Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Day 93 - Crazy crazy

First half of Kenpo, followed by Kenpo Cardio Plus from P90X+. Whew! I was throwing punches a lot faster than Tony and his friends were - and it showed, because I was in a lather and panting like crazy by the time it was over. I could hardly throw any punches toward the end, I was so tired. But, now that it's over, I feel great, as usual!

Tomorrow is New Years Eve. We are going to my sister and brother-in-law's place for their NYE party. I can't wait! Tomorrow also happens to be a rest day, but we're going to do something to help cancel out the drinks and munchies. Not sure what, maybe an Insanity workout? (Unlikely, since I hate them. We'll see.)

In any event, we have FOUR DAYS of P90X left. I'm still thrown off course from Christmas, and I wish we had started a week earlier. But we're back on track now and it's starting to wind down for us. Hard to believe. I get to tell people now that I finished P90X! Crazy crazy :)

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Day 92 - I'm officially a Yogi

I. Love. Yoga.

I really can't stress that enough. I love it. I love the stretching, the holding, the pain and the willpower it takes to get through that pain. The shaking muscles, the huge increase in flexibility from start to finish. Love, love, love! I can't wait to start looking into yoga classes in town. I have no idea what it'd be like to do yoga with a room full of other people. Plus, I'm pretty stoked on learning new poses. P90X has turned me into a yogi! This is good since, according to Women's Health, yoga practitioners tend to eat mindfully, eating when hungry and stopping when full - they think it's because yoga teaches calmness in the face of discomfort, which might make it easier to cave in to cravings.

Speaking of Women's Health, their January issue has a few delicious looking soup recipes. I made one tonight, Savoury Moroccan, which has chicken stock, diced tomatoes, zucchini, chickpeas, artichoke hearts, couscous, parsley, raisins, scallions and spices. YUM! I added chicken myself, boiling it and cutting it into little pieces. The end result? To die for. We had it with a delicious Blue Menu whole-wheat baguette. WH says to make sure that whole wheat is the first ingredient (check), it has no trans fats (check), and it has at least 3 grams of fibre per serving (check!). This recipe definitely made the books. I can't wait to try the other four recipes - and I intend to!


This isn't my final result - I stole it from WH!


And a gratuitous photo of me in Warrior Two.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Day 91 - Back to the grind

And by grind, I mean workouts that feel amazing after many days of overeating and underexercising.

Day 1 of our last week was Core Synergistics, and it was great. Definitely a little harder, given the 5-day lapse in workouts, but it felt really great to get moving again. I can't believe the change in my attitude, even from half a year ago. I used to go weeks without working out. Now I don't think I could go a couple days without missing the burn.

Christmas was fantastic, wonderful, and relaxing, everything a good Christmas should be. Chris and I had a great time traveling around between families, get-togethers, dinners and present openings. It sure is nice to be home, though. Sometimes you're on the go for so long, you don't realize it until you stop. That happened to me, and only today did I realize how busy we were over the holidays. So nice to lay around our own home and really relax together.

So, I guess this blog will end up being 97 days instead of 90. But that's alright. Tony will just have to rename it P97X. ;)


DAY 90!

...Not as joyous and momentous as I was expecting. I blame Christmas.

Bring on the last week of P90X - again!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Day 88 & 89 - It's official

Christmas ruined P90X!

Real bacon and whole eggs for breakfast? Don't think that's in the meal plan! What a truly awful time to be finishing this program. But, there's hope - Chris said that, when he gets home, he plans on doing the last week over again. Or rather, doing it properly. I'm going to join him. I don't want these last few days to ruin the momentum of P90X, so I guess I'll have more than 90 posts when I'm all done! I'll also be joining Chris for some Insanity workouts to get some cardio and get my heart going.

It's amazing how crappy I've felt at the end of the day, with not working out and eating like this. I'm not used to it, my body isn't used to it, and my muscles feel like they're wasting away! I miss working out! Hahah I never thought I'd say that, but it's true. I miss it!

We're heading back home today, then back to Mom's tomorrow, and back home the next day. So that day, which would be the 28th, we'll restart the last week. I can't let these 90 days end like this!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Day 87 - Christmas Eve!

Happy Christmas Eve day, everyone! We spent the day with the family again, and I showed Chris around town (not that there's much to see!). Tonight we're going to my step-dad's sisters house for dinner, which is a big tradition in their family. Lots of family to see!

As far as working out goes, well... No workout has happened yet. But, this morning I found out my Mom has a yoga mat, and I have a Women's Health yoga app on my iPhone. I'm thinking I'll attempt some yoga, at least 20 minutes, before bed tonight. Will keep you posted.

I feel like such a mega-slacker. Oh, gotta go, the sugar cookies are calling... ;)

Day 86 - Christmas begins

We spent the day preparing for, and then traveling to, my Mom's place for Christmas. It's so nice to be home with her and my step-dad. My grandfather is here too. So great! We decorated the tree last night and had the fire going while snow fell slowly outside. Doesn't get much more perfect than that! But - no working out happened. It's hard to say "Sorry but I have to leave this nice get-together to go work out". I thought that it would be a breeze wrapping up P90X around Christmastime, but it's not so. However, it does make me feel better to know that we're starting it again in January, so all of my hard work won't go to waste.

And oh, the food and treats...

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Day 85 - Curse Half Moon!

We have another fun-filled day today, so our workouts had to be squeezed in in the morning. Legs and Back was scheduled, but I have a really hard time doing strength or cardio workouts in the morning. So, I did Fountain of Youth. It felt great to do it in the morning first of all, and secondly, I did it alone since Chris did Legs & Back, so I found I could concentrate more and I definitely got a better workout from it. I was dripping sweat onto the yoga mat! I also love the hamstring stretches. They feel incredible. I'm falling more and more in love with yoga every time I do it. Except...

Half Moon!! I hate the balance poses! I don't know why, I love Tree pose, but for some reason I have a really hard time balancing in the Half Moon poses. I tumble and stumble and fall all over the place. It's a little ridiculous. But I keep trying! I want to join a yoga class, I think, so I want to try to master these poses before I do that.

Anyhoo, we're on our way out the door to my friends' place. Love Christmas and the get-togethers it brings!


Damn you Half Moon!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Day 84 - Social butterfly

I had a friend over tonight for four hours of talking and catching up. It was so great. It meant I missed my workout, but if there's ever a reason, catching up with friends is it.

Legs and Back has been postponed until tomorrow. Sorry, Tony!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Day 83 - Pouring on the Pounds

Today, I did absolutely nothing. For the first time in months, I didn't leave the house, I had no homework, chores or errands to do, and I didn't even get dressed. And I loved it! It was so great to have a day to do nothing. Mind you, one day is about all I could handle. If I didn't have to leave the house tomorrow, I still would. I'd find something to do. I can't sit around for too long, I get shack whacky.

Chris and I did our Kenpo workout tonight, and we learned why Tony didn't have Kenpo following Back & Biceps. Both of us were grunting and groaning because our biceps were so sore (that may be a slight exaggeration). We did the usual mix, the first half of Kenpo X and the first half (or so) of Kenpo Cardio +. Followed by Ab Ripper. Oh, Ab Ripper. I thought I could master you in 90 days... I thought wrong. I only have one more Ab Ripper workout!!! This means that I either have to a) master it in one go, or b) accept the fact that I won't master it this time around. I'm leaning toward b.

So, my step-mother works for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She (and many others) developed this ad campaign describing the negative effects that soda has on peoples' health. They have a website, a Facebook group, a YouTube video and mass transit posters, and they're causing a stir in New York, in the States and around the world. I highly recommend checking it out (especially the YouTube video!) and passing it along to friends.


Day 82 - Fountain of Youth

Exciting news. Fountain of Youth is awesome!!! It's a little over 40 minutes, and has a lot less jibber jabber than the P90X Yoga. The poses are a lot more fluent and cohesive, and you never hold upward dog for more than 5 seconds (versus P90X Yoga where it's always at least 10). It felt more like a workout than the other Yoga. Needless to say, we're both very happy with it and I highly recommend it if Yoga is too long for you. It's $19.95 and you can get it here.

We did yoga in the morning, and Back & Biceps in the evening. It was quite late when we finished, so we postponed Ab Ripper to today. Usually in Back & Biceps I use 10 lb weights, but this time, since it was our second last resistance workouts, I upped it to 15 lb. Obviously my reps dropped a bit, but it felt great to use a heavier weight. So that's it - no more Back & Biceps workouts!

Our last resistance workout is on Monday, and it's Legs & Back. Then it's our last recovery week, and then we're done!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Day 81 - Total slackers

Today, we slacked. Big time. Not only did we skip our workout (bad!) we also had some not-so-good snacks this evening. Corn chips (reduced salt) and salsa, shrimp, meatloaf, squares.. Yeah. I'm definitely losing the solid discipline I had when I first started out. Where did it go?!

But, tomorrow's a big day. Yoga (Fountain of Youth) in the morning, and Back & Biceps and Ab Ripper (which was actually tonights workout) tomorrow night. I won't feel so bad once we're caught up.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Day 80 - Christmas is coming..

With Christmas a mere 8 days away, treats and temptations are extra-hard to resist. A friend of mine brought by some homemade Bits & Bites and peppermint-chocolate cookies. My mom is in a baking frenzy at her house, having completed three full days of cooking and baking. And it is all sooo tempting! Starting P90X, Chris and I gave ourselves three "eating occasions": Thanksgiving, his birthday, and Christmas. For our Christmas dinner I'm not going to worry, but it's the appetizers and snacks and treats leading up to Christmas that I'm worried about! I'm really proud of myself for passing up snacks and treats for the last 80 days, and I know I won't let that all go to hell by pigging out every day around Christmastime. But still, something inside is telling me that something's gotta give.

I think the best thing is going to be moderation. It's unfortunate, but Christmas celebrations are a lot about eating, and the last thing I want is to a) come off as rude or b) feel like I missed out on the celebrating. So here's my plan: I'll have some Christmas treats, but in moderation. Far, far, far less than I would normally have. I figure that this way, I can relax more and enjoy my vacation, and at the same time, not doom my health and body and my hard-earned abs. (Plus, we're doing another round of P90X after Christmas - back on the wagon I go!)

We made tonight our rest day. Tomorrow will be Back & Biceps and Ab Ripper, followed by Yoga the next day (which will be the NEW Fountain of Youth disc that we received!). So, off I go to rest! :)


Seriously. How could you pass that up??

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Day 79 - New protein!

Today's workout was simple, plain ol' Cardio X. I hardly broke a sweat during the yoga and kenpo exercises, I was thinking I was doing great! Then came the plyo section.. I started sweating like hell. But! I enjoyed every single exercise this time around (whereas, in the past, there's always been one that I hated). It's a great workout because it's nice and short - 45 minutes - and it covers everything, from yoga to core syn.

Last night we had a catastrophic incident. We ran out of PROTEIN!!! Okay, it wasn't that bad. But there was only enough for one shake, so we split it, each had half, and shared a protein bar. We were using this professional kind called , but it was a wee bit on the pricey side. So Chris went out this afternoon to WalMart and got a new kind, . I was skeptical because my sister uses protein from WalMart in a vanilla flavour, and when I tried hers, I nearly choked, it was so sweet. But Chris got chocolate (the last kind was chocolate fudge), so I was cautiously optimistic. I had some after my Cardio workout today, and it was tasty! I have to say, I'm very impressed, WalMart. Very impressed.

 
Old protein vs. new protein

Day 78 - Stuffed peppers mmmmm

Our last Chest, Shoulders and Triceps exercise was today! Chris says it's his favourite, and it's definitely one of mine. I'm sad that we won't do it again! Ab Ripper was particularly awesome, with both myself and Chris doing ALL of Fifer Scissors with no breaks! That exercise is brutal, and we finally conquered it! Ab Ripper is slowly, slowly getting easier. Yippee!

A few days ago we found a delicious looking recipe in one of my Women's Health magazines for stuffed red peppers. Chris was determined to make them, so he did! And they were delicious! Red peppers stuffed with lean ground turkey, rice, raisins, green olives and garlic. YUM!!


Mmmmm so tasty!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Day 77 - Kenpo +

Since it was a Kenpo day, Chris and I started out doing the regular Kenpo disc. We stopped once the kick sequences were over, and we switched to Kenpo + from the P90X+ workouts. It's a lot more involved, and a lot more fun. My only qualm is that Tony doesn't really explain the moves, he just kind of.. starts doing them. But I got the hang of it! We only do Kenpo two more times (eeep!) so I'll definitely be doing the Kenpo + workout for those!

Last night for supper I made a fierce pork tenderloin. Chris was MMMM-ing the entire time, so it got his approval, too! I browned the tenderloin in a pan for a few minutes first, then I put it on tin foil and twisted up each corner of the foil so it made a bowl shape. Then I poured in a mixture of chicken broth (1/2c), ketchup (2tbsp), brown sugar (2tbsp), Worcestershire sauce (1tsp), and 4 cloves of garlic. Then I folded over the edge to seal it, put it on a cookie sheet and baked it at 350 for about an hour and a half. And my god. The tenderloin was so tender, it was stringy and falling apart! Delicious! I'll be making that recipe again, for sure.

Next up: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Day 76 - The countdown begins

T-minus 14 days! Two weeks! Eeeek!

We just finished up Legs & Back and Ab Ripper. I feel like we do that workout all the damn time! Good thing I like it. I had a hard time this time around, because for some reason I was really dizzy after each exercise. Like the kind of dizzy from standing up too fast. It usually passed within 10 seconds or so, so I kept going. Odd though. Chris said it could be from lack of water, which is true, but I didn't have any less water than I do on most days. Hmm.

I'm changing my diet tomorrow, shifting back to Phase Two. More protein, less carbs. I miss my protein! Namely, chicken bacon. Tony says that once you're in Phase Three, you can either stay in the Phase Three nutrition phase or go back to Phase Two, whichever works best for you. If the dizziness is from a lack of enough food, hopefully this nutrition shift will help with that.

On a totally different note, my abs are coming along nicely.. Still have a little ways to go to get to where I want to be: like her!


I will look like this!

Day 75 - Christmas shopping

Yesterdays workout lost to Christmas shopping and gift wrapping. I hate skipping workouts, but on the other hand, I'm done shopping and everything is wrapped, so I still feel like I accomplished something. Since yesterday was our rest day, we're going to do yesterdays workout (Legs and Back) today, and today's workout (Kenpo) tomorrow.

While at the mall, Chris and I got chicken wraps for supper. One of our favourite pastimes is to people-watch, and mall food courts are prime people-watching areas. I love watching people order from Taco Bell when they really shouldn't be ordering from Taco Bell, or watching them shove a whole tray of donair meat down their throat before I finish my wrap. People are so entertaining and they don't even know it. :)

Spotted this at the Chinese food place, and I snuck in line to get a photo.





Yes, that's right. Deep fried cheesecake. Sigh..

Friday, December 11, 2009

Day 74 - 82% done!

Tonight was Yoga X, and I felt great doing it throughout the whole workout! The only part I struggle with now is that damn Warrior 3 sequence. I can't - for the life of me - balance during those poses! Maybe someday I'll get them..

Before Yoga though, we went for supper at Chris's grandparents. It was his Nanny's birthday today, so we went and spent time with the fam jam. We had haddock (the best I've ever had, hands down), carrots, broccoli, and potatoes, followed by a (little) piece of cake and ice cream. It was a great time!

As I'm sure I've said before, I have a subscription to Women's Health magazine. I saw this photo online today, about Men's Health magazine, and I was embarassed for them. Sooo humiliating.. Bet they thought no one would notice!!


D'oh!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Day 73 - Plyo, plyo, plyo

Oh, how I've missed Plyo! I love it (I know I say that about every workout)! It's definitely in my top 5 favourite workouts. During the Hot Foot exercise, I always used to switch feet every 15 seconds instead of every 30 like Tony does. My calf and foot hurt too much, and I couldn't stand it. But today I managed to do the whole 30 seconds per foot, both times! I was so excited! Nothing else has changed - I still have to take mini-breaks near the end of most workouts - but I'm still feeling great, and I'm still impressed that I can do both 1-minute sessions of the Swing Kicks. Love those!

A few days ago during Legs and Back, Chris took a video of me doing Lawnmowers.. Check it out, I look like such a gym buff!

During my workout, Chris was busy in the kitchen.. When I came out, I was served this: chicken breast with honey chili sauce on stir-fried veggies with walnuts sprinkled on top. Heaven!!!


Mmmmmm tastyyy

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Day 72 - Finals...

Too much to do tonight. Writing my last final exam tomorrow afternoon. Tonight's plyo has been shifted to tomorrow. See you then!

Day 71 - Dive bombers

I have a confession: I love dive bomber push-ups. Sure, I do the more easy 'modified' version, but they're still awesome. I did 15 my first set and 11 my second set (in contrast, I did 13 then 5 diamond push-ups). I actually enjoy the dive bombers!

We had a friend over for supper last night, and she loved the Island Pork Tenderloin that Chris made. We got a little cherry cheesecake as a treat, and we each had a little piece. Now we have five pieces of cheesecake in the freezer. I'm thinking we might have to give that away so it won't get eaten! Maybe I'll take a few pieces into school. Everyone loves cheesecake!

Hard to believe we're so far into the program. I was looking at our schedule yesterday. We X off every day that's gone by, and they're almost all marked off... Getting there!


Next up: plyometrics!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Day 70 - !!!!

Today is a rest day, so not much to post. Besides it's DAY 70 and we only have 20 more days left!!!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Day 69 - Losing motivation

Lately, I've had a hard time finding the energy and motivation to do these workouts. Today, I just didn't.

When I'm stressed from school, I find working out to be a great outlet. I sweat and I burn my negative energy off by exercising, and I come out of it feeling more focused and more able to tackle everything on my to-do list. However, with family, friend or boyfriend stress, it's a different story. My post from a few days ago still rings true, and that issue is still going on. At first I pushed through it and found strength to work out, but I couldn't do that tonight. I'm mentally, emotionally and spiritually exhausted from this fight. Chris talked with me earlier about doing Kenpo together, and I confessed that I didn't have it in me. We had a long talk that ended with me crying, and deciding to forgo the workout and prepare lunches for tomorrow instead. It's funny. School stress vs. life stress.

I'm still a wreck. I had to stop typing halfway through that paragraph to shed some more tears. Now, not only am I tired from the fighting, I'm frustrated that I let it get to me. I was annoyed at myself for not being able to suck it up and get it over with. I felt like a failure. Thank goodness for Chris. He was very reassuring and supportive which was exactly what I needed. But I still have this nagging feeling of defeat, of failure.

After all of this, in the back of my mind, I promised myself that I would do my best for the next 20 days. I really am proud of how much I've achieved and what I've learned, and I know in my heart that I won't let that go to waste. Still, it's hard when I've been rocked so hard. Tomorrow's a new day, though, and we'll see what it brings.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Day 68 - 22 more days!

Chris just had this epiphany - 22 more days of P90X!!

I think, when we're finished, I'm going to have some sort of crisis. I won't know what to do with myself! We had planned to start it over in preparation for our trip to the Dominican in March, so that's an option.. Hmm. At least we have 22 days to decide.

And we'll be taking a few days off for Christmas. ;)

So we just finished legs and back, and even though it hurts like hell, it remains one of my top 3 favourite workouts. Then we did Ab Ripper, which I've come to hate. Even though I've been doing it for 68 days now (not consecutively, but still), I still struggle with every single exercise and I can only finish about two of them without stopping for a mini break. That's kind of frustrating. Still, I keep trying, and that's all I can do.

I got a message today from a girl I went to high school with. I closed it before I had a chance to save it (dammit!), but she basically said that she reads my blog and that, because of me, she and her boyfriend started doing Power 90. She said they want to do P90X but thought they'd start with Power 90 and see how things went. Then she congratulated me on my progress and called me an inspiration! I was so happy. I really appreciate messages like that. I'm doing this program for ME, but if I can motivate and inspire people along the way, it makes my experience that much better. So, thank you for that message!

And now, I have to go.. Pork tenderloin is calling :)

Friday, December 4, 2009

Day 67 - Feeling lazy

I'm skipping my workout tonight. I have no excuse really. I was home all day, and waiting for Chris so we could do Yoga together. Then, we went shopping and when we got home it was 9:00 and I was too pooped to think about Yoga. Kudos to Christopher though, who's doing it as I type this.

So, since I have nothing to write about, I'll post this video. Chris found it somewhere online, and it just goes to show how fun can motivate people to exercise. Great video!

Check it out here!


Day 66 - Back and Biceps!

So, I did Back & Biceps for the first time! I loved it, of course, but I love all weight training exercises. My only issue with this workout is the stupid woman they have in the group - she's so annoying! "BRING THE PAIN, bring it!" "I'm upping my weight, Tony!" "What do you think, Tony?" Uggghhhh she couldn't suck up to him any more even if she tried. She was so irritating!

Anyway, the workout itself was great. I did the pull-ups using a chair, which I think I like better than negative pull-ups. Maybe because they're easier! Also, I love bicep exercises. I've said it before, but I love the workouts that make me feel like a huge manly gym-buff Hulk-type. Plus, I can lift heavier weights than I ever thought I could!

Yoga is next on the docket.. I love it when it's over, but I hate it at the time. It's so long! Oh, and speaking of that, Chris and I ordered Fountain of Youth, a 45-minute fast-yoga workout from Tony's One-On-One series. We figured the cost was worth having a shorter yoga workout, and it had been suggested on the P90X message boards. So whenever we get it and try it out, I'll keep you posted!


Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Day 65 - Insanity!

So for the past few weeks, Chris has been doing Insanity workouts along with his P90X workouts. So tonight I decided that I would try the Insanity cardio workout in lieu of Tony's Cardio workout. The Cardio workout in P90X isn't really cardio as such, but more like an all-encompassing summary workout.. if you know what I mean.

Anyway, Insanity is a cardio-centred program that is, literally, insane. From their website: Your personal trainer Shaun T will push you past your limits with 10 workout discs packed with plyometric drills on top of nonstop intervals of strength, power, resistance, and ab and core training moves. No equipment or weights needed. Just the will to get the hardest body you've ever had. So, long story short, it’s Shaun T yelling at you and a group of other victims in some gymnasium somewhere.

I really believe Insanity is a great program. But, hating cardio as I do, it was hard for me to really get into it because my mind wasn’t in the right place. I find that happens with any type of cardio workout though, so it’s not any different than the norm. Still, it’s a fantastic replacement for Cardio X, which (don’t tell Tony) isn’t that great.

Exciting news – tomorrow I’m doing the Back & Biceps workout which I’ve never ever done! I’m excited to see a new workout after 65 days doing this program. A change of pace is always welcome!

P.S. After my workout, for the hell of it, I wanted to do some sit-ups... and ended up doing 80 in a row! The most I've ever done! Actual sit-ups too, none of those sissy crunches! ;) I'm pretty happy about that!


Get fit or get out!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Day 64 - CST, baby!

Chest, Shoulders & Triceps has got to be one of my favourite workouts. I love how many pushups I can do. I just tried to do as many as possible and I got 14; mind you, that's after this CST workout. On weigh-in day I did 20 pushups. I can't wait until I can do more!

I love the tricep workouts too, and the weird burn I get from them. No other way to explain it but weird! I think I love this workout because I feel like a total hulk grunting and grimacing and watching my muscles swell. It sounds weird, but I love feeling like a man in this respect!

Our diet changed a few days ago, and it's been... meh. The nutrition guide advises that you can either stay in Phase Three diet or go back to Phase Two, whichever feels best. I definitely liked Phase Two better, but I'm sticking it out because I want to complete this program as it was designed.

On another note, I subscribe to Women's Health magazine and I often check their website for advice and stories. They have these 12 powerfoods that are good ab foods, but you have to submit your email in order to access it. Lame! So I'm posting it for all to see. It's not rocket science, but it's still pretty neat.


Click for full size!