(Round ) Day 30: Back and Biceps, Ab Ripper X

Back and biceps today. Nothing too terrible. First time through it for round 2 so it had some challenges, but I've done it before, so not bad.

Finished with abs.

However, today is more about results than anything. Which I'm not happy about. And is of course, mea culpa.

My diet sucked these past 30 days. And as I've said repeatedly, I'm not going to see results unless I'm eating well.

So, while I've blogged every day, and worked out according to most of p90x's schedule, I think I've gotten fatter. Well, maybe not fat, but I didn't move in the right direction over the past 30 days.

I hate it. I hate how I've felt. And I hate what I've missed. I could be ____ right now. In that blank could be anything: Lacking love handles. Showing more abs. More muscular than before. Anything. But eating improperly has pointed me in the wrong direction.

So today is my vow to get back into it, full force, no more lollygagging. Get back into running. Get back into eating 5-6 healthy meals a day. Get back into having great things to say about my workout routines.

So here are the pictures I owe, but are being posted with a serious lack of pride. Here's to the next 60:

Day 90: Stretch X, Rest

Day 90. Finito.

That was really a fast 90 days. Time for my summary based off of self-imposed questions:

Was p90x all that it's hyped up to be?

If you stick to it, you're going to see results. For the first 50-60 days I was really into the diet. I didn't follow their plan bite for bite. I did my own nutrition plan, and during the prime of my 90 day experience, I was eating 5-6 meals a day, getting a ton of protein and very few grams of fat. Over time it got tough to keep up day in and day out. But I'd say p90x was definitely worth it.

Did you see good results?

I saw what I expected. I put on muscle, but didn't bulk up. The best thing was that I cut a good amount of fat. I didn't take body fat percentages before and after, but I'm down to below 11%. I overall just feel better. Eating right by cutting out unnecessary fatty foods, and sticking to a daily workout program, realized improved everything about me.

What's next?

Time for round two. Going through this whole process again. I saw decent enough results that I think a second time through could do some great things for me. I'm starting off with a lot less fat so hopefully my body quickly adds muscle while still trimming fat around my waistline.

Also, I didn't look at this program as a chore. It became part of my life, a real routine, which is why I'm even looking forward to doing p90x again. I thought about joining a gym but there's no way I'd go more than 3-4 times a week. This is every day for 90 days. Now, that's not to say that I'm going to be on p90x forever. Or even past round two. It's going to be about maintaining, eventually. But I'm still in an uphill battle with my body so I'm not looking to stay put, I'm looking to get more fit.

Anything different planned for round two?

I'm looking to workout every day, but I'm not sure if I'll stick to p90x's exact schedule. I might do Cardio X in lieu of plyo, or just run instead of yoga. Things like that. So if you're doing p90x along side of me, and you see that your Day 27 is different from my Day 27, it's because I'm adding my own touch to it.

Now, time for the final photos. Yes I have ridiculous tan lines on my arms (from golf):





Round two starts tomorrow.

Day 60: Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X

Two-thirds of the way through. Solid.

First time doing this back workout with a pullup bar since Day 40.

Not too shabby. Actually surprised myself with some of the numbers:

15 Reverse grip chin ups
14 Wide grip pullups (9 unassisted, 5 assisted)
12 Close grip overhead pullups
12 Switch grip pullups
14 Reverse grip chin ups
12 Wide grip pullups (7 unassisted, 5 assisted)
10 Close grip overhead pullups
8 Switch grip pullups

Wide grip are really tough. But to think of how far I've come since day zero, it's pretty cool.

Abs to finish. Oblique v-ups are my new fr'enemy. I feel them after, but they hurt so bad while doing them.

Everything else was standard today.

Alright, Day 60 also means it's picture time. Results are OK. Wish my abs were coming through a bit more, but I'll place blame on myself and a few stumbles in the diet for that one. Here it goes.




Guess what goes in that bottom right corner? I was thinking of filling it with a picture of Sean Sherk, but I hope to be in better shape than him in 30 days.

Day 30: Plyometrics

I thought I'd dread plyo days when I began this program. But I don't. In fact, I look forward to it now.

Tonight was good. It's so much different than anything else they have you do, including core synergistics. Cardio X is one of only two DVDs I haven't tried yet, but I don't think it could match plyo.

I tried to work hard through moves I had trouble with before. Went pretty well, outside of almost collapsing from 360 degree torso twists.

As for my pain level from yesterday, it's pretty high. My whole front upper body hurts. Chest, triceps, shoulders. They're all connected and during the middle of the night they banded together and decided, 'we're going to provide a lot of pain tomorrow.'

What's good, however, is that the pain in those areas didn't hinder any moves during plyo. The only thing that might have been affected was my arm swing during my Rock Star Jumps. But that's all.

Now, seeing that today's Day 30, I must provide photos. Let me start by saying this:

You can't target fat loss. If I could have lost more around my love handles than I could have around my ribs, I would have. But that's not my decision. More oblique exercises would only have strengthened muscle but not burned away that fat. That's a shame.

Want to feel terrible about yourself? Go take a picture of yourself, and trace (either in Photoshop or by hand) your love handles. That'll motivate you to get your ass in shape.

I blurred out my face because while most of you who follow this know who I am, I really don't need my face (or back of my head) associated with this blog.

Okay, enough procrastinating, here it goes:





Am I happy so far? Well if I wasn't doing p90x I'd be in the shape on the left, today. So yes, I've made progress. I really hope Day 60 is a much more drastic of a change than this.

And no, my room is not purgatory. I cut myself out of the backgrounds to clear the clutter of my room.

Tomorrow Back and Bis. Gotta get those arms ripped.

Day 14: Stretch X, Rest

Well, no stretch for me today. Didn't think the DVD was of any use last week, so I took today off.

I'll touch on two things: my continued diet and results.

I've still been eating really well. I feel as if I need to cut down the size of the meals, but find a way to get more calories out of them. I seem to be a bit too full, especially after my lunches. At the same time, I've done some calorie counting and I seem to be coming up short of the 1800-2200 I should be consuming during this first phase of the workout.

Still eating the same as last week. Added a can of sardines and some hard boiled eggs to my list of unique foods. Tried out turkey chili which was awesome and easy. Still focusing on as much protein as I can while limiting fats and carbs. Going to stay that way til I start showing muscle through what I consider fat.

In regard to results, I'm most excited for Day 30 when I'll compare a photo that night with one from Day 1. I have been taking progressive pictures every other night or so for me to look back on.

I certainly feel better. Arms feel stronger, chest feels better when I do pushups, and abs are starting to come through a bit. I fear getting abs while still having love handles. That'd be awful. Need to step it up during Plyo and Kenpo this week in order to keep pushing to work those off.

Last week of what I've been doing. This is supposed to be the week that I'm a Master at what I've been doing. We'll see about that.