Day 37 - Week 6 Day 2 - Plyometrics

This video really is the mother of them all. Have I ever said before that I dogged it? Because, I'm not sure that's possible! I was calm going into it and concentrated on each move to not put in extra movements that aren't needed, but to also do the moves perfectly. I thought I'd get a calm, nice steady workout.

NOPE.

I was sucking air about 40 minutes in. My boyfriend had to pause about 5 minutes before because he was sucking air, and then I had to make him pause. Good grief. I am pretty sure I definitely burned at least 800 calories, maybe more. With that said, after our workout I went and got a battery for my heart rate monitor (polar). More on that with the next post...

We did every move in plyo and all the way through. There was no skipping, no stopping early... it all happened.

Also after the workout we went and bought a new scale. The old one was several years old and the top of it was peeling back. Well, the new scale measures by .2 which is nice, AND I came up as 145.6. !!!!!

Also, last night my boyfriend and I went through my entire wardrobe. He reviewed everything I tried on and we decided to donate or to keep. Everything that was even *slightly* loose went into the donate pile. I have SIX garbage bags full of clothes for donation including two suits! What is amazing is that my goal pants FIT! They were supposed to be my goal pants! Lol. They are a little tight, but hardly at all. I am betting I'll be wearing them by July. It's fantastic.

I thought I didn't have any clothes as I've been cycling through the same 4 outfits for work. (Which is bad considering I work 5 days a week.) Turns out I can fit into all of the clothes that I thought were too small for me. We went shopping today and picked up a few essentials to complete my wardrobe and now I have TONS of options. It feels so good! I bought a size small top, a few size sixes and a 34B bra instead of a 36B. Never mind the scale and the measurements, I am wearing small clothes for sure. P90X works!

Day 38 - Week 6 Day 3 - Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X

Happy Sunday morning! We were up and going a little before 10am this morning with our workout. It felt really nice to get a mug of coffee in before starting the workout. I felt really awake and ready to bring it today.

Today is a lot of bicep curls, hammers and pull ups. I continued to use the step ladder for the assist on the pull ups. I know I increased my amount of pull ups and I was definitely pushing to exhaustion. I had my heart rate monitor on today, too. The fail part is that I obviously don't know how to use it and didn't turn it on to track calories burned. BUT, I was able to see how often I was in the zone. I was in the 150s while doing the pull ups. They are a lot of work! During the curls, though, I lingered around the 130s. And, any time we stopped because he was chattering I was around 120; a little under. Hopefully starting tomorrow I'll start getting calorie burn numbers because I'll have this monitor working properly.

This video was a lot easier the second time around because I knew what to expect. I used my 12 lb. weights for any move that didn't require both (because my boyfriend was using the other). Otherwise I was using my 8 lbs. On a lot of those moves, the 8 lb. were fine if I was sure to do enough reps. However, I still really, really wish I had 10 lb. weights. I feel like I could have gotten away with 10 lb. weights for the entire video. My boyfriend says I can't buy 10 lb. because it's a waste of money, but he's not home tomorrow night because of work and I'll have the car...

I did regular pull ups for the part where we pick any pull up we want to exhaustion. I think I do chin ups the best so I didn't want to make it too easy on myself by picking them. But there was no way I was doing the corn cob ones, or whatever they are.

Ab ripper was hard as always. Same trouble spots. It didn't feel any easier than last time. When does it start getting easier? I'm doing the same video, completely, 3 times a week. At some point it has to get easier, yeah?

So, starting tomorrow, I SHOULD have calories burned info which will be really helpful. I've been spot on with my diet since Tuesday which is helping a lot. I don't have any room to go up now that I've gone through my closet and discarded all of the big clothes!!!

Yoga tomorrow. Bring it!

Day 39 - Week 6 Day 4 - Yoga

Dear half moon and twisting half moon - I hate you. These are the two worst poses in the entire freakin' thing. My leg is DEAD by the time we even get to the half moon part. I keep waiting for my strength to build so I can do it... but no. ARRRGH!

Yoga seemed impossible the very first time I did it, but honestly it doesn't feel that way anymore. However, there are definitely some moves that just have NOT gotten easier. Also, I do wonder how much of a workout this all really is.

I would have liked to have gotten some calorie burn numbers, but my monitor was beeping EVERY minute and it got too annoying. I'm still going to have to play with it some more. Frustrating fancy technology gadget. Grrrr. I was working up a sweat by the 45 minutes left mark (around half moon), so that is good.

The workout is starting to feel really long, though, which it is. I was really wishing I was doing the stretch video instead of the yoga video today. I felt a little bit like it wasn't do anything for me. Honestly, though, it's got to be helping my strength. I think I was giving up on a few of the hard poses too early, though, and forgoing the strength building. It's something to work on for next Monday.

My food was on track this weekend which is probably the first solid weekend since starting the program. So, that's good news. Per my scale this morning I'm definitely down to 145; more good news! I'll update officially on Friday, though.

Legs & back tomorrow. I will say, my calves are a little sore from plyo yesterday. I hope they are ready to go tomorrow!

A little tidbit on the benefits of yoga since I was really down on it today. This helped me feel better and like I wasn't wasting my time:

When some people think of yoga, they imagine having to stretch like a gymnast. That makes them worry that they're too old, unfit, or "tight" to do yoga. The truth is you're never too old to improve flexibility.

The series of yoga poses called asanas work by safely stretching your muscles. This releases the lactic acid that builds up with muscle use and causes stiffness, tension, pain, and fatigue. In addition, yoga increases the range of motion in joints. It may also increase lubrication in the joints. The outcome is a sense of ease and fluidity throughout your body.

Yoga stretches not only your muscles but all of the soft tissues of your body. That includes ligaments, tendons, and the fascia sheath that surrounds your muscles. And no matter your level of yoga, you most likely will see benefits in a very short period of time. In one study, participants had up to 35% improvement in flexibility after only eight weeks of yoga. The greatest gains were in shoulder and trunk flexibility.

http://www.webmd.com/balance/the-hea...nefits-of-yoga

Day 40 - Week 6 Day 5 - Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X

These exercises are becoming a little run of the mill. Today was not a hard work out day, but it wasn't necessarily easy. I just did what I had to do.

Something I feel like is happening (but maybe it is in my mind) is that the fat and muscle are starting to separate in my body. They are now their own two entities. The problem with that is I suspect I have this really awesome body underneath but my fat now just hangs on the outsides. I have a worse belly than I had before because now the fat is just it's own little blob hanging around at the center. Ewwwwwww. I notice the same with my arms. Now I have bat wings - I never hard those before. Gross.

So, I guess this is where the nutrition part comes in. How long will it take?!?! I have had exactly seven days of calorie PERFECTION. So, that's good news. the scale read 144.2 this morning, but I take that with a grain of salt until Friday. My body fluctuates madly.

As far as the actual workout, I don't know that I have too much to say. I tried to work weights into nearly all of the moves where it was an option. I did 12 pull ups of each kind, using the step ladder as an assist. It was hard work to get the last couple in.

Ab Ripper was its typical self. I still have issues with the stupid oblique crunch thingies.

Today we got the beeping to shut up on the heart rate monitor, but now the timer wasn't going. GAH!!!! I should really sit down with it at night and figure it out, haha. I just don't think about it until I get up and get ready to workout.

Not a lot to report, really. Tomorrow is Kenpo. I should really try to push myself and get an amazing workout. I need to burn some fat!

I'm glad it's not just me! I've been noticing this phenomenon with my belly, and to a lesser extent, my thighs. I don't have much fat left on my belly, but what I do have is really squishy and jiggly, more so I think than before. I'm sort of hoping it's partly water retention and that one of these days I'll whoosh it off...?

I was happy to do my last round of Legs & Back a couple of days ago. I like the workout, but I get bored with the same workout after a while, and after 12 weeks, I'm ready for a different lower body workout. But I took that last opportunity to get super super deep in my lunges and squats ("*ss to the grass" as I saw someone else on the boards here describe it ), and my butt & hamstrings are still sore today!

Wow. This must be really exciting. I remember fitting into some of my jeans again, after months of wearing sweatpants!

Day 41 - Week 6 Day 6 - Kenpo

Well, as you ladies may have guessed since you didn't hear from me, we skipped yesterday. Had a really late night the night before and didn't get to bed until 1am. I could have done Kenppo last night after work, but my boyfriend has conference all week and wasn't getting home until 10:30pm. As such, free day.

So, we got up at 5 am and did Kenpo this morning, and I think I'll do the stretching by myself this evening in order to stay on track.

So, about Kenpo. I was thinking about this thread this morning while working out and thinking of things to point out and suggest.

First off, I hate the stretches before this thing begins. They are weird and not like any of the other warm up stretches. (I do like frog, though.) I actually cannot even do the stretch where you do a "sideways" runners pose and then lift up on the bent leg. I can't do it. It makes me angry and then I start the entire thing off on the wrong foot. Pun intended. Lol. I think the idea is to just warm up your legs, though, so I need to concentrate less on doing moves that I find utterly stupid and worry about warming up the intended muscles in my own way.

Now, as far as the cardio portion - watch Tony the black ex-marine guy. (I think his name was Tony.) HE is how you get a solid cardio workout from this program. In fact, I was sucking air halfway through today from miming him. If people just kept up with Tony (the other one) they would not be skipping this video for something harder. It is hard as heck. You have to engage your abs, stand up tall, move your feet and keep moving during the breaks. You'll get your cardio.

About the feet, I struggle with moving my feet like they do. I will do the jabs and punches and then notice that my feet are completely static. No wonder I have not felt like I was getting as much of a workout as before! Move your feet with them. I think I'm a little uncoordinated, though. I really do struggle with this from time to time. Anyway, though, I'm not even halfway through P90X, so I have time to get it right.

One last thought I had today. The very first time I did Kenpo I was not even really doing the x jumps. I just continued to do the jumping jacks. Then I did the x jumps, but it was just like a jumping jack off the ground. TODAY I did them for real. I lifted my legs out and tried to get height. It made a huge difference. You're going to get exactly the kind of workout out of this program that you want. It all comes down to effort. If you took the time to press play, take the time to push yourself.

The scale this morning read 143.8. Unbelievable! That is almost a 10 lb. weight loss. Of course, tomorrow is the official weigh in day and things can change so I am not going to get too excited. Cross your fingers for me.

Also, I wore a halter top last night and I have to say, I was ridiculously impressed with my back. That is the one thing that looks BETTER than what I thought it would by the time I finished P90X. I am pretty sure I'm going to wear halter tops all summer long, haha. This makes me a little more excited about all those pull ups I'll be doing.

So, stretching tonight and then I'm back on track. Also, I should add I've been trying to fit in more walking into my schedule. But, I have not added additional cardio. Some of it is due to lack of time, and lot of it is due to lack of weather. Anyway, though, on days I don't have lunch plans I've been trying to go for a walk. I took my dog for an hour long walk two nights ago and last night I threw in a few extra blocks after walking back from an errand. Every little bit helps.

And, finally, nutrition. I have been a little less meticulous about my food the last few days, but I feel like it's been very in range of my calorie count. Yesterday was a breakfast: shake (180 c.), lunch: restaurant veggie burger and side salad for lunch (no idea on calorie count, but I ate the entire thing, including the entire bun), dinner: 1 piece whole wheat toast with smart balance spread, cheese stick, shake, fage 2% yogurt. I have zero clue what the calorie count was on the day, but I'm guesstimating around 1400. Just wanting to keep it under 1500 and above 1200 honestly. I'm seeing results, so I think it's good.

I really like reading your experiences, too. Getting to do some of these videos for the last time will feel amazing! (Though, I suspect I'll continue to do them to some extent.) The legs & back video is the easiest of the weight days, I think. But, perhaps I am not pushing myself low enough. I'm going to really try and do that next week. I noticed I haven't been sore the past couple of days which means to me I've probably been dogging it. With the new found back muscles I suspect I'll really push myself tomorrow!

But, yes, this squishy external fat is really annoying! I know they say great abs are made in the kitchen, so I should really just pay attention to my calories and not slack. (Unlike the last couple of days where I've estimated in my head, I suppose!) Back on track...

Thanks! It is exciting. I just love that my problem in the morning is still "what to wear" but this time it's because I have too many choices instead of none.

I'm going to start P90X soon (and I've just gone on a modified version of the Dukan diet) so it's really great to know what to expect!

I see your about 20-days out from finishing phase 2. Keep up the good work, it's hard, but worth it. I think your going to be quite impressed with your body by the end of phase 2. But don't stop! I bet you will really lean out if u go all the way. I ended up burning out after phase 2, n was really happy with my results. But i found out that i wasn't eating enough food, so it was really hard to get into the groove and i was always lethargic.

I know its weird to eat more, but it will give you the necessary energy to push you through the workouts and give you better results. Its really easy to skim over the guides and then forget, as i did. But the reasoning for it is all there.

Your taking pictures i hope ya? Would love to see your before and afters once youve completed!

Keep up the good work!!!

You are so right about Tony (or whatever his name is). Once I noticed how low he got in his "horse stance," I started paying attention to him. Engaging the abs is also something I didn't really figure out until a couple of weeks ago, and it was a revelation (oh wow! I should be doing this! [thirty minutes later]: ow!). I really like the workout--funfun!--and would like to keep doing it now and then. Thought about looking for some weighted gloves to amp up the intensity, but I'm not sure anyone makes them for little lady hands. Got to take a trip to the sporting goods store.

This was so me today! I went to try on some shirts and found that the light in the dressing room was oddly flattering, showing off my newly revealed muscles. I stood there gawking for a few minutes, moving my shoulders around, totally transfixed by my back muscles--they were positively rippling, for crying out loud! Amazing.

Day 42 - Week 6 Day 7 - Stretching

There! I've completed the dreaded week six when many people drop out. Now I just have to push through week 11, the other popular week for quitting. I think I can see why people stop at week 6. You are starting to see decent results and you figure that is good enough for you so no need to keep pushing through day in and day out.

But, I am determined! So, I will push on.

With that said, we had a lot of late nights this week so it was hard work trying to fit the workouts in. We did Kenpo on Thursday when we should have done it on Wednesday. Then, yesterday was just a massive hangover in the morning, lol, and a party I was hosting that evening. Thus, no workout happened.

Therefore, we did stretch AND the Chest, Shoulders & Triceps,
Ab Ripper X both today.

Stretching was really good. I am noticing some more additional flexibility on myself. I am starting to work myself down my legs on the hamstring stretches and I can fully touch the floor now when I bend down. I really think doing the stretch video is key.

I don't think I have a lot to add here. The stretching is pretty routine, but definitely worth the time. I do want to note that I didn't turn the a/c on for the stretching bit in order to keep my muscles warm. Not sure it helped much, but maybe it did? Anyway, on to the next hour...

Day 43 - Week 7 Day 1 - Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Ab Ripper X

This video really is a MONSTER. It is twice as hard as the chest one we did before. The very first set of push ups is absolutely killer. My arms were shaking at like 15 minutes in. Uuugh.

I think I have my first P90X injury. My right shoulder is having some sort of shooting pain when I move it wrong. I did it during a set of push ups, I think one of them where you move to the side. Who knows, really. But, it's about four hours out from doing the workout and it's still definitely bothering me. It will be fine for plyo tomorrow, but I'm worried about doing the following workout because it has the pull ups.

This video makes me feel so bad about myself. I did about three of the exercises with 5 lb. weights and it was a struggle! I probably did push ups for about half the time as they did as well. Uuugh!

My boyfriends arms really look amazing so I know this stuff is working. My still have flabby bat wings which is super discouraging. I, myself, notice the difference a bit, but I don't think that anyone else would. Whereas, I think my back is noticeable to others as well. I'm not sure why my arms are so sucky. That's probably why I injured my arm today. I was really pushing myself and perhaps I pushed too hard.

The one armed push up is still ridiculous. I know the woman in the video hardly does them at all, either, but that doesn't keep me from feeling like a failure. I feel like I could do these videos daily for the next two years and still not be able to do everything. Honestly, that would be a goal. Do P90X until you can do everything they can do. *THAT* is when you can finish, lol.

I'm never going to go for that goal, btw.

For ab ripper, I got to about 20 each of the oblique moves. Everything else I do completely. So, I am almost there!!