Day 69

Tonight's workout was rough. I like legs/back but tonight I felt like crap. Total crap! I got super nauseous like 10 minutes in and struggled through the rest of the workout. It was awful, I'm not even kidding. By far the worst p90x experience I've had so far. I'm pretty good at this workout and I love to push myself and do my very best! It was unbelievably frustrating not being able to push my hardest because I felt like crap! I literally had to stop for a few minutes because I thought I was going to throw up. I was determined not to quit but it sucked pushing through my nausea. I wanted to just get through the ab ripper and take a hot shower. I was forced to take a break and drank some water while I waited for my nausea to calm down a bit. I didn't want to, but Jake was concerned for me since I was pale and practically crying... Gahhhh! Bottom line: my workout tonight was bad and frustrating. Yet, I got through it. I did the best I could and now I just want to put it behind me.

Tomorrow is kenpo, yay! I'm hoping that I'll have a much better day tomorrow and be able to bring it for real. It sucks having up days and down days and not knowing what each workout is going to be like on any given day. Nights like tonight when I feel like crap during my workout discourage me so much. I need a good intense workout tomorrow to rebound. Here's to hoping I can rock kenpo!

Day 68

A bit of a late update tonight, oops! I decided to switch out x stretch for yoga tonight. I have been so gosh darn achey lately, I felt like a good stretch was exactly what I needed. Plus, hubby and I both hate yoga and he really didn't want to do it today. Therefore, x stretch it was! Granted, x stretch is glorious and magical, whereas yoga is a repetitive pain in the butt, so it isn't exactly a fair trade off. Yoga is hard work and makes me break a sweat. X stretch is an easy, low-key "workout" that definitely doesn't make me sweat. Yes, I do feel a little guilty for switching them. I know my body needed something gentle, though. Gotta listen to my body ;] Seriously though, my knees have been KILLING me lately. I might've already blogged that considering they've been causing me a great deal of pain for a few weeks now... sorry if I sound like a whiner! It hurts to bend my knees. At all. Every bend. Even to sit down! It isn't good. I need to get some glucosamine or something. Ouch. Anyways, stretching was quite wonderful.

To make up for it, tomorrow I will bring it extra hard during legs/back and the ab ripper! It's happening!

Days 66 & 67

Yesterday was plyometrics. It was also my second anniversary! :] Hubby and I both brought it with plyo before going out for some delicious hibachi for dinner. Om nom nom. I really did not feeling like doing plyo, though. I just wanted to relax and enjoy a quiet day with Jake. Plus, we had to workout earlier so that we could go out to dinner and I don't particularly like afternoon workouts. But we both did it anyways! I was excited to wear my sweet new heart rate monitor (thanks, Josh!)... I discovered that I stay somewhere between 175 and 187 BPM during plyo. And I peaked at 191! That is some intense cardio right there! I felt super good once it was over :D It was encouraging to see in numbers how hard I push it during plyo. Something about looking at my wrist and seeing those numbers motivated me to keep it up and push harder at times. It was good. Dinner was good, too! Pretty healthy, I do believe. I had shrimp, scallops, veggies and rice! I know the rice wasn't too healthy (white rice, eesh) but I didn't eat all of it. I felt pretty good about my dinner-out choices :]

Today was back & biceps and the ab ripper! Man, I seriously brought it hard tonight!! I did every single bicep/forearm set with 10lbs, which is really good for me! There are a few moves that I usually do with 5lbs because they're rough, but I pushed myself really hard tonight and did everything with ten. Also, I increased my resistance band on the modified pull ups from 30lbs to 50lbs! I know I need to keep upping that weight so I can finally do real legit pull ups, so increasing it by 20lbs in one shot was great for me. My arms were quivering and felt like jello by the end of the workout but I'm so proud of myself! Honestly, I didn't know I could bring it this hard with my arms. It feel so good to know how hard I worked and stuck it all out! I didn't even cut out reps at all. I still did 12-15 reps on all the bicep/forearm moves and 12-18 reps on the modified pull ups. It burrrrned. It burned so good. I brought it hard with the ab ripper tonight, too! I did all the fifer scissors, hip rock 'n raise and heels to heaven moves. That one-two-three lineup HURTS. It's so great at hitting the lower abs, which I love. But I've really got to psyche myself out to get through those because it really does hurt a lot.

Tomorrow is yoga. Now that I've decided to pass on warrior three, I don't dread yoga quite as much. I still dislike it a lot, but I'm getting better at it and I do love the stretching portion of the workout. I've heard you can burn like 800 calories on that routine! Nuts! I don't think I burn that much but I do work up a good sweat. I'm going to do my best and bring it during yoga tomorrow!

Days 64 & 65

I took yesterday, day 64, off to celebrate Christmas with my family! It was definitely the best rest day I have ever had. I love being home. I love Christmas. I love it all! Plus, I didn't binge on ANYTHING. Nada, zip, zero, zilch! No splurging for me. I followed my diet and even ended the day with a few less calories consumed than usual. Win.

Today was chest/back/triceps and the ab ripper. It beat me up. This workout is definitely the hardest for me. It's just so challenging! My upper body seriously struggles through every rep. By the time I was 3/4 of the way through, my triceps were shaking! I'm talking a full-on exhaustion quiver. Ouch. I did the best I could with ab ripper but it wasn't the best I've ever done... can't say I didn't try, though! I did my best. This workout is so rough, I'm happy with what I did.

Another confession- I had a little breakdown tonight about my lack of body fat/general weight loss. It is thoroughly discouraging that I've been working this hard and haven't seen the big results I was hoping to see! I know it takes time and patience and everything, but seriously! I have been busting my butt, quite literally, for the past 65 days and I'm not getting where I want to be! What more do I have to do?! I've changed my diet, stopped eating sweets, cut back on all processed foods... what is it going to take?? I'm frustrated. Part of me wonders why I even bother... Why am I working this hard and not seeing all the changes?! What the heck!! I'm trying to cut out a couple portions to see if that will boost my weight loss... so I guess we'll see! My muscles are exhausted. At this point, I'm in a perpetual state of soreness. I think that going down to two proteins a day is making it harder for my muscles to recoup. So I'm cutting back on my snack portions... Gahh, I'm desperate for changes!

Tomorrow is plyometrics. Beast. I got a heart rate monitor for Christmas, so I'm super excited to try it out on such a high intensity workout! As much as I'm discouraged, I'm going to work that much harder to bring it.

Day 63

Kenpo all by myself tonight. It's tough to BRING IT alone. I thought Jacob and both my brothers were going to join me but before I knew it I was flying solo. I was very very tempted to skip it tonight and just relax with my family, yet I knew that I would feel guilty if I did. So, I toughed it out alone! I did it for me. Luckily kenpo is my favorite workout so it wasn't terrible to do alone. I'm not sure I would've made it alone if I was doing chest/shoulders/triceps or another workout that I don't like very much. I'm really happy that I chose to workout anyways. It feels good to complete a workout that you seriously did not want to start in the first place! I felt accomplished :]

Unfortunately, my foot is still hurting. A lot. Worse than yesterday, even. I don't know what I did! Maybe it's from working out on the concrete basement floor here at my parent's house... I'm not sure. Whatever it is, I'm hoping that my day off tomorrow will give it time to heal! It's not unbearable, but it's constantly uncomfortable. It particularly hurts when I'm on my tips toes, from all the pressure that places on the ball of my foot. No good. Kenpo was fun enough tonight that I didn't realize the pain in my foot, which was great. I quickly noticed the pain after I was done but it didn't hinder me in the workout. That's all that really matter to me. As long as I can still bring it I'm happy.

Tomorrow will be a glorious day of rest with my family! I'm so excited for Christmas!! I love it. I love it so much. I've worked hard to catch up all week after that skip day so I feel like I've earned this Sunday off. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do next week to get back on track for my Saturday rest days... I'll figure it out, though. Not a big deal. I'll keep bringing it!

Day 62

Legs & back and the ab ripper kicked my butt tonight! I am soooo sore! My legs, knees, everything! Plus, I have an owie, a slight injury. I don't know what happened... but the pad of my left foot up by my big toe hurts SO BAD. It's this horribly nasty knotted muscle pain! Ouchhhh :[ Doing lunges, especially toe roll iso lunges, and anything on my tip toes hurt like crazy. It was not easy to push through and do every rep. It's such a random/weird injury and I don't know how I did it. I'm not kidding when I say it legitimately hurts, though! It sounds so lame but it's not good. My knees are also feeling pretty beat up tonight, too. Luckily tomorrow is kenpo then I get to have a day off! Yay for rest days!

I felt rather discouraged tonight during ab ripper. I was struggling through some of the moves and just thinking how I've been working so hard yet I haven't lost body fat (according to my new calculation). It just made me feel like "who cares, why bother anymore." I know that sounds so emo but it's discouraging to work as hard as I have been working and not see all the results I was hoping for. Granted, I have four more weeks of the p90x journey to go but still. Don't get me wrong, I am seeing results! I feel thinner and firmer... I feel more confident and I think I look better! Yet, it bothers me that my body fat measurement hasn't gone down. It just doesn't make sense to me. It's discouraging. I guess I need to suck it up and push it even harder. The only way to see results is to consistently push myself and work hard at each routine. I honestly did leave everything on the floor tonight. And I do mean everything. I was wiped, sore, dripping with sweat. I brought it! I need to keep that up, whether I feel like it or not, and I know I'm bound to get where I want to be eventually. Keep bringing it. The changes will happen. I need to keep telling myself that. Bring it, see results. Gotta start with bringing it.

Days 60 & 61

Skipping plyo the other day has really thrown me off! I'm so used to my p90x schedule that shifting my days back has been strange. I was planning on skipping yoga tonight and getting myself back on schedule, but alas, that did not happen. Jacob and I decided to do yoga tonight, legs & back and ab ripper tomorrow and kenpo on Saturday. Although Saturday is usually our rest day, we thought it would be nice to take Sunday off instead, since it's Christmas. I'm not sure what that's going to do to our schedule next week but I'll figure it out! Maybe we'll take yoga off next week... I don't know! All this confusion has definitely taught me that skipping a day is not a good idea! Haha. I know it was the best choice for me and Jake on Monday but catching up from it stinks. 

Anyways! Last night was shoulders & arms and the ab ripper. Man, I completely forgot what the shoulders and arms workout was like! It's been awhile since I did that one... it was rough! I actually enjoyed bringing it, though. I felt pretty strong. I've been able to increase my weights since phase one, so that made me happy. Ab ripper was especially painful. I'm not sure why that is... I guess my abs are just working extra hard after the recovery week last week ;]

Tonight, as I said, was yoga. Not too miserable, surprisingly! But that's probably because I skipped warrior three and yoga belly :o] I don't even care, though. Attempting warrior three isn't even worth it to me anymore. And my abs are very sore from ab ripper yesterday so I'm giving them a little down time to recoup so I don't injure myself. Yeah yeah, excuse, I know. Oh well!

I had my brother remeasure my body fat percentage and was extremely disappointed to learn that it hasn't gone down. At all. I'm still sitting at 15% body fat. That percentage puts me in the "elite athletic" range, according to the p90x nutritional guide. But I am NOT happy that I haven't lost a single percent! Gahh. I'm going to have him measure it again next week just in case the equations weren't correct... It's very disappointing, not gonna lie. I'm trying to be positive about it... I mean, I've put on at least 2 pounds of solid lean muscle! That's a good thing! I was just hoping to lose some fat... I don't get it because I feel like I've lost fat and I look like it... I don't get it, stupid body fat. Maybe it'll come out differently next week, we'll see. It's frustrating that I've been working so stinking hard and the fat reduction isn't showing up yet. Makes me angry and discouraged. At the same time, it makes me even more determined to shred this fat!! Gotta keep up the hard work. My brother told me that he lost the most fat in phase three, so I'm hoping the same will happen to me. Just keep pressing play!

Tomorrow will be legs & back and the ab ripper! I like that workout. My legs are getting so strong, I love it! Just gotta melt that fat away... It's going to happen! I'm going to BRING IT!

Days 58 & 59

Of course, the day after I posted a blog about not slacking on my workouts just my blogging, I slacked on both. Sigh. I didn't do plyometrics yesterday, day 58. I do have very good reasons, though! I was running on 5 1/2 hours of sleep, I had just worked 7 1/2 hours and had a 6 hour drive ahead of me. I left work with a terrible headache and a very hungry stomach... I planned on doing plyo, loading my car and heading to my parent's house for Christmas break. After realizing just how crappy I felt, I decided that putting myself through plyo was only going to do more harm than good. Jacob and I were both tired already and didn't want to risk anything happening while we drove (due to said tiredness). So, we didn't workout. I felt verrrrrry guilty about it but I still thought it was a good decision. We arrived at our destination around 11:30pm and were totally exhausted. I can't imagine how wiped out we would've been had we done plyo!

Anyways, to make up for my p90x slack, I did plyometrics tonight. That workout is SO intense that I didn't want to skip it altogether for the week. Jacob and I decided that we would push our workouts back a day and just skip yoga to make up the difference. In other words, tonight was plyo, tomorrow will be shoulders and arms, Thursday will be legs and back and Friday will be kenpo. I'm not sure what this will mean for doing the ab ripper (we aren't supposed to do it two days in a row, but both our Wednesday and Thursday workouts should have ab ripper at the end) but I'll figure it out. I'm not super thrilled about the change but it was a necessary evil. I'll just have to bring it extra hard for the rest of the week!

Days 55, 56 & 57

Do not worry, my loyal followers, I have not quit my p90x journey!! I realized that with my last post being a frustration rant and no new post for two days thereafter, it might seem like I have given up. However, I have NOT given up. I'm still bringing it! I've just been slacking with my blog updates. Sorry about any worries or concern my blogging absence may have caused ;]

Day 55- Yoga, again. I worked a long day and was not in the mood for yoga (well, to be fair, when am I ever in the mood for yoga? haha). My body was tired and I just wanted a rest day. I pushed through yoga anyways, though. I must be honest and confess that I skipped warrior three. I just struggle so much with that movement that I almost think it isn't even worth it for me to do it. I just get frustrated and annoyed so I figured I would just skip it this day. I did my best with the rest of the workout and forgot the rest.

Day 56- REST. Glorious. I thoroughly enjoyed going about my day without having a workout on the back of my mind. The official end of phase two!

Day 57- today, the first day of phase three! Tonight was chest and back & ab ripper x. Rough workout. I haven't done this one since phase one, so I was anxious to see how I did with it. I was able to do more pushups than I could do on this workout during phase one, but only by a couple. No super impressive improvements, I don't think. I didn't get nauseous, which was good. This workout has a tendency to induce nausea with all the switching between pushups and pull ups. I felt pretty good with chest and back tonight. I was NOT excited to get back into doing the ab ripper. As much as I know that it works and gets results, I'm sick of doing it three times a week. The week off was very nice so I didn't want to get back into the ab ripper routine tonight. I beasted it, though! All-in-all, I brought it. It's hard to believe that I'm already into phase three! I know this phase is going to be the most intense, but I'm excited to finish strong. The beginning of phase three also brings with it a change in my daily portions. I'm down to two proteins and up to three carbs, which is a weird change. I've really adapted to a high protein low carb diet. I'm surprised by how much I've come to enjoy my protein filled days even at the expense of losing carbs. I'm interested to see how this diet shift goes for me. I'm also not happy to be reduced to a single dairy!! How am I going to make that work?! I like cheese and milk and yogurt... boo! :[ The snacks on this phase basically rock, though. I get frozen yogurt, fruit sorbet, rice cakes and fruit bars back! Yay! I also still get to keep pretzels and popcorn. PLUS, I now get fig newtons, pita chips and low fat tortilla chips! Fantastic snacks. So I'll make the diet work for me. It's just a matter of adapting yet again.

Tomorrow's workout is plyometrics! I'm going to be working a full day, doing plyo then hitting the road to go home for Christmas. Translation- I have a 16+ hour day ahead of me tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have the motivation to bring it during plyo!

Day 54

Not gonna lie, I felt like crap doing core synergistics tonight!! I don't know what it was, but I just wasn't feeling it tonight. And that frustrated me beyond words!! I think it had to do with being tired and stressed out... whatever it was, it made bringing it during this intense workout even harder. Sigh. About 25 minutes in I was ready to call it quits. I was annoyed with my lack of motivation and I started questioning why the heck I'm putting myself through this... that just made me feel discouraged and more annoyed! Ugh, terrible mental cycle going on right there. I reminded myself that I'm doing this to get STRONG, the strongest I have ever been. To be FIT, the most fit I have ever been. I'm doing this to feel good, to look great, to be healthier, push my limits, increase my abilities and have a body that I am proud of! I'm doing this to make changes that stick. I'm doing this for me. With those things in mind, I mustered up the strength to get through the entire workout, including the bonus moves at the end! Still not gonna lie, though, I didn't even feel great afterwards! Boo. I LOVE that endorphin high after working out! In my opinion, it's one of the best feelings ever. I didn't get that tonight, though. I felt more nauseous than hyped up on endorphins. But hey, workout high or not, I did my best. That's all that I can ask from my body- it's best. The trick is making my best better with every workout. I think that's the hardest part- convincing myself that my "best" last week isn't my best this week. I have further to go as I get stronger; I'm capable of pushing harder. Constantly gotta bring it!

Tomorrow is the last workout day of the recovery phase, which means yoga session #2 on the week. Bleh. Not looking forward to it but it has to be done. I'm getting nervous to start phase three. My body is feeling pretty drained. I'm worried that I won't do that great with my final phase. I really want to kick it up a notch and seriously bring it! I just know that's going to be rough... I'm going to have to push my limits like never before if I want to finish this strong. I guess I'll embrace tomorrow's yoga day and be thankful it's not a crazy intense workout. Yeah, that's what I'll tell myself, ha. Yoga x, gonna bring it!

Day 53

I love x stretch. It makes my muscles feel so warm and happy. After how tight and run down my muscles have been feeling, an entire hour devoted to stretching them out was quite glorious. I think I'll go sleep like a baby now :]

Day 52

Oof, kenpo hurt tonight! I kept getting the worst cramps! I think it was because I hadn't eaten in like 5 hours. Working out on a super empty stomach can be just as bad as working out on a full stomach. Or maybe my stomach is just very sensitive... Yeah, I think that's it. Whatever it was, I felt completely drained! I kept up and did my best but it wasn't the best I've ever done with kenpo. Oh well! At least I did it, right?

I have a confession to make... I just realized that p90x is 13 weeks, not 12. I thought phase three was just four weeks alternating between the workouts from phases one and two. Come to find out there is also a recovery week after that (week 5 of phase three). Duhhhh! I should've realized that. It's p90x not p84x, hahaha! I feel so silly/stupid for not realizing it sooner. I'm still more than halfway through, though. This is week 8 which means I have 5 weeks to go after this one. Not too bad. I'm getting there!

Tomorrow is x stretch. Hallelujah! It's still an hour long workout but it feels glorious. Low impact and refreshing. I'm looking forward to it! Gonna get my stretch on and bring it :]

Day 51

I seriously believe that core synergistics as just as challenging as plyometrics!! It's cardio and all-around strengthening. It's a phenomenal full-body workout, but thoroughly trying and exhausting. I have an intense love/hate relationship with this workout. I did feel awesome after getting through it, though! I struggle with a few of the moves- sphinx push ups and plank to chatarunga run, mostly. Owie. But I bring it the best that I can! That's what matters. I'm bringing it everyday! And, for the most part, I am feeling fantastic! I'm excited to move into phase three next week.

On a side note, I went grocery shopping tonight and stocked up on fresh fruit and veggies :D Om nom nom. My life has been so hectic lately that I've pretty much just been eating frozen. Needless to say, I'm pumped to have fresh stuff on hand! I bought blueberries, which is definitely going to be part of my breakfast tomorrow. I also got some broccoli (I hate frozen broccoli- bleh!) and roasted it with smashed garlic for part of dinner. Other than that I got hot house cucumbers, thin asparagus, a mango, pomegranate and a few kiwis :D Pomegranate isn't in the nutritional guide, but I don't see why it wouldn't count as a fruit. It's chock full on antioxidants and a good source of fiber... I'm going to count it as a fruit.

Tomorrow is kenpo! Woo-hoo! I like mid-week kenpo during recovery week :D I'm ready to bring it!

Days 49 & 50

FIFTY DAYS DOWN! I feel great being able to say that I have kept up with p90x for fifty days! 50. Fiiiiiive zero. FIFTY. Woo-hoo! :D 

Day 49 was a day of rest. I always feel like I'm slacking off on my rest days, haha. I know my body needs it and I love having a day to let my muscles recoup... but going to bed at night knowing that I didn't BRING IT that day feels so weird. Yet, I do love the rest days. They're always very much needed and savored. 

Today was day one of week eight, a.k.a. the last week of phase two! Since this is the last week of this phase, it's recovery week which means- yoga, core synergistics, kenpo, x stretch, core synergistics & yoga again. Not exactly a fun week but I know it's good for me. And I definitely need it badly since phase three doesn't have a recovery week! I'll try to enjoy this week as much as I can. I got through yoga pretty well tonight. I am getting better at it, as much as I do not enjoy it by any means. My balance and flexibility are both improving, which does make me happy! I didn't completely despise yoga tonight, surprisingly. The stretching felt fantastic and I did pretty well with warrior three (although I still can't do the whole movement yet). I'm glad I don't have to do it again until Friday, though. It's just so longgg.

Tomorrow is core synergistics, another annoying workout. This one is a total butt kicker, though. It's very intense for a recovery week workout! I'm not looking forward to it. But then I get kenpo on Tuesday and stretch on Wednesday! I am looking forward to those. Admittedly, I'm a little nervous to take new pictures at the end of this phase. I am seeing results and feeling better, but I'm not sure how much my body has changed. Seeing myself everyday makes the changes a little harder to see, I think. I just don't want to take new pictures and not be able to tell a difference between these and the end of phase one pictures. We'll see what happens, though. Gotta do my best and keep bringing it!

Day 48

Kenpo is so fun! I love ending my week with this workout. After tomorrow's rest day, I will be through the hardcore weeks of phase two! It's hard to believe that I'm starting phase three the week after next. The time is going by quickly but at the same time I'm so ready to be a p90x grad! I feel like I'm getting senioritis ;] hahaha.

Nothing new or exciting to report tonight... I got through kenpo, did well with it & enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow. My muscles need it. My knees are still achey. I'm not really looking forward to the recovery week next week because of the two yoga days (hate) and core synergistics (kills me). But I think it'll be a good change of pace. Hopefully it'll help me enter phase three rested and ready to finish strong! We'll see, I guess! :]

Day 47

Wow, I'm almost 50 days into this thing! Craziness!

Tonight's workout was rough. I've been feeling a little sick/nasty all day so it was not easy bringing it tonight. I got this nasty splitting headache on one side of my head early this morning. Luckily, it faded as the day progressed. That is, until ten minutes into my legs and back workout. Dang. I was in the middle of busting out some squats and POW! Welcome back to my left temporal lobe, you evil headache of nauseating intensity. Needless to say, finishing strong was not easy! It would've been nice if the return of splitting headache could've held off until I was almost finished my workout, but no. It had to come back and test my dedication early in the workout. Well, I am pleased to announce that I showed my headache who was boss!! Kaaacha! (as my hubby likes to say). I kept up with every move, every rep, every excruciating muscle contraction including ab ripper x! Winning.

One minor problem that merits mentioning... I'm having some knee issues. They've been achey off-and-on for the past week. Today, my left knee was particularly tight and uncomfortable. Balance squats, super skaters and dead lift squats were especially bothersome tonight. I got as deep as I could into the movements but I was admittedly frustrated with my need to ease up a little. It's good that I did, though. The last thing I want to do is seriously tweak my knees. I'll take is easier for the next day or so and see how I feel. Recovery week starts on Sunday, which means double yoga (ugh), but I think it will be good for my knees.

As for the diet, I made the most delicious meal of this entire journey for lunch today!!! Garlic, herb and wine marinated shrimp (fresh shrimp, yay) and spinach and onion tri-color couscous. AMAZING. I'm not kidding, this meal was five stars! It was different from anything I have cooked thus far. It was flavorful, filling and completely p90x approved! Two proteins, one condiment, one carb and one veggie. And worth every single bite. The couscous was very good and different. One of the best uses for a carb, besides waffles or pancakes, of course. Yum. Jake and I needed something different because we were getting sick of the same things; this is exactly what we needed.

Tomorrow is kenpo. Yay for kenpo! It's going to be a long day and a super long weekend, so I need to up my determination and stick with it. I'm ready to finish this third week strong. Kenpo is my favorite so bringing it will be fun.

Day 46

Well, I got through yoga <-- sums up how I feel right now. I'm happy to see my balance and flexibility improving but I still do not enjoy yoga. And I fell on my face today. Yep. It was graceful. I think I scared Jacob a little, haha. That's what I get for being ambitious and trying to "grab my right ankle with my right hand" during Warrior Three. Needless to say, I wasn't so ambitious when I did that pose on my other leg. Luckily, I didn't get hurt. Just a little tumble. I laughed it off and kept yoga-ing. In the interest of our sanity, Jacob and I decided to watch some Netflix tonight while we did yoga. Maybe it wasn't the best for us to be mildly distracted (that is, however distracted one can be while listening to Tony Horton instruct)... but it was nice not to focus completely on how much my legs were shaking as I held all these balance postures. I don't think it was a bad thing. Plus, it made the hour and a half go by quicker! Not literally, of course, but it sure did feel like it. Either way, I got through yoga. Now I don't have to worry about it again until Sunday (thank you, recovery week :P).

Tomorrow is legs/back and the ab ripper. Legs and back is my favorite resistance workout so that'll be good. It kills my legs but I feel great afterwards. I'm not anxious to rip my abs but it must be done. I will console myself with the knowledge that (a) it's good for me to embrace the burn in order to get "the most ripper abdominal section" and (b) I won't have to do the ab ripper again until the Sunday after next. With those things in mind, I'm totally going to BRING IT tomorrow!

Day 45

I must be having an off week because I did not feel like working out tonight, yet again. That usually only happens once or twice a week and the desire to skip it isn't very strong... but lately I have had practically no motivation to workout. I mean, I want to keep up my commitment to p90x but I am so drained! By the time my day allows me to workout I don't want to. At all. But... I do it anyways! And I'm glad I did tonight. I think I did really well with the back and biceps workout! I'm doing most of my curls with 10lbs, which doesn't sound like a lot but that's double the weight I started with! I know 5lbs is super lame but 10lbs is pretty good! The lady on the workout DVD for tonight only uses like 10-12lbs (that I've noticed) so I feel pretty good about my tens. I drop down to 8lbs for a couple moves but I still find the burn. I'm proud of my growing biceps! Haha. I think I'm getting better at the ab ripper, too. The entire ab ripper workout consists of 349 moves and I'm up to about 320! I'm still struggling with doing all 25 reps of crunchy frog and oblique v-ups. I've come quite a long way, though! I'm proud of myself. I'm trying to focus on the positive and all the ways I'm getting stronger instead of focusing on everything I can't do yet. At least I'm pushing my limits and getting stronger! That's what I'll remind myself.

Tomorrow is the awful day of yoga. Bahhhh! I wish I could do x stretch instead, haha. My muscles could use some TLC. Even though I hate yoga, I'll do my best and forget the rest. Gotta briiing it!

Day 44

Plyo was, as it always is, a beast tonight. It was painful and exhausting but I brought it! This workout never gets easier. I thought maybe I'd adapt to it a bit after awhile, yet it burns me out every single time. I like to think my cardio abilities are getting better, that I'm strengthening my heart as well as my body... I sure do hope that's true! I do really believe that I'm getting better every day. However, I was sooo tired by the end of plyo tonight. That's what happens when I don't eat for four hours and expect my body to perform at such a high impact, I guess! Haha. I was soaked through with sweat by the end of the workout. My face was as bright red as a tomato, my heart was racing... but I felt good! Every time I cool down and do the hamstring stretch at the end of plyo, sweats gets in my eyes and stings like crazy. I need to remember to towel off more often but I'm not gonna lie, I love being drenched in sweat from working super hard! It was also nice to have a break from the ab ripper tonight, haha.

Four more workouts to get through the week and it is on to a recovery week! Not that I really enjoy recovery week... the change of pace will be nice, though. Tomorrow is back/biceps and the ab ripper! My upper body is still sore from Sunday's workout, so this should be interesting. Bring it!

Days 42 & 43

I am officially HALFWAY through my p90x journey!!! 6 weeks down, 6 weeks to go!! :D It feels good to say that! Not gonna lie, the workouts and diet are really starting to wear on me. My body is tired and I miss some of my favorite foods from before... it's tough!! I knew it wouldn't be easy, though. I still think it has been and will be worth it. Lately I've been thinking about how far I've come and how far I still want to go. I can notice a big improvement in my upper body strength. Although I still have a very weak upper body, I've made some advances. I can see more muscles mass in my shoulders/biceps/triceps. That is encouraging. But, at the same time, I want to see my definition/fat reduction in my abs and legs. I'm telling myself that I just have to keep working as hard if not harder than I have for the first half and it will come... I hope I'm right ;]

I seriously did nottt feel like working out tonight! I had just driven two hours, hadn't eaten much all day and Jake was passing on the workout tonight due to homework (boo). All these things made my desire to skip tonight very pressuring. But if I only worked out when I felt like it wouldn't be a very frequent occurrence. Gotta bring it when I want to AND when I don't want to. Sometimes, just for the heck of it, I challenge myself to bring it even harder on the days when I'm especially not feeling the workout. Tonight was one of those nights. Chest, shoulders and triceps gets me every time. It's so intense. While I was struggling through the moves I found myself wondering how well my two brothers (both p90x grads who are on their second round of the program) bust out this workout. They're both so friggin' strong and intense. My older brother is the most disciplined, driven and hardcore fitness person I have ever met. But seriously. Tonight, as I stumbled through the workout, I thought about the intensity my brothers bring to their workouts and tried to imagine working out with them and attempting to keep pace. I did alright. I definitely couldn't keep up with them and I can't keep up with Jake when he does this workout with me either. I pushed myself and tried hard. I was pretty happy to accomplish 10 clap pushups, even if they were on my knees. And I did all but four of the two twitch pushups (hate those things)! My arms are dead now. I'll be feeling this tomorrow.

Quick bragging right- Jacob did an awesome job with his PT test this weekend! He actually got the best score he's had since getting stationed with his current unit. He busted out his run with a huge time improvement (we're both crediting that to plyo- he's been such a beast with that workout and it definitely showed during his run) and he racked up an impressive number of sit ups and push ups. I'm so proud of my man!! :D He has been doing an awesome job with p90x. I know it's rough for him, especially the diet aspect, but he's stepped up and dedicated himself in a big way. So babe, if you read this, please know that I am super proud of you! I love having you as my workout buddy and partner in all things. You're the best.

Tomorrow is the X workout. Plyometrics. Lovely way to end my Mondays, haha. Even if I don't feel like working out again tomorrow, I'm gonna bring it!

Day 41

Kenpo kicked my butt tonight!! It was good but exhausting! I was tired to begin with- definitely having one of those "this has been a long and busy week and I'm just ready for the weekend" kind of days- so doing kenpo tonight really drained me. This is the first time I've actually struggled to get through the workout!! The block series (4 different blocks, 30 reps on each arm) killlllled my shoulders/upper arms/upper back tonight. Eeeeesh. My shoulders were on fire! I felt really good after it was all done, though! On a side note, Jake and I decided to try a new recovery drink. Thanks to Gold Card week at GNC, we were able to get some new stuff and a couple blender bottles (we each have one already, but the watermelon recoup permanently made our bottles have a slight fruity flavor, not so good for milk protein shakes, haha) for a good price. Unfortunately, the new recovery drink that hubby picked out is naaaasty! Yuck. He doesn't mind it but I think it tastes like Robitussin. Gross. Good thing I picked up more watermelon for myself just incase ;]

Well, my body is sore and tired so it's time for me to get some sleep. I'm thankful that tomorrow is a rest day!! I definitely need a day off. I'll totally bring it relaxing tomorrow, hahaha.

Day 40

Ugh, I had an off day today. I can't put my finger on exactly what it was... Maybe it was from working out really late again. Maybe it's because I feel bloated from eating lots of broccoli (haha)... I just don't know! Whatever the reason, I felt like crap during the workout tonight. I got through the whole thing pretty well, no lessening of weights or anything... as a matter of fact, I actually did more of my pull-ups on the bar with a chair to assist tonight. Nothing too impressive, but I did work hard. I'm sooo freaking sick of the ab ripper! I think I said that last time, but seriously, it's getting old. And it feels like I do it every day. Bahh. Oh well. Gotta suck it up, put tonight behind me and keep going. Work harder, push more. Do it. Every day. The problem is, I feel like that isn't enough. I feel like I'm not progressing as much as I would like to... I'm getting stronger, I know that, but I'm not looking how I want to look yet. Again, I know I just need to keep going and pushing through the workouts, but it's getting more and more difficult.

At least tomorrow is kenpo! That always makes me feel good. And the end of this week will officially mark the halfway point of my p90x journey! I guess I can feel good about that :]