan to rest a bit in between.  I've been surprised at how easy it's been to change my eating habits and have it be sustainable.  I really don't crave the junk I used to eat.  I now have new favorites that are more healthy.  I still drink too much diet soda, but hey, everyone has at least one vice.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Day 151 - X2 Yoga

Another good night of yoga.  I sure am glad I'm able to do this every week.  I need it and probably should consider doing this more than once a week.  It's such a  good workout.  My shorts that are 32 inch waist are now getting to be too big.  I now don't really have any pants that fit.  Again.  Good problem to have I guess.