Jen doing her P90X Pull Ups!

I am officially at the last week of my second round of the P90X workout! My wife Jen is also back from her mission trip to Buckingham, Virginia! :-) She went there with a pretty big group from her church to help do home repairs for people in need in the community. Check out the picture of her showing off her pull ups to everyone on a tree limb!

She is home for about a week and then she is leaving again to go to Jamaica for a week on another mission trip! This trip she is going with a smaller group from her church. She loves helping out others, and I’m extremely proud of her for what she’s been doing.

So back to P90X! Last week should have been an awesome week of workouts since it was the last week of the main workouts, but honestly I don’t feel I did my best during some of the workouts. As you may have read during my P90X Week 12 update post I started the week off not having much motivation to workout. I still did the workout and pushed through it, but it was a constant mental battle. Then on Thursday (Legs & Back day), it wasn’t that I didn’t want to workout, it just wasn’t on the top of my priority list.  When I finally started doing the workout, I honestly probably only gave 50% effort. I did just enough to get by so I could get the workout done and continue with the things I needed to get done.

Ok, after I just re-read the above paragraph, it’s very negative, so I figured I should stop and look at the positive events of last week! Monday was Plyometrics and I killed the workout! As crazy as it sounds, Plyometrics is actually getting somewhat easy (I never thought I’d be saying that)! I still sweat like crazy, and my legs burn from all of the squats, but it doesn’t seem as hard. That is a huge accomplishment for me, since that workout used to be extremely hard for me.  Also, on Friday instead of doing Kenpo X, I did Kenpo Cardio Plus from P90X Plus. The moves are definitely a lot harder then Kenpo X (I think it’ll take a few times of doing the workout for me to get them down), but I got an incredible workout from it.

After taking a step back and looking at the positive events from last week, I actually think I had a much better week than I originally thought. I still don’t think I gave Legs & Back 100%, but I’m going to step up and do that workout again this week (I think I’m going to replace one of the Core Synergistics workout with Legs & Back). Maybe you had a few rough workouts or even a bad week. I bet if you stopped and looked for some positive accomplishments you’ll find that it wasn’t as bad of a week as you thought. Don’t just look at the negative side of things! If you only gave a workout 50%, do what it takes to make sure you give it 150% next time. Great job with your workouts and keep pushing play!

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P90X Core Synergistics

Today is day 89 of my P90X workout (that’s right…DAY 89!) and I just finished an awesome session of Core Synergistics! I was full of energy today and ready to bring everything I had to the workout! I did exactly that and I got a great workout with P90X!

I started out the exercises today using the 10 pound dumbbells like usual, but during the Lunge Kickback Curl Press I stepped it up and used 15 pound dumbbells. My shoulders and arms were burning like crazy towards the end of the exercise (doing that move for 20 reps takes a long time), but it felt great  to finish it using the heavier weight! For all of the other exercises I did as many reps as I could until I couldn’t do anymore.

My favorite exercise during Core Synergistics has got to be the Prison Cell Push-Up. It’s an intense exercise that tires me out very fast! I tried to keep up with Adam today, but towards the end I was getting tired and got a little bit behind. I also really enjoy the Towel Hoppers. During that exercise I tried to get my knees up as high as I could (just like Adam). I was exhausted when I finished Core Synergistics, but it was a good feeling knowing that I gave it my all.

I’ve only got 1 more day of P90X! Tomorrow is Yoga X so it’ll be an intense, but relaxing way to end my 1st round of P90X! Keep pushing play! :-)

Nutrition for today-

Breakfast: Bowl of Fiber One cereal and a protein shake.

Mid-Morning: Protein shake.

Lunch: Turkey sandwich with extra virgin olive oil dressing.

Mid-Afternoon: Protein shake and P90X Recovery drink after Core Synergistics.

Dinner: Chicken and some veggies.

After-Dinner: Protein shake.

The post P90X Day 89 Completed: P90X Core Synergistics first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

P90X Leaning Crescent Lunges

Today is day 86 of my P90X workout and I just finished an intense, but great session of Core Synergistics! I always seem to forget how intense this workout really is! It’s a great total body workout that incorporates cardio, stretching, and resistance training all in one workout. I was sweating like crazy throughout the workout as well as struggling to catch my breath in between some of the exercises.

What made today’s workout a little harder than usual is that my back/shoulder muscles are still somewhat sore from rock climbing on Saturday. That made the Leaning Crescent Lunge, and the Lunge Kickback Curl Press especially tough. I used the 10 pound dumbbells during both of those exercises. During the Squat Run I ended up having to drop the 10 pound dumbbells about a quarter of the way through and finish the exercise with no weight.

All of the push ups and the other exercises went great! I maxed out my reps on all of the push ups. One big improvement that I’ve made with Core Synergistics is that during the Plank to Chaturanga Run I was actually able to do the run while in Chaturanga! It was really tough, but I managed to run the entire time except for about 2-3 seconds towards the end (I took a short break).

Well I’ve got to get back to work! I hope everyone gets in a great P90X workout today!

Nutrition for today-

Breakfast: Bowl of Fiber One cereal and a protein shake.

Mid-Morning: Protein shake.

Lunch: Turkey hot dog on whole wheat bread. Also had a handful of peanuts.

Mid-Afternoon: Protein shake and P90X Recovery drink after Core Synergistics.

Dinner: I have no clue what we’ll be eating for dinner this evening. I think it’s going to be something quick and easy like sandwiches.

After-Dinner: Protein shake.

The post P90X Day 86 Completed: P90X Core Synergistics first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

P90X Leaning Crescent Lunges

Today is day 54 of my P90X workout, and I just completed Core Synergistics. The workout actually didn’t go as well as I had hoped! I had planned on increasing my weight to 15 pounds for all of the exercises, but I didn’t even get past the Leaning Crescent Lunges doing that. Tony Horton recommends using light weight during that exercise anyways (no more than 10 pounds), so I guess I should have listened to him! I did maybe five or so lunges with the 15 pound dumbbells, and I had to pause the P90X DVD and reduce the weight. I then just started the exercise over from the beginning with the 10 pound dumbbells. After that exercise, I decided to continue using the 10 pounds dumbbells for the remaining exercises that used weight.

I don’t feel like I did worse than I did on P90X day 51, but I don’t think I did any better, so I’m a little disappointed. My wife has just gotten over being sick (sore throat, headache, stuffy nose, etc.) and I’m afraid that I may have caught what she had (I’ve been feeling pretty crappy today). I definitely didn’t have as much energy as I had yesterday before X Stretch; I should have just done Core yesterday anyways! I guess there will always be good days, and there will be bad days!

Now that Core Synergistics is over, the rest of the week is going to be pretty easy. I have Yoga X tomorrow, and then X Stretch on Saturday. Then I’ll officially be in Phase 3 of P90X! I’m really excited to get back into the Chest & Back, and Shoulders & Arms workouts!

Nutrition for today-

Breakfast: Bowl of Fiber One cereal, and a protein shake.

Mid-Morning: Protein shake.

Lunch: Turkey sandwich with provolone cheese, and extra virgin olive oil dressing.

Mid-Afternoon: Protein shake and P90X Recovery drink after Core Synergistics.

Dinner: I’m not sure what we’ll be having for dinner this evening. My wife and I finally made it to the grocery store last night so hopefully it’ll be something good!

After-Dinner: Protein shake.

The post P90X Day 54 Completed: P90X Core Synergistics first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

P90X X Stretch Back Up The Car

For some reason I had in my head that today was Core Synergistics! I had the Core Synergistics workout in my DVD player with the TV on, my dumbbells setup, and everything else ready to go!  I then just so happened to look at my P90X workout calendar before I was about to start and I saw that today was X Stretch! I was actually a little disappointed because I was in the mindset that today was Core and I was ready to bring it! O well, I’ll just have to wait for tomorrow to do Core Synergistics!

It turned out to be a great day for X Stretch! Some of my muscles were still sore from Core Synergistics on P90X Day 51, so it felt really good to stretch them out. I tried to push myself during the stretches to get deep as I could without over doing it. I’m actually now able to touch my toes on my left and right leg during the Seated Single-Leg Hamstring Stretch (prior to P90X, I could never touch my toes during this stretch)!  All of the stretching that I’ve done during P90X has really improved my flexibility. I may have to refer to myself as a “somewhat flexible” person versus a “completely inflexible” person by the end of P90X!

Nutrition for today-

Breakfast: Bowl of Fiber One cereal, and a protein shake.

Mid-Morning: Protein shake.

Lunch: Left overs from dinner last night. We ended up having meatloaf for dinner last night. It was made with lean ground turkey versus beef, so it was actually pretty healthy (and tasted good too)!

Mid-Afternoon: I had an orange prior to X Stretch and then a protein shake after wards. I ate the orange for energy since I thought I had to do Core Synergistics.

Dinner: I think tonight we are keeping it simple and having sandwiches (maybe turkey sandwiches?). We are then going out grocery shopping because we’re running low on everything!

After-Dinner: Protein shake.

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P90X Core Synergistics

Today is day 51 of my P90X workout, and I just completed Core Synergistics. I almost forgot how intense Core Synergistics was!! I was sweating like crazy throughout the workout, and I was struggling to catch my breath between some of the exercises!! Overall, I think I did pretty good with this workout!

I used 10 pound dumbbells for all of the exercises that Tony recommends using them just like on P90X day 26. Using the 10 pounds dumbbells during the Squat Run was really tough! I almost made it through the entire minute (I think it was 30 seconds with your left foot forward, and 30 seconds with your right foot forward) with the dumbbells. I dropped them to the floor during the last 10-15 seconds and finished the exercise. For the Squat X-Press I was able to get through all of the reps using the 10 pounds dumbbells without stopping (on P90X day 26 I stopped halfway). I did pause the P90X DVD after the Squat X-Press to catch my breath though.

Lastly, during the Lunge Kickback Curl Press I was also able to get through all of the reps with the 10 pound dumbbells without stopping (on P90X day 26 I wasn’t able to use dumbbells for all the reps). So I’ve definitely made some good improvements from the previous Recovery Week during Phase 1 of P90X. I think on Thursday I may up my weight to 15 pounds for all the exercises. I’m sure I won’t be able to do all the reps with 15 pounds, but I’ll just do my best!

Nutrition for today-

Breakfast: Bowl of Fiber One cereal, and a protein shake.

Mid-Morning: Protein shake.

Lunch: Turkey sandwich with provolone cheese, and extra virgin olive oil dressing.

Mid-Afternoon: Protein shake and P90X Recovery drink after Core Synergistics.

Dinner: I think we will probably be having fish tacos with tuna, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and a little bit of cheese.

After-Dinner: Protein shake.

The post P90X Day 51 Completed: P90X Core Synergistics first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

P90X Yoga X Half Moon

Day 27 of P90X is done! I just completed my P90X workout for the day, Yoga X. It was an intense P90X workout, but it was very relaxing like usual. I focused on getting a good stretch with each pose and I also worked on inhaling and exhaling correctly during the poses. My right quadricep was sore from Core Synergistics yesterday, so the Crescent pose and several of the other poses were somewhat painful. I always have a hard time doing the Half Moon, but today I was able to hold that pose for a short period on each side. Also, I was able to hold the Crane for a few very short seconds! :-) Maybe it was milliseconds…who knows! Overall, I think it was a good session of P90X Yoga X!

I’m really glad it’s Friday, but it’s going to be a busy weekend. We’ve got a lot going on, and Sunday is Valentine’s Day! My wife and I have this tradition of instead of going to a super fancy restaurant, we go to a local Mexican restaurant (we both LOVE Mexican). I can’t remember the last time I’ve had Mexican food, so I’m really going to have to try hard and not pig out! I’ll probably do the same thing like I did for the Super Bowl party; I’ll fill up on some fiber and a protein shake prior to going.

Nutrition for today-

Breakfast: Bowl of Fiber One cereal, and a protein shake.

Mid-Morning: Protein shake.

Lunch: Turkey sandwich with provolone cheese, and extra virgin olive oil dressing.

Mid-Afternoon: Protein shake.

Dinner: I think this evening we are going to have chicken, a salad, and probably some whole grain rice.

After-Dinner: Protein shake.

The post P90X Day 27 Completed: P90X Yoga X first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

P90X Core Synergistics

WOW! P90X Core Synergistics beat the crap out of me!!! Now that I know what to expect, I was really able to “bring it” to this P90X workout today. I maxed out on all of the push ups, and I pushed as I hard as I could on the other exercises. Also, instead of using the 6 pound dumbbells like on P90X day 23, I used the 10 pound dumbbells for all of the exercises that required them.

During the Squat X-Press I had to pause the P90X DVD about halfway to take a break. I took a short break, and then I finished the Squat X-Press. I probably should have switched back down to the 6 pound dumbbells at that point, but I was determined to use the 10 pound dumbbells throughout the entire workout. When I got to the Lunge Kickback Curl Press, my muscles were exhausted and I wasn’t able to do all of the reps. I ended up just putting the dumbbells on the floor and I finished the exercise without any weight. I really wanted to do all of the reps with the dumbbells, but my shoulder muscles were in too much pain and I didn’t want to over do it.

The Plank to Chaturanga Run was just as hard as on P90X day 23 (if not harder)! Since I had maxed out on all of my push ups, this exercise was especially difficult! I tried to run while in the Chaturanga position, but I just couldn’t do it today. Also, even though I was really tired, I feel like I did a lot better in the Reach High & Under Push-Ups. I was able to keep up with Tony Horton and the crew, and I only stumbled once towards the end.

I got a great P90X workout today, and I know I’m going to feel this tomorrow! I’m already feeling some soreness in my shoulders. Now we’ve got only TWO more days until week 4 of P90X is over!

Nutrition for today-

Breakfast: Bowl of Fiber One cereal, and a protein shake.

Mid-Morning: Protein shake.

Lunch: Turkey sandwich with provolone cheese, and extra virgin olive oil dressing.

Mid-Afternoon: Protein shake. I also made sure to have my P90X Recovery drink after Core Synergistics!

Dinner: Fish tacos with tuna, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and a little bit of cheese.

After-Dinner: Protein shake.

The post P90X Day 26 Completed: P90X Core Synergistics first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

P90X X Stretch Cat Stretch

I just finished day 25 of my P90X workout. Today was X Stretch, so it was a very easy day! I really tried to focus on getting a good stretch with each of the moves. They were all pretty straightforward and felt good, but the wrist stretches were somewhat painful like usual.

All of this stretching with P90X has definitely helped my flexibility. Today during the Seated Single-Leg Hamstring stretch, I was able to touch the toes of my right foot (my hands were pulling them forward as far as they would go so I could touch them). That’s something that I have never been able to do! I wasn’t able to touch the toes of my left foot, but I’m sure that will come with time. This really is the most I have ever stretched, and it’s paying off! My wife was even surprised how well I was doing the Side Twist.

I’m excited to do Core Synergistics tomorrow! It’s a hard workout, but I really want to feel that burn and feel some soreness the next day. When I’m sore like that, I know I got a great workout. After Core Synergistics, then it’s Yoga X again on Friday, and then Rest or X Stretch on Saturday. Then the recovery week will be officially over and I’ll be moving into P90X week 5! Time is flying by!!!

For anyone who is doing P90X, keep up the hard work! It will pay off!!!

Nutrition for today-

Breakfast: Bowl of Fiber One cereal, and a protein shake.

Mid-Morning: Protein shake.

Lunch: Turkey sandwich with lettuce, provolone cheese, and extra virgin olive oil dressing.

Mid-Afternoon: Protein shake.

Dinner: Two fillets of salmon.

After-Dinner: Protein shake.

The post P90X Day 25 Completed: X Stretch first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

P90X Core Synergistics

I thought this week was supposed to be a recovery week?!? :-) I just completed day 23 of my P90X workout and today was Core Synergistics. This workout is a total body workout that consists of 22 moves that incorporate cardio, stretching, and resistance to strengthen the core muscles. For this workout you’ll need your yoga mat, dumbbells or resistance bands, and you’ll need to make some room in your living room (you’ll be rolling around the floor during this P90X workout).

P90X Core Synergistics was a tough workout! Since it was my first time doing it, I had to watch Tony Horton do the moves first, and then I would rewind the P90X DVD and do it myself (that made this workout seem to go on forever). I also felt like I didn’t do all that great since it’s new and I was so focused on getting the moves down. Some of these exercises were pretty different and it took me a little bit of time to get used to them.

The Banana Roll was interesting! I had to push our furniture out more so I could do this one. The Squat Run move was cardio/resistance all in one and it kicked my butt! I used a very low weight (only 6 pounds), but even with that amount I was struggling to continue towards the end. For any of the other exercises that required weight, I pretty much stuck with the 6 pound dumbbell, but I did go to 10 pounds for the Squat X-Press. I feel like on a lot of the moves I could have gone up more on the weight, so I’ll probably try to use 10 pounds with all of the resistance moves next time. Lastly, the Plank to Chaturanga Run was crazy!!! I could barely do the run while in the Chaturanga position.

I was also really surprised to see that we were doing all of these different variations of push ups. I just figured since it was the recovery week it would be pretty low key…I guess not with P90X! Again, I feel like I could have done a lot better with the push ups, but I was concentrating really hard on just getting them down. They still definitely wore me out though. The Sphinx push ups were pretty tough, and I didn’t last long at all with the Prison Cell Push Ups.

As far as my nutrition during the Super Bowl last night, I don’t think I did all that bad. I had a bowl of chili, and after that I had a very small brownie and a small piece of this cinnamon cake that was sugar free. Prior to going to the party I had a protein shake, and I had a bowl of Fiber One cereal to help keep me from overeating. That really seemed to help out because I was pretty full when I got to the party. I was also expecting that I would see all of the food and deserts and want to pig out, but I was so full that I had no desire to do so!

Nutrition for today-

Breakfast: Bowl of Fiber One cereal, and a protein shake.

Mid-Morning: Protein shake.

Lunch: Chicken sandwich (thinly sliced chicken with cajun seasoning) provolone cheese, and extra virgin olive oil dressing.

Mid-Afternoon: Protein shake.

Dinner: Salad with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, pieces of chicken, and extra virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar dressing. Also had a protein shake (I wasn’t that hungry this evening for some reason).

After-Dinner: Protein shake.

The post P90X Day 23 Completed: P90X Core Synergistics first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.