Farewell

So I know it has been over a month since I posted anything, my life has gotten very busy and I just have not had a whole lot to say since vacation and finishing up INSANITY. Let me tell you about the end of INSANITY, I finished it up while on vacation at Tybee Island Georgia so that should let everyone know just how motivated I was to get it finished. I didn't miss a single workout in the 63 days and tired to bring it as much as I could each and every time I would do a workout. I really think it paid off, even eating more food than I think I had in my life I still lost 6 lbs while on the program and another inch or so off my waist and at least a .25 loss everywhere else. By my ballpark guess I lost about 2% body fat which brought me down to under 10%, which is the number I have been shooting for. Still don't have the abs that I want but I am getting there. I just started Tai Cheng week 3 today where you put all the moves into one 3 minute sequence. I can tell you it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, if you stop thinking about one single part of your body for even a minute you will find that you end up losing form in that part. I also add to the intensity by using weighted gloves and a strength so that caused my form to go bad a little bit while I fought against the band but I will get better with it and am excited to do so. I also have a half marathon this month on the 20th and I have finally started running again to get ready for it. My run yesterday was no good but my run today was much better. Yesterday was 3 miles and today I went four at a little bit slower of a pace. I was feeling good when I finished and will be taking a run rest tomorrow before doing a little more on Friday and then taking the weekend off. The runs are going well due to the cardio I got from INSANITY, and I think I will do just fine on the half marathon as long as I remember to pace myself a little better than last time. So I am thinking it is time to say goodbye to this blog, one can only ready so much about mans workouts each day but I do plan on starting another one, I am thinking it will also have a fitness theme, but I want to add more information and I think a little something about faith in there as well. (Also think I will make sure the words in the title are spelled correctly.) I will let folks know what and where the new blog is when I come up with it. Thanks to everyone that came by and took a look at my rants, it really helped keep me going!

Justin

On a whole new path

Ok well here is what has been going on lately. I have spending a lot of time with the Team Beachbody coaching to learn as much as I can and become a better coach to my clients (a list that continues to grow) In the past two weeks I have read a book called "The Tipping Point" which is about how the little things and right people can make a huge difference in how something spreads in society. I thought it was really good and worth the read. The next book I read was called "Don't sweat the small stuff" it is a short little book about how to not let the little things in your world stress you out. There were 100 little things that you can do to make your life less stressful and to let things roll off you back. I can't remember all of them but the ones that stuck out to me I find myself remembering and working on when I can. It really has helped me mellow out and trust me that is something that I needed this week, it has been crazy busy all week long and I didn't even really stop to breath. The good news is the quarter is over after today so I don't have to teach for two weeks! Now I am reading a book called "Eat that Frog" I am about 25% done with it and it is a book on how to beat procrastination and become more productive and successful. It is another one that has been worth the read so far and it has given me plenty of ideas to get more done in a day so that I don't feel so buried all the time with work, school and fitness stuff. My workouts are going really good as well and I only have 9 workouts left before I finish INSANITY, I don't know if I already mentioned this or not but when I finish I am going to take it easy a little bit and do Tai Chang for 90 days to work on balance, flexibility, and piece of mind. I am very much looking forward to it because after 9 months of beating on my body something kind of fierce I am ready to recover and let the muscles relax and grow. I think when I am done I will be all set up to do that round of 10-Minute trainer and be primed for my marathon training. Don't forget I have a half marathon in 6 weeks but I am not too worried about it, I am pretty darn sure after 63 days of INSANITY I will be good to go and ready for that thing. The way I see it I got over 11 miles before having to walk when I did my first one and that was during P90X which does not train your cardio nearly as much as INSANITY does. I am excited for it and when I finish INSANITY I am going to take a day or two and just run it out and see how it feels and how far I make it, that should give me a good idea what to expect and if I will need to do some training for it after INSANITY.

I want to end with this, I know it sound cheesy but I have really enjoyed the books I have been reading and although I have never really been a reader of "Self Help" books and I don't know if I would even call these books that, they have really help clear my head and have a more positive outlook. I feel like great things are coming (one thing already did this week) and I feel like my coaching is about to really take off, I have a great group that I really feel like I can help and I hope I am able to. Well until next time (will try and be sooner)

Justin

Thought that would be easier

Today was a workout I have been looking forward to for a little while now, it was the end of week 7 and core cardio and balance. I had it in my mind that it would be a little bit of a break from the last week of getting my butt kicked but it was pretty darn hard and I was sweating more than I think I ever have during that workout. I guess it is because my body is not quite as rested as it was during the recovery week. Before I go into that let me tell you about the weekend and the good things that are coming up this week. We went down to Athens Georgia this weekend, which was about a 6 hour car drive and stayed the night so that we could come back Sunday afternoon. That made for a very early morning for the family. My poor wife got up at 3:50 to get her last turbo jam workout in and I was up at 5 AM to do max recovery. Once it was done, it was in the car for the trip. For going to a party I was able to eat well for the whole weekend which was something I didn't think would happen so that was a nice surprise. Sunday was the hard part, we had to wake up early and drive back then I had to get into max cardio conditioning and cardio abs, trust me when I tell you that a workout like that after 6 hours in a car is quite hard to do. I got through it but really had to work for it, I had to take a break during the abs, I think a lot of it was because of the trip and some of it was because it was following a stupid hard workout. Ether way I felt great at the end and the workout was worth the time. Then came today, core cardio and balance, I had to really put forth some effort to get it done and was pretty tired by the time it was over. Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day but I will be using it as a chance to do a fit test before going into the final two weeks. Keep an eye out on the blog because I will be posting all four weeks worth of fit test results tomorrow. I hope to see just a little bit of improvement over the last test, even one rep on each of the exercises is going to be a win in my book. Stay tuned.

One last thing, this week is the official start of my INSANITY challenge group and I am excited to see how my first one goes. I think it will be great, as the start gets closer more and more people seem to want to join so good for me. I already have more than 50 posts on the thread and 29 likes to my facebook page.

Getting dedicated again

Ok, I am working to make sure I start posting again so my 9 readers can see how things are going. Today, like I said yesterday, was Max Interval Plyo and I knew it was going to be a hard one because of how my legs were feeling yesterday and a little bit more this morning. The good think is, this workout is not quite as long as the Max Interval Circuit and it goes by pretty quick. For the most part everything went well, and I didn't have to stop during the workout. I did have to take a few second break a few times during the first circuit because it ends with power jumps and no matter how strong my legs are getting those still seem to kick my butt more and more often than not. I know this was the third time through the workout but I am always surprised at the amount of resistance work there is in the plyo routine. There are squat push ups where you stay in a squat and fall forward to your hands and push yourself back up. There are level three drills where you have to go to a push up position to 16 push ups, 16 mountain climbers, and get back up. Then you get to do it all over again. Side push ups are a blast as well, you get in a side plank with both hands on the ground and do 16 push ups on each side. And don't let me forget about the one leg pike push ups where you get in a downward dog like position and lift one leg up then go down and push back up with your shoulders, when you finish 30 seconds you switch legs and go another 30 seconds. When you finish the workout you are truly covered in sweat and all the muscles in your body are burning but you do feel a bit firmer than you did when you started. Tomorrow is Max recovery and although I was sweating pretty good when I finished it the last time it did make me feel better and I have been looking forward to the workout in the morning. Just wish it didn't have to happen at like 5:15 but hey if you want to make change you have to be dedicated. I saw a picture posted on Facebook today that I really like it was of a woman that had lost a good amount of weight and it said "Stop saying I will and start saying I did". I pretty much think that nailed it when it comes to fitness. Well tomorrow should make the leg burn go away and one last thing. I have made a change to my fitness calendar for after INSANITY. My mother in law was nice enough to let us borrow her Tai Cheng program so I am going to do that for 90 days after INSANITY. I figure I have beating on my body ruthlessly for the last 9 months and it needs some time to repair and work on mobility and balance. When I finish I will still finish the year with 10-minute trainer but I am excited to to do this program to feel better and get yet another free t-shirt!

On the second week and still going strong

Well I have still been going strong on INSANITY although I have not been posting here as much as I should because of focusing on the business and the challenge group that I have starting in a week or so. I am now on the second week of the second month of the program and am still bringing it everyday. Yesterday was the cardio conditioning and today was my third round of the max interval circuit. Just like the last month I am starting to get better and make it through the workouts without having to stop. I am also able to really push harder to do more of the moves and keep the form better. If sweat is a measure of how hard you worked then I totally brought it this morning because I looked like I had gone swimming in my workout gear when I was done. Now that I sit here I my legs are burning pretty good and I am a little tired but it is almost the end of the week and I will be going into the max recovery on Saturday morning before taking a car trip south. If the legs still feel like they do today on Saturday, I can totally see myself taking the whole trip with the heat on the chair. Today is a slow day at work so I am working on getting some learning done, both for work and some fitness stuff shhh...... Well tomorrow is max plyo, I still have not gotten through the whole workout without having to stop but I think tomorrow is the day. I just need to Dig Deeper

I have been bad and I know it

OK OK I know I have not been posting as much as I used to but I have been working hard on getting my challenge group together because it will be starting soon and I want to make sure I have everything I need to help people get the most out of the program. I think I am in pretty good shape to get it started and have had all kinds of interest in my thread the last day or so. Let me talk about this week a little bit, today was the last day of my first full max workout week and let me tell you, I can feel it. I have done pretty good with the workouts, I got through the first max interval circuit without having to stop but when I went to do the workout again I did pull up a little bit at the end. I really didn't have a choice I went into the first time through the workout pretty fresh from recovery week and an easy Tuesday of just doing the fit test. The second time was a little different, since it was the last days of the week I went into the workout a little sore and my performance suffered a little. I still gave it all that I had just my all that I have was not quite a much as it was the time before since the tank was not as full. Today was the max plyo again, and I did better this time than I did the last time, the power jumps still throw me a little bit and wear me out but everything else went pretty well. The third circuit of the last set I slowed down and couldn't get the full number of pushups in on the level three drills but still got a great sweat on. Just take a look at my facebook group and you will see what I am talking about. Getting ready for bed my whole body is pretty sore and this rest day could not have come at a better time, I might get up just a few minutes early tomorrow and do the 10-minute trainer yoga flex but I don't see myself going gung ho and doing fountain of youth or anything like that. I just need a little something to combat the soreness and get ready for a whole week of more kicking my own butt. One quick shout out to my amazing wife who is on her last week of TurboJam after doing two rounds of 10-minute trainer the hard work has paid off and she looks even more beautiful.

Day two and still searching

Well today was the second workout of my max month and I went from max interval training, which was not all that bad to max interval plyo. I knew this one was going to be a bear because I have never been great at plyo workouts but I went into it fairly optimistic and ready to do my best. I figured after yesterday's successful workout without having to pause (I did need to slow down) I thought I would be able to do the same on this workout. Well.... not so much the case here. This time around I did end up having to catch my breath a few times but I didn't worry about it because my legs were a little sore from the day before and this workout had ALOT of resistance work in the way of push ups and moves where you held a squat for a while. Tomorrow I think is going to be a killer, it is the max cardio conditioning, so I totally expect to burn some killer calories but I know I am going to have to work for them. The cool part is after tomorrow morning I am going to have only three and a half weeks of the program left. Then it is on to fun. I looked at my calendar for the rest of the year and the start of next year when I start training to run a marathon and it looks like I have enough time in there to get a 28 day program done so I am going to get my 10-minute trainer on after my P90X INSANITY hybrid.

Speaking of INSANITY I am still looking for folks to join my challenge group and get in great shape before the holiday parties. If you are interested comment below and check out my Facebook Page for my team and see if you are interested, it is going to be hard but it is going to be worth it when you look in the mirror each morning. Now is the time to start talking about tomorrow and get it going today!!!

I'm back and there are some big happenings!!

Ok, So I know I have been out of pocket for a little while but that is really because it has been crazy busy at work and there really was not all that much going on because I was in recovery week doing the same workout six time. I did have the house to myself this weekend and I used the time to get a little extra stretching in and spend time really focusing on my team beachbody coaching. I don't feel like I have been giving it all that I have since I started and I really wanted to focus on it and help other get results. All the additional training I watched and read has really paid of in getting my drive going and helping me realize what I could be doing better to help others and I have really been going after it since finishing it up. I am reading a new personal development book called "Tipping Point" I am watching and reading up on all the different Beachbody programs and supplements, and more informed advice when I can. Let me start by telling you how the workouts have been going, I got out of recovery week and really felt like I was back to 100% after having 4 solid weeks of getting my butt kicked in INSANITY by Shawn T. I even fit in an X-Stretch and a few yoga flex DVDs as well to really help feel better and work out the kinks. Today started  the first workout of the Max month and I was a little worried about how it was going to go. Imagine my surprise when I found that the warm up had some of the moves from the first set of workouts. By the time I was done with the warm up and stretch I was dripping pretty good. The workout is also about 15 minutes longer but it went by pretty fast and the best part was I didn't stop for more than about 5 seconds and I only really did that twice so I was able to pretty much get through it on the first try. When  I was done  I was totally soaked but felt great and felt like I actually did something with my time that I am still feeling all this time later. I think the biggest challenge will be tomorrow, I have max plyo, and jumping is never really my thing but I will go after it just like I did today and see how far I get.

Now for the big news!!!  I am starting and INSANITY challenge group to start in September and I am only taking 5 people because I want it to be a personal group that really wants to support each other and get the best results. I am also going to be giving out a prize to the person with the best results. Not to mention by joining the Beachbody challenge you are entered to win a daily prize of $500 to $1000 dollars just for doing the workouts and you will get a free t-shirt when you finish the program. If you want to see what the Beachbody challenge is all about check out THIS LINK If you are interested in joining the challenge and trying your hand at the most difficult workout program ever put on DVD comment below and I will get in touch with you.

I have also created a Facebook page found HERE for anyone that is under me in the Team Beachbody site, to post questions, comments, or any useful information and results you want to share with the group.

Lets all go into the holidays in shape this year!!!!

Good way to end a work week

Well I am now halfway through my 4th week of INSANITY and I am totally looking forward to cardio recovery and recovery week starting next Wednesday. Before I get into all that lets talk about today. The workout on tap was plyo circuit, and after the bad workout I had on Wednesday I have been trying really hard to bring everything I have to the workouts. I did get through the workout again without having to pause and kept form pretty well on all the moves, I found that the ski abs and the in and out abs is where I was notorious for letting my form go. It is pretty amazing how much more the abs get worked when the form is correct. Even the last two minutes which should be a bit easier where burning my abs pretty good since I was working to keep my abs contracted the whole time. I felt great when I was done, my hip is still a little tender from all the jumping but the rest of my legs seemed to have calmed down a little bit. Right now I am really looking forward to Sunday, because it is my change to make up for the crappy workout I had on Wednesday and I can use that workout to prove to myself that I was just having an off day. (If you can't tell I am really annoyed but how that workout went). More importantly Sunday is my daughter's birthday and she is going to be a big three years old, I can't believe it has already been three years, I mean if you think about it in just a short 3 more years she will be going to kindergarten and in just a short 27 years I might let her go on her first date. I mean wow time goes shooting by when you have a kid, but she is the reason I push myself like I do, I want to make sure I am around for her for a while.

I will take no fun for $100

What is no  fun you ask, how about three INSANITY workouts in about an 8 hour window that is what is no fun. I had a really bad morning yesterday and I knew my head was not going to be in my workout so I decided that it would be a good idea to not do my workout that morning. I was just going to take an additional day off and not take my next rest day since I was going into recovery week but at the advice of my wife I did my pure cardio and cardio abs workout after putting Haley to bed. I ended up getting my workout started at about 8:15 or so and finished it up a little after 9. When I was done I had a recoup drink to help with the soreness since my legs had still  been feeling a little weak since Monday's workout, took a shower and was in bed not too long after 9:30. I think working out that late did not do me much good because I just felt weak the whole time and for the first time in a few workouts I had to stop at the end for a few minutes to catch my breath. Then it was on to the cardio abs and it was more of the same, I could not hold the exercises until the end a few times, which isn't all that big a deal since non of the people on the DVD do either but when I have done it all the way through in the past it did upset me a little bit. I figure one of two things were the cause, either working out at the end of the night didn't give me enough energy to get through or since I was focused on keeping the abs and core contracted the whole time I might have used more energy than I have in past workouts. Judging by how my core feels today I would like to think it is the latter of the two but I could be wrong who know. Today was cardio power and resistance just a short 7 hours or so after my last workout. I woke up and my legs were sore and tired and I still had to go into the workout. I started a little timid but was able to shake that off and get to the end without stopping. When it was done I was happy not to stop but I was just feeling beat up. I know it isn't truly a recovery week but it will feel good to have a week with less jumping around to help me recover before I really start kicking my own butt with the MAX workouts

Changing my mind and a little naughty today

Ok today was the last day of week three for me and tomorrow is my rest day. I can tell things are getting better for me because I am not going into the rest day feeling beat up and wiped out, I feel pretty good although my hip is a little sore. Today was plyo circuit and I am no longer getting worried about making it through the workouts without stopping now that I am doing it consistently every time, today I was a log more focused on form and keeping my abs tight there were times where I would lose it but as soon as I noticed I tightened them back up and by the end of the workout my abs were killing me and feeling quite worked out. As for changing my mind I tried the Greenberry Shakeology just the shakeology with ice and water and it was pretty good, I am not going to lie it is a little chalky but it did not taste awful like it did yesterday, I think I have to either go with just the greenberry and water or be a little more selective with what it gets mixed with. It seems like it does not have the same mixability as the chocolate does. Now for the being naughty part of I really think that my metabolism is going way up because I am eating like I alway have but I am getting hungry more often and today I was getting way hungry about an hour before my snack time so I had two mini dark chocolate hershey pars (80 calories) but hey dark chocolate is a super food DON'T JUDGE ME!!!!!. Tomorrow is my rest and I am going to enjoy it might try to stretch a little but that is it.  One last thing today was day one Turbo Jam for my wife and I wanted to take a minute to tell her how proud of her I am and to wish her luck and success in the program.

Another great workout

Getting closer to the end of week three, tomorrow will be the end of it for me and I will be finishing it with some plyo circuit in the morning. Today was cardio power and resistance and it was a good workout, I came out of the office soaked in sweat and happy that I made it through the entire routine, I got a little slow on the last set of moving push ups and the 8 hop/8 push up drill but I finished the workout and was glad that I did yet again. I also got a box of the greenberry shakeology this week and have tried two of the shakes so far. I am thinking that I am going to try it with just the powder, some ice and some water. I have tried two different beachbody recipes and have not been all that big a fan of either of them so far. The first one was almond milk, honey, the greenberry, and some ice. This one was OJ, water, a banana, and the greenberry and it just had a rather sour after taste too it that I couldn't put my finger on. As it stands right now I don't know that I could recommend to someone to buy but perhaps I will change my mind after I have tried it with just the powder and some water. I guess we will just have to wait and see. If I get enough coach credit I may give the tropical a shot and see if that is any better but right now the chocolate is the winner hands down but I don't know if that is still the case since the formula has changed. I guess I will have to see about getting some samples of the new formula and see for myself. Other than that not a whole lot to talk about today when it comes to my fitness, I feel like I am starting to see some more changes in my body thanks to INSANITY and I am even starting to look forward to the Max workouts since I think that is where I am going to get the most gains, but I know I am going to have to work for them. On another note my wife is starting Turbo Jam tomorrow so I wish her the best of luck and continued success with Beachbody programs, she has gotten amazing results so far.

Half way through.....week 3 at least

Well today was pretty much the mid point of week three and it was cardio recovery, which meant it was  a little more of lighting my legs on fire for 30 minutes and stretching. I know during the workout it burns like crazy and then for a few hours after that my legs are a little tender but by the end of the day I feel much better and ready to go for the next workout. Let me tell you how yesterday went since I didn't have time to post like I would have liked to, yesterday was pure cardio and cardio abs and like I said I was looking to get through the abs DVD without having to stop like I did the first time and I also wanted to make sure that I could get through the pure cardio DVD, that one always makes me nervous but hey the start of every workout makes me nervous because I know how disappointed I will be with myself if I don't get through the video without stopping and trust me the last two workouts, plyo circuit and pure cardio I came close to having to stop but I pushed on and made myself finish without the break. I know that I might have suffered on form a little bit but I kept the work going and that is important to me, next time it will be a focus on form. After Monday I will have my rest day and it will be on to the final week before recovery week then the portion I have been most worried about, the max workouts. I know those are going to be a killer, as a matter of fact, I have a guy that posts on a thread that I run who is an animal when it comes to fitness, he posted once about how hard and deflating the max workouts were and then one more time since and we have not heard from him again. I figure if that guy got defeated by the Max workouts how am I going to do? Well I guess we will know soon enough. As for the abs DVD, I did get through the workout without having to stop on that one as well but I was barely getting the reps out by the end of the c-sit section but I got it done so I was happy to get through both workouts yesterday without stopping. I was soaked when I was done, and felt great about doing it but man did I have to push. Recovery went well today, I didn't do all that great on the balance stuff but when you have a two year old pulling on you it becomes hard to stand on one leg. I look at it this way, falling over once or twice because your daughter is in the room watching you work out and setting a good example is totally worth it.

Feeling it again already

Well I tried to post yesterday but did not get the chance to because it was so busy at work so I will go ahead and fill you in on how the last two days went. Yesterday was my second fit test and like I had said I was pretty worried about it going into it because I didn't want to let myself down since I feel like I have been working pretty hard in the program each day. For the most part everything was great, all my numbers went up except for the first exercise, that one went down but I am thinking it is because I focused more on kicking the legs up higher than last time. I remember thinking to myself that I didn't kick as high as I should have at the end on the first fitness test. Here are my numbers, the first number is the first test and the other one is yesterday.


Switch kicks: 67/65
Power jacks: 46/52
Power knees: 83/95
Power jumps: 28/34 (I lost count on this one so they might be low)
Globe jumps: 8/10
Suicide jumps: 14/18
Push-up jacks: 26/30
Low plank oblique: 67/75


Today was cardio plyo circuit and man did I have to dig deep to get through it. I try to keep up the good work with getting through  the workout each day and today I really had to try to make it happen. When I got near the end I was really feeling it and wanted nothing more than to pull up in the ski abs and the in and outs but I knew if I did I would be mad at myself so I just paced myself and tried to keep the form as well as I could but I did slow down a little there and in the level one drills. I have been sore all day since about 10 o'clock so I know I gave it all that I had. Tomorrow is Pure Cardio and Cardio abs again. I am going to try and get through the ab workout without stopping this time but it is going to be hard. I have not been this sore in my legs in a while so I know just getting through pure cardio tomorrow is going to be a challenge and then I am going to have to make it through the ab workout. Hey, I didn't decide to do the program because I wanted it to be easy so I am getting what I asked for. Come back tomorrow and see if I got through both workouts. The good news is I am working from home so I am going to have a little more time to rest before going. 

Worried about tomorrow

Well today was a rest day and I didn't get up and stretch like I wanted to but I am thinking that I should have, I should have because my neck is a little tight and my shoulder is hurting a little the moment. There may still be some time for a little yoga flex tonight but we will see how I feel. Like I said today is a rest day and I am working on getting back in good shape to be ready for tomorrow. So I am sure you are wondering why I am worried about tomorrow. Well here it is, tomorrow is my second fit test since starting INSANITY and I have been busting hump to do a little better each workout and now that it is time to do the fit test and se ethe numbers I don't way to end up letting myself down by not getting the improvement that I am aiming for but I guess I will just have to see how it goes. What is funny is a guy in the thread that I am running mentioned something about being worried at the start of every workout and was wondering if he was the only one that did that. I have not had a chance to yet but I plan on letting him know he is not. I get a little worried at the start of every workout since getting through each of them without having to stop, I am always wondering if I am going to be able to get through it again and Thursday's workout is going to be no different.  Thursday's workout is plyo and I am always worried about getting through that one without stopping but I guess we will see how it goes. Come back tomorrow to see the results of the fit test.

Two weeks done...man dose it fly by

Today I finished week two (really tomorrow if you count the rest day) and I am feeling good about how I have been doing so far. Let me tell you about yesterday before I go into today. Yesterday was another Resistance and Power day. It is still my favorite workout so far and I was able to get through the entire thing without having to stop again so there is still improvement happening now I can work on getting more reps done on some of the moves. As always, totally covered in sweat when I finished but felt great about the workout and was ready for the day. When the workout was done I ate, spent a little time with the family, and was off to do some yard work. I spent about an hour or so in the yard getting it all nice and pretty. Or at least a pretty as you can get a yard hanging on for its dear life in this heat. Then it was a nice day with the family, some time at the mall, and a bit of resting, before I knew it the day was over and I was getting ready for bed.

Today was my first hour long workout since starting INSANITY and there are a few other things I have noticed since starting that I didn't realize with P90X. First of all, I never looked so forward to rest days as I do on this program, second I did a good amount of sweating in P90X but nothing like what gets done in an INSANITY workout. Today for instance, as I said before was my first hour long workout since starting INSANITY, I got to do pure cardio, which I was able to get all the way through without stopping again, followed by cardio abs. It felt like it was never going to let up. I finished the first workout and "cooled down" (I think I got my hear rate down to a mere 140 BPM) and then started the cardio ab workout. It started off with a pretty OK warm up until you go to the high knee twists, jump knee tucks, and spread jump knee tucks. Once that was done it was time to get on the floor and really work the abs. You start by getting into what Shawn calls a C-Sit position, then you start into the exercises. When this section starts there are about 12 minutes left in the DVD and you hold the position for about 5 minutes, get about 30 seconds of rest, then get to do it all over again but with harder moves. I have a new goal now, get through the DVD without stopping just like the rest of the workouts. I got pretty darn close to the end but didn't quite make it so I don't think it will take too many tries. When I finished the two workouts there was not a dry spot on my shirt, and I am not making that up there truly was not a place left for me to wipe my shirt off with. All in all it was a good workout and I have been feeling it in my abs and legs all day. As a matter of fact I am thinking of borrowing my wife's Yoga Flex DVD tonight and waking up at the crack of dawn to do X-Stretch tomorrow to help get the soreness gone and get me 100 % for the next fit test. The good news is the next fit test is the only workout on the schedule for that day so at least it will be a little easier to take care of.

On to a great recovery

So today was my second cardio recovery day and just like the other DVD's I wanted to try and make it through this one without having to stop or come out of any of the exercises like I had to the first time. I tell you what for a recovery DVD it is pretty darn hard. It isn't the sweat producing workout the other DVDs are but it is pretty hard at some points. It starts out pretty OK a few good bits of stretching followed by some slow squats. All that isn't so bad it is once you get into the end of the squats and you find yourself holding squats and lunges and doing pulses that really light you on fire. When the time is up and you get to get up your legs truly feel like they are burning, not like a I just worked them out really well burn but a oh my god get me out of this fire type of burn! I pushed through it and had to really breath but I did it. Now that it is over my legs have been pretty sore most of the day but I know when I wake up tomorrow they will be feeling much much better so all the pain today was worth it. Tomorrow is going to be back to the sweating, I have cardio power and resistance and will be finishing up my second week with my first double workout. From this point on all the pure cardio days have the cardio abs workout along with it so they will be a little longer and I am sure a bit more difficult but you all know me by now I am going to go after them like I do all the other workouts and see how it goes. I am thinking tomorrow is going to be a wake up early and get it done day because I have to get the lawn mowed, starting working on the one year list for our builder, get the workout in, get my tires rotated, and spend time with the family all in a single day so if I can get the workout done before Haley wakes up and the lawn done after breakfast it will make getting everything else done much easier. Lets see if I can get through cardio power and resistance without stopping twice or if it was just luck the last time.

Justin

Another win for me

Like I said yesterday today was my second go at Pure Cardio and yes if you were still wondering yes it is still a really good really hard workout. Just like last time it starts out with the same warm up (the one I will be doing tomorrow) as Plyo Circuit so three times through a 3.5 minute romp through, jogging in place, jumping jacks, heismans, 1-2-3s, butt kicks, high knees, and zombie kicks. At the end of that 11 minutes I am breathing pretty darn hard and starting to sweat. Shawn T gives you a whole 18 seconds to get some water before you go into the warm up. You start with breathing and move into lunges and other stretches. A lot of the same types of stretches you do in yoga only they are much more difficult because you just spent 11 solid minutes warming up. The funny thing is at the end of the warm up I am not sweating all that much it is at the end of the stretching when I really start dripping. Once the stretching is over you go right into the workout, 16 or so exercises all 1 minute long and all back to back with no breaks in it at all just give it everything you have until the end. That is exactly what I did, I told myself going into the workout that I was going to do everything I can to get through the DVD without stopping. So I know what you want to know, did I make it or did I have to stop. I am happy to say that I made it! I didn't stop at all, I slowed down as I ran out of gas but I didn't stop. There was one point where I was just about to pull up but when I looked at the timer I had around 3 minutes of exercise left before rest and cool down so I made myself go after it and I am glad I did. The switch kicks, power jacks, mountain climbers all of those went great, I didn't run into a slow down until the level two drills which are pretty close to the end, and the push up jacks. On those I didn't go the pace of the DVD but I never got out of the plank I was able to pump out a few push up jacks and when I started to slow I would come up from a push up jack take an extra breath and go down again. By the time the workout was over I was exhausted and sweating like crazy, there was not a dry piece of T-Shirt on me but I was done. I wanted to chug the water I had with me but I was breathing so fast and hard I think I would have passed out if I did. Now that it is over and I have been at work for half the day I was I am feeling great, my hips are a little tender but other than that I  feel good. Tomorrow is another plyo circuit and if I can get all the way through that DVD I will be thrilled it is the last one I have to complete. Just like P90X this goes flying by and I can't believe I will be taking the next fit test in less than a week. Come back tomorrow to see if I got through plyo.

Movin' on up

Well it is only the first day of the second week and I am already seeing improvements. Like you saw on Monday I did a little better in the Plyo Circuit and today was power and resistance. Only the second time through the DVD. The great news is that I was able to do the whole workout without having to stop and rest or catch my breath so I was thrilled when I was finished. Don't get me wrong I didn't just power through it like an animal, it was hard, I slowed down a little near the end and I am sure my form started to fall apart a little but I made it through. When I was done I just had to drop to the floor for a minute and breath and take in what I just did. I was feeling great, and a little shaken but great that I got it done. Tomorrow is pure cardio again and I hope that I see some improvements there was well, I just hope that the effort I put into the workout today does not cause me to lose something tomorrow so I guess we will see. Not going to do a long post today because I am going to bed defeated on another matter since it seems that I can't even take care of a toilet clog in my own house but it is what it is. I will deal with it the next time I am home. Wish me luck on pure cardio tomorrow lets see if I can do it better than last time.

It's been a rest day, and a super way.....

to recover from a week of INSANITY. Yesterday after having dinner with the in laws I went home and put Haley to bed, went down stairs and did some 10-Minute trainer Yoga Flex. I was not trying to get a workout in as much as I was just trying to keep my legs from getting too sore today. I think it paid off because I was feeling pretty good at the end of the yoga and I could feel the old leg muscles relaxing for about 30 minutes after I was done. When I woke up this morning most of the soreness in my legs were gone and I think doing it again today should really get me rebooted and ready for cardio power and resistance. Don't get me wrong it has been nice to have today off to rest but I am looking forward to getting into week two tomorrow. Just like the second round through the Plyo Circuit I am going to try and make it all the way through this DVD as best I can. This one is a little bit shorter so I might be in good shape to come closer but since it is only the first day of the second week I am not going to be beating myself up if I don't make it.

No case of the Monday's here

Today was the last day of week 1 of INSANITY and tomorrow is a rest day. When I was doing P90X I would sometimes run or do a little extra yoga on the rest day but after this first week if INSANITY I think I am going take full advantage of the rest day, at most I might do the 10 minute trainer yoga flex DVD to make sure I don't get stiff on the day off but I have not made that decision yet. Before  I go into my first week's thoughts of the program lets start by talking about today. Today started the workouts all over again so there will be no new workouts until the recovery week in three weeks so now I get to focus on mastering the form and digging deeper in order to get through the workouts without stopping. I got a little closer to that today and as I was making my way through the DVD I was confident that I was going to make it. I got through the first circuit without losing too much steam but I was not quite keeping up with some of the people on the DVD but that paid dividends at the end of it. I was feeling pretty good going into the second circuit and when compared to the people on the DVD I had not stopped for a breather at that point so I was kicking their butts. Then, just like last time I got to the Ski Ab Jumps and the Ab in and outs and it was like running into a wall. The first time through I made it through the ab ski jumps but did slow down quite a bit and had to stop and breath during the ab in and outs. The second time through the circuit, I didn't got off my hands and feet during the ab ski jumps like list time but I did stop for a second and did go to my knees in the ab in and outs. Not quite there yet but an improvement and that is really all you can ask for. I have three more weeks of that workout so I should be able to get through it without stopping by then but if I don't I am sure I will get pretty darn close.

So here is what I think about the first week, this program is awesome, if you have been exercising or are in at least average shape (no beginners for this program....sorry) and you are ready to really challenge yourself then this is the program for you. The workouts are a bit shorter than P90X so far but the intensity is out of this world. I finish every workout feeling great and know that what I just did to myself if going to bring changes. The workouts are hard, but rewarding and I know they are working the muscles more than I had expected because I do have some soreness but only in a few spots of my body but mostly in the area below my neck and above my ankles. :-) I will enjoy the rest day then it is back to Power and Resistance which is coming out as the front runner for my favorite workout.

Longest 20 minutes ever!!!!

Yes it would seem that I still have not learned a darn thing when it comes to these INSANITY workouts. Today was pure cardio and I knew going into it that once it started there was no resting until the end. I put the DVD in and was pretty surprised that it was only about 40 minutes long, again something I have to get used to after hour long P90X workouts everyday. The warm up is the same 11 minute warm up you do in the plyo DVD and by the end of it get again I was sweating pretty good and my heart rate was at about 170 BPM. As I went into the stretches the sweat started to drip off me pretty good. At the end of the stretch section you get a 30 second break to get water and get ready to go and then you are off. I usually try not to focus on the timer all that much so it took about 5 minutes to notice that they are not in fact kidding about the no rest, I started to get winded about 5 minutes and so I took a quick peek to see just how long it was going to be before the first break and was quite surprised to see it was about 15 minutes away. Ahhh.....now I remember, no breaks, I sucked it up and did my best, I ended up surprising myself and kept on going until there was about 3 minutes left in the workout portion then I had no choice but to stop for a few reps to let the muscles rest before digging right back in. When it was all over I was sucking wind pretty hard and had the old hand on the hips trying to get the wind back in me before going on to the stretching. At the end of the workout I was still dripping sweat something kind of fierce and trying to catch my breath, I had to sit down while I took my post workout shake and then off to the shower, just like the last few workouts (except yesterday) I continued to sweat for about 45 minutes after the workout and it took about 20 minutes for the nausea to wear off but it passed. So far I am going to put this one in as the hardest workout of the bunch. I know when the second month comes that will change but right now this one is the front runner. Just like the other workouts since I had to pull up for a little bit I am determined to get through it without having to before the end of the first months so I am already looking forward to doing the workout again. Tomorrow is the plyo circuit again so I am going to be working getting a little further without stopping. After todays workout I think I have a pretty good chance of making that happen. The way I see it is if I can get as far as I did today without a break these workouts where you push it for three minutes and rest should be a little bit easier. Not easy mind you just easier. Come check out tomorrow to find out.

Paved in suffering....

Yes today was cardio recovery day, it was not a bad little DVD and it was pretty short, it was only about 30 minutes long so it went by pretty fast. I am sure you are wondering about the title, well let me explain. Although today's workout is named "Recovery" it used the term recovery just like P90 X uses the term recovery and does help you feel better but it also really puts a good burn on your legs as well. The workout started off well enough nothing too out of the ordinary some deep breathing and stretching to get limber. It moved on to some lunges and squats to really light the fire in the legs muscles and trust me that is exactly what it did. I have not felt a burn in my legs like that in my life. The next closest thing to it was the first few times through yoga X an that was only one leg at a time. These moves have both your legs lit up by the time it is over. You start by doing squats at a slow pace 16 times and once you have finished you hold the squat for about 45 minutes or so while you do pulses once that is done you get to stand up for about a nanosecond before going onto lunges and lunge holds. This is about the time my legs were blazing in flames, as a matter of fact I ended up having to come out of the move once because if I didn't I am sure that I would have fallen over and that would not have been fun for me at all. When it was over I had a little bit of a sweat but not all that much and although my legs were tender I was feeling good and can tell that although there was a burn it was like a yoga burn that is not going to cause soreness but is going to release the tightness in the morning. Speaking of mornings tomorrow is the one workout that I have been the most nervous about since getting the program, the pure cardio. My cardio has suffered a little bit since this last round of P90X since it was focused on mass and not cardio so I expect tomorrow's workout to be very challenging but I am going to attack it with everything that I have and try not to stop as much as I can to get the most out of the workout. Come by tomorrow and see how it goes I am sure it will be killer.

Power and resistance

Yep, second workout of INSANITY today, Cardio Power and Resistance. Things in this workout changed up a little bit, the warm up was a little different, still had jogging, butt kicks, and 1-2-3s but it had some new moves that were not part of yesterday's warm up so that was nice. The way the warm up went was the same, three round of the moves faster each time. By the time the 10 minutes ended I was already starting to sweat and it was dripping off me while going into the stretches so I knew I was going to be in for a good workout today. I was a fan of the workout, it was a little bit shorter than yesterday's so I figured how hard could it be. I learned pretty quickly. Since this workout had some strength involved I got to do some fun exercises like shoulder presses and walking push ups. The shoulder presses were not quite like the ones in P90X, Shawn has you bring your feet a little closer to your hands and then point your fingers at each other when doing the presses. This turns out to be just a little bit more difficult because it adds more of your body weight but I was able to get through them. Shawn also has you do these fetal position like presses that work your triceps but I didn't feel all the much burn on those, I am thinking I have a little work to do on the form there I might pop the DVD in tomorrow and watch that move again to see if I was doing it right today. I did enjoy the moving push ups, those are where you do a push up while separating your feet and hands on the way down and bringing them back together on the way up moving 2 right then 2 left. Those and the 8 and 8s put a good burn on me. The 8 and 8 is going to a plank position, doing 8 push ups followed by 8 mountain climbers and standing back up, near the end of those I was not quite getting to the 8 push ups every time but didn't do too bad. I felt like I did a lot more sweating today than I did yesterday and again it took about 30 minutes to stop even after my shower but the good news is I really didn't have to pull up and catch my breath during the workout just had to slow down on a couple of the jumping moves. I can't wait for today to end because it will bring time with the family closer and get me going on the next workout. In case you are wondering it is Cardio Recovery but from all that I have heard the work "recovery" should not be used, I was told to expect to have my quads lit on fire. I guess we will see but so far I am loving the program.

Only 61 days to go

Today was my first full INSANITY workout and one thing I can say about it is that it went by pretty quick. When the DVD started the timer was at 41 minutes from start to finish. The workout starts off with a 3:30 warm up that you do three times getting a little faster each time. The each exercise in the warm up is 30 seconds, and I don't have them all memorized yet but it starts with jogging in place, jumping jacks, heismans, 1-2-3s, butt kicks, and high knees. I think there is one more but I am not recalling at the moment. When it was done I was sweating pretty good and my heart rate was around 160 BPM or so. Once the warm up is done you get 30 seconds (feels like 2) to grab a little water then it is into stretching. Shawn T does a great job taking the time to stretch out correctly and that portion of the workout take about 7 minutes so by the time the warm up and the stretching is done you only have about 25 minutes left before the workout is over. Man I saw that and thought no problem this is nothing compared to what I have been doing in P90X I am going to crush this first workout! I ended up doing really well but I don't know if I would use the word crush to describe how it went. I got through the first circuit pretty well, I kept up with the people on the DVD and had pretty good form, there was one exercise that I need to focus on that a little more because I don't quite understand the form all that much yet but I will soon. Then the next 30 second water break came, again only felt like about 2. By this point I was rocking about a 170 BPM heart rate. Before I knew it is was on to the same exercises a second time but faster, I still did well and continued to do well on the third set. First set was done, by now I was pouring sweat and my heart was really racing so I know I got a great workout so far. As the last 30 seconds were flying by I totally had the "This isn't all that bad, I can totally do this" then the next circuit started, this one was quite a bit more difficult but I did well the first time through the second and third time through I was losing steam but pushed through it. By the end of the DVD I had only pulled up for a rep or two three times and was feeling great. There was one more 30 second rest then it was on to stretching and cool down. Again Shawn T spends a good amount of time with the cool down so I hope that it helps with the soreness I am sure I will be feeling in the morning. When the workout was done, I was totally covered in sweat and it was dripping off me pretty darn good. I continued to sweat for about 20 minutes after the workout before my body finally cooled down enough to get my temperature back to normal. If that does not boost the metabolism and burn the last bit of fat off I don't know what will. As I sit here now my legs and butt are barking pretty good but nothing that is going to slow me down. Tomorrow is cardio power and resistance so I can't wait to see what is in store for me there. I was able to watch today's workout before doing it so I had an idea what was coming I am going into tomorrow blind so it might be a bit different but I will power through it just like I did today. Come back tomorrow and see how it goes.

The INSANITY started today

Today was the big day the first day of INSANITY, it was not all that bad today was just the first fit test. Before I go into that lets talk about yesterday. I decided that I was not going to do any workouts like I said because I wanted to let my body rest a day before I started in on this. I also decided that I would take a day off from tracking calories and watching what I ate. Don't get me wrong I didn't go an open the flood gates and take in 10,000 calories yesterday but I did enjoy some time in the candy drawer at work, had some less than ideal toppings on my frozen yogurt and snacked on some gummy savers. Since I was grazing most of the day I can't think that my calories go over what they normally would they were just not the right type of calories. It was worth it I got rid of some of the cravings that have been nagging me and felt like I was ready to start fresh today with the new program. So I know what you are wondering, how did it go. 


Today was not a full workout is was just the fit test which was 8 different moves for one minute each to see how many you can do. The workout time ends up being right about 25 minutes and here were my results:


Switch Kicks: 67
Power Jacks: 46
Power Knees: 83
Power Jumps: 28
Globe Jumps: 8
Suicide Jumps: 14
Push-up jacks: 26
Low Plank Oblique: 67




When I was done I was feeling it, sweating and breathing hard but felt great, so good in fact that I wanted to use the extra time to get some ab work in but decided not to I don't want to sacrifice any of tomorrow results by over doing it today. Tomorrow is the first full workout and it is cardio plyo circuit. I am looking forward to it, I totally expect to be sweating like crazy and sucking wind when I am done but I am going to give it all I have and have my water near by don't you worry about that. I figured I had a pretty good heart rate going after todays warm up and tomorrow's warm up is the same thing only three times in a row faster each time. Then when my heart is about to explode out of my chest I can stretch and get ready for the workout. 


Wish me luck. 

I'll give me something to talk about

So today was the last day of my second round of P90X and I finished it with a great round of Yoga X, worked really hard to nail the poses so and to get flexible so that I didn't have too much soreness going into the next day and Wednesday, which as you all know if my start date of INSANITY. Can't wait. I want to take a second before going into my rant to thank my wife for putting up with my over the last six months while I have been doing these rounds of P90X and for helping me out tonight by writing and telling me what to do next for the final fit test. I could not have done it without her. Anyways, yoga was great as always and tonight, like I said, I did my final fit test. I was a little worried about going into it since my legs were a little sore from the workout before and yoga this morning but I was determined to get it done tonight so that I could have a full rest day before starting INSANITY. What worried me was letting myself down, I had numbers in my head that I wanted to hit for everything and some things I was worried would not move at all or not get to where I wanted them to. Good news is that didn't happen, the only thing I wish would have gone better was the measuring of my arms, they did go up but they didn't go up as much as I would have liked. My wife did have a good point though, as usual, I measured my own biceps the first time so it may not have been the best in the way of being accurate, if you see the pictures you can see that they have gotten bigger but I do have a way to go before they are where I want them to be. When you do see the pictures, not today, you will see I still have a little bit of fat to trim off the belly and a little off the chest but not too much and I am hoping that INSANITY will take care of that for me. The things that I was happiest about during the fit test was a 3:26 second wall squat (on tired legs), 11 pull ups (I started with 2.5), and 31 push ups (Started with 20). If that does not tell you that anyone that is running around saying P90X does not work is just plain wrong. If you put the work in you will get the results. Tomorrow I may post the pictures but if not they will be up when I talk about my first ay (fit test) of INSANITY, I am excited but also a little nervous since I have not done any extended amount of cardio training in three months. Wish me luck, time to get the six pack showing.

Second to none

Or really second to last, yes today was my second to last day and it was my last resistance workout in the program. I had legs and back today and by now you should all know that I normally go into that workout dreading it but today was different. I went in there feeling good and knew I was going to give it all I got to make it end on a high note just like the rest of the workouts this week. Today my focus was really finding the intensity on the leg routine I worked harder to go deeper in the lunges and to keep my foot off the ground as much as possible. Doing so really brought the burn to the workout and I was really working hard to get through some of the exercises. Since legs was my focus the amount of energy I was expending made the pull ups suffer a little bit at the end of the workout but nothing to get up set about. It is funny I used to really hate getting into that workout but now I am almost looking forward to the next time I do it, mind you that will be in a few months, but looking forward to it none the less. I may even go crazy and buy some heavier weights before the next round (if my cheapness does not get the best of me.) Tomorrow is my final day of the program and then it is right on to INSANITY. I am doing Yoga X in the morning followed by the fit test and pictures after I put my daughter down. I am really looking forward to seeing the improvement in the numbers. In the back of my mind I am a little worried that I won't do as well as I could if I go into the fit test sore from today and tomorrow's yoga but I don't want to do that fit test the day before I do the INSANITY fit test because I was to be as fresh as I can be for that. Like I have been saying I am really excited to start INSANITY and am so glad that it is just a few days away. Granted I might not feel that way after the first couple of workouts but that is how I am feeling now. I most likely won't put my numbers on the blog post tomorrow but you should see them on Tuesday, after that keep on coming back to see how INSANITY is going.

Wish me luck

Sometimes it just takes two

Two what you might ask, well let me tell you....two (well really three) workouts in one day to feel better. Yes I said it, with only three days until the end of this round of P90X I did three workouts. They were not all killer workouts by any stretch (pun) but three total none the less. I woke up a little early today so that I could get my scheduled workouts in, today was X Stretch and Abs. When I got out of bed I was still stiff as a board and knew I needed the DVD I was about to put into the player. It starts with some forward bends and sun salutations, let me tell you the first few were ugly, I could not get my hands any closer than about 8 inches from the floor and everything was moving like an engine with sand in the gas. By the end of the DVD I was feeling better but still didn't feel like I was totally recovered from the workouts over the last few days. Next up was abs and I went with Yoga Abs rather than Ab Ripper X, really I went this route because I wanted to really feel the burn in my abs since it was the last ab workout I would be doing on this program as well. I focused on keeping my shoulders off the mat as much as I could so I had my abs contracted for pretty much the entire 15 minutes, I was feeling that workout for about 3 hours once it was over, if you have been reading this blog than you know that is a total win in my mind.

Now to address the three, Like I said above, I never really felt like I had totally limbered up from stretching, although I got better by the end of the DVD the soreness was still there an I still had tightness in my legs so I decided a little Yoga should take care of that. I ended up putting in my fountain of youth yoga DVD in to help get the last little bit of soreness out and that is just what it did. I have been finished for about an hour now and still feel that mind set of relaxation and being limber so it was totally worth the 45 minutes of time, for anyone reading it is worth every penny of the $20 price tag. As a matter of fact I totally expect to purchase the other yoga DVD in the one-on-one series.

Tomorrow is the final legs and back, can't wait, for two reasons. First is it will be the last time I do that workout for about 3 months, and since it is the last back workout in the program it is my time to see just how many of each I can do before getting ready for the final fit test and measurements Monday night.

Only three days left

The count down to the end of P90X/ start of INSANITY continues I only have three workouts left. Tomorrow X Stretch and Abs, Sunday is the last legs and back, and Monday if the final yoga and that is it on to INSANITY. Yesterday was cardio and abs, I went with Bob Harper and Yoga abs, it was pretty tough because my legs decided to wait until Thursday morning to get sore but I sucked it up and got it done. Then it was on to abs, I focused on keeping my shoulders off the ground as best I could and I think it paid off because I was feeling it in my abs for about 2 hours after the fact. Today was my final shoulders and arms and like all the other workouts I really wanted to go as hard as I could and get the rep numbers up one more time before putting the sheets away. That is just what I did, some of the tricep  exercises stayed at the same number of reps but everything else the numbers went up on. I could not have asked for a better way to end that exercise than that one. I expect to be quite sore by the morning but that is OK that is why we do this, sore equals change and change equals good. At home keeping an eye on my daughter so I can't type too long. Tomorrow if X Stretch and I am going to need it, I am pretty sore and tight today but know I will feel better tomorrow.

End of another era

Today was the first day of the last week of this round of P90X, I am very proud to think that just over a year ago I was 265 lbs and wearing a size 46 pant and now I am about to finish my second round of P90X and even run 3 to 4 miles on my rest days. Today was Chest and Shoulders and like all my last workouts I really wanted to bring it today and make the numbers go up. For the most part  I did make that happen but there were a few exercises where it didn't. I didn't lose any reps on the exercises and did get more reps on just about every chest workout but some of my pull ups didn't change all that much. I am guessing it has a lot to do with doing the workout before getting anything other than water in my body for fuel. If you think about it I did a four mile run and now a serious workout both on the fuel I got from dinner the night before. When I finished my run yesterday I was being a little cheesy and talking about how good of shape I was in but was brought back down to earth when even after a shower it took me a good 45 minutes to stop sweating, but I am sure some of that had to do with the 100 degree heat we have been dealing with here for the last few day. Today is a day that I am notoriously bad about wat I eat but that is not the case this time, we are having the family over the house and we are doing the cooking which means that it is healthy, we are having bbq crock pot pork and it is one of my favorite meals...yum! Tomorrow is cardio and abs, I am going to up the intensity in prep for INSANITY next week but am still deciding if I am going to go Bob Harper cardio or Plyo, right now I am leaning more towards Plyo since it is more similar to what INSANITY will be like but you never know that might change when the time comes to put the DVD in. On a final note, I was pretty happy this morning when I woke up and didn't have any soreness in my legs at all. I am guessing that few minutes I took to stretch when I finished the run paid off. Today I had my Shakeology with milk rather than water, a little bit of coffee, and blended with ice. It really made it thicker and it was really good. The only hard thing about it was a 2 year old trying to try it but I know better than to give a kid a drink with coffee in it. Come back tomorrow to see what cardio I ended up doing.

And......not to yoga

So I am pretty sure I said it yesterday, I was going to wake up early today so that I could get some Fountain of Youth Yoga before bible study today. The alarm went off at 4:10 and it was shortly followed by the snooze button and finally a reset of the alarm for a later time. I was not all that happy with myself for that choice most of the day but then I guy I know told me about a half marathon he is going to run in October and when he sent me the information for it I was sold so I will be registering for it on Friday and will start training for it after I finish my round of INSANITY and get my cardio back in line. Since I didn't yoga today but was feeling good all day I decided that deciding to run another half marathon was a good reason to go out and run so I did that after putting my daughter to bed. I went just about four miles today and did it in a pretty good time so I was pretty happy about my longest run in almost three months. I know I have a long way to go in order to get back into the shape for this half marathon but I will get there again. Just knowing that I am registering for it at the end of the week really put the running fire back under my butt. I am going to see if I can't fit a little bit of running into my INSANITY program but I guess I will just have to see how hard the workouts are first. Can't wait for that and can't wait for this next half marathon, I will finish this one without stopping to walk and I am shooting for 2:10 minutes.

To yoga or not to yoga

No not really a question at all, I totally yoga'd this morning and it was one of the better sessions I have had in a few week. I was able to get my mind clear right away and really focus on getting loose. By the end of the DVD I was limber and feeling strong not to mention I got a really good sweat out of the workout but that might have a lot to do with the 100+ degree weather outside over the last few day. Tomorrow is a rest day but I am feeling so good and full of energy I am going to go for another Yoga session and do some fountain of youth yoga before bible study in the morning. I can't wait. I am also excited that I don't work on Wednesday so I can sleep in, still get up and workout and have the day with the family while relaxing and taking in how blessed I am to have the two smartest, beautiful girls under one roof. Back to the yoga, I started the day pretty stiff (not surprising for 4:15 AM) and the first forward bend I couldn't even touch the group but a few deep breaths and some focus and that all changed quickly and I was actually getting deeper in the poses than I have in a few week. Don't have a lot to day today so I will finish with this, I heard there is a half marathon in October and I am waiting to get a little more information about it because I would love to be able to do that one and I am going to do the Tom King again next year before running the country music marathon in 2013. I figure a round of INSANITY should help the old cardio out and get me in shape for an October half.

Until next time

End the Trend contest

A not so common second post because I keep forgetting about about it. Today is the first day of my first Beachbody End the Trend contest and the prize is a laptop. All you have to do is sign up for a free teambeachbody.com account through my coach site and refer your friends to it as well. For each referral you send you get a point and the person with the most points gets the laptop, it is that easy. Go HERE and click the Join link to sign up for you free teambeachbody.com account now and best of luck to everyone! Once you have signed up you will get a welcome message from me with contest rules and ways to get bonus points to help your chances!

One more thing, if you have ever wanted to try a fitness program now is the time Beachbody is letting you try one of three programs for 30 days for just 14.95. This will get you the program and a bag of Shakeology, Beachbody's meal replacement shake. You can find details on my coach page or click the contact me button on the page for questions.

Last one was a pretty good one

So today was the last back and biceps workout for this round of P90X and looking at my calendar it will be the last time I do it for about 3 months. Armed with this bit of information I went into the workout focused on doing the best I could and getting the most out of it as possible. I think I may have done just that. None of my exercises had numbers that went down at all some of the exercises for biceps stayed the same, and some of the bicep exercises the reps went up. As for the back exercises almost all of them went up! A few of the band exercises for the back stayed the same but more importantly all of the pull up exercises went up in reps. As a matter of fact I made it to a goal today and got to 10 pull ups, actually I got to 11 so I beat my goal and still have two back workouts left so if I can really bring it on I might even get to 15 pull ups before the end of the program but I guess we will wait and see. According to my tracking information I should get my copy of INSANITY on Tuesday which should give me a week to read the material, come up with the nutrition plan and be ready to go the next week with no problems. I am feeling good about starting it and think that if I give it all I have I should be able to get to the six pack I am wanting to see before we go on vacation. Tomorrow is Yoga and I will be going for Yoga X, I think it will be a good one since I am feeling really good today, not sore, no tightness in the legs and ready to go. If I can carry this into my yoga tomorrow I should start off having a great week. I went ahead and had another Shakeology today for a snack I made it just like I did the last one but this time I added a banana to it as well. It was still good but I did like it a little better without the banana. I am still getting creative and trying to think of other recipes and will share them as I come up with them.

Until next time

Getting rid of the sore

So I woke up this morning exactly how I expected to, very sore from the last two killer workouts. I got to sleep in a little bit today but not too much since I was jolted out of bed by the work on call phone going off just before 8 AM so I could have gotten a few more minutes of sleep but no such luck. Anyways, I woke up and had breakfast with the family, which is something I don't get to do all that often, then I got to call the client that bothered me first thing Saturday morning (two in a row by the way) and got to spend some time with my daughter watching her learn to write while my super wife got the workouts from her second round of 10-Minute Trainer done. She got awesome results her first time through it in just 28 days so decided to go ahead and go another round of it, I am super proud of her. While she was working out I made myself an awesome Shakeology snack, I used the chocolate Shakeology and mixed it with cinnamon and a little bit of vanilla extract. It ended up being really good and I am probably going to have it like that again tomorrow. I have decided that if I make it my mid morning snack rather than my afternoon snack I don't have to worry about Haley sleeping and running the blender so I am going to do that on the weekends now. Anyway when Whitney was done working out it was my turn, except my day was not a workout it was X Stretch and the timing could not have been better, like I said I woke up super sore and as I was going through the DVD I made sure to really focus on lengthening the muscles during the stretch and it paid off, by the time I was done with the workout I felt great and almost all the soreness was gone. As a matter of fact it has not even come back, some Saturdays when I am done stretching the soreness comes back as the day progresses but that was not the case today so that made me happy. I was supposed to do Abs after the stretch but I didn't want to miss any more time with the family so I decided to do it tomorrow when I am finished with Back and Biceps. It is one of the shorter workouts so I should have the extra time for abs when it is done. Worst case I can always save about 7 minutes and do the 10-Minute Trainer ab workout if I need to, but regardless the abs will be getting a workout tomorrow. I am going to really focus on the pull ups and getting more reps on the exercises tomorrow since it is my last back and biceps and I want to finish on a high note, come back tomorrow and see how it goes.

One last thing, If you have ever wanted to try a beachbody program now is the time to do it, Until the end of July they are running a 30 day trial package of your choice of three programs, VIP membership to club beachbody for 30 days, and a bag of Shakeology all for $14.95. If you are not getting the results after 30 days you can return everything no questions asked. If you want to check it out go HERE and click on Shop and in the window that opens click on trial offers, or while you are on the site click the contact me button and send me any questions.

Crazy busy couple of days

So it was a few crazy busy days yesterday and today but now they are done and that makes me happy. Let me give you the low down on how things went. Yesterday was Cardio and Abs and like I said I decided to go ahead and up the intensity as a "punishment" to my body for wimping out on my Wednesday. When that was done I followed it up with some Yoga Abs just to really stick it to me. Here is how everything went, I went longer than I ever have in the DVD before having to pull up for a rep and when I did I only pulled up for three reps total in the entire hour. If I am totally honest with myself I could have pushed through and not pulled up at all. It was one of those time where you pull up for a second get right back into it then it stops and you are mad for stopping early. That is what happened both times so now that I know I can get through the entire DVD without stopping I am going to do just that. I figure I will go for the Bob Harper Cardio one more time next week since I am about to start 60 days of intense cardio workouts and it will be like a nice little warm up. The follow ab workout went well too by the time I was done with the both of them there was not a dry place on my shirt for me to wipe the sweat off so I will call that a win.

I followed that great workout up with Legs and Back today, I was a little worried about how the workout was going to when I went to bed last night because I totally expected for my legs to be crazy sore this morning but luck for me that was not the case. I was a little tender but it didn't affect my workout in any way.  As a matter of fact I got another really good workout in, the only thing that was not as good as I would have liked it to be because on of my lunge rep numbers went down but that is ok. I got more pull ups done on every one of the exercises and even got to 11 chin ups on the first exercise. Now I know that I am going to be crazy sore tomorrow but that is OK because stretch is tomorrow and I will work the soreness out then.

Until next time

Got to throw away to plate this morning!

I know what you are thinking what the heck is he talking about? Let me tell you, today was chest, shoulders and Triceps and it was the last time I will be doing this workout for a few months. One of the exercises is chest flies. For those of you that may not know what this is, you get in a push up position and put a paper plate under your left hand. When you go down into your push up you slide the plate out to the left and when you come back up you slide the plate back so you are back to a normal plank position. You do this four times then you switch hands and do it again. Once I finished that exercise there was no need for the paper plate I have kept in the office since I started this round of P90X so I got to call it a day and throw the plate away. When I went to bed last night I made the comment that I really have to go after this workout today because I wanted to really bring it and see the numbers go up one last time before ending this workout. That did not happen, a few of the exercises the reps went up but most of them stayed the same and some of them even went down. I just felt like I didn't have all the energy that I normally have going into a workout today. Don't get me wrong it was still a good workout and I was covered in sweat when I was done but it didn't go the way I wanted it to. I really don't know if it was just an off day or if it had anything to do with running out of vitamins, or even that I have not had a Shakeology in the last few days. I am thinking it is mostly just an off day. I guess we will test that theory tomorrow on Cardio and Ab day. I will be doing Bob Harper Cardio and Abs so it is going to be a killer workout. The good thing is I am starting my work day close to home at 9 AM so I will be able to sleep a little bit longer than I normally would before stating the workout so that is a win. It is pretty awesome that I now have less than two weeks left in this round of P90X, so a week from Monday I will be taking my final fit test to see how far I have come in two rounds of it. I will be taking the next day off and going right into INSANITY which will lead me right up to my birthday and some time at the beach. I am really hoping to have that six pack by then but we will see. I am totally excited to do INSANITY, I have a guy that posts on my Team Beachbody thread that is crushing it right now and I want to see if I can get the same results has he dose. Keep an eye on the blog to see how that goes. By the way I am such a nerd I even have my fitness scheduled out all the way to May of next year. I will be doing INSANITY, followed by a week off, followed by P90X/INSANITY hybrid, then will take two weeks off in December. At the start of the new year it is time to start training for the county music marathon, then I figure I will need a little time off after that before deciding what to do next.

Almost a perfect 10

I didn't get to post yesterday because right as I finished the post my internet went down and it was not saved this morning so I have to start all over again. Yesterday was Legs and Back, I woke up early to get it done while my wife out shopping so that I could get it done while Haley was sleeping and before mowing the lawn before it got too hot. The workout went great and I could not be happier, my legs are still getting stronger even after doing this workout once a week for the last six months and I am thinking that when I do my next round of P90X I will need to pick up some heavier weights if I want to keep adding intensity to this routine. That was one thing that made the workout great yesterday, the other was I finally reached one of my goals when I got to the first back exercise, reverse grip chin ups I was able to do 10 of them before going to the chair. Since I started being able to add reps to each of the pull ups I have been working hard to get to that number 10 and now that I have done it on one workout I am going to continue to work to try and get to 10 unassisted pull ups on the other exercises. By the end of the day I was starting to feel with workout and mowing of the lawn in my legs but felt great when I went to bed. This morning I woke up nice and early and got my yoga done, I did Bob Harper Yoga and Bob Harper Abs and it is a good thing that I did because I started today in a good head space which is good since I have only been at work for 10 minutes and the client that ruined my weekend is working hard to ruin my week as well. I think I will be going on a run as soon as I can, either after I put Haley to bed or first thing in the morning but it seems taking the week off did not do me as much good as I would have liked it to in the way of getting rid of the stress it has been a busy few week and this week is not starting any differently. Anyway tomorrow is a rest day and I will be doing some kind of fitness something tomorrow to help release some of this aggression that I already have. Until next time. 

Not quite as I planned it

So today didn't quite go the way I planned it and it all kind of started last night when I decided it would be best for me to take my one day to sleep in and actually do it. I figured that even though I had a pretty full day in front of me it would be OK to get my workout in (Stretch and Abs) after breakfast and a little time with the family. Enter client, I swear some clients of my just have a what can I do to give Justin a pain the the back side and they tried another idea so it was off to the client. Rather than get my workout in I ended up spending an hour on the road to and from an about an hour and a half at the client so by the time I got back it was already 10:45 and I had missed most of the morning with the family. On a happy note though my wife was able to get all her goals done while I was away and even got a workout in. When I got back I used the 20 minutes I had to get my Ab Ripper workout in then it was time to shower and get ready for a 4th birthday party. Luck for me the party ended in time for me to get home and get my X Stretch in so I didn't have to mess with my schedule at all which is good. If I missed stretch I was going to make it up on Tuesday but now I don't have to and that makes me happy because I am getting the itch to run again and figured I would try and use Tuesday to do it. I think I have almost worked to knot out of my right hamstring because I was able to reach to the floor during some of the stretches I could not before. I still can't get my forehead to my knee like I can on the left side by I am working on it. Tomorrow is Legs and Back followed HOT Yard Work X. I am thinking that I will wake up with my wife when she gets up to shop and get my workout in early so that I can have breakfast and get started on the lawn before it gets too hot. It might get up to 100 tomorrow so if I can get the yard done before than that would be great. One last thing I want to say and I will call it on this post. Yesterday my wife finished her 28 days of 10-Minute trainer and so far what we have seen the results have been amazing. I will not go into the numbers as I know she would not want me plastering that all over the Internet but they are amazing and to get them in only 28 days is even more incredible so I just wanted to tell her congrats and I am proud for her. Oops, one more last thing, I made my Shakeology today with Cinnamon almonds so it was like a nutty cinnamon chocolate shake and it was darn good. I am going to look around the house tomorrow and try and come up with other ideas to throw into the Shake tomorrow. Until next time.

Did you miss me?

I am sure you did since this is the longest I have gone without a post in a while but trust me it has been a crazy week. I didn't do anything in the way of fitness on Tuesday I decided to take my day off and I enjoyed it since the work day ended up being very busy. Wednesday was Chest and back and that went great, again I focused on getting more and more pull ups done without the chair and it worked out well for me I am almost at the 10 unassisted pull ups I have been shooting for and still have two and a half weeks to get there so I am confident it will happen. Thursday came and it was not quite as good, I woke up and was ready to do some Bob Harper Cardio and Abs but ended up falling back on Cardio X and Ab ripper X just because it was the first day back to school and I didn't want to wipe myself out before the day even started but I will totally be going Bob or Plyo next week. I still got a good workout and a good sweat but I was feeling like a lazy bum the rest of the day. Today was arms and shoulders and I upped the resistance on each of the workouts, it totally paid off because I felt great when I finished. I did lose reps on just about all the exercises but I knew I would due to the extra resistance. I am sure I will get back to the normal amount of reps for the last workout in a few weeks. Tomorrow is Ab Ripper X and Stretch X, I am going to set my alarm and get it done somewhat early because I have plenty on my plate tomorrow and if I don't get the workout out of the way I might not have time for everything and I don't want that.

I hope that next week gets back to normal and I can post more often again.

Until next time.

Back to the grind

Well after a great week off it was back in the saddle at working helping people with their IT problems but that is OK that is what I get paid to do. What makes it better is that I got to start the day with a little Yoga X to finish my 10th week of the program. Only three weeks to go and I am excited to say I finished the program again. Today yoga started out really good, I focused from the start on the breathing and poses and was glad really sticking them well but as the workout went on my mind started to wonder a little bit, I don't know if it had to do with the workout getting easy or if I was just getting ready to get back in the swing of things at work. I guess I will find out the next time I do yoga, which depending on what time I get to sleep tonight might be tomorrow before bible study. I figure I can rock out a quick Fountain of Youth yoga before going to shower. It seems that I still have all this energy each day and I am still going to thank Shakeology for that, I am telling you it seems pricey but it is worth it The way I see $3 dollars a serving is a lot cheaper than the doctor bills that will get racked up for getting old and out of shape but hey each their own. I also want to take a quick minute to say congrats to my wife who has been kicking 10-minute trainer's butt for the last three and a half weeks. She finishes her program on Friday and I could not be happier for her. I am actually a little jealous that she is finishing and can move on to something else if she so chooses. Well come back tomorrow to see if I did a double yoga, double yoga, on the mat.. Until next time

Totally feeling strong today

As you know today is Father's day so I did not wake up this morning to workout while Whitney was shopping, I decided to sleep in and wake up when Haley did. In the way of getting rest that decision turned out to be the right one. In the way of spending time with the family it did take away from that so I missed about an hour and a half with them while I was doing the workout. Once the workout was done we hung out around the house for a little while, had lunch, then we were off to watch a Nashville Sounds (Triple A baseball) game. We had a great time and the Sounds won so all in all you could not ask for anything more than that. Anyway, todays workout was P90X back and biceps. This is a workout that I end up looking forward to each week and am a little bit sad that I only have one more left before the end of the program this time through. When I was doing the workout I was using more weights on all the bicep exercises and the back exercises that used bands. I thought for sure that this would end up costing me some reps and it did on the biceps and the back exercises where I used bands, but I would expect that. What I didn't expect was going nuts on the pull ups. Not only did I get more reps on each of the exercises but I was getting two or three more unassisted reps on just about every single one so I was feeling great at the end of the workout. Looking back on what makes me thing could have caused that I have to give it to my week long Shakeology experiment. I call it that because it is the only time I have taken a shake pretty much every day this week, so I suppose that it has a lot to do with getting the right nutrition in my body from the drinks. I really recommend that everyone give it a shot, it is a bit expensive but I totally think it is worth it. Another great thing that happened this week was I got my first order from a customer since being a Team Beachbody Coach so in the way of fitness and relaxing this was a perfect week, the only thing that made it better was spending the entire time with family and not being bothered all that much by clients and others that do all they can to make sure I don't get a day off. This week I get to go back to work and the next set of classes start but I am going into a week after a Monday morning Yoga X so it will be a good week. Until next time.

Legs and back done

Today was legs and back and I got it done about mid morning to get it out of the way and have the rest of the day to spend with family. I am glad I did it when I did, it has been a very hot day today and it is just getting hotter and hotter so getting the workout done before the heat really set in was a good idea. One thing that I did that was new today was I had Shakeology as my mid-morning snack about 30 minutes or so before my workout and it really seemed to help give me extra energy. I am not going to lie the workout didn't go as well as I would have liked it to but that is OK. I started off a little slow and didn't get as many reps on the very first exercise as I had in the past but I chalk that up to my legs being a little tender after the Bob Harper beat down yesterday. Once I got through that first exercise things started to fall in line and I was able to get the correct number of reps through out the rest of the workout. Another thing that didn't quite go the way I wanted it to was the pull ups. I didn't lose any reps on any of the exercises but only one or two of them had more unassisted pull ups and most of them both the assisted and unassisted numbers stayed the same. I guess that just means that I am going to have to really bring it on Sunday when I to back and biceps. I would like to see some numbers go up there. I am also thinking that I was planning on upping the resistance for this next one but don't remember for sure. I guess I will have to take a look at my workout worksheets to find out. After today I only have 3.5 weeks to go and I am excited about it and look forward to deciding what is next in my fitness "see my six pack by my birthday" journey. I felt really good when I was done with the workout yesterday and felt pretty good when I finished today as well. Now I just need to relax and enjoy time with the family as my vacation is coming to an end :-(.

It is a win, GO ME!!!!!!

Ok, well I woke up this morning and it did not get off to a good start, I went to bed a little hungry so when I woke up in the morning I was a little shaky so I decided to wait and get some food in me before doing my workout. I ended up getting my workout in after I took my daughter to a movie and spend some time out of the house with her and my wife. Once it was time to get into the workout it was cardio and abs today. I decided to ramp up the intensity and go with Bob Harper Ultimate Cardio Body and then moved on to yoga abs. This was the first time I have gone after this combo in a few weeks and the last time I tried it, it did not work in my favor. Today was different, I was determined to get one under my belt and that is exactly what I did. I still had to pull up a few times during the cardio workout but they were not nearly as long this time and it was not as often either. When I was done my shirt was totally covered in sweat and I was pretty tired which means I was totally ready for yoga abs :-). Yep, yoga abs was hard today but unlike last time I was able to finish it, trust me it got ugly in the way of form but I got through it and my abs were on fire pretty much from the 4th minute in. My wife was in the room with me so she got to hear my grunt and moan like a little girl as I got to the end but hey I did it and that is all that matters. I also finally got the chance to try the Shakeology I wanted to, I ended up using about 9 oz. of black coffee, a little bit of water, some ice and a scoop of chocolate and blended it up. It was really good and I enjoyed every bit of it. My wife on the other hand was not as big a fan but that is because she does not care for things that are really chocolaty and Shakeology is. That works out great for me because I love super chocolaty things. Well tomorrow is legs and back and after my wife commented on the distinct V shape she can see in my back I am totally pumped to go after it. I know it is going to be a hard workout because I am going to be upping the resistance this time an I am sure my legs will be a little tender after the cardio workout today. I only have about 3.5 weeks left so I am going to really go after every workout to the end and get those results I am wanting. Check back tomorrow to see how the workout goes with the higher resistance. I am also shooting for the double digit unassisted pull up at some point in the workout as well.