Insanity!

Well, I did it. I tried Insanity! I was pretty intimidated by it, but I did it. My cardio skills aren't that great since I lovelovelove strength and resistance training so much. I'd rather lift weights. Any day. But I know I need to improve my cardio so I figured I'd give Insanity a shot. And man, what a workout!! I Cardio Recovery yesterday and Cardio Power and Resistance today. (If you're wondering why I started with these two workouts it's because my brothers are doing the full Insanity program and my older brother is at my apartment helping me move so I worked out with him). Cardio Recovery wasn't too bad. You do approximately a million and a half squats. Or so it feels. My quads were screaming! And there were a few yoga moves, which made me feel a little womble-y and reminded me of my very long hiatus from yoga (ha). Since it was a recovery workout it wasn't really a workout workout. If you know what I mean. Cardio Power and Resistance, on the other hand, was beast. My heart rate was up to like 180 just in the warm up!! It was pretty brutal. Then again, with all the craziness of moving I haven't really been working out lately (unless you count packing/hauling boxes and walking a lot). So I'm definitely not conditioned to intense cardio right now. Boo. It makes me sad to type that! Especially since I had gotten better at cardio thanks to Plyometrics X. I digress... the workout was rough but so good tonight! I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it since I still have a good bit of packing to take care of. But I knew I would feel better if I took the time to workout. And I'm very happy that I did! I really like that the Insanity workouts are relatively short. Tonight's was like 34 minutes or so. I like that. A shorter, power-packed, intense workout. That's good stuff right there. The structure of the Insanity workouts was somewhat similar to Plyometrics X but still different. There was a set of moves that you do for the workouts, repeating the sequence three times while doing it a little faster each time. The warm up moves were no joke, too. I'm talking double heismans, squat jacks... serious moves. Then there was a stretch before getting into the real workout. The "meat" of the routine was like the warm up- a set of moves repeated three times getting progressively faster. I think there were three different sets. Yeah. Three. So it was totally doable but still tough! I had to take a few breaks and just march it out to get my heart rate down (I hit 191!) but I never stopped moving. I felt so good once I was done! It definitely made me proud to finish that workout. And it reminded me that I need to get conditioned for cardio again, haha. I might give the full program a try once I'm moved and settled a bit.

On to the food portion of my day. I honestly did not eat much today. I don't think I ate enough calories for doing an intense workout tonight.

Breakfast
2 Kashi 7 grain waffles
1 Tbsp Better 'n Peanut Butter
A dash of cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened almnd milk
1/2 scoop protein powder
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Lunch
Chobani lemon yogurt
Handful of raspberries
Fiber one granola bar

Snack
100 calorie black licorice rope

Dinner
1 homemade stuffed pepper (with lean ground turkey, lentils, onion and diced tomatoes with reduced fat cheese sprinkled on top)

Snack
A few dark chocolate covered coffee beans (I can't get away from them! Lol)

Post workout snack
Elite Recoup recovery drink (I drank this during and post workout)

2 slices whole wheat bread
1 Tbsp chunky peanut butter
1 Tbsp all natural cherry preserves
1 cup unsweetened almond milk

It sounds like a lot but I bet if I added it up and subtracted the 500 calories I burned working out, it wouldn't be very much. I might regret that tomorrow. My muscles might ache from the lack of protein. We'll see! Either way, I'm glad that I finally tried Insanity! :D

Lots of abs

I tried a bunch of new ab moves tonight! I picked up SELF Magazine's "Flat Abs Made Easy" and was excited to try some of the moves from it! There are a few different moves that can be mixed and matched for a great core workout. I did like 30 minutes worth of them- it felt great (in a sore, make my abs hate me kind of way, of course). It wasn't anything spectacular, but I definitely felt them working! And I was happy to get some strengthening time in. I needed it. I wanted to do some legs and arms work but I was crunched for time and my legs are sore from all the jumping yesterday. I figured just targeting my abs for awhile was better than nothing! I hope I'm sore tomorrow, haha.

Now for the food part of my day. I felt pretty hungry all day long... I managed to stay on track with small healthy (well, mostly) snacks in-between meals. Here it is:

Breakfast
PB and banana sandwich- two pieces of multigrain bread, 2 Tbsp Better 'N Peanut Butter, 1 small banana and a dash of cinnamon.
Coconut coffee with 1 tsp sugar and coconut almond milk

Snack
1 light string cheese stick
7 strawberries

Lunch
Salad- field greens, baby spinach, beets, grape tomatoes, cucumber, fat free feta cheese, sunflower seeds and low-fat raspberry walnut dressing

Snack
Handful of dark chocolate covered coffee beans (I can't resist them!)
1 medium apple

Dinner
Italian seasoned chicken breast
Pasta salad- multigrain spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, fat free ranch dressing and a sprinkle of feta cheese

Snack
6 rosemary Triscuit crackers
6 pieces of 75% fat free cheddar cheese slices
Small handful of blueberries

That's it! I just can't stop eating those coffee beans, haha. They're so good!! I think I ate a bit too much sodium yesterday and maybe a little too much dairy today... but I did get all my diary from low-fat or fat free sources. I also feel like I ate a lot of fruit and veggies today, which is good! I realized that I didn't log my water consumption for yesterday because I didn't even think of recording it. I drink a lot of water! I don't usually keep close track of it because I know I get enough or more than enough everyday. Today, I think I drank about 72oz.

I won't be working out tomorrow due to traveling... but hopefully I can try a new workout with my brothers this weekend! We'll see :]

Exhausted!

Between my work hours changing to longer days Monday through Thursday, the busyness of trying to pack and everything else involved with moving 300+ miles, I am worn out. Seriously though. On the up side I get half-days on Friday. However, every Friday is spoken for. Booked. Busy. I feel like I have next to zero downtime! And if I want downtime I have to skimp on sleep which is a terrible idea. I don't do well running on less than 7 hours of sleep. Plus, lack of sleep can lead to weight gain. It's a real catch 22. Busy life. Needless to say, my workout life has taken a hit. I hate to admit it, but I have to cut out a lot of my exercise time in order to make time for other necessary tasks. I hate it, but it's a necessary evil. Sigh.

Tonight, however, I managed to fit in a workout! A good one, too. I've heard so much about Insanity so when I  found this 20 minute Insanity workout, I had to try it! Let me tell you, it was a serious workout! No joke!! I thought it looked intense but not ridiculous... well, I was wrong. Haha. I am not very good at cardio (obviously) so this workout really took it out of me! And I was having one of those days when my body feels so heavy. Like every jump took an enormous amount of effort! It was crazy. I'm not sure why I felt so sub-par but it made this workout that much harder. I tried to keep my abs tight and engaged the entire time in order to work them harder. I've been trying to make a conscious effort to engage my abs more often- whether I'm sitting down, walking, doing other strengthening moves. Hopefully it'll make a difference! It's gotta be doing something.

After my big move is over (and I get back from my 7 day cruise, hehe), I'm hoping to get back into a good workout routine and start blogging more regularly. I'm not sure how well that will go since I have a lot of summer plans... but hey, if I want to wear a bikini practically every day, I'm going to be constantly reminded to workout all summer long! Maybe I'll give the real Insanity workouts a try. And then pass out, haha. I feel like those workouts will kill me. Eek. Maybe I'll be brave and try it.

I'm thinking about keeping a food log on my blog, too. It'll keep me accountable. I'll be honest, though, I'm not super strict about my diet. Not as much as I should be. So sharing my food log might be tough for me... I'll have to be very transparent. I think it'd be good for me, though. In fact, I'll log today to start this new idea off:

Breakfast
2 Kashi 7 grain waffles
1 Tbsp Better 'N Peanut Butter
1 small banana
Coffee with 1 tsp sugar and coconut almond milk

Snack
Lemon greek yogurt (Chobani, fat free)
6 strawberries

Lunch
Grilled cheese-two slices multi-grain bread, 2oz cheese (75% fat free cheddar and regular gouda) with 1/4 thinly sliced pear

Snack
Handful dark chocolate covered coffee beans
1 medium apple

Dinner
6oz sirloin steak (with soy sauce and seasoning)
1/2 cup corn

Snack
1 1/2oz goat cheese
15 multi-grain crackers

Sheesh, that looks like a lot of food! It was pretty spread out, though... and it was all yummy! I could've done without the dark chocolate covered coffee beans but I needed a little jolt in the middle of my work day. And dark chocolate is good for you, right? Haha. The grilled cheese sandwich was something new that I tried. It was really different. Sweet and savory, gooey and a little crunchy... very interesting! I liked it, though. Dinner was my hubby's creation. His steak is delicious! We usually eat steak once, maybe twice, a month so I always savor it.

Okay, well that's all I have for now! I'm planning to sneak in some strengthening moves tomorrow evening. Let's hope I have the time and energy! :]

Quick update

Yes, I am still working out!! Not quite as frequently and as long as I'd like to be, but my life is busybusy! I'm moving at the end of the month so that means LOTS of cleaning and packing!! It's pretty much enough to keep all my free-time busy from here on out until our moving day. It's rather dreadful, to be quite honest. I hate packing. I'm still working full-time so as you can imagine, my days are full of stuff to do. I am making time for some working out, though! With the first phase of the Drop 10 plan done, I'm moving onto the second phase! I really like the new moves. It's a nice change of pace from the other strength moves I was doing for awhile. I'm also hoping to start running again this summer!! I've never been much of a runner but I did pick it up while I was at college. When I was running frequently, I could go close to five miles at a time. I want to do a 5k either this fall or next spring so I'm going to start running more. I did venture to the school gym and use the elliptical a couple days ago! That was great! I forgot how much I loved the elliptical. I used it allllll the time last summer. I was a little "rusty" but I still cranked out 4 1/4 miles :] And I felt SO GOOD afterwards! Yay!

Okay, I don't have time to blog more right now, but I will be blogging more in the future! Wish me luck! ;]

Some of my favorite things

I stole this idea from my fellow blogger friend, Cheurice :]  I thought it would be cool to share some of my favorite health and fitness related things as of late. So here goes! Right now I am crazy about...


1) Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Coconut Milk! I'm addicted to it. It has a light and refreshing taste- it's fantastic alone, in cereal, in coffee, whatever! And with only 45 calories and no sugar, it's guilt-free as well :] 

This stuff is delicious!!

2) Fresh popped popcorn. I pop it in a stock pan over the stove with a little olive oil and a little salt. It's my new go-to snack when I just need a little something to munch on between dinner and my cut-off eating time before bed.

3) Squats. My legs are strong and I love working them hard! Squat jumps, dead weight squats, weighted squats, lunge squats. Squat squat squat (ha, that sounds funny out loud). In fact, I did so much squatting and jumping the other day that my legs feel beyond sore. It's great.

4) Hockey playoffs :]  I've always been a huge Boston Bruins fan and it's so exciting to see them in the playoffs again this year!! I would absolutely love to see them win the Stanley Cup again! But how does this relate to my health/fitness favorite things? Well, watching the playoff games makes me SO nervous that I literally can't sit still. So what do I do? Jump. Cardio. Weights. Anything and everything to get out all my pent up anxiety as I watch them play. During the game on Thursday, I worked out so hard and so long that I burned around 800 calories! Woah! Plus, with how beastly hockey players are, they inspire me. Seriously! I can't even skate forget everything they do! It's nuts and it makes me push myself even harder while I workout. Thanks, playoffs ;]

LOVE the Boston Bruins!!!

Tim Thomas, like a boss.

5) My heart rate monitor. This Christmas gift from my brother has definitely become my favorite workout accessory. I loved watching my heart rate go up. I love challenging myself to keep it at or above a certain level for a designated amount of time. I love being able to see my total workout time, average heart rate and peak heart rate once I finish my workout. I also love being able to calculate my calorie burn based on my average heart rate! It's so encouraging. I use this website to calculate it. I know it isn't completely accurate but it is a good tool!

6) Finally having a new prescription so that my own sweat doesn't kill me :P haha. But for real.

7) Green tea with mint. Green tea is SUPER ridiculously good for you! I've been trying to drink more of it lately and this has become my favorite. I'm not usually a big fan of mint teas (I prefer fruity or chai) but my hubby picked this one out and I'm glad he did!

I drink it hot and black

8) This recipe: Protein Pancakes. These things are outrageously good!!! I love pancakes. Always have, always will. So I like trying new recipes from time to time. When I saw this one I saw instantly intrigued because it contains no pancake mix or flour. The first time I made it, I thought I screwed it up because the batter is suuuuper runny (let this serve as a warning to anyone who might attempt to make these now!). But I realized it's meant to be cooked in one skillet, almost like an omelette. At least, that's how I cook them, ha. They're so stinking delicious, they don't even need syrup or agave! Nothing. Just eat as is! I even made them for my brother and Daddy while I was visiting them last week. Everyone loved them. I make 'em with almond milk (see #1) and extra cinnamon. I also use a whey/casein blend protein powder- one is quick release the other is a slow burn- because that's the only protein powder I buy. I've also tried adding some oats, chopped nuts or peanut butter. Jake's favorite blend so far is oats and chopped walnuts because it's almost like banana nut bread in pancake for. I like a little Better 'n Peanut Butter in mine. Yummmm!

9) Planks. I've realized that by simply turning my normal blank hold into a decline plank (by propping my feet up on a chair) I work my lower abs much better. Which makes me extremely happy. I'm also determined to get better at doing side planks with a leg raise. Those killed me in P.A.P. Lower last week.

10) Beets. They used to weird me out but now I can't get enough of them! I particularly love them in a field greens salad with a little goat cheese. Now that is a fantastic lunch! Granted, cooking them always turns my hands (and my kitchen counter) pink, but they're worth it!

They're packed full of nutrients!

Okay, that's all I can think of right now :]  If you'd like, comment below and share some of your favorite things!

Chaos in my workout world

If it's not one thing it's another. You know? Last week I couldn't work out because of my skin infection so I was beyond ready to get back to working out this week! Well, I got a good workout in on Monday night (Drop 10 strength moves and my new tranversus ab routine). Then, my grandfather passed away on Tuesday morning :[  I was at work when I got the (hysterical) call from my poor Mom, she was a wreck. Fortunately, I have a wonderful job and boss who allowed me to leave then and there. So, Jacob and I packed our bags, straightened up our messy apartment and were on the road to Massachusetts within a couple hours. I know my Mom was very happy to have us come up right away. We were able to cheer her up and comfort her. I've been staying busy with her since I got here- trying to distract her but mostly just trying to be there for her. It's been rough. Needless to say, that has thrown a bit of a wrench into my exercise routines, yet again. I can still workout here (especially with all the workout DVDs my brothers have!) but it's tough to make time for it when I just want to be there for my Mom. I have managed to sneak in a couple great workouts, though!

Tuesday night, after getting up at 6:30am, working a few hours and making the 5 1/2 hour drive here, my brothers wanted me to workout with them. I had just eaten some lightened up seafood chowder (yum) and was in the middle of watching the Bruins with my Daddy but I figured I'd give it a shot. They're on the last phase of P90X2 right now so I knew the workout would be rough and awesome. I was right. On Tuesday, I joined them for P.A.P. Upper workout. P.A.P. stands for "Post Activation Potentiation". Apparently it's like the hottest thing in sports science today. It's all about combining strength moves with plyo-style moves or explosive moves. It's pretty intense! The workouts consist of two movements or blocks (I forgot what they actually call them) comprised of four moves. You repeat each circuit of four moves four times and that is one block. There are two blocks in each of the P.A.P. workouts. So, you do four moves back to back then repeat three times. And these moves are no joke! In Upper, we were doing push ups with rows in-between, plyo-push ups (you might know them as clap push ups), pull ups, planks balancing your feet on a medicine ball (okay, I didn't tackle it on the medicine ball but I did elevate my feet to make it a decline plank which killed to hold for 60 seconds four times!). It was nasty! I felt really good when I was done with it, though! So good, in fact, that I decided to try P.A.P. Lower with them on Friday night! I liked that workout a little more. I prefer lower body work since that's what I'm good at. I know I should focus more on my upper body in order to make it stronger, but I'll always love leg work. Mmhmm. Anyways, P.A.P. Lower was just as nasty as upper although I think it was easier than Legs & Back from P90X. Either way, it was still a great workout! We did this cool step up on a block, lift knee, step back down and go into lunge move that I liked a lot. We also did this miserable side plank, lift one leg and hold for 30 seconds move. Yep, couldn't do that one! I think I held it for like 10 seconds before I had to go back down to a regular side plank. That move was brutal! I want to get better at it now. I think overall the workout wasn't quite as strenuous as I imagined but it was still really good. It almost reminded me of Core Synergistics from P90X. But with a focus on lower or upper body strength, depending on the routine.

I'm glad that I was able to get a couple really good new routines in this week! I might try another P90X2 workout tonight just for fun. Maybe some Plyocide. Doesn't that just sounds torturous? I bet it sucks but is an incredible workout. Here's to hoping that I can get back into a more solid workout routine next week!

Wahhhhhhh

I WANT TO WORK OUT SO BADLY!!!! I hate this stupid rash!!!! I'm dying to work up a great sweat and challenge my muscles!!! But I know if I do my skin infection/rash will just get more agitated and take longer to heal. I hate being forced to take time off! HATE. This rash better go away quickly so that I can have a serious sweat session SOON! :[

Unwanted time off

Well, my body decided that it hates itself again. My skin allergy is back with a vengeance!! For those who missed this in a previous post, I am allergic to my own sweat. It sucks. Big time. I had it under control for awhile but it decided to ambush me today. I have a prescription body wash/nasty bright red "shampoo" for it but it doesn't help all that much. I broke out with it for the first time quite a few months ago. It was entirely miserable- I couldn't sleep, I went to the ER twice and my dermatologist once. It was really bad for three-four weeks and eased up after that. I started using this RX and it helped a lot! I was finally hopeful for some relief! I spent a few months without an issue. Until now. My neck felt a little itchy last night but I thought it was just dry skin. Well, wouldn't you know, I woke up this morning and my neck was even more itchy. By lunch break, my whole neck and chest were itchy, stinging and red. It has just gotten worse and worse as the day goes on. I've been using some anti-itch lotion and ice cold compresses but no relief. I used my RX and it helped for about three hours but that's it. I'm really hoping I can sleep tonight! Last time it was this bad, I barely slept at all. I was up every hour to put a cold compress and more lotion on. Utterly miserable. Those weeks were honestly awful. I'm hoping and praying that this clears up quickly!! I decided to take a couple days off from working out to let it clear up. Sigh. I hatehatehatehate doublehate taking days off from working out! Especially when it's for something lame, uncontrollable and frustrating like this. It makes me very angry. And annoyed. And angry. Gahhh!!! I don't want to take time off but obviously sweating is just going to aggravate my rash even more so it's a necessary evil. Unfortunately. So that's my update. My stupid I'm-allergic-to-myself rash is forcing me to take time off from my workouts. ASGJFHFDFIUOY!!! MAD MAD MAD. Pleeease send prayers and good thoughts my way for a speedy healing!

Drop 10 & new ab routine!

I started SELF magazine's Drop 10 Diet this week! You can check out the plan here.  It's a 5 day a week program that alternates cardio and strength training. Confession: I haven't done any of the cardio yet :X  I seriously prefer strength/resistance training over cardio. I'd rather lift all day then do cardio for an hour. I'm so bad. I do like Plyometrics and Kenpo from P90X so I need to work those back into my workout schedule. I'm getting there, though. Starting my full-time position screwed with my workout habits so I'm just happy to get back to working out four days a week! It's hard for me to commit to an hour+ six nights a week when I have a lot of other things to do with my evenings. I know I shouldn't make excuses but I did need to give my body time to adapt. I'm up a good bit earlier every morning but I'm still staying up until about the same time at night so I was concerned that keeping up with P90X for the first few weeks would make me apt to injury. Well, I did injure my stupid tow ligaments (yes, it still hurts a lot) but I didn't do any major damage. I needed to take the time off, as much as I felt guilty for it. I'm happy to be forming some new habits! I really like this Drop 10 plan because the workouts are only like 20 minutes. The strength routine is power-packed! It works multiple muscle groups at once to maximize calorie burn, which I love. Some of the moves are pretty easy for me, so I've increased the reps. Others are more difficult so I just do the recommended number of reps (its 2 sets of 12 reps, in case you're wondering). It's a great workout!

I also started a new ab routine that I'm suuuuper psyched about!! I needed something new. I'm sick of Ab Ripper X and I don't have my own copy of Ab Ripper X2 so I had to find something new. I went to Barnes & Noble with my mom last weekend and read the newest issue of Fitness magazine while I sipped my skinny mocha. It was a great Saturday afternoon! Back to topic- I found a ab routine that targets your transverse abdominals, which act like a natural corset! I read that and thought "score!", haha. Anything that can make me tummy look trimmer is a must-try for me. So I found the workout here. I was very happy and did it right away. I'll tell you what, this routine is no joke!! I thought my abs were pretty strong after completing P90X but man, this was a killer! I'm doing the minimum reps/sets right now while I gain strength. I was a little annoyed the first night but I realized that I have a lot of room for improvement which will be nice to see. I like starting a new tough routine and watch myself get better and better at it. That's an awesome feeling of accomplishment! I'll track my progress here to see how much I improve. I can't do the "Tolasana on Blocks" at all. Ugh. I'm trying but I just can't get it yet. I will be incredibly happy on the day that I can actually do that move!! It looks easy but it is NOT. Especially for someone like me who has very long legs. Not easy. At all. Gotta get stronger so I can own it!

Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty good! I'm going to try harder next week to get in my cardio, even if it is just plyo one night and kenpo another. I need to do something. One step at a time! I'm not gonna lie, though, I'm pretty thrilled about how my abs are looking. After I worked out tonight, my upper abs were completely visible (they usually are, but they looked even better), as were my obliques (yay for the side cuts coming in) and the center cut in my lower abs (those are the most stubborn). I snapped a picture on my iPhone to show my "trainer", haha. That was a boost I definitely needed! I feel my motivation coming back. Time to kick it up to beast mode and get ready for bikini season!! :D

Ab Ripper X2!

I did Ab Ripper X2 tonight with my brothers!! I was going to do a whole workout with them and the Ab Ripper, but there really wasn't enough room and my late dinner wasn't making me feel the best. So I watched some of their workout (I'm not sure what it was called but it was all cardio plyo-style and pulls up/chin ups) and did abs at the end with them. I think I could have done most of the stuff I watched them do in the regular workout which makes me want to try it, haha. I DID do just about everything in Ab Ripper X2!! I was happy :] It was tough and I wasn't great at some of the moves... but I did my best and I'm feeling pretty happy about it! I thought I would struggle with it a lot more than I did. This ab routine is a lot different than the regular Ab Ripper X. It's hard to compare the two and say if one or the other is easier because they're so different. X2 focuses on a lot of stabilization- more yoga-style moves like boat and banana. It was isolated movements that just buuuuurn so deep in the abs! I liked it. I think it works the transverse abs and obliques really well, which is exactly what I've been trying to work more lately! Yep, I like Ab Ripper X2! It was nice to have a change of pace, too, since I've basically been sick of Ab Ripper X since my fourth week of P90X :P haha. Overall, it was good. It wasn't a full workout but I'm glad I did something tonight. I guess 17 minutes of abs is better than nothing! I'm feelin' good :]

Leg work/injury

I tore it (and by "it" I mean my quads, hammys, calves and butt) with some leg work tonight! It was SO good! Jake wanted to watch the Bruins game so I busted out my rep logging sheets from P90X and just did the legs component of the Legs & Back routine. I didn't do the back work because I've been playing catch with the hubs lately (yay for good weather and preseason baseball to get us in the spirit!) and my shoulders/back are pretty sore from that. We had an awesome time throwing a baseball around so I figure that's a good workout. Back to legs- I dug deep and pushed myself tonight! It was hard to workout without the DVD. I'm a competitive person so I do well working out along to a DVD because I push myself to keep up with everyone in the DVD. I try to do just as well as they do and that always leads me to push harder than I typically would on my own. I brought it tonight, though! I used good old dedication to push myself. And it worked! My legs were on fire! It burnt so good.

However, one minor problem... I hurt my big toe on my left foot. I don't know how but it's been hurting for a couple days now. At first it just felt tender when I would walk... today it hurt just to be in my shoes or bend my toe... Now, after working out on it, it hurts just to stand up. No good! I don't think it's broken because it isn't super swollen or funny colors. Something definitely isn't right, though. I'm trying to avoid going to the doctors because I hatehatehate co-pays. Ha. Jake looked into toe/foot injuries and we think I have "turf toe", which is an injury to the ligaments. Apparently I should stay off of it for three weeks but that basically is not an option for me. I can't stay off my foot for that long! I'm going to try and rest it a little and hope it heals up. If it doesn't get better in a few weeks I'll suck it up and go see a doctor. I guess we'll see what happens in the next few weeks. Hopefully it will stop hurting because it's pretty bad.

I'm taking a rest day tomorrow to travel home for the weekend *insert big grin here*. My brother told me that I must try a P90X2 workout while I'm home so that might happen on Saturday. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little scared of the P90X2 workouts!! They're RIDICULOUS. Beyond ridiculous. It's crazy. I watched my brothers do a couple of them last time I was home and I was astounded at how crazy they are. I know there are some moves that my brothers can't even do, which confounds me. They're both much stronger than I am so I don't know how much of a chance I have at getting through this!! I was going to get P90X2 for myself but I'm not sure I'm ready for it yet. P90X still challenged me so I'm going to stick with that for now. I'll update on how my P90X2 workout goes if I go through with it. For now, it's bed and a day off tomorrow! :]

Two months later?!

So it's been about two months since I finished P90X. Two months. Wow. Time has been zipping right along in my little world! What have I been up to since I finished? Well, the first thing I did was take an entire week off! Ha! Yep, I rested my body and took it easy. I wasn't sure how I felt about taking a week off but I felt like my body really needed it. My muscles were pretty beat up. I ended up enjoying my rest week- real rest, unlike P90X rest week ;]. It did make it a little difficult to get back into my regular workouts, though. I'm not working out 6 days a week anymore. I figure working out 5 days a week is good for me... I'm not gonna lie, though, even that is tough lately! I started a new full-time job and my schedule got super busy super fast. It's been hard to get in my workouts every night when I barely have enough time to cook dinner, clean up the kitchen, catch up on emails, spend some time with my hubby, grocery shop or a million other things I'm used to doing. My time feels so limited lately! I'm having a hard time adjusting but I'm working on it. I'm doing my best. Even if I can't workout six days a week I can still eat really healthy and workout as hard as I can an often as I can. I'm doing my best. And when I do workout, let me tell you, I workout hard!! I did Kenpo X tonight and kept my heart rate nice and high. I torched around 600 calories and felt fantastic! I'm sure my legs and shoulders are going to be sore tomorrow. I hope so, ha. Last time I did Chest & Back, I cranked out 226 push ups! They were girly (on my knees) and obviously not all consecutive, but still! I'd say that's pretty impressive. I'm still getting stronger and working hard. I need to work even harder, though. I'm going to do a strengthening workout tomorrow since I did cardio tonight. I'm still trying to alternate cardio and strength days; it keeps me balanced. I'm also trying to mix up what I do so I don't get sick of the workouts. I get bored easily, haha. I might do Back and Biceps tomorrow or Shoulders and Arms. Something upper body. Oh, which reminds me, I've also increased my weights on my bicep curls! I'm up to 15 pounds! That's triple the weight I started with! I know 15lbs isn't incredible but I'm working on it. Anyways, that's my workout life! I'm just plugging along trying to do as much as I can. I might get Tony Horton's 10 minute trainer to sneak in alongside some quick cardio on days when I'm especially crammed for time. Not sure yet, but it sounds like a good idea. All I know is I need to make time to workout more often so I'll be ready to rock my new VS bikini this summer! ;]

Results

I know it took me awhile to finally get this posted, but here it is- my P90X results! I'm a little hesitant to post these pictures because my results aren't phenomenal... Don't get me wrong, I worked super hard and I do see changes! And I'm proud of those changes. They just aren't huge, like a lot of the P90X results pictures that you see floating around on the internet. Then again, I didn't have 100 pounds to lose! Heck, I didn't even have 20 pounds to lose... So I am happy with my results. I'm not where I want to be yet, but I've made some great progress! On that note- I started P90X all over again tonight! Haha, I'm crazy. I don't think I'll do it all the way through for this round, though. I won't do all 90 days because I will be starting P90X2 in a month!! I'm so excited. I might blog for that experience, too. Maybe. Anyways! Here are my final results from P90X! Sorry the first picture is so small... I don't know how to make it bigger...

                                                Top row: Day 1; Bottom row: Day 90

Start to finish!

                                                                      We did it!!!

Day 90!

I AM OFFICIALLY A P90X GRADUATE!!!! I did it!!! Woo-hoooo!! I'm so happy :D I wasn't sure that I'd be able to do this program at all, let alone finish it! But I DID IT! I proved to myself that I'm stronger than I think! I can push myself and move those limits, I can get better, more fit!

I wasn't happy to be ending my journey with yoga (as I stated yesterday) but I'm happy to have completed all 90 days. I did my best with yoga- it was a little harder than usual to focus because I have a lot on my mind and I'm driving up to MA tonight, but I made it through. I pressed through and brought it! My legs are a little sore from core synergistics but nothing unbearable. My hip flexors felt tight, per usual, but again, nothing major. I definitely didn't come to enjoy yoga, at least not the moving whatever they're called section. I did enjoy the stretching but I always have. Yoga was the bane of this program for me... but it's also the workout that is performed the most so that tells ya something! I guess it is really important to keep something like yoga in my fitness rotation to help prevent injuries.

I'm going to post before and after pictures on here, but not right now. I need to put them side-by-side and decide if the differences are really good enough for me to show :P haha. I'll post some updates as I decide what to do next or I might even redo this entire program and blog throughout again. We'll see! For now, I'm going to enjoy graduating my first round of P90X! :D

Day 89

Ahhh, ONE DAY LEFT!!! I can't believe it! I feel great. Core synergistics was excellent tonight! I got a later start than I originally wanted to, but that can be blamed on a delicious dinner that took longer than expected to prepare. It was worth it. I made a shrimp and avocado stir-fry with rice wine, soy sauce and some lemon juice over wild rice. Delicious. And apparently is was perfect fuel for my workout because I felt good bringing it tonight! Of course, core synergistics still kicked me butt and wore me out, but I feel like I got through it much better today than I did on Tuesday. I even upped my reps on a few moves! I was dripping sweat and beyond ready to guzzle my recovery drink and shower but I was high on endorphins and feeling mighty fine. I loooove that feeling!! I love conquering a challenging workout and pushing myself the entire way through. The endorphins afterwards are worth every bead of sweat. Gahh, I love working out! And I'm super excited that I've made it to day 89!

Tomorrow is yoga! I'm not too excited to end my P90X journey with my least favorite workout but I'm ready to bring it! I want to complete this! I'm a little nervous to take after pictures and compare them to my before pictures... I hope I can see all the changes I wanted! I know I'm still not where I want to be quite yet but I know for a fact that I'm closer than I was 89 days ago! :] So, one day left. Just one. Time to finish strong!!

Day 88

I love x stretch. Mmmm. My muscles are SO happy right now!! I just wish I could soak in a hot bath sprinkled with epsom salt right now. That would've been the best ending to x stretch. Unfortunately, my itty bitty corner shower stall of ridiculously small proportions does not allow a bath. At all. Sigh. Maybe I can soak in a bath this weekend at my parents house... it will be my reward for completing P90X ;] haha. Either way, my muscles feel great after stretching them out for an hour. Glorious.

One problem with today- I have been very hungry. All day. All freaking day I have been hungry. Hungry for anything, everything! I just wanted to eat. A lot. Mostly carbs and sweet snacks. Oh man, it was baddd! I don't know why my appetite was so out of control! It made me angry. I started the day off with a peanut butter and banana sandwich on some all natural honey wheat berry bread. I thought it was a perfect start to the day- low sugar peanut butter, high fiber bread, a vitamin-rich banana and a dash of cinnamon. Sounds great, right?? It was so good. But maybe it set me up to be hungry for the rest of the day?! I don't even know... I guess it was mostly the late afternoon/evening that I was ravenous. I was good, though, and didn't eat a bunch of crap. I might've had a little bit of cinnamon Kashi cereal that I shouldn't have... and a little skinny spinach dip after 9pm... but considering how badly I wanted to eat everything in my snack drawer, I think I did pretty good ;] Here's to hoping I'm less hungry tomorrow!

Speaking of tomorrow, I've got core synergistics to kick my butt! Gahhh, killer workout. I'm determined to eat great tomorrow, drink tons of water and BRING IT! Two days left!!

Day 87

My last kenpo x session! Sad story!! I was looking forward to doing kenpo all day today. It's such a great cardio workout without being quite as insane as plyometrics. Plus, it goes by quickly. I was able to workout at a decent time, too. My stomach was empty but not hungry empty, if that makes sense. I had eaten two hours prior so I didn't get cramps during the workout but I wasn't starving either. Now that I think of it, I get cramps from being too full OR too hungry when I do any sort of cardio... I need to time my workouts juuust right and tonight happened to be timed rather perfectly. I love when that happens. I knew I would be pretty famished by the end of kenpo so I popped a few cinnamon dusted pecans before I started. Enough to let my tummy know I would be feeding it soon but not too much to disrupt my intensity level. Perfection. It was a great workout. The only downfall was that I was flying solo tonight since Jacob was at his internship all day. Sad story times two! But, that just meant I had plenty of space to kick and punch and I could workout with the window open! Wait, that sounds awkward... Jake gets cold easily when he works out; I, on the other hand, sweat like a roasting pig. Therefore, Jake insists on having the windows closed and the air conditioner on low and pointed away from us (our apartment is oppressively hot, thanks to good old radiators, so we run a floor unit a/c year round). Tonight, I opened the window, got some cool fresh air flowing and set the a/c to 72. It was so nice. I worked up a great sweat and kept an average HR of 156 with a peak at 175. It felt so good! My shoulders/upper back/neck still felt sore and tight throwing punches. The first few sets of punches were giving me a decent burn... my right shoulder/rotator cuff started hurting about 20 minutes in but nothing too terrible. I had to decrease my intensity with my right arm but I still brought it. I think my muscles just need to warm up a little more because it felt fine after that... Altogether, I enjoyed my final kenpo session! Plus, it confirmed my desire to do P90X over again if nothing more than to have more kenpo sessions, ha.

Tomorrow is going to be fantastic- x stretch. Mmmmmm. I'm a little more excited than I should be to spend an hour stretching out my muscles. I'm so tight/stiff/sore, I desperately need a good stretch. I'm happy to know that I'll be getting one tomorrow! Three workouts left! Bringing it! :]

Day 86

Core synergistics is a killer. Total killer. It totally kicked my butt tonight! I made the mistake of getting caught up with running errand this afternoon/evening and didn't eat very much. By the time I got home, I had to workout right away because if I ate I would be working out a lot later than I like. So, I worked out on a basically empty stomach... not a good plan! But I have to wait like 2 hours between eating and doing any sort of intense workout (which core synergistics is) and I just couldn't see working out at 8pm. If I had, I wouldn't have been done until 9pm and I wouldn't have been able to eat unless I wanted to break the "don't eat three hours before bed" rule. Gah, it was a catch 22. So, I worked out first then ate. It was rough and I definitely felt myself running out of steam from the get-go. I did it, nonetheless! And I did pretty well, too! While I'm doing core synergistics, I hate it. I hate it so much. Mostly because it's so intense and difficult and exhausting. But once I'm done, I love it, haha. It's one of those love/hate relationships. I feel great after I've gotten through the whole routine! I did 20 staggered hand pushups tonight and I managed to do 14 sphinx pushup things... I champed superman banana, too! That one bugs me, but I'm getting better at it. I can see some definite improvements from my first core synergistics experience! I love that I can see a difference in my strength and endurance. It makes me so happy.

On a negative note, my body is very VERY sore today! For some reason, yoga killed my lower back yesterday. I remember my back being super sore from yoga when I first started P90X but it had gotten stronger and less prone to insane soreness. Yet, yoga yesterday really did a number on me because I woke up with an extremely stiff back. Add that to my sore shoulders/neck/upper back and I'm just a hot mess! Haha. I took some Aleve and powered through my workout. My body is going to be verrrrry happy for x stretch on Wednesday! First, I need to get through kenpo tomorrow! It shouldn't be too bad. The punches might be rough on my shoulders/neck again, but I'll get through it. Just four days left!! I'm going to keep bringing it! :D

Days 84 & 85

FIVE DAYS LEFT!!!

Yesterday was a perfectly timed day of rest. My upper back/shoulders/neck are killing me lately. The muscles are all knotted and sore... I feel stiff and tight and just nasty. It hurts. Kenpo made this ache and pain blatantly obvious on Friday. I needed a day to let my muscles recover a little. Even though one day was not long enough to make my tight muscles completely better, it was nice.

Yoga tonight was as annoying as ever. My stiff muscles made this already annoying workout a little less enjoyable (who knew that was possible :P). I felt too tight for all the poses/balance postures. It was very uncomfortable. I was happy to get it over with. It's hard to believe that the next time I do yoga, it will be my final day of P90X!! Crazy! I also think it's a little funny that I started P90X with chest & shoulders and the ab ripper and I end it with yoga. In like a lion, out like a lamb! Haha. Not that yoga is a "lamb" but it isn't as hardcore as chest/back and the ab ripper. I definitely prefer hardcore strength workouts.

On a side note, I think I'm going to do P90X2! I told Jacob that all I want for my birthday next month is P90X2 and a new pair of cross-trainer shoes. That's it. I've been told that P90X2 is only five days a week (yay for two rest days!!), focuses on explosive strength moves instead of straight up cardio and has a significantly shorter yoga routine (65 minutes as opposed to the 93 of this program). One of the workouts in 2 is called plyocide, which just sounds ridiculously nasty! In my mind, anything ending in "cide" generally has to do with death (suicide, homicide) so I'm sure this workout is NUTS. It makes me nervous but at the same time I desperately want to try it!! The theme is "tear the roof off your limits" and I want to do just that!! I want to do it to prove that I can! That's why I started P90X to begin with- I didn't think I could do it but I wanted to prove to myself that I could. I'm ready to push myself even further and get even stronger, healthier, more fit... I'm so anxious, eeeeeek! However, waiting until my birthday to get P90X2 means I'll have a month of limbo between 1 and starting 2. I'm leaning towards just doing more weeks of P90X until I can start 2. I want to keep going and working hard... I might do x stretch instead of yoga for those weeks, though, haha. I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to do. Yeah.

Anyways, back on topic... Tomorrow is core synergistics. That workout is a total beast! A phenomenal full-body workout but tough to get through. In some ways, I'm ready for it- I want to scorch some calories and get a great workout. In other ways I'm not- it always kicks my butt and my muscles are feeling pretty rundown. I need to keep bringing it! 5 more workouts. I got this!

Day 83

I am officially one week or six workouts away from completing my p90x journey!!

Not gonna lie, I wasn't really feeling kenpo tonight *insert shocked gasps*! First time pretty much ever? Yeah, I think so. I was having a productive day- work, cleaning, paying bills, etc.- so it's not like I was in lazy mode (although, admittedly, I wanted to be). I think the problem was that I am SO SORE. Seriously. My upper back/shoulder area hurts so much!! It's all like one giant, painfully swollen and overworked knot. Yeah, it's that bad. Throwing punches and blocks hurt like... I don't even know what! A lot. It was a dull, achey, if-you-continue-to-use-me-I-will-make-you-miserable kind of muscle pain. I wanted so badly to bring it and be all sorts of intense, acting like I'm some sort of boxing master ;] However, my muscles refused to comply with my sincere request. Rebels. All I wanted to do was work hard, again. Don't get me wrong, though, I did still work hard! As hard as I could, in fact. That just happened to be less hard than I would have preferred. I honestly did not have the strength in my upper body to beast kenpo tonight. Heck, my lower body was screaming, too! Legs & back has been tearing up my hamstrings and buttocks like no other. I'm not sure what it is, but that workout has been kicking my butt, quite literally. From the moment I woke up this morning I was painfully aware that I worked my legs especially hard yesterday. Before I even got out of bed, I could feel like leg muscles screaming at me in defiance of all the hard work I made them do yesterday. Sorry guys but killer legs only come from killer leg workouts! I think they're beginning to forgive me ;] Nonetheless, I got through kenpo tonight and I'm happy that I did! I felt great... once it as over, haha. I wanted to give up halfway through but my irrational need to do everything 100% even if it nearly kills me prevented me from giving up. I'm thankful for my responsible discipline. If that's what I should call it, haha. Craziness? That might be more accurate somedays. Although, I am happy to say, I never worked out to the point of throwing up! I've done that before, no fun. But hey, at least I'm dedicated, right? Right?! I brought it super hard this whole time (okay, okay, some times harder than others *cough*yoga*cough) but I don't think I took it to the point of being unhealthy for my poor little body.

Wow, I am in ramble mode tonight. I think it has something to do with the three-day weekend ahead. I'm super ready for a rest day tomorrow! Jacob claims that I have p90x senioritis, hahaha. I'm so ready to finish this round, recoup for a week then start over or start another intense program. My body needs a down day. Though I hope it doesn't effect my weight loss... I know it doesn't sound like a very big deal, but I'm super excited that I've lost 1.5lbs over the past two weeks! Yeah yeah, that sounds like such lame/slow weight loss, but it doesn't come off overnight!! Especially since I'm losing it the healthy way and, though I hate to admit it, I don't have *much* fat to lose. I would absolutely loooove to lose about 5% but I'm not sure that's possible for my body. I'm aiming to be as healthy and fit as possible. And quite honestly, I'm quite content at where the scale is sitting for me! It feels so good to say that. I'm happy with 123.5lbs! I'd love to get back down to 115, but I'd muuuuch rather have those extra few pounds of muscle. I wasn't healthy when I weighed 115. And, I wasn't strong. I'm SO much stronger now than I was then or even 83 days ago! I'm proud of how far I've come, despite the fact that I would still like to go so much further. I'm making progress. I feel good, I feel healthy. I love my sculpted shoulders/delts/back. I love my toned upper abs (and I'm working VERY hard to make my lower abs just as good!). I'm learning to be proud of my body- what it can do, how it functions, how strong it has become. This is one of the very best feelings there is!! If you're reading this right now and you're contemplating embarking on a fitness journey of your own, I would just like to encourage you to do it!! Test your body, push it to the limit and then force those limits to move. Your body is capable of so much more than you give it credit for!! Work your hardest and appreciate every thing your body can do! Our bodies are so incredible... they grow, adapt and transform on a daily basis. The question is, are they doing so for the better or for worse? Make your body the best it can be!

Okay, I'm done rambling now. I'm just so happy right now, I couldn't contain myself, ha. Tomorrow is rest day then on to a recovery week. I'm going to do my best, forget the rest and finish strong!

Day 82

My last legs & back and ab ripper x session!! It's hard to believe I'm so close to being finished with my p90x journey! "It's almost over, makes me sad" ;] haha. It really is bittersweet, though. It was weird to think that this was my last time doing the ab ripper (well, at least for a week or two; the last time in this round, at least). I pushed it extra hard tonight just because. My abs were on fire! The ab ripper makes my abs hurt to begin with, but I was giving it 110% tonight! I was actually able to do all 25 oblique v-ups on both sides!! Yes, my legs are still bent when I do them, but I don't even care, haha. I did all of the reps! That's big for me! I feel good. I worked hard every time I did the ab ripper the past three months, but knowing that tonight was my last session made me want to do even better, to burn myself out. And that's exactly what I did. All the leg work tonight did a number on me, too. My legs were sore to begin with so working them this hard was exhausting. Every muscle from my hip flexors down to my toes was sore, aching, throbbing. It was a great burn, though! I worked up a great sweat, pushed myself hard. I felt fantastic afterwards! An overall awesome workout tonight!

Tomorrow is kenpo!! Then rest and the last week, recovery week, starts on Sunday. I must admit, this week has gone by so fast that it feels like I just did kenpo. I don't mind, though, I love kenpo. I'm going to BRING it!!

Day 81

I finally did yoga again today! Taking two weeks off was a bit much... I don't enjoy yoga, but after doing it tonight, I could tell that it helps a lot with my flexibility. My muscles, specifically my hips and quads/hamstrings, felt verrrry tight tonight. It was obvious that I hadn't given them a really good stretch in awhile. I always stretch before and after my workouts (along with the DVD) but those aren't real intense, long stretching sessions. I should really start doing x stretch on my off day... But it like not having to worry about working out at all on my day of rest. I guess it's six and one half dozen or the other (or whatever that silly saying is). Either way, my muscles were definitely happy to get stretched tonight! The moving segment was as annoying as ever, but the balance and stretch segments weren't that bad. Okay, the balance parts weren't too fun but I loved the stretching so much that it made up for the rest, haha.

I've got legs & back and the ab ripper tomorrow! My legs are already sore, so this workout is going to be a killer! I think my body is almost going into over-training mode... Like I said yesterday, this week, week four of the phase, is usually recovery week so my muscles are drained and confused. Of course, muscle confusion is incredible for strength training and that is basically the motto of p90x, but still, ow. I'm feeling fried. I just need to push through and finish strong. I've been bringing it so far and nothing is going to stop me now!

Day 80

Wow, I cannot believe I've made it this far!! 80 days! Lookit me go ;]

Tonight was back & biceps and ab ripper x. I think that I waited a little too long after eating to workout. I felt like I was running on empty. Then again, I've been dragging the past couple of days. I couldn't tell ya why, but I've been really tired. I'm talking middle-of-the-day naps tired, and I'm not a nap person! Maybe my body is just wearing out a bit... In the past two phases, week four has been a recovery week. Granted, the recovery week isn't exactly easy, but it isn't as draining as a regular week. Whatever it is, I'm tired. Back & biceps beat me up tonight! My arms are torn up. I pushed it, though! All the curls in this workout definitely do a number on my biceps, which is good- it means I'm getting the job done. I was brining it extra hard during the last 20 minutes in order to get in my 12-15 reps. I felt the burn! I'm sure my arms will be sore tomorrow! Heck, my triceps, shoulders and chest are still sore from Sunday, haha. For my last set of pull ups, I did them with a chair assist on the pull up bar! I just did standard width, but I knocked out ten reps. That was sort of a big deal for me. I was wiped after that and strip sets, though. Ab ripper was just the cherry on top. It's kind of crazy to think that this was my second to last go 'round with the ab ripper! One more session with it on Thursday.  It's bittersweet, I think... I'm sick of it but I know it's working. On that note- I did all 25 oblique v-ups on my left side tonight!! Well, laying on my left side so my right obliques. I only muscled out 20 or 22 (lost count, oops) on my left obliques. I'm so excited that I did all the reps! I have to bend my knees a little, but heck, I can do it! Progress, baby! I'm making myself stronger.

I also discovered a new favorite protein shake tonight. Skim milk + chocolate protein powder + frozen dark cherries = DELICIOUS! Oh man, it was like a rich milkshake! Om nom nom nom. It's totally worth all the portions, too- one dairy, one protein and one fruit. I don't even care, it was sooo good. I might have another one for breakfast tomorrow! All my pear and granola mini loaves are gone so this will be a great breakfast for the next couple days. I miss having more protein and dairy portions per day. Phase one really made me enjoy a high-protein, low-carb diet. I think I might settle on a 3 protein, 2 dairy, 2 carbs, 2 fruits, 2 veggies and 2 snacks diet after p90x. I'll need to calculate the calories for that, though. This diet has me eating 1800 calories a day since I burn about 600 per workout. I really think I want to do my own diet but follow the whole 90 workout regimen again after I'm done this round. I know I keep saying that and we'll see how I feel after I'm done this round, but I do want to stick to my extreme fitness routine and see more great results.

Tomorrow is yoga. Oh dear yoga... This will be the first time in three weeks I've actually done yoga :X I enjoyed my x stretch substitution two weeks ago and taking last week off for the Bruins game. I'm not really dreading it, though! The stretching section will feel great on my sore muscles. I actually have a know so bad up by my left shoulder blade that it is visible. Yes, my muscle knot can be seen. It's a big lump. A big painful, achey lump. Such a sore back muscle definitely made my modified pull ups rough tonight. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to stretching a little tomorrow. Yoga, I'm bringing it to you!

Day 79

I owned my last session of plyometrics tonight! I was somewhat dreading the workout all day- I'm coming down with a cold and I've been sniffling and sneezing nonstop. I just didn't feel like getting my butt kicked by beastly plyo. But, I did it anyways! I psyched myself up and brought it! :D I think wearing my heart rate monitor pushes me a little more- I almost take it as a challenge to see how high I can get my heart rate, hahaha. I know I need to be careful and not make my heart explode or anything... I just like looking at my wrist, seeing my heart rate, pushing a little harder through the next move, looking back and my wrist and seeing how much higher I got my HR. I like seeing how high I peak and what my average turns out to be. I guess I'm a little competitive ;] Not like I have anyone to compete with but myself... I just like bringing it. I've really been trying to make myself enjoy cardio more. I love lifting. I love weight training. I love upping my weights and feeling strong and I love the after burn the next day. I love tearing my muscles up and feeling it in places I didn't even know could hurt the next day. Sick, right? But I don't have the same love for cardio. I don't like feeling like I'm gargling my heart, ready to throw it up at any given point. I'm learning to embrace the cardio aspect of fitness, though! I do love the endorphin high after cardio! That feeling is incredible. I also love being completely drenched in sweat. I'm talking sweat right through my clothes and dripping. I know, that's nasty, but it feel so good. It's my twice a week hardcore detox, haha.

On a side note, I'm down a pound and a half!! I guess my weight loss is going to happen in phase three. It's about time, considering I'm only 10 days away from being a p90x grad now! Hopefully I can keep shedding fat through these last days. I don't think I'll be quite where I want to be by the end of this journey, but that's okay. I need something to aim at after this is over, anyways. I'll make it happen. I'm super happy to be down a little weight, though. Pair that with the fact that I've put on about 2.5-3lbs of solid, lean muscle since day one, I'd say I'm doing well! 

Tomorrow is back & biceps and the ab ripper! Woo-woo, another lifting day! Then it's yoga, legs & back and the ab ripper, kenpo and on to the recovery week. I'm getting there. Gotta keep on bringing it!

Days 77 & 78

Yesterday was a very much needed and appreciated day of rest. My muscles were happy :]

Today was chest, shoulders & triceps and the ab ripper. I really dislike that strengthening workout. I think it's a little too tough for me. I struggle with so many of the moves that it discourages me. I think I did pretty well with it tonight, though. I definitely worked hard and found the burn. All the pushups in this workout wear my arms out pretty quickly, especially the two twitch ones. I did better than ever with the one arm pushups tonight, though! Obviously I have to do them on my knees, but I was able to do 10 reps! And I got deeper on them than I've ever been able to get before. While I was bringing it tonight I realized that p90x has definitely helped to increase my upper body strength. I'm not yet where I want to be but I'm getting better with each workout. During pushups tonight I was getting close enough to the floor to kiss it, which I couldn't do at the beginning! Not that I'm going around kissing the floor on my pushups but I could if I wanted to, hahaha. That realization gave me the motivation I needed to bust through this workout tonight. My arms were jello-esque by the end. My abs also felt pretty weak/timid during the ab ripper tonight. I'm not sure why... I was definitely having to push a little extra in order to get through all the reps. I found the burn and then some! I got through it all, though. I still can't do every rep of every move- mainly crunchy frog and oblique v ups. It bugs me that I'm not strong enough to do it all yet but I'm doing my best. I guess that's all I can expect from myself. Hopefully one day I'll be able to rock the entire ab ripper x workout without missing a beat.

Tomorrow is my last plyometrics session! Craziness! It's hard to believe that I'll be done my p90x journey so soon! Granted, it has felt like a very long road, but at the same time it's gone by quickly. I am leaning towards restarting the whole regimen after I finish this round, though, haha. We'll see how ambitious I feel in another 12 days ;] As for now, I'm ready to do my best ever with plyo tomorrow!! :D

Day 76

Ohhh kenpo x, how I missed you! It felt SO good to bring it with kenpo tonight. I honestly did miss it from skipping last week. The stretch at the beginning was great, considering my legs are very sore from yesterday's workout! I wasn't joking when I told myself to bring it extra hard last night to make up for taking Wednesday off ;] Man, my legs and booty haven't been this sore in awhile! It feels good, though. I feel accomplished. It made the kicks and horse-stance squats a little extra painful tonight but I don't even care. Pain is weakness leaving the body, right?? I must've gotten rid of a lot of weakness tonight, if that's the case, ha. Kenpo is my favorite. I was, admittedly, rather happy to find that my heart rate isn't kicking as high during kenpo as it is during plyo. I've gotta watch my heart rate and be careful, haha. Until I get cleared by a cardiologist about my supposed arrhythmia, I need to be cautious. There's no way I'm going to quit bringing it with cardio! So I just need to be careful. Anyways, my heart rate averaged out at 153 tonight, which was a little low for my liking, but I did pause to answer a phone call from Jake. My peak was 185 and I was happy with that. I like my new heart rate monitor! Very handy and awesome.

Tomorrow is my lovely day of rest. Not like I need a second one this week but whatever, haha. I start my last hardcore workout week of p90x on Sunday! Then a recovery week and I'm done!! I can hardly believe it. Bringing it!!

Day 75

Boy, I am not good with late night workouts! And by late night I mean starting around 9pm. No good. By then I'm just fried and not up for bringing it as hard as I know I can. It frustrates me. A lot. At least I didn't get sick tonight, though! Doing legs and back this week was much better than last week. I was so nauseous/annoyed/weak last time I did this routine. It was awful. I got through it much better tonight! So that's a positive. My knees felt pretty shaky and sore tonight, but that's typical. I'm hoping the Osteo Bi-Flex will help... I guess I need to wait for it to get into my system more. Here's to hoping it helps my poor achey knees! Nonetheless, I toughed through the entire workout and did pretty well with it! I did bring it even though I didn't exactly feel like working out so late.

Nothing exciting to report... I'm getting sick of these workouts. Or I just had an "off" day. Either way, I'm ready to be a p90x graduate. 14 more days!! :]

Tomorrow is KENPO <3 yay. I'm ready to bring it this week since I didn't get to kenpo last week. I love kenpo, such fun cardio. Here we goooo.

Day 74

Yep, skipping yoga today. Going to watch the Bruins take on the Devils! Let's go Boston :D I'm still following the diet and probably cutting out a snack or two in order to compensate for not burning calories from working out... Tomorrow is legs/back and the ab ripper! I'm going to bring it extra hard.

Day 73

Shoulders/arms and the ab ripper- OWNED. I got a later start than I wanted to, which seems to be a recurring theme lately. I was feeling a little tired and overwhelmed by all the busyness that comes along with the ending of a vacation. I stuck to it, though! It wasn't easy and I pushed myself with the weights again. I mostly stuck to my 10lb weights, except for a couple especially challenging moves that forced me down to 8 or 5lbs. It seemed like the routine went by quickly tonight. One hour is a long time to be lifting but I like how this workout does three or four moves then repeats that circuit again. I felt good afterwards! I was rather annoyed with the ab ripper tonight. I don't know exactly why... I just didn't feel like doing it again. I know it's intense and gets great results but I'm sick of it :P Of course I did it anyways, though! Why? Because discipline is about sticking to my routines even when I don't want to. At least as much as I can, haha.

Tomorrow is yoga. However, I will not be working out tomorrow. I know, I know, I just went on this mini-rant about discipline and here I am planning a workout skip... but it's for a good reason! Jacob and I are bringing my parents to a Bruins game out in New Jersey tomorrow! It's a bit of a ride for us so we need to leave pretty early and we'll be home pretty late... I could probably fit yoga in between work and leaving for the game but it would be quite hectic! So, I'm just going to take the day off from yoga tomorrow. Oh well, it happens. It'll be worth it to go to the Bruins game! I'll get back on track with legs/back and the ab ripper on Thursday. I won't let a skip get me off track. I'm gonna keep bringing it!

Days 70, 71 & 72

Confession: I skipped kenpo on Saturday. Usually, Saturday is my rest day but everything got thrown off when Jacob and I skipped plyo two weeks ago and pushed our workouts back a day to make up for it. We ended up on a schedule to have Sundays off. However, we don't want Sundays off because we prefer having Saturdays off. I did originally plan on doing kenpo on Saturday then starting our new week on Sunday and just nixing the rest day. Yet, I did not kenpo. Honestly, I just didn't make the time in my busy day for it. Saturday was my last full day at home with my family so I opted to spend most of the day out and about with my mom then go out with a bunch of extended family to hear my uncle play guitar and sing at a local family restaurant. I could've made time for kenpo, but I didn't. I know I should've. I felt guilty for skipping it! That happens, though. I'm glad I spent my entire day with my family even if it meant slacking a little on my workout schedule.

Sunday, I made up for my kenpo skip by bringing it super hard during chest/back and the ab ripper!! I'm talking, I pulled 16lbs instead of 10lbs and kept up with my 50lb resistance band at 14-22 reps per set. Beast mode activated! Ab ripper was a little more rough, considering the fact that my older brother was being a goof and making me laugh while I was trying to do it! I did like 20 of the 25 oblique v-up things I hate, though! I'm hesitant to admit this... but I'm starting to like my abs :O They're looking pretty good, if I do say so myself! Definitely not as defined as I want them to be, but I'm happy with the change I've seen since starting p90x. Maybe I'll just do the whole thing over again after I'm done in 18 days and then I'll see the results I want! ;]

Tonight was, obviously, PLYOMETRICS! I'm telling ya what, this workout really took it out of me tonight!! I'm not sure what it was, but I felt absolutely fried! Wasted. Drained. Zapped. It was rough. I think my body might have adjusted to the cooler temperature I've been working out in for the past couple weeks (I work out in the basement at my parents house), so the intense heat of my apartment just sucked the energy out of me. I stayed within my target heart rate zone the whole time and peaked at 191 again. Win. It hurt so good. Like Tony Horton says, it's a love/hate relationship with plyo. The endorphin high afterwards was pretty awesome, though! I love that feeling after an intense workout! 

On a side note, I started taking Osteo Bi-flex for my knees and I think it's helping! I've only been on it for a few days now but I can notice a difference. I think taking this every day is going to do my knees some serious good! :] My foot is basically healed up, too. It still aches/stings/tightens up from time-to-time but that isn't as bad as the constant pain I was having. Though my right foot seems to be tender now too. Also, I apparently have an abnormal heartbeat! I had my mom take my pulse (she's a nurse) to find my resting heart rate so that I could calculate my target heart rate (my "zone"). She discovered that my heart does not beat rhythmically. I have an arrhythmia. Awesome. I need to find a cardiologist and get tested to make sure it isn't anything major. I don't really think it's a huge problem because I exercise at such a high intensity, I figured I would've had a heart attack or something by now if it was a major problem. Then again, if it was/is a minor problem, my intense workouts could be exacerbating the issue. I guess we'll see! Whatever it isn't, I hope it won't mess with my cardio workouts! Haha.

One more thing- I made a fitness goal for 2012. By the end of this year, I WILL be able to do real, legit, no assist/modified pull ups. I'm going to do the real deal. Serious pull ups. It's going to happen. That miht sound like a lame goal, but I have been working my butt off the strengthen my upper body during p90x and I want to get to the point where I can do pull ups. I'm determined. 

Tomorrow is arms/shoulders and ab ripper. Another spaghetti arms workout :P I'm going to give it my best, keep pulling heavy weights so I feel the burn on my last three reps and bring it!