Chest, Tri, Shoulders, Abs

I managed to get this one in today too! Woo hoo! I still haven't done much studying... :( Whatever! Should be fine! I enjoyed the workout a lot today. I felt like I had a ton of energy. My favorite move is definitely the pushup one arm balance... I feel so graceful! I love it! I'm looking forward to plyo tomorrow. I'm happy to be back on track!

Back to Business!

I was up bright and early today to get in my first workout. I've actually decided to "run" the half marathon in Pittsburgh in May, so I'm substituting my runs for the Cardio X portion of the Doubles workout. I went out for a 30 min jog this morning. It was COLD!!! It's supposed to be warm later but it was still below freezing! It felt GREAT though! I had no issues at all and really could've kept going. Since I haven't been really focusing on running, I'll most likely walk/jog the race, but that's ok. A lot of my friends are doing it so it'll be fun!

I'm going to volunteer today at the animal shelter and then I'll be back for the Chest workout with Abs. I'm excited! I'm so happy my life is back on track. Without going into too much gory detail, I basically decided to end a 3.5 year relationship over the weekend and I had to deal with that. Soooo, now I am back and planning to workout with full force! I'm feeling awesome today, so that's great! If I have time, I'll post about the chest workout. I have a midterm tomorrow though, so I should really be studying!

ugh

I've had a personally challenging week so I think I need to repeat this week. Since it was a doubles week, I'm trying to figure out what to do. I did most of the workouts but not all. Should I repeat a recovery week and then repeat this week? Or should I just repeat this week? Help!

Back and Biceps

Another day, another X workout... I woke up a little later today and did my Cardio X. That is such a great way to start the day! It is just long enough, and it has the little yoga sequence in the beginning. I love it! I had some stuff to do at school in the morning, and of course I had class. I got home and did Back and Biceps for the first time. Good stuff! I was definitely getting fatigued at the end of all those hammer curls. I hadn't done pullups in a while either, so those were tough! I hope I'm feeling it tomorrow. I love me a little soreness so I know I was working! I even walked a couple miles today... I bet I burned killer calories!

I'm going to my parents' house this weekend, and I'm bringing X with me. I'm excited I'll be there!

Good luck with all your workouts!

No pictures yet...

I'm still working on it! It's hard when you live alone. My cats haven't figured out my digital camera. I did take some shots with my blackberry, but I don't have the originals! I did check my measurements, and I have lost 1" from my waist, 1" from my chest, and 0.5" from my hips. I can tell a big difference in my clothes! I also officially losr 5 pounds. Yay for 30 days!

So, I did something sort of stupid last night... I didn't turn my alarm clock on! Luckily when I was getting ready to switch to doubles, I put all of my workouts into my calendar. I had wanted to do plyo this morning at 7:30, and I should have had my alarm go off at 7. Unfortunately, it wasn't on, BUT my blackberry dinged at me to let me know I had something in my calendar that was supposed to start at 7:30. Phew! I jumped out of bed and did the workout right away! I was a little more rushed (at least in my head) than usual, but I still burned over 800 calories. That workout cannot be stopped!

Other than that, life is a bit stressful right now, but I'm not going to let them stop my workouts. I'm thinking that will relieve more stress for me, so it's got to be done!

Hope all the other X'ers out there are doing well!

Random thoughts...

I made it through most of my 2nd workout today. I had a headache (which I suspect was from not eating enough), so I didn't do the ab ripper portion yet. I did pretty well with the new chest, shoulders, etc. workout. One-armed pushups are beasts, but I was happy to see the people in the video even struggle with that. I bent my elbow a little... it's a start right! When I get home tonight, I plan to do my ab ripper x before bed. Nothing like fitting it in where I can!

I will post 30 day pics soon! My Day 1 pics are on another computer, so I have to get those and take some new pictures. Tomorrow is officially 30 days and it looks like I've lost about 5-6 pounds judging by the scale today. I'll know for sure tomorrow!

Phase 2 begins!

I woke up bright and early today to start my phase 2 on the right foot. I've done my Cardio X for the day and I'm heading out soon for volunteering at the animal shelter. Cardio X was fun! He takes some of the more entertaining moves from each workout and incorporates them into a short sequence. I'm not a big fan of Dreya Rolls, and it's only because I have a hardwood floor. Even with the yoga mat, it's way too hard for me to do without feeling like I'm bruising my back. So I modify it so it doesn't hurt, but it's definitely not as intense (nor as fun I imagine) as if you do it exactly like they do. Oh well! I think I burned somewhere in the vicinity of 450 calories. After I get back from the animal shelter I'll pick up the Chest, Shoulders, Arms workout with some Ab Ripper X. I see there are some clap pushups in there... we'll see how that goes!

Core Synergistics Take 2

So Core Syn was much better today! I must have been tired the other day. It is also much easier when you've seen the moves before. I actually did the push ups on my hands and feet the whole time, and they are getting much better! It's so exciting!

I also put my workouts for next week into my calendar. I figure if they aren't appointments, it'll be easier to push them off to later in the day. School will get busier too and I'll have to schedule group meetings, so I'm happy to have the workouts on my calendar. I must be INSANE because I've penciled in Cardio X because I want to try out Doubles. Mostly it's because I want to throw in a run here and there. On days when it's nice or a friend invites me on a run, I'll substitute that for Cardio X. I have a meeting for the alumni association of my undergraduate university next Saturday, so I'm actually switching my Saturday and Sunday workouts because I'll have more time for doubles on Sunday. I'm excited to try it out and see if I can handle it.

Also, here's a recipe I recently tried (since I said I'd put recipes I like on here). I saw it in a magazine, but I changed it slightly based on what types of things I like. It's for onion soup. Onions are cheaper than most produce right now, but it can be hard to figure out what to do with them especially in a featured role. So here it is!

1 T oil (I use canola for the good fats)

2 cups of thinly sliced/chopped onions

1.5 cups broth (I use beef broth)

0.5 cup sherry or some other cooking wine

thyme (dried or fresh) to taste

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions in oil until they are really soft. It should take about 20 minutes, but it doesn't need to be watched over constantly. Once they are soft, add in the cooking wine. Stir the onions and wine until the wine cooks off and the mixture is a little syrupy. Add in the broth, bay leaf, and thyme. Simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Kenpo to the max

Today was a Kenpo day for me! I woke up at 7, and I sort of had a headache so I decided to push it off until later in the day. I got my haircut at 11 and felt much better when I got back, so I did the workout then. I'm so happy I waited! I must've really been feeling it today because I burned 775 calories! Woo hoo! It's nice to push it and have fun and not even feel like you're working (that's the fun kicking in). I love it!

Next week will be my 30 days mark! It looks like as of now I've lost about 3 pounds, and I'm sure I've dropped a couple inches. I haven't officially checked, but I have some jeans that are feeling a little looser. More like they used to be tight and now they fit. Good stuff! My friend pointed out my triceps yesterday too and said she could see a difference. Gotta love it!

Hope everyone else is enjoying the workouts as much as I am! I'm getting much better about the food too. I think in the beginning it was so much just to adjust to the workout schedule, so I wasn't as structured with my food. Now I find that I crave the right food, so I'm not really worried about wanting to get a cookie or chips. I'm thinking it's the positive side effects of all the hard work! If I come up with any good recipes, I'll post them. I love to cook, and I'm really into eating as inexpensively (and as locally) as possible. Now that the weather is getting better, the local produce will start coming in and I'll go local! It's fun to try to figure out how to cook only locla foods. In May, that means a TON OF SPINACH. In case you're interested in finding places near you to get local foods, check out www.localharvest.org.

Take care and keep bringing it!

Core Synergistics - Recovery Week

Today was the first time I tried Core Syngeristics and I had no idea what to expect. I got up at 7 and got going right away. I had to leave at 9:45 for class, so it worked out perfectly. It was definitely a good workout! I can't even imagine myself getting to the point where I can do mountain climbers in the down position of a pushup. That is insanity! Adam is a mad man. I guess that's what happens when you're a dancer/trainer... male dancers are seriously strong people!

HRM Report: 658 calories!

Tomorrow is Kenpo X, and I'm looking forward to it! I'm going to get up at 7 again even though I don't have class until 3:30. Must stay motivated regardless of when my first "real" activity is!

As a total aside, I have to mention my moment of being a space cadet today. I had just finished working out, and I think I was trying way too hard to be uber-efficient. I think it's a first week of school syndrome. I try to make sure I get everything done as best as I can and as quickly as possible. So, I get my coffee maker ready to go, measure it out, pour in the water, and turn it on. MISSING STEP - putting the pot on the freaking thing! I go take a shower and don't even think of anything until I go to get my coffee, and it's ALL OVER THE COUNTER. Ugh! Maybe I shouldn't multitask so much!

Recovery Week Begins

I'm back in my school world, and things are going well! My first day of class for this mini-semester was actually pretty good, and I even got in my Stretch X. I really wanted to cook dinner and relax for a bit, so I did that and then popped in Stretch X at 9. What a way to end the day! I still can't believe how not flexible I am, but there is improvement. So that's good!

Today I did Yoga X, and it was much better than last week! I think the key was that I was not in a hurry. When you're rushing, you can't focus. Today, I don't have anywhere that I need to be until 3:30 (craziness... I have class on Tuesdays from 3:30 - 9:30 PM), so I got up at 7 so I had plenty of time for me. I had a light breakfast and some coffee (must have my coffee in the morning... a girl needs a vice). Once I digested, I put in Yoga X and I really gave it my all. There are so many moves that are too challenging for me, but I'm trying to modify them. I feel much more flexible and I'm getting better at the balance postures too. Very nice!

Last week's calories = 4500! I didn't even have my HRM on for yoga, so it was probably about 400 -500 more!

Yoga calorie burn today = 450!

Off to volunteer at the animal shelter! Hope everyone else doing P90X is feeling great!

Back to reality...

I am back from spring break and gearing up for my last 7 weeks of school for the year before my summer internship. I had a great time at home visiting my family and friends, so it was rough to leave! I made it back to my apartment around 7, and I squeezed in Kenpo X right after unloading my car. Tomorrow is my Week 3 Rest Day, and then it's on to week 4!

I was a little tired from driving for 5 hours, but I managed to burn over 600 calories! I love those knuckles moves at the end. It makes me laugh! Today I was picturing myself in a line where the people behind me are crowding me, and I have to knuckle them to get them away. Whatever it takes to feel the burn right? Of course I'd never knuckle anyone, but you've got to picture something!

I'm looking forward to trying Core Synergistics this week. I hear it can be pretty tough! My whole week should be interesting since I have a brand new schedule to work around. We'll see how it goes!

PS - Thanks for all the support over the last 3 weeks!

Week 3 is coming to a close...

It's been a busy couple of days (in a good way... visiting friends and family) but I managed to get in yoga and legs & back. I did yoga at 6 AM yesterday, and I have to say it did not go as well as usual. I just wasn't feeling it! I find that yoga is an easy workout to slack on and not do as well. If I'm tired for legs or arms, there's not much I can do to slack. You do a bicep curl or you don't, you know? For yoga though, I find it easier to only go partway, and I feel like I might've done that yesterday. I still sweat but it just didn't feel as intense! On the other hand, legs went really well today! I'm definitely strange because that is my favorite workout. I love it! I even liked those stupid 80 20 Siebers speed squats today.

Tomorrow is Kenpo again, and I have a 5 hour drive home. I'm trying to decide if I want to sleep in, get on the road early, and then workout at night or if I want to workout before I leave. We'll see!

Recovery week next week! I think I need it!

Arms and Shoulders, Ab Ripper X

Ahhh, all done with the workout for the day. I really like the arms and shoulders workout. It's definitely the best to use bands and bands only. Next time I do it I'll up the intensity of my bands for a few of the exercises. Good stuff! Ab Ripper X was good today as well. I usually don't lift my feet during the mason twists at the end, but I did today for 20 reps. Excellent!

HRM Report: 792 calories!

I'm getting lunch with a couple girlfriends today... how fun! I'm going to check out the menu to figure out what I'll get to eat. It's an Asian fusion type place so I'm sure I'll find something good.

Yoga at 6 AM tomorrow... I have a busy Friday!

Positive Attitude = Enhanced Results?

I was reading Shape magazine today (the one with Julia Louis-Dreyfus who looks awesome on the cover), and they mentioned that positive attitudes about workout results tend to keep people on track. So basically, if you believe you'll reach your goals, you're more likely to stick with your workout. I believe it was a study that was done at Duke University... anyhow, I really believe it! In my own way, I'd say that feeling positive about my results definitely keeps me working out and it makes me try harder. Today I did plyo, and I was in such a positive mood about it because I really feel differences in my fitness and my shape. I don't have a scale with me here, but my clothes definitely fit better than they did two weeks ago. It feels like my hard work is paying off which in turn makes me want to work harder. I love it!

Those squat switch jumps KICK MY BUTT. Today I used less of the modification for these and did a lot more of the full switch jump. I found myself not going at the exact speed of Tony, but I definitely used more explosive jumping. It felt great! My heart was definitely pumping! I'm thinking my HRM might've gone a little haywire because the high heart rate it recorded was ridiculous (223 bpm)! Usually when it loses the connection from the strap to the watch it will record over 220 bpm or 0 bpm. I tend to think that's what happened because I kept looking at it after my hardest exercises and it was only in the 170s or 180s at the most. Seems high, but I recover really quickly when we take it down a notch.

Time for some lunch! I have some turkey breast and salad stuff today. Yummy!

HRM Report: 950 calories?!?!?

My favorite workout partner

Today I began Week 3 with my trusty and loyal workout partner, Shepard. He's my 7 year old cat, and he is always right by my side when I workout. It is so cute! I call him my Yogi Cat because he especially loves yoga. On Ab Ripper X days though he is very helpful because he plops down right next to me while I agonize through that fabulous workout! It's really quite helpful during thos awful oblique crunches because he stretches out right next to me so I can focus on him instead of the burning pain in my side! He also seems to like standing under me in downward dog. Love it!

Today was my third shot at Chest and Back, and my goal today was to do as many pushups off of my knees as possible. I did pretty well! I usually only try the standard pushups on my toes, but this time I tried all of them (except military). Those military pushups are my toughest ones... except of course for the dive bombers. On the dive bomber front, I'm proud to say I am almost positive that whatever I did today could be called a dive bomber pushup. I don't think I could've said that before today! For abs, my triumph of the day was putting my hands up in the air during in and outs. I'm pretty lucky when it comes to abs because my old gym had a 15 minute ab class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and we did some of the exercises from Ab Ripper X. Woo hoo! That class did more for me than I thought!

On the topic of bands and weights, I'm pretty sure I'm going to move up to my next resistance level in the bands. I think it's especially important when I'm doing the pullups with the bands. I think it'll really intensify the workout because some of the moves seemed a bit easy with my regular band today. Could that be my muscles getting stronger??? :)

HRM Report: 763 calories!

I hope everyone else out there doing P90X is bringing it! I'm loving this workout! It's so real, and that's my favorite part. I also enjoy when Tony does his Forrest Gump impression... I'm easily amused!

Legs and Back Take 2, Kenpo X Take 2

Ahhh, just finished me some Kenpo X! It was much better than last week. I must've been a lazy bum last week because I sweat so much more today! There's something awesome about punching and kicking! I was a Tae Bo girl in the 90's, so I love the whole aerobic kickboxing thing. I think what I appreciate about Tony and P90X though is that he makes it a serious workout. There's no gimmick or silliness in this workout. I'm a huge fan of the blocking sequences as I said last week. I was much better at the Star Block sequence this week, although I'd say that is my weakest area. There were definitely a few times in the punching sequences too that I got confused. I think I was concentrating too hard! Sometimes you've just gotta move!

HRM Report: 758 calories!

As for Legs and Back, it was definitely different this week. I decided that for ease of travel, I was going to use bands only for my workouts this week. I like the pullup bar better because it works my muscles much more intensely. I missed my weights during some of those lunge/squat combos as well. It was still a great workout! Those Siebers 80/20 squats are killer! And, my proudest moment was that I got up at 6 AM to do my workout! My boyfriend and I went to the valley (my affectionate term for where I grew up) to visit our parents (his live there too), so we were out from 9 AM until 10 PM yesterday. There is NO SLACKING in P90X though! :)

HRM Report: 770 calories!

I actually did the Slim in 6 workouts with Debbie Siebers a while ago, and they were awesome too. That was the only time in my life that I didn't have saddlebags! Ha ha ha! I'm sure I'll get back there and beyond with the P90X. I have Debbie's more intense workout DVD's too, and some of those are really good. I think I'm going to have myself quite a home workout collection! I'm sure I'll do a few rounds of P90X so I can keep kicking it up a notch each time, but I'm happy to have a full workout arsenal at home at all times!

I think in the end I should sum up all the calories I've burned over 90 days. Can you imagine what that will be???

Yogatta Do This!

So today was yoga again... that is also rather intense! I'm always really into the warrior series and then when we get into some of the craziness at the end of the vinyasa section, my legs BURN! I guess that's good though. :) I am so so with the balance poses. Some are great, some are really challenging. At least Tony falls out of them too! I'm looking forward to legs again tomorrow. I guess I'm crazy, but I love me a good lunge sequence! The weather is gorgeous too, so if I have time this weekend I'm hoping I can get in a short run.

HRM Report: 528 calories!!!

For yoga... seriously!

Day 10

Today was my second go round with arms and shoulders plus ab ripper x. Since I'm away from home, I just used bands. I figured they're easier to pack with me. I loved it! There were only a couple exercises that I prefer with weights. I think my favorite was the tricep extension. With the bands, you did it standing, and I thought it was awesome. It took me a little while to get used to the tension I needed for each exercise but I just paused for a second here and there while I got situated.

As for abs, it is getting much better! Before I couldn't even do 25 oblique crunches, and I managed that today. Woo hoo! I can really feel the difference in the crunchy frog and the V roll up thing. I'm loving it!

HRM REPORT: 705 calories! It didn't even feel like I was buring that much. Excellent!

Plyo Day 9

I had to think for a second about which day it was today! Plyo went much better for me today. I did it first thing in the morning before breakfast. Last week, I definitely felt wasted afterwards, but I feel great right now! I took fewer breaks (just followed the ones on the DVD) and I felt better on a lot of the exercises. I must've gained some endurance this week because I only burned 856 calories this time around. Only... ha! I love it!

I'm driving home today for a week and a half. We have off of school. I'm going to really concentrate on my eating. Everyone will be working during the day, so I'm going to get up when I want to, work out, and eat healthy! I think it's going to be a great recharging time for me. Every break thus far during grad school I've been studying or searching for internships. I'm all set with an internship, and I have nothing to study, so it's me time! And family time and friend time of course!

Week 2 begins!

I just finished up my second time doing Chest & Back plus Ab Ripper X. It went much better today! I concentrated on keeping my neck in the proper place during my pushups. I'm thinking that for next time I'm going to really focus on my back muscles when I'm doing the pullups. I'm using a step for assistance, and I want to make sure I'm working my back muscles as hard as I can. Towards the end of the main workout I was thinking I was done until I remembered Ab Ripper X. Ahh! What a bummer! I did well during the abs though, so that's good. The hardest for me is actually the oblique crunches towards the end. I have to take a little break. The wide leg sit up with the cross over is getting much better for me. I'm happy about that! Overall I burned 714 calories! For all of last week, I burned 5286 calories!!! Isn't that insane?

Finals are over and I have spring break until March 15. Woo hoo! I'm going home, so i have to pack up all my P90X stuff. I have bands, so I'm going to use those while I'm gone instead of weights. I'm going to bring my pullup bar with me too.

Tomorrow is plyo... we'll see if that feels better than last week! I'm going to do it first thing in the morning because I have a 5 hour drive home to do tomorrow and I'd like to be home by dinner. Time for a recovery shake!

Food

Today is Day 7 of my P90X Journey, and so far it's going well. I love the workouts, and I've had no problem fitting them into my life. Where I really feel like I'm falling down though is the food! There are some days that I feel I do really well, and then others I am starving my bedtime! I really need to concentrate on finding the right balance. I'm going to Costco tomorrow to pick up some Egg Beaters and more chicken breasts. I have gone through a lot of frozen proteins this week! I technically haven't gone through a week since my last weigh-in (I usually weigh myself on Thursdays) so I won't get too discouraged just yet. Must focus!

Day 6 - Kenpo X!

I just finished up Kenpo X... 791 calories! It was just what I needed today. I went out last night till really late. I'm too old for that! I definitely needed this workout to energize me. There were a few combos that were tough coordination-wise, but otherwise it was pretty manageable. I took karate for a little bit before, so some of the moves were familiar. I loved the blocking section! I thought that was fun. I'm always a big fan of kicks too, so I loved that. All in all, very cool!

My legs are slightly sore from yesterday's workout. Mostly my hamstrings and calves... I already feel like I'm seeing results. I can see my abs! Woo hoo! I'm so excited to have made it through the 6 main workouts for the week. Tomorrow I'll warm up and do the stretch x workout. I hope it's not boring! The idea of one hour of stretching is a bit weird to me unless it's mainly yoga moves. We'll see!

Time to study... awesome. :)