P90X Day 59: Shoulders & Arms -- Ab Ripper X

Election Day: This isn't a political blog so I will not express my personal opinions about the candidates but whoever you like get out and vote. Many have fought and died for your right to vote - do not waste the opportunity!

Today was Shoulder and Arms. Always a good workout. I used the black (50lb) extreme bands on most of the exercises except for a couple at the end.

My diet was very good today. I had a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and a glass of water with a scoop of protein in it! My snack was the South Beach Diet Bar. I had a turkey sub on whole wheat from Subway for lunch (as recommended in the nutrition guide). My afternoon snack was a banana and another SBD bar. I then took some SuperPump and went right into my workout. After the workout I had two scoops of Anabolic Halo for my recovery drink and then had dinner. I had whole wheat pasta with 96% lean beef and marinara sauce! It was excellent.

I got back to work with Ab Ripper X tonight. I was able to get through the entire ABX without any pauses tonight. During the "Heels to the Heavens" I actually feel it coming up my throat. Always a good sign that you are working hard when you throw up in your own mouth!

Tomorrow is picture day and also Yoga. I will try and post them in the morning!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

P90X Day 58: PLYOMETRICS

Plyo Day! Better know as "The Beast" according to Tony! And he is right. Plyo kicks the crap out of me every Monday, but the weird thing is I actually look forward to it.

I can't really say that I have trouble with one particular move anymore on Plyo but as a whole this is by far the hardest P90X DVD to complete. It is none stop squats, lunges and jumps. I sweat more during Plyo than any other workout and probably burn more calories here also!

My diet today was about a 3.5 out of 5. For breakfast I had 3 whole wheat waffles with a banana. My mid-morning snack was a South Beach Diet bar -- which tastes awesome. I liked the protein bars I was eating during phase one and two but I LOVE these SBD bars!!! For lunch I had a chef (turkey, chicken and ham) salad with fat free ranch. Then I missed my midday snack because I was on the phone with the piece of shit DirecTV customer service. I won't bore you with this story but just know I hate them. But, due to my rage I lost track of time so I missed the snack. The good news is my wife Annie made the Apple pork dish in the P90X nutrition guide for dinner and it was excellent. So, I had that and some carrots and celery for Dinner. I only got in about 2300 calories today - which sucks because I needed more for the Plyo workout. But I do have a ton of energy since complex carbs have been increased in my diet and my workouts have been very intense due to this also.

After my workout I took the Anabolic Halo recovery drink again. I did the recommended three scoops today and it still tastes sort of bad!

Tomorrow is the Shoulders & Arms workout. I haven't done this one since Week 3 and if I remember correctly it is a tough one!

My left shoulder is still a little sore after yesterdays workout. The rest week helped heal it up a little but it is still nagging me. I have been putting the Tiger Balm on right before I workout and this seems to really help, but it aches pretty bad after the workouts. Oh well, I am not quiting ... I don't think it is a tear just a strain so it can heal up when I am done in 31 days!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

P90X Day 57: Chest & Back + Ab Ripper X

Today is the first day of Week 9 and Phase 3 of the P90X program. As part of the "Muscle Confusion" the schedule takes you back to the week 1 workout sequence beginning with - Chest & Back!

And I had forgot just how difficult this one was! My arms and shoulders are aching as I type this and it has been 2 hours since I finished the workout! The workout is very focused and upbeat. you do push-ups the pull-ups and repeat. I was amazed at how many more reps I was able to achieve when compared to weeks 1-3. I increased basically every pull-up and every push-up and also used the Black (50lb extreme) resistance band instead of the lighter red and green bands. Here is the workout tracker if you are interested in seeing the gains!

ABX was difficult for me today. I made it through but had to take a couple of rests on Crunchy Frogs, Fifer Scissors and the Oblique Raises. My hip flexors were very tight for some reason and added a degree of difficulty on the moves listed above. However, I am glad ABX is back because I missed it during the rest week and am looking forward to doing it again on Tuesday!

Since I am in Phase 3 now the diet has become more carb focused to help with energy levels so you can Bring It as hard as possible. I actually started gradually adding more carbs on Friday and I can already feel the difference in my energy level as I ate the full ratios today (60%carbs/20%protein/20%fat). Here is what I had today: Breakfast was a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and a glass of skim milk and banana, this was about 600 calories. I had a South Beach Diet bar for a snack, it is 19G protein, 26G carbs and 210 calories. For lunch I had a big sliced chicken sandwich on whole wheat with fat free ranch dressing and low fat mozzerella cheese with water to drink. This was about 600 calories. The midday snack was another South Beach bar with seven slices of apple. The bar was 210 cals and the apples were about 180 cals for a total of 390. I then worked out and had SuperPump before the workout - 100 cals. And after the workout I took the recovery formula Anabolic Halo - 240 calories. Dinner was grilled chicken (6 oz) on two whole wheat pita shells with carrots and celery to get in my veggies for the day. Dinner was about 640 calories. Quick math puts me at 2780 calories for the day and the carb intake was right at 60% of diet. Whew .... deep breath!

This was also the first time I tried the Anabolic Halo and it tastes no where near as good as the P90X Recovery Drink - in fact it sort of sucks - but it is heavy on Creatine and other essential amino acids that promote muscle growth and quick recovery. So, I am going to take it for the remaining 5 weeks of the program to try and maximize my workouts. Some of the reviews said that it makes you tired and I actually will echo that because I was bouncing off the walls before the workout today because of the increased carbs in my diet and I am ready to sleep now!

Tomorrow is the "The Beast" Plyometrics!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Phase 3 Schedule - Remaining 5 Weeks!

Here is the remaining 5 weeks and how the workouts breakdown. Ab Ripper X will be done on every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday:

Week 9:
Chest & Back
Plyometrics
Shoulders & Arms
Yoga
Legs & Back
Kenpo
Rest/Stretch

Week 10:
Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
Plyometrics
Back & Triceps
Yoga
Legs & Back
Kenpo
Rest/Stretch

Week 11:
Chest & Back
Plyometrics
Shoulders & Arms
Yoga
Legs & Back
Kenpo
Rest/Stretch

Week 12:
Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
Plyometrics
Back & Triceps
Yoga
Legs & Back
Kenpo
Rest/Stretch

Week 13:
Yoga
Core Synergistics
Kenpo
Stretch
Core Synergistics
Yoga
Rest/Stretch (Day 90!)

P90X Day 56: REST DAY

And on the 7th Day he Rests .....

Since I already did Stretch X this week and feel pretty good I decided to give my body the full day off. Last week I did Spinning on the Rest Day and my legs were a little tired the next couple of days.

Phase 3 begins tomorrow and I am Ready To BRING IT HARD!!!