Monday, December 31, 2012

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

Sunday, December 30, 2012

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.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

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.

Friday, December 28, 2012

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.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

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.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

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.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

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.


Monday, December 24, 2012

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.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

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.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

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.

Friday, December 21, 2012

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.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

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.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

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. 

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

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.

Monday, December 17, 2012

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.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

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.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

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 :-)

Friday, December 14, 2012

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.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

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.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

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.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

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.

Monday, December 10, 2012

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.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

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.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

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.

Friday, December 7, 2012

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.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

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. 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

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.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

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).

Monday, December 3, 2012

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.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

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.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

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.