Rolling in the 8th week already! My wrists still hurts so I’m skipping Yoga because of all the downward dogs would put too much strain on my wrists. I’m doing Kenpo instead.
I also had to skip Monday’s workout because of a super busy schedule. My brother came over to visit the baby, then we had to go visit a friend’s baby, then babysit in the evening. I can do my best and forget the rest or either make it up with a double session during the week or do it on Sunday.
The beginning of the Phase II came with a change of exercises. I think over the recovery week I may have tried too hard to stretch my wrists and may have hurt myself a bit. My wrist hurts when it bends a certain way. It makes doing the push-ups a bit harder. I have worked out through it but taking it a bit easier to make sure it heals.
I completed the first 4 weeks of P90X. The resting week was a nice break. I can’t believe I’ve been at it for 4 weeks non-stop, exercising every day. Even last week when we had guests at the house, I still made time to exercise. It only shows that with dedication and commitment anything is possible. Yesterday marks Day 30 so pictures are in order. I have taken them and will upload Day 0 and Day 30 together for comparison.
My review of the first phase of P90X is that to take the most out of the training program you really do have to pass the initial fitness test. There are plenty of exercises that would not nearly as effective if you all you can do is 4-5 reps of each. P90X infomercial is very persuasive at showing before and after pics of ripped people, but be smart when you exercise. I do give credit to Tony though, for emphasizing that you should workout within your limits at all times, to take breaks when you need, and to do what you can. So, in a way he oversells you the product in the infomercial then brings it back to reality.
Yesterday, I ate more than I should have by 262 calories. Why? There wasn’t anything in the fridge so I ended munching through the day. I have to go shop for healthy snacks this weekend.
The working outs have been great. So far no problems. The most important thing is to find time… no, make time to exercise. I have mustered all my will power to make sure I complete each session every day even when they days are hectic or I really do not feel like exercising. I’m proud to say I have not missed a day yet.
It is exciting that the end of week 3 is coming. I can’t wait to see how the rest week exercises go. Then, soon enough the time for day 30 pictures will be here!
Yesterday it was the lowest point of the my P90X pursuit. I really did not feel like working out… but I committed to the program and I will try my best to continue it till the end. It is at times like when you do not feel like working out that you have to bring it! Do it! Or whatever corporate slogan goes though your head.
I did it and I’m proud to say that I have not yet faltered on the exercises. However, on the diet front it is somewhat harder too stay on course. As I mentioned before, I opted to not follow the P90X diet and instead just try to eat as healthy as possible still counting calories. Looking at my food log, there has been a few days I went over my calorie intake by 200 calories or so. It was on October 31, 2009 because of a birthday party, and then again on November 1, 2009, and then November 7, 2009. There will be lapses my diet but I rationalize it that I have been eating less than the 2,300 calorie allotted so it all evens out in the end.
I’m still going strong on he P90X. Motivation is still high. I only missed one Ripper Abs X workout but plan to make up for it this week.
A comment about Yoga. It kicks butt. I have never done Yoga like this before. It is quite hard to maintain form in all exercises. I do still believe though that the more flexible one is the easier it is to maintain the form. As it stands I keep on fighting to keep my form. I also think that 1h30m of Yoga is quite a bit. It is more manageable time wise to break it down into two workouts of 45 minutes. I still have to finish 45minutes of it later tonight.
I have kept my calorie intake less than 2400 calories. There was on day of the week last week that I went over it because I usually eat more junk when I go to my parents house, but overall for the week I guess it broke even so that is ok.
I measured my body fat on Day 5 and it dropped to 34.3% but today I checked it again and it shows at 35.5% again which is my beginning body fat. However, technically my weigh is less than Day 5, which leads me to question the accuracy of the measurements. Perhaps, it is just too early to see results.
I decided not to follow the P90X meal plan. I do try to follow it to a certain extent but after some research I think the protein intake is a bit too much so I’m eating a more balanced ratio of 40/40/20. Or at least trying to.
I do count the calories I’m eating and I’m also eating about 2,200 calories, which is 200 less than what the program calls for. I figure that if I start feeling too tired, I’ll modify and adjust my eating habits as I go along. So far, I have been feeling good.
I’m not taking any of the supplements. I drink chocolate milk as my recovery drink and eat egg whites to increase my protein intake. After researching on the internet, chocolate milk (milk + ovaltine) has the “magic” recovery ratio of carbs to protein (4 to 1) so there is no need for commercial drinks. I also believe that it is best to try to eat as naturally as possible instead of supplement powders.
The journey to fitness continues. Body is sore all over. Sore after day 1, sore after day 2, and I bet tomorrow I’ll be sore from today. P90X kicks butt. The hardest exercises are actually the Ab Ripper X sets. Since each set is of 25 and you can’t really change your body weight, I’m stuck with a pre-set weight to lift and pre-set set of reps! I admit, I cannot exercise the same way as the people in the videos but I’m doing my best and I know my core will get stronger and stronger each time I exercise it.
Day 1 of p90x was good. I got some sweat going. Still testing the waters a bit to fine tune how much weight I should use to maximize the reps. The chin-ups were super hard. I decided to use the chair so I can do 10-15 reps with the goal to eventually be strong enough that I won’t need the help of the chair anymore.
I really counted the calories I ate today and everything went well. It is all about the choices. And now that I decided to follow the p90x program, I shall not fail. It was easier to eat only one cup of cereal and one cup of milk. It was strangely satisfying and enough. The key is to eat till you are not hungry, and not to eat until you are full. I keep this in mind when I put food to my mouth.
The core work was a killer. It looks so easy but it is so hard. I found that the core exercises were the hardest. Slow and steady… slow and steady. In the end, what matters is to keep on exercising.
I just watched the P90x infomercial from start to end for the first time. Got me all pumped up. I got the chin up bar I ordered. So, it is all ready to go for next Monday. Let the countdown begin.