Friday, April 10, 2009

P90X Round 2 Day 82: Legs, Back, ARX and 10-Mile Cycle

Gotta love days off work! Even though I did some work early in the morning it was still technically an off day since my company was closed for Good Friday! So, I got a lot on the mind tonight so this is going to be one of my longer, rambling posts - grab a drink and a comfy seat!

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

6 comments:

  1. Get someone to teach you proper swimming technique. You won't regret it.

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  2. Jeff... I like your schedule. I feel mine may be a bit too ambitious. Like yourself, I will probably tweak it as necessary.

    You are right about the strong core. It will be good if you can keep core syn in the mix. I notice that there isn't a leg day. You know I have been struggling with that. With all the pounding my legs have been getting since I started triathlon training I am thinking about removing leg day until after I run my triathlon.

    I think it is great that you are keeping chest, shoulders, arms and abs in the mix.

    I actually like your schedule a lot. I think it will work out well for your triathlon goals. It is making me re-evaluate my schedule.

    While doing my triathlon training over the past 2 weeks, I am getting a better feel for the how much P90X training I mix in. I feel very spent this week. It is primarily because of the runs. Running is very demanding on me. For me its... run 3x, swim 2x, bike 2x.

    It will be interesting to see how we end up tweaking our training programs. I am glad I will be following someone who is going through the same thing as myself.

    Boomer
    Project Exercise

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  3. "...There are 8 pullup exercises in this workout and here were my rep counts: 25-25-26-25-25-25-20 & 20 = 190 Reps!!

    No wonder you're having trouble with headwinds...your lats must be like a set of wings out there! That's an awesome number of pullups.

    I'll be doing the recovery week next week, per the plan. But I need it. Not sure what my fitness plans entail afterwards, but one thing is for sure, my old way of working out is over. I've learned what "intensity" is all about. To think I used to take a minute break between sets is, in retrospect, embarassing!

    I've enjoyed reading your thoughts and being able to share experiences on your blog. I'll be stopping in to see how your training is going. Have fun and best wishes Jeff! (..and Boomer too!)

    Steve

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  4. Thanks Boomer, it sounds lie you and me are on the same page as far as the training goes. I agree with you about the leg workouts, especially Legs & Back, they are just too much to handle. You may actually do more harm then good but doing these on top off all the biking and running!

    My goal is to keep 2 upper body weight days in the mix. I am hopeful this will let me maintain what I have already gained!

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  5. Steve, I've enjoyed your comments and sense of humor! Thanks for sticking with us during this round of the X and congrats on conquering the X yourself!

    One things for sure: Once you finish P90X you just can't go back to the way things were before. Especially nutrition wise! You mentioned how you used to go to the gym and wait a minute or so in between sets and that is now embarrassing! I feel the same way brother ... this workout changes you not only physically but also mentality and I am thankful it came into my life.

    I'll be waiting to hear what you plan to do after the recovery week - you could always pick up the P90X PLUS DVD's - the Intervals X is worth $60 price tag!

    Talk to you soon!
    Jeff

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  6. Seriously dude, whoever wrote the comment about proper swimming technique is 100% right. If you want some pointers, I swam in high school and can talk to you a little. But you would be well-served to go to a local aquatics center and see if there's a swim coach around. Maybe see if you can pay him for some initial coaching to refine some of the basics (breathing mid-stroke, not bringing your head up to breathe every stroke, etc.). You'll be amazed at the difference it will make. And don't forget about your kicks. You legs are always stronger then your arms and kicking through the stroke will really help.

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