Part 2: How to feel accomplished after P90X when the “after” pictures and scale disappoint

1)       Realize that the six pounds you gained over the course of 90 days would have been much greater without the mostly-regular workouts.

2)       Recall the day you did 236 push-ups of varying kinds/difficulties. Acknowledge that it wasn’t that long ago that you did all your push-ups from your knees.

3)       Look at the workout sheets and acknowledge the overall increase in reps. The “after” fit test will reaffirm the increase in numbers.

4)       Look at the workout sheets and acknowledge that almost all resistance moves are now done with a heavier weight or band.

5)       Realize that fitness shouldn’t have an “after” but rather be a continual journey.  The last 90 days didn’t produce what I hoped for because I let life get in the way. I won’t apologize for that. I will move to the next challenge. I will continue to transform myself one day at a time; one choice at a time. This morning I did a Slim in 6 routine. Starting tomorrow I will dabble in TurboFire for a week or so. I plan on starting RevAbs either the week after Thanksgiving or the first week of December, based on my feelings for TurboFire. RevAbs will give me another 90 days to challenge myself, and when that ends there will be a new adventure to be discovered.

6)   I DID A PULL UP DURING THE FIT TEST!!!

Part 1: How to NOT get results with P90X

1)       Take “before” pictures and measurements after completing The Ultimate Reset.  Note that this is your lowest weight and body fat percentage since high school, when you took gymnastics.

2)       Take your one and two year old kiddos trick or treating, multiple days and places. Know that you have a sweet tooth and don’t want them to consume that much sugar.

3)       Take (at least) two days off per week. The plan is to complete workouts six days per week. But, you decide to take weekends off. And the occasional day when the kiddos get up with you, thus upsetting your normal workout-while-everyone-sleeps morning routine.

4)       Get the stomach flu. Get kids with the same flu, which keeps them up at night. Be sick and exhausted. Take these days off.

5)       Get a free-refills-till-the-end-of-2012 cup from the gas station. Use it for a new morning coffee crutch, which couples wonderfully with the lack of sleep. Drink more calories than you used to thanks to the morning coffee with a splash of gas-station-cappuccino.

Day 71 – Proof this Stuff Works

Today was one of those days where I realized how far I’ve come.  What a great feeling!  It wasn’t the mirror or the scale that validated me, but the number of reps.  This is why you write stuff down, people.

Today’s workout, P90X Chest & Back, hasn’t been on the schedule since 8/27 – nearly two months ago.  With the exception of back flys (which I hate), every number went up by at least 2.  My greatest range of improvement was 10.

It sure feels good to see numbers jump up.  The last time I did P90X I was still doing some push-ups on my knees.  This time I was able to regularly match the reps of the people on the TV.

My combine total for push-ups (standard, military, wide fly, decline, diamond, and dive-bomber) was 236. Not bad for a Monday morning. 

P90X Day 60: What!?

How did it get to be Day 60 already? I actually had the thought to blog on Day 50, as time was slipping away from me. Then a stomach virus hit my family and I missed nearly a week of working out. And just like that it’d Day 60 of 90. I never took 30 day measurements or pictures and I’m unsure if I want to do 60 day ones.

An interesting result of doing a program multiple times is that results are even more ability-based than appearance-based. At least for this girl, who struggles to stick with any sort of nutrition plan. I’ve heard it said that “abs are made in the kitchen” and I believe it. My “before” pictures this round came after completing the 21 Day Ultimate Reset and that was the closest I’ve been to “abs.” I imagine that if I worked out AND ate clean I could be there. On the other hand, I’m doing things that I couldn’t do 60 days ago. Namely, I’m lifting more weight.

For all its billing as an “extreme workout” I’m finding that P90X almost seems like a break after P90X2 and Insanity. Really, it is what you make it and perhaps I’m just not trying as hard or searching for the challenge. To combat this I’ve been substituting Plyocide and Yoga X2, as those are some of my favorites from X2.

Now I find myself thinking about what I’ll be doing 30 days from now. That’ll be just before Thanksgiving and the start of the “eating holidays” so I know I want a challenge. It had been in the back of my mind that I would do P90X2, but Beachbody changed that thought for me with an awesome sale. Today I ordered Brett Hoebel’s RevAbs. It’s another 90 Day program, which focuses on core strength. Brett was a trainer on one season of The Biggest Loser and caught my attention, as it was one of the few seasons I watched. He’s got martial arts experience and the routines look pretty good. I’m expecting something between P90X and Insanity.

Anyhow, RevAbs is currently $29 with free shipping!! Huge savings. If I only do the program once I’m paying less than 30 cents per day. Can’t workout for that anywhere else! I’d love to have others join me. Message me if you’re interested in more information.

Recovery Week

I’ll admit I slacked and didn’t work out on Monday. Therein lies the problem with days off work.

On Tuesday I was happy to learn that this is Recovery week. Core Synergistics is a funny program because I always forget what it entails. It’s a good routine but I just haven’t done it enough to form a complete opinion on it. The only time it is done is during Recovery weeks. It is done several times these weeks, but I often opt to go for runs since the routines don’t seem as prescribed during recovery weeks.

Thursday I went for a run instead of doing Stretch & Recovery. Four miles felt great and my pace was about 30 seconds faster per mile than when I was last running. However, as the day wore on my body reminded me that it’s been about two months since the last time I ran. (My phone app also reminded me when I started running. But it claimed that I haven’t run since the end of May. During my run I pondered this and came to the conclusion that I did a couple of technology-free runs in July.)

So, when Core Synergistics showed up on the schedule on Friday I substituted with P90X2 Mobility & Recovery. My body is thanking me for the foam rolling. Maybe another run tomorrow?

Another Week Down

Another week of P90X is done and I think it’s been about that long since I’ve updated the blog. Thoughts have been going about a million miles a minute on things more important to meditate on than exercise. So, while I’ve been maintaining my workouts I haven’t felt the need to write about them.

My one thought of the week: it’s amazing to see results! This week I took advantage of Goodwill’s 99c clothing day to buy all new pants. It was pretty awesome to buy pants 2-4 sizes smaller than I’ve ever worn before and have them fit perfectly! Being a mom does not mean settling for a larger pants size.

Already Week 2 of P90X

One nice thing about moving from workout to workout is that once you’re in the habit of working out that part of the journey isn’t as hard. I took a four day weekend for my daughter’s first birthday and there were certainly mornings I would have rather slept in, but I got up and worked out. (Of course, my willpower didn’t carry over into eating as there was lots of celebratory foods.)

So, week 2 has started. This morning was a rough one for getting up so I switched P90X2 Plyocide for the P90X Plyometrics on the schedule. The workout is shorter and more fun, though also more intense. I’d forgotten that it uses more equipment, but that’s part of the fun.

Soreness continues.

Yoga

Today I substituted Yoga from P90X2 for the 90 min X routine. I love the X2 Yoga! (Random thoughts were given about it a while back.)

This routine was just what my legs needed today. When I woke up I actually wondered if I pulled, or otherwise injured, that knee tendon/muscle. But after 66 mins of yoga my legs felt refreshed and great. It was just the stretching I needed. That first forward bend was pretty pathetic.

In other news, my triceps are killing me from yesterday.

Day 3 – That Shoulder-Bicep-Tricep Workout

I wish I would have kept my workout sheets from the previous rounds… or, if I kept them, I wish I knew where they were. It would be interesting to see what weights and bands I previously used. It would also be nice to have a weight heavier than 5lb but lighter than 10lbs. And a weight heavier than 10lbs but lighter than 40lbs. Happily, bands can fill in the big gap, but I prefer weights for some moves.

I expect my arms will be really sore today. My legs are sore from yesterday’s Plyometrics, but in an area I’ve never felt before: the outer rear muscle/tendon thing on my knees. I’ve always felt my thighs or hamstrings. Speaking of hamstrings, it turns out that chair dips are a pretty good stretch for them when you keep your legs straight!

New Adventures with an Old Program

Monday I started P90X for the third time. The three times have stretched over the course of two years, both previous times were closely tied to losing pregnancy weight. Since the last time I’ve done P90X2 and Insanity; both arguably harder. I’ll admit that I thought this time would be somewhat “easy” … or at least not as hard as the previous times.

Truth: P90X is a hard workout. And “it is what you make it.”

Having come off 21 days of no working out (during which I did the Ultimate Reset food cleanse) my body is readjusting to early mornings of sweat. My body is reacting with sore (in a good way) muscles. As I sit and type my core is screaming at me. I don’t know that I really expected this reaction. I should have.

Truth: P90X is a hard workout. And “it is what you make it.”

Day 1: Chest & Back, plus Ab Ripper X

The best thing about this day is that I was able to do all my push-ups “regular” style on my feet. The last time I did P90X I did about 90% of my push-ups on my knees. P90X2 broke me of the habit (can’t put your knees on a stability or medicine ball). It felt amazing to be able to do SO MANY push-ups! I imagine I’ll have a similar feeling someday when I move from bands to pull-ups.

Day 2: Plyometrics

This was an interesting day. Several times I thought, “Ooh, a break already! So much easier than Insanity.” And, “Mary Katherine’s without holding a medicine ball? So much easier than P90X2.” On the other hand, I was a sweaty ball of tired by the end. My accomplishments today came from not stopping or modifying moves. When Tony touched the ground I touched the ground. When they jumped higher I jumped higher. It felt good to push myself by truly keeping up. I imagine I’ll feel this one tomorrow.

The Ultimate Reset: Results & Lessons

Three weeks is over! There were definitely challenges with the Reset, but also some great lessons learned.

First, the results: weight loss just over 10 lbs.
                            body fat percentage down 2.5%

Not bad for 21 days of changing how I ate. I was truly surprised to lose more weight with this program than with the workout programs I’ve been doing. 60 days of intense physical activity seems like it should take off more pounds than 21 days of clean eating. Lesson learned: physical activity is no substitute for healthy eating! I can only imagine the results I could’ve gotten from P90X, P90X2, or Insanity if I would’ve followed the meal plans also.

Two days past the Reset and I’m happy to return to small servings of meat and cheese. They don’t hold the allure they previously did and I’ve eaten both with large amounts of veggies. Lesson learned: veggies are filling and a good base for meals.

I’m drawn to snack when the kiddos go to bed at night. Even during the Reset I eventually allowed myself to snack on watermelon during this time. Dinners are often much work and time consuming with two little ones. By the time we’ve played, done baths, read stories, and kissed goodnight I’m feeling a little tired. Lesson Learned: Watermelon is a perfect snack. Fills my thirst and silences my sweet tooth.

While fruit breakfasts were delicious, I missed my Shakeology. Toward the end I occasionally used it for breakfast. Lesson learned: I used to make it with skim milk and peanut butter; while this added protein and was a good combination while pregnant it is probably more calories and fat than I need on a typical day. Shakeology with frozen cherries and water is my new favorite thing. By the time it’s blended it’s a fun chocolate-red color. And delicious.

Ultimate Reset: Week 2

Week 2 is in the books. The hardest part is definitely over. I no longer have the mindless motion of eating items I’m cleaning up (i.e. kid’s plates) or searching for excuses to munch. Not to say sometimes foods don’t tempt me. The hardest day was when someone brought in chocolate caramel cupcakes at work; they sounded great. But, I avoided the break room until they were gone.

I thought that the hardest thing about the vegan weeks would be the lack of cheese. I really don’t miss cheese; which kind of surprises me. I’ll probably have a quesadilla when the Reset is done; but most meals are pretty amazing without cheese. Meat isn’t an issue for me, as I typically don’t eat much of it anyway. What I miss is frozen yogurt/ice cream. It’s probably more the 100F heat than the Reset that has caused me to long for the sweet goodness. And the fact that when taking the kiddos out in the heat (baseball games and the zoo) I have gotten them ice cream. And kids are messy with ice cream; so I’ve had to help out to keep things semi-neat. Yes, I’ve cheated here and there. This has been my only cheat, so I’m feeling pretty good about it. Unfortunately, I’ve been able to tell myself that since I’m not taking the supplements I’m not doing the full Reset and it’s okay to cheat. Which, it’s not. All my other snacks have been of the nut and fruit variety. So, I’m more on the Partial Reset than the Ultimate Reset.

Nonetheless, as Week 2 finished I found that the second number on the scale was suddenly a number I haven’t seen since high school. Hooray for that!!

Ultimate Reset: Week 1

On 7/17 the husband and I began the Ultimate Reset 21 day cleanse. I will add the disclaimer that I’m not totally following the plan; since I am still a nursing mom I am not taking the supplements. I am simply following the meal plan and the water recommendations. But, with one week down I was down nearly 5 lbs. My husband has been sticking with the plan and is down 7 lbs!

I have to say that when I hear about weight loss gimmicks I would be the first person to see those numbers and think “well that’s unhealthy” or “that’s not going to last.” And, I expect that if I go back to my old eating habits the pounds will quickly reappear. However, the lessons I’m learning are ones that should stick with me:

• I snack a lot; this isn’t necessary. There is no reason to snack when I’m not hungry. When I am hungry fruit is yummy and filling.
• I drink a lot of water. The Reset has made me switch to filtered water. This is located in the basement of the building I work in. While free, it involves walking down (and then up) essentially 6 flights of stairs. The walking is certainly an added benefit of the filtered water. I usually refill my 40 oz water bottle 3-4 times per day.
• There are some really tasty recipes. I enjoy Tempeh. Making our own salad dressing isn’t hard. I don’t need blue cheese to make a salad taste good.

Other thoughts on the Reset:

• Week 1 had a prety intense and expensive grocery list. After paying for the program I thought, “I have to spend more money to do this?” We had to go to several grocery stores to find everything. A lot of this was stocking the cabinets for future use. Now we know where to find everything and where the best prices are.
• Looking forward to the next two weeks of primarily vegan food.

Up Next

Tomorrow my husband begins the Ultimate Reset to detoxify his body and reclaim health. I will be following the meal plans and water recommendations. But won’t be using the supplements, as I am still nursing, so I don’t expect to get the full body cleanse. But, I believe this will be a good time for me to relook at the foods I had been eating and try some new and healthier options. While doing the Reset you are not supposed to workout. At this time, my plan is to do some working out (since I’m not really doing the Reset), but I will let my body tell me what I can do.

This morning I went for a run, but my new shoes resulted in a pretty sweet blister that makes me think a run is out of the question tomorrow morning. Perhaps some barefoot yoga. That P90X2 yoga was pretty good. Or the One on One Yoga.

 

And, I have to share my favorite "after" picture:

 

Insanity Results

Finally completed my fit test and whatnot. I like how the fit test doesn’t get any easier; you do more so you push yourself more. I actually had to pause at one point to keep from puking. So, maybe my numbers on suicide jumps are a little skewed due to the random break. But here are my numbers, before and after: Switch kicks 37, 58. Power jacks 39, 63. Power knees 76, 112. Power jumps 25, 60!!! Globe jumps 7, 11. Suicide jumps 13, 21. Push-up jacks 14, 30. Plank oblique 22, 32.

I’m most impressed that I had two moves where I more than doubled how many I could do. To me, that speaks way more than weight loss. But, I’m happy to report that I did lose 5 lbs. over the 60 days of Insanity. I imagine the number would have been higher if I would have opened the nutrition guide and made any attempt to follow it.

 

Day 1

Day 60

And, yes, I'm one of those people who got tanner by using Insanity! The joys of summer.

Day 60!

My last Insanity workout (at least for a while) was today! Whoohoo! This is one workout series I am glad to take a break from. Don’t get me wrong: I did enjoy much of it and it was an incredible challenge. Anyone who says “you can’t get a good workout at home” hasn’t tried this workout.

After a poor night of sleep and a girl that got me up at 3am, it was hard to push it. I kept telling myself “today is the last day.” And I gave it my best; forgot the rest.

Tomorrow I’ll be doing the fit test and taking pictures. I’m more confident about the test than the pictures. And, really, that’s okay. I would have liked to have lost more belly fat, as this seems to be my main area of frustration anymore. But, I am stronger. Maybe my “after” pictures will be me doing some of the crazy things instead of just standing there. Tune in…

Day “56”

Day 60 should have been the 4^th of July. But, with taking a week (plus) off I have modified. I will be pushing myself this week (Mon-Fri) and doing the fit test on Saturday with my 60 day pictures. If nothing else, I’ll be the person whose Day 60 picture is a lot tanner than the Day 1 picture. Hopefully that’s not the only observable difference.

Regardless, I’m feeling great. My time off did nothing for me; it really reminded me that 4:30 is early. But, I’m pushing through and it feels good. I can make it through the routines better. Not completely, but neither can the people in the DVDs. Today I only felt nauseous for a brief time starting the third circuit.

I’m honestly looking forward to being done with the craziness that is Insanity. I pushed myself more than I knew I could. I sweated harder than I thought I could. And the thought of doing P90X Plyometrics is a feeling of relief (this is saying something, if you’ve read older blogs of mine).

I haven’t quite decided what I’m doing next. We’ve ordered the Ultimate Reset and my husband will be starting that. I plan on doing the food/water portion with him, but being a nursing mom will be unable to take the supplements. So, I suspect I will have a good cleanse and adjust my eating habits without fully getting the reset bloodwork numbers. Everyone I know who has done the Ultimate Reset has come away reenergized and feeling great. I hope I can get some of that. I’m excited for the husband to have the full experience. I’m excited for our kiddos to try some new foods. The Ultimate Reset is 21 days. During that time you’re not supposed to workout. With my modifications I’m not sure if I’ll do some minimal working out or not. My mornings will likely be spent preparing foods.

So, what do you think I should do next? The hubby and I are starting a challenge group as of 8/1/12. If this interests you, contact me and I’ll let you know if there’s room left or when our next one will be. Regardless, let me know your thoughts on my next routine: P90X? P90X2? Turbo Jam? Slim in 6? P90X/Insanity Hybrid? Something else??

10 Days Left… Sort of…

Day 50, Monday, was the fit test. The one thing I really don’t like about the Insanity schedule is that once you’re in Phase 2 there is an expectation that you will do a 60 minute workout on the same day as the fit test. The fit test takes 25 minutes and leaves me exhausted. I like seeing the numbers go up, so I push myself as hard as possible for the 8 minute long increments. This does not leave me wanting to do another 60 minutes of pushing. This generally makes me want to puke. Or at least lay down. This week I gave in to the laying down.

Next excuse: my daughter is teething. She has at least two teeth super close to popping through. She is crazy drooly, which is draining and making it hard for her to breath. This is worse at night. There is much crying. And coughing. And comforting. This does not lead to much sleeping … for either of us. Long story short: I’ve taken an unexpected week off.

Next Monday I will repeat Day 50 (minus the fit test). Ten more days of crazy and it will be results time.

Sabotage

Another weekend is upon me. In this last week I’ve been thinking a lot about sabotage. More specifically, how there are two things that seem to be sabotaging my results… sadly both at my own hands:

1. Weekends
2. Eating habits

Weekends

What to say here? Sundays are my days off of working out. But Saturdays have become a day off also. And by the end of every weekend I’m feeling a drag on my energy. Previously I would get up around 6am on Saturdays to workout; this was still “sleeping in” for me but allowed me time before the family was up. My kids, or specifically my son, have decided that 6am is a good time to get up. I blame the lighter mornings.

This weekend my goal is to go for a run one of the mornings. Working out in the living room is tricky when the boy would like to play there. Sure, it’s cute when he joins me (today he was doing the football drills pretty well) but it’s challenging. And I feel like I should be interacting more with him. My hubby wants to mow one morning while I play with the kids. So, I figure I can run the other morning while he plays.

Food

There are no excuses here either. Again, weekends seem to be harder. Weekdays I’m perfectly happy to have a wonderful salad for lunch (though the excessive amounts blue cheese and walnuts may be a little more fattening than necessary). Weekdays my struggle is snacking after the kids are in bed. This shouldn’t be a struggle. I brush my teeth with my son before he goes to bed. But lately we’ve had wine in the house. And nice bread goes awfully good with red wine.

But weekends, I don’t have set times to eat. By the time I eat I’m generally over hungry and want something quick. So, we eat out more than we should.

So?

There are about two weeks left of Insanity. And I want results. I’m stronger. I can push myself harder. I want to see smaller numbers and photographic evidence. I guess I’m going to have to make some changes and quit sabotaging myself.

Recovery Week, Warrior Dash, Phase 2

So glad there was a recovery week before the Warrior Dash! It was a little odd to do the same workout daily for that week. It was a pretty good routine, though my hip flexors sure felt a couple of the moves. Focus was on core and balance. Shaun T and I have different ideas of “recovery” … I could’ve really went for some foam rolling.

I ended up modifying on Friday due to a cut on my foot. I didn’t think that I should jump around on the cut when I had the Warrior Dash the next day, so I decided to do a little P90X: Ab Ripper X and Ab Ripper X2. That’s right; I did both! It was a horrible idea. About 35 minutes total. During the workout I was actually feeling pretty good about myself and was able to do every move for the duration. By evening I realized my error. Saturday my entire core was sore when I got up!

The Warrior Dash was a blast! It was a 5k with 12 obstacles (climbing walls, jumping fire, etc). I had no idea what to expect time wise, but hoped for under 45 mins. I reasoned that this would be ½ hour for the run plus a minute or so for each obstacle. I didn’t anticipate the hilly obstacle-free first mile, but it worked to thin down the people before the first obstacle. I just wish I would have known to start closer to the front to avoid all the people walking the hills. Anyhow, my hubby and I finished together (thanks to him waiting for me) in about 43 minutes. Covered in mud and feeling accomplished.

I really thought my arms would be sore from the Dash. Instead I was surprised to find my quads killing me on Sunday. Guess the long, steep downhill was to blame. With legs still sore on Monday, I completed the fit test for the 3^rd time. I was happy to see that numbers more or less equaled the previous time. Some moves were easier and my legs were my main barrier to improvement.

Phase 2 is hard! I believe that this is due in part to the soreness that still saturates my thighs, but it’s also just hard. Workouts have moved from 45 mins to 60 mins and it seems like there are fewer breaks. Warm up moves are more whole body and get you sweating quicker. Results, here we come!

Now if I can just stop sabotaging myself with poor eating. Happily we got salad stuff today so I’ll be good for a bit.

Day 30: The Halfway Point!

I can't believe it's already Day 30! It sure has flown by. I was all excited today to do the fit test for the third time. It was done on Day 1 and Day 15... I was sad to learn that the fit test isn't until Day 36. Weird. I'm guessing it has something to do with this being a rest week.

Speaking of rest week, Shaun T has a different idea of rest than I do. This week has been absolutely killing my mid section: abs, hips, & hip flexors.

So far, my favorite things about Insanity:

• Workouts are relatively short. It's nice to be done in an hour or less.
• Workouts are crazy intense. I've seriously never sweated so much!
• The people in the videos aren't perfect. They're fit, but they often appear to be struggling. I have to say that I find happiness in watching people who are more fit than me struggling to do the same moves.

So far, my annoyances about Insanity:

• Shaun T refers to himself in the third person.
• The workouts are crazy intense. I've seriously never sweated so much!

Tweaks

As I continue to do the workouts daily I'm realizing that other parts of my life need small tweaks if I'm going to get the results I want.

This week I'm working on tweaking food. It helps that we ran out of Nutella. With summer produce readily available I'm focused on yummy salads. I'm also going to work on eliminating snacking, especially after the kiddos go to bed.

Second Fit Test

One of the perks of Insanity is that the Fit Test is done every 2 weeks. Really helps track progress. So, today was the second fit test. All numbers increased significantly. Last time I felt like my legs were what held back numbers, having just completed a half marathon the day before. Today I felt like my endurance/cardio abilities were what determined my numbers. I went as fast and as hard as I could, stopping when I needed to catch my breath.

I love that the Insanity fit test is a DVD. It ensures that you are doing each move for the correct amount of time (1 minute) and forces you to take the correct (varying) breaks between the moves. Love not having to time anything myself.

The hubby and I thought that it sounded like a good idea to do the Fast and Furious DVD after the fit test, so we'd get a "real" workout in. Twenty minutes of crazy may not have been the best idea after pushing super hard on 10 moves. The workout has a brief warm-up and stretch, then 15 minutes of going all out with no breaks. My favorite part of the workout was when, in the middle of the move, all three people on the TV are bent over trying to catch their breath. Glad I wasn't the only one!

Insanity: Week 1

Monday was the fit test. Friday is really only day four of working out. Ouch! My obliques are killing me.

Observations so far:

• I like that the workouts are shorter than P90X. I need that extra 15 minutes to recover and try to stop sweating before my shower.
• I like that no equipment is needed so there’s no time required to gather items (balance balls, etc).
• I can’t believe how long I continue to sweat after the workout.
• I prefer Tony Horton to Shaun T. But, he’s better than I expected after trying Hip Hop Abs years ago.

I’m pretty happy that the fit test occurs every two weeks or so. It’ll be a good way to see progress since nothing is written down. Course, at this point progress would be the ability to stick with a video the whole time. I do enjoy that even the people in the video can’t keep up and take lots of breaks.

The End, The Beginning

Sunday’s half marathon was the accumulation of my month of running. The morning started off with a crazy downpour of rain mixed with the requisite lightning and thunder. This, as much as our alarm clock, awoke us. Happily, by the time we left our house to head down to the race it was a light sprinkling falling. By the time we were lined up with the masses it was merely windy and a little cold. What a great way to start the race, after several days of temps in the 90s with high humidity! Come midrace the sun was fairly warm, but certainly nothing to complain about. My only complaint was that water stops were in different places than past year, seemingly fewer and more spread out.

My time was a respectable (at least in my mind) 2 hours and 22 minutes. I would have liked under 2:15, but I got what I trained for. More importantly I never stepped in a puddle, so my feet were still happy at the finish.

I say “the end” but I hope to continue to run at least once a week. There’s just something relaxing about the road.

“The beginning” is a scarier path. Monday I did the Insanity fit test. Wow! Only 25 minutes to see where one is and it turned me into a sweaty messy ball of myself. Insanity is a 60 day at-home fitness program led by Shaun T. And I think his goal is to kill me.

Today was the first workout: a cardio plyo circuit. At 45 minutes long it has you sweating the whole time. And panting. I can see why those people on the TV have their heart rate monitors. My first impressions:

• This is a lot harder on my legs than running.
• This is a lot harder on my respiratory system than running.
• Clearly I need this.
• The shorter workouts (compared to P90X or P90X2) will be nice, though I’ll still need to get up at 4:30 to fit in the rest of my morning activities and have time to cool off after working out and before showering.

Final Week of Half Marathon Training

I was going to title this “Final Week of Running” but one thing I’ve learned is that I need to keep at running. At least one run a week to keep my body used to the idea. I continue to have mixed feelings. I love running, but my pace is almost painfully slow… maybe it is better to not know the pace! Realistically, I probably am faster than in the past; I just didn’t have a voice telling me my pace every mile.

Saturday’s long run was fabulous. I was planning on going out on Friday, but pushed it back to Saturday due to rain. When I headed out on Saturday I was fairly concerned with the wind, light rain, and 47 degree temperature. After about ½ mile the rain stopped and I started to warm up. Around the midway point I hit a super populated area of the trails and it apparently motivated me! I started at a good (for me) pace, which slowed until I got around people, then it increased pretty significantly. I’m curious what that means for my half marathon, where I will be surrounded by about 9,999 other runners. I certainly don’t plan on a personal best, but I plan on feeling good. Saturday’s run ended after 10.5 miles with the confidence that I could have done another 3 miles without much difficulty. And nothing feels quite as glorious as a long hot shower after a long cold run.

This week’s frustration came on Sunday when my husband did his long run. He hasn’t been running much, and I don’t believe he’s done a single mile in the past week. But, his pace was over 2 minutes per mile faster than mine. That’s just not fair! I can’t even imagine what he’d be capable of if he trained properly. Anyhow, my frustration is out of jealousy and I’m pretty excited to see if he can get a personal best next Sunday.

Next Monday I plan on doing the fit test for Insanity. It’s a 60 Day program that I’ve heard is pretty killer. The hubby and I plan on tackling it together!

Third Week of Running

Blogging about running has little interest for me. Yet, while I’m running I find a million thoughts running through my head. There’s something about pounding out miles that frees the mind to wander, wonder, and worship.

The first week I could really feel my legs. Every run made the mornings a little tighter. Stretching and foam rolling helped.

The second week I increased mileage slightly and focused on increasing distance. With one rainy day my second week was two 6+ mile runs, two 2 mile runs, and P.A.P. Upper from P90X2. The DVD sure made my core sore! Funny how you think of running as being overall fitness; but it’s not. It takes running to improve running, but it takes other total body routines to improve the total body. Seems obvious when written.

Week three has me again increasing mileage and working on distance runs. The common marathon training mindset is to take an off week or light week the week of the race. Since my training is only 4 weeks long I won’t be doing that. I plan on my “long run” for week 4 being the half marathon. This week I’ll be shooting for 9 or 10 miles on Friday. This morning’s 6.5 miles felt really good and I think I could have gone longer, but my still-slow pace only allows a max of 7 miles before I need to get ready for work. Friday’s long run is courtesy of Arbor Day. Yay, Nebraska!

I was Running…

This week I began training for the half marathon on 5/6. As of today I have 24 days until I will be running 13.1 miles. Happily, that fact isn’t scary. I don’t know that I will get a PR (Personal Record) but I should finish easily. And compared to last year it will be easy: I won’t be 5 months pregnant and I don’t plan on having the stomach flu. My hope is to feel good about myself at the finish.

You may be wondering if P90X2 got me ready to run. I was wondering that when I started the week. I had hoped for faster times, though perhaps the problem with always knowing times is that I enjoy the slow long runs a little less. When my husband used P90X to get ready for a marathon he was able to cut about a minute per mile from his time. I have not had that result. But, in fairness, he had been running prior to P90X. I figure that it’s been about a year and a half since I’ve really run. P90X2 certainly got me in better overall shape and helped me lose weight that I wouldn’t want to run with.

This week is about getting my legs used to the motion again. And figuring out routes, pace, etc:

• Monday I went out for 3 miles and discovered that the neighborhood sidewalks are often pretty dark at 5am. There was a mostly full moon, but the light in the park isn’t on at that time. It also seems that the areas with the fewest streetlights are the areas with the most cracks and uneven surfaces. No, I didn’t fall. Or even trip. But, I was a little timid on trying any sort of speed. I was also pretty cold at the start of the run but decided that I dressed appropriately around the ½ mile point.
• Tuesday I decided to go further and utilize some well-lit trails. So I ran 4.5 miles. I hadn’t run this route before but knew that it was hilly. And it was colder than Monday. Again it turned out that I dressed pretty well but my legs definitely noticed that it was the second day in a row of running. I had stated that it had been about a year and a half since I’ve run. During that “off” time there were a couple three mile loops completed, but I can honestly say that I didn’t do two days in a row. And I didn’t go more than 3 miles (I’m not including longer walks, such as last year’s half marathon). Tuesday night I foam rolled.
• Wednesday I wanted to try a short-fast run. Turns out a “fast” fun on really tired legs isn’t possible. The route I chose also didn’t help. I wanted to do two miles but I didn’t want to use my usual two mile loop due to the darkness and unevenness of the neighborhood sidewalks. So I decided to do an out and back along a main road with lights and good sidewalks. The problem with the route is that it’s down a giant hill and back up a hill; then you turn around. Essentially I felt like I was trying to do speed work and hill repeats at the same time. Still, my pace was faster than the previous two days. I foam rolled both before and after the run. I also did Ab Ripper X2. I want to mix in some Beachbody DVDs when my legs need a break or on short run days; so this was my first attempt at that. I thought about the original Ab Ripper X but didn’t think my legs would appreciate that one. Phase 3 of P90X2 never had Ab Ripper (due to all the core work in the P.A.P. routines) and I was surprised at how well I did. As a side note, I really notice that the stronger my core is the more prone I am to side aches while running; I do not like this correlation and need to figure out how to work through this.
• Thursday, today, I wanted to go back to bed. But I didn’t. The forecast called for rain but nothing was falling yet and temps were actually warmer than the previous days. So I decided on a “long” slow run. For me long was 5 miles and it was certainly slow. Somehow my iPhone switched to a mode where it told me pace every mile; maybe this is part of the MapMyRun update. It was kind of nice and I would really appreciate it on a speed day, but today it just reminded me that I am slow. The nice parts were that I knew when I hit 5 miles (amazingly right at the driveway, though I did some weird loops to get there) and I was motivated to finish faster than I started. Still working on dressing for the early morning runs. It was pretty windy a couple of times and the last mile I took off the gloves.

Anyhow, four days in and I’ve run 14.5 miles. Not bad for week one. The length of tomorrow’s run will be greatly influenced by if it continues to rain and what that does to the temperature. Worst case, I’ll do P.A.P. Upper to give my legs a rest. Best case, who knows?

Day 90! P90X2 Results...

Numbers are in! There are some that I am a little disappointed in and others that I'm surprised at. So here's the run down, with a little commentary:

• Lost 15 lbs and 4 inches... I'll take it! A more concerted effort at healthy eating would've helped these numbers. But, it's more than I lost with P90X and I'm that much closer to my goals.
• Lost 4.5% body fat... Same response as above.
• Vertical leap improved by almost 3 inches... This was one that really surprised me. I guess Plyocide knows what it's doing. I would think that this may improve running some...
• Can do 1/2 pull up... I was really hoping for a full pull up. But, this is 1/2 pull up more than I've ever been able to do before. We're looking to install a pull up bar and then I'd like to get the P90X Pull-up Assist band... I think actually doing the motion instead of the band modifications may improve my chances here.
• Push ups increased from 20 to 34... This was another exciting one for me. I no longer find myself dropping to my knees to complete the push up reps... that's pretty huge!
• In and Outs (an ab move) increased from 100 to 137... mixed thoughts on this one. It's kind of an easy move for me... so I feel silly doing it to exhaustion because it takes so long. When I stopped it was because my legs were worn out (cruel to have wall sit before this).
• Wall sit improved by exactly double the length of time. That was only 3:06 before I gave in, so I'd still like to be able to improve here... but, I want to walk tomorrow and start my running on Monday.
• Bicep curls improved by about 15 reps... this is one where I really need to increase weight for the test so that I'm not doing a ton before exhaustion. But, I used the heaviest weights we had. I didn't want to switch to bands since I used weights for the pre-test.

And for the before/after pictures:

Day 1

Day 90

Day 1

Day 90

So, I'd say that I'm happy. I can see results and feel pretty good about what I was able to achieve in a mere 90 days! Next up, training for the 5/6/12 Half Marathon in Lincoln. Then on to Insanity.

If you want more information about the program I used, or other Beachbody products, check out https://sites.google.com/a/stovesfitness.com/stovesfitness/. You can contact me through that site and I'd love to help you with your journey...

Day 89: Last P90X2 workout!!

I made it! Tomorrow is results day: fit test, measurements, and pictures.

Today I want to reflect on the non-numbers results and revelations:

• I learned that there is a reason workouts are in the order they are. Once again I messed with the schedule this week and that left me working my arms three days in a row. My deltoids are still screaming at me.
• I learned what deltoids were when I looked at a muscle diagram to find out what was so sore.
• You would think that I would have learned to do workouts in the order they come. Some weeks I’m really good at that. Other times I find that I change the order for convenience and the next day is when regret sets in. That was the case this week, when I changed the order due to workout length.
• At the start of P90X2 I found that I was rarely sore. This changed as time went on. I don’t know if the change was due to workouts getting more intense in the later phases or due to my slacking on foam rolling. Maybe some of both.
• Balance has greatly improved.
• There are some really fun “seem impossible” moves.
• Testing my limits is pretty fun. And challenging. And sometimes the results are funny.
• Push-ups may be my biggest improvement. I no longer do any on my knees. I can get my hands off the ground; though clapping is “something I presently struggle with.”
• I can fit in all my pre-pregnancy pants. Some are still a little tight but others are a little loose. With no more pregnancies in my future I look forward to getting rid of my “in between” pants for good.
• I’ve said “9 months on, 9 months off” … so I still have about 6 weeks to get to my goal fitness. That’ll be a little after ½ marathon time.
• I look forward to starting my ½ marathon training next week. Should be fun to see how P90X2 has affected my running.
• After the ½ marathon I plan on doing Insanity. It scares me less than it used to. I still think the program looks killer but I look forward to the shorter workout times.

Well, enough for now… more later…

The Last Week!

I would have thought that I would be better at blogging this week. Nope. I’m using spare time to sleep because my daughter isn’t. But, I have been getting the morning workouts done. Sadly 4:30 doesn’t seem as early when I’ve been up for hours.

A funny thing has happened. I’m starting to really like P.A.P. It still kills me and I’ve been blown away by how much work my core is getting, but I’m starting to really enjoy the routines. I really think that once I transition to my ½ marathon training I’ll use P.A.P. Upper to keep up on my core/arm strength. Lower really won’t be an option while running distances, at least not if I still want to walk!

Today was Yoga and I was amazed at how it went. Balance wasn’t my strong point today, but it was better than last week. As is the case, I found myself thinking that I should spend more time intermittently trying Crane. Today’s “yay” moment was that I pushed through Chaturanga every time. I’ve been gradually improving, but to be able to float through on each try was pretty amazing. There is a reason that Yoga is the one routine done in every phase of P90X2.

Two more workouts!! P.A.P. Upper on Thurs. P.A.P. Lower on Fri. Then the fit test, measurements, and pictures on Saturday!

Day 81: Step 1… Get Out of Bed

There are not words for how hard this morning was. I did NOT want to get out of bed. Against all reason I went to bed around 10; the boy woke me up at 11; then the girl had me up from 12-1. A 4:30 alarm clock was not appreciated. After hitting snooze and then actually resetting the alarm I made myself get up.

Pros and cons were running through my head: My body needs sleep. My mind is now awake. It’s too early. It’s this time every day. Bed is comfy. I only have 9 days left (as if my routine will change when I start running in the morning instead of the P90X2). I want the best results possible. I can do it later today. I never successfully work out later in the day. I’ll feel groggy and grumpy all day if I don’t get up. The pre-workout energy drink will get me going. I can have coffee later. And so on.

As you can guess, the pros of getting up won out. By the time I pressed play on the DVD I was reasonably awake and ready to go. It was a good thing that P.A.P. Upper is only 50 minutes; any longer and I would have run out of time before heading out the door. Such a hard 50 minutes! Workouts like this are why I shake my head (internally, of course) when people act like a casual walk or doing a handful of push-ups or sit-ups qualifies as exercise. Don’t get me wrong, I think starting to move is the first step. But you can’t keep doing the same thing every day and expect results. You have to push yourself. If you’re not either sweating or getting your heart rate up you’re not pushing yourself.

P.A.P. definitely pushes me. The first section of Upper has my shoulder shaking each time through. Today’s accomplishment was that I was able to hold plank for the full minute, 1 of 4 times. Little steps: get out of bed, push play, hold plank.

Day 80: Only 10 days left!!

Wow, only 10 days left! Crazy.

Today was yoga. Could tell that I didn’t do it last week. And that my legs were tired from yesterday. In the spirit of recent blogs, I’m going to go with the “random thoughts” format… so here I go:

• The Melissa girl in the DVD was recently named one of the Top Ten Hot Chefs by some magazine or website. Maybe Tony will get her name right now; you know because the DVD changes as time passes.
• Someone suggested that the other girl (whose name totally escapes me currently) might be Tony’s girlfriend. Apparently she has the same name (whatever that is) as the girlfriend he dedicated his book to. If that’s the case I bed this is Tony’s favorite workout cast: girlfriend, chef, and yoga guru. Certainly people he spends a lot of time with, one would think. Now, if he could just remember their names (I say, as I can’t remember the one girl’s name).
• I had no balance today. Not sure if I should blame the week off or the leg workout from yesterday. Either way, I was stumbling and shaking. I actually fell over in triangle pose; that hasn’t happened in ages. No crane today. One near balance in crane and then I was toast.
• I am totally capable of falling asleep in child’s pose.
• I am not capable of falling asleep in frog. I want to be.
• I can almost fall asleep in plough.
• I skipped savasana at the end to avoid actually falling asleep.

Two more P.A.P. days this week: lower and then upper. I’d like to foam roll this weekend and get out for a run. Then just one more Mon-Fri and it’s picture time! I’m a little scared of the “after” pictures. I keep thinking that I should’ve made more of an effort with the food. These past few days have been pretty good and so far I’ve only given in to Easter candy once this season. But last week, with lots of birthday events for my son, was a greasy, sugary mess.

So, while pictures scare me, I’m more excited about the “after” fit test. I bet I can do a lot more reps. I bet I can kill those “before” numbers. Somewhere between my fear of the pictures and my hope for the fit test is my unsureness (is that a word?) about the measurements. Clothes are fitting better but I’m just not sure what the numbers will say…not sure what I expect or hope for.

Conveniently, my biometric screening for health insurance at work is on day 89. It’ll be nice to see how those numbers look now and how they compare to numbers from one and two years ago.

Day 79: On my way to a full week of Phase 3

Two days down, three to go. Thus far it’s been a wonderfully productive week with sufficient sleep. I’m loving it!

When I woke up this morning one of the first things I thought was, “yeah, P.A.P. Upper is what kills my ab section.” But while doing P.A.P. Lower there were definitely some moves that didn’t help that feeling. I think Yoga will be a nice break tomorrow. I’m not motivated enough for organizing my thoughts or drawing conclusions, so…

And now for my random thoughts:

I could hold side plank better today. Almost made it for the full time once. I may want to try using the foam roller for my hand… it would make balance harder, but be a softer surface for my palm.

I really look forward to trying Scorpion. It appeals to me, but after a couple of attempts I won’t be trying again until I’m done nursing.

Fire Hydrant makes me laugh… well, the name anyway. The move is tough. Makes me think of the moves I hate in most thigh/butt type workouts.

In a similar vein, all the lunges make me think of Slim in 6. I wonder how I would do with that program now. I’ve gone through the 6 weeks before, as a “getting back to working out after kid #1” workout. It was hard. And redundant. But it might be good to try once I’m just supplementing running. Or it might be too much leg work. It was great for slimming the thighs for sure!

I really enjoy that P.A.P. has a different warm up than the other workouts. Nice to mix it up. Nice to skip around the living room. I wonder if I can teach my 2 year old to skip. That would be cute.

I enjoyed that no cats or kids were poking at me during today’s workout.

I can’t figure out why we need two medicine balls for P.A.P. Lower. One has been plenty. I think the second one may be used as a reference point once, but the spare dumbell works well too. Or imagination.

It’s weird to not use the stability ball at all during a routine.

Days 75-78: Should have taken a recovery week

One thing I’ve found is hard with P90X2 is that you decide when to do recovery weeks. I like that in P90X that was decided for you. I’m not sure that I’m a good judge. I had thought about doing a recovery week last week before starting Phase 3 but then reasoned that I would only have 2 weeks on the last phase. I ended up beginning the phase and then life, and lack of sleep, got in the way. Only did three workouts last week and they killed me.

This week I plan on sticking to the Phase 3 schedule. Will do P.A.P. upper twice, P.A.P. lower twice, and Yoga once. We’ll see if my body screams as loud as it did last week when all I managed was P.A.P. upper twice and P.A.P. lower twice. (I’ll clarify that the same workout is never done two days in a row; that would be nearly impossible.)

Today was P.A.P. lower and it wasn’t any easier than the first time I did it. I can certainly see why phases 1 & 2 were necessary prior to doing P.A.P. Tony says these workouts are for “extreme athletes” … I’ve certainly never considered myself an extreme athlete. And I’m still not; I’m doing modifications: pull ups with bands and plyo push-ups with hands barely off the floor (though this is an improvement from on my knees plyo push-ups). My body is clearly much stronger than it used to be and I find myself constantly adjusting my perception on what is possible now, and in the future.

Only 12 days left!! I should really consider working on my food choices these last (less than) two weeks.

Days 73-74: P.A.P. Pain!

Wowzers! This P.A.P. stuff is hard!! I figured phase 3 would be a challenge and it really really is. These are my random thoughts so far:

I wish we foam rolled the body part that we worked the day before instead of the one we’re about to work. Of course, I could just change what I’m foam rolling since it’s an individualized thing.

The lower workout has my bum burning. Lots of squats, but in such a way that you don’t feel that’s all you’re doing. I try not to sit too much the rest of the day.

I didn’t realize the upper would have an ab pike move.

The first circuit on upper is crazy on the plank push up type moves. I expected this and it still killed me. The second circuit seems easier, if just for the variety.

I did not expect my shoulder blade area to feel the upper workout and that’s the primary sore area for me. Maybe related to how I hold my stress in that area?

I kind of like seeing Cedric struggle through the lower workout. I liked seeing him sweat the foam rolling in the Recovery workout too. I’m not 100% sure if I just like knowing that it’s hard for other people too or if there’s something about him.

In the lower workout I like that the girl does side plank on her hand rather than elbow. I always choose to do side plank this way; it’s harder but doesn’t hurt my elbows. It was nice seeing the harder version on the TV… at least for the first circuit. I thought the girl kind of wimped out by only doing it the first time through. I did think she was crazy for doing side plank on her hand on a foam roller. The instability of a foam roller would add way more than I could handle. 30 seconds is already more than I can take.

I was surprised by how much my hips feel lower.

Initially with P.A.P. I thought it was odd that we weren’t going to be doing Ab Ripper. I thought about adding it in. Now, just three days in, I’m so understanding. The first time I did plank today I thought I was going to die. Apparently I literally have ripped most of my core muscles… at least it feels that way. Guess all the plank moves will do that.

It’s hard to do superman while a two year old is poking at your mid-section.

It’s hard to do side plank while a cat is rubbing on your supporting arm.

The distractions of working out at home still pale compared to having to add time in to drive to a gym. Home distractions are awfully cute and usually pretty funny.

 

So, if you wanted to know what P.A.P. stands for... look at the previous posting. Today's P.A.P. is Post Activation Pain. Or Post Activation Plank. Or Pain After Pain. Or Pain Ahhhh Pain.

Day 72: P.A.P. Lower

Post Activation Potentiation. Fancy words for a concept that seems to work. Another way to “confuse muscles,” P.A.P. alternates between weight, plyo, and stretching. There are two different circuits with four exercises in each. I believe each is done four times. It was quite the quick hour and I wasn’t pretending to count along with anything. What I remember is weight/balance, plyo, plyo, stretch. Repeat.

I remember sweat. I remember “can I do this?” I know I probably didn’t put my all into the workout; it was rather hard to get out of bed this morning. I was still sweating and breathing heavy, so I figure I got out what I put in… and that was certainly better than hitting snooze.

Tomorrow will be P.A.P. Upper. I’ll be interested to see what type of cardio type moves he does for that. In the One on One it was a plyo push-up… guess it could very well be that. My lower body will be expecting a reprieve tomorrow.

Days 68-71: Flexibility of time; not body

After a great Friday of waking before the family to do Base & Back the weekend happened. In case it wasn’t enough of a struggle for me to get workouts in on weekends it was a full weekend of plans to celebrate my son’s second birthday. I don’t know if the awkward lack of routines has played a part, but my daughter has decided that she hates going to sleep… for naps or bed. And she continues to awake during the night; losing the middle-of-the-night ability to smile herself back to sleep. So, after a full weekend we had a Sunday night of broken up sleep and screaming. Monday arrived far too early and the morning included a well-baby doctor appointment for our son. Hello, Routine – are you out there??

I was seriously considering taking a recovery week this week before moving on to Phase 3. But I hung out in Phase 2 for quite a while and now have only three weeks left of P90X2! If I take a recovery week I’ll only have two weeks for the last phase. That’s not long to learn new routines and see progress. Sure, I could do more than 90 days… and I will continue to use these DVDs once the 90 days are over… but I want to end this round on Day 90 so that I can focus on running. I’ll have one month to train for the ½ marathon and I want my legs to be used to the running thing.

What to do this week? We’ll see what the kiddos do at bedtime tonight. Either I’ll do a workout when they go to bed or I’ll have to commit to not being lazy next weekend. Throw in my son’s actual birthday on Wednesday and things could get real chaotic.

This week starts P.A.P. I’m familiar with the concept from the One on One DVDs I did. It’s both fun and scary. In that series P.A.P. was one workout. Now it’s one day for upper and a separate day for lower. I plan on soreness ensuing.

Day 67: Yoga X2

Random thoughts today during Yoga:

I can hold crane longer. It’s a weird pose because when you’re actually doing it you almost feel locked in place, but to get there you feel like you’re going to fall on your face. I don’t want to fall on my face.

Tony mentions that the one girl plans his meals, yet he can never get her name right. Weird. Also, apparently she does 90% yoga and has been doing it for 14 years… but she can’t do crane? Maybe she’s just the example modifier for crane.

The other girl has the same name as someone in P90X but I’m pretty sure she’s a different person, or she’s had a lot of work done. Regardless, her boobs are totally fake; their shape when she lies down bugs me. My husband believes she is Beachbody’s ploy to get men to do the Yoga DVD. He may be right.

I really want to be able to do the splits again. I like the modifier move of using a yoga block to get lower; hopefully this will eventually lead to be doing the splits. Otherwise, I generally like that yoga makes me feel flexible. I’m not where I used to be, but I can generally follow the most flexible person on the DVD.

Strength moves are my weakness. The guru guy doesn’t seem to believe in gravity. And for good reason; he must be made of helium. Today I was able to copy the basic crow pose though I couldn’t lift my supporting foot/leg; this was only possible with my right leg forward.

I really like that the P90X2 has you stand on your tip toes in downward dog before jumping your feet forward. I feel like I have a lot more control this way. I’m not in slow motion but I’m not rushed.

My new yoga mat has a great pattern for helping with hand placement. Helps me stay symmetrical and encourages me to spread out my hands for balance moves. Today I also used a pattern to help me focus and hold my head steady during crane.

Yesterday I was pondering if my increased balance would make trickier yoga moves better. Today I’m not sure.

Yoga seems to have three factors: strength, balance, and flexibility. Strength is improving but I need to keep at it. Balance is better, but primarily for lower body balance; upper body balance seems to get back to the strength factor. Flexibility is the easiest of the three for me but there’s always room for growth.

I’m glad Yoga is included in Phase 3. It’ll be nice to have one workout per week that I’m already familiar with. Since I was so bad at keeping up with Yoga when I first started P90X2 I feel like I’m still playing catch up with where I could have been.

Days 65-66: Balance and Planning Ahead.

Yesterday was Plyocide and today was Shoulders & Arms/ARX. It’s weird that after this week I’ll be done with these workouts. Especially Plyocide. I’ll definitely be incorporating that one into my running schedule; perhaps on the days that it’s too cold or wet to run outside. Really, I guess it’s the upper body workouts I’ll need to use when running, to keep balanced.

Speaking of balance, I’m amazed at how much my balance has improved during P90X2! Moves that used to have me falling all over the place now have me doing a rare toe tap. Kind of makes me want to try some crazy balance yoga stuff.

Days 62-64: Last week of Phase 2

I had decided that this is going to be my last week of Phase 2… then on to Phase 3, which is basically a lot of P.A.P. More about that next week.

Recently, I blogged about the challenge of morning workouts vs. evening workouts. I was considering switching to evenings, which used to be my preference, due to my son’s sudden desire to wake up with me. After some thought, I realized this would be a horrible idea. I have under 30 days left of P90X2 and then I’ll be focused on running for the month leading up to the Lincoln ½ Marathon. My runs will have to be in the morning since I can’t very well leave two sleeping kiddos alone in the house. In the mornings I can leave them in the care of my also sleeping husband, which is no different from leaving the three of them asleep when I leave for work every day. I imagine by body would hate me if I switched to evening workouts for under a month only to have to readjust to the 4:30am alarm. As it is I’m usually up before the dreaded alarm. (Side notes: we got a new alarm clock over the weekend and I haven’t heard it yet. Hoping it’s not too annoying. Hoping it’s set right.)

Another vote against evening workouts is my daughter’s sudden aversion to sleeping. The past two nights she’s been up approximately every hour. Something about teething, most likely. All I know is that a screaming child doesn’t make for good sleep, or the ability to do other things. There will always be challenges. Amazingly, my supplements and Shakeology have kept me remarkably awake.

Chest, Back, & Balance was fun this week. Numbers were about the same as last week but the challenge of balancing on various ball combinations was a lot of fun for me. Yay for being able to do things I used to think were crazy!

Day 61: New Challenges

Alright, I’m in the last 30 days now. And I’ve hit upon at least one new challenge: time of day for working out. As much as I hated the 4:30 alarm clock at the beginning I’ve grown used to it. Most days my body is awake before the alarm. And it’s nice to feel like I’ve accomplished something before I go to work. Plus, vegging in the evening once the kiddos are in bed is kind of nice… you know, after whatever housework needs to be done. But, these last three mornings my son has gotten up during my workout. And he’s pretty unhappy about going back to bed. Can’t have him up that early or he gets crabby before his nap time. If this continues I think I’ll need to flip workouts to after the kids’ bedtime. Ironically, this is when I wanted to work out in the first place. But now I don’t like the idea. And it’s more likely (though maybe not anymore) that I’ll have to pause and take breaks when the kids need me. I think I’ll see how next week goes and make a decision from there.

Weekend is coming up, traditionally when I’ve taken the sloth route. Going to try to (at very least) do the Recovery & Mobility DVD one day. I believe my hubby needs additional motivation to workout these days, so his workouts will take priority if only one of us has time… but if I can swing it… I plan on doing something. Maybe just eliminating couch time… if there is such a time.

And after all that blathering, there was a workout today. Yoga!! So glad I’m back to doing it! My arms are super sore from yesterday and that complicated vinyasas. But, by the end my muscles all felt stretchy and happy. No progress with Crane, but didn’t really lose the abilities from last week. Perhaps Crane pose is something I need to play with over the weekend.

Day 60: Mixed thoughts

Two thirds of the way there! It's been quite the trip. I feel like I've accomplished a lot but still have a way to go. For one, I need to work on food choices still. I know I'm getting the nutrition I need, but am also getting too many calories.

The thing I feel best about is how I'm improving with the workouts. The numbers aren't bad, but after seeing the 60 day pictures I'm a little less excited than I was earlier.

Anyhow, in the past 60 days I've lost over 12 lbs and 4% body fat. I'd love to step it up and finish with a total loss of 20 lbs. I guess that's up to me...

Day 1

Day 60

Day 1

Day 60

Day 59: Energy galore!

I had reservations about today. Plyocide the day after a three mile run? Especially when I haven’t run in ages? After a night when I was awoken twice by crying? …and yet, it worked!

I don’t know if it’s the double workout yesterday, the nutrition, the supplements, or Plyocide… but I feel amazing today!! Tons of energy. Yes, my legs are sore (mainly on stairs) and I couldn’t push myself as hard during Plyocide as I’ve been doing recently. But I honestly feel like little-kid-gitty. I had to stop and put gas in my car this morning; usually this is the one time I buy coffee (black with just a squirt of gas station cappuccino for flavor). Today the warmth of coffee sounded good but caffeine was the last thing I felt I needed. So, I got decaf. And my day has been filled with the buzz of healthy energy!

Day 58: What a day!

It was one of those nights where I finished my daughter’s nighttime feeding with 15 minutes to go before the alarm clock. After one snooze hit it was either get up or reset for 6am. Two days until pictures motivated me to get up. So glad that I did!

Today’s workout was Chest, Back, & Balance/ARX. The last two weeks I haven’t done this routine; one week I substituted and the other I took an extra day off. I justified this in part due to shoulder pain. Today I killed it! Shoulder felt more or less fine throughout… the only time I was really aware of it was during foam rolling when it felt good-sore.

Ab Ripper went well; I meant to notice the time on the clock when Tony says “half way” but never heard him say that. Guess I was too busy working out. My favorite move has become the tornado. Feel that so many places but I can keep up with the reps.

The pull-up numbers were the same or slightly less than last time. I believe this is in due to the fact that with my slightly rearranged schedule today was the second day in a row of back moves.

What felt great were the chest/balance parts. Most of my numbers were twice what they were the last time I did this workout. I was able to balance on all the various ball combinations. The hardest was the Impossible/Possible; took me forever to get balanced on that one, so I only got 1 push-up done… that was one more than last week. Push-up side plank went from 7 dropping to knees to 10 proper position. Looking forward to seeing how I can do next week!

Speaking of next week, I plan on staying in Phase 2 for one more week… then on to Phase 3.

 

And if all that wasn't enough to read (for you) or do (for me) it was a beautiful day and I got out for a 3 mile run. Two months until the 1/2 marathon...

Days 56-57: Motivation on a Monday

Taking weekends (or any two days in a row) off certainly has its disadvantages. Even with foam rolling on Saturday (which I did while watching a movie, so not sure the mentality was the same, though the feeling was fabulous) it felt like two days off. And that leads to “I could get used to this” and “it sure is easy to not workout.”

I actually got to bed at a decent time Sunday night, but was awoken for a 2am feeding that lasted longer than I anticipated. Luckily, my amazing husband took over when happy girl didn’t want to go back to sleep after eating. I guess she just wanted to sleep on the couch with Daddy, where I found them when the 4:30 alarm went off.

4:30am on a Monday: I turned off the alarm and reset for 6am, thinking “maybe my throat hurts a little” and “I didn’t sleep solidly.” But, after crawling back under the covers I thought “it’s kind of warm in here” and “my dreams haven’t been very good.” So, I got up and stood on the scale; this is a great trick: if the number is good “I’m making progress, better keep going” and if the number is bad “yikes, better step it up!” The number was good (I’ll talk about that on Day 60) so I decided to keep going. The prospect of Day 60 pictures doesn’t hurt motivation either. Next obstacle: an adorable daughter and husband asleep on the couch. Do I wake them? Or is it the nicer thing to let them sleep and crawl back into bed myself? But, I sat out everything for the workout the night before so if I didn’t use it I’d still have to put it away. Happily, the girl was in a deep sleep so moving her to the crib didn’t wake her. And the husband didn’t complain about relocating to sleep in bed.

Another bonus on a Monday morning: I love the Base & Back routine. Part of what I love is that it kills me. For the second week in a row I used the pre-workout E&E drink and my numbers were great. In all but one move I was at or better than last week. Course, I didn’t stop sweating until Ab Ripper was done and often it was all I could do to catch my breath between moves. I kind of like that feeling: Going all out!

A funny thing I’ve noticed about Ab Ripper: When Tony says “halfway done” I think “that’s it? This has been going on forever!” But when he says “last one” I think “Wow, that went quick.” I wonder if his counting is off or if I just really prefer the moves in the second half.

Days 53-55: Five days until the next pictures!

Day 53 was Shoulders & Arms/ARX. Still loving that one. The repetitions and improvements make it a weekly favorite. Awesome to continue to see numbers increase. Though I'm weekly reminded that it might be nice to have a set of 8lb weights. An maybe a 12lb set. Sometimes 5lb is just too light, but 10 too heavy. Other times 10 isn't enough! Ab Ripper is still a challenge, but now that I'm fitting it in on a regular basis I am seeing progress.

Day 54 was Yoga... and I did Crane pose. Multiple times! I mean, I never held it for more than 3 seconds, but I would tap down and go back up for another 1-3 seconds. It was pretty awesome to feel the correct balance and know that with continued practice I should be able to hold crane for significant time. Makes me wish I hadn't skipped yoga so many times at the beginning of this journey. Ah well, can't go back in time.

Day 55 I rested... and foam rolled. Shoulders are still sore from day 53 and yoga vinyasas compounded the aches on day 54. Foam rolling was glorious.

Days 51 & 52: After the Bad shall come the Good

Well, Day 51 was a bust. I was supposed to do Chest, Back, & Balance. I’ve found that due to shoulder pain this is the hardest workout to complete. This week I was determined to just focus on holding plank during push up sequences. Balancing plank on various balls should be a significant challenge in itself. Instead the kiddos didn’t sleep the night before. With broken up sleep that wasn’t very good I decided the extra 1 ½ before the 6am alarm was more beneficial than working out. Then, as the night continued to not go as I would hope, I decided I just needed to use a sick day to stay with the kiddos. Two teething kiddos and a hubby who got less sleep than me isn’t the ideal household. So, I stayed with them. Kiddos were cranky on and off. When it came to bedtime they both went to bed surprisingly well. I thought about working out then, but there was a raging storm outside and I wasn’t confident that they would both remain asleep. So, I crawled into bed expecting that they would wake me.

Minus one feeding, I wasn’t awoken until the alarm at 4:30. Thus begins Day 52. Plyocide: the shortest 54 minutes ever. Love this routine. Another day of pre-workout drink, post-workout drink, and Shakeology… leads to a pretty awake and productive day. And I’ve discovered that the Tropical Shakeology is pretty awesome with a whole banana and ½ cup blueberries. Yummy and filling.

Days 48-50: Rearranging Rest Days

It’s looking like my two rest days per week are going to evolve into my weekends. They’re not supposed to be back to back. But these last two weekends my workouts just haven’t happened. Weekends have been full and fun and an amazing family time. These are the reasons I’m working out to begin with; so I’ll feel good about myself and be able to enjoy time with my family. Perhaps it is fitting that I enjoy weekends and workout Mon-Fri. That being said, I could use some more foam rolling time somewhere.

Anyhow, last week I did my five P90X2 workouts Mon-Fri and it appears that I will be doing the same thing this week. Today I did Base & Back with Ab Ripper X2.

Base & Back is a great one to push limits on. And my numbers were several reps higher than last time. Love seeing the improvements in numbers.

Ab Ripper is slowly becoming more doable for me. I again used the kids’ play mat and liked that better this time. Over the weekend I noticed that my stomach is starting to get some definition when I flex it; that’s going to work as good motivation to improve my eating. I like where things are heading, but won’t see the full effect unless I’m getting the right nutrition to fuel my body.

Speaking of fuel for the body: This morning was one of those funny mornings where I woke up super tired and downed my Pre-workout E&E drink. Exhausted afterward, I chugged a post-workout R&R drink. Got ready for work and had my Tropical Shakeology with a banana for breakfast as I left the house. Probably plenty of supplements for the first two hours of my day but the awesome thing is that at no point today did I feel any need for coffee. I’d rather be feeding my body nutrients than caffeine any day.

Days 46-47: Shoulders & Arms, Yoga X

Two good days.

Once again I found myself with a lot to do in the morning so, despite the shortness of Shoulders & Arms, I didn’t have time for Ab Ripper. Then the night involved lots of crying/screaming from the children and it didn’t happen at night. But, the Shoulders & Arms workout felt great and saw many improvements. One thing I find odd with this workout is that it seems like the people in the video don’t really use very heavy weights for what I assume they could do. The lady in particular uses the same weight or less than me… and my arms sure don’t look like hers. But, I suppose if I were on camera I wouldn’t necessarily push myself as hard with weight and may focus more on form.

I finally did Yoga! This is one disk I need to improve at doing. Since I went to bed at the same time as the kiddos last night 4:30 didn’t feel terribly early and I got up for yoga. During the first forward bend I realized how much my body needs this! So stiff. By the end my body was all bendy and happy. Should be good motivation to push play again next Friday for Yoga.

I was also happy this morning that our Shakeology Tropical showed up. It was great to have a filling and healthy breakfast; not to mention how quick it is to made. Tasty flavor, though I didn’t get the consistency I wanted. I found it a little grainier than the Chocolate or Greenberry. Apparently it is less grainy than other vegan options; the paperwork says so. Chalk that up as a reason I’m not a vegan. I added frozen blueberries this morning but skipped ice and the shake was less thick that I would have liked. I think more ice and possibly banana would change the texture for me. I like the flavor a lot, so I’ll keep experimenting.

Chocolate will probably remain my favorite, with many options for additives. Love it with peanut butter or cold coffee or berries or bananas or… well, you get the idea. What doesn’t go with chocolate?

Day 45: Halfway!!

Huh, that halfway thing kind of snuck up on me! Good motivation to keep moving forward.

Due in part to the lazy weekend I decided to do V-Sculpt and Ab Ripper today instead of Recovery & Mobility. I liked it. V-Sculpt was not a favorite when I did the One on One series but today’s workout had some pretty interesting moves. I especially liked the various bicep curls while in plank on a medicine ball. It was nice to have some plank moves that didn’t involve push-ups and, therefore, didn’t hurt my shoulder.

Ab Ripper X2 is still kicking my butt every time I do it. Some moves are getting easier. And some are dependent on if I roll funny on my lower back. I once tried doing it on the kids’ gymnastic mat. At the time I thought that was too cushy but I’m starting to think that I need to try using that again. I’ve decided that one thing I really prefer about the original Ab Ripper is that it ends with a powerful push-out-50-reps move. This one ends with a slow move and, in general, focuses more on slow controlled moves. Maybe I don’t like that because it’s harder…

Days 40 – 44: Getting back on track after a disappointing weekend

I don’t know what my deal was this weekend but I could not find motivation. There were moments that I wanted nothing more to workout, but those seemed to be at times when I couldn’t feasibly do so. Times when I could’ve been working out it was the last thing I wanted to do. Ideally my husband and I would have encouraged each other to make wise choices and workout, eat well, etc. Instead it seemed that we did the opposite. The problem with peer support is that it can morph into peer pressure.

Regardless, I got back on track on Monday. I did the Base & Back/ARX2 routine, since I had missed that and it is one that I love. Had the E&E pre-workout drink and the R&R post-workout drink. I think both really helped. I was able to really push myself and didn’t feel the soreness I was expecting this morning. That being said, there’s a reason that Base & Back isn’t the day before Plyocide. I neglected the R&R drink today and I may regret that later. I did feel like I was able to do more today than I have in the past, so that was nice.

My core is definitely feeling the Ab Ripper. Hopefully between that and the various cardio/plyo routines I’ll get some killer results.

Tomorrow I think I’ll try the V-Sculpt bonus disc. I’ve done it before and found it to be quite the workout. Seems like it will be a good one for building some additional muscle in my shoulder without the pain I experience doing push-ups.

Day 39: Shoulders & Arms/ARX2

I love that this routine is short and doesn’t result in a ton of sweat. Not to imply that it’s easy. My arms will be feeling this for the rest of the day. And I continue to enjoy that this routine causes zero shoulder pain while presumably building the muscles that I need to strengthen in that region.

It was another lovely morning where I had time to do Ab Ripper after the main workout. My abs are still sore from Tuesday so tomorrow should be really interesting. It’s funny that I don’t feel like I’ve been able to push as hard as I would like this week, yet my body is feeling the workouts more in next-day I worked out soreness. This could be due to not having the Recovery Drink currently. Or perhaps my body is still getting over the cold. Or a combo of both.

One thing that hasn’t been doing great is eating right. At the start of my cold I didn’t think anything tasted good so I was eating less. That was good. Now my mouth constantly tastes like phlegm unless I’ve got some other flavor going into it… so I find myself snacking a lot to keep the ick mouth at bay. At work I drink a ton of hot tea, so that helps some too. I just need to not give into the desire to have popcorn, chips, etc. On a plus side, since I’ve been munching too much most of those bad for me snacks are gone or in short supply.

A cool thing for our eating habits is that we got those cookbooks from the library where you put purees in things to sneak in veggies. So, we’ve been eating more veggies in that manner and our son seems to like the foods that has resulted in. Plus, it’s always fun to try new recipes.