Day 9 - The Power of Exercise

Today wasn't good. Well, I shouldn't say that. This evening wasn't good. Allow me to elaborate.

I was at school all day. My classes ended at 6:00, and then I had a meeting to go to. After that, I realized I couldn't catch a bus from where I was, so I had to walk a kilometre to the nearest bus stop in the pouring rain and 50km winds. No boots, no raincoat, no umbrella (although that wouldn't have done me much good, since I saw a few people struggling to keep theirs right-side out). I get to the bus stop and I'm mulling over everything on my to-do list, totally stressing myself out. The bus comes, I get home, and Chris is making a stir fry. I'm soaked and tired and hungry, and the last thing I want to do is a stupid workout. Chris is trying to talk me into doing it, saying it won't take long. But all I can think of is my massive to-do list.

Then I sat down and flipped through the book of DVD workouts, landing on Cardio X. There Tony stands, every muscle in his body highlighted in the black and white picture. I'm thinking, "I feel shitty right now. I'm cranky, I'm tired, and I'm stressed." Then I looked at Tony again, and flipped through and looked at the other photos. The Plyometrics sleeve was empty, from Chris's completed workout an hour prior. Then I thought, "There will be days when I feel like garbage. There will be days when I'm so tired I can't function, and days when I'm so sick I can't get out of bed. Those are the days I should take off as rest days. I ate extremely well today, I don't want to waste that. It's only one workout. I can do this. I should do this."

And so, I got changed, got my water, set up my mat, put in Cardio X and pressed play. And pressing play, folks, was the hardest part of my workout.

Within minutes I was less cranky. I even smiled when I did my hamstring stretch and touched the floor. As I warmed up, the stress left me. It literally melted away. I suddenly felt rejuvenated, and with some stretches, strain, and lots of sweat, I finished the workout I had been dreading only 40 minutes prior. And now I have a clear mind to focus, and a clear conscience to boot. And I'm much, much happier. That's the power of exercise.

The inspiration!

Day 8 - Core, encore!

Today's the first repeat day in my program.. Back to square one: Core Synergistics! I'm pretty sure that Core Synergistics is one of my least favourite, probably because I don't have good form for most of the exercises (like banana, and the sphinx push-ups). But they definitely work - I felt it most in my back and shoulders today. I find my abs aren't getting sore or tired, maybe this is a sign that I'm not working them hard enough? At the time, though, I can't hold them very long, but then I don't feel much from the workouts. Next week, I'll really push myself to hold the positions longer. Aiming for achy abs here.

I don't want to get all big and muscle-y, but abs are on my agenda, for sure. I want to have a great stomach. I saw a picture once of this really fit girl sitting, leaning over and doing a stretch, and she had no fat rolls. None. She had little folds of skin, but no underlying fat. That's what I want - maybe it's a little ambitious, but hey, maybe someday I'll have that!

I bought a new (pink!) sports bra today, and we found foam yoga blocks just like they use in the video. This really made me want to do yoga, but no yoga until Friday. I'm thinking that after the program is done, I'm going to look into some yoga classes. It's such a great workout, and contrary to popular belief, it's not relaxing. At all. On the P90X forums, the Yoga X workout is one of the most hated because it's so difficult. Personally, I loved it, and I can't wait to do it again.

Until tomorrow..

This will be me someday!

Day 7 - Only 83 days to go!

Mondays are my rest days. I use the word "rest" loosely here, because there certainly wasn't any rest in my day. We did the X Stretch workout tonight, which felt really good. Chris found it boring, I found it relaxing.. To each their own. (He's the one out running 5k while I eat frozen yogurt!)

As much as I tease him, it's really great to be doing this program with Chris. First of all, we live together so it's ultra-convenient. Secondly, it's a huge bonding experience since we're supporting and encouraging each other. And third, he's great at motivating me; when I feel like I can't possibly do any more in's and out's, he just says "good job sweetie", and I can magically push out five or 10 more.

Plus, he's a great cook, which comes in handy when I'm feeling lazy. :)

I'm still in love with the Kenpo workout, and I can definitely feel which muscles I worked and where. My biceps and my forearms near my elbows, for example, are very sore. This is because in Kenpo you're not supposed to snap your joints straight, but keep them supported and a bit flexed. Obviously, I was doing that correctly.

So today marks SEVEN DAYS! Seven days of strict diet and exercise every day! I'm definitely keeping this up, I've never been so determined to finish something as I am with P90X. And, I can now touch the floor during hamstring stretches! This is big news because I'm very inflexible. I'm also close to touching my toes in a seated hamstring stretch, but it's not quite there yet. Almost. Stay with me!

Someday!

Day 6 - Kenpo, whoa!

Of all the workouts in the Lean program, Kenpo takes the cake for making me sweat the most. Ho-ly cow. Kenpo X is based on a form of martial arts, and, according to the fitness guide, is "a raw streetfighting style" that gives "a high-intensity cardiovascular workout". Before we started, we were reading all these discussion threads with people saying it doesn't work, they didn't feel anything from it, it hardly got them sweating, etc etc etc, so we didn't know what to expect. 

Well, I'm pretty sure that a constant stream of sweat in your eyes and a heart rate of 160 means it's working. I loved it! It felt great, I felt great, and I can still feel it in my upper arms. It definitely is a high-intensity workout.

Earlier, despite the pouring rain, Chris and I headed to the grocery store since he failed to tell me that we were out of eggs. You really can't run out of eggs when following the nutrition plan, so off to Superstore we went. Chris mentioned a few days back that we should compare prices of a dozen eggs versus a carton of egg whites, since we throw away the yolks anyway. Turns out, 500ml of egg whites (which is equivalent to 16 egg whites) was $2.69, which was a little cheaper than a dozen eggs, plus, we got 16 instead of 12. So we bought two cartons.

On that same food tangent, Chris made supper tonight - turkey meatloaf! I don't know why, but I'm crazy about meatloaf. I love it, and turkey meatloaf was no different. It was delicious! The recipe is in the nutrition guide that comes with the program, so if anyone has it, I recommend it. Along with the Island Pork Tenderloin. Mmmm..

It's hard to believe I'm on day six already. Tomorrow is rest day, which means I can either rest and not work out, or do the Stretch X workout. I think I'd feel like I was failing Tony if I didn't do ANYTHING, so I'm going to do the Stretch workout. I hope it feels as good as it sounds, because this sore body could use a good stretch.

And now, a picture of me, immediately post-Kenpo workout:

Beautiful, glorious sweat!

Day 5 - Oblique V's are my nemesis!

I just finished my first legs and back workout, and one thing is clear: I suck at chin-ups.

Well, in my defense, this time last year I wouldn't dream of grabbing on to a pull-up bar. I can only do one, but it's better than none. And on good days, I can do two! Not exactly a number to boast about, but hey, I'm happy with it.

I also did Ab Ripper for the second time, and my movements were a little more coordinated since I knew what to expect. The oblique V's still kill me, but I managed to get about 10 in on the left side.. Right side wasn't so good, so I did a plank instead. Someday I'll get those damn oblique V's.

Today was beautiful, so Chris and I had a nice day together about town. We went into this grocery store here called Planet Organic, and I was overwhelmed since I'd never been there before. It was much bigger than I was expecting (and smelled strongly of patchouli). We wandered, noted some soy cheese cake, and left with a bulk bag of soy nuts and some pesto flavoured veggie crisps. I've already sampled them, and they're delicious. Then we made our way to our regular grocery store to buy some soy cheese to try.

We had those veggie sausages for lunch today, and they were amazing! They tasted more like hot dogs than sausages, but they had a smoked taste and they were delicious. I'm very impressed. I also made chicken scrambled eggs for breakfast, which was a great change from plain old scrambled egg whites. But I have a confession: I really, really, really miss my cereal. I used to eat cereal for breakfast every single morning, and I'm surprised at how much I miss it. In Phase II, I get two carbs a day, so I'll be having cereal some mornings.

Besides that, not much else to tell! I haven't noticed a huge increase in my energy levels, but I'm definitely getting stronger. My abs look pretty good right now, which makes me very excited to see them in 85 days. And at the end of the day, when I'm eating my frozen yogurt and relaxing, it's great to know that I ate clean and did my full workout. Since I'm doing P90X, I may as well bring it, and it feels phenomenal to know that I  gave it my all!

Sweaty and poor quality, but there's some progress there!

Day 4

Since starting P90X and its strict nutrition plan, I've been offered candies and donuts and treats every day. Mind you, it's only been four days, but it's interesting because it seemed like an odd coincidence until I started thinking about it. Then I realized that, likely, I was offered treats before starting P90X, and I would always accept them. Hard sugary candies, chewy sour candies, leftovers from bake sales.. I would have been fine without them, but I would take them to be gracious, and only harm myself in the process. One of my favourite treats were passed around today - the mini chocolate bars for Halloween - and I said 'no thank you, I have a banana'. My friends laugh, but they're all really supportive, which is great because no one likes the "Oh, go ahead, surely YOU can afford to have a cookie" friend.

Which gets me on to another topic. I've noticed something. When I mention to someone that I'm following a strict workout and nutrition regimen (using those words), they're fine with that. But the second the word "diet" leaves my lips, their jaws hit the floor and they look me up and down and say, "Why do YOU need to DIET?!" First of all, I'm not dieting in the classic sense of the word, and secondly, thank you for judging me outright in front of (presumably) all these people and putting me on the spot to defend myself.

Seriously! This happens all the time. Yes, I'm thin. No, I don't think that just because I'm thin I should forget about keeping myself this way. Why praise a 170lb woman for dieting, yet discourage me from doing it? I just don't get the double standard.

Sorry, that was a little tangential.

This morning for breakfast (at 5:45am) I tried a soy sausage muffin, and I hated it. I keep saying that it was too early for meat, and Chris is quick to correct me and say that they're meatless. Fine, but it's still too early for simulated meat. Chicken bacon I can do. Soy sausage patties, not so much. They did last me until 9:30 though, so bonus points for that. Lunch was a chicken breast sandwich with a yogurt, banana, tomatoes, a small can of tuna, and half a protein bar. Now, supper.. was.. amazing.

There's a recipe in the nutrition guide for Island Pork Tenderloin Salad, and I HIGHLY recommend it. We kept the pork separate from the salad (because it was so delicious it needed to be savoured alone), and it's kept me full all night. It's bedtime, we ate at 5:00 and I'm not hungry in the least bit. My god, it was so delicious.

I finished my first ever yoga workout tonight, and I'm really happy with it. There are some crazy advanced moves, but for the most part, they were manageable and I was covered in sweat by the time I was done. Tony says this is a good thing. I felt it most in my quads and glutes, which makes me sad since they were just starting to heal from my first core workout. BUT! It's the weekend, and it's bedtime, and I'm sleeping in tomorrow - yessss!

Day 3

I was just formally introduced to the Ab Ripper workout, and I have to say, I loved it. It was extremely hard, and there were definitely areas that need improvement, but that will come. When I first started going to the gym back in January, I couldn't do a sit-up (with unweighted feet) to save my life. Now I can do 25! So, I'm not letting myself get disappointed because I know that progress will come.

One exercise, the oblique V's, I absolutely couldn't do. In place of those, I did side planks for the same amount of time which was still very challenging for me. For some reason, I find planks really tough, and I've never been able to hold them very long. It'll be interesting to see how that changes, as well.

Before Ab Ripper, we did Shoulders and Arms. It was great, but I really need to get 7.5lb weights. For the bicep exercises the 10lb was fine, but for triceps and shoulders I had to use my 5's which weren't enough. So, note to self.

My inner thighs and glutes were very, very sore today. So sore that I couldn't walk at my normal speed, sitting down was torture, and I was walking like I had a stick up my ass. Nice!

As far as the diet goes, so far so good (I typed food there by accident and laughed.. I'm getting tired!). We've had three days now of breakfasts consisting of chicken bacon and egg whites, so tomorrow we're switching it up and trying soy sausage muffins (soy sausage patties on whole wheat English muffins with skim mozza). Chris also noticed these veggie sausages that boasted 170 calories, 6 grams of fat and 20 (!!) grams of protein per sausage. We both love sausage, but since your classic sausage has almost 300 calories, over 20 grams of fat and half the protein, we always skip on it because it's really not worth it. I'm clearly obsessed with these sausages, so they better not disappoint! We'll be trying them in the next few days.

Another early morning tomorrow. Goodnight!

Mmmmm!