Tom's p90x Experience 2

p90x Review and Primer

2009-03-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

I just pointed two different friends towards P90x and both of them received their DVDs this week. With that, I thought I'd write a review/primer for them and anyone else thinking about starting the program. Since I've gone through the damn thing 4 times now I know a thing or two about it.

What is P90x?
First and foremost, P90x is a lifestyle change. It is working out every day. Every single f*cking day whether you want to or not. It's weights, pushups, and pullups alternating with cardio days. It is relentless. When you finish a workout, there is another tomorrow. When you finish that one, there is another the next day. I know they show P90x Informercials on late night cable but it's in a far different category than the shit pedaled by Chuck Norris and Tony Little. There are no gimmicks or tricks.

To answer the question more specifically, p90x is a 90 day training program designed for the athletically inclined adult. It combines weightlifting, cardio, stretching, and a balanced diet.

Does it work?
Without a doubt, yes. My entire life I have been athletic and played sports. I dabbled with weights now and again. Almost two years ago I went through 80ish days of p90x. Then in 2008 I started up again, this time with my friend Winnie. We've kept the program going for nearly a year and we are both in the best shape of our lives. I've gone from 13 pullups to 25, doing sets of curls with 15 lbs to 30, 25 pushups to perhaps 50, and so on. I have visible chest muscles for the first time in my life and my arms are clearly bigger. I'm an avid volleyball player and I can tell that I'm jumping higher and hitting the ball harder. In my hockey leagues I have stats from the last 6 years or so and my goal scoring rate has shot up over the last year. I'm 31 and get ragged on by some of my younger friends about my age. But the fact of the matter is that for every day older I'm getting, I'm also getting a little bit stronger than I've ever been in my life.

What are the P90x workouts like?
A typical p90x 'Heavy' week is this:

Day 1: lifting and abs
Day 2: lower body cardio
Day 3: lifting and abs
Day 4: yoga
Day 5: lifting and abs
Day 6: full body cardio
Day 7: rest or stretch

The lifting videos are all an hour long and comprise of approximately 25 exercises focusing on 2 or 3 different muscle groups (ie chest and back). They are an hour long and should then be followed up by the 15 minute Ab Ripper X video.

The cardio videos are an hour long each and are comprised of a series of short, intensive exercises with intermittent short breaks.

The yoga video is a 90 minute sonuvabitch that I hate. I have to be honest, I only do this video occasionally. I really hate it, not because it's not ineffective, but because I'm inflexible and hate it. I understand that not doing the video doesn't help my flexibility any but F it. I play hockey and volleyball 4 times a week. That's how I rationalize not doing it.

Intermixed with the Heavy weeks are occasional 'Light' weeks which are still six or seven days, but just have more cardio in lieu of the heavy lifting. These give your muscles time to recover - which they'll need, trust me.

The whole program is this:

3 Heavy weeks
1 Light week
3 Heavy weeks
1 Light week
4 Heavy weeks
1 Light week.

Piece of cake, no?

What equipment does P90x require?
At the bare minimum, all you need is a set of surgical tubing exercise/resistance bands. The videos show how to do every exercise with these bands in lieu of weights or a pullup bar. I have a set of these for when I travel though I don't really like them. The equipment I recommend you get is this:

Pullups bar - ideally one that lets you have multiple hand positions (wide, narrow, etc).
Pushup stands - I love the Perfect Pushups. Winnie has some crappy Nike ones that roll over on her.
Dumbbells - I have the Bowflex Selecttech Dumbbells and I love them. I can select in any weight from 5-52.5 lbs and I use them all for p90x. They are hella expensive though. Winnie uses an old fashioned set but doesn't need as big a range as I do. So she gets by with weights from 2 to 30 lbs or so. (In p90 plus, currently the heaviest dumbbell I'm using is 27.5lbs so I could get by with a smaller set.)
Yoga mat - Get the thickest one you can find. It makes the yoga and ab workouts more comfortable.
Yoga block - I used my old Gamecube for a long time until Winnie gave me a yoga block. This helps you get in some of the more annoying poses if you aren't flexible.
Giant Swedish ball - This you don't actually need. But after a couple p90x sessions I got bored so I swapped in bench press for a number of the pushup exercises. The Swedish ball is a passable poorman's weight bench.

What's the best way to get started?

Decide if this is something that you really want to do. You can't just dabble in p90x. You must jump in headfirst and commit yourself to the 90 days. That means, before you start, look at your next 90 days and make sure you have time. Make sure you don't have any big vacations. Make sure you can set a routine.
See if you can get a friend to do do it at the same time. It might be hard, but for me this was huge. There were many days I didn't want to workout but Winnie pushed me to (and even more days I did the same for her. :) You don't always have to workout together, but having someone to share stories with and commiserate with really helps. There were a lot of times I wanted to quit (I still experience these) and having someone else going through it at the same time makes it easier to go on. I know that some turn to the Beachbody Forums for this. My first time through p90x, Winnie wasn't working out with me so I used this blog as my outlet. Try to find something.
Make a 90 day calendar and put it on your wall. Winnie and I both have actual calendars for the last year. Every time we work out, play sports, or even take a long walk we write down what we did on our calendar and put a sticker on that day. On days I workout and play hockey, I get two stickers. This sounds childish but it is a massive motivator. My goal at the end of the month is to have more stickers on my calendar than there are days in the month. I nearly always reach this goal and it feels good. We also number every day so we can see the milestones (and reward ourselves). Day 90 was sweet. Day 365 is going to be even better.
On day 1, just go for it. Jump in and do it. Don't be afraid to hit the pause button. Do be ashamed if you can't do any pull-ups by the end. So what, grab a chair. My first day was nearly impossible. I could barely lift my arms at the end, much less do a pushup or pullup. Winnie's was even worse, she bailed halfway through the workout. (That was the only time she didn't make it through a workout though). The only day that was worse than her first was perhaps her second (the first time through Plyo X). I felt like I was going to throw up but she really looked like she was going to throw up.
Log everything. I don't like the p90x provided worksheets and made my own. I originally used an excel spreadsheet but then switched to using a Google Doc spreadsheet. I even set up a thing I called my "Power Score" to give me a way to watch my progress from week to week. This was a HUGE motivator for me and always pushed me to do extra reps or more weight. Doing p90x Plus, I haven't set up a fancy spreadsheet yet (I'm back to excel) and haven't taken the time to figure out a good way to graph my progress (the workouts are a little different). Because of this, I don't think I'm quite pushing myself as hard to improve as during the normal p90x.
Just keep doing it. The hardest part of each workout is the first 5 seconds. It's hearing the damn p90x sound that starts each video. But once I get going, I don't quit. I just want to be done. So when I really don't want to work out. I drag my ass into the living room and just hit 'Play'. Then I lace up my shoes while Tony's giving his schpeal (sp?) and just do my best. Sometimes I bonk but at least I did it.
If you feel like quitting, read other people's blogs (including mine). Go back to when they started the program to see how hard it was for them. If you're suffering through it, then you're working hard enough and just need to hang in there. If you're reading a blog and the person doesn't sound like he's suffering, leave spiteful anonymous comments.

What do I eat during P90x?
Well, that's a great question. I kinda threw aside the P90x diet plan and did my own thing. my rationale is that doing the workouts every day was going to take nearly all of my willpower. I would rather spend the majority of my mental energy tracking my workouts rather than my diet. I don't know if this was the right decision. Sometimes I hear someone say that 80% of working out is nutrition. So hell if I know. Regardless, I did improve my diet though and lost 18 pounds over the first 90 days. I've since put some of that back on in my quest to bulk up. Here was/is my plan:

Drink diet soda instead of regular. I was probably averaging 1-2 sugared sodas per day. I switched to diet just to save the calories.
Cut out the junk food. This was easy for me. I never really crave junk food and snacks so I just stopped buying it. Not having it meant I wasn't eating it. Done.
Don't buy fast food. I used to eat fast food once or twice a week. I'm probably down to once a month now.
Crank up the veggies. I was averaging perhaps one serving of veggies a day. Now I get maybe four a day. This is actually pretty easy to do. I just keep my favorite raw vegetables on hand (carrots, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, etc). Then when I cook something, I just throw some it. It's pretty dumb but it works. When I make an eggs, I just cut up a bunch of whatever and throw it in with my eggs. Voila: veggie omelet. When I heat up a can of chicken soup, same thing. I just throw a bunch of carrots in. When I'm heating up dinner, I throw some veggies in a microwave dish with a top to steam them. Then when they come out I bathe them in ketchup and that's it, four servings of veggies.
Substitute veggies or salad for my french fries at restaurants.
Eat whole grain breads instead of white breads whenever possible because everyone tells me this is better.
Drink two protein shakes a day. I like to use vanilla flavored whey protein powder mixed with milk. Then I throw a splash of one of my various sugar free flavor syrups in there (like the kind they have at coffee shops).
Take one serving of creatine a day. I don't know if this really works or not but I read that it does. So I take it. I cycle both my creatine and protein three weeks on, one week off so my body does not become too accustomed to taking them.

That's pretty much it for the diet. More veggies. More protein. Less crap.

What's bad about p90x?
Well, it's time consuming. If you take a rest day each week, it's still about 7 hours of working out each week which is a lot. I've been lucky that my job choices have given me the flexibility to take that much time to work out.

Also, it's pretty hard on your body. At numerous times Winnie and I have fought through injuries. In particular our knees and shoulders have taken a beating. We're creative though so if some body part is hurting way more than it should, we don't hesitate to modify the workouts to take some of the stress off. Actually, now that I think about it Winnie kind of sucks at that which is why her shoulder is bugging her and isn't healing where as I recovered nicely from a horrific sledding crash over Christmas.

Lastly, it's pretty repetitive. By the end of the 90 days I knew every one of Tony's jokes. But I got to the point where I could do the workouts without the videos so instead I would watch TV and just crank through my worksheet.

Do you recommend p90x?
Absolutely. You need to be in decent shape to start it because it is hard and time consuming. But I think it's a fantastic program and it's all-inclusive nature is great if you don't have any workout or weight training experience. At the end of 90 days it does leave you with a feeling of "well, now what?" So we just kept going.

What's the deal with p90x plus?
Well, I'm not quite sure yet. Actually, I know more than that. I've been doing it for the last 6 weeks. It does address my above criticisms but I might have new ones. I'm going to hold out until the end before passing judgment but I will write some about it in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

- Tom

p90x Plus

2009-03-16T22:32:00.001-07:00

In January we finished up our 3rd p90x session and started a 4th. After a few workouts I was complaining to Winnie that I was sick of the same old workouts and drastically needed something new. Soon after, reader wossaaat commented and let me know about P90x Plus. I hadn't heard about it so his comment couldn't have been more welcome. I immediately got the DVDs and we jumped right into it.

I'll write more about it over the coming weeks but the short of P90x Plus is that you take the fundamentals of P90x, streamline the workouts, and add your core to nearly every single move. It will get old in time but for now it's a very welcome change that we have embraced wholeheartedly.

Day 344 - Closing in on a year

2009-03-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've updated this space. But that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. I left my startup, went to Europe, played some hockey, started a new company, and, of course, have been working out.

Other than a few days because of traveling, I essentially haven't missed a day. It's been p90x, over and over and over again. I've hit 25 pullups a couple times now, am curling almost twice what I could a year ago, and, dare I say, even sporting a few muscles I didn't have before.

Winnie's been no slouch either. She's been working out with me about 3 days a week and sticking with the program as well. While I'm proud of my results, her's are pretty unbelievable. 9 months ago she couldn't do a pullup. She can now do 13. Yes, 13. And she's ripped too. I'm pretty sure that if we keep this up for another year she'll be both bigger and stronger than me. It just goes to show that some people are meant to be be stronger than others. I need to start sneaking in two-a-days or something...

Day Mother&*%#ing 177!

2008-09-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

Where have we been? Working our asses off is the answer. We just hit the zone and kept on going. The P90x experience 2 was completed and we didn't stop. Through the next 90 days we've modified things just a bit. Winnie and I have both had a bunch of nagging injuries that we've been working around. In particular due to bad ankles and knees Plyo has been relegated to the sidelines though I want to bring it back. That workout in particular is great for my volleyball and hockey.

Speaking of which, all this working out has done wonders for my other sports. I put up the most goals I ever have this summer on each of my two hockey teams. Not too shabby...

I'll have more up here soon on the latest with our pushups, pullups, spreadsheets, wrist violence, and so on.

Day 75 - Conquered!!!

2008-06-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

Those of you that read my first P90x Experience know that I only made it to day 78. That's where I pooped out and ultimately bailed because of travel. So close.

Well today Winnie and I made it past day 78! We crushed Back and Biceps and then celebrated with Ab Ripper X. To crown the achievement instead of the usual 50 mason twists to finish the ab workout I did 130.

I feel awesome right now. I'm proud of myself and also really proud of Winnie for getting farther than I did last summer. And I keep saying it but if it wasn't for her then I really question if I could have gotten this far again.

Check out my power graph if you haven't done so in a while. Everything is still going up - and linearly at that! It is so incredibly motivating to continue to put up more weight and more reps every single workout.

I'm also blissfully off that calorie cutting phase and eating normal again. I'm still eating super healthy (had a ton of fruits and vegetables today) but not counting everything. I weighed in at 140 this morning which is good to see. My weight bounces around so much that I think I'm going to put the scale away and only check it weekly now. Rather than let that bother me I want to just focus on eating healthy and putting up weights.

I'm actually looking forward to Friday's Legs & Back workout. I want to max out on pull-ups to start that workout every week so hopefully that record will be climbing over 22.

FLASHBACK! Day 68 - Yoga X?

2008-06-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

I did something last Saturday that I swore I would never do again. Yoga X. Winnie made me do it with her and you know what? It wasn't that bad. I haven't done this workout in over a year and what a difference a year makes. I am significantly more flexible than I was a year ago so I can actually bend far enough to do most of the moves correctly. I'm also way stronger than I was a year ago so muscle fatigue wasn't much of an issue. Winnie did it right next to me which helped since she found my jokes amusing and commiserated with me. We did some good Drea bashing (one of Tony's lackeys that I used to find lovely but now find arrogant).

Oh yeah, I also did the Yoga workout in basketball shoes and not barefooted like the pansies in the video in an effort to feel more manly.

The thing that really shocked me about Yoga X was how I felt afterwords. With straight legs I could reach down and touch my toes. I normally fall about 3 inches short and, no shit, haven't been able to touch my toes since I was perhaps 7. And I did it last Saturday. I've tried doing it since and gotten close but not done it again.

So what can I say, I might, just might do Yoga X again since it clearly does things for my flexibility that I might not otherwise get.

I just hope next time my stupid roommate and his buddy aren't drinking and making fun of us during the workout. That's pretty demoralizing. I got that fucker back tonight though. His girlfriend is in town staying with us and I asked her if she wanted to do Ab Ripper X with me. She said yes so then he did it with us so as to not appear to be a pussy. And it crushed him which was sweet. My only regret is that Winnie wasn't here to see him crumble.

Oh yeah, sorry about all the swearing recently. But I feel it gives the blog an edgier vibe. And since I don't believe there is anyone reading this other than Winnie and my friend Jill, it doesn't really matter much.

Day 75 - Cutting Phase Over Early

2008-06-21T00:18:00.000-07:00

This evening I chose to end the cutting phase of my ABCDE diet cycle. The short of what I did was 12 days of bulking followed by 12 days of cutting. The end result is that after the 24 days I should have a couple pounds of new lean muscle mass and dropped a bit of fat.

That isn't what happened to me.

Over the 12 day bulking phase I put on approximately 3 pounds with a average daily intake of 3250 calories. I should have put on more so this was my first hint that I wasn't eating enough and had miscalculated my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). When I started the cutting phase I actually bumped up my daily caloric allotment to 1700-1800 calories per day to handle this miscalculation. Over the next 7 days I ate approximately 1750 calories daily with a diet full of good stuff - fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Not much junk. Check out my calorie tracker if you're curious was I was injesting.

This morning was the start of Cutting Phase Day 8. When I weighed myself this morning the scale registered 135. That is no joke. 135 pounds. I'm 5'8" and weighed 156 lbs last winter, 148 lbs at the beginning of this P90x experience, and 140 at the beginning of my bulking phase.

The whole mess has backfired. My goal was to put on weight consisting of lean muscle mass. I am now somehow 5 pounds lighter than I was 3 weeks ago. What the fuck? This raises a ton of questions. How much lean muscle mass have I put on? Or even worse, have I actually LOST lean muscle mass (in addition to fat) over the last 3 weeks. This is crazy, 5 pounds over 3 weeks when for over half of that I was actively trying to put on weight. Let's break this down.

First off, I clearly miscalculated my TDEE. I must be a metabolic machine. My body, without any physical activity, is likely burning more calories than I gave it credit for. Next, my activity level is higher than I gave it credit for. I work out HARD 5-6 times per week. I play hockey twice a week plus 3-5 hours of volleyball. I get 20-40 miles on my bike in. It adds up I guess. I previously estimated my TDEE at about 2100-2200 calories. I'm now thinking that I'm more like 2500.

Next data point, I am still getting stronger. Nearly without exception, I continue to put up more weight or do more weight. Look at my power graph, the numbers don't lie. Every heavy workout has a definite linear trend - there are no plateaus yet. So this diet cycle didn't harm my lifting performance. That's good.

So I'm burning (at least) 2500 calories a day yet consuming 1750. That's a deficit of 750 which is high but acceptable according to this article I just dug up. Phew! Except for the bulking phase I was eating approximately 750 calories excess! So shouldn't I weigh the same as when I started?

Ugh. The short of this, I have no friggin clue what to do. I'm considering going through another bulk/cut cycle in a few weeks (but eating 500 more calories per day) to see what happens. If I end up getting fat I don't really give a shit. I can clearly drop weight insanely fast. It's worth trying.

One thing about weighing 135. I'm embarrassed by that. I'm cut as hell right now. Back when I started this 2nd P90x program I was thinking that if I could put on 10 pounds of muscle (which is a lot, I know) and be 158 I'd be huge. I didn't realize how much fat I was carrying around with me. If I put on 10 pounds of muscle now I'll be 145, huge(r), and still less than what I weighed before.

I think I need a trainer. Do those guys really know anything though?

Day 75 - Holy Pullups Batman!

2008-06-20T23:33:00.000-07:00

I JUST HIT A HUGE GOAL! 22 PULLUPS! Today was legs and back and I decided to start the workout off by maxing out on pullups. My previous best was 18 so I set my goal at 20 - but I just kept going! I haven't been that proud of myself in a long time. I ended up doing 107 pullups in the entire workout. For reference, the first time I did Legs & Back during my first P90x Experience I only did 33 pullups total. I don't mean to brag but if that isn't a success story, I don't know what is.

Winnie is SO SO close to getting a full chinup herself. If she starts with her arms just slightly bent instead of at a dangle she can get her chin up and over the bar on her own. And likewise, if she starts a total dangle she can get about 60% of the way up. If I just give her the tiniest assist she gets up over the bar. She's been increasing her reps as time has passed and is up to 10-14 pullups with a minor chair assist for each set. Next week is our last chance to build up before the end fitness test. I'm going to not allow her to do more than 8 pullups each set and am going to hang some weight off her. I hope that gets her over the hump because she is so close.

Day 68 - Cutting Phase Begins

2008-06-13T20:31:00.000-07:00

I wrapped up my 12 day bulking phase yesterday. Over the 12 days I averages about 3250 calories a day which is about exactly what I was shooting for. Of those 12 days, I only really ate like shit last Saturday, when I got good and drunk. It's hard to say given measurement error, but I believe I put on about 3 pounds over that period which is less than the 5-7 I was going for. That's a strong indication that I didn't eat enough which I can believe because I did more cardio than the (zero cardio) recommendation. Regardless, I'm going to follow though with my original plan and see how things turn out after the 12 day cutting phase.

Speaking of which, that began today and actually wasn't too bad. My goal during the cutting phase is to average 1700 calories a day which is not much compared to what I've become accustomed too. Today was actually pretty easy though and a welcome change. I ate a ton of vegetables and greens which are as close to free as I can get.

Today's workout was a morning bike ride + Legs & Back + Ab Ripper, the latter two workouts being HARD AS F*CK. Winnie did hers in he morning which made me jealous since I wasn't doing mine until after work. And I'll say it again, it is really hard doing these workouts alone. For one thing they go faster because we don't get the mini break when the other is using the pull-up bar. But besides that the support of someone else going through the same hell really makes a difference. Add to that the fact that I've cut my food intake nearly in half and I wanted to die. But I made it through and my power score went up again. (Take a look at my sweet graph if you haven't yet...)

Day 64 - Hung over and resting

2008-06-08T23:08:00.000-07:00

Today was a rest day which coincided perfectly with my hangover. For the last week I've had the goal of eating 3200 calories a day which is supposedly 1500 calories over my maintenance level. Other than yesterday, I've been within 100 calories of that goal and have logged every single thing I've eaten that has at least 10 calories or so. Yesterday I went over by 483 calories but it wasn't my fault. I did a big volunteering event in Seattle and was rewarded with unlimited food and beer afterwords. I ended up getting pretty drunk and ate some shitty food. One blown day out of 8 isn't bad though.

Supposedly I'm supposed to put on five pounds or so during this twelve day bulking phase - much of which should theoretically be lean muscle mass. I don't think I'm going to put that much on though. After a week of doing this I think I'm only up a couple pounds. It's possible (nay, probable) that I underestimated the calories my body burns on it's own (ie my maintenance level). Regardless, I'm going to stick out the remaining days in this bulking phase and then the cutting phase and then adjust for the next go around.

Workout wise I kicked ass this past week. I'm supposed to go heavy and avoid cardio so that's what I did. Instead of the typical 3 heavy days I did 5. I swapped in a custom heavy leg workout for Plyo X. And in lieu of Kempo X I did Chest, Shoulders, & Tris. And of course, I blew off the hell-spawn that is Yoga X. That vile piece of rubbish was happily abandoned for multiple volleyball and hockey days.

Updates: I added a link to my Calorie Tracker spreadsheet on the right. You voyeurs can check out what a pig I am right now. Make sure to take a look next week when I cut back to 1550 calories a day. Also, I finished moving everything over to my online workout tracker.

Yesterday's consumption:
ABCDE Diet - bulking day 7 -3683 calories
3 egg omelet w/ ham and veggies 380
8 oz orange juice 110
toast w/ sugar free preserves 140
1 Rice Krispie square 90
2 mini cliff bars 168
5 Pyramid Curveball beers 750
4 tacos w/ beef and cheese 1000
2 Spaten beers 500
random light beer 150
some Gatorade 100
handful of Goldfish 100
piece of pork 120
some potato sticks 75

Day 60 - Shoulders & Arms

2008-06-04T22:13:00.000-07:00

Power Score: 2155 (previous best: 2042)

I actually did this workout yesterday and crushed it. On nearly every exercise I did either more reps or more weight than the last Shoulders & Arms day back in April. I upped my weight to 20 lbs on the 2nd time through Static Arm Curls and nailed it. Winnie is kicking ass too. She's passed me in a few exercises now (Chair Dips and Side-Tri-Rises). She's gunning for me in In & Out Bicep Curls next. Even if she catches me I can still beat her in pull-ups :)

ABCDE diet - bulking day 4 - 3215 calories

I think I'm finally adjusting to 3200 calories a day. I have a ton of energy now. In my volleyball game tonight I was a madman. And some of the local hills I ride regularly on my bike don't seem nearly as high.

I don't have the fat bloated feeling any more and find that I could even eat more than this if I allowed myself. I guess my stomach is stretching back to it's pre-P90x size. I still have no clue if this diet is a good idea or not.

Morning weight reading ?
Morning fat reading ?
Workout: Volleyball

1 bowl Fruity Pebbles 150
2 Fraunch toast 215
1/2 banana w/ sugar free pudding 100
8oz skim milk 80
1 ON protein shake w/ 10oz skim milk 230
curry pork w/ rice 750
1/4 cup candied walnuts 140
Tom's garden burger pizza wrap 175
Remaining curry pork w/ rice 700
10oz skim milk 100
1 small, grilled pork loin sandwich 260
1 ON protein shake w/ 10 oz skim milk 230
1 apple 85

New Photos Up

2008-06-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

New photos are posted on the right and are clickable for higher-res versions. No laughing. Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed. I'm still scrawny as hell and the differences between the before and after aren't that great. The fist set of pictures I took myself using a stool and my camera's timer. I conned Winnie into taking the most recent ones from a better angle. Hopefully that's why the differences aren't more pronounced...

But on the other hand, looking into a mirror I swear I'm bigger than I was a year ago. Hopefully that's not just wishful thinking.

Regardless, I am most definitely stronger, faster, and healthier than I was a year ago which is motivating as hell. As long as I keep putting up more weight with every workout I'm not going to stop.

Day 57 - Chest and Back

2008-06-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

Power score: 2074 (previous best, 1853)

Chest and back was f'ing hard today. My chest, back, and abs (did Ab Ripper X too) are all sore as hell today which I actually enjoy. The good: I did 10 more pull-ups than the last I did this workout (in April). The bad: Nearly all my pull-up improvements were on the first time through. I felt like I bonked the 2nd time through. The ugly: the Perfect Push-ups made the chest workout hard as hell. For certain exercises they are MUCH harder than without.

One thing I noticed, with the Perfect Push-up bars I go low. Really low. Lower than Tony. And that's why I feel it so bad/good today.

ABCDE diet - bulking day 1 - 3452 calories
First off, I hate this "diet" already. It is way more food than I need and I feel like I'm forcing myself to eat. From what I've read, that's what you have to do though. Yuck. From what I gather I'm supposed to feel pumped and alive. I feel lethargic and like a fat sack of shit. Winnie's pissed off at me too because she kills herself to stay under 1200 calories a day and now she's hearing me bitch about having to eat so much. At least I'll be joining her in 11 days. I didn't feel particularly pumped for my workout though I did put up more weight and do more reps than the last time I did the workout. But that was in April so I would expect to do better anyway. So the short, after 1 day I have no idea if this is a good idea or not.

2 bowls Honey Nut Cheerios w/ skim milk 400
1 bowl Cookie Crisp w/ skim milk 200
2 scoops Muscle Milk w/ 14 oz skim milk 440
1 curry beef ball 400
0.5 sesame bean ball 100
1.5 cups seafood chowder and 1/2 bread bowl 400
0.5 serving dungeness crab cocktail 100
2 scoops Muscle Milk w/ 16 oz skim milk 460
1 small slice mushroom pizza 110
6 oz skim milk 60
14 oz orange juice 192
1 Healthy Choice salsbury steak dinner 270
0.125 cup candied pecans 75
0.5 PB&J sandwich 165
8 oz skim milk 80

Day 57 - The ABCDE Diet

2008-06-02T18:06:00.000-07:00

Sunday marked the start of my new diet plan, the Anabolic Burst Cycling of Diet and Exercise. Here's the deal: for 12 days I consume an additional 1500 calories over my maintenance level (around 3200)l. These should be quality calories - so not pigging out on junk food. The idea is that my body will be freaked out and go into this mode where it puts on a lot of lean muscle mass fast. If I do any cardio on a particular day I need to add 200 calories to compensate. After 12 days though the body has adapted to the high caloric intake and switches modes to fat storing. So at day 13 I will drop to a reduced calorie diet (around 1500) for 12 days. The body again gets freaked out and goes into a mode where it burns off fat quickly.

For workouts during the bulking phase I'm supposed to be doing heavy lifting with minimal cardio. The three heavy P90x days are perfect for that. I will be swapping out Plyo for a dumbbell leg workout. I'm not sure yet what I'll do instead of Kempo. I will not be skipping my hockey or volleyball games.

Will this work? That's the big question. If all goes according to plan I should put on some good muscle and some fat during the bulking phase. Then during the cutting phase I should actually drop more fat than I put on. That's the theory, at least. I have read (and spoken with) people that had awesome results doing this. I have also read some criticism that says I'm just going to get fat. If the former is the case, party on, Wayne. If it's the latter, at least I tried.

What happens after 24 days? Well, assuming I don't turn into a tubby sack of shit then I can continue to cycle bulking/cutting phases. I'm currently 140 and still scrawny - not as scrawny as I was a year ago (as you'll see tomorrow), but scrawny nonetheless. I would love, LOVE, to be 160 without having any more fat on me than I do now. I don't know if that's possible though.

The big ABCDE Diet article
Corrections to the plan in the article
Criticism

Spreadsheet now online!

2008-06-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

I have alluded to a mythical spreadsheet and "power score graph" that I use to track all my workouts. I now how proof that I'm actually writing this all down. Check out the two links to the right. The graph can be clicked to get a better view. And the link right below goes to the entire spreadsheet for your viewing pleasure.

Currently I've moved the Chest & Back and Arms & Shoulders workouts into that doc. I will be moving the rest of the workouts into there over the course of the week. Check back soon...

So what is this graph? Using some basic math I've reduced each workout I do (excluding Plyo, Kempo, etc) to a single number. Whenever I add reps or weight to a particular exercise, that number increases. Whenever I do more push-ups that number increases. And so on. I'm sure my formula gives too much weight to some exercises and too little to others, but that's not a big deal. I find it a challenge to beat my previous best score each week and watch that graph go up.

If you click on that graph and bring up the full sized version, you'll see a dip in each of the two lines. That dip corresponds to the regression I suffered between my first and second P90x experience. But as you can see, the end point of each line is a maximum so I'm happily ahead of where I finished last summer.

I welcome any and all comments, feedback, questions, and suggestions about this spreadsheet or graph. If anyone wants a copy of the spreadsheet (once I have finished moving the remainder of my data over) I will happily supply it. I did base it off an excel spreadsheet that some hard working fellow did and posted so, anonymous excel guy, thanks!

Day 54 - Recovery Week 2

2008-05-31T12:10:00.001-07:00

Today is the last day of the phase 2 recovery week. I'm probably not going to do any kind of a workout other than a bike ride. I'm really excited with how things are going. I weighed in yesterday morning at 138.5 - a new low. I wish my stupid scale could give me an accurate measurement of my body fat but from what I can tell, I'm somewhere between 5.5 and 7.5%. So let's call that 6.5%.

Winnie is down to 117.5 pounds and has been there for a few days now - so it's not an aberration of the scale. Her target weight was 116 so she's excited that she's going to get there. I have to commend her, she is really keeping her food intake down. You should have seen us eating like pigs last December - we are a long way from that now. As she's been dropping weight she's decided that she wants to put on more muscle which wasn't necessarily a goal up front. I'm thrilled by that because I think that means I'll be able to keep my workout partner after day 90.

Tomorrow is a big day for me. It's the start of the final phase of P90x for us. It's also the start of a new diet regiment that I'm going to start on. It's based on the ABCDE diet plan developed by some dude, Torbjorn Akerfeldt. The very short version is this: you intake a shitload of calories for 2 weeks and then starve yourself for 2 weeks. The idea is that your body's hormones get all out of whack and for the 2 weeks of bulking you put on crazy muscle mass plus some fat. Then during the 2 weeks of cutting your body gets confused again and you burn off all that fat and then some. Repeat. There have been studies done since that article was written some I will be tweaking some things. More on this tomorrow.

18 F*CKING PULL-UPS!

2008-05-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Since I did 16 in jeans last night I thought I could bang out more today. So in my boxers and a t-shirt I just cranked out 18 pull-ups! The last one took me forever to get up to the bar and I made a noise like a dying elk but I did it.

2 more to go to hit my goal and I have 49 days to get there!

Day 51 - Core Synergistics

2008-05-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

Success! Last summer travel was the downfall of my 78 day p90x streak. Not so this time around though! I was back in New Hampshire the last 4 days visiting my family and I didn't miss a workout. Thursday was Kempo X with my sister which was a total blast. She's always been a talker so we chatted and joked through the whole workout. During the high sword-low hammer punches, Tony has us saying "In the head, in the gut" repeatedly. My sister is only 4'10" so instead she was laughing and declaring "In the neck, in the groin!" over and over. She did really well throughout the whole workout - I think that's the result of growing up with 4 brothers.

I also got in 2 Ab Ripper X workouts, Legs & Back (using the bands), a long bike ride with my dad, and a hike. Eating healthy was harder than getting in the workouts. Every meal my mom makes is centered around a large portion of meat - be it burgers for dinner, cheese steaks for lunch, or sausage for breakfast. Everything else is just an accompaniment for said meat. Even so, I was able to do pretty good this weekend. I found her stash of fruits and vegetables and helped myself to those liberally.

Progress updates:
I did 16 pull-ups last night (and that was wearing jeans and not being warmed up). I'm going to be really close to that 20. Winnie is also down to 119 pounds and couldn't be happier. On top of that, her arms are getting huge which she reminds us both of with her frequent flexing :)

We're in the rest week of phase II. This afternoon is core synergistics. Neither of us are thrilled to do it but banging it out shouldn't be a problem.

Day 44 - On a roll

2008-05-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

I tell you, I am in a groove right now. I'm eating healthy (just chose a salad over chili for dinner). I'm going to bed early (which is before midnight for me). I band out the aerobic and ab workouts before 9am from home. I crush the heavy lifting days after work with Winnie. Things couldn't be going better.

This morning was Plyo X which wasn't nearly as miserable as last week. And tomorrow is Back & Biceps day which will mark the halfway point. Then I'm heading out of town for a long weekend starting tomorrow night. I'm bringing the power-bands with me to do the one heavy workout that I won't be able to do without my dumbbells. This trip will be a good test of my dedication considering that it was travel that derailed my first P90x Experience.

I've picked up a couple workout gadgets over the last month which I now have enough experience with to write about. The first is the official stands for my Bowflex dumbbells. I splurged and dropped the 130 bucks on these which I'm thrilled with. I was lugging those heavy f*ckers back and forth across our office every workout and it was only a matter of time before I threw out my back or gave myself a hernia. So no regrets with that purchase. The other investment was in a set of Perfect Pushups - those rotating push-up bars. The verdict: they work awesome and I hate them. My wrists are much more comfortable but now I do significantly fewer push-ups because of how much deeper they let me go. I highly recommend them.

Even though I've known Winnie for a long time, she continues to surprise (and impress) me with how dirty her mind is. She has made these videos entertaining again because she can find subliminal sexual innuendos in everything. Some or more obvious than others. Most recently we laughed at Tony's explanation of how to properly "jack it" during a set of jumping jacks.

Mid-point results:

I'm up to 14 pullups. I think I can still make it to 20 by the end if I work hard.
I'm down to 141 pounds. I've lost 6-7 pounds doing this which I didn't do during my first time through P90x. And keep in mind that I was only around 9-10% body fat when I started this thing.
I just had my first hockey game in over a month and HOLY SHIT! I have never skated faster or harder in my life. I just have a jump in my step that I never had before - I can't even describe it. My hockey stick even feels lighter in my hands.
I'm definitely more cut than I was before. Pictures coming very soon...

Day 38 - Rest day

2008-05-14T18:16:00.001-07:00

Winnie! Get better!

Winnie's been hurting. She's been wearing knee braces during most of the workouts for the past month because they get sore after the leg workouts. The last week though her knees (one in particular) has been giving her real problems. And yesterday she felt victim to some kind of stomach virus and had to miss work. The two of those together meant that there was no way in hell she was doing the Plyo-X workout with me. So I did it myself and it was tough. I've become so accustomed to working out with her that I've forgotten just how damn hard it is to do P90x by yourself. Even though I only made it 78 days last summer I'm still proud of that. Hopefully Winnie will be back in action tomorrow for back and biceps day.

She was bummed today because my calendar had a sticker on Day 37 and hers doesn't. I'm more creative with my calendar than Winnie is. I get a rest day every now and then. But she has worked out every single day though, whether it's a P90x tape with me or her elliptical machine at home. So I can see why she's be bummed. To make up for it she's going to try to get a double workout in this week which means she'll get a double sticker. Even though this is no competition, that will even us up.

So while Winnie's busting her ass working out tonight, today is my rest day. That's not totally true though. I did the Ab Ripper workout this morning and I'm playing a hockey game tonight. This will be the first game in a month. Even though it will take a bit to get my skating legs back I'm excited to see how the lighter, stronger me does.

More lines are slowly creeping into my stomach. I might just get a washboard stomach before this thing is over.

Don't know if anyone noticed, but I maxed out at 14 pull-ups last week - 3 closer to my goal of 20. Based on my last back workout I bet I can do even more now. I banged out 10 earlier today and still had gas in the tank.

Day 35 - Legs and Back

2008-05-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the bachelor party for a good friend, the coauthor of another blog of mine. So Winnie and I had to be a bit creative with getting our workouts in but we did it. Friday we did Kempo X before I took off. We each did Ab Ripper X on our own on Saturday. And then we met up today to do Legs and Back.

Ab Ripper X isn't bad at all when you don't do another workout before it. Some of the other guys on the bachelor party were around when I was doing it and made some snickering comments. Nothing serious though and I think they were a bit envious of the time and effort I can dedicate to working out.

Today's workout was great for a number of reasons. The first is that I forgot my laptop so this was the first p90x workout I did without the tape. I've done Legs & Back what feels like a million times though so doing the workout without it wasn't a problem. We kept the pace up and I did my best Tony pep-talk impersonation more than Winnie would care for I think. Winnie DJed up some 80's music which was a welcome change from the P90x elevator rock. Strength-wise I was a machine today. I did double-digit pull-ups on every set but the last and couldn't believe it. Even though I had this weekend bachelor party, I just kept getting my chin up over the bar. It felt awesome.

Winnie and I are continuing to eat great. The junk food is still gone and I've eaten more fruit and vegetables over the last month than I did the entire previous year. No joke. I'm still on 3 protein shakes a day and have no plans to cut back. I'm still dropping weight and my muscles keep getting bigger. I can't even explain how motivating it is to see real results.

Day 26 - Rest Week

2008-05-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

I use the term "rest week" loosely but it is definitely easier. The heavy Phase I is over and we got through it without missing a day. This week my workouts have been volleyball, Cardio X (which I never did before), Core Synergistics, and Kempo X. Tonight is Core Synergistics again which Winnie is not looking forward to. I'm excited for Sunday, I'm going to max out on pull-ups to see what I can do.

In the meantime, I have really been eating well. I've been taking in a ton of protein and cutting back on crappy foods, beer, and soda. I've been eating salads, fruits, vegetables and that kind of thing instead. This is nearly entirely because of Winnie that my diet is so much improved. And it's paying off too. I look bigger and more cut than I've ever been. I've dropped 4 pounds since starting almost a month ago - 2 pounds of which was fat. (I'm down to 8.4% from 9.5%). I'll post pictures soon.

Day 19 - The Siren's Song

2008-04-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

Tony, out of respect for you, do not come to Seattle under any circumstances. Winnie will rip you a new one. If you could see the pain that you cause her during the pull-up workouts you would know that you should keep your distance.

Yesterday was Legs & Back which I destroyed. I think my much improved diet is really helping me. And, perhaps, working out at 5-6pm instead of early morning is making a difference too. But I just feel like I have more energy this go around with each workout then I did before.

Winnie and I have been googling around and looking at other people's P90x blogs. I never did that in my first P90x round That was a very internal experience and I didn't seek help nor see what others were up to. It was just me again Tony and those damn tapes. Anyhow, in looking around, in a masochistic way I enjoy seeing other people struggle with these workouts. I remember how hard they were when I started and reading about other folks going through it as well makes me proud of how far I've come.

Again, I put up more reps or weight in most of the exercises. On the calf raises I'm up to 22.5lbs which is nearly the 25lbs that Tony does. I'm sure he can do double that but it will feel good in a couple weeks when I'm doing the same weight as Tony for the first time. The only other exercise I can match him is the side-tri-rises which I'm sure he could do more of if he didn't have to chat everyone up.

We're working on Winnie's pull-ups. She's really close to getting her first real one. This week she moved the chair that's been helping her to a position that supports less weight. I'm brainstorming a more technical solution to assisted pull-ups but so far she isn't too keen on my ideas. I'll post pictures if we get something going.

We also decided yesterday that Tony's super-weakness is that he can't swim. In the warmup we do these arm circles where first he's saying, "Backstroke!" as we swing our arms in backwards circles. No problem. But then he tells us to reverse and swing our arms in forward circles to do the breast stroke. Umm, Tony, that's not the breast stroke. There's no doubt in my mind that going forward we're going to threaten to throw him into a pool when we're dying in a particular workout.

Highlights of yesterday's Legs and Back workout:
22.5 lbs on the calf raises.
72 total pullups. (I only did 33 on day 1 of P90x round 1)

Today's workout. Kempo X + Ab Ripper X. Piece of cake.

Winnie Weighs In...

2008-04-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

OK, first off, I have to say that as much as I'm going to complain in this blog that I hate Tony, I'd still do him in a heartbeat... so, Tony, if you're reading this, call me.

Now, Tony, if you are actually reading this, the next thing I want to tell you is "Suck It". This I say to you while motioning to my still slightly sore inner thighs. I hope you and your P90X crew know how much I hate you while holding my wall squats. I hope you choke on your recovery drink each time I collapse during my dive bombers. Your Roll-up V-ups make me want to throw up. Does it make you happy to hear that my Kempo kicks get higher as I imagine them trying to reach your face? Let me just say, for the record, that my contempt for you is only exceeded by my hatred for diamond pushups... but I really, really, really hate diamond pushups, so you still rank pretty high on my "Things Winnie Hates" list. (But, if you're ever in Seattle, seriously, look me up - I hear angry sex burns a ton of calories.)

Now, on the other hand, my friend Tom is tearing your workouts apart. In a few weeks, he's going to be able to put the hurt on you. Granted, he's as flexy as a frozen banana some days, but he can do push-ups like no body's business. I would think your videos were CG'ed for reps if it wasn't for the real-life push-up metronome running on my left tonight.

I still do my push-ups on my knees and my pull-ups with a chair... but Tom is no joke. He is not modifying a thing. It is frustrating for me to not be able to do the exercises for real at times... which is why I have to hold on to the small victories that I have - like anything that I can do better than Tom :) Take, for example, the sit-and-reach. I know, I know... it's not really fair to compare Men and Women in this regard (p.s. that's how I feel about pull-ups), but I CRUSH in the sit-and-reach. Tony, I wonder if I could beat YOU in sit-and-reach!!! I'm 7 inches past my toes, what do you reach? BRING IT!

Alright, Tony, I've spent enough time taunting you. My best friend once told me "we pick on those that we secretly like the most"... so by the looks of this post, I'm two insults away from having an affair. See you tomorrow, in HELL.

Power Scores

2008-04-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

So I have this awesome, magical spreadsheet that I've based on someone else's awesome, magical spreadsheet that I found on the Internet. What I've done is pulled out the calendar (since I have a calendar on paper complete with daily stickers courtesy of Winnie) and added to it the calculation of 'Power Scores' for each workout. As I mentioned in my previous post, this is a quantifiable representation of how awesome or wussy my workout was. I probably overvalue some exercises and undervalue others, but in general it's a great single numerical value with which I can compare my progress on a particular workout over time. Above is the graph of every workout I've done to date (not counting Plyo X, Kempo X, and the hellspawn that is Yoga X). It shows a very clear upward trend and contains the progress I've made in both my 1st and 2nd P90x experiences. For some people seeing pictures of themselves get bigger is enough motivation. But I'm puny and not getting bigger as fast as I'd like. So it's really hard for me to see gains that way. Instead, watching these numbers climb is what drives me. It's what tells me I'm really getting stronger and is what I strive for with each workout. I make myself put up more weight, do more pull-ups, and push myself harder because I want to see that number go up. It's meaningless by itself but seeing it go up over time is an awesome reminder that I'm actually getting something out of this.

Day 15 - Holy Guacamole!

2008-04-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

Just finished the chest and back workout and I f'in crushed it! Of course that's relative because Tony and his henchmen still made me look like a little girl. I essentially matched my max pull-ups on this routine but I I just cranked WAY out more push-ups than I ever did during this workout in both my current and original P90x experience. I don't know where it came from, I just simply demolished the push-ups. Here's what I did today:

Step	Exercise	4/21/08
	POWER SCORE	1826
		Reps	LBS	Score
1	Standard Push-ups	20		60
1	Standard Push-ups	25		75
2	Wide Front Pull-ups	7		63
2	Wide Front Pull-ups	6		54
3	Military Push-ups	12		60
3	Military Push-ups	8		40
4	Reverse Grip Chin-ups	8		72
4	Reverse Grip Chin-ups	7		63
5	Wide Fly Push-ups	25		75
5	Wide Fly Push-ups	25		75
6	Closed Grip Pull-ups	7		63
6	Closed Grip Pull-ups	6		54
7	Decline Push-ups	25		75
7	Decline Push-ups	20		60
8	Heavy Pants	12	30	102
8	Heavy Pants	8	35	113
9	Bench Press	12	30	57
9	Bench Press	8	35	60.5
10	Lawnmowers	10	35	115
10	Lawnmowers	10	35	115
11	Dive-bombers	13		65
11	Dive-bombers	10		50
12	Back Flys	12	22.5	79.5
12	Back Flys	12	22.5	79.5
	Ab Ripper X	1		100

Things to note:

I've removed the diamond push-ups from our routine and switched that to bench press. That's because I couldn't really do those with good form as it was and also because I have bench press goals set for me at the end of the 90 days. If I'm going to hit them I need to start putting up dumbbells. On my 2nd set I put up 70lbs 8 times. That's the first real bench press I've done in a year, with dumbbells as opposed to a bar, and on an exercise ball instead of a real bench. So hopefully that 70 pounds is actually more than that... My plan is to sneak into my roommate's gym during each of the slow weeks to test where I am.
My spreadsheet generates a score for each exercise based on both weight and reps. Increasing either ups that score.
I didn't actually do Ab Ripper X today even though I marked it off. That's just for comparison's sake because I wanted to get the graph posted on the blog. I will take it off and mark it off for real when I do it tomorrow. I'm sure I'll do it though so you'll have to trust me there :)
As we were getting ready, Winnie commented negatively on an odor emanating from my gym shoes. After a couple of whiffs I have to concur, my shoes stink. And subsequently after a workout my feet stink. I'm not sure if my feet have caused the shoes to reek or whether the shoes are causing my feet to be most unpleasant after. It's a chicken and egg problem that I will get to the bottom of.
Protein shakes galore! I have been taking protein shakes from the beginning (during the first P90x experience as well) but they've never been very good because I get clumps of undissolved powder that don't taste very well. I just came up with a new stirring technique that has made these chocolate shakes simply delicious now. Here's the trick: with one hand rapidly stir a glass of milk while with the other hand very slowly shake the powder from the scoop into the milk. Rather than the clumpy soup I abhorred I now end up with a frothy shake that isn't too far off a glass of Nesquick. So the last 3 days my protein intake has been up in the 200g range per day (I weigh 145). I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of effect that will have on me.

I just lost a buck.... to myself!

2008-04-21T00:13:00.001-07:00

Bonus points if anyone knows the reference.

Just got an email from Winnie - she got in both her elliptical and ab workout. Nicely done.

No more writing today. I have to go upstairs and find my chest and back muscles for tomorrow's hellish workout.

Day 14 - Ab Ripper X

2008-04-20T23:34:00.000-07:00

Today is technically my rest day but we're doing things just a bit out of order. So today was Ab Ripper X which I did from the confines of my living room by myself. I have done this video more than any other at this point and I know it backwards and forwards. There's this one part during the "hip rock and raise" exercise where the generic background workout music kicks into high gear and Tony goes "Get em up!" I know that it's coming right at rep 15 every time and, sure enough, it does. Since I know this video so well I like getting about 30 seconds ahead of the video. Then when I finish each exercise I get to watch Tony and his cronies working hard while I'm enjoying my break. Small pleasures.

On top of abs, I also played 2 hours of volleyball tonight. One of the teams we played really ticked me off in each of the first two points of our match which wasn't smart. I normally clown around a fair amount on the court but when I get pissed off I jump higher and hit the ball way harder. I need to figure out how to harness that rage and take it out on the pull-up bar tomorrow.

Winnie was going to do the same ab workout today along with her regular elliptical machine routine. Wonder if she did it... I bet a dollar she did.

Day 12 - I can't move my arms

2008-04-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

Today was legs and back. Yesterday was arms and shoulders. Normally I don't do 2 heavy days in a row. But having a workout partner means we need to be a little more creative with the schedule to get everything in.

I'm thrilled though. Yesterday I put up more weight on the arms/shoulder day that I ever have! It's pretty clear now that I only gave back a small percentage of the gains I made last summer. I couldn't be happier about this. I was afraid that I'd be damn near starting over but that's not the case. 4-5 nights a week of hockey and volleyball have apparently kept me in pretty good shape. Doing pull-ups today I came very close to my 'high score.' I will get my spreadsheet up soon, it has a graph of the progress I've made since last May.

Winnie kicked ass today. She was dreading this workout but powered through it. We rewarded ourselves with a little stand for all our dumbbells today. I'm still using the Bowflex Selecttech dumbbells but Winnie has added some loose weights which is are just more convenient - even if they aren't pink like she wishes. Anyway, she really hates the pull-ups but she cranks them out like a champ. She isn't up to a real one yet so she and lets her feet dangle back onto a chair to take a bit of the weight off. My gut tells me that at the end of Phase 1 she'll be able to do a real pull-up.

When we're working out, I tend to yell things at Tony. For example, I answer his questions before he asks them.
Tom: "It's three you dumbass! You ask this every week!"
Tony: "Folks, how many reps are we up to?"
Winnie got into the action today. During the calf lifts Tony miscounted and had us do an extra at which Winnie promptly hollered at him and gave him another WWF suck-it.

I'm proud of her. I did some rereading of my old blog posts and I had no problems visualizing how hard it was for me at first. I frequently wanted to quit and would get super frustrated at times. Winnie is hitting this like a real trooper and I don't see the frustration in her that I had. Maybe she's tougher, more driven, or working out together makes it easier - but she is really hitting this whole program head on. One thing I am worried about... she upped her weight a LOT on the bicep curls this week. On some of the exercises she was doing what I did at the beginning last year. If she catches up to me I'm never going to hear the end of it. She can already do more of these side-tri-rise things than I can. And today she used weights on a leg exercise that I normally do without weights. I don't know if she realizes how much she's motivating me now :)

And finally, one of Tony's flunkies today, Eric, indicated that he lives on a boat. He said it in a weird way though which made both Winnie and I suspect that he has crazy orgies at his place with the whole P90x crew. Except he doesn't invite Tony - which doesn't matter because Tony always finds out and just shows up anyway. And that just annoys all the other orgy-goers because Tony keeps using the same lines as he does in workout class, "Come on People! I know this hurts but we're almost there - 5 more seconds!"

Day 10 - Plyometrics X

2008-04-17T19:40:00.001-07:00

Damn. I am still not quite back to workout form yet. Today was Plyometrics day and this workout is still hard. Squats, lunges, jumping, hopping, and so on. It doesn't let up for a good 45 minutes straight. And it looked like it was hurting Winnie too. Though I could tell she was definitely doing better than last week. Through the entire workout she had more spring in her step and she as able to do this one footed hopping thing that she struggled with last week. In a masochistic way it's fun when the workout crushes both of us. We get some good bonding in over our mutual hatred of Tony's always-chipper attitude. Tony likes to get his crew doing this X thing with their arms (because P90x is X-treme I guess). Anyway, whenever they do that we like to make our arms into an X and give Tony the old WWF "suck it" move. Though Winnie will do that (or give the metaphorical bird) even when Tony and his crew aren't being as X-treme.

Even after just 10 days, both Winnie and I can tell we're getting in better shape. Both of our love handles are shrinking. I've started upping my protein intake because dropping fat isn't enough for me - I want to get bigger.

Tomorrow is shoulders and arms. I'm actually looking forward to that one because I don't have to do a single push-up or pull-up.

Day 8 - I'm back

2008-04-14T23:00:00.001-07:00

My arms hurt, my ass is sore (no jokes please), and my back is on fire. But I feel great. I'm 8 days into my 2nd P90x experience and as fired up as ever. I did the fitness test and have definitely regressed (in particular on the pullups).

Pull-Ups	11
Vertical Leap	19
Push-Ups	40
Body Fat %	9.5
Weight	146

Some things haven't changed. It's still hard as hell and I get pissed off. I'm back on the protein shakes (again no jokes please) and creatine. My shoulder is again bothering me. And Tony's chipper attitude still pisses me off. But this time around I have a secret weapon - I'm not going it alone. My good friend, Winnie (not her real name to protect the innocent), is going through it with me. In some ways I'm better prepared for this than her. I know the workouts, I can already do a good amount of pushups and pullups, and I've been playing hockey and volleyball a combined 4 nights a week for the last year and a half. But Winnie is friggin driven and when she decides she wants to accomplish something she does it. She eats way better than I do and is helping me get my diet fixed up. I'm going to miss the regular cheeseburgers, pizza, and Cokes but it's the right thing to do. We should make a formidable team to battle Tony and his minions.

At the top of this blog are our goals to hit in 90 days which I'll be tracking.

Tom: 20 pull-ups and bench press 135 pounds once. My previously non-existent chest muscles aren't in bad shape but I've never been able to put the biggest plates on the bar at the gym. Dammit I'm going to be able to do that. If I hit that early, my next goal is to press my weight. 20 pull-ups should be a pretty sweet number. Considering that I peaked at 17 last summer I know I can hit that.

Winnie: 116 pounds and 3 pull-ups. Winnie only needs to drop 8 pounds which I really think is cake for her. I think she should add a body fat % goal on this as well to strive for after she gets the 8 pounds off. Her other goal is to be able to do 3 pull-ups. Right now she can't do a one.

Day 78 - P90x Experience 1 Over

2008-04-14T22:52:00.000-07:00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

Day 78 - Where the hell have I been?

2008-04-14T22:43:00.000-07:00

Here and there I guess.

The real answer: rolling around in a pool my own shame brought on by day 78. Day 78, that asshole. Day 78 is where I failed. Three trips - to LA, Austin, and New Hampshire did me in. Travel is the anti-P90x. P90x is very hard to keep up as it is. The only way to do it is to create a routine and stick to it no matter what. Travel kills that routine though the day you get on the plane. You don't have your gear. (Instead I brought the "power bands" as a substitute for my dumbbells and pull-up bar.) You don't work out at the same time. You might be sharing a hotel room with someone else. You're working all hours at a trade show. It's friggin impossible. After you miss the first day, missing the second one isn't that big a deal. Before you know it you realize you blew it and have to write an entry about how you didn't get past day 78. 12 fucking days to go and you came up short.

Not to write off my accomplishment though. On day 78 I was in the best shape of my life. I still don't think I was particularly strong - but I was definitely stronger. I wasn't big but I definitely had muscles showing where I didn't have them before. Playing volleyball I was jumping higher and playing hockey I could shoot the puck harder.

Fitness Test Results:

	Before	After
Max Pullups	9	16
Max Pushups	25	40
Vertical Leap	17in	19.5in
Body fat	11.50%	8.70%
Weight	154lbs	146lbs
Chest	37.5in	39.5in
Right Bicep	13in	13.5in

Little stronger and a little bigger. I'm most proud of the pullups I could do. I actually did 17 about a week later - that being the most I've ever done in a row in my life. For reference, before p90x my previous high was 13 in 8th grade.

So after all this time, why am I writing again? Because I'm back and on a mission.

Day 66 - Now it gets dicey

2007-07-18T00:50:00.001-07:00

Today was back and biceps. My right bicep started bothering me so I had to back off a bit on those exercises. I'm hurting right now. My right shoulder and right bicep (to a lesser degree) are preventing me from putting up as much weight as I could. I suspect that playing volleyball twice a week is a factor. My right arm is my hitting arm so it gets significantly more work than my left. I'm going to miss the next two weeks of volleyball though so hopefully that will let me heal up.

In better news, I've had some chronic pains get better over the course of p90x. For the last 8 months I've had a groin pull that had only marginally improved. I guess all the stretching has made a difference because that's nearly gone now. The other problem was worse - my right leg from my hip to my knee gets stiff and sore very easily. Just driving my car 30 minutes would create a fair amount of pain at times. Flying sucks. And after hockey games it would hurt quite a bit. But things have been improving quite a bit - probably from strengthening all the muscles in my leg. Driving doesn't bother it any more and my leg seldom bothers me after a hockey game now. I'm flying tomorrow so we'll see how that goes.

Oh yeah, the point of this post... I still haven't missed a day - 66 and going strong. But I haven't traveled the entire time, that is, until tomorrow. I'm flying to LA for a long weekend (friends' wedding). Then I come back for 3 days and fly to Austin for a trade show. I can't bring my weights with me and I'll be damned if I'm going to lose the streak. So I'm loading all the videos on my laptop and bringing down a set of "power bands" I picked up and will attempt to keep it going. The bands are an officially supported way of doing each of the strength exercises (one of his lackey's demonstrates how) so I'm not taking a shortcut. The best part, I'm staying with two friends in LA who agreed to do the workouts with me. It's going to kill them :)

Day 60 - TWO THIRDS DONE!

2007-07-12T01:34:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! Onto the home stretch. Today was arms and shoulders. My shoulder has still been bothering me (often times significantly) so I took it easy on the shoulder exercises. Well, not actually. I dropped the weight but did more reps to take some of the impact and stress of it. Bi's and tri's went well though - consistently more weight and reps than the last time I did this particular workout (which was during week 3).

So this morning I weighed myself and here are the results which puzzle and slightly trouble me. These were both done the same time of day (first thing in the morning with an empty bladder) and on both days I noted that I felt fine - not dehydrated or anything.

Day 0 : 153.0 lbs, 11.5% fat -> 17.6 lbs of Fat
Day 60: 145.6 lbs, 8.1% fat -> 11.8 lbs of Fat

That means that I've lost 5.8 lbs of Fat. Fantastic! Here's where I'm confused though. I've lost 7.4 lbs of weight total. So what are the other 1.6 lbs I lost? I've been working out a ton (plus other sports) which means I should be building muscle. I'm also taking creatine which, according to what I've read, means I should be retaining more water. So by both those points, I shouldn't be losing mystery weight but instead gaining it. So, please, if anyone reading this has a theory as to what the mystery 1.6 lbs I lost are and why I'm not gaining weight, please chime in. My best theory: perhaps there's so much error in these weight and fat measurements that simply looking at two data points won't tell us much.

Day 59 - Plyometrics + 90 degrees == hell

2007-07-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

Holy guacamole that was hard today. I started sweating like crazy during the warmup and was drenched by the end. I haven't done the plyometrics workout in a couple weeks which was enough for my body to forget how hard it is. It starts off ok but the damn jump knee kicks are when I really start huffing. Made it through no worse for the wear.

One thing that annoys me about this particular workout is Tony at the very end during the cool-down. He moans out "OWWWWWW" and then goes into a bit about how tired he is. Tony, you aren't fooling anyone. We know you're a tank and I find your attempt to commiserate with me patronizing. If I was the one-legged guy (who kicks ass during this video) I would take off my prosthetic leg and club Tony until his exclamations of pain were legitimate. Next week I'm going to turn off the volume during the cool-down. That'll show him.

So after my post workout cold shower, I weighed myself. 146 lbs w/ 8.1% body fat. That's down from 153 lbs and 11.5% body fat at the start of the program. Not too shabby, eh? Only catch is that I realized later that I did my initial weighing first thing in the morning so my afternoon results aren't necessarily legit. I will weigh again tomorrow morning first thing and repost my results.

Hockey game in 90 minutes and we're going to have a short bench which means mucho ice time for me. That's going to be a problem for my jelly-legs.

Day 58 - Holy Crap, I'm getting stronger!

2007-07-09T18:06:00.000-07:00

Last week was an easy week and now we're into Phase 3, the home stretch. This third is a week longer than the others so I'm not quite 2/3 done, but close.

Today's workout was the chest and back video which I haven't done since week 3 of Phase 1. So I was absolutely thrilled and pumped by the fact that I was getting on average, 2 more pullups per set and 5 more pushups per set today than I did the last time I did this workout. (I know because I'm tracking everything in excel). The diamond pushups, of which I originally couldn't do any, are now doable. I did sets of 10 and 8. I also hadn't seen the lackies in today's video for 5 weeks - I wonder if I look bigger to them...

I still haven't missed a day yet - minus the hellspawn that is yoga. A reader wrote a comment a couple weeks ago recommending that I try it again. He went through p90x and hated yoga initially but I don't think he understands how bad I actually loathe it. I despise it with the intensity of 1000 burning suns. I've deliberated on this quite a bit and I think I'm going to continue to skip out on it. p90x is hard - really, really hard but every workout I finish leaves me feeling great about myself and committed to pushing on. Except yoga, which I've done twice, didn't do that for me. I was upset and angry at the end which just isn't worth dealing with. This program is physically demanding enough that I don't need to make it harder with a psychological challenge as well. Sue me.

Are you friggin kidding me?

2007-06-25T00:18:00.000-07:00

Quick rant. A couple posts back, I mentioned that the creatine serum I was taking previously was, at best, useless and, at worst, mildly toxic according to some research I came across. So I switched to creatine powder and have been mixing it with a scoop of whey protein and a glass of milk after each workout. I just finished today's potion and as I was putting the glass in the sink, I noticed a white sludge in the bottom of the glass. Apparently creatine powder doesn't dissolve so well in milk that's already saturated with protein powder. And of course, it so happens that I often drink these potions out of plastic glasses with white bottoms which have effectively camouflaged the white creatine sludge in the bottom. I wonder if I've actually managed to injest any creatine at this point. I could be getting the same friggin results from eating a scoop of sand every day. Sigh.

Day 43 - Chest, shoulders, and triceps

2007-06-25T00:16:00.001-07:00

Finished my workout at 11:30pm tonight. This is the closest I've come to skipping but the fact that I haven't missed a day yet really drives me. I'm a bit concerned about my right shoulder. It's been bothering me the last couple weeks and is getting worse rather than better. By the end of the today's workout it was really hurting and clearly not behaving right. I'm going to back off on the shoulder exercises for the next couple weeks and hopefully that will give it a chance to heal up (not unline what I did with my abs).

Speaking of which, I crushed the ab workout today. I powered through it the best I ever have. It's a subjective measurement but the way I can tell is that I was groaning in pain less than normal. I'm encouraged because I think I can see the first two cans of a six-pack starting to peek out. The last time I had a good stomach was freshman year of highschool when I was running 15 miles a day (for real). I'm really trying to improve my diet so hopefully that will help the removal of my gut. Last week ate garden burgers twice as I watched my buddies eat bacon cheese burgers. Right now I'm eating a salad (with some lettuce from Sarah and Gabe's garden which is really good).

I don't know how I feel about the lackies in today's video. One in particular, Phil, pisses me off. He has a serious attitude problem and I keep hoping that Tony will kick his ass by the end of the workout. This Phil guy is trying to be the Charles Bronson of p90x and I don't care for it a bit. Even worse is that in week 5 this video replaced the other chest workout video (muscle confusion). So Phil hasn't been around from the beginning. I feel like he's trying to sneak into the program after Tony, the lovely Drea, the rest of the crew, and myself have been sweating away for 5 weeks. Well Phil, I checked the calendar and it appears that your video goes back into the bottom of the drawer for a while now. So suck on that.

Day 39 - I'm back

2007-06-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

I never imagined that I would keep up my workout but let the blog slide.

To recap the last 3 weeks. I haven't missed a day yet. I've continued to blow off yoga because it sucks but I've also continued to play two hockey games a week. Not only that, I've joined a volleyball team and play that one night a week.

I'm now in Phase 2 (of 3) of the p90x program. It's not any different than phase 1 except we have three different videos we do on the heavy weight days. I guess this is the "muscle confusion" part. As our bodies start adjusting to the previous workouts, they switch up the days on which we work the various muscle groups.

I'm definitely getting stronger, and I dare I say, bigger. Every workout I am either doing more reps or more weight than the previous week. Not by a lot, but I'm tracking everything in excel and that's definitely the case. In the mirror I swear that my arms and chest look a little bigger than when I started. And I think my ab muscles are slowly making their way to the surface.

So two of my brothers were in town a couple weeks ago. Both of them are skinny, fit guys and both of them have the same gut that I do. For whatever reason, it appears that men in my family are predisposed to carry all our extra weight around our midsections. In Phase 1, I was (and still am) very disciplined about getting my workouts in. It's time that I start applying that same discipline towards my diet. When I'm by myself, I do a pretty respectable job of eating healthy. I've started eating fresh fruits and vegetables. I don't snack and stay away from foods that Tony would kick my ass if he caught me with. It's when I'm out with people to eat that I start eating junk - french fries, bacon cheese burgers, pizza, etc. If I'm going to get ripped I need to cut that stuff out. So everyone reading this - get on my case if we're out eating together to order something healthy!

So I've been taking creatine for a while now and I'm not sure how beneficial it is. It's so hard to tell when there's a million other factors that all determine how good my workout is. But I do know that the stuff I was taking at first, creatine serum (from MMUSA), was not good. I did a bunch of research before picking it out and everything I read indicated it was a good alternative to creatine powder. The idea is that they've stabilized creatine in a liquid (where it typically breaks down) which means all you need is a few drops to get the proper dose (as opposed to mixing a 'shake' from powder). Turns out I didn't do enough research. I did some more reading and it turns out that the stuff I was taking is, at best, useless, and at worst slightly toxic. Not cool. Not cool at all. So I've switched to the GNC bucket of creatine powder and mix that with a protein shake after my workout. This supplement stuff is scary. For those curious on what I've dug up, check this out.

Days 13-17

2007-05-30T01:36:00.001-07:00

While I've done a fantastic job of sticking with my workout I've done a bad job of updating this blog over the past week. Go figure.

The program is still going strong. I haven't missed a day yet, the workouts are getting a bit easier, and I'm recovering faster from them. That pain in my stomach is just about completely gone and I've done the ab workout twice this week already so I'm in the clear there. That ab routine by the way is really hard. It's three times a week and while it's just under 15 minutes each session it's still a killer.

I'm going through most of the tapes for the third time this week and they're feeling quite familiar at this point. I'm not bored of them yet but I have a feeling that by the end of the 90 days that I'll be in the mood for a change. Even a different set of p90x videos would be fine. I'm getting ahead of myself though. 90 days is still a long ways away.

Maybe it's all in my head but I swear that my biceps are bigger than when I started. I don't want to measure them in the event that they're in fact still the same size or, God forbid, even smaller.

Tomorrow's workout (well today's since it's 1:45am) is yoga which I joyfully don't do. I had a hockey game tonight for which we were short handed and have another game on Thursday so that counts in my book.

Must sleep.

Day 12 - Thursday (Legs and back)

2007-05-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

I didn't check in yesterday because I'm officially blowing off the yoga workout. I had a hockey game the night before though and have another one tonight so that justifies it in my mind.

I had an early dentist appointment this morning to get an impression taken for a custom hockey mouthguard. The dentist's assistant was very cute and personally called me up later to let me know the mouth guard was done. I'm looking forward to the return visit :) Anyway, point being that I didn't get my workout in today until the afternoon - which is the first time that I haven't done it early in the morning. So I don't know if I'm getting stronger or if the time of day made a difference but I averaged 1.5 more pullups per set than I did the last time I did legs and back. It's incredibly encouraging as I fill out my spreadsheet to see myself doing more reps or weight than I did the week before. I think I'm going to try and conjure up some kind of overall power graph that I can post and update as another way to visualize my progress.

Again I bailed on the ab workout though that pain is rapidly diminishing. I expect to be able to start working my abs out again next week. I have a buddy who has a hernia so that was looming in the back of my mind for the last week.

Tony was up to his same old tricks today. His Groucho Marx impersonation made the whole thing worth it. I'm still in love with his lackey Drea though I think she has a man. I wonder if he can hang with p90x...

So today is my 30th birthday and I've been doing some reflecting about the last 10 years. Things haven't turned out like I expected though that's not a bad thing. I'm still single and long gone from my Microsoft job but I think I'm happier for it. I still feel young and shouldn't have to settle for less than I deserve in my personal or professional life. One thing that made me smile today after finishing my workout is that (even though I'm a lover and not a fighter) I'm pretty sure my 30 year old self could kick my 20 year old self's ass if it came down to it :)

Day 10 - Tuesday (Arms and shoulders)

2007-05-22T17:29:00.001-07:00

Not in much of a writing mood right now but the streak is still alive. I rocked the arms and shoulders workout this morning. I put up more weight on many of the exercises than I did last week which is encouraging. I skipped the ab workout again today which annoys me. I haven't had a six-pack stomach since freshman year of high school and I'm not going to get them back at this pace. But situps are still quite painful so there's not much I can do. I'll probably go to the doctor in a week if my abdomen is still bothering me.

I have another hockey game tonight - I hope I can lift my arms.

Day 9 - Monday (Plyometrics)

2007-05-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

And on Sunday he rested. Well, not actually. First off, pushing my rest day back one was a brilliant strategic decision. You could say I wasn't necessarily in workout form yesterday following our Saturday night party. But I actually did get in some exercise. My friends, being the greatest friends in the known universe, pitched in a gave me a Nintendo Wii for my birthday. So I spent the bulk of yesterday afternoon jumping around the living room playing Nintendo games. Boxing is my favorite so far and can deliver quite a workout. Someone needs to come out with a game specifically designed as a workout - I'm sure it would be hella fun. (Yes, I really use the word hella).

The rest was much needed, the pain in my abdomen is still there but feeling much better. It didn't bother me during today's workout though, plyometrics. This workout is very hard work but in a good way and I feel awesome again after finishing it. One good thing about this one is that they do the crappiest exercises first and save the fun ones for the end.

Tony still cracks me up. Today he shouted the Lord's name in vain after one particularly hard exercise and then tried to cover it up. I heard it though - a loud ole "JESUS!" coming through clear enough. Maybe he had a revelation.

Day 7 - Saturday (Chest and back)

2007-05-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

We're having a party at our house tonight so I thought it would be prudent to move tomorrow's workout up to today and take my rest day tomorrow.

I'm not so sure that was a great idea though. I started the chest and back workout this morning with a minor pain in my lower abdomen that is now quite sharp and painful. My abs have been sore off and on all week but this is different, much more acute and localized. I took a couple pretty good sticks to the gut last night playing hockey so I'm hoping that's the problem.

So with that the workout didn't go great. Pushups were especially painful and I wasn't able to match my pullup and pushup numbers from last week. The only bright spot of today is that I put up more weight on the dumbbell exercises than last week.

I'm supposed to do an ab workout this weekend as well. I was going to do it today but that's just not going to happen - a situp made me want to cry. This is not good.

Day 6 - Friday (Kempo X)

2007-05-18T11:32:00.001-07:00

After effects of yesterday's workout aren't that bad. My back is sore and my legs are tired, but nothing like earlier in the week. I think my muscles are slowly getting used to being worked out again. In particular my abs aren't on fire as was the case earlier in the week after Ab Ripper X.

On to today - just did the Kempo X workout. This thing was awesome. While Yoga X was hellish, this one was a lot of fun. Instead of that wussy meditating crap it's an hour long karate workout. And I nailed it. I was making kung fu sound effects the whole time and really getting into it. Tony would have been proud if he wasn't so busy having his ass kicked by me through the TV set. His lackeys today were a bunch of pansies as well. I pretend fought them through the TV as well and they didn't fare any better than Tony.

I've been doing a lot of research into supplements to help me get less puny and came across this site on creatine. I read all their material and came away convinced that it would be a positive thing to add to my program. The very short version is that creatine in your muscles can give you extra burst energy. Your muscles get their energy from converting ATP (which is derived from glucose) into ADP. Creatine in your muscles can convert ADP back into ATP which then gives your muscles more fuel. Creatine naturally exists in your muscles as it is. Supplementing then raises your natural creatine levels so your muscles can burst for longer.

This morning before my workout was my first creatine supplement, administered guiltily. I normally hate putting anything unnatural in my body (which doesn't make any sense because creatine is more natural than many of the highly processed foods I eat). I almost never take cold medicine, aspirin, that kind of thing. So it felt somewhat illicit taking creatine even though it's legal, safe (in the proper doses as with many things), and arguably the most studied supplement ever.

Day 5 - Thursday

2007-05-17T23:42:00.000-07:00

I'm late getting this post up but that doesn't mean I didn't do the workout.

Legs and back this morning. Legs I have. Back apparently exists in that same parallel universe which contains my missing chest muscles. Today's workout was this: squats, pull-ups, lunges. Repeat forever. I destroyed the leg exercises but the pull-ups got the best of me. It was maybe 8 sets of pull-ups with various hand positions. By the end I could only do 2 and had to bring a chair in to help do any more. I tacked on the Ab Ripper X at the end. That video is 15 minutes of hell. I guess that means it works.

Tony did a great Groucho Marx impersonation today. But I think he was advocating the smoking of cigars if I heard him properly. Sounds suspect to me but I'll take his word for it.

His lackeys were unremarkable today except for the lovely Drea. I've seen her in one of the other workouts before. With luck she'll take her clothes off in tomorrow's video :)

Day 4 - Wednesday

2007-05-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

Just finished Yoga X. I've had a unfair prejudice against yoga for years ever since a girlfriend back in the day made me do a couple tapes with her. Well it turns out that my prejudice is completely fair because I still hate it and think it's as stupid as it was the first time. I'm not left feeling pumped nor particularly tranquil. I'm pissed off is what I am. I spent a great deal of the video swearing at Tony for making me do a bunch of exercises which are physically impossible for anyone not as flexible as a gymnast. My joints were cracking like crazy during the workout and really hurt. I didn't find their music soothing either - it just made me hungry for couscous and goat meat.

I think that I'm going to replace this workout with the stretching video going forward because I really think that I need to work on my flexibility before this yoga tape is even useful to me. Besides, two hockey games a week should make up for the calorie burning difference between the two videos.

Oh yeah, Tony - you have the balance of a drunk toddler on crutches. Suck it.

Day 3 - Tuesday

2007-05-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

First off, what a hockey game last night. I was pooped and sore before the puck even dropped. And of course we had 7 players not show so we skated with a very short bench. It got worse though - our goalie got hurt with 14 minutes left in the 3rd period. So of course I end up as pseudo-goalie, in my regular pads, and tasked with preserving a one goal lead in a championship game. I let in one but we scored two so I got the save.

Anyway.... So this morning I was sore and short sleep but hammered out the arm and shoulder workout. It was long but I even did the bonus sets at the end. I'm still dialing in the proper weight for the various exercises so I ended up with perhaps a little less weight than I needed. Tony was up to his same old tricks today. He made a good pterodactyl reference at one point as well as a funny joke about his enormous head (it's like an orange on a toothpick). And, again, there was something fishy about his lackeys. One of the guys, Joe, was Tony's doppelganger. It was freaking me out because I really couldn't tell them apart when they were next to each other. It's as if the folks from p90x have a clone army of Tonys they just pop out for each show. No wonder he never gets tired... Tony revealed partway through the workout that Joe was actually one of three triplets in his family, thus their identical nature. But triplets, Tony? Nice try, I can see through that. You're one of 3000 test tube supermen in a joint program between p90x and the Army.

After arms and shoulders, I did the Ab Ripper X workout. That thing is brutal. I was still sore from the last time I did it and it kicked my ass. I didn't wuss out though and made it through the whole thing without any extraneous breaks. By the end I was literally cursing Tony out, "Tony, you motherf$@(*$r! Is that all you got?!?" It appears that I can draw strength out of channeling my hate at Tony's cursed Ab Ripper X.

Something that should help keep me motivated: I feel awesome when I finish. I'm pumped, doing pretend high fives with Tony and his lackeys, and am proud of myself for getting through another one. I need to remember that sensation in the event I start getting lazy.

Day 2 - Monday

2007-05-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

Success! Today was the plyometric workout which was a ton of jumping around and not a lot of resting. Apparently I actually have the requisite muscles to do these exercises because I was able to keep up with Tony and crew for about the whole thing. So these videos are hosted by this totally ripped guy, Tony, and 3 lackeys. Tony is a constant across all the videos while the lackeys appear to be different in each one. Today's were Dominic (who was dogging it in my opinion), Pam, and a guy with one leg (for real). That one legged guy had a prosthetic and he could sure jump. Impressive. Anyway, I nailed this workout which must be an effect of years of hockey, soccer, and volleyball. I should still have some gas in my tank for my hockey game tonight.

Aftereffect of yesterday: my abs, shoulders, and biceps are all sore as hell. My chest is surprisingly ok. I think that's because I don't have any chest muscles to get sore.

Day 1 - Sunday

2007-05-14T09:34:00.001-07:00

Holy shit.

That was really hard.

I just completed the first workout - chest, back, and abs. It was 70 minutes and I wanted to cry by the end. But I got through it. My suspicions were confirmed today. I am drastically lacking chest muscles that the rest of the population has. I don't know how the hell anyone can do a "diamond push up" as Tony (the jacked workout video guy) calls them. You essentially put your hands together making a diamond with your thumbs and forefingers and then do a push up like that. Impossible. We did push ups and pull ups - lots of them. Ab workout was a killer too. But I made it and feel great about myself now.

Day 0

2007-05-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm Tom and I'm puny. I'm an athletic guy, don't get me wrong. At one time or another, I've dabbled in just about every sport in existence. My current diversions are bike riding and ice hockey. But I've always been one skinny, weak dude and now it's time to do something about it. I've said that before and flirted with gym memberships and various workout programs of my own design. But nothing ever stuck and I generally just end up disappointed with myself.

So now for the first time I'm armed with a real program, a spreadsheet, and a blog. A couple weeks ago a friend pointed me to p90x. I read a couple reviews and decided that it was just what I needed. The gist of this program is that it's a regiment of 12 different hour long workouts and you rotate through them over the course of 90 days. They are intended to build strength and as a prequisite to starting, you already need to be in decent shape. There's a nutrition plan that goes along with the program but I'm still undecided how strictly I will follow it.

With that, I took the fitness test last week along with some pictures of me to document my starting point. For reference, here's a sample of the data I collected to compare against myself in the future:

Resting heart rate: 56
Weight: 153
Body fat: 11.5%
Chest: 37.5"
Right thigh: 21"
Right bicep: 13"
Pull-ups: 9
Vertical leap: 17"
Max push ups: 25
Max bicep curls: 10 @ 25lbs
Max slap shot: 68mph

As you can see from my pictures, I'm not a big guy and am, unfortunately, as strong as I look. At the end of this I don't expect to be huge, but I hope to no longer appear like a guy who's worked behind a computer the last 8 years.

This blog is for me. It's purpose is to motivate me and create an additional layer of shame and guilt if I start pussing out. So don't let me do that.