Week 1 recap; Day 7 P90x Chest and Shoulders

Week 1 under my belt.  Felt good. I was able to get through the week injury free.  Week 1 went well, I did the work, but didn’t eat right.  I need to get back to dieting.  Dieting is always the hardest part for me. This morning my wife made waffles. I think for lunch I’m going to have a P90x Chef salad. They are my favorite lunch item. So much food and it’s all so good for you.

I got some new motivation music, I have the new Rise Against album and also the new Eminem track.  I loved Eminem, he had just the right amount of anger and self depreciation for me.

Day 7 was good.  My arms are a little crampy right now, but I think it is because I pushed myself in the pullups.

Here are my day 7 numbers:

Exercise	1st Pass	2nd Pass
Standard Pushups	30	25
Wide Front Pullups	10 (4 w/chair)	10 (7 w/chair)
Military Pushups	20	15
Reverse Grip Pullups	12 (2 w/chair)	10 (2 w/chair)
Diamond Pushups	15	15
Close Grip Pullups	10 (6w/chair)	10 (8w/chair)
Decline Pushups	15	15
Heavy Pants	12 green	12 green
Lawn Mowers	8 green	8 green
Dive Bombers	9	7
Back Flys	8 green	10 green

How is everyone else doing? Anyone going through P90x for the first time, or are you going through a second or third round?

P90x Day 2: Plyometrics PLYOX Muther F’r

Plyo X kills me ever time.  Yesterday was no exception.  I told my wife that I didn’t think I was going to make it through the whole dvd, but I stuck it out and made it to the end.  And my thighs are not happy with me today as a result.

Plyo x is a combination of squats, jumping, jump squats, lunges and other bouncing/jolting movements that require no brain matter just muscle focus.  I hate it, but I love it.  I personall don’t feel that there is a more ‘rewarding’ workout than the plyo x.  My legs are so tight today and sore that I know I’m building strength. 

I also wore a  BYU hoodie while I worked out last night.  I was sweating buckets whithin minutes.  Which is a testament to the intensity of the workout. 

My wife took some “Week 1″ Pictures for me.  Here they are biiiiiitches.

p90x diet questions and answers

So as a quick recap, I’m doing well.  My shoulder has been pain free for two solid weeks.  I’ve even been shadow boxing full speed and hitting a bag without hesitation or pain.  Feeling good, feelin’ good.  My wife has even been doing some of the cardio with me, and all of the ab ripper x.  That little bit of support goes a long way.  Now to the questions…….

Javier wrote: I have 1 month doing p90x and the diet but i dont know how its works cause my weight is under 170 lb so i feel like im getting more skiny so if u can help me and tell me what i need to do to get more weight ..pleeaaasssseeeeee

Javier, the best way to gain weight without sacrificing muscle tone or ‘fit’ness is to increase your good calories.  For example, you should be on the 1800 calorie a day plan.  You may want to increase to the 2000 or even higher. 

My wife has an insane metabolism.  My metabolism packed it’s shit up and checked out shortly after high school.  Some people like you, I call them lucky people, have a metabolism that makes it difficult to gain weight.  This will be a blessing as you get older, but I understand the want to add weight and muscle mass.

Start by doubling your protein shake every day, within a half hour of working out.  Then increase that by adding a protein serving right before you go to bed.  Example, three boiled eggs right before you fall asleep.  Worst case senario you start to eat more carbs during dinner (I know, think of all that dreaded spaghetti you’ll get to eat now).  The carbs will burn slower than the protein and will start to stick to you.  I would recommend the protein first, protein builds muscle.  The added carbs might slow you down just a step.

P90X Diet Questions and Answers.

Evelyn: “My daughter is on day 17 of p90x and I will be strting it tomorrow. I am vegetarian ( 25 years now) and have no plan to eat any meat on this diet. Would love to get feedback from you and ways to stay on the diet and not eat any meat— thanks so much”

Nate: First thoughts, jump in with her on the dvd she’s on.  If you can do it together it is so much easier to stay motivated.

Secondly, not eating meat is tough on a diet that requires so much protein in the first stages.  For years I was vegan, which as you know is a tad bit stricter on a diet than being vegitarian.  My diet mostly consisted of vegetables and fruits. 

Becareful not to ‘over’ eat on the carbs.  Anytime I would eat with friends or family they would try and shove pastas at me and potatoes and other carb/starches.  These things can counter anything P90x wants you to do. 

I love tofu.  Let me repeat I love tofu.  If you can grill it or pan sear it and then use some type of stir fry sauce on it it is the best thing to happen to brocolli and carrots.

Good luck, you’re a much stronger person than I.

Day 1, Round 2. Ding…. Ding

So after a two week hiatus I started my second round of p90x.  Over the last two weeks I’ve been running a few times and training with my Muay Thai group every other day.  But I’ve been on the seefood diet.  That is not a misspelling, the seefood diet is when I ’see’ food, I eat it.  This hasn’t been the best plan, but I’ve enjoyed a few bbq’s that I’ve been to.

Today was recommitment day 1.  I finished the first 90 days strong and had incredible results.  My family is going to Lake Powell for a week in July and I want to be ripped by then.    So I’m starting round 2.

I stopped taking creatine and hope to slim out a little while hardening my core.  I started the fat shredder diet again.  Level 2.  I really enjoy the p90x diet and had great results with it the first time around.  Today for breakfast I had a tomato, mushroom and spinich omelet.  For lunch I had a chef salad that i could barely finish…. tis a lot of food.

Anyone else on their second go around of p90x?  How is it going.  I’m feeling like I have my work cut out for me, but that I’m far more prepared for the workouts as I was the first time around.

p90x Week 9; Yoga X and cheatin on the diet :(

Yoga day.  I love yoga, but put out the ‘I’m-too-cool-for-this-yoga-shit-so-don’t-stare-at-me-while-I-do-the-downward-dog’ attitude so people don’t think I’m some sorta pansy.  Deep down I know that most of the people who do yoga could bend and flip their way to kicking my ass.

I cheated royally on my diet today.  I work two days a week at a business conference in the city.  Our little team lost a member today so we all went out to lunch.  This guy who is leaving picked Bucca Di Beppo, Italian family style food.  I forced to chose between lasagna and chicken parmasean.  How do you spell parmagsan?  Anyway, I had too much cheese and too many carbs for lunch.

I’m going to train tonight.  Muay thai is a killer work out.  I have a bruise the size of cantelope on my left but cheek.  Hurts like hell every time I have to lay on my side.

Week 9: Killing it with Plyox and Muay Thai

One of my main motivations in doing P90x was to get back into shape so that I can fight in the local mma show here in Salt Lake City.  P90x has given me that opportunity.   P90x is a killer workout  but now that I’m  nearing fight shape I have started incorporating  fight training to my workout regimen.

When do I sleep you ask?  I don’t.  I get to bed about 1a.m. and my son wakes up to eat breakfast about 6 a.m..  So I’m a five hour a night kinda guy.

Muay Thai is such a fun work out, and a killer striking art.  I’m going to mess someone up with an elbow, I’m excited about the blood.

Today I ate two vegan sausage patties on a peice of wheat toast  for breakfast and you know I washed it down with a drink mix of protein powder and water….. so un-tasty.  For a snack I had another Protein/water mix and a protein bar.  For lunch I’m eating a salad with field greens, carots, turkey and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.  String cheese is sooooo good.

I’m having a snack of 1oz. of plain almonds in a bit and for dinner I’m going to surprise my wife and make some shrimp stir fry.

Tonight I’m doing the back and bicep/ab ripper x work out.  This is the dvd that makes me feel “buff”.  I like to work out my biceps, but my abs are more fun now.  I toyed with the idea of doing the ab  ripper x two times back to back on the appropriate days.  I’m going to try it tonight.  I might not be able to stand up, but if you see me laying on the ground, I’ll be the one with the six pack.

Protein bar reviews by the average consumer

There are a couple of things I look for in a protein bar.  I’ve rarely found a protein bar that meets all of my standards.   Today I reviewed a few different protein bars and ranked them 1st, 2nd and 3rd.  I eat a protein bar for a between breakfast and lunch snack every day.  I didn’t eat all of these in one sitting, I ate one each day for three consecutive days.

3rd place – Myoplex Monster Protein bar
Taste -     3.   ehh.  average chalky protein bar.
Density -  3.  Got milk.  No seriously I can’t choke this down.
Protein  -  5.  Damn. I don’t even need to eat lunch now.
Carbs   -   3.  ehh.  not bad.
Notes – If i was a body builder looking to get huge pretty muscles that can lift small volkswagons, this’d be my protein bar.

2nd place – Cliff protein bar
Taste-       3. It is okay.  Not the best but I’ve had worse.
Density -  4. It isn’t too thick and fairly soft.
Protein -   4. 20g’s of protein aint a bad amount.
Carbs -     2.  Too many carbs for this fat guy.
Notes – I love cliff bars and until today they were my choice for protein bars.  They are made by tree huggers and are good for naturalists, organicists and other folks trying to be better people.

1st place – The Snickers Marathon Protein bar
Taste -      5.  Almost as good as the candy bar
Density -   4.  Thick, but still chewable
Protein -    4.  20g per bar isn’t bad.
Carbs -      3. 17g per bar isn’t bad either.
Notes – They put peanuts in just like the candy bar.  This is a great change of pace from the ordinary protien bar. Favorite flavor – chocolate peanut crunch

 

I haven’t yet tried the p90x peak performance bar.  It has a lot of carbs and not alot of protein.  It is supposed to be a good ‘energy’ bar though.  I’m going to buy some when I reorder my p90x recovery drink mix.

P90x Week 9 Day 1, Chest and Back – ab ripper x – 1 mile jog

For some reason I felt ambitious this morning.  I woke up, got ready and started intensely on disc 1 Chest and Back.  I was rockin it too.  In my record book I looked at what my goals and results were from weeks 1 through 3.  I was doing 20 standard pushups, today I did 35.  I was doing 10 pullups, today I did 18.  I was killing it……

Then I puked.

About halfway through the workout I tossed my proverbial cookies.  I have been battling a little bit of sickness for a while now, but have not yet thrown up while working out.  Like a champ I put in a peice of gum and kept at it.  Then puked again.

Then I got a second wave of adrenaline or energy.  I finished my work out with fire.  The dive bombers were as unpleasant as I remembered.  It has been six weeks since I’ve done them and I wasn’t looking forward to them.  They remind me of how bad at yoga I am.  My shoulders are on fire after about twelve dive bombers. If I happen to look at the tv while doing it I always see Moraine (sorry for the mis-spelling) doing her dive bombers with her fine ass up in the air and I get distracted.

After finishing the dvd, I took a quick one mile jog.  I would say it was just under seven minutes.  Good to get outside and run again.  I hate, let me repeat that, I hate running on the treadmill.  I’d rather get fat over the winter than run on a treadmill.

When I got back from the jog I finished my work out with the ab ripper x dvd.  I love that thing.  The fiefer sissors are getting easier but still make me feel like I’m a little boy getting beat on by a step father. 

I haven’t eaten anything yet today and it is just after ten a.m..  I had my creatine drink this morning, but I’m sure I threw all of it up.  I also had my recovery drink…… “Oh thank heaven, for the p90x recovery drink”

One more week on the fat shredder diet and I should be in good shape.

90x Week 8 recap; last day of rest

This week started rocky due to a plague I contracted from who knows where! I started taking antibiotics for a sinus infection, which is one of the many things my body is using in it’s mutiny attempt.  Only thing worse than being sick is that I gave this awful mess to my wife and my three month old son.

I took a few days off to rest and get better.  I resumed training Saturday morning by working a little Muay Thai with my MIA team.  I’m getting excited to fight.  Due to the sickness I lost a few extra pounds this week.  I’m sitting below 170lbs.  I could realistically go all the way down to 155, but it would have to be a one time deal, 170 is my natural weight.

I’m in need of some additional conditioning training.  I’m thinking about going to the local high school and running bleachers, or possibly just doing some interval running on the parkway near my house.  The bleachers sound fun and exciting but painful, so I haven’t decided yet.

P90x training resumes Monday as well.  I’m really need to step it up this week.  I’m starting back on the first set of dvd’s.  I really liked them and I love the whole muscle confusion concept.  It keeps me going each week.

I’m still continuing the fat shredder diet because I enjoy the meal options and I don’t miss the carbs.  I feel I still have a little fat to lose around the middle and I know I can get rid of it with the fat shredder diet.