Day 8 - Chest & Back

I particularly dread this workout each week because of the sheer insanity of what Mr. Tony Horton is asking us to do. On the "up" side though, I definitely feel stronger each time I do it. This workout consists of 12 sets of various forms of push ups and vaired grip chin ups. And when you're done with the first round of 12 sets...you get to do it allllll over again. Thank GOD there's a modification (exercise bands) for people like me who can't perform A chin up, let alone multiple chin ups [insert gun rack quote from Wayne's World here]. The crazy thing about this stupid ass P90X is that I suddenly want to be able to do the unmodified, unassisted chin ups! Never in a million friggin' years did I ever imagine I'd be typing that sentence.

So, this entry is coming to you a few days late. I actually performed this workout on Sunday 1/25 but with all the vehicle drama around here, I haven't had the time to crank this out. Stay tuned to the Shoe Chronicles for that entertaining story! This week has been fairly successful in the nutrition area. I can't particularly recall any terribly horrible meals that I consumed which either means I ate really well or I ate so badly that the effects of post traumatic stress disorder have set in. I'll let you know when I come to a more definitivve conclusion on that. In the meantime, I will say that the aforementioned vehicular drama has sent my exercise schedule into a tailspin that will hopefully bottom out this Sunday at our Super Bowl party. I worked out this past Sunday and will workout on Thursday (tomorrow) before work. So sad that this is the "best" I could manage this week. But as Tony says "Do you best...and forget the rest!"

~J

Day 7 - Rest or Stretch X

Today is designated as a "rest" day or I have the option of completing Stretch X. I definitely need the stretching as every muscle on the backs of my legs is suddenly very tight. I'm not sure if that is the result of last night's Kenpo X or from the night before that which was Legs & Back. Truly hard to say. At any rate, I am opting to take my "rest" today because I slept like utter crap last night and I have to work a few hours earlier than normal leaving me no real time to complete Stretch X.

I'm starting to wonder if my sleep issue was the product of my new workout or if I was just anxious last night about having to work early today? One of my biggest fears is oversleeping for my shift. In nearly 10 years at the airline I've never done it so I'm not so sure why I'm so worried about it, but I am just the same.

And with that...off to work! I work a double the next 2 days so don't expect any posting until Sunday at the earliest.

~J

P.S. There seems to be some crazy formatting issues with Blogger right now and the html code is not translating properly so please bear with me until I figure out how to fix it. Just know that I realize how terribly hideous each post looks w/o line breaks between the paragraphs. I can't fix it fast enough...but alas, work must come first.

Day 6 - Kenpo X

Today's workout was Kenpo X. Going into it I had nooooo idea what Kenpo was or what to expect other than what I read online. Apparently, Kenpo (or Kenpo Karate) is a self-defense martial art rooted in Kung Fu . A few people that reviewed this particular workout online said it was "easy" and "not challenging". Ok - I'm not sure what workout they did, but the workout I did was plenty challenging. Lots of punching and kicking. Let me tell you...the (not so) imaginary person that I was beating up this evening sure got his ass handed to him! Well, at least in my mind he did.

I did well with my eating today too. Stuck to eating about every three hours and didn't have anything "bad". I know its a bit late for dinner, but I will be up for several more hours, so it should be ok. Salad with grilled chicken...yummmm-o!

I do have my "before" pictures on my camera, but that's upstairs and quite frankly I just don't feel like going up there right now. When I get around to it, I'll post them here...no laughing, k? ;-)

~J

My P90X Journey Begins

Well, so I thought that I would attempt to complete a 90-day cycle of the extreme wourkout P90X to coincide with the "Biggest Loser" competition that is taking place at work right now. While on one hand I really do want to win the $480 prize, I just don't think I have the kind of motivation and dedication that it will take to beat some of the money grubbing freaks that I work with who are more than willing to empoy unhealthily extreme measures to drop a few pounds. That being said, I have a few other motivations driving me along: 1) I have several trips to the beach (yikes!) planned for the first half of the year; 2) I have a trip to Peru planned for mid-late June and I want to be fit enough to hike the Inca Trail without too much challenge; and 3) it's about damn time I give my husband a baby and at 230lbs, I'm in no shape to do so.

I have always been intrigued by P90X (and the insane infomercial) but could never justify the $160 price tag. I recently had the opportunity to borrow the program from a friend and I jumped in with both feet. My ONLY modification to this plan is the schedule. Since I work two 16-hour days back to back, it's a little difficult to fit in a 60+min workout in on those days, so I do take two 30min walks during my shift. I have been completing the workouts in the prescribed order to stay in line with the concept of "muscle confusion" that Tony Horton swears by.

Here, I will track my journey...my thoughts and feelings...and maybe a picture here and there. My hope is that this blog will create a new sort of accountability that will keep my motivation rolling from day to day. Tomorrow I will have completed my first 7 workouts of this plan and I am not at all ready to give it up. I actually look forward to the workout each day. This could be because each workout is still new to me but I'd like to think otherwise.

~J