Day 40

Legs and Back- Things went well. I got nice and low in my pull-ups. I finally switched my grip in the air for the "Switch Grip Pulls-ups". I think I wold like to just hang on the pull-up bar.. see how long I can hang. I can feel comfortable hanging, maybe I can rest in a hang and get more reps in. Instead of just dropping out when I get a bit tired.

Ab Ripper X- Nothing new.

Day 39

Yoga X- I did good today. I kept my foot off the ground during the "Moon" poses. I lasted 45 seconds in "Crane".. and probably could have gone longer. The trick with doing crane is... muting the video so the guy in the video doesn't psyche you out with his comments about how he falls out and gets back in and then falls out and gets back in.

Day 38

Back and Bicep- Not to great today. Maybe I'm not getting enough sleep.. or maybe I'm just starting to late. A few things increased, but other things seemed to fall some today.

Ab Ripper X- I tried to ge my legs out straighter for "In and Outs". I stuck through it all though.

Saturated Fat

John wrote "Something I learned is that saturated fat is needed by the body, and that when the diet doesn't have it, the body makes it. "

That inspired me to do some digging. Assuming what I found is true... your body needs Saturated fat to provide calcium to your bones. As well as other things. See below links.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/06/06/saturated-fat/

http://www.health-report.co.uk/saturated_fats_health_benefits.htm

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:9RXkm1SNmWkJ:articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/22/7-Reasons-to-Eat-More-Saturated-Fat.aspx+7+Reasons+to+Eat+More+Saturated+Fat&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Lunch break is over...

Day 37

Plyometrics- I got alot more air today. My heart rate stayed in the 140's for the most part, maxing around 152. I enjoyed the "Lateral Leapfrog Squats".

Running- I went for a really short 1k run, like I did two weeks ago. This time it was after Plyometerics which is the most intense of the Cardio type exercises, to quote Tony (the head guy in the videos) "The mother of all P90X workouts". So.. I think doing a long easy run after Plyo and more intense Fartlek run after Kenpo, might be do-able. If I make it to 90 Days, I'll switch towards running every other day and doing some sort of a "maintenace mode". Or something like that. I definately want to be prepared to do well if I am going to be running any races in the fall.

Resting Heart Rate

My resting heart rate was in the 40's when I woke up today. Right where it should be.

http://www.healthstatus.com/health_blog/2008/07/15/your-resting-heart-rate-is-telling-you-more-than-you-think/

Day 36

Chest, Shoulder, Tricep- My form improved from last week and my reps and/or weight increased slightly. I'm happy with how I did today. I'm using the pull-up bar for about half of the pushups (it's designed that way), and that really makes it easier on my wrists. The "Pike Press" in particular, benifits with using the pullup bar as a pushup bar... because you start high and really have to sink low.

Ab Ripper X- It went well today. I never noticed with the "In and outs", how straight they get their legs out. So that gives me something to work on.

Nutrition- I bought cottage cheese recently. And.. I really like it. I didn't think I did, but I guess I do. Fairly low fat and alot of 'whey type' protein. The downside is the sodium content, which might not be to bad considering everything else I eat. I definately have to consider replace some (or all) of the protein supplement with some cottage cheese. Starting last week I replaced the instant oatmeal (for the most part) with good old raisin bran. I would like to do the oatmeal, but.. it's really time consuming. The raisin bran has a more versatile assortment of nutrients, but has a fairly large amount of sodium.

Day 35

Yesterday was my rest day.

Kenpo X- Heart Rate was in the 130's and 120's. I'm a little conserned that I might be "banging my joints", mainly in the shoulders during the fast blocks and occasionally the elbows with the punches. I felt good today doing the "Hook, Uppercut, Side Kick" combination.

Day 33

Legs and Back- I was still feeling the a bit sore from two days ago, it made me question how much effort I was putting out during the first phase. I think I did really good today. Finishing I was exhausted. My pull-up numbers weren't great, but they did improve over the last time I did this set of pull-ups (two weeks ago).

Ab Ripper X- Tired going into this.. I didn't do to great starting out, but I stayed in.. and ending up finishing strong.

Day 32

I was really invested in a project at work, and completely lost track of time. I left much later then I planned.

Yoga X- On my left leg I kept my right leg of the ground during those "Moon" positions. I think keeping your leg straight is a key part, as your not working your leg muscles as much as you would with a bent knee. I spent the same time on crane. I felt better doing it though, I just couldn't stay focused.

Day 31

Back and Biceps- This is the last of the videos that are new to me. Alot of various types of curls and then some pullups in between. During the first couple Bicep routines.. I felt it. My bicep felt huge and the muscles felt very tight. Just letting my arms hang.. they wouldn't naturally fall straight down ( o.o; ). It's been nearly two weeks since I've done any pullups. Combining the rest period, with the (potentially) over-worked bicep.. I did very poor with my pullups.

Ab Ripper X- About the same as last time. My "V-Up Roll-ups" might have improved slightly.

Note to self, find rag so I can do the "Towel pullups".

Day 30

Plyometerics- Kind of exhausting for me tonight. I was more in the air then previous attempts. I had my trainers on to give more support on the landings, so I was able to feel like I could get up more. The exception being the moves in the run stance, I did the low impact version on those. Landing laterally, seems a bit 'iffy to me. My heart for the most part was in the 140's and maxed at 150.

I feel like if I could start running again I could increase my lungs size. I sort of want to replace Plyometerics and Kenpo X with a Stretch X / Running Day(s), but.. I probably won't.. I would feel like it would be cheating to do that.

30 Days, I'm one third of the way closer to the end. If I was following the program exactly I would be taking my 30 days picture (which I'm not going to do BTW). I'm impressed by the small little changes I notice every week, I don't a picture to motivate me.

Day 29

Chest, Shoulder, and Tricep- Another new one. Alot of various forms of Push-Ups in this one. It feels strange in the arms near the end (for me), because its like a chunck of your arms in middle didn't get worked out as much as everything else.

Ab Ripper X- The return of Ab Ripper X. I did good, I think. Straight lets are a problem in "Heels to Heavens" and "Fifer Scissors", but they were allways off the ground and in motion.

Its a little disappointing having Ab Ripper X after the Strength Resitance workouts, because whatever muscles groups I was working do not feel nearly as tight as immediantly after I finish. It makes me wonder if my muscles (that are worked before Ab Ripper X) are getting the nutrients they need after I do Ab Ripper X. I like doing Ab Ripper X though. Just makes me think it might be better after a Cardio workout for me, since my Cardio doesn't really need as much improvment IMO.

Day 28

Stretch X- It's definately not like the other workouts, much more relaxed. I should really do it on my rest days.. I could definately use the improved flexability.

Tomorrow is start of Phase 2 of 3, which includes 2 new workouts.

Day 27

Yoga X- Everything went pretty well, no major improvements.., but overall I want to say I did better then last time. I added 5 seconds to my crane pose.

Day 26

Core Synergistics- Everything went well. I didn't really get any back pain this time around. I got the "Superman" position down pretty well this time, though.. my mat might have helped some. I felt worn in the upper arms and lower abs tonight.

Yesterday Day 25 was suppose to be Stretch X, I sort of skipped it. Either I'll do it when I wake up tomorrow or do it on my Rest Day. I was off from work yesterday and today.. so my nutrition suffered a bit and my planning got a bit skewed.

Day 24

Kenpo X- Posting kind of late.. I don't remeber anything that stood out.

Day 23

Core Synergistics- Something new. Overall I think I like it. It has a good balance of moves I could improve on and things that I do fairly well at. Most of the stuff moves on pretty quickly too. There were a few moves were I felt some back pain, but I guess thats common when starting out.. and (as ar as I read) the more I engage the core muscles the back pain will dissipate. I imagine, it's like how I had lower back pain on the first week of Ab Ripper X.., but then on the third week I had no back pain.. but had that burning sensation in my abs.

Day 22

Yoga X- I think I improved on the Yoga Belly section. I tried to increase the time held in the crane position, but fell at the same time (30 secs)... only not on my head this time. I also earned a sun burn yesterday.. so "Plow" and all the other "put all of your weight your shoulders" positions were a bit unpleasant.

Day 20

Kenpo X- For the most part my heart rate rate was in the 130's.

Now on 4 hours of sleep.. I'll meet with my sister's family, go swimming, and then stay awake for the next 20 hours? Hopefully I can get a qucik nap sometime in the day.

I have now offically caught up with last year's progress.

Day 19

Legs and Back- I was definately sweating alot for this type of workout... I would like to think it was because I was working hard, but it was probably due to the fact that I ate not long before I started the workout. I didn't have much issues with my joints today. I ended up getting less reps with my pull ups, but.. I think I did go lower then last week (but, I'm still not going from as low as hanging).

Ab Ripper X- I lost some progress I made two days ago. My "Mason Twist" were the best they've been though.

Day 18

Yoga X- Everything went well. I would like to see my self improve by staying off the ground near the end of the Movement Positons phase (with "Half Moon" and such). I held "Crane" for 30 secs, and then fell on my head x_x . My wrists were feeling a little sore the next day, but now they seem fine.

Day 17

Arms and Shoulders- I increased my weight on some of the routines. My strategy will be, if I get 12 with good form then increase the weights for the next set. The trick for the "Tri-Side Rises" for me... I think is pushing more with the palm (then the hand) and keeping the top leg up in the air to help balance. It's kind of crazy how huge your muscles feel imeediantly after the workout is over.

Ab Ripper X- I noticed an improvement on my form on the "V-Up Combo", during the up part. For "Fifer Scissors" my feet never touch the ground now. I felt my "Hip Rock & Raise" was very good. I probably struggle most with "Pulse-Ups". I getting to the exercise.. seeing what I could do better, and then really improving on it over time. Ab Ripper X is kind of nice because it is so short and is done so frequently within P90X.

Day 16

I started really late, but I was determined to not repeat last week's mistake.

Plyometrics- I think I did well. I had my heart rate in the 140's or 150's throughout the majority of it.

I haven't been getting a good amount of sleep since the weekend before last. I think it's starting to catch up with me.

Day 15

Start of week 3...

Chest and Back- Though I was on my knees alot, my push-ups had great form.. elbows, straight back, and going down low. I increased my weights for the "Lawnmowers" and "Heavy Pants" to 20lbs, and feel I can increase my weights for "Back Flyes" to 10lbs. I didn't notice an improvement over last week in my pullups, I may have just been more tired going into it this time though.

Ab Ripper X- I improved on some routines, but also did worse on some others.

Day 14

Cardio X- In a way it's like a sampler of the other Cardio workouts.. Plyometerics, Kenpo X, and Yoga X. With the addition of a few somewhat comical routines. I struggled with the Superman position, I would definatly like to get that down at some point. My heart rate got in the 140's and I generally stayed in the 130's.

After that since I allready had my shoes on, my heart monitor on, allready got a shirt all sweaty, and still had some energy.. decided to go for a little run.

Running- I only ran/jogged 1k, but got my heart rate up to 168.. which puts me in the "Optimal conditioning" or "Anaerobic Zone". Ideally, I should be in the "Aerobic Zone", occasionally crossing into the "Anaerobic Zone" to increase the funcitionality of my cardiovascular system.

Day 13

Kenpo X- I felt like I was giving alot of effort, though my knees felt a little off. My upper body moving strong throughout though. My heart never got in the 140's, but often times entering the break periods it was only in the 110's. Maybe its good because it's showing I can work hard with a low heart rate. Alot of the times I felt, I was giving more energy out then the people in video.

Day 12

Legs and Back- My left knee is definatly worse then my right. I'm not sure I can switch my hands for the "Switch grip pull-ups".... soon though.. soon.

Ab Ripper X- For "Fiffer Scissors"; I lay my arms under my back (to help support my spine), take alot of short breathes (like a woman giving birth), and sort of squeeze my buttocks. This allows me to get the form alot better and really focus on keeping my legs up.. and at the least keeping my bottom leg straight out.

Getting near the end of my (sugar free) Almond Milk (when it comes out in clumps).. it sort of taste a bit like Vanilla Ice Cream, though many people would probably disagree.

Day 11

Ending up not going to lunch at work (not enough time to meet deadlines), so I'm posting a bit late.

Yoga X- As far as I remember everything went well. I have a better idea of the flow and forms for the beginning part (which is also the most intense part), so I don't have to look at the video as much.

Day 10

Got off at around the same time as last night, but this time I got everything caught up. So that will put me in a good position for tomorrow.

Arms and Shoulders- Everything went very well. The weights I used were good and I think they will stay the same next week.

Ab Ripper X- I really felt that burning feeling in my Abs at the end of it this time. I'm getting better at keeping my legs up during the "Fifer Scissors", but still have trouble keeping them straight out or straight up.