Monday Monday!

One week down, 11 more to go! I feel great after a good week of workouts and fun weekend without the use of alcohol. I was able to eat right all weekend but did have my 'cheat' meal on Sunday, my day off.  I have chest and back tonight again so I am trying to pump myself up for one hour of grueling push ups and pull ups. After that routine is done I have the Ab Ripper X to do as well. Should be a good night:) I hope to have enough energy after that to go for 10 miles bike ride this evening.

It's Friday!!!!

Boy am I glad that it is Friday.  P90X has had me beat all week. All in a all I think it has been a good week though. I have legs and back today and I am leaving work around 3PM to get it done. I struggled with Yoga yesterday and had to switch over to cardio x. I was able to do the Yoga moves(probably not perfect) but I don't yet have the endurance to keep up with long routines. Wow. Yoga can really get your muscles twitching and your racing thats for sure!

One thing is for sure. I feel better this week than I have in a while. No smoking, no caffeine, healthy diet and hardcore workouts! Feels great. It really keeps me motivated to stay on track.

With the weekend here I am going to have a couple of beers, do my core x tomorrow and enjoy my Sunday off.

Day 3 Complete - Soreness to follow

Ouch!! That is about all I can say. Tonight was Shoulders and Back. More of a lifting/strengthining routine than a cardio/plyo workout. I was thinking that maybe I was going to get a bit of break for tonight but as soon as I started I could see that I was wrong!!! Even when the workouts consist of weight lifting you are still getting a cardio workout. All of the routine are one right after another with a short 30 second break every 10 minutes or so.  Tony (Trainer) has you sweating just in the warm-up, so you can imagine how the actual workout is. I have stayed on track with my diet to a T. I have actually came in under my target calorie intake of 2000/day so I need to ramp that up a bit. My fitness goal was to slim down and the programs calls for 2500-2700 calories but I dropped it down to help with the slim down. I am thinking that I have to crank it up a bit because I have had no energy the past fews days.  It is probably going to take me a couple weeks to find that magic number.

I have promised myself that I am only going to weigh myself every other week. I am doing this because I don't want to be chasing my weight.  In the past when I begin a steady workout routine I am checking the scale every other day which can be discouraging.  I will focus on the diet and exercise and let the rest come with time.

I did a LOT of research on this program prior to and after I started the program. I continue to read about it daily. One common misconception that I have seen is that you are going to dramatically drop weight the first couple weeks.  The program tells you that this will most likely not happen. This is an extreme workout and people who are not used to it (such as myself) your body goes into recovery/shock mode. It recruits all the water is can to repair your damaged muscle which will result in a few extra pounds on the scale. After your body catches up to you you will start to shed the pounds. That is what I am looking forward to!!

Day 2: Plyometrics

I can definetly tell that this program is what it says it is. I never know what to expect and it is a great workout!!! I haven't had that kind of workout since HS basketball! I can tell that Plyo will be one of favorite routines. It is hard, but my lower body is my strong point so it makes itfun. Especially when I can almost keep up with everyone on the first day:)  I am sure that I will be unable to walk tomorrow becuase of it though. I think I may have pushed a little hard. Well, I going to make some high protien supper and relax. With my whole body now sore tomorrow should be interesting.

Day 1 Workout

WOW!!! I knew that it would be tough but that was crazy. There was now way that I was keeping up the trainers! The Chest and Back along with Ab ripper took about 1hr 20min to complete. I am really sore today but looking forward to the next workout!

Day 1: Healthy Eating - Chest and Back

Well today is the first day and I am really excited to dedicate my time to this program. There is so much to learn when talking about diet, appropriate caloric intake, recovery, sleep, aahhh!!! Some of the tasks can be daunting but I have come up with a good plan. I used the P90X custom meal plan to create a meal plan that fit my likes in the food department. After all, I am a picky eater. I am on the slim down (lean) plan that consists of 50% Protein, 30% Carb, 20% Fat. The meals they suggest are great. They tell you what you can eat and the program will even print off a grocery list for you.

I plan on having all my workouts after work between 6-7PM. I will have my high protein meal directly after my workout to maximize my muscle recovery. After looking through the posts online about the first week, I am going to be really sore.

First Day Meal Plan:

I am not going to post every meal I have, but I will post a few to give an idea of what it consists of.

Breakfast:

7:00 am

Bran Cereal 1 1/2 Cup

1 Cup Orange Juice

Snack:

10:00 am

1 1/2 Cup Celery

4 Tbps Peanut Butter

Lunch:

12:00pm

4 Oz. Turkey Ham

2 Lettuce Leaves

2 Slices Tomato

Onion

2 Slices Whole Grain Bread

Snack:

3:00pm

1 Orange

Walnuts

Workout: 6:00PM - Chest and Back 65 Minutes

Supper:

7:00pm

4 Oz. Peppered Salmon

Romain Lettuce

Tomato

Italian Dressing

Asparagus

My Challenge

Well here I go! My P90X program arrived last week. Starting with a solid plan and knowledge of what I am getting into is key for me. I want to be able to read through the material, develop a diet plan, and workout plan. I need a good, organized structure to be successful.


Getting back into shape, eating healthy and increasing my overall quality of life is my ultimate goal.

To reach this goal I will have to first attain my intermediate goals. These include no smoking, cutting out caffine, eating correctly and staying motivited. If I can do that I think I can attain my main goal.

Intermediate Goals - Quit Smoking, Healthy Diet, Consistency
Over the past several years I have been an on and off smoker. I smoke the most when I drink but I tend to also have my "Routine" cigarettes. I have quit a few times cold turkey but haven't stayed consistent. As everyone knows that when you quit smoking people usually put on a few pounds. I think this is because you tend to look towards food when you want a cigarette. I wanted this to be one of my intermediate goals during my P90X Challenge.

Eating healthly is something that I have always had a tough time doing. When I was younger (12-18) I could basically eat anything I wanted. I was active in sports 6 days a week and didn't ever touch alcohol. During my college days of partying and eating like a pig it really made quick work of my metabolism. I wanted to get on a track of healthy meals and also have the occasional "treat" meal. Along with eating healthy is my caffine and soda intake. I usually have 1-2 a day at work and this just needs to end. It is the worst thing I can do while sitting at my desk at work.

I have always been told that it takes 12 weeks to "re-train" your metabolism to work efficiently. This includes good excericise and proper eating. My goal of consistency will hopefully be fulfilled with the help of P90X transforming my workout and diet plan. I am looking forward to working hard and seeing some results.

In the past, having the satisfaction of a good workout felt so good that I would stay on it for a couple of weeks but eventually I would taper off. I want to create a plan that fits my lifestyle and that gives me the most opportunity to succeed. So far from my reading of the P90X program you have that flexibility. I watched the first half of the Chest anf Back routing which will happen on my first day and it looks hard!!! But I love a challenge!


Check back for more updates. I will be putting my workout plan, "before" images, and overall progess here including updates.