Days 19 - 21

I had my 3rd consecutive bad weekend of eating and exercising.

Day 19
I spent most of the day at a conference, which meant I was sedentary the entire time.  I had hoped to go for a run in the evening, but the weather didn't cooperate.  My food intake was alright, until the evening when I attended a banquet that featured cheesecake.  At least I had no dressing on the salad or butter on the bread!  I didn't sleep much that night, which is never good when striving for balance and wellness.

Day 20
Another day of sitting and traveling.  I ate at *gasp* McDonald's for breakfast and Texas Roadhouse for lunch.  The food I chose was reasonable, but by no means uber-healthy.  I ate graduation party food in the evening which was delicious, but included even more red meat.  Instead of exercising, I poured myself a stiff drink and stayed up until 3:00 a.m.

Day 21
Having received the gift of sleeping in, I responded by eating three donuts around noon and a few chocolate chip cookies in the afternoon.  At least I got some exercise in the form of a 12-mile bike ride with my children in 25 mph wind.  In the evening I played basketball and kick-ball, which was fun.  Sadly, I chose to eat a frozen pizza for a late-night supper.

The goal for the week ahead is to have six consecutive good days, which would be 1-2 more days than each of the three previous weeks.

Day 18

Yoga X.

I chose to end the day with yoga, mainly because I was up super late the night before and didn't want to fall asleep or pass out with an early start to the day.  Doing yoga at night was a good way to bring my mind and body into focus.  I think I sweat more during yoga than any of the other workouts.  Holding the various poses for an extended period of time, especially the balancing ones, is really hard.  From my perspective, anyone who think yoga is easy hasn't done yoga.  I still sucked at the crane position (among others) but found myself less confused with the nomenclature - downward dog, warrior 2, child's pose, etc. - than the first time I did yoga.

I'm learning to like the oms at the end.  I like how Tony puts it, "it's not a cult or a religion, it's just oms."  90 minutes of yoga makes me extremely flexible and tired.

Prior to the workout, my family went on a six-mile bike ride.  We have a trailer bike that my four-year old son rides with me.  My bike seat got loose and wouldn't hold its position, so I had to ride about two miles standing up.  This was awkward with the trailer bike, but it really worked my calves and quads.

All in all, it was a solid day.  I ate two hamburgers for supper at an open house event at the local police station.  I refrained from cheese, chips, soda, and dessert; opting instead for baked beans and water.  Other than that, I had another good day of eating.

I leave for a two-day conference tomorrow.  I think I'm going to try going for a run instead of doing the legs and back workout.  Maybe I can do that workout the following day instead of Kenpo X.  Or something like that.

Day 17

Shoulders & Arms.

Feeling spry, I decided to increase weight and decrease reps for this round of shoulders and arms.  It was fun to see enhanced strength and stamina over the last two weeks.  Lest I get carried away, it's important to remember that I'm still outrageously out-of-shape.  However, it was rewarding to be able to increase intensity and not have to quit halfway through the workout.

I also completed the 18-minute ab workout after the 60-minute shoulders and arms routine.  I'm still taking more breaks than I should, but I'm sensing some improvement here as well.  My "core" is pretty flabby.  I'm feeling these exercises in my hip flexors as much as in my abdominals.  Tony (the buff dude on the DVD) says that's normal.  Or something...

Eating was good-but-not-great today.  I'm a huge cereal eater, so I've cut back to only one bowl a day (down from 4-5) and only eat cereals that are high in fiber and protein.  In related news, they also taste like twigs and leaves.  I ate at Chipotle, my favorite place for lunch, and had a chicken burrito with rice, beans, and grilled veggies.  Not an ultra-healthy choice, but I refrained from sour cream, cheese, soda, or chips.  I continued to keep my water intake high and munch on fruits and veggies throughout the day.

Truth be told, my entire body is freaking sore!  I also feel like I'm not getting enough sleep at night, so I'm dragging my feet during the 2nd half of each day.  Perhaps my body is still adjusting to caffeine withdrawal.  Man, what I wouldn't give for a cup of coffee or a Mountain Dew.

Last night I had a friend tell me I looked "skinnier and younger," which was very kind and may help fuel me through these next few days.  I'm not necessarily noticing any physical improvement, aside from feeling more fit in general.  Part of me is wishing I would have taken some before pictures for comparison purposes...but I fear that would distract from my overall goals.  I'm not trying to have an ultra-ripped body or anything.  I want my p90x experience to kick-start me into a healthier, more balanced lifestyle.

So far, I think it's accomplishing that task.

Day 16

Plyometrics.

I really noticed an improvement in my "performance" today.  I was able to stay with each of the elements for the entire time.  My legs aren't bent as much as they should be in the squats, and I'm not jumping super high...but I felt strong throughout.  Tony (the buff dude on the video) recommends a heart-rate monitor to make sure you're in the target zone.  I don't have one, so I took my pulse a few times and was around 160-170.  According to this handy calorie calculator, I burned over 1,200 calories during the workout.

Today I was reminded of the importance of warm-up and cool-down.  I was short on time and was tempted to just jump right into the workout.  However, I'm glad I didn't skip out on these aspects of the workout.  I'm told there's a difference between "soreness" and "pain", and I think the difference is warming up and cooling down.

I was, once again, joined by my children at various points in the workout.  Evan (4) especially enjoyed the squat jacks.  This was also my first workout wearing eyeglasses.  It was a little cumbersome having something on my face and annoying when sweat would drip down the lenses.  I guess it's the price I pay for ocular care.

Until tomorrow...

Day 15

Chest & Back.

It was nice to get back into the groove today.  I ate relatively healthy foods (including abstaining from coffee and soda) and completed the entire workout, including Ab Ripper X.  The only frustration was that my old, crappy resistance bands snapped in half during the second round of exercises.  It wasn't pretty, but I made it through.

It's odd to think that I won't be doing this exact workout for another six weeks.  I feel like I was finally starting to get the hang of it (the only notable exception is the Dive Bomber Push Ups...I still suck at those!).  I'm a little nervous because I did today's workout in the evening and tomorrow's workout will come only 12 hour later.  I'm also experiencing some pain in the ball of my left foot, which could be problematic with tomorrow's workout.

Days 9 - 14

What a week.  

Day 9 was great.  I completed the Plyometrics workout with only a few modifications.  My legs killed...I was sufficiently dizzy...yet I made it through.  I've discovered that (at this point) I can't do any quick pivots or turns without getting serious vertigo.  Ever since The Great Tilt-a-Whirl Incident of 1986, I've not been able to handle spinning around in circles.  I've noticed that when I try to do twists and spins it usually results in me wanting to puke.  Lesson learned.

Day 10 ended strong with an evening round of Shoulders & Arms.  My kids (8, 6, and 4) watched me during the last half, and we even did a few of the cool down stretches together.  I'm glad to see that they are curious about their dad's new exercise routine, even if I look a little ridiculous at times.  This was also the first day of doing Ab Ripper X.  Needless to say, as a fat guy, these were pretty rough.  Having the kids down there was good motivation.  I want my children to know that health and wellness are important.  So far, I've been a pretty rotten example of those virtues. 

Day 11 was the beginning of the end for me.  My good friend's bachelor party consumed most of the day.  My eating was great throughout most of the day.  We played disc golf at a rather hilly course the entire afternoon, which burned some calories and gave my legs a good stretch.  I figured this was an acceptable substitute for Yoga X.  However, at night, all hell broke loose.  A Philly cheese steak with fries and copious amounts of beer rounded out the evening.  Not pretty.

Day 12 was a recovery day -- not from the workouts, but from the night before.  Lots of intermittent napping, water, and a frozen pizza filled my day.  I walked a few miles in the evening, which felt good, even though my dog was dragging me into tick-infested wooded areas.  As a result of the screwed up sleep schedule, I didn't sleep well at night.  No p90x workout...again.

Day 13 was my friend's wedding.  My eating was good throughout the morning and afternoon, even choosing a Lean Cuisine for lunch.  Once again, the evening wasn't so good.  The food at the reception was delicious, and I made sure I ate my fill (including an outrageously decadent cupcake).  A few glasses of wine alleviated my guilt, but only temporarily.  

Day 14 was by far the worst.  Not only did I neglect to do a workout, I drank a can of soda, ate pizza for lunch, and even indulged an enormous supper at McDonald's.  In other words, this was like almost every other Sunday in the last few years.  Indulgent eating on-the-go in the midst of job-related stress.  The only good thing about it was, unlike previous years, my body and my conscience rejected this.  Much like my severe headache on Day 1, I hope that what I felt at the end of Day 14 will motivate me to be in a healthier place in the days ahead.

Moving into Week 3, I feel like I really have a chance at committing to the workouts and healthy eating. I am traveling at the end of the week, but I don't have many late-night or early-morning meetings until then.  Hopefully wellness and balance will reign this week.

Day 8

Chest & Back.

This is the first day of week 2, which means a chance to compare "performance" from a week ago.  Generally, I improved in what I was able to accomplish.  I doubled the strength of the resistance bands used for the pull-up portions.  I increased reps on the push-up variations and even did a few that weren't from my knees.  Unfortunately, I because dizzy and nauseous at the very end, so I was unable to complete the final three elements.  This made me more angry than anything; whereas last week I discouraged and disappointed.  I had hoped to start doing the Ab Ripper X exercises this week, but I didn't want to puke.

I was supposed to golf with a friend last Monday evening.  I had to cancel due to dehydration and migraine headaches.  Fortunately, I was able to play today instead.  My range of motion was stiff, but I beat the crap out of the ball, which was fun.  I even had enough energy to come home and plant some flowers, pick up the yard, and clean the garage.  Though I'm far from where I need to be, it's nice to have days like today where I feel a small sense of progress.

Until tomorrow...