P90X - Day 54 - Core Synergistics

Oh yeah.

Intensity?? : FOUND IT!
Sweat?? : LOST IT!
Belly?? : HAD to have lost MORE of it last night!!
Puke??: Sorry Jeremy. Not yet. But close! :O)

WOW! What a workout!! Alana and I seemed to "bring it" more that usual last night. I think both of us are trying to prepare for the weekend. We have two big "get togethers" this weekend. One Saturday night (Spaghetti and wine), and one Sunday night (7 course dinner, with a different wine served with each course!!). The Sunday night gig is actually for Alana's birthday. The owner of some "fancy shmancy" restaurant here in Denver, is actually closing the store just for us and about 5 other couples! Should be a lot of fun, although I'm a little worried about how many calories are in wine!! I'll have to look it up. Don't think I'll be drinking as much as everyone else, as Alana and I are both NOT very good drinkers (which I guess is a good thing!). Not to mention, I don't want to kill any progress I've made so far! 60 day pics are coming soon!! I'm hoping to be able to actually post them this time!

Branson's: I hope the "kick off" service goes well for you guys! Prayers going up!!

P90X - Day 53 - Stretch X

AHhhhhhhhhh! Just breathe.....

This is such a nice workout (yes workout). It will really stretch you in places where you wouldn't normally stretch! I can't believe I've only done this workout a few times! Yes. It still takes about an hour of your time, but man is it ever worth it! Not a whole lot more I can say about this DVD, other than "do it!"....

Headed back to Core Synergistics tonight. Hopefully the intensity is a little more "up" than it has been over the last few nights!

P90X - Day 52 - KenpoX

What more can I keep saying about Kenpo?? It's an awesome workout!! Although....last night I seemed to have lost some of my intensity. Don't know what happened, but I barely even sweat!! Still, I love the kicking, punching and blocking! I actually think the intensity was up on a few of my punches. But the kicks were a little weak. My knee has been bothering me for a couple of days (probably thanks to paintball!), and it was actually hurting pretty good, so I didn't want to take any chances screwing it up! Yeah...sometimes I actually feel like I'm 41 years old! Weird huh?

P90X - Day 51 - Rest X!!

OK. I have to say "Rest X", so that I feel I can count it as an actual day....

Let me start with my laundry list of excuses: rewind...Sunday had a grueling day of paintballing. Sunday night Kiera (my daughter) did not sleep at all, which we found out Monday morning, was due to an ear infection. Alana did not sleep at all Sunday night either. I slept probably a couple of hours. After a long day of work Monday, I had all intentions of trying to squeeze in the "Stretch X" DVD before bed. However, I had to take 2 boys to Basketball practice, from 7:30 - 8:30, and I didn't get home until after 9PM. AND...at the end of practice, the boys' coach said that if this one kid made 2 free throws, he would make all of the parents run the "suicide runs" at the end of practice instead of the kids! Yeah. He made em' (the little brat!). Alana was already asleep when I got home, and I opted for the same, because I knew that I had to get up early for our Tuesday morning men's group at my house...

Sooooo....(mental note)....with such a long laundry list of excuses, is that laundry still covering my washboard abs?? Yup. Hmmmmmm.....

Not sure what tonight's workout is, but rest assured, I'm gonna bring it!!!

P90X - Day 50 - Core Synergistics

Oh yeah....this is a good one! Having just done Cardio X last night, a lot of the moves were repetitive, but we didn't care. We sweat through the whole thing tonight! I keep thinking to myself, this is the week for the body to change again...I keep visualizing those 60 day pictures, and what I want them to look like. And the only way to come close to those visualizations?? BRING IT ALL WEEK!!! I'm getting better with the "superman". I remember the first time I tried, I don't think my arms would ever come off the ground! I do have a question though...ummmm...guys doing the "bow" (before "boat")....ummmm, how do I say this...doesn't it kinda hurt, well...you know where??? Ouch! Kinda takes away from the exercise a bit...so, if anyone has any suggestions.....

Bransons: Your church is definitely on my prayer list (along with you guys). God bless you guys for all of the hard work you put in towards building up His Kingdom!

P90X - Day 49 - CardioX

Well, today is day 1 of the "rest week" for us. We opted for the Cardio X workout, instead of the 1 1/2 long yoga. Believe it or not, I wanted to do the yoga workout, but it was Alana who talked me out of it! Go figure! She's REALLY enjoying that Cardio X workout! This week we'll be mixing it up a bit, as or schedules aren't really going to be that cooperative with our workouts...I saw most of my changes after the last rest week we did, so I'm even more stoked to get this one out of the way! After all, 60 day pics aren't that far off!! I'm headed out paintballing today for the first time in a L-O-N-G time, but I'm looking forward (this time) to be the one running all over the field, instead of the guy in the back, who can't breathe, saying "I'll bring up the rear guys...go ahead!"...not this time. I feel more like Rambo now! :O)

Although I'm not sure how my Core Synergistics will go tonight after a hard day of paintballing! We'll see!!

P90X - Day 48 - KenpoX

LOVE this workout! I would have hated to be the 'air' in front of me, 'cuz I beat the crap out of it! Intensity is still up. Alana is still hanging right along with me. I still have trouble keeping up with the speed at which those guys in the DVD do the exercises, but still sweat like a pig (or a heavy hippo!)...

We're getting ready to start the rest week (yeah, right!), of Phase 2!!! I think we're gonna pass on the rest day today and jump right into the rest week today. Our schedule is gonna be a bit 'wacky' jacked up this week, so we may be taking a 'rest day' on Monday! Jeremy, I'm gonna need your help keeping my days straight! You know how I am with counting and all... :O)

Keep "bringin' it" guys! HIIIIIIIII-YAH!

A little P90X motivation for today!

P90X - Day 47 - Legs, Back & AbRipper X

Man. I don't know if it's because we're half way with this or what, but the intensity has definitely gone up! For every exercise that required weight, I increased the weight by 5lbs! Every pull up exercise was increased by at least one pull up! GREAT workout (as Drea would say!)...Finally hit 25 reps on everything that required 25, still with the exception of Pfifer Scissors and V-up roll ups (...mmmm....sounds like some kind of fruit snack.....). Not a whole lot to say today, busy day at work...Looking forward to Kenpo tonight!!! :O)

P90X - Day 46 - CardioX

WOW. What an improvement over the 1 1/2 hour Yoga workout! At first, I was a little skeptical. What, with the workout only being about 40 minutes?? How's that gonna be a "P90-X!" workout?? I looked up and before I knew it, there was only 15 minutes left!! And I was sweating my butt off! Literally! I looked down and there was my butt. Lying right there in the floor!! I was hoping that it would've been my stomach I was burning off, but I'm pretty sure my stomach was in my mouth! I was so tired after finishing this workout, all I could do was sit on the couch. I'm pretty sure I was still breathing, at least I don't remember any sirens or anything! Alana (as usual with the Cardio stuff) blew me away. During the "steam engines", I think she was doing better than the dudes and dude-ette, on the DVD!

I've never been a "cardio" guy, but I really love this workout! A bit of yoga. A bit of Kenpo. A bit of Plyo. And a bit of Core! LOVED it! Thanks for the tip Jeremy!

And for my cousin, Jared: If you're reading this. Quit thinking about doing P90X, and just do it!

P90X - Day 45 - Back, Biceps and ABripperX!!

OOOOH-YEAH!! Thanks to Jeremy's post; last night? I B-R-O-U-G-H-T it!! Upped the weight on everything I did last night! I even set in my mind: However many pull ups I did last week: ADD ONE MORE! My arms and back were so tight afterwards, I wasn't sure how in the world I was even gonna do the abs! But I did. Didn't quite make 25 on every exercise, but I did on most! Still can't get my legs to work with me, doing the "Pfifer Scissors". Also petered out during the "V-up roll ups". Alana has been doing better at the "Oblique sit ups", but last night I faced her while doing them so that I could match her one-for-one (although we still only hit 20 of them)! I'm used to working out w/35lb dumbbells on the curls (during my normal workout routines), but last night I made it through the P90X version using my 25 pounders! WOO-HOO! Feel great today too! No rotator cuff problems (which I was very afraid of) either! Can't wait to try Cardio X tonight for the first time!

P90X - Day 44 - Plyo

OK. I don't think I will E-V-E-R learn to like this workout. I was feeling pretty good last night, but still can't hang with those guys in the DVD! Alana, once again, looked like friggin' Bambi, bouncing over the creek, doing the "gap jumps". While I, on the other hand, was filling the creek with sweat!! All the while sucking so much wind, the room seemed to be getting smaller. In fact, I sweat so darn much last night, I thought I'd hop on the scale this morning.....drum roll please....started at 205....now down to 191.5!! THAT has made my day! As frustrated as I was that the weight wasn't coming off, when it started, it really started! Almost half way, and now the results are starting to show. "Makes me happy", as Tony would say. I have to say, I have cut my calories back from what the P90X program recommends. They say I should consume 3000 cals a day! I've been averaging 2400-2600. I still seem to not be hungry, and have enough energy for the workouts at the end of the day. Phase 3 is coming quicker than I expected, so I guess I need to read up and see what kind of changes are coming nutritionally...

Branson's: GREAT JOB! You're half way there already! Jeremy...I can't believe you were keeping up with "frog boy" on the Plyo!!! I kept thinking of what you wrote, and saying in my head: Come on! Jeremy did it! Keep up with the frog boy!! Unfortunately, that was my mind. My body had a different idea. Like: Dude...you're working sooo hard! You deserve a nice peanut butter chip cookie sitting over there in your kitchen!! No. I didn't do it...but I still can't keep up with "frog boy"! Heck with Plyo, I'm just trying to keep up with the "one-legged" guy!!

P90X - Day 43 - Chect, shoulders, triceps & ARX!

Back at it! Ohhhhhh does it ever feel good! I'm getting caught up here at "Day 43", even though technically I missed a day, but should be right on track with the "day" and "exercise" (correct me if I'm wrong Jeremy!). Speaking of Jeremy, I hear that you did "plyo" push ups, dude!! THAT motivated me last night to give 'em a try...I did 6 before falling on my face! But hey, it's a start!! Thanks for the motivation buddy! Shoulder is still acting up. It's actually waking me up at night now (from the pain)....I wonder if that's a bad thing?? Anyway, I'll keep pushing through with that...I'm sure my doctor would say "It's probably not a good idea to workout so hard". Right.

Alana is trying NOT to get whatever sickness I just recovered from. So she opted for sleep last night, rather than working out. However, I just called home this morning, and she's doing the workout now!! Way to go sweetie!!! Although, I hope she doesn't think she'll get out of it tonight. :O)

Thanks again for all of the motivation, Branson's! Headed over to check out your blogs now!!

P90X - Sick Day (No More!)

OK, so I got sick. Done now.

We considered last Wednesday our "rest night", thinking I would feel up to a workout on Thursday night. I didn't. So Alana went ahead and did the Cardio X workout. I was pretty bummed to miss this one, as I too (Jeremy) really want this belly to flatten out a bit! I'm pretty sure I can feel those "washboard abs" of mine. They just seem to be buryied under a few loads of laundry still!

I managed to get in the Legs & Back workout. Sucking all that wind aggravated my cough, and I had to skip a couple of the exercises, but I made it through! I had to skip a few of the Ab exercises as well at the end. Noah (our 7 yr old), did a lot of the workout with us. He's actually pretty good at all of the Ab exercises!!

Then yesterday, Alana and I (along with Noah and Kiera, our 3 yr old daughter!), did the Kenpo X! Noah is really into the whole "physical fitness" thing. That makes me happy.

Made it through the Kenpo with only a few "coughing" spells, but overall had a pretty god workout! Although, Tony and the "kids" seemed to be moving at an unbelievably fast pace this time! ???

So. To get caught up: tonight is Chest, Shoulders and Triceps (Day 42??)...time to "Bring it" again!!!! WOOO-HOOOO!

P90X - Sick Day (grrrr)

OK. I'm sick. Ran a temp of 102 through most of the night. Did not get the Cardio X workout in last night (grrrrr). Not feeling in the best of spirits right now. I'm not thinking at this point I'll get tonight's workout in either! Alana is being very supportive. She knows how upset I am, after putting in all of this hard work with the P90X program, now to have this set back...(grrrrr). And doctors?? I sometimes (more often than not) wonder why they make so much money...is it just so that they can pay back all of the loans for school?? Don't get me wrong. I like my doctor. But the diagnosis? Possibly the Flu. Or, possibly bronchitis. So, I'm on meds for everything! As for the shoulder, she did confirm a possible torn rotator cuff. She said since the pain seems to come and go at different months, it may not be torn all the way! Maybe. Possibly.

Anyway. Alana plans to do the Cardio X tonight. We'll see how I feel. Jeremy...I'm now using your prayer of healing for myself. After all, what do we need doc's for when we have the ultimate Healer in Christ Jesus!

P90X - Day 38 - Back, Biceps and AbRipper X

I'm not gonna get sick, I'm not gonna get sick, I'm not gonna get sick....

Alana just keeps laughing at me as I'm coughing out a lung! I have to admit, I have a pretty weak immune system, and seem to get every cold or virus that slips into the house...and with 3 kids?? Let me tell ya, that's a few more germs than I need!!

So we made it through the workout. Alana was actually getting pretty strong on the curls! I was quite impressed!! My chest was killing me, due to the whole "coughing" factor, and I found myself having quite the time just breathing! On top of that, I could definitely feel my rotator cuff 'acting' up again...sure enough, I woke this morning having to lift my right are with my left! (although it's feeling better now...ahhhh, Motrin!). But hey...this was arms and back! One of my favorite workouts! I've just decided that nothing is going to keep me from reaching my 90 day goal! Not to mention, we have to keep up with the Branson's!! :O)

I think we're gonna take Jeremy's advice and give Cardio X a try tonight, and pass on the Yoga...I'm so disappointed.

(I'm not gonna get sick!)

P90X - Day 37 - Plyometrics

Thanks goodness we're getting new carpet soon! No. No puke. But the sweat that pours off of me (in buckets!) during this workout is gonna start ruining the carpet!! Alana looked at me at one point during the workout, and said, "Eww. You're quite sweaty, huh?"....CALORIES BE GONE!! :O)

Again (and as usual, it seems these days!), Alana looked calm as can be doing this workout. I'm VERY proud of her for sticking with this, coming in late, and now looking better than me at the "cardio" focused workouts (i.e. Plyo!). My legs just aren't that strong. All my years of lifting weights, I should've focused more on my leg training, but like most, just focused on the "glamour muscles" as Tony likes to call them! P90X is NOT a glamorous routine, let me tell ya!

All in all, it was a great workout, and I think I did a little more than usual last night. I feel as if a "slight" cold is trying to get a hold of me, and was really looking forward to sweating it out of me...we'll see!

Tonight: Biceps and back! My favorite!

P90X - Day 36 - Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps

OK Brandon....I think I got the days right. I hope you don't mind me copying your "title" layout. I'm hoping that helps me keep more on track with these postings! The other thing that confuses the issue for me, is that I post these the day after we do the workout. Soooo....

When we did the arm workout last week, I noticed my rotator cuff acting up again (old injury!). I worked through it, and the pain went away. Then, during last nights workout (while doing the triceps extensions of all things!), the pain came back full force. I finished the workout, but it's really hurting today. Hopefully it'll be better for the next arm workout! I was a little weak in the Ab Ripper X for some reason, last night. But Alana seems to be getting better and better!! Oh well...more motivation for me to keep pushing harder.

Plyo tonight! (Day 37, Branson's!! Don't give out on us!) :O)

P90X - Day 30 (ish?)

So I've really got to take the time to get the correct days posted here....

Last night was Kenpo X. Great workout. Kicking. Punching. Burning all kinds of calories as we're doing it! What better workout could you ask for?? Although I'm starting to get a little frightened, that Alana is starting to get better at some of this stuff than I am!

We needed the workout, because last night we went to P.F. Changs for dinner (Y-U-M). Glad we burned the calories before we went to dinner!!

I finally broke down this morning and stepped on the scale: down to 197!! And that was after my breakfast!! Woo-hoo!! A little more motivation to keep me going. Today we start week 2 of phase 2!

P90X - Day 29

HOLY CRAP!!! Does this stuff EVER get any easier?? OWEEE! Legs and back last night. Alana is still hanging tough! In fact, she did a better leg workout than me! #&%$#....anyway....I actually feel great today! We ordered the P90X Recovery drink, and much to my surprise, it actually works! Or at least I think it works. Because as hard of a time as I had last night, making it through the workout, my legs actually aren't that sore today!! :O)

Not a whole lot else to say here...didn't see much improvement since the last time I did Legs and back, but ...still have 60 days to go!!

We're taking our rest day (tonight), headed to see Chris Tomlin in concert! Gonna do some serious "Rest X" tonight! Tomorrow is Kenpo...I think.

P90X - Day 28

Yoga X. What more can I say....

OK, a little more: we did do the workout. Neither Alana nor myself were really that into it last night though. We didn't get started until 9PM (ish), and it was really late when we finished. Then, because our 7 year old decided to pull one of his teeth last night, I had to go to the store to play "tooth-fairy" and get some cash for the tooth! Late night. On a good note, I was able to hold the "crane" (with one toe down) for a bit. I even managed to lift both toes for probably 1/16th of a second!! OK...maybe it was a little longer than that! Alana was actually impressed! I compared my 30 day pics...not a huge difference yet, but things do look a little "tighter" everywhere. Hard to explain, but definitely enough to keep me motivated! Don't think I'm gonna be posting those yet though!

Tonight we get introduced to Legs and Back...

P90X - Day 27

What a workout last night! Back and biceps! LUV the arm workouts! Although I kept telling Alana, "...oh, I don't think that these dumbbells will be enough weight for me...", magically enough, when I would pick up the dumbbell, it was 3 times as heavy as it looked! I actually made one of my goals last night on AbRipper X: 40 mason twists!!! WOO HOO!!

Alana decided to hang with me for this workout as well. I'm extremely proud of her for doing so. She hates upper body work just about as much as I hate yoga (which is tonight!). Good for her! And since today is her birthday, I may just get some cake for her!! :O)

Also took my 30 day pics last night. Although, I just realized that this blog says "Day 27" (up top)...must have gotten my calculations mixed up somewhere. You see, not only is P90X a muscle confusion program, but you're so stinkin' tired all the time, it becomes simply a confusion program! LOVE IT!!!

P90X - Day 26

Last night? Plyometrics...hadn't done that one in a while (or so it seemed!)...but, GOOD NEWS! I didn't puke!! WOOO-HOOO!! I even did the "bonus round" for the first time! I tell you, this working out with your spouse thing, really works! What motivation! I'm pretty sore this morning, but I had to get up super early for our men's Bible study today (and what a great meeting that was as well!). I feel great today...I honestly don't look forward to these workouts, but man the way it makes you feel is awesome!! Gonna keep pushing play here on my end!

...Oh yeah, and thanks to Jeremy for reminding me of my 30 day pictures! Although I hate having my picture taken, I'm sure it'll be good motivation to keep going! Thanks Jeremy!

P90X - Day 25

Last night was the beginning of Phase 2 of the program. I didn't realize how much rest this past week has truly been! Chest, shoulders, triceps and abs. That was last night! OUCH. I've always kind of prided myself on how many push ups I could do....yeah, no more pride. I can barely hold my arms upright today! Much less get on all fours...I'd fall smack on my face! Even with all the complaining though, it was a GREAT workout! Definitely worked the "glamour" muscles! When we got to the ab routine, Tony says "...now get your arms up in the air...", THAT was hard in itself, after the screaming shoulder workout! Tonight will be Plyometrics. Alana's first time. My first time doing it in the evening. Gotta remember not to eat anything at least 2 hours before that one. You know...wouldn't want to mess up the carpet!

P90X - Day 24

Yoga X. Phase 1 complete. Yippee!! I'm pretty sure I have Alana on board with me now. She's excited to see what she can do, starting at Phase 2 (so am I!)....

You know, something that Tony says in the DVD (yoga) just keeps resonating in my head: "...now, relax your knees around the ears..."....Who's ears does he think he's talking about!!?? Cuz let me tell ya, my knees aren't going to ever be relaxed around my ears! That just ain't right!! I was trying to do the 'plough' thingy, where you point your heels to the ceiling, then lower your legs over your head, touch the floor behind you with your toes, then "relax your knees around the ears". Yeah. Alana said that my head was turning shades of purple that she didn't even know existed! I figured that couldn't be good. On a good note, I at least attempted the 'crane' pose...I'll just leave it at that.

So tonight we (yes, we) start Phase 2! Chest, shoulders, triceps and Ab ripper X....let the pain begin....again.