Thursday, April 30, 2009
Triathlon Training Day 11 & 12: Stength Training + 4 Mile Run
Today was another long ass day working but at least i was home before dark! So, I did a 4-mile run. I am getting stronger each time out and am really starting to enjoy running. My split at the first mile was 7:24 and my Heart Rate was 155 BPM at the 1 mile mark. My split at the 3.1 mile mark was 24:49. This is my best time yet and about 6 minutes better from when I started running a couple weeks ago. My only problem was that at about the 2-mile mark my HR was at 169BMP. I blame my new playlist on the iPod! I have been using the Lance Armstrong Jogging Mix that my wife found on iTunes. It was a bunch of moderate paced type songs. Perfect for running while focusing on your HR. But for some reason I used my own selections - "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" by Drowning Pool and "Through the Fire and Flames" by Dragon Force (from Guitar Hero III) - in the middle of the playlist and they really got me going. I think I am still a couple of weeks away until I can training with these types of songs!
Tomorrow I am going to swim again and do ARX. I'm enjoying doing ARX and with all the running, swimming, and cycling my core is pretty strong right now.
One thing that I am looking forward to is getting back on my BSN supplements. I have been cold turkey for 3 weeks now and could use the boost they give me. In 7 days I am going to start again and I cannot wait! I am probably only going to use No Xplode and Nitrix because the P90X Recovery Drink has come back into my life. Since Annie started doing P90X she needed a recovery drink so it came back and I love the taste of it so it is going to stay at least until the tub is finished!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Triathlon Training Day 10: Ab Ripper X + Swimming Drills
Monday, April 27, 2009
Triathlon Training Day 9: REST DAY
Anyways, I am about halfway through my swimming book and am excited to try out some of the drills tomorrow to make my body a buoy! Should be fun!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Triathlon Training Day 8: 5K Run
The run today was one of my better efforts despite being sluggish. I started out rather strong doing my first mile in 7:53. Once again the wind was blowing at 30 mph. It doesn't bother you as much as it does when on a bike but it still requires you to work a little harder. When we were done Annie looked at me and said, "that wind was a bitch"! She was so right!
Anyways I did the 3.1 miles in 25 mins and 43 secs today. This is by far my best time and I am happy that each time out running I am getting stronger and stronger. When I first began I was running on the lower range of my target 147-155 heart rate. Now, as I feel stronger, I am keeping the BPM right at 155. Sometimes I catch myself up around 160 and have to back off but for the majority of the runs I am staying in the aerobic zone!
Today I am schedule to swim. I may not do this and Chest, Back, and ARX instead. The reasons are that I really want to get a P90X workout in and I am in the middle of reading, "Total Immersion", a book about Freestyle swimming techniques. So far this book is awesome and has totally changed the way I view swimming. It has a bunch of drills for me to practice and will probably end up changing my entire workout schedule for the better! I just need to finish the book so I can figure out how to incorporate my new fish-like swimming technique!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Triathlon Training Day 7: BRICK - 14Mile Cycle + 5K Run
Got up this morning and had a protein shake and a whole wheat bagel with some peanut butter. I wanted to have some fuel to burn in me before I tried my 14 mile Cycle and 5K run!
I surfed the web for a little bit, watched some SportCenter and then went out to the garage and setup m "Transition Area". My plan was to drop the bike off in the garage and slip on my running shorts, hat, some more sunscreen, towel off, iPod, hydrate a little, and then start the run. I tuned up my bike, put air in the tires, and started to roll. It was a perfect 73 degrees when I started. I made the turn out of my cul-de-sac and BOOM! The wind hit me right in the chest. Dammit, is the only thing I could think of at the time. I put my head down and just pedaled! I have a 7 mile route mapped out in my neighborhood that I have been doing. On this route their are 3 pretty good straight-a-ways that let me make up some serious time that I lose at stop signs. I can usually average about 25mph on these straight shots. Well, today I did my 7 mile route 2 times and of the 6 straight-a-ways, 4 had the wind blowing directly in my face!! So, instead of averaging 25 mph on these, I was struggling to do 15-16 mph. The good news is that most of the ride is up and down tree lined streets so the wind is only noticeable on these wide open straight-a-ways. And my Triathlon is scheduled for August 2nd. For those of you that have ever been to Texas in August know that wind is not an issue at this time of the year!
I hit my garage right at the 14 mile mark and looked down at my watch and my time was 49:42 secs. Not great, but not real bad either! I was pretty happy with the time but more importantly I still had energy to do the run! So, I got to the garage/T1 and tossed off my helmet, parked the bike, slipped on my running shorts over top of my tri shorts, put on my hat, clipped the iPod to my waist, and grabbed a towel to dry off the sweat and ..... YUK!!! I was covered in Pug fur! I accidentally used the same towel that was used to dry off the Pugs when they were in the rain two days ago. It was all over my face and in my mouth -- this really sucked. Not to be discouraged I calmly walk to the side of the house and turned the garden hose on myself! Problem solved - should have done this in the first place - it felt great! Ran into the house and grabbed a new, clean towel and was off again!
I started to run and my watch had me right at the 55 minute mark. That means my first transition was 5+ minutes - not good - but 3 minutes was wasted on Pug hair removal and I am going to guess this will not be a common occurrence!
Now I am running and I feel all goofy and uncoordinated. This is when I realize that my legs still think they are cycling! I slowed a little and just focused on putting one foot in front of the other - sounds elementary but it was necessary. After about a 1/2 mile my right calf started to cramp up. I stopped and stretch it out on the curb for about 10 seconds and it felt fine the rest of the way. It took me about a mile in to find my "groove" running. But after that I kept my HR between 150-155 Bpm and before I knew it I was rolling back into my garage.
My total time was 1 hour, 24 minutes and 35 seconds. My HRM said I burned 915 calories during that time and even though I was a sweaty mess I still felt pretty good!
Overall I really enjoyed doing this and got one heck of a workout in. I am ready for the Cycle portion of the tri, P90X really got my legs ready for this portion. I am getting better at the running portion. Each time out I improve and by the time August comes around I am optimistic that my time will be closer to 24 to 25 minutes in the 5K. Swimming is my challenge right now. I think I could swim 500 meters and probably still do 14 miles on the bike. No way could I do a 5K after that right now. Swimming just takes too much out of me, but with training, practice, and education I am hopeful that I will be a competent swimmer by the time my event rolls around.
First Week Down!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Friday, April 24, 2009
Triathlon Training Day 6: 400 Meter Swim and Ab Ripper X
On my way home from the city I stopped at the Bike shop in Kingwood and they helped me out with getting a new tube for the flat tire and got me setup with a repair kit and CO2. Now I am set to do my Brick tomorrow!
I then stopped at the gym to get in a few laps. Some local swim club was using the indoor pool so I went to the outdoor one instead. This is the first time to go outdoors and I am glad that I did because the water was a perfect temperature and I had the pool to myself. The only bad part was that 16 laps in a big bolt of lightning shot across the sky so that was my cue to get the heck out of there! A couple of minutes later a big time thunderstorm hit and luckily I was back in the gym by that time! I was trying to get in 25 laps but once again mother nature prevented that from happening. The 16 laps were good strong ones though so I am not disappointed at all!
Today was my strongest swim to date. I still have to pause to get my breath every few laps or so but I am getting better. Boomer recommended a book called, "Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way to Swim Better, Faster, and Easier". I picked it up a couple of days ago and am going to try and get through it this weekend. Supposedly, their are a bunch of drills and techniques that really help you with the freestyle stroke. Should be a good read!
After the swim I came home and before dinner I ripped out AB Ripper X! I was moving right along until I hit the Mason Twists -- I got to 40 but I was in pain! ARX will never be easy, ever!
Up early tomorrow - 14 Miles on the bike and then immediately hit the pavement for the 5K. I am not going to set a time goal for myself because I will fixate on it. Instead my goal is to just complete the Brick and not vomit on the street!
Thanks for Reading and I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Jeff
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Triathlon Training Day 5: 5K Run + Shoulders & Arms
A few days ago I went to a specialty running store and had them fit me for a pair of new shoes. I ended up with a new pair of Asics and it may possibly be the best money I have ever spent! Seriously, these things were like running on two little fluffy pillows! Here is a big Thank You to all of you guys who told me to get good running shoes in the comments because it was just glorious!
Since I had the added confidence of the new shoes I started very quickly. My first mile was done in 7 mins and 49 secs! Annie said I looked like I was shot out of a cannon! I slowed down a little because my heart rate was at 166BPM at the 1 mile mark and that is higher than the 148-155 aerobic rate I am trying to maintain. I ended up doing the 3.1 miles in 26:19. By far my best time yet. I wanted to keep going but I had to get showered and off to work!
This evening I got home around 7pm, got changed and did Shoulders and Arms. Once again I didn't kill myself because I was a sort of tired and my shoulder is feeling so good, but I still got an excellent workout in! Total calorie burn for the day was 850 -- not to bad!
My nutrition was a little off today. I still ate clean but since I was so busy I missed lunch. I had a power par in place of lunch. So, for dinner I stopped at Subway and got a double meat Turkey on whole wheat with american cheese, lettuce, and fat free honey mustard sauce. Probably about 800 calories but I was starving!
Tomorrow I have another full docket on the books! I should be home around 6pm (hopefully) and I am going to swim then. I also want to do a brick (bike + run) on Saturday but I need to go get a new tube my bike. I am going to try and do that at some point during the day but might have to wait until Saturday and push the Brick back to Sunday!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Triathlon Training Day 4: Rest Day (maybe)
Today is supposed to be my rest day but I am getting the urge to go ride my bike. Tuesday was a not so intense cycle and I really want to get out there and push myself. If it begins to cool off some I might jump on the bike around 7pm.
Also, something different. On Monday this Blog recorded its 10,000th visitor! I stuck a statcounter on the blog after I finished my first round of P90X so it is probably more than 10,000! I do not really check the stats all that often since I don't have ads or anything on the site but I found it sort of cool that over 10,000 visitors have come to this site. In the blogisphere I do not know if this is a lot of visitors or not but it makes me feel good that I might be helping to motivate others achieve their fitness goals.
So, Thanks to everyone for reading and giving me the motivation to keep writing!
Jeff
***UPDATE***
Okay so I went for a Bike ride. It was a little short-lived because after 6 miles my front tire had a blow out! It was loud too -- sounded like a shotgun going off. Darn near made me wreck. The good news was that I was a street over from my house when it happened! It would have sucked if I was 4 miles away! I am not real thrilled with the tires/tubes on my bike. They seem to pinch in the rims and the online reviews said the tires were below average. Hopefully on Friday I will have some time to run down to the local Bike shop and either get a better tires or stronger rim?
Tomorrow morning Annie and I are going to get up early and get a run in and then in the evening I will do Shoulders and Arms!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Triathlon Training Day 3: Swimming 500 Meters and Core Synergistics
The good news is that the reason I am so tired from my swim is that I did pretty good in the pool today. My freestyle stroke is getting much more consistent and my breathing is taking less effort. I have discovered that I am very comfortable turning my head up to the left hand side to breathe. Which is a little odd since I am right-handed, but oh well, whatever works right? By the time I hit my 20th lap today I was very winded! My heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest!! I still wasn't able to freestyle the entire distance. I did like a freestyle crawl type thing every 5th or 6th lap. On Friday, hopefully it will be every 7th or 8th lap and so on and so forth everytime I go swimming.
The thing that is cool to me right now is that for the first time since I started swimming I actually believe that I am going to do the swim portion of the triathlon and be okay. The first time I hit the pool I believed this to be impossible, but I keep improving each time out and am becoming more confident.
I was thinking about possibly doing a cycle-run brick (13.8M Cycle + 5K run) on Saturday just to see how I handle it. The NFL Draft, which is like Christmas morning to me, is now starting at 4pm EST instead of Noon this year so I could do this in the morning. We will see how my body is feeling before I make the decision but as of today I think I might want to try it!
Tomorrow is a scheduled off day for me. Part of me really doesn't want to take off and I might try and do the Core Synergistics I missed today. But another part of me is saying that I need the rest and should take it. Might play this one by feel also!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Monday, April 20, 2009
Triathlon Training Day 2: Cycling & ARX
Day 2 is halfway in the books. I am watching a movie with Annie called, "Seven Pounds" and as you can tell by the fact that I am posting right now - I am really enjoying this movie!
Anyways, I am only halfway done because I am going to do ARX after the movie is over and then get some sleep! Today's bike ride wasn't as intense as I have been used too. A buddy of mine came over with his bike and we did 7.5 miles. He is trying to get into better cardiovascular shape and I have been talking about how much I enjoy biking fr the last few weeks. He was on a mountain bike so he could not maintain the same speed as me. Those mountain bikes don't move as fast as the road bikes. We had a good time and the ride was more pleasant than aerobic. I might actually take Wednesday and get in a hardcore 10-12 mile ride so I don't get behind.
Looking forward to hitting ARX before bed!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Triathlon Training Day 1: 5K Run and Chest & Back
Today was my first day of the hybrid P90X/Triathlon training and so far so good!
I woke up this morning and went for a 5K run with my wife Annie. My plan is to gradually increase my distance over the 15 weeks of training as my pacing becomes stronger. I am not focusing as much on my time as I am keeping my heart rate with in the aerobic zone. I have read a lot about running over the last couple of weeks and have come to the conclusion that this is the best way to increase your performance as a runner. My aerobic zone is between 145 -155 BPM. If I start to get higher I back off on my pace and vise verse if I got to low.
So, now that I just went over all that and being the type-A personality that most of my regular readers expect I was looking at my time the entire run! I was a little disappointed that it took me 9:33 to complete the first mile. I was too busy fiddling with my iPod and looking at blown over trees from yesterday's awful storm to focus on what I was doing. When I passed the 1-mile mark my heart rate was at 138 BPM. I then got into the zone and finished out the next 2.1 miles. I had about 3/10ths of a mile to go and looked at my HRM again. I was at 27:50 and my HR was at 149 BPM. So, naturally I sprinted the rest of the way home. I was hoping to get in under 28 minutes but when I hit the finish line and simultaneously hit stop on my HRM my time was 29:01. I missed it by 1 second! Oh well, I goal to shoot for when I run on Thursday!
The good news was that I felt great and probably could have went another mile or two!
I spent the rest of my Sunday working around the house and yard and took about a 30 minute nap which was glorious! Then an hour before dinner I decided to go upstairs and do Chest & Back. This is always a good workout and my arms are always pretty whipped afterwards and today was no exception. I didn't really max-out today on any of the exercises. My second time through the workouts I stopped about a rep or two short of failure because I don't want to overdo it since my shoulder has been feeling so great lately.
Another reason I am not going to crush myself during the weight training this round is because of what fellow P90Xer and soon to be Triathlete Boomer said on one of his recent posts. Basically he said that P90X is secondary to the Triathlon training. And this really struck a cord with me because if I am going to be successful with the Triathlon - swimming, running, and cycling need to be my primary focus and where most of my energy needs to be exerted. The main reason to do P90X now is to maintain the muscle and core strength that I have gained. Now once the Tri is done I more than likely will start another full round of P90X.
Thanks for Reading and let me know what you think of the new layout and if the calendar is easy to use!
Jeff
New Layout - New Training - New Day
Well, I changed things around some to accommodate my new Google Triathlon Training Calendar. This is going to allow everyone to see how my training is going and allow me to update from my iGoogle Homepage (I love Google).
Now most of the links and such on the right are still the same. I just cleaned it up and moved my P90X Round 2 Day-by-Day tracker from the top of the page to the right. If you are not interested in the Triathlon/P90X Hybrid Training then you can go back and read the 220+ posts about P90X until your hearts content.
I have added in my first four weeks of training on the calendar. I have 15-weeks until the Triathlon so this schedule will more than likely be adjusted a few times over the course of that time. Another thing that is going to be a little different is that the weather is going to have influence over my training schedule. This was never an issue with just P90X but since jogging and cycling are now included mother nature is going to have her say on if these get completed!
I have also decided that my nutrition is going to mirror the ratios of Phase 2 of the P90X program. I really do not want to lose any more weight. But over the next few weeks I may have to add in some more complex carbs an additional calories if I notice I am dragging ass.
That brings me to something that is a little different: Supplement Withdrawal!
I just made that phrase up so it probably doesn't make sense. What it means is that since I have have finished P90X I have quit taking Cell Mass, Nitrix, and NoXplode and I am feeling the effects of not having them during my workouts. It has been seven days since my last supplement and my workouts have not been all that strong lately. The only thing I can equate this to is my lack of kickass supps!
I quit taking them because the manufacture recommends after you complete a 12-week cycle you should stop for a month. I figure that I have 3 more weeks to go and I can start my next cycle with exactly 12-weeks to go until my Triathlon - should work out well!
That is pretty much it for now. I will be back later with an update on today's workouts!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Saturday, April 18, 2009
P90X Round 2 -- Final Review
I began my first day of P90X back on September 7th of 2008, but made the decision to start two weeks earlier. I was watching TV, eating junk, and drinking beer - which was a pretty normal weekday night for me. And like many, many others I was sucked into the P90X infomercial. I was looking at pictures and videos of people who were overweight like myself and then miraculously 90 days later were transformed into ripped up-sexier versions of themselves. Well, I jumped online and order P90X and the rest is history! (Read my Review of Round 1)
At that time I weighed 188lbs and was wearing size 36 pants. By the end of Round 1, I was down to 164 lbs and my waist was reduced to a mere 34 inches! More importantly I felt wonderful! I had energy to burn, my complexion looked healthy, and I had a new sense of confidence. Well, I still wasn't where I wanted to be. After a short lay-off due to a banged up shoulder I decided to give P90X another go at it.
I came into Round 2 weighing 164 lbs, with a 34 inch waist, and 18% BF. These numbers are pretty good and initially I wanted to see if I could gain 5-8 lbs and bulk up some. So, I changed up my supplements and started to use Cell Mass and Nitrix from BSN Labs. After about 2 weeks I could really see and feel the difference with these supplements and they helped me immensely during the course of the 90 days. After phase one I was down to 162 lbs but I noticed that I was looking very lean and healthy and decided to scrap the idea of gaining bulk and let my body do what it wanted to do! I just got off the scale and my body decided it wanted to be 157 lbs, with a 32 inch waist, and 12% BF. If you would like to see my comparison pictures CLICK HERE.
Now that I got the stats out of the way let us talk some about how I got through P90X for a second round. For the most part I followed the program as planned, but I am the type of person that gets bored rather easily so minor changes were needed to keep me focused. Remember variety is the spice of life (or something like that?). Here are some of the things I did differently:
- Added dumbbells to my workouts instead of resistance bands,
- Got a HRM to track my calories,
- Tracked my BF% with a digital scale and calipers,
- Altered my mindset to have a positive attitude towards Yoga X,
- Switched my workout room from the Gameroom to an empty guest bedroom,
- Tried new supplements,
- Followed some different P90X blogs,
- Started a Twitter account,
- Substituted in some P90X Plus workouts,
- Muted Tony and listened to music,
- and towards the end Added running, swimming, and cycling.
Now that this round is complete I am going to start training for a Sprint Triathlon that is scheduled for August 2nd. Since this blog has been so helpful in motivating me to workout I am going to continue to post daily about my triathlon training. Which will, of course, include many of the P90X workouts. Over the next few days I plan to change up the format of the blog some and archive Round 1 and Round 2 of P90X for easy viewing access for those of you who are just beginning the program.
I mentioned in the first paragraph (which seems many, many words ago!) that P90X has changed my life. And it has in such a positive way that it is hard to really put into words just how awesome P90X really is! It ingrains in you the proper way to eat and workout and I cannot even imagine myself ever going back to the way I was before P90X. I no longer crave unhealthy foods because I no what happens if I do - I lived it.
In closing I would like to thank everyone who reads or has read this blog. Especially Boomer, Steve, Glenn, Mike and everyone else who has shared their ideas and opinions in the comments. I would not have made it this far without all of your support. Thank you all very much!
Bring It!
Jeff
P.s. ... if you have a P90X Blog and would like me to link to it please drop me a comment!
Friday, April 17, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 89: Wasted Day
But, I am feeling great so my Tri training is going to start hardcore on Sunday! Tomorrow I will post a review of Round 2 of P90X.
Jeff
P90X Round 2 Day 88: Rest Day
Despite the crazy day I still was able to eat clean all day long ... so I don't want to hear others say, "my day was too busy to eat clean!" That is an excuse. If you plan ahead you can always get in your proper nutrition.
Today after work I am going to run 5k and if I am not too beat up feeling get in Core Synergistics. Annie is doing Back & Biceps today and wants me to workout with her but I feel like I need to stay away from the resistance workouts this week. My body is starting to feel a heck of a lot better and I want to start my upcoming Triathlon training at 100&.
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 87: Kenpo 10-Mile Cycle
Crazy day today with work but I ended up getting home about an hour before dark and got a nice 10-miles in on the bike. Nothing special to report. I burned about 350 calories and the wind was blowing AGAIN. It was about 78 degrees today so the ride was just perfect and I am really enjoying riding my bike. The only thing that I am mad about is that I accidentally reset the odometer on my bike computer. I was trying to reset the trip meter and I hit the wrong button -- oh well, not a big deal.
The ride was a little difficult initially because I was very sore today. Probably because I did swimming and Core Synergistics yesterday. If you read the comments from yesterday's post you will see I am not alone in the "soreness from Core Syn" thing. It is just an awesome workout that brutalizes your whole body!
Tomorrow I am more than likely going to take the scheduled rest day. Mostly because I am short on time, but if I can squeeze in a little time I may go for a run!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
P.s. -- Yes, I am going to add a few more pictures. I'll do it over the weekend when I have time to edit them all together.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 86: 625-Meter Swim and Core Synergistics
Onto today's dreaded swim. If you read about my first adventure into a pool last week I am happy to report that today was a much better experience.
I need a sidebar here for a minute to address something that is bothering me. And that something is the blatant male nudity at the gym. Seriously, if you are reading my blog today and you are that guy that walks around the locker room back-and-forth for prolonged periods of time buck naked --- STOP! They give free towels out at the front desk - please use them. Especially use the towel if you are over the age of 75. And another thing, if you are the above mentioned offender do not strike up a conversation with others in the locker room, especially me. Thank you, that is all I have to say about this.
So, today's swim was much better. I watched a bunch of videos on YouTube and eHow.com on how to do the freestyle stroke. First off, I slowed down considerably from last week and focused on my form and breathing. It also helped that I had goggles - easier when your eyes aren't burning from the saltwater! The pool has 25M lanes and I ended up doing 25 laps. Which is 625 meters. I was completely exhausted about 15 meters in but I rested for a little and then did 5 more laps and still felt good so I did another 5 laps. I was very pleased with today's swim and actually cannot wait until my next one.
I got home and ate dinner and about an hour later I was feeling pretty good so I jumped upstairs and did Core Synergistics. This is just a great workout. About midway through I was feeling a little fatigued but I sucked it up and superman-banana'd my way to the finish line.
So as I sit here right now my arms, shoulders, thighs, and abs are feeling quite tired but I am happy I decided to to Core Syn.
Tomorrow's schedule has me doing Kenpo. Kenpo is rather boring to me at this stage of my P90X training so I will probably either cycle or run instead. Thursday is my scheduled rest day and I might take it because I have a convention starting in downtown Houston all day and then a HOA meeting later that evening. Those two events will more than likely wear me out!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Monday, April 13, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 85: Yoga X and Final Pictures
I know I should wait until day 90 but with a few cardio days things aren't going to change much.
So, go ahead and click here to see my photos. I did Day 0/Day 90/Day 180.
Overall, I am very pleased with the results. My major gains from Day 90 to now were made in my waist. Actually on Day 1 my waist was a 36 and I weighed 182 lbs. Today my waist is a 32/31 and I weigh 157 lbs. It is hard to tell in the photos but my shoulders, lats, tricpes and biceps are also much more defined than after my first round. I attribute this mainly to using dumbbells during round 2 and resistance bands during round 1. I also lost a lot of weight in my face which you can clearly see in the pics!
I'll write up a complete review of Round 2 in a few days but let me know what you think!
Today I did the scheduled Yoga Day. It was hard because the weather was 75 degrees and sunny and I really wanted to go for a bike ride, but I sucked it up and did Yoga. I am planning on doing Yoga during my Triathlon Training but I may have to reconsider. Yoga really works your legs very hard and today was no exception. Every time I finish Yoga my body always feels a little whipped and today I finally figured out what that exact feeling is: Have you ever been hit from behind in your car a a fairly low speed? You know how when it initially happens you feel fine but when you wake up the next morning your whole body feels weird and just sort of off? Well, that is how I feel after I do Yoga. Just a little off ... but unlike the fender bender it is a good feeling!
Tomorrow I am going to give swimming another shot - eyes slightly up, shoulders straight, cup hands, kick legs .... I got it all figured out! If I am not too exhausted I might do Core Synergistics also!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Sunday, April 12, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 84: Rest Day Jogging
Today was supposed to be my Rest Day. However, I felt really good and wanted to get in a run. So, after sleeping in a little, Annie and I decided to go do a 5K run before we went to Easter brunch. We got about a mile into the run and the sky became pitch black and the lightening started to flash. So, we hustled back home just in time because we had one heck of a storm! The lesson learned here is to check the weather forecast before you go on a jog!
Anyways, so we got back from brunch, where we did okay eating. More fat then I would have preferred but our choices were limited to average nutrition and poor nutrition. Could have been a lot worse and neither of use over-indulged so I was happy about that!
When we got home the weather was beautiful. So, we finished up watching the Masters, quite the uneventful finish! We decided to finish off the rest of our jog. We walked the first 1 mile and began to run where we left off earlier in the day. I kept my heart rate between 147-155. A couple of times I got close to 160 and had to slow down some, but overall by keeping in the aerobic zone my energy level was very steady throughout the jog.
The first mile I ran this morning I did it right at the 8 minute mark. My second mile was at 8 minutes and 30 seconds. I finished the third mile at 9 minutes and 15 seconds. That totals 25 mins and 45 seconds. However, since it was broken up by the rain this isn't a real official time. I'd be happy if I did this during my triathlon in 3.5 months!
I was proud of Annie today. She had a herniated disk about 6 years ago and had to have surgery to have it repaired. This was the first time she jogged any type of distance since then and she did awesome! She used to jog all the time before the surgery and finally after years of hard work and core strengthening she is able to get back to doing something she really enjoys!
Tomorrow is the beginning of my official last week of P90X or "recovery week". As I have mentioned in previous posts I am not going to follow the final week of the program. My reasons are that this is my second time through P90X and my body is telling me it can do more, despite being banged up some. Also, since I am going to be starting my triathlon training I need to find out my fitness levels in swimming, jogging, and cycling before I set my final training schedule. I feel pretty good about jogging and cycling but the swimming is going to be my biggest challenge!
But now that I said all that I am still going to do the scheduled Yoga X tomorrow. After the last three days of Cycling, Swimming, and Jogging my legs and shoulders are feeling pretty tight and I think Yoga may be just the cure!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
P.s. We took my final photos today. I didn't really look at them yet but I will post them tomorrow with side-by-sides of Day 1, Day 90, and Day 180.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 83: Kenpo 500 Meter Swim
No, I am not exaggerating either. It was bad. I realized that I have no idea how to freestyle. No idea how to breathe, no idea how to kick, and that it is not a good idea to forget your goggles in a saltwater pool - my eyes are still burning!
Okay now that I got the gripping out of my system .... swimming was actually fun. In a demented, painful sort of way! That being said - Everything I typed above is 100% true. I have no idea what the heck I am doing. But just like with P90X I just pushed play, albeit a very slow play!
I got to the pool this morning and I pretty much had the entire place to myself! Except for the one other woman there that glided effortlessly through the water like a freaking dolphin - I didn't like her very much! I went up and back 8 times in the roped off 25 meter lane and it was at the beginning of lap 9 that I realized my heart was about to beat out of my chest. I did the full 20 laps/500 meters but had to take a bunch of breaks and even doggy paddle at times. This is really hard! And it is a completely different type of cardio from biking, running, plyo, or intervals. I just couldn't figure out how to breath and stroke and kick all at the same time?
The hard part for me to deal with is that I am an athlete and have always caught on to new sports rather quickly. Well, that is not the case today. The freestyle swim stroke won today but I am going to keep coming back until I conquer this thing. Like some have said in my comments section - lessons are needed! Whether that is at the pool with an instructor or viewing every instructional video available on YouTube, I will learn how to do this!
Tomorrow I am going to run 5K (even though it is a scheduled rest day) and keep my heart rate in the aerobic zone between 147-153 BPM. My wife is making me go to a Brunch tomorrow. I am not a big fan of Brunch - for some reason all the women in my life are fans of Brunch? Can't really figure out why? I really hope they have turkey sausage or at the least wheat toast.
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Friday, April 10, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 82: Legs, Back, ARX and 10-Mile Cycle
I took full advantage of my free time and got in a double workout today. Around 2pm I did a 10 mile bike ride. I planned on doing 14-miles but around mile 9.5 the rain came a pouring down on me so I hustled my butt home. I tried out my new Triathlon shorts today on the bike ride and they were wonderful ... no butt pain at all after the ride!! I have never been a "tight shorts" type of guy but after the comfort these suckers provide I no longer care about that type of label anymore. That being said, I still will not be walking around the Wal-Mart in these shorts!
Once again it was very windy for my ride. I am beginning to think I moved to Kansas or something because the wind has been outrageous the last couple of weeks. I am actually missing the heat and humidity that Houston is famous for -- can't believe I just typed that! Anyways, despite the wind I averaged around 17 mph today and my top speed was 28 mph. I only had to stop one time at a 4-way as the traffic was almost non-existent today in the neighborhood!
Well. Annie got home from work today and we decided to do Legs, Back, and ARX together. This is my 12th Week of P90X and that means this is my last resistance workout of this round 2! I decided to give this everything I had an leave it all on the (yoga) mat! I took 2 big scoops of NO-Xplode and brought the hell out of it. I told Annie that my goal was to do 200 reps on the pullup bar! There are 8 pullup exercises in this workout and here were my rep counts: 25-25-26-25-25-25-20 & 20 = 190 Reps!! I damn near died on the last two sets. I missed the goal by 10 reps but 190 was the most I have ever done and I can barely type right now because of it. And the leg portion was absolutely brutal because of the cycle today. By the time I got to the calf raises I was dragging big time. I was going to use 25lb dumbbells but my arms were hurting from the pullups so I just grabbed 15's and they still burned like crazy. This is just an awesome workout!
We both grunted through ARX also. I didn't add any extra reps because of exhaustion but still kept up with Tony and the kids. Finally, I nailed the oblique raises today - they have been giving me trouble but I refocused and did them.
Okay so now that I am coming up to the final week of P90X, which is the recovery week, I am going to pretty much modify this final week and start my Triathlon Training. In other words - I am done with this round of P90X - yeah me!
So, I have bought new running shoes, a road bike, a bike computer, all the bike accessories, all the swimming gear and accessories, and a gym membership - they have a pool. I am ready to go!
Now the question is: How is the workout schedule going to look? Well, I don't want to lose any of the muscle I have gained from P90X so I need to incorporate strength training into the training. Also, Triathletes really need to have a strong core so I want to incorporate core training as well. Here is somewhat of a preliminary schedule I have been working on:
Swimming - 2 times/week
Running - 2 times/week
Cycling - 2 times/week
Core Synergistics - 1 times/week
Ab Ripper X - 2 times/week (Alternate in Abs/Core Plus every other week)
Chest & Back and Shoulders & Arms - 1 time each per week every other week
Chest, Shoulders & Triceps and Back & Biceps - 1 time each per week every other week
Yoga - 1 times/week
The Cycling and Running days will probably be my double days since my upper body doesn't get much of a workout doing those. The swimming days will be only swimming days since this is the sport I need the most work on.
Here is an example of what I am thinking:
Monday - Run and Chest & Shoulders
Tuesday - Swim and ARX
Wednesday - Bike and Core Synergistics
Thursday - Swim and Yoga
Friday - Run and Shoulders & Arms
Saturday - Bike and ARX
Sunday - Rest
Now this is not written in stone and I will probably change it a few times. If I am doing well during the double days I might toss in ARX instead of doing it on swim days. If after I begin this schedule and it is too difficult I might take out the Yoga and Core Synergistics workouts, but I really want to get a full six-pack and feel this can be accomplished with all the cardio I am getting ready to start doing!
So, when is this all going to begin? Probably the week of April 19th. I plan on doing biking, swimming and running during the next week to finish out the "recovery week" of P90X and I will continue to post out the remaining 8 days as planned. If I am still feeling beat to hell like I am now then it will start the week of April 26th so I can go into it at 100%.
I am going to keep blogging because this really helps to keep me accountable knowing that others are reading. Instead of just a P90X Blog this will become a P90X slash Triathlon Blog. We all know how good P90X is at losing weight and getting you in shape but now we are going to see just how good it is doing a grueling event like a triathlon. To me this is an interesting perspective and I hope you all will enjoy this new journey as well!
Tomorrow is a 500-meter swim and either tomorrow or Sunday I will take and post my final 2nd round photos. My wife thinks I look pretty ripped but the pictures will surely tell if that is true!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
P90X Round 2 Day 81: Yoga x
I still ate very clean so not a completely lost day!
Anyways, today is an off day for my company but I have a few things I still have to do this morning. I should be home in the early afternoon and I am going to try and do Yoga. Then when Annie gets home in the evening we are going to do Legs/Back and ARX.
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 80: Back & Biceps
We worked out pretty late tonight and were starving by the end and decided to not do ARX. We are going to do it tomorrow before Yoga. Well, at least I am going to do that. Annie is not a fan of Yoga (I feel like I am on a P90X Yoga island all by myself- and sometimes Steve stops by) and will probably do Cardio X or go to Spin Class.
We had an awesome day weather wise today and I really wanted to go for a bike ride or a run! But I need to finish this round out and start my triathlon training next week.
A buddy of mine is going to do the triathlon also. He went to his gym last night and tried to do a 25M swim. He completed it but said his ass was dragging by the end and he doggie paddled alot. He is a runner and should easily complete that portion of the Tri but neither of us have much swimming experience. So, it will be interesting to see how I perform when I get a chance to swim because I have been doing the P90X. I already know the P90X prepared me for cycling because that has been a breeze. I struggled some running but that was more because of poor sneakers than conditioning. So the next test is the swimming portion. I am probably going to join a gym on Saturday so maybe that will be my test day!
Tomorrow is Yoga and ARX!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 78 & 79: C/S/T & Plyo
Annie did C/S/T with me yesterday. This was her first time doing this workout. She was gripping about all the different type of push-ups Tony makes you do and I was just laughing away! She loved all of the Triceps exercises. I was finally able to break into the double digits on reps during the Plyo Push-ups. These usually hurt the heck out of my shoulders and neck but today I was very strong! And then came my Pike Presses ... I did 17 reps of these bitches!! A great way to finish up my last C/S/T workout!
Today I took down "The Beast", Plyometrics. I was a little concerned that I was going to have a crappy workout because I was tired after working a ton of hours today. But I took my NO Xplode and the energy came back to me two folds! I kicked the snot out of plyo today and I am glad that I will be done with workout for a few months. Bye, Bye Plyo!
Over the last two days my nutrition has been pretty solid. Aside from a couple of light beers last night I was right on with my ratios and my calorie intake. Today at lunch time I went to a restaurant in downtown Houston and had a grilled lemon chicken breast with veggies. It pretty much seemed like the same recipe from the P90X nutrition guide!
On a side note, I am pretty sure I am not going to finish off the last recovery week as written. I am really getting into this Triathlon training and want to mix in the swimming, running and bicycling more and since I am so impatient with everything I do it is going to begin next week!
Off to see if Jack Bauer can kill some bad guys!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Sunday, April 5, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 77: Ab Ripper X & 12 - Mile Ride
So, since I felt so good and it was 75 degrees outside another bike ride was in order. First, I did ARX and brought the hell out of it. Then I jumped on the bike and did a 12-mile ride through the neighborhood. I did it in 49 minutes but I decided I need another place to ride because the amount of stop signs and turns slows me down considerably. However, my legs felt great again after the ride. I burned 410 calories.
Another thing I realized today is that my hypocrisy knows no bounds. I used to be that guy who was driving down the road and would get behind a dude on a bike and get agitated. Now I am the guy on a bike who gets agitated at the people behind me in the cars. And amazingly I have no problem justifying this to myself. Hmmm?
Tomorrow starts week 12 of P90X. This is the last resistance week before I begin the last recovery week. Annie is beginning week 5 so we are doing the same workouts again so it will be nice to have a partner. I plan on hitting it very hard this week so I can finish off this second round in style.
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Saturday, April 4, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 76: Legs and Back + 10 Mile Cycle
Overall, I really enjoyed the cycle and enjoyed having the bike computer. I rode for 10.2 miles. My average speed was 14.9 MPH. And I biked for a little over 40 minutes. The Triathlon course I am doing has a 13.8 mile track. If I averaged that out I would have done the bike in 55 minutes. That needs to improve by 8-10 minutes for me to be happy with the time during the Tri! However, I did stop for probably 2-3 minutes to put air in my rear tire about 2 miles into the ride. I should have checked that before I left the garage. The reason I didn't do the full 13.8 today was because I wanted to do Legs & Back.
After the ride I went upstairs and immediately did Legs & Back. It was good because I was really warmed up and ready to go. It was bad because the leg portion was just brutal. My energy level was toast. The ride took more out of me than I thought because I only did 88 reps on the 8 pullups exercises today. I think I did 176 last week? And I was struggling to get to 88. Not only that but I am pretty sure it is going to be difficult to get out of bed tomorrow. After the ISO Lunge things my legs felt like two pieces of rubber. Going down the steps was difficult to navigate! I decided to skip ARX today because I was just too beat to do it. I'll toss it in tomorrow so I do not miss it. I took 3 advil and am drinking a ton of water tonight praying that it keeps me loose for Kenpo tomorrow. Good times - sometimes I wonder why I do this to myself!
But on the good news side - I am now wearing size 32 pants again! I haven't fit into size 32 since I was 19 years old. About 9 months ago I was wearing sizes 35 and 36 (and squeezing into some 34's ...lol). The 32's aren't even tight either. I guess milestones like these answer the question of why I do this to myself!!!
Tomorrow is Kenpo and Monday begins Week 12!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Friday, April 3, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 75: Yoga
I received my bike computer in the mail today so tomorrow afternoon I am going to go for a ride. It was a little difficult to program and install but I think it is go to go now. My morning is already booked up so I am going to work it in later in the day. Then my plan is to come home and do Legs & Back since I will already be warmed up.
Enjoy your weekend!
Jeff
Thursday, April 2, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 74: Back, Biceps, & ARX
I mixed things up a little today. I didn't have my first appointment until mid-morning today so I got up and did ARX. I have read other people say they have not always done ARX back-to-back with the primary workout and I always wanted to try it this way. I will admit I had a lot more energy during ARX but it took me a little longer to warm up and feel the so-called "groove".
After work today I came home and did Back & Biceps. This is one of my absolute favorites, except for the corn cobb pullups. I took my NO Xplode and brought the heck out of it today. The other day I moved my workout room to an empty guest bedroom. I used to do my workouts in my upstairs gameroom and as I accumulated more junk that room became rather cluttered. So, I decided to move everything into the guest room. For some reason it is sort of cool to have a change of scenery ... I feel like I need to christen the new workout room or something. Very strange but whatever helps keep it fresh works for me!
As usual I had a solid day eating. It has become habitual to me.
I need to get some things off my chest and if you are the type of person who likes not keeping score at kids soccer games or doesn't believe in things like tough love then you may want to skip this next section.
(Stepping up on Soap Box ......)
I haven't spoke about this much lately, but if you are reading this and are new to P90X or considering doing the program, nutrition is the most important part of the program. If you do not adhere to the nutrition guide your results are only going to be so-so. For 90 days you need to commit to not just getting your butt kicked by Tony Horton but also following his advice on eating.
This is going to sound mean and I might come across as an ass but here we go. Over the 8 + months I have been doing P90X and P90X + I have received a number of emails saying, "I have been doing P90X for (blank number) of days and I am not really seeing that great of results." Then they attach a link to their blog. Sure enough, I go to their blog and see that they are doing the workouts spot on but every couple of posts I see a sentence like this, "I was bad today, I had cake at work and then had a bunch of chicken wings and beer for dinner ... but I've been working hard so I deserve it!!", or "I went on vacation and it was so hard to not eat bad, but it is vacation so I deserve it!!"
The answer to the original question is pretty obvious after you find out what they are eating. You deserve what you earn and if you cheat on the nutrition portion of the program then sub-par results are what you earned. We all talk about how hard the workouts are and how plyo is "the Beast" and how ARX is brutal and blah, blah, blah ... but the bottom line is that the workouts are the sidekick to the nutrition aspect of the program. The workouts are Robin and your diet is Batman. FOLLOW THE NUTRITION GUIDE. And if you choose not to that is fine! But do not come to me and ask why you aren't seeing the results and get pissy with me if I don't help you make BS excuses!
(Stepping down from Soap Box ......)
Feel free to rip me in the comments!
Tomorrow is Yoga.
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
P90X Round 2 Day 73: Rest Day
What I mean is on the way home from work I picked up my road bike. So I wanted to see how it felt and ended up riding my 5K route - twice! I was a little tired afterwards and had a decent sweat going. The bike rode nice and fast and I really like the feel of it. I was afraid that I would be uncomfortable with the handle bar position of the road bike and I wasn't at all. It took me some time to get used to the brakes and shifting, but after a few minutes I was fine. Overall a good first ride! Here is a picture of the new bike, turn up your volume I added some audio ... CLICK HERE
Hopefully, tomorrow I will be able to jump back into Back & Biceps. This is one of my favorite workouts and I really wanted to blow it up today, but I can do it tomorrow instead. And my foot is feeling much better. Probably going to have to suck it up and get some good running shoe!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff