Fitting In Life 24 Hours a Day

Where is Kodiak Again - aka "When My Oldest Moves to Alaska"

2009-10-07T08:08:00.000-07:00

Kodiak is located on the southern side of Alaska. You can see it's location (red star) in relation to Seattle and the Western United States. We've all heard of Kodiak bears and such, but in a week or so it will also be known as the place where my oldest son, Samuel is living.

What is taking him to Kodiak you might ask, and the answer is an opportunity that couldn't be passed up. He's going to be attending a boarding school of sorts, called Saint Innocent Academy. He will be doing his high school and college-level courses while finishing up his final two years of high school, while there. It's a fantastic chance to meet new and influential people, experience orthodox life in Alaska (where our patron saint, Saint Innocent served and lived). He's leaving this morning, in fact I will have to cut this short soon, since I have to go and say my "see you soon son". Here's a picture of the island and I'll write more about the academy and the story about how he got to go there in my next post.

Cyclocross.....aka "The First Time"

2009-09-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

So today was the Cross 542 cyclocross race, which would be my first experience with this activity. Cross 542 is part of the "Festival 542" that is happening this weekend, of which there is also Run 542 and Ride 542 (the latter I would also be done).

After good rest, it was time to head to Silver Lake Park where the course was setup. Silver Lake is a beautiful park with a huge lake, which is always stocked with tons of trout each year, plenty of hiking and now, cyclocross.

I won't go into what cyclocross is except to say that it can involve riding through a variety of ups & downs, through grass, mud, dirt, pavement or whatever, while sometimes getting off your bike and jumping over logs, barriers, etc. It's biking, running & jumping, all combined in one 40-60 minute furious ride.

The course was being built when I arrived on a blue-skied, sunny, warm day in the hills. I saw a couple of logs on the course, which was totally medium-sized grass. I began warming up, thinking my race would be coming up in 30 minutes or so. The reality was I had over 90 minutes before my bracket. I watched the "C" group, note that there are usually groups for beginners ("C"), intermediate ("B") and experts ("A"). I didn't realize how good they were in "B" or I would have gone with the beginners. Oh well, you live and learn. Anyway, the "C" race took 40 minutes, which was time that I began cooling down. "Early warning"- this is not good for me.

Soon they called "B" group to the start line. I lined up and after a short countdown, we were off like a shot. I noticed immediately that other were zipping up the "run-up road", while I seemd to labor a bit. Before long people were 100 yards ahead of me. I knew then that I'd picked the wrong group, but I didn't want to stop, rather I felt I would push forward and try to catch some of the other riders. Well about two minutes into a 50 minute ride, while going up a slight incline, I felt my right quad muscle "pop". I knew instantly it was a muscle pull and trust me, "you need your quads for bike riding". I didn't want to stop, but I knew I wasn't going to have much chance of catching anyone and now I sought to survive the ride. The question was how I was going to do this and still have a chance to ride the "Hill Climb" tomorrow?

I determined to "unclip" my shoe from my right leg, which is where the quad pull was and "ride circles" with my left foot, while pushing down on my right foot. I figured this would give me maximum power with minimum strain on my pull. Well, it sort of worked, except I couldn't really stand up to pedal and I was operating at 60% of my power. The result was falling further behind and getting more tired. I started going slow enough that a couple of the leaders actually lapped me! Mind you this isn't a shorty course, so it took a good effort by them and a slow effort by me to make this possible. I had to get off my bike slowly, rather than jumping off & getting on became just as laborous. Well, we rode around and around for 50 minutes until it was time to finish. I ended up doing about 4 1/2 laps to the winners 7 laps! I wasn't worried about winning, rather I was really happy that I didn't quit, injury or not.

A couple of things I learned from the experience:

It's okay to sign-up for the lowest level, since you probably aren't in danger of being a "sandbagger". If you end up doing well, then just "back off" a bit during the race.
Make sure you don't warm-up, stop, then try to speed-warm-up again, since that's likely what led to the quad pull.
Cyclocross is fun, but it involves more than just pedaling, so that means you need a little running ability. Perhaps a few runs or at least practice doing some mounts & dismounts with some running would help.
Make sure you tighten the screws on the cleats on your shoes. (Note: during one of my dismounts I couldn't get my shoe out of the pedal, since one of the cleats got turned & my shoe was prevented from popping out!

Here's a short video of the race I was in and you'll even see me "blaze by" a couple of times. LOL

All in all it was a fun experience. I don't know how my quad injury will affect my ride tomorrow, but I'm hoping it's a minor issue. We'll see.....

The Weekend of Full...or is that "A Full Weekend"....

2009-09-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, is that another week gone? I wouldn't know, since it sped by so quickly.

Nonetheless, this weekend will indeed be a full one. Here's what it looks like:

Caleb's second high school football game of the season (7pm PST). If you want to check it out live online then go to Skagit Radio.com and look for the link to the Nooksack Valley vs S-W game.
Saturday morning I will be riding in my first cyclocross event, called "Cross 542". It's supposed to be an all-grass course with some obstacles, but not a crazy setup. This is good, since I don't want it to be majorly-epic for my first time!
Sunday early I will be riding in the Hill Climb 542, which I've been training for the past couple of months. This is the 24.9 mile ride that has 4400 feet of climb. It's a ride for cancer and I will be enjoying this "pain" with 800 other riders.

There are a variety of little things going on, but those cover the major events. I will write about and post pictures from each. Here's hoping for great things for each of the three!

~ Jonathan

More honors & newspaper coverage

2009-09-11T06:57:00.000-07:00

Caleb was chosen "Pioneer Player of the Week" for his performance in last Friday's game.

Also, here's another picture that came out in a different local newspaper. The article about the Pioneers was huge & include quotes from Caleb.

Pioneers Win & What an Offensive Start....

2009-09-08T08:23:00.001-07:00

Sorry about not updating the "day after" the football game, but I was tired and had a boatload to do. Of course, now I realize that three days have passed and I still had not updated about it! Ooops.. Well, Caleb's team won 13-10 over a bigger school and he had a great game.

Here's a video clip of both of his scores!

Here's what "The Bellingham Herald", one of our local papers had to say. (Note: he couldn't wear his normal #26, which if he had, he tells me, would have let him rush for 150 yards! :-) Also, he was honored as one of "Friday Night's Stars" by the same paper, which draws from 14 teams in 1A-3A schools. (Note: Nooksack Valley is 1A, which is the smallest division in the conference).

------------------
PREP FOOTBALL: Cragle carries Nooksack to victory
by MICHELLE NOLAN

NOOKSACK - Not many people immediately knew who scored Nooksack Valley's first touchdown of the football season, but everyone kne w who it was when the same guy produced the winning touchdown.

In his first start on offense, junior Caleb Cragle enjoyed plenty of good fortune and even better blocking while wearing No. 22 instead of the No. 26 in the program.

Cragle's 50-yard dash up the middle midway through the third quarter provided the final points of Class 1A Nooksack's 13-10 victory over Class 2A Mount Baker in a Northwest Conference opener before an overflow crowd on Friday, Sept. 4.

"The blocking was so good, I wasn't even touched on that 50-yard run," said Cragle, who rushed for a game-high 91 yards on six carries and also scored on an 11-yard run early in the second quarter. "We have the best line in the state, from my point of view."

Cragle said he'll be back in his purple No. 26 as soon as possible.

Junior quarterback Tyler Perry, in his first extended playing time, turned in a sharp effort, going 12 for 19 passing for 107 yards and no interceptions and also rushed for 68 yards on 18 carries. He also denied Mount Baker a possible score with a second-quarter interception at the Nooksack 19-yard line.

"I'm no Wade Rediger," Perry said of last year's quarterback, who led the Pioneers to nine consecutive wins and a 9-2 season before losing in the state Class 1A quarterfinals. "I have to count heavily on our good seniors like Nick deGrasse and John Nolasco and Anthony Reese."

Returning defensive standouts Jon Charroin, Jessie Salmonson and Josh Larson made numerous big stops as the Pioneers held the Mountaineers to 216 total yards on 58 plays, while Nooksack amassed 359 on the same number of snaps.

Mount Baker's Jose Mata kicked a 26-yard field goal in the second quarter, and running back David Kashubin scored from the 4 in the third period, giving the Mounties a 13-10 lead. Nick Jacoby, who led Mount Baker with 77 yards on 13 carries, set up the touchdown with a 16-yard run to the 8 on a misdirection play.

On the series after Cragle's 50-yard touchdown, Baker junior Zak Lepper, in his first start at quarterback, threw 37 yards to Logan Packard and passed 17 yards to Jacoby, but Larson led a defensive charge that stopped Jacoby at the 1-yard line on fourth down. Jacoby set up that play with a 9-yard sprint.

"They're definitely bigger than we are," Baker coach Ron Lepper said of Nooksack. "We definitely didn't back down. We had some good opportunities, but didn't capitalize."

Mount Baker 0 3 7 0- 10

Nooksack Valley 0 7 6 0- 13

Second quarter

NV-Caleb Cragle 11 run (Travis Benner kick)

MB-Jose Mata 26 FG

Third quarter

MB- David Kashubin 4 run (Mata kick)

NV- Cragle 50 run (pass failed)

MB NV

First downs 13 15

Rushing Att-Yards 35-118 38-252

Comp-Att-Int 9-23-2 12-20-1

Passing yards 98 107

Penalties-yards 1-5 5-35

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1

Individual leaders

RUSHING - Mount Baker: Nick Jacoby 13-77, David Kashubin 11-37, Gage Robinson 8-6, Zak Lepper 1-1, Kurtis Zender 2-(minus 3). Nooksack Valley: Caleb Cragle 6-91, Taylor Perry 18-68, Nick deGrasse 8-53, Anthony Reese 3-20, John Nolasco 3-20.

PASSING - Mount Baker: Zak Lepper 9-23-98-2. Nooksack Valley: Taylor Perry 12-19-107-0, Trevon Myhre 0-0-0-1.

RECEIVING - Mount Baker: Taylor Engels 3-16, Gage Robinson 3-21, Logan Packard 1-37, Stephen Raney 1-7, Nick Jacoby 1-17. Nooksack Valley: Anthony Reese 5-47, Evan Roller 3-21, Kyle Handy 2-27, Nick deGrasse 1-8, Caleb Cragle 1-4.

Are You Ready for Some Football?

2009-09-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the first game of the 2009 season for my son Caleb's high school football team, the Nooksack Valley Pioneers. It's an exciting time, since the team is coming off a 9-2 season that included 9 straight wins and making it to the Washington State 1A football quarterfinals. They are returning all but five starters and they've replaced them with kids equal too or more skilled than the ones they lost. Caleb is a starting running back and a returning starter as a safety and/or linebacker. He's spent the entire offseason, aka December 2, 2008 - August 20, 2009 working, running, lifting and prepping for this season.

(Note: picture to the left is of Caleb, in the middle, just after knocking the ball carrier backwards about three yards during a kickoff return. This was in the middle of last year's first round state playoff win over Forks and sent the crowd into a frenzy and the Pioneers never looked back winning 39-14.)

I maintain the football website NVPioneers as well as take down all the statistics during the game and then post them on the website and other places like MaxPreps, etc. It let's me involved, burns off that nervous parental energy and has let me meet a lot of very cool media and other football people around the state.

I really enjoy the camaraderie with the fans, players, parents & coaches. There are few things more fun than the buzz of high school football, so Friday afternoons and evenings are busy and exciting around our house.

If you want to know more you can checkout the football website or if you have Twitter you can follow the game with updates throughout the game. Just follow NVFootball at Twitter.com

Look for an update and pictures tomorrow!

Post 90 Days Pictures

2009-09-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

After 90-days, here are the "before" (to remember what once was) and "After". I couldn't take the pictures in the same place, since my house sold during the 90-days. That said, I am pleased with the changes. It's clear to me that the program works, if you're faithful to it daily.

One note is that I didn't follow the, or an eating plan during the 90-days. There are abs there, but they're not as evident as much as would be if I ate a low-fat diet all the time. Sorry, but I like to have pizza and wings and beer once in awhile.

Anyway, that's the end for now....but look for me to start up again a week or so. I will be posting other items to the blog now, which will be nice, since this has taken over for 90-days. Time to share other things going on, such as my kids doings, such as, Samuel's composition he wrote, Caleb's upcoming football season, Joel's Civil Air Patrol honors and Tirzah growing into a beautiful young lady. Thanks for following this and keep Bringing IT in your workouts and life!

~ Jonathan

P90X Has Been "X'ed" - Now It's Measurement & Pictures Day

2009-08-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

The first 90-days journey was completed last night, Sunday, August 30, 2009, but I wasn't able to get to my pictures, measurements and post-90day "Fit Test" until today. I was so glad I finished, but it was such a long day, that I just wanted to go to bed. I figured it the least I could do after "Bringing It" for 90-straight days. So, I did.

I aowke refreshed, well sort of. I pushed so hard the last week, a "Recovery Week" that I was feeling some of the aches when I awoke. After a small cup of coffee, I was a little more ready to get started with the day.

I knew that I needed to take my pictures and do the Fit Test, and I figured no better place than at the high school. So I waited until the early afternoon and headed over with my handy tape measure, watch, fit test papers, and scale (that also serves for body fat %). I warmed up for about ten minutes and stretched, so I didn't pull a muscle at the end. BTW, that's one thing I really took away from the workouts was the need to really get a good warmup and stretch (after the warmup). You should too! Anyway, I digress.

I got right into the fit test and below are my results, compared with by "Before" numers. You can see I improved in every category. I was very pleased, although I was really hoping to get to over 50 pushups, but that will have to be my goal for days 91-180.

Results	Before P90X	Post-90 Days	Difference
Resting heart rate	68	60	-8 (good)
Pull-ups	3	8.75	+5.75
Vertical Leap (one step)	16	18	+2
Pushups	33	46	+13
Toe Touch	+3"	+6 3/4"	+3 3/4"
Wall Squat (in minutes)	3 1/2	5 min 20 secs	+1min, 50secs
Bicep curls (two handed)	12 @ 30lbs	15 @ 35lbs	+3 reps, +5lbs
In & Outs	32	90	+58
Heartrate Maximizer
Immediately after jacks	160	144	-16
After one minute rest	137	124	-23
After two minutes rest	120	108	- 12
After three minutes rest	112	106	-6
After four minutes rest	102	95	-7

Body Fat %	24.5	15.5	-9%
Weight	224	215	-9lbs
Chest	44.5"	46"	+1.5"
Waist	41.5"	38.5	-3"
Hips	39 3/4"	38"	- 1 3/4"
Left Thigh	24.5"	25 3/4	+ 1 1/4"
Right Thigh	24.5"	25 3/4"	+1 1/4"
Right bicep	15"	15 1/2"	+ 1/2"
Left bicep	15 1/2"	16"	+1/2"

As you can see, my numbers improved quite nicely. I'm sure they would have gone down further, at least my weight, if I had strictly followed the eating plan, but I wanted to do one thing at a time. I know I've got a bunch more abs that can pop out. I'm satisifed with my gains in strength and recovery. My measurements didn't dramatically change, but it's clear I'm much more defined. Therefore the weight and measurements can be skewed previously from fat or because I'm much more lean that before the start of the 90-days. Regardless, I was pleased with the improvements! :-)

Now, it's picture time....without further adieu....I'm going to send you to a different post! Go to the front page for the Post 90days workout. LOL

~ Jonathan

Week 13, Day 7 - It's Not the End, Until...There's One More Day of Workout!

2009-08-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

The schedule says I should be doing "StretchX" or resting today, but I didn't feel like that was the right way to end the 90-days in style. Therefore, I decided to do Core Synergistics again, throw in another AbRipperX AND take a bike ride. Overkill? Yes, but hey, it's a way to celebrate the completion of this first round of P90X in style! :-)

So, after getting the warm-up in, including a few extra minutes of ballistic stretching on my arms and shoulders (aka, "loving myself") and also some stretching on my hamstrings I was ready to "Bring It" this final time!

As I've said before, "Core Synergistics" is as tough and grueling as you want it to be. Work out easy and it won't seem very tough, but if you seek to "kill it", then you will be tired even part of the way through. I don't know how to do the former, so I end up being tired and having to battle through it..oh yeah, and take breaks! :-)

I got into the Stacked foot/Staggered Hands pushups and was determined to set a new high..which I did after doing 41!!!!! I actually had to pause the DVD, since I had not reached my max before they were moving on! Who would'a thought?

The next three exercises, BananaRoll, Leaning Crescent Lunges, and Squat run I did at Tony's cadence and reps. Feeling good and no break needed.....yet.

On Sphinx Pushups I started with my elbows under my shoulders for the best burn and I knocked out 11 of them, which is a new high! Next up was Bow to Boat and I could tell I needed a break soon. Once I was done I paused the DVD to catch my breath for an extra minute. I'd need it for what was coming...

The Plank to Chatarunga run is plain hard, even if you stay in the plank run the whole time. I found myself getting plenty of burn and work by staying in Plank tonight, so that's where I stayed. My body felt like it wanted to give out, so I breathed through the pain. Great, quick, hard, cardio work! Oh, but we weren't done, since I had to fight through Walking Pushups, which I kicked butt in.

Finally, a little "break" by doing Superman/Banana and Low lateral skaters, which I did by just going side-to-side (no foot lift) Uh oh, toughie is coming next and I know it......but not until we do Lunge and Reach. I used a 20lb dumbbell for this and it was a great workout and something I couldn't do 90 days ago!

Now we get to the ass-kicking part of the workout, since it's Lunge-Kickback-Curl and Press time.....I struggled and sweated and did the 20 reps with 20lbs dumbbells. Very ambitious, very tough and maybe a little dumb. :-) Oh, but the pain isn't over, since it was Reach High and Under Pushups time and this burn after doing the previous exercises. I got through them doing a methodical 7 of them. OUCH! Oh, don't worry, since Prison Cell Pushups are in order and I was proud of myself for doing full-versions (no knees, etc). I did the pushup-knee in-pushup-knee in-pushup-stand up for 12 reps and I let out a tiny YEEHAW1

I like Side hip raise, since it works my core, but isn't a hard-breathing exercise and the same can be said for Squat X press, although today I did the 30reps with 20lb dumbbells for the first 20reps.....AND THAT BURNED! Next was Steam Engine, which I've grown to love, since it provides a good cardio workout while letting me doing standing crunches and that equals good sweaty fun!

That was the end of the regular workout, but like every other time I had to do the bonus round. Cause it pride, call it crazy, but I just loved challenge myself to bring it when I'm tired. So....

We did Plank to Chaturanga Iso and I got through every rep, doing every alternating Plank-to-chaturanga-and so on. My arms were shaking, sweat was dripping and I was feeling good and tired. I couldn't stop and was glad for the "Halfback", since it got my lets and arms moving again. And the final push was Table dip/Leg raise, which I knocked out 30reps. A little note about the final exercise is that every time I do this exercise I have to be careful not to cause a charley-horse in my hamstrings. For whatever reason, when I try to full go into the table move and then do the raises, the "down foot" hamstring wants to charley horse. I don't know why, so I don't go fully into "table". I'm hoping to figure out why, but it was still a great exercise and a new high for me.

I did the 5 minute cooldown with Tony & gang, but knew I couldn't relax much, since it was time for AbripperX to follow....

Ahh yes, AbRipperX, we love you and we hate you! I got right in and was able to knock out all of the exercises and reps....something I couldn't say after Week 1. In fact, I'm now focused on good, methodical technique and not just trying to survive. I love the burn I get from the abs routines and looking back I know that continuing to press "Play" and doing the best I could is what got me to being able to complete all 340+ moves today. It's not easy, but you can do it! I will continue to do AbRipper even during my few weeks of break from the workouts, since it's just good hard fun workout.... plus it gives you abs to die for.

I took a short break and got some food, but I knew I needed to get on my bike and ride. I did just a leisurely 20 mile ride, since it was a victory ride of sorts. Few things I have done for 90 straight days like I did for P90X, but those are things I became good at. I thought about the times I wanted to quit and the times I figured "this is good enough". I considered the times I worked out at 6am and 10:30pm just to get my workouts in. I thought about how I felt at the beginning and how good I feel now. I considered the loss of weight and increase in strength. I thought about the comments from people about the changes my upper body especially was going through. I even thought about the high school guys who laughed at the "old guy in the corner" at the beginning who now stay away, since they don't want to have to face the pain of the workouts with me. It's been a great first 90-days of life-changing experience. I'm not done, rather this is just the beginning. Thank you for following my humble blog and my entries about the journey. Thank you to my family & friends who encouraged me along the way. Shoutouts to ISU football, Master's Blend Coffee, Nooksack Valley H.S. weight room, my kids, the mysterious joy called "M" and Tony Horton for giving me and others the gift of P90X! See you soon...

~ Jonathan

Week 13, Day 6 - Yoga for the Last Time....For Now.

2009-08-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

Here I am at the day before the 90th day of my first P90X journey. After so many days of working out, straining, sweating, hurting, feeling good, losing weight, gaining muscle, and all-around feeling good, I'm faced with Yoga. What's good about this is that it will still let me sweat, while stretching. Just about 85 days ago I was doing Yoga for the very first time. I was wondering if I could make it through this extreme workout program and while I was doing Yoga the first time, I wondered if I would survive the various stretching poses. Here I am, after doing Yoga for about the fifteen time or so and I can say that the stretches still hurt, but I'm much more flexible, strong and feeling better than ever before.

It really is true, that if you stick with the program and are faithful to show up and do your best every day, then you will see vast improvements in your physique, weight (maybe, unless you're shifting from fat to muscle then you might weight more, but be healthier), lower body fat %, and comments from others. My body has changed, which you'll see in my "90-day pictures". More importantly, my mindset has changed. I now feel excited to workout each day. I feel better, my strength has gotten much better and now instead of dreading to take off my shirt, I actually spend more time with it off than on.

Yoga has been critical in helping me make the improvements that I have over the 90 days. It has helped me recover from workouts, stretched my body out to enable better range of motion and it's helped me to breathe through pain and discomfort. Don't cheat yourself, since you'll gain so much more if you do the full Yoga program. I know that I couldn't have gotten through the 90-days fully without it.

One note: A friend asked if they had to to the entire 90-minutes of Yoga and I said, "it is best if you do, but if you have to choose then I suggest you do the first 45 minutes of stretch poses, since it will benefit your muscle recovery". Sometimes you can't afford to spend the full time, so do the best you can.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day or stretching, but I want to end my 90-days with a "BANG", so I will do a bike ride, or Core Syngergistics again (I know, but I love it) or maybe I'll do both.

See you tomorrow!

~ Jonathan

Week 13, Day 5 - Core Synergistics For a Good Hard Finish

2009-08-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

Core Synergistics is the final, hard workout of Week 13 and therefore of P90X. You get a great cardio and anaerobic workout. I've said it before and I'll say again here....I LOVE CORE WORK! It causes my heart-rate to go sky-high, there are times I want to stop, most of the time I have to take a break after a couple of the moves, but it's just a great workout.

I won't rehash the exercises, like I did two days ago. I will tell you that I increased my intensity and got a huge sweat and burn going.

The pushups are killer, the various lunges hurt, but at the end of the day, this is so great for the body you, and I, want.

How do you make sure you get that burn? You work hard, push your intensity and when it hurts you do your best and forget the rest! It's funny, but as I've gone through the 90 days with Tony and gang, I've begun to use and believe the various "catch phrases" they use. They work and P90X works.

Just keep bringing it!

~ Jonathan

P.S. Tomorrow is the last Yoga and it will be hard, but really good for a second-to-last-finishing-day!

~ Jonathan

Week 13, Day 4 - The Day That StretchX Came Back!

2009-08-27T22:33:00.000-07:00

Stretching is one of those workouts you feel like you can skip, but realize after you've done it that you can't skip it. Stretching is sort of like your big toe. You need it, but it get's almost no credit for what it does.

I like the stretching routine, since it lengthens the muscles and get's them ready for the next workouts, but I don't sweat like I do in Yoga. Stretching ensures the muscles recover from previous workouts and preps them for what's coming.

I won't repeat all the stretch moves, but I will report that I'm now using a yoga block for my single-leg and two-leg sitting hamstring stretch. I expect my reach to be a +10 or so when I do my fit test next week. Just do your stretching. You'll love it, your body will love it and those you love...will love it!

~ Jonathan

Week 13, Day 3 - Bike Riding Again for the Burn & the Upcoming Hill Climb

2009-08-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

I got on my bike and knew I needed to ride. I haven't been doing the Kenpo anyway and my legs needed the workout. I went out on a 35 mile ride where I did some intervals of 30-seconds of all out sprinting, then 90 seconds of pedaling, then repeat. I did this for 10 minutes then just coasted for about five minutes. I repeated the interval cycle for a total of six times. By the time I got home my legs were burning and my heart rate was almost through the roof. But, I was gladly tired.

Not much more to report, except "see you tomorrow"! :-)

~ Jonathan

Week 13, Day 2 - Core Synergistics....PHEW, It's Going to Hurt Good

2009-08-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

Core Synergistics is pushups, lunges, and a whole lot of other exercises that work you into a major sweat! It's not a workout we've see a lot this 90-days, and usually is part of a recovery week. That said, it's a serious workout that doesn't have a lot of weights, but you'll find yourself gasping for air initially and even further into the 90-days, depending on how hard you're working each exercise. Everytime it's time for Core I think, "Awesome" initially, but then I realize that my cardiovascular still needed work, and it would likely hurt...in a good way of sorts.

I found again that this works the vascular system as much as Cardio, perhaps even more. There are plenty of moves to blast your arms, core, sides, obliques, and more. I found that I had to take a short break every three exercises. This is 80+ days into the workout and that upset me at first. I was able to recall that I work at my maximum heart rate for every move, so it's no wonder I need breaks.

I love the various pushups, since my arms were looking for some ripping and work. I alos found the core work has been a real benefit for myself and even my boys who have done some of the workouts with me.

I got through the workout in decent shape, albeit longer than I intended for it to take. Oh well, I had to pickup Caleb from football, so there was still time.

Keep working hard, breathe and I'll see you here again tomorrow!

~ Jonathan

Week 13, Day 1 - Last "Recovery Week" Starts With "Yoga"

2009-08-24T22:13:00.001-07:00

There's not much I'll write about Yoga here that I haven't already written before. I will state that it can be tough to motivate yourself when you know how much yoga can hurt (in a good way, but it still hurts) and the length of time you need to do the full routine (90 minutes). I will also restate that you need to do it, since it will really complement and benefit your other workouts. You can choose to ignore it or think that it can't possibly have the benefit of working your chest, shoulders, arms, legs and back, but trust me it does!

So, rather than rehash my routine and experience, let me whole heartedly recommend that you do Yoga and do the best you can. Just get in there, without complaint or worry and do what you can. It benefits your health, your body, your outlook, everything. Plus, it's pretty cool to be flexible, since there are so many cool and interesting things it allows you to do AND to enhance. You won't know until you try, so just try!

That's all for now, but keep X'ing yourself and coming back.

~ Jonathan

Week 12, Day 7 - And On This Day...He Rested.

2009-08-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

Usually on Day 7's throughout the past 13 weeks I've always done StretchX, and it has been a real benefit to prepare me for the next weeks workouts. This week I decided to give myself a break literally, so I took the day off and just relaxed. No workouts, no stretching, no strain, no worries. Just sitting back and enjoying a nice, deserved break from the action.

You know, sometimes, even in the midst of a hard, fantastic ride like P90X, it's good to just stop and enjoy. So to that end, I provide you with ample time to close your eyes and relax yourself! See you tomorrow! :-)

~ Jonathan

Week 12, Day 6 - Kenpo = KenNO...It's Bike Ride Instead

2009-08-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

I figure why change what's worked the past eleven weeks, so in keeping with my "tradition" I jumped on my bike and did some hill interval training and rode an additional 35 miles after that.

The hill training consists of some good 5-8% grade hills that climb for a couple of hundred feet each. The area I've been riding has four of these in steady succession. It's easy once you get up the first one to gather speed and use that to go up the next, and so on. I wanted to mix things up a little, to make my training more difficult, especially with the hill climb just a few weeks away. So I climbed to the top of the first hill, then coasted to the bottom, came to a complete stop, then pedaled up the next hill as hard as I could, and so on. I ended up doing this cycle four times, for a total of sixteen vicious hill climbs. I was tired and my legs were a little sore, but I know that's how I'm going to best prepare for the Hill 542 Climb.

After completing the intervals I went on a good steady paced (16.5mph avg) ride. I felt good even after the intervals, which was a good sign of things to come. Once I finished I went home and did a quick stretch. I feel really good about my progress and I know that the P90X training is a huge help with my cycling. Just another week or so of P90X, but I'll continue cycling as I ramp up to September 12 (cyclocross) and September 13 (Hill Climb).

Keep bringing it or start, if you haven't yet. I'll see you here tomorrow.

~ Jonathan

Week 12, Day 5 - Last Time for "Legs & Back" (this 90-days) aka "The Foundation" This 90-days

2009-08-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe, but this is the last of the "main workouts" that I'll be doing this first 90-days. It's the foundation, the base, the place that lets the core and upper body take the credit, but without "Legs & Back" they would be nothing. I won't spend this last entry of this workout talking about how it "should be easy, but it's actually the toughest". I won't spend this time mentioning that "my legs have always been my strongest part, but in P90X they take the most beating". No, instead I'm going to say good things, positive things, uplifting things, about this workout.

I got to the weight room and knew I had to crush the workout. I committed that I would do pull-ups this workout, rather than using the bands. I wanted to do this to prove that I had improved over the sorry state (oops, negative comment) of my one pull-up when I first started on June 1. I also felt ready to do them after crushing the bands workouts with the red/blue bands and all the extra loops.

I got my warm up in and without delay or thought I got right into the workout. I'm going to refresh what the exercises were and the reps I did:

Chair Lunges - one foot on a chair, extend other leg out as far as you can. Now do one-leg squats, making sure your ankle stays slightly over your toe. (I did 15 reps on each leg)

Calf Raise Squats - Regular squat then raise up on toes. I did 15 reps with 20lb barbells.

Reverse Grip Chin Ups Palms toward you.

Super Skaters - Twenty-five reps each side

Wide Front Pull-ups -

Step Back Lunges Alternate legs, 15 total reps between both legs

Close Grip Overhand Pull Ups palms away from you.

Wall Squats Back against wall, legs together, sit down until legs 90 degrees to floor. Raise up and down alternatively every 10 seconds for 1 minute.

Dead Lift Squats- No weight, touch floor leg squat flat back.

Switch Grip Pull Ups - 2 front grip, 2 reverse grip

Week 12, Day 4 - It's Yoga and Not Yoda!!!!

2009-08-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

"Be Fit and Ripped You Will" is what Yoda might say if he weren't a movie character OR if P90X were being done on the "big screen". It's not, but Yoda came up when I was explaining to a friend about my workouts and he asked what I was doing today. I said "it's Yoga day" to which his four-year old son blurted out, "Dad, let's dress up like Yoda today too". I had to laugh and in fact, as I write this I still get a good chuckle! :-) BTW, I wonder how Yoda would do with P90X....

Well, it was Yoga day and that meant sweating, sweating, stretching, hurting (not bad) and needing to totally clear my mind. I decided to do the workout at the high school, since Caleb was practicing with his high school team for two-a-days. I got in the weight room, which was toasty warm and was going to turn this into a form of Bahkram Yoga, rather than just the standard one I was used too.

I have to admit that I wasn't very excited for the workout. I'm not sure if it was the lack of people in the weight room or the heat or what, but I struggled with getting in the right frame of mind for a 90-minute sweat-fest. I sat down, closed my eyes and just relaxed. I'm not sure how long I sat there, but eventually I was just ready to bring it in a peaceful way.

After so many weeks of doing Yoga I continue to have a love/hate relationship with it. I love how relaxed I feel when I'm done, but I hate the pain (from working and not the hurting that's physically damaging).

It seems that Yoga is just what my body needs, and when my body needs it. The various stretching poses hurt and I sweat and I strain and I keep working. Parts of my body, especially my legs, try to start a mutiny against my brain. I kept working and stretching, but many times I wanted to stop. It amazes me that it's this way after 12+ weeks, but it is. Perhaps you'll be different, but I doubt it. The reality is that this program demands commitment. You have to commit to hitting "Play" every day, you have to commit to continuing even when your body or mind wants you to quit.

I got through the stretching exercises and came to the halfway break and I was faced with thinking "I'd done enough". I pondered it for a bit and decided I should continue on. I worked on the balance postures, which are better now than when I first started, but they still were a struggle. I got to the "Yoga Belly" section and really had to dig deep inside to complete them. But you know what.....I DID IT! I got to the cooldown and I was tired, spent, sweaty and most of all...I was pleased. I hit a stage where I could have justified "cashing it in" for the day, but I worked through it. I can't encourage you enough to do the same. Do your best and don't be discouraged about your progress or "lack of it", but also do not give yourself "excuses" or "justifications". Just keep working daily and you'll find more discipline and encouragement as you continue on.

I finished and as I was ready to leave I per chance met Tom Ackerman, a former eight year NFL veteran (New Orleans & Tennessee) and alumni of Nooksack Valley High School. We had a great conversation about his background, what he's up to, working out, advice to the high school players on the current roster and other things. BTW, he's HUGE! I'll have an interview with him on the football website I run for Caleb's team. If you're interested it's at Nooksack Valley Pioneer Football. They're make a run for a state title this year, so it will be fun.

Anyway, thanks for reading this and keep bringing it! Ya'll inspire me too!

Come back tomorrow and see what's in store....

~ Jonathan

Week 12, Day 3 - The "Final" Backup & Biceps for This 90-Day Cycle....

2009-08-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

In keeping with my desire to "finish strong" this first 90-days I decided to "turn it up to 11"! My arms were mostly recovered from Monday, but I knew I really needed to blast them today, which would be one of the last days to really get the biceps ripped.

After a good warmup it was in the words of one of my sons, "time to go to work". I made a change and decided to put an extra loop in my red & blue bands, which would give me even more tension. I also decided to mix some pull-ups in with the band use. This meant that my tension increased on each of the pullup/band sections.

Some of the highlights:

Increases of reps on all pull-up types, due to extra loop in bands.
Increased +1 on Towel pull-ups by doing 9.
Increased weight (+5 to 45lbs on Reverse Grip Bent-Over Rows), (+5lbs to 45lbs on Congdon Locomotives), (+5lbs to 35lbs on Seated Bent-Over Back Flys)
Increased reps: (21 on Twenty-ones), (11 on Standing bicep curls), (18 on Chin-ups), (10 on curl-up/hammer downs),

The veins in my arms were popping BIG TIME! My back was a little achy, but I felt really, really pumped throughout the workout. It was clear that I had brought it and I was hoping that I wasn't going to hurt too much in the evening.

This won't be the last time I see "Back & Biceps", since I'll be going through another 90-days in a few weeks, but I clearly finished this last time of this workout on a huge note!

Keep going and if you're just starting...just keep pressing "Play".

~ Jonathan

Week 12, Day 2 - Cardio + Abripper + a Park = Great Workout & Funny Looks

2009-08-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

It's not the final day of Cardio for me, since I'll have the chance to see this "old friend" again next week (week 13) during the final "Recovery Week". I did want to leave a good impression on the rest of the workouts, since I didn't want to "dog it" today, since I was pushing so hard on this final "tough week".

I decided to do the Cardio at the local park, since I had to wait for my son to finish his first days of high school football "two-a-days". What better place than a cool spot on a sunny day!!!

I got right into the warm up, despite having people driving by slowly gazing at this crazy, bald, white dude doing funny movements and such. The workout itself was identical to previous times, but I felt good and my intensity was even higher than before. I even did the Kenpo section with a single complaint and that's saying a lot!!!

Once I was done I found a soft section of grass and started right into AbRipperX. This has finally gotten easier, since my core and abs are strong enough to do all of the exercises and reps. It felt great to get each rep in and I felt strong throughout. I still haven't figured out how to keep my tailbone from ripping up my upper hiney, so any suggestions are welcomed! PLEASE!

Anyway, I got every rep and even did five extra Mason's Twists! Now that was a workout!

See you tomorrow for "Back & Biceps"!

~ Jonathan

Week 12, Day 1 - Last "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps" for this Cycle...Oh My!

2009-08-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe, but today begins Week 12, which means I have this week and next week left for my first 90 days! It's hard to believe, since I didn't know how I'd survive when I started and now the weeks are just flying by!

Today was "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps", which is a seriously tough workout, since it includes a wide range of pushup-types, tricep moves and good old over the head barbell rows, etc. I thought I should really push hard today, since it was my last tough week before my first 90-days was over. As you'll see later....I did push hard, I did survive and I did (and am) "paying" for it now. So much so, that I need to postpone writing this entry until the morning when my arms and such are feeling less jello-like and more human. I promise I'll include plenty of laughs in the morning....

See you in less than 10 hours...

Okay, so the sleep was desperately needed, but it didn't totally solve my aches and pains from the "big PUSH". My triceps were really tight before I began the workout and I tried to really stretch them, but some of my numbers, while better than before, suffered. I did the normal warmup and I have to say that after 80+ days straight of working out I completely DO NOT UNDERSTAND anyone who works out without warming up first AND after they're done. You're asking for trouble if you don't. Anyway, I digress.

Chest, Shoulders & Triceps is a bear of a workout and while I love it, I also feel the effects of it for days later. I wanted to go out with a BANG, so I decided to really push hard. Here are the "numbers"

Total pushups done - 119 (new high and did way more off knees than before)

Chair dips - 40

New rep and/or weight highs in:

Slow Motion 3-in-1 pushups - 16 + 11 bonus (all off knees!!) (+3)
Chair dips - 40 (+1)
Floor flys - 19 (+5)
Two twitch pushups 12 (+1)
Y-Press - 30lbs (+5lbs)
Two-Twitch Speed Pushups - 12 off knees (+2)
Clap or Plyo Pushups - 8 regular (+1)
Slo-Mo Throws- 9 @ 15lbs (+1)
Pour Flys - 13 @ 12lbs (+1)
One arm balance pushups - 8 (+1)
Fly Row Presses - 11 @ 25lbs (+1)
Dumbbell Cross Body Blows - 15 each @ 30lbs (+4)

I stayed at the same weight and reps with the other exercises, but was pleased that I was able to do as well as I did, especially with my tight triceps. My arms were pumped, but I could tell they would be sore later.

Yep, my arms and shoulders are really, really jumpy. I've been trying to massage them and I took a couple of Advil. I'm also trying to ice them, but I have a feeling I could be up on the hour, just like last time my body felt this jumpy. Was the hard push worth the pain I'm feeling.....YOU BET YOUR ASS IT WAS!!!!!

That was the last time I'll see "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps" during this 90-day cycle, but I will be anxiously awaiting the time when I see it again my next time through! It's not goodbye workout, just see you later....

Checkout tomorrow, which is Cardio and that's just good, clean fun!

~ Jonathan

Week 11, Day 6 - Bike riding, partial planning and the art of the flat

2009-08-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

I need to get some miles in on my bike, since the "Hill Climb" is just a month away! I also needed to knock the lactic acid out of my legs and glutes, since I worked really hard yesterday and woke up with a very sore and achy body. Of course, one could argue that riding a bike isn't the best way to "heal" hurting legs & glutes, I'm one who subscribes to the "the only way to loosen them, is to work'em". So after taking care of mowing the lawn (hey, I thought I would deal with this after selling my house!..NOT) and doing other "fatherly things", I got my bike gear on.

I decided to ride "the Giant", a road bike I borrowed from a friend. Note: it's the same bike I rode for the "Bike to Battle Cancer" ride a week ago. Anyway, for some reason, before I left, I told my oldest son (Samuel) that if I had any problems or a flat that I'd call him to pick me up. Not sure why I did, but as you'll find out later, I'm either clairvoyant OR a "just-in-case-planner".

I did a pre-ride bike inspection and checked for anything on my wheels, etc. Everything seemed fine, except I forgot to check my tire pressure. I also, figured I'd only ride a short time, so why take a pump or my repair kit (with CO2). As you'll find out later, this was a "not very smart plan".

So, I headed out toward the local highway, figuring I could get up to speed and get some good work in. At this point I could simply put, riding, riding, riding, riding, riding, riding, to simulate my, well riding. I got about five miles from home, when I felt like my bike was "dragging". Of course, truth be told, I felt this same thing when I left my house, but figured it was my sore-lactic-filled-legs, so I put it out of my mind. I probably shouldn't have, since a quick check of tire pressure showed very soft front and rear tires. Okay, so I'd just pump them u.....oops, someone forgot his tire pump AND his repair kit with CO2 speedy pump! I thought about heading back toward home, but figured there was a convenience store with a compressor about the same distance. I could pump up the tires and still get some good work in....

I road carefully, so that I didn't create any more issues for my tires. It wasn't long and I pulled into the convenience store. I went to the compressor and prepared to "fill'em up". I should note that I have Presta valves on both tires, BUT I keep a standard valve adapter on, so that I don't have to carry a special Presta pump. I prepared to fill the tires up and PFFFFFFTTTTTTTSSHFFTTTFFSFFTTTTT. That was the sound every time I tried to fill the tires. After must noise making and some checking I realized that the compressor attachment was meant for car tires and my adapter was too small and was letting the air go everywhere, EXCEPT IN THE TUBE! Soon, I found myself with an even softer tire. I cut my losses and decided to "limp" over to my friends house nearby to get a tire pump that would work. After a few minutes there and manual pumping the tires were fully, well full. I got back on the road and figured the worst was behind me.

I got up to a good speed and rhythm and was maintaining about 21 mph. Good, so far. I turned at the school and was about five miles from home. Btw now I've put about twenty miles in and was feeling good. I picked up my cadence and got up to a steady 23 mph. I made the mistake of staying on the side of the road, which is where all the rocks, glass, etc ends up or is swept by road crews. I ran over a few rocks and on the road bike, on high pressure tires, it felt like a concussion. I got to about a mile from home, when I ran over a couple of other pebble / rocks and suddenly it felt like I was pedaling in quicksand. I stopped, looked down and my rear tire was flat. GRRRRRRRR. Okay, I'd just do a quick repair and get on my w.....oops, someone forgot that he forgot that he didn't pack the repair kit. Sigh.

Fortunately, I did have my cell phone and I had warned Samuel (son #1) ahead of time. A quick call, a few "sighs" at the other end and five minutes later and I was being picked up. Ahhh, the advantages of cell phones. It made me consider what one would do twenty years ago in this situation. Well, I didn't think that long, except to think "that would suck".

Okay, so I got in 24 of my 25 planned miles. A quick post-ride analysis:

What I did right:

I pre-warned my son I might call and to be available.
I rode hard, when my bike was working well.
I got in 24 miles of hard riding.
I took my cell phone.
I didn't get hurt.

What I didn't do right:

I didn't check my tire pressure ahead of time.
I didn't pack my air pump
I didn't pack my repair kit (with CO2)
I didn't know ahead of time that the convenience store air compressor didn't fit my adapter.
I simply didn't think and considered the "Best case scenario".

I was glad to be home, but know what I'll do next time for sure. Perhaps you can learn from what to do and not do from this. If you end up in the same situation...just remember....I WARNED YOU!

See you tomorrow for StretchX.

~ Jonathan

Week 11, Day 5 - Oh Man My Legs Hurt & I Haven't Worked Out Yet...

2009-08-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

When the alarm went off this morning at 5:15am I rolled over and felt the most intense ache in my legs I think I've ever felt. Did I pull a muscle running in my sleep? Did I overextend myself by exercising during a dream? Whatever the reasons I just knew my legs hurt. Not a sharp pain, but instead a long, dull, ache. Oh well....I had to get up and workout, there wasn't really any other choice. So I got up. I felt like I needed a little extra boost, so I decided to take one scoop of No-Xplode. I figured it would help boost me and that would help my legs from hurting.

We got to the gym a little late and I got started late in my workout. I'll remind you again that "Legs & Back" hurts more than the other workouts. I suspect it's due to my right knee being "flaky", but regardless I still worked as hard as I could. I've found myself really pushing on the pull-up phase, as well as not giving my legs a "Break" during the various squat portions. I decided that I was ready for the "next phase" of the bands, so I put another loop in them and then pulled them to about eight feet out. During some of pull-up routines I almost felt like I was going to "pull" my lats out of my sides. It wasn't too much that would cause an injury, but I know that my back got a serious, SERIOUS workout!

I struggle with the various squat routines, at least when using my right foot. I was glad to be reminded by Tony to not overwork and instead to take it easy if you've had an injury. It ensured that I didn't overextend and hurt my knee all over again.

I got to the final pullups, with the red & blue bands, and drove through it for 18 tough, and good form ones. I was done, I was tired and I had to go. Caleb (my #2 son) had to go, so we cleaned up the room and headed out. I was glad for the intense workout, since it keeps me young in mind.

I cooled down and my arms were sore. I knew I was going to sore, so I tried to really ensure I did the vaious moves and stretches to cool down. My final task was to drink water throughout the day to limit the soreness effects.

Thanks for checking this out and keep working and "pushing play".

~ Jonathan

Week 11, Day 4 = Yoga For Fun?

2009-08-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, the title is a lie, since I don't think it's possible to have "Fun" with Yoga. Yeah sure, you can be more flexible, you can be less apt to injury, you might even find it useful for other parts of your lives. BUT FUN? I think not!

I love yoga, since I have never felt better, since I started do it. I always hate yoga, since I never feel more spent or spaghetti legged than I do after doing this 90-minutes of "joy"! There's no way to "ease into Yoga", rather you just have to get in there and struggle, and sweat and complain BUT most importantly...you have to keep going!

I went into this session of yoga with a body that was strong, leaner, but also "beat up" from the rigors of P90X over the past 10+ weeks. My body needed to be stretched, but it wasn't going to allow it easily. I spent the next ninety minutes going through all of the gyrations, stretches and poses that I've written about in previous entries. Someone asked me if the routine is always the same to which I answer "the exercises are the same, but the intensity actually increases as you get more flexible and seek to extend your body further each time". There are programs out that claim to be "relaxation yoga" or "easy yoga" and the reality is that you might do some of the parts that are the cooldown phase, but does it really provide you with benefits? I would question whether it does.

As for me, I got through another routine and was glad I did. Of course, it was time for bed, so I knew that my "jelly legs" and spent upper body wouldn't have to do any work, except sleep. And that comes without much effort for me. Sweet dreams gang, see you tomorrow...

~ Jonathan

Week 11, Day 3 - When the MasterCard Commerical Meets P90X..

2009-08-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

Today was a beautiful sunny morning already when we woke up at 5:30am to go workout. I love the sun, although I'm not crazy about triple-digit temperatures, so today was perfect! I was reminded of the Master Card commercials as I headed into the gym; "Gas to the high school=$2.50, "No-Xplode", energy bar & water= $5.50, "Ripping Up Arms & Shoulders With Your Son"=Priceless!

It is "Shoulders & Arms" day, which I recall being both "agony & ecstasy"-laden. After ripping on the "Chest & Back" two days ago and just getting rid of some of that pain, it's time to torch the Shoulders and Arms. This workout has "a cart-full of curls" and then some! If you recall, when we aren't ripping up the curls, then we're doing flies, Side-Tri Raises, Deep Swimmer Presses, and Tricep kickbacks. You arms scream, your mind screams, we all scream for....oh wait, wrong rhyme!

Anyway, I got in the gym and started my warmup. That reminds me to encourage each of you to "do the warmup". We want to rush our workouts and I can't count the number of times I've heard, "I'll just take it easy to start" or "I don't have time to warmup!". My responses to those are, "no you won't or you won't really be working" and "you also don't have time to get hurt"! Not warming up is like starting your car up and immediately driving fast and hard from the get go. Any mechanic will tell you this is the fastest way to trashing your car or engine. The same can hold true for your body, so the tip is "don't trash your body by not warming up!".

After warming up I got right into the workout. I was able to either maintain the weight and reps from week 9 OR in many cases I increased both the weight I was pushing and the number of reps. Most of the time I was doing 9-12 reps and was definitely feeling the burn. One thing I'll need to monitor is a little ache in my right wrist, which is apparent when I'm holding barbells hanging down. It's likely a very slight strain, so I'll keep it in mind as I workout.

Areas I love are the "In & Out Bicep Curls", " Chair Dips", Static Arm Curls" and Congdon Curls" as well as others. Ones I'm not fond of, but know are really good for me are, Flip-Grip Twist Tricep Kickbacks (ouch), and Crouching Cohen Curls! I drove through each of the exercises, including Side-Tri Rises, and I set new high's each time through (21 and 23 respectively)! I did the bonus round again this time and by the time I was done my arms and shoulders were "FRIED"! I had to drink a bunch of water and even take some ibuprofen to alleviate some of the pain and aches I was feeling.

Of course the pain wasn't done, since I had "AbRipperX" to do still. I was running behind a little on my schedule, so I decided to postpone it until this afternoon. I'll write up another entry for it!

Until then, keep bring it!!!

~ Jonathan

Week 11, Day 2 - Doubling the Menu With "CardioX" and "AbRipperX"

2009-08-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

I was sore this morning. My shoulders were sore. My chest was sore. My upper back was sore. Did I mention that I was sore? LOL Yesterday's "Chest and Back" was definitely "brought!" Today it was Cardio and Abripper. Would they be smashed just like yesterday's workout? Let's find out.

I waited until the afternoon to do the CardioX, since I had a bunch of work to get done earlier. My son had to go to driver's ed, so I figured I could do them during that two hour wait. I went to the soccer field, since it had soft grass and got to work. I went through the entire routine quickly and efficiently. My heart rate was within my zone and I had a great sweat going. Suddenly, it was over. I was sad....until I remembered that I still had AbRipper to go!

Cardio is just a good heart-pumping workout that is invigorating, while having much less impact on the joints than plyo and that's why I still do it.

I moved on to the AbRipperX portion and got into the various moves. I still struggle to get the movement down for "Crunchy Frogs" and I'm not sure if it's bad form, or not strong enough abs. I suspect it's the former, since I can do all the rest of the moves without the issues.

I banged out all the exercises, while some were still tougher for me to maintain good form through than others. Tony says to not do this everyday, but man is it tempting, ever since I've started seeing my abs. I want to work and work and work them. I resist the temptation and stay on the schedule! Do what you can, take breaks, but just make sure to keep doing the AbRipper. It works...it DEFINITELY WORKs!

I got done and I was spent! I had a little time to recover and drink water before picking up my son. It's great that these workouts can be done in your home OR outside. There's nothing like working out in moderate, sunny weather! Tomorrow is a return to "Shoulders & Arms", which we haven't seen for two weeks. This will a muscle ripping good time! I'll put the writeup soon after the workout!

~ Jonathan

Week 11, Day 1 - Back to the Beginning; "Chest & Back"

2009-08-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

This week brings us back to "Chest & Back" which was the first day of each of the first three weeks. Of course, back then I was struggling to make it through the exercises without taking breaks. I also realized how much I hated that I couldn't do very many "Dive Bomber Pushups" as well as other exercises.

Well, it's Week 11 and it's time to show this workout how far I've come, since I last did it back in week 9. This workout is twelve exercises done twice through. It's pushups, pullups, more pushups and more pullups, there's "heavy pants", more pushups, lawnmowers and even more pushups. The chest and back definitely get tortured, in a good way, through this entire workout. I don't care how fit you think you are, this workout will kick your ass!

In fact, unless you are new to this blog, then you already know that I workout primarily at my son's high school weight room. I do this on the mornings that the football team and girls volleyball team are lifting to prepare for their upcoming seasons. I usually stay to myself in the back corner, but over the past eleven weeks kids have come and gone. There are the usually ones who show up faithfully, but just like this week, there are those who haven't been there for most of the Summer. Well, I saw two of the young men who haven't been there, since about my second week on the program and they were making fun of "fat, old man working out". I started my workout and knocked out a high of "Standard pushups" of 40, then did the pullups, then did 20 military pushups, then did more chinups. About that time these two gents sauntered over to see what I was doing. I invited them to join me in "Wide Fly Pushups", which they declined. I knocked out 20 of them and did the next set of pullups. They left to do a little lifting, while I did my 20 decline pushups. They sauntered back and I said, "come on guys, do some "heavy pants" with me". I have them 50 and 55lb barbells, while I grabbed the 70lb ones. We went on Tony's count and I heard them grunting to stay up. They stopped at six reps, which I doubled. They started to walk away and I asked them to stay for "Diamond Pushups". (Note: I know how hard these are, but especially when you've not been working on them. I wanted to see their mental toughness.) We got in position and started. I left them behind at eight reps and finished strong with 17. By this time, these guys were swearing and saying "no way, no way". They quickly went back to lifting at the other end of the room. I was laughing to myself, since these are some of the better athletes at the school and this 44-year old "former fat guy" just sent them packing!

That illustrates my point that if you work this program faithtfully and keep pushing Play, that great things will happen. I don't care what kind of shape you're in now, if I can do this, then you can too!

I continued on my workout and set new highs in virtually all of the exercises, both times through. I was tired by the end and needed plenty of water and recovery drink, but I kicked this workout in the gluteus maximus!

Get in there and do the same! You can do it!

See you tomorrow for CardioX and AbripperX (which I'm carrying over due to a busy schedule)

~ Jonathan

Week 10, Day 7 - On the Seventh Day There was Rest

2009-08-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

I decided to not do the StretchX program, rather I decided to use this day as a "rest day". Of course, before you balk at this decision it's important to know that this is one of two choices that's always been there. After working steady for ten weeks and after the bike ride yesterday I decided to just have a rest and relax.

There's not much more to write, except it's important to prep for this next week, since there's just three weeks left in this first 90-days. So rest and be ready to "Bring It"

~ Jonathan

Week 10, Day 6 - The Day "Bike to Battle Cancer" Replaces KenpoX

2009-08-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

Today was a watershed day for me. It had nothing to do with P90X, although I did use the strength and power of the previous 67 days to drive me through the day. No, today was the firstday of my riding to battle cancer. As I've gone through the past workouts I've come into contact with friends who lost children to cancer, friends who are battling it, friends who recently passed away from cancer and more. I've spent the past couple of months refining and exercising my body, but to what end.... I reconnected with a friend who I found out lost a son (Cole) to cancer over ten years ago, when he was 6 1/2. Could anything have been done for him if others, unaffected like me, had gotten involved faster. I found out that a basketball buddy had died of testicular cancer, after a ten month battle. Is there anything that could have been for him.

My sister-in-laws mother, Diana Garcia, died after her second battle with cancer and it was likely a result of the barrage of chemotheraphy that led to her death. Could there be a better way?

I could go on and on, but for now, I realized that only constant reminders and effort will change things.

To that end, I got involved today in the American Red Cross "Bike to Battle Cancer" bike ride. It was a 35 mile bike ride (not race) to remind others and to remember those who are cancer survivors or passed away from it. I started raising money a few weeks ago, and was surprised to pass the $250.00 mark this morning.

(sorry, I'm so tired from the ride and the day of activity that followed that I need to sleep. I will pick this up in the morning (sunday). Come back for all the details and some pictures of the time)

Okay, that sleep was fantastic AND needed! I woke up with a little bit of soreness in my legs, but otherwise felt really good. Now, back to the story started yesterday.

I got to Bloedel Donovon Park, in Bellingham, WA at about 8:15am for registration. There were cars pulling in to the parking lot and folks unloading their bikes and mingling. This was the first year for this ride in Bellingham, so it was unclear how many people would turn out. I got into registration and found out that I received a nice biking jersey for exceeding the $250.00 mark! What a great surprise. I also found out at the pre-ride meeting that I'd been the fifth highest donation "getter" and that I got a water bottle and emergency light. Hey, it isn't about the prizes, rather that others got involved enough to give that much money, so GOOD ON YA'LL!

Anyway, we started the ride off, me on a borrowed Giant brand bike from my friend, Gary deBondt, a fellow bike rider and Holland-native! The route we rode started out gentle for the first minute and then we hit our first hill. I was reminded again of how this is like the battle against cancer. Everything seems fine, but we hit our first obstacle. The question is how will we respond... I started moving out ahead of the others, wanting to get some hill climb training in. About a mile in I felt this sudden drag and loud sound. My first thought was "oh no, a flat already... I pulled to the side and looked down dreading the worst. I was relieved that the rear tire was only rubbing on the frame. Now, you might think that's something to be concerned about, but I realized that while changing the tube the night before that I might have forgotten to tighten the lug bolts. WAIT! that was something that could have been a major issue! I was lucky that I wasn't going downhill or that could have turned out very bad indeed! Nonetheless, a quick pit stop and fix and I was back to powering up the first hill.

I could go on and desribe every uphill climb (there were some epic climbs) and the downhills too (I got up to 40mph on a few of them and I was on the brakes to avoid another rider), but that would take away from the purpose of the day. No, I will simply add some pictures of some of the ride, including a picture of the my helmet (to the left), which is where I wrote 42 names of family and friends who have had or are battling cancer. I want to relate the riders I rode with and a little of their stories. For example, there was Mike, a one-year survivor of melanoma cancer. He was in his 60s and had an infectious laugh. He had retired from running a bike shop in San Diego, but after he recovered, he started working for the person who bought his shop. He now works four days a week and is a really good bike rider. BTW, Mike, if you ever read this, I'd love to get one of the "throw-away" Specialized bikes you guys sell. LOL!

Then there was Martha, a three year survivor of breast cancer, who wasn't a fast cyclist, but gave the same steady and determined effort that served her well during her recovery. Oh sure, there were others, about 60 total riders, which was great for a first year and not a lot of marketing being done ahead of time. Each one had a story about themselves or a loved one or friend. They were, "riding for someone". We talked and rode and laughed and even some tears were shed along the way. We talked about who we were riding for, the need for even more involvement and the thanks for those who have survived. It was a full day of emotion and it was VERY GOOD!

We got back from the ride (2hrs and 35min) and realized that we actually did closer to 40 miles, due to a change in route (due to the Lake Padden Triathlon being held the same time. We ate a delicious lunch from Subway and we talked some more. I got a nice shot with Mike and his friends. Then, we parted ways, but not before we committed to staying in touch and seeing each other on the path soon.

It was a great day. I want to share the stories of those I am riding for, but need to get the okay from their families first. You see, if we hear about those who are fighting, or fought, then it brings us out of the abstract and into the reality of humanity. Thank you to all who helped through your donations and well-wishes. This is only the beginning of a journey that I have no idea how it will go. All I know is that it's a journey I'm commited too; namely to "remember and to remind". Therefore, I will merge my stories about various bike rides to battle cancer, thoughts, events, etc, along with my P90X workout stuff. Keep coming back for more details, and even some contests.

Next up is the Hill 542 Climb, which is September 13th. I will be writing about my training, thoughts, etc. That ride is for cancer too, and I will be doing a similar thing for that ride like I did yesterday. Stay tuned.......

Week 10, Day 5 - Legs & Back AND AbripperX - Pinch Me Please!

2009-08-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

It's Friday and I left this morning at 5:50am alone, to go to the high school weight room for my workout. Son #2 is with Son #1 and their friends, spending time at a cabin in Camano Island. This is the last, pre-football and school time that they'll have to hang out, so I gave them my blessing to go down and enjoy. Of course, I could have stayed in bed, but I knew that I needed the workout, so I went.

It was quiet without anyone else there to lift, which was good, but also forced me to focus even more on the task at hand. Legs & Back is a workout I love to hate. I love it, since it works my legs, which is beneficial for cycling, running and the like. I hate it, since it exposes my mysteriously weaker right thigh muscles. I struggle with the lunges and squats, since my right leg wants to buckle if I go too deep. So, I ensure I don't over-extend any work with my right leg.

I got warmed up and started in on pullups. I decided to do some regular pull-ups to start with, and you'll note that I could barely do one of them at the beginning of my workouts. I got right in there and started pumping them out. I got up to eight consecutive and then used a chair to push out three more. I was elated! I got into the other moves of squats, lunges, more pullups (10 the second set), then Groucho walk and more.

I felt good throughout, but decided to extend the burn further by switching back to my combined blue/red bands and stretching them out about nine feet. The tension was ratched up and I was pulling hard to get fourteen reps. My back and lats are much bigger and stronger, and it's mainly attributed to the heavy-band tension I've been pulling. Eventually I'll get to doing all pull-ups, but for now I'm happy to continue to do my work with the bands.

I got to the end of the "Legs & Back" and felt great, yet tired. I decided to go ahead and do my AbRipperX workout, rather than waiting until the afternoon.

I got right into the "In and Outs", "Bicycles" and continued to feel good. One note that I should caution you about is doing Abripper on carpet or without a yoga mat. If you do, then you may end up with rug burns on your tailbone and that can affect how well you do the actual exercises. Not that I'd know anything about this (big eye roll). It seems that I got two rug burns from working out at my friends house a week ago. I didn't think anything about it, but it can be a nagging injury that hassles with your form. Not sure how you prevent these, but I'll be researching some ways via the Internet.

Anyway, I continued on my way with the ab exercises and was staying up with the rep count and timing of Tony and the gang. The one exercise that continues to plague me a little is the "Cross-Leg/Wide Leg Sit-ups" I'm not sure how Tony & gang keep their feet down, since mine want to raise up when I roll back, then up. I'd like to blame it on my hip structure or some other reason, but that would be lame AND wrong. No, I think it's because my abs are still getting strong enough to do this without my legs flailing around. I got through Fifer Scissors, fantastic and sucky! My whole body starts shaking and I force myself to slow down my breathing. I got to Mason's Twists and I'd already done 75 minutes of solid exercise. I started off and my abs were burning, sweat was pouring down my face and I thought I was going to shake right through the floor. I kept going and before I knew it we were at 50 reps AND DONE!

Doing these workouts back to back saved me time, burned my muscles and got me out about as fast as any other day. The downside was that I was more tired than normal. I knew I'd have to fight to work through the soreness and even tiredness. Regardless I'd made it and IT FELT GREAT!

Tomorrow I will doing an American Red Cross "Biking to Battle Cancer" ride, rather than Kenpo. I've been honored that people helped me raise $250.00 to go toward cancer research, help for patients and more! It's a 35-mile ride through a very pretty section of Bellingham, Washington. I will write about it and post pictures when I return.

For now, please keep coming back, thanks for the support and just keep bringing it!

~ Jonathan

Getting Involved.....It's Taken Far Too Long

2009-08-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

I've heard it, I've said it, I've tried to live it for quite a few years, but it seems like "life" overwhelms any inertia that starts when I've done it. It feels good, it can make a difference, but it can disappear just as quickly. What is this fleeting "thing" I refer too? It's "getting involved" and it's "giving". These two items can change the world and have an impact on everyone's lives. The reality is that we all "want to do this" and we promise that we will, but then "life" gets in the way. If we take a moment to think we'll realize the number of things that affect our lives and those we care about. Cancer, heart disease, autism, diabetes, are some examples that affect people I know, yet there are hundreds of more. Why don't we get involved AND stay involved then? Usually, it's because we get involved when something affects us directly and then when it's no longer an issue we slowly lose interest. Most times, like virtually everything, it comes down to motivation.

Why do I write this and why now? Well, I decided to take my own "tongue-lashing" to heart and get involved myself. This Saturday I'm riding in the "American Cancer Society "Bike to Battle Cancer". It's being held all over the United States this year and this one is in Bellingham, WA. It will be a 35-mile ride, which isn't particularly long, but I will be riding to honor and remember family and friends who have cancer (active or remission), have passed away as a result or are affected by someone who has cancer. I've had family who have had cancer, but the thing that spurned me to action was a combination of events that hit at the same time.

I found out a good high school friend lost her son to brain cancer when he was 6 1/2 (he would be 16 right now if he were alive.
A good basketball buddy died a few months ago of testicular cancer that was diagnosed less than a year ago and he's now gone.
A good friend is battling the late stages of lung cancer and has been given only weeks to live.

I could go on, but it was these events that merged and forced me to take action. I decided to leverage the P90X workouts I've been doing for the past 67 days, along with my bike riding experience, to raise money and awareness. This ride on Saturday is the first of many that I'll be doing. I've been blessed to see people give $235.00 so far to support my fundraising efforts (thanks gang!!!!). I will be riding with a helmet covered with the names of those who have, have had or have died from cancer. I will be riding in memory of each of them. Some of those I'll remember:

Cole
Carol
Al
Robb
Frank
Alice
Diana
Ron

The list will go on, but I'll be uploading pictures of the helmet with the names. This is just one event, but there will be more that I'll update you on here.

What can you do? First, find the cause you value and get involved AND stay involved! Second, let me know of family or friends that have cancer and I'll put them on my helmet and ride to remember and remind.

Don't just read this and forget. NO, read this and then get involved! More info coming!

Week 10, Day 3 - Oh My Word, It's "Back and Biceps" Time Again

2009-08-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

"Is there anything to not like about getting healthy?", a friend once asked me. My answer was "yes, the PAIN!". Well, as I'm half-way through "Week 10" I find myself wondering that same question. Sure, there are the aches and soreness of working out, but I find myself remembering how I felt before, when I sorta worked out and now. I find myself more alert, stronger and I feel even better. I'm doing things I had not done for a decade or more, that I can after the first few months of P90X. Things l like pullups, boatloads of pushups, wearing clothes sizes I had worn, since my 20s and more. Needless to say, I like the changes and there's still more to come.

Enough pontificating, let's get to today's workout recap.

It was "Back and Biceps" and that means working the other "show off muscles". These compliment the muscles worked on Monday from "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps". Both of these workouts have twenty-four different exercises, so there's no repeating, rather it's just ripping and ripping and more ripping!

This is the first time with this workout, since week 7, so there were plenty of pullups and other back and bicep building moves that I loved to hate! I made two changes, since week 7, and that was I started using the blue band and red band together, as well as starting to do actual pull-ups instead of using the bands. The former meant I was pulling about 60lbs of tension (blue=40lbs, red=20lbs) and the latter meant my shoulders and back were strong enough to support me doing actual pullups. This was a huge victory, one of which I wasn't sure I'd get to before the end of the first 90-days.

Anyway, highlights of the workout: Increases include:

Wide front pullups - 16 (blue/red) (+3 reps)
Lawnmowers - 12 reps each side @ 70lbs (+1 rep)
One arm cross-body curls - 11 @ 30lbs (+1 rep)
Elbows out lawnmower - 10reps @ 65lbs (+1 rep)
Reverse grip bent-over rows - 10reps @ 40lbs (+5lbs)
Static arm curls - 16 @ 30lbs (+5lbs)
Towel pullups - 8 actual pullups (+8 reps)
Crouch Cohen Curls - 8 reps @ 25lbs (+5lbs)
Seated bent over back-flys - 11reps @ 30lbs (+2 reps)
Hammer curls - 10 @ 35lbs (+1 rep)
In-Out Hammer Curls - 10reps @ 25lbs (+1 rep)

All in all I had good gains and the workout made my back and biceps burn throughout. It was a good burn and not an injury type burn. I'm finding that my arms are starting to get good shape and most of all are getting stronger. My "wimpy" right arm is catching up to my left and that way I don't look "lopsided". I'm pleased to this point, but know there's still a few weeks left to make more good changes.

One thing I've noticed is that my form is better now and so as I look back at previous weeks the number of reps or weight might not be dramatically bigger, but that just means that the previous weeks I should have made better adjustments. As I write this my arms are pumped, but feeling tired too. I need to increase my water intake and get back to eating well, now that the move is over.

Tomorrow is Yoga, which will be tough, but good to get my muscles stretched and lengthened after some hard workouts. Keep working toward your fabulous body and I'll see you here tomorrow.

~ Jonathan

Week 10, Day 2 - Late Night Cardio, AbRipping At 11pm

2009-08-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

As seems to be the norm lately....there is no norm! I found myself working on billing that needs to be done ASAP, and is made even more frustrating, since Verizon is taking every single minute of every day to get my Internet going at my new place. Of course, being a computer guy, I know how little time it actually takes and that frustrates me further. Anyway, I digress.

By the time I got done with a day full of billing, eating, running my son to driver's ed class and the like I didn't get home until after 10pm. I was left with the choice of skipping (NEVER!) or doing the best I could to get through Cardio AND AbRipperX. I didn't waste any time and I got right into the workout. One thing I like about Cardio is that it doesn't take any extra equipment, save a yoga mat. I also love how quickly the time goes by. We were in the Kenpo (sigh, okay I'll do it this short period, but NO MORE!), then it was time for some Plyo and finallyl good out "goo burning" Cardio. Before I could virtually blink my eyes the workout was over and we were cooling down.

I moved right into AbRipperX, since I needed to "makeup" for not doing it last night. I want fabulous abs, so it's critical for me to do them every time AND correct. One note from the last time I did Abs, is that it's critical that you use a yoga mat and not workout on carpet. I had tailbone burns from the rug and it caused me to take a break for a week from any ab-work. MAKE SURE YOU USE A MAT!!!! Anyway, I got right into every exercise and move. I fought for max reps and was successful for the most part.

I got all but five of the Mason's Twist. All in all it was a good workout and my abs felt worked!

See you tomorrow for "Back & Biceps"

~ Jonathan

Week 10, Day 1 - It's "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps" BlastingTime!!!

2009-08-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

My name is Jonathan and I'm a "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps Ripping Addict". Okay, maybe I'm not THAT bad, but I have to admit that this is one of my favorite workouts. Perhaps it's because these are the "Hollywood" or "Show Off" Muscles. The first thing that's noticed when the shirt comes off are these muscles groups, along with "Back & Biceps". For most of my life I've been healthy and have played sports, but I never worked these muscles groups particularly hard, so I didn't have a big back, big shoulders or even big arms. Well, since starting to do P90X the past nine weeks I've seen big changes in these areas. And there's no wonder why.

I won't repeat the actual workout exercises here, but you can read them here and here, if you want. Here are the overall workout stats:

Total pushups done - 108

Chair dips - 39

New rep and/or weight highs in:

Chair dips - 39 (+1)
Floor flys - 14 (+2)
Overhead Tricep Extensions - 8 @ 30lbs, 2 @ 25lbs (+1 rep, +5lbs)
Two twitch pushups 11 (+1)
Y-Press - 30lbs (+5lbs)
Lying Tricep Extensions - 30lbs (+5)
Clap or Plyo Pushups - 8 regular (+1)
Slo-Mo Throws- 9 @ 15lbs (+1)
Front-back-tricep extensions - 10 @ 25lbs (+1)
Fly Row Presses - 10 @ 25lbs (+1, +5lbs)
Dumbbell Cross Body Blows - 11 each @ 30lbs (+1, +5lbs)

I felt "off" through the entire workout, like I needed extra rest or a "OOMPH" or something. It's likely a result of cycling off of No-Xplode, since it seemed to make me edgy and created a more intense, almost too much so, personality. Rather than fight it I decided to cycle off it and try to find the "burn" without it.

It was a good workout and I was pleased with my results, despite no having that "catalyst". Tomorrow is CardioX and I think I'll add today's AbripperX at that time. Keep presing "Play" and keep coming back. I'll be here tomorrow with a recap of the workout. Do the best you can!

~ Jonathan

Week 9, Day 7 - StretchX AND a bike ride

2009-08-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

Wow, it was a hot day today! Of course, that's relative to the place you're from. We're in the midst of a heatwave, which includes numerous record days of high temperatures. Regardless, I couldn't miss another day of workouts.

I decided to double-up to makeup for yesterday. I did my StretchX workout and it felt really good. In fact, I find that Yoga and StretchX really do prepare my muscles for the following weeks hard work they'll go through. It's easy to forget them, but the reality is that they are some of the most important workouts in the entire P90X series.

I realized that I needed to get some bike riding in, since I had a couple of rides coming up and needed to get my legs back into shape. It was still 95+ degrees and sunny, but I couldn't wait for it to cool down. I headed out on my way and decided to add some additional work by going up and down numerous 6-12% grade hills. I especially needed this for a good base for the "Ride542 Hill Climb" that I was riding in on September 13th. I ended up riding just under 20 miles and did 15 sets of hills that ranged from 100 yards to 1/4 mile each. I was exhausted by the end, but know that can only be the beginning of the work. Otherwise, the hill climb itself will be a chore. So I guess the "Pay now or Pay later" maxim holds true!

I cooled down and after a shower and some food, I had a great night of sleep. Tomorrow starts Week 10....WOOT!

~ Jonathan

Week 9, Day 6 - Oh No, A Missed Workout?

2009-08-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

In the midst of moving and work and a sundry of other events I simply forgot to do a bike ride, or Kenpo or some other activity that would suffice as P90X for today. It just didn't happen, and frankly, I'm okay with it.

Nothing else to share, except see you tomorrow.

~ Jonathan

Week 9, Day 5 - Can I Get an Order of "Legs & Back" To Go?

2009-07-31T19:08:00.000-07:00

Alas, despite the all-time record heatwave racing through the Pacific Northwest, the workouts must go on! To that end, after a fitful night of sleep from tossing and turning in the non-AC house I'm in, the alarm rang at precisely 5:15am! Some of you think it's crazy to get up that early to workout, but there are reasons, namely:

It's the time that Son #2 and I get up on Monday's and Wednesdays to workout at the high school, so it's already trained into us.
I figured it would be cooler at that time of the morning today.

Well, since the high school isn't air conditioned and it's normally locked up tighter than a sardine can, the second item proved to be a RESOUNDING FALSE!!!!

Well, the workout still has to go on....

I got in there an immediately started my warmup. It's important to note that I'm planning for this to be the final week for using the colored bands (blue & red) in place of pull-ups. Starting in "Week 10" I will be rocking (and probably hurting from) pullups. After a quick warmup and the fact that the weightroom was hotter and more humid that a Turkish bath, I was ready to go.

This is the day of two-cycles of four different pullup types, interdispersed around a variety of other moves to fry your legs and back, hence the name. :-)

I pulled and pulled on the bands and could feel the major tension as I simulated the pullup moves. I can't stress enough how critical this has been for my increased strength in my back and lats. If you can't do pull-ups, like I couldn't at the beginning of P90X, then go with the bands. Eventually you'll get to pullups.

By about the four exercise I was sweating up a storm and drinking water by the "bucket". The former is true, while the latter was just "drinking lots of water". I felt good throughout the workout and by changing the smaller, green band for the thicker "Red band" and then combining it with the very thick "Blue band" I got major, major tension.

One area that continues to plague me, well it did, until I relaxed and realized I was doing my best, is my right knee. For some reason it feels stronger, but as time went on in the workout it seemed to get more and more apt to "buckle". I have to ensure I don't oversquat or extend the movements with it.

By the time I got to the end of this workout today I was drenched in sweat and virtually, physically spent. I barely had the energy to carry my workout bag and struggled to drive the car. Needless to say I lost quite a bit of water weight and after the workout I weighed in at 216lbs. This was one of the best "Legs & Back" workouts I've had and I was psyched to no end.

On a down-note I realized that I'd forgotten to do yesterday's "Yoga" routine, which meant I have to stretch out extra each day this week. It felt good to work and sweat even on a very, very hot day. How about you? Are you "bringing it?" Just keep working!

~ Jonathan

Day 60 = Picture Posting Time

2009-07-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

ACCKKKKK, it's "Day 60" and that means following through on my commitment to post pictures at the "Before Starting", 30-day, 60-day and 90-day marks of my P90X workout. I always have some fear about posting the pictures, since many questions bounce around in the space of my head. Questions like:

Will there be noticeable changes? If not, why not?
Will others look at the pictures and not see any changes? If they don't, will they wonder if I'm really working out?
Will there be changes? If not, then why am I getting up every day at 6am or staying up past 11pm to fit in the daily workouts? If not, then why am I sweating and hurting and efforting?

You see, pure pictures don't lie. Sure you can doctor them up, change them, etc, but if you simply take photos then what you see....is what you get. I could go on and on, but I'd be feeding into my worry and fear. No, I'm just going to post them and continue on my workout way.

Two important notes:

I have been eating healthy, but have not been following the specific P90X nutrition plan, so I am not as lean as I might be able to be. I will work toward that goal, but for now I'm content to do what I can.
I have been taking No-Xplode for my lifting workouts, which has the effect of increased water weight for a period of time, until you cycle off of it. The reason I mention this is that I haven't focused on "cutting", which gives the appearance of a little bit of puffiness.

I mention this, so that you realize great gain can occur, despite not following the program to perfection.

My waist has dropped almost 3", since I started, my weight down to 216lbs, my chest, arms, and legs are bigger. Overall, I've gained size, while losing weight. I guess change is happening and that's good.

It's Yoga night tonight. I'll report in after I'm done.

Keep bringing it!

~ Jonathan

Week 9, Day 3 - Shoulders & Arms, Seems Like We Hardly Know Ya!

2009-07-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

This must be "flashback week", since we're seeing some workouts that we haven't seen for six weeks or so. Today it's "Shoulders & Arms", which we haven't done, since week 3. Wow, that seems so long ago. I was interested to see the changes in weights, reps and form.

I got to the gym at 6am, after a long evening of sleeplessness from the heatwave that's going through the Pacific Northwest! It got up to 100 degrees in some parts, so it was unlike what we're used too. Nonetheless, I got my weights out and started warming up.

It took me a little bit to reaquinte myself with the various exercises, since it's been six weeks, since the last time I did them. Fortunatley, I was able to get them down the first time through and no review was necessary for the second cycle. For those who are new to the blog or like me need a review feel free to checkout Week 1, Day 3.

I was able to jump my weights up and still fall in the 8-10 rep range. Here are some comparisons between Week 3 (#'s listed first) and Week 9 (#s listed second set):

Alternating Shoulder Presses - 11 & 9 (30lb) 10 & 9 (35lbs)

In & Out Bicep Curls - 14 & 16 (30lbs) 16 @ 30lbs & 16 @ 25lbs

Two-Arm Tricep Kickbacks - 9 & 9 (25lbs) 10 & 10 @ 25lbs

Deep Swimmer's Presses - 10 & 8 (25lbs) 11 @ 25lbs & 8 @ 30lbs

Full Sup. Concentration Curls - 9 & ll (each side) (25lbs) 11 @ 30lbs & 11 @ 25lbs

Chair Dips - 27 & 25 38 & 30

Upright Rows - 8 & 9 (30lbs) 8 @ 35lbs & 11 @ 30lbs

Static Arm Curls - 8 each side (25lbs), 8 each side (20lbs) 8 & 8 each side @ 25lbs

Flip-Grip Twist Tricep Kickbacks - 10 & 8 (15lbs) 8 @ 20lbs & 8 @ 15lbs

Two-Angle Shoulder Flys - 16 & 16 (20lbs) 16 @ 20lbs & 16 @ 25lbs

Crouching Cohen Curls - 12 @ 15lbs, 10 @ 20lbs 12 & 13 @ 20lbs

Lying Down Tricep Extensions -12 & 11 (25lbs) 10 & 10 @ 30lbs

In & Out Straight Arm Shoulder Flys didn't do weeks 1-3 16 & 16 @ 25lbs

Congdon Curls - didn't do weeks 1-3 8 & 10 @ 30lbs

Side Tri-Rises - 16 each side 20 each side & 22 each side

I was pleased with my results and was able to increase my weights substantially in most cases. I definitely had better form as a result of the previous six weeks worth of workouts. My arms felt worked by not "trashed" like in earlier weeks. Perhaps a better indicator will be the 60-day pictures I'll be posting shortly. Those would be the best indicator of whether this program works or not.

Let me encourage you to work hard, keep pushing the Play button on your DVD player and keep doing your best. If this 44-year old can do it, anyone can!

Week 9, Day 2 - The CardioX and AbRipperX Cometh....

2009-07-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

I waited, as I stated earlier, until the heat dissipated a little bit from it's sweltering upper-90 degree temperatures. I wasn't concerned about me having a problem, rather I was worried my Ipod might melt in the heat! (I kid, I kid). Anyway, I waited until the evening when the temperature dropped to right about 90-degrees and figured I'd better get my workout in before the sun went down. Why the rush? Well, I had a chance to do my workout outside, since I was at my friend's beautiful rural house and I wanted to enjoy the surroundings as I worked and sweated, in Tony Horton's words, the "Goo". I had some special audience members watching my workout, namely my friend's two Golden Retrievers, who sat in the shade and watched with tongues hanging out. Note: not because of my ripped abs and arms, but because of the heat....just making sure ya'll understood! :-)

I got right in the Cardio with the warmup and I noticed immediately that I missed my yoga mat. Little did I know at the time how much I missed that precious mat. I stretched and slipped on the grass. I worked and I slide a little. It seems that the "no slip-ness" of yoga mats truly have a purpose after all. Anyway, I got through the various stretches, runs and movements of the warm up fine, despite the little slip-n-slide hiccups.

Now, I've never done hot-room yoga or Bikram yoga, but this was probably the closest thing to it. With the temperatures still above 90 degrees outside I was sweating from just standing and stretching. Next, add some yoga moves to begin CardioX and you have a recipe for "a whole lotta sweating going on" as an old 60's song might have said. In fact, my no-sleeve shirt was soaked by the time the final sun salutation was done.

It was time for the Kenpo part and I found it do-able, despite my lack of excitement for the pseudo-punching and kicking. Oh well, I made it through just fine and moved on to the next set of exercises.

Then it was time for some of the moves we love in Core Synergistics, including SquatX, Superman/Banana and Steam Engine among others. This really got the sweat pouring and my audience had the urge to come up and lick my legs. Before I knew it the workout was over and we were cooling down.

I wanted to add a bonus round of AbRipperX today, since I haven't "ripped them" lately. Nothing like "In-and-Outs", "Bicycles", Hip-Rock-Raise, Fifer Scissors among others to wakeup those abs. I felt good and strong, despite having just done Cardio. I roared through the exercises and only had one minor...errrr.....turned into major issue. Since I was at my friend's house I didn't have my yoga mat. That became and issue as I slid forward and back during the various exercises, since it resulted in a raw area just above my tailbone that hurt like the dickens. I finished, but man my butt was sore. Note to self: Have a yoga mat when you do your workouts!

Nonetheless, I got through both workouts feeling strong and great. I'm pleased with my strength and progress as I near the half-way point of week 9. Keep pushing "Play", bring the best you've got and check back tomorrow for the next update.

~ Jonathan

Exercise on Week 9, Day 2...In This Heat? - Precursor

2009-07-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

First, for us Washingtonians yesterday and today and this entire week is HOT! When I moved here I understood there was an agreement that there would only be four 90+ degree days every three years. Clearly that's not the case right now and I'm trying to find the number of who I should call to complain! :-) Nonetheless, I'm feeling good about the recent move and the things I'm getting done for work, so it's essentially just me whining.

Today is Cardio and I'm going to toss in a bonus AbripperX, since I missed the fact that it wasn't included in last weeks "Recovery Week". I suppose the real reason is that I'm starting to see ab muscles I don't ever recall seeing before. I don't want them to disappear and now instead of a "two-pack" or "four-pack", I've changed my goal to actually have a "six-pack." Lofty for a middle-aged guy, but I want to challenge myself, rather than just being content with the changes so far.

I'll report in later after the heat dissipates a little. Until then, stay cool!

~ Jonathan

Week 9, Day 1 - Let Me Reintroduce You to "Chest & Back" and Let's Throw "AbRipperX" Back In!

2009-07-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

It's the start of week 9 and I have to admit that I didn't know if I'd make it this far. Oh sure, everyone wants to believe in their heart that they will, but as I've gone along I've met a lot of people who bought the P90X DVDs with great intentions, but whether it was "too intense", "too much time", "hurt too much", or any number of other reasons, they quit. As I awoke today I was glad to be alive and glad to be heading in for my 63rd workout in the program. Sixty-three straight days of no breaks, save one last week for house moving. Sixty-three days of being up early or staying up late to ensure I got my workout in. Well enough reminiscing...let's get to today's workout.

As I mentioned in the title, today is the return of "Chest & Back". We haven't seen this old friend, since Week 3, Day 1. If you've forgotten the workout or just want a refresh of past results hit the following links:

Week 1, Day 1

Week 2, Day 1

Week 3, Day 1

I figured this would be a good indicator of strength increases and such over the past five weeks or so. Here is a list of the exercises, the number of reps I did each cycle and the increase or decrease from week 3:

Standard Pushups -33 (+10), 17 (+5)
Wide Front Pullups - 18 (blue/red), 15 (blue/red) - increase of another bigger band
Military pushups - 20 (+2), 9 (+3)
Reverse Grip chin-up - 18 (blue/red), 16 (blue/red)
Wide-fly pushup - 20 (+6), 12 (+8)
Closed Grip overhand pull-up - 16 (blue/red), 14 blue,red)
Decline Pushups (feet on chair, hands on floor) - 13 (-1), 10 (+3)
Heavy pants-Similar to bent over lat rows - 12 @50lbs (+5lbs), 9@ 55lbs (+10lbs)
Diamond Pushups - 15 (+7), 7+3 (knees) (+7)
Lawnmowers-10 @ 70lbs (+20lbs)
Dive-bomber pushups- 11 (+3), 8 (+1)
Bent over back flys - 10 @ 25lbs (+2), 15 @ 25lbs (+7)

The results surprised me and I definitely have gotten stronger and leaner. It proves this program works for anyone.

I took half a day break, since I had work I needed to get done, before I started AbRipperX. Now, that's just good, clean fun, especially after the strength and energy I felt from this morning's "Chest & Back" workout. I roared through the various exercises and moves quickly and efficiently and before I knew it the 17-minutes of ab-building fun was over. Looking at myself in the mirror is actually a little fun, since I'm seeing abs where previously there was just undisciplined flesh. Just think, I still have four more weeks of AbRipper to do. I am hoping for a six-pack, just to show off for grins.

Well, I encourage you to get in there are start working hard and great things will happen to you and your body too.

Take care,

~ Jonathan

Week 8, Day 7 - Finishing It Up Yoga-Style

2009-07-26T22:34:00.000-07:00

Despite the move I had to get Yoga in to finish up week 8. After running my son and his friend into town and picking up some things myself, I raced back and started up the workout. Perhaps it was the stress of the move, perhaps it was missing that single workout, or ????, but Yoga really hurt. When I was done my body felt spent and very relaxed and very, very tired. I knew I needed it after the fact.

I'm too tired to write much more, except that tomorrow starts Week 9. Didn't know if I would make it this far, but I have and I'm very happy with the changes so far.

See ya tomorrow.

~ Jonathan

Week 8, Day 6 - Supposed to be Yoga, but It's Makeup Core Synergistics

2009-07-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

I felt great, went to the gym with Caleb, so he could finally lift and I could get in some serious sweating.

In a few words, "I came, I saw, I kicked Core Synergistics butt!". It was a great workout and I did 5+ reps more on each exercise than any other time. I knocked out 40 high-hand, stacked feet pushups, and never looked back.

I was pleased with my stamina and strength and am looking forward to starting week 9, after tomorrows stretching.

Check in for tomorrows update and look toward Week 9 on Monday! WOOT!

~ Jonathan

Week 8, Day 5 - Core Synergistics, We Love You, But We Must Delay You

2009-07-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

So today is supposed to be Core Synergistics, but we're still frantically cleaning and moving, so it ain't happening today. By the time we finished getting out of the old house I was tired, hungry and not in the mood to workout any more than I alread had. I determined to delay this until tomorrow (Saturday) when I'd be more rested.

Sorry, nothing more to read here, except imagine a very, very, stressed and tired guy until 3pm PST, then imagine a very, very tired, but relieved guy. That's me. :-)

More tomorrow,

~ Jonathan

Week 8, Day 4 - StretchX? Not Gonna Happen

2009-07-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

Today was the beginning of the frantic move out of my house that closes on July 24th. There is no time for stretching, so instead I've modified this "rest week" to include a lot of use of the muscles I've built up over the past eight weeks. I'm packing boxes, lifting books, moving beds, moving furniture, walking up and down the ramp, stretching, reaching, squatting and more.

For about 28+ hours we packed and moved and unloaded and went back and did more. We moved junk to the landfill (1230lbs worth...yes, you rad that right!) By the time we were done, we were physically spent. No, there was no Stretching today, but that doesn't mean I didn't get a great P90X burn in.

See ya tomorrow

Week 8, Day 3 - It's Kenpo Time....NOT!

2009-07-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

I'm holding true to my commitment to NOT do the Kenpo workout. Instead I fit in a very fast 17 mile bike ride first thing in the morning, knowing that with the impending move I would not have time or energy to do Kenpo.

It was fast, furious and not much to talk about. Unfortunately, I still had to use my mountain bike, since the road bike rear tire had a slow leak. I will have to get a new tube next time I'm in town. That's about it for this day....

Week 8, Day 2 - The Return of Core Synergistics....Oh How We Missed Ye

2009-07-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

It might be a "recovery week" this week, but that doesn't mean there isn't good, hard work being done. After the stretching, sweating and strain of Yoga yesterday, we get a chance to work our heartrates through the roof. It's the return of my favorite workout, namely Core Synergistics! Give me a hoo....give me a ha.....give me a hoo-ha!

So, in case you've forgotten the workout let me point you to the week 4, day 2 writeup, which summarizes the various exercises and how they're done. I call this the best"55 minutes of heart-racing fun on can have with clothes on" workout. You do various pushups, jumps, in-place runs, leg lifts, superman/bananas, lunges, skaters, towel hopping an dmore, more more!!!!!

We warmed up and got into the workout. What's interesting is that I got through the various moves effectively and with good form and only had to take two "extra breaks". I knocked out 30 stacked-leg pushups, did the banana roll to the max, squat-ran to the "end of the workout world" and more. There was sphinx pushups to the tune of "9", prision pushups to a count of 12 and squat pressed 20lbs for all but one rep. Throughout it all I felt good and strong and know it is the result of following the program virtually to the letter the past seven weeks.

Keep working, keep coming back, and do the best you can. The rest of your workouts will benefit. See you tomorrow!

~ Jonathan

P.S. Shoutout to all the riders battling during RAGBRAI right now. Keep going, keep pedaling and have a great, great time! Shoutout to ISU and shout out to M!

NEW WEEK ALERT!!! Week 8, Day 1 = "Recovery Week"? Not Today

2009-07-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

I looked at the schedule and saw that this week is supposed to be a "Recovery Week", which includes Yoga, Core Synergistics and Stretching, but I really felt like I wanted to burn the arms one more time. My son said "Dad, follow the program the way it's written", but did I listen? The answer is no, no I didn't. I decided to go ahead and do "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps", since if I was going to "burn", I was going to do it BIG!

We got to the school and I started in on my workout. I felt a little "off", which those who know me would say is normal. Of course, I'm talking about my physical state and NOT my mental state....LOL The warmup passed and I got right into the pushups, and within the first four exercises I was wondering if I made the right choice. I pushed forward and even took a little time to demonstrate some of the exercises to some of the football players there. They didn't think they looked hard...until they tried them. Of course, I've been doing them for seven+ weeks, so my body is used to the moves and proper form, but it was still a little funny.

I got through the workout and was tired. My body felt achy and my energy felt sapped. I ate plenty before and plenty after, but all day I have been "off". I waited until a little while ago to do the scheduled Yoga and it was fabulously painful and fabulously needed. My body fought me a bit, as much for doing the workout (unscheduled) as much as any other reason. I sweated, I grunted, I fought for every pushup, upward dog and chutarunga. I fought to keep my balance during the balance moves and the "Yoga Belly 7" series just about did me in. But I made it and I'm tired and glad.

I think I'll follow my son's advice and do the program as written next time I have a "wild hair" idea to add a little more. Tomorrow is Core Synergistics. See ya then.

~ Jonathan

Week 7, Day 7 - Heal My Muscles Again With StretchX

2009-07-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

Not a lot new to report for today. StretchX is the "muscle healer" that loosens my muscles from the previous weeks work AND preps them for the upcoming workouts. Today, StretchX did its job. Of course, this next week is a recovery week, so that means more yoga, stretching and some core workouts.

The "take away" for today is to come back to StretchX, since it "resets" your muscles.

Tomorrow begins week 8 and it's YogaX. Time for some good clean fun making noises, turning and sweating! Take care until then..

~ Jonathan

Week 7, Day 6 = Kenpo....aka "only time to do this"

2009-07-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

If you followed the past seven weeks you know that Kenpo is probably my least favorite of all the workouts. Of course, when you have a day like today (Saturday) then you will take whatever is scheduled.

I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say I'd planned to ride my bike like I have the past couple of weeks that Kenpo is scheduled. One thing after another got in the way or had to be done prior to heading out. Before I knew it the day was over, it was dark and I was left with a choice, forget working out all together (not an option) or doing Kenpo. I chose the latter. I probably should have chosen to do Cardio again or even Core Synergistics, since both gave me a "heavy breathing" workout. Alas, I went through the various kicks, punches, and other "karate-like" moves, but barely worked up a sweat. I tried to increase my speed, reps and any other things to get my "sweat on", but nothing worked. I think the nature of the workout is for beginners or those who need to get into better shape. I again found it to be underwelming.

I think I will plan to do core or something else the next time I run out of time to ride my bike. At least I'll get a workout in.

More tomorrow.

~ Jonathan

Week 7, Day 5 = "Legs & Back" Say It Again!

2009-07-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

Today (Friday) is my last lifting day for this week and actually the last one for this second phase of P90X, since next week (week 8) is a recovery week. I wanted to really push hard on this even though my legs always ache afterward.

I'd like to report that "I crushed it", but I really struggled today. My legs weren't sore or achy before the workout, but shortly into the second set of lunges I really struggled to keep good form. My legs rebelled and it took every bit of "zoning out" to fight through. Wall sits flat out hurt and then shortly after it was one-legged Wall Squats, which were like driving bamboo shoots under my fingernails, except the squats were worse!

If I sound whiney, it's because I know the workout is great for me, but it continues to be the "albatross around my neck". On a positive note I was able to crank through the chin-up portions, using the bands, efficiently. I put a fourth loop in the bands to increase the tension and then really stretched them to about eight feet. I held each rep for two seconds and my back, lats and shoulders were really being worked as I felt each and every rep.

I had to be reminded again, by Tony's words, to not overdo if you have an old injury on one of your legs. My right knee continues to be an issue, so I didn't go as deep with the various lunges. I can still feel my legs getting stronger, so my encouragement is to follow Tony's advice too. You will feel frustrated, like I did, but you'll still get stronger and more importantly not reinjure yourself.

I was glad this workout was over and I felt spent. In fact, I ended up laying down when I got home and found when I awoke that I'd taken a 30-minute power nap.

Whatever level you're on or if you thinking about beginning P90X keep going and "just do it" respectively. Thanks for reading this and see you tomorrow.

~ Jonathan

Week 7, Day 4 - YogaX is Good, Clean Fun

2009-07-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry to those who have been following my blog faithfully only to find out that some days were missing, like today's. I haven't figured out why, but Blogspot or something was preventing the entries from showing. Nonethless accept my apology and let's get right too it.
>>>>>>>

As the title says it's time for the sweet "relief" known as YogaX. The things the title didn't include, but should have were, "sweaty", "tough", "difficult", and "ouch!". It seems like I hate Yoga, but actually just the opposite, I actually really, really like the relaxed "spent" feeling I get and I'm loose and ready for the next tough workout.

Today was no different. I thought it would be easier to get my workout in, since three of my four kids were out of the area. What's that saying again...."the best laid plans of.."? Well, one thing after another happened and I never got my workout in, until much later. I finally didn't get to it until almost midnight. I was caught with the decision of "bagging it" or driving forward with the workout despite the time. Call me crazy, but I opted for the latter.

While much of the Western Hemisphere was sleeping, I was straining, sweating and fighting through "Sun Salutations", "chatarunga's", "downward facing dog, "warriors pose, etc, etc, etc. I am continually amazed at how much one sweats when doing a seemingly low impact workout like Yoga. The reality is that all of the strain, stretching and poses actually are a major workout that generates copious amounts of sweat.

I almost cut off the workout after the first 45 minutes of vigorous, intense stretching and poses, but I decided to battle through the balance poses too. I'm glad I did, since I slept peacefully and was well rested in the morning.

Yoga is indeed some of the cleanest fun you can have. Go ahead see for yourself.

~ Jonathan

Week 7, Day 3 - Bring Back that "Back & Biceps" Feeling...WO-A-WOAH...

2009-07-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

Seriously? It's time for the "Money Muscles" again already? Time to build the back and rip the biceps? A look on the calendar shows that it is indeed time for "Back & Biceps" and that's a great thing!

If you haven't read the past two weeks posts about "Back & Biceps", then I suggest you stop and do so, before continuing. (week 5, day 3) (week 6, day 3) In them I cover the exercises in this workout.

Okay, so the day started at 6am at the high school weight room, like it usually does. There were other kids there, including some of the girl's volleyball team. I went off to my little corner and got setup. I dragged my workout dumbbells over from the racks. I wanted to increase my weights, so I brought over a 70lb, as well as sets of 35lbs, 30lbs, 25lbs and 20lbs. I got right into the warmup, since I was prepped and ready to go.

I won't rehash the entire workout, rather I'll point out the highlights:

I had good increases on (dumbbells used in parentheses); "Lawnmowers (70lbs), "Twenty-ones" (30lbs), "Congdon Locomotives" (40lbs), and "Seated Bent-over Back Flys" (30lbs).
I decreased my weights, so that I could do more reps or with better form on: "One-arm Concentration Curls" (25lbs more reps), "Open Arms Curls" (25lbs more reps), "Crouching Cohen Curls" (25lbs more reps), "In-Out Hammer Curls" (25lbs more reps).
The increase on Lawnmowers was great and my lats are definitely getting stronger as a result.
The decreases in weight weren't a big deal and actually let's me ensure I have good form and am doing the 8-10 reps clean.
My arms didn't feel as "swelled" (my son Caleb's term) as a week ago, but they still felt very worked indeed.
I noticed that my water intake was lower than before and that actually left me with a bit of a headache (Jon, see your previous notes about "water intake"!!! Practice what you preach)
Strip-set curls are a "beast" at the end of the workout and they flat out hurt! I love them, but I hate them! Ensure you're starting with a weight you can really do eight reps with, since it does no good to struggle and only do a couple of them. You'll see the biggest improvements with good form at the right weight. Note: even the 20lbs dumbbells I used for my final set seemed like they weighed a ton!

Of special note is the comments that my son told me one of the volleyball players made after my workout. She said "wow, your dad is ripped, but he makes funny noises when he lifts". To which my son replied, "well just be thankful he didn't sound like he's got Tourette's Syndrome, like he normally does when he's lifting". It made me feel good about the first comment and just laugh out loud about his reply. Suppose it's a good thing I hear this after the fact, eh?

That's all for now, but I can't stress enough the importance of starting and continuing your workouts. It will seem hard at first, but it will get better. There are a lot of reasons to workout, health, long life, see your kids grow up, see grandchildren one day, lower insurance, less illness, etc. The best reason is that you deserve to be healthy and look good. So, don't delay and don't quit...just keep returning and doing the best you can do!

Thanks for following my journey and let me know about yours in return.

~ Jonathan

Week 7, Day 2 - Heavy Breathing Means "CardioX"

2009-07-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

Note: sorry, it seems that life has "stolen" two days away from me, since it's been three days, since my last entry. Actually, I've been doing the workouts, but forgot to write the entries. Therefore, I'm catching up. Sorry, but enjoy seeing what's happened the past few days.

So, Tuesdays mean it's cardio time again. Time to a little yoga, a little plyo, a little jumping, in fact, a little of each workout you'll find in P90X. I actually like this workout, since it's like a buffet line where you get a little bit of everything.

You know the routine already, if you've been following my blog, so I won't rehash the moves. I found that this routine even more beneficial as it follows "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps" (from Monday) and I needed to get the blood pumping through my body again. As I've gotten further in the program the order of the routines makes more sense each time. For example, as I've stated before, I'm not a fan of the Kenpo routine. There's nothing wrong with it, but I don't see the benefits, since it's a reduced intensity workout. I do however like the short Kenpo set in CardioX, since it does loosen and extend already hurting muscles.

A couple of tips:

I'll repeat again like last week....."MAKE SURE YOU EAT ENOUGH THRU THE DAY!" You don't want to "bonk" during your workouts and eating enough is a way to ensure you have the "fuel" to push your body during the workouts.
Make sure you're taking in plenty of water during the day AND even some during the workout. You should be sweating and if not then you're low on water...and that's NOT good!
If you find your muscles are sore you might want to extend your warmup a little, such as more jumping jacks or running in place. I noticed that Tony moved faster through the warmup for Cardio than any other workout. You don't want to pull a muscle due to cold or unstretched muscles. Therefore give yourself time to warmup by hitting PAUSE for a little bit if you need it.
Be careful to not overextend your kicks during Kenpo, since the "banging" of your joints can be bad and cause unnecessary injuries.
Cooldown extra if you need too.
Finally, enjoy this workout. It may not seem as intense as some of the others, like lifting, pushups, pullups, etc, but you will get your heart rate going if you work.

Before I knew it the 44 minutes had passed and I was done with Cardio.

As an added bonus, since I needed to feel a little burn, I went ahead and did AbRipperX again. The great part was that in about 60 minutes I got two great workouts in and still felt great!

Keep bringing it. Good changes will and are coming!!!!

~ Jonathan

Week 7, Day 1 - Part Two = A Bike Ride AND AbRipperX...

2009-07-13T20:07:00.001-07:00

I was itching to try out a road bike a friend of mine let me borrow for some upcoming rides, despite it being overcast, 55-degrees and windy. No big deal I thought. I was in for a surprise.

I got less than 1/2 mile away from my house when psssttt, yep, the rear tire blew. I didn't have a patch or tire, so I had to toss it on my shoulder and walk back. Fortunately, it happened that close to home, otherwise it could have been a long walk. Anyway, I parked the bike in the garage and grabbed my trusty, heavy Trek mountain bike. It has 1 1/2" tires on it, but it still is a load when riding on the road. I got out and when I turned onto the highway I steered directly into a gusting headwind of 15-20mph. Blech! I'm not one to turn around when I face adversity, so I plugged on. Normally I'm in the upper ranges of the gears, but today I had to gear down four notches and sometimes five, just to keep a decent cadence into the wind. Fast forward an hour and I arrived at the local coffee shop, where I sometimes take a break. I figured I averaged about 11mph for the first half of my ride. I was hoping the wind wouldn't change on me for the way back....and it didn't. I averaged about 18.5mph on the return, which I was very, very thankful for. I was happy for 24 miles ridden, especially given the conditions and after this morning's workout.

I quickly put in AbRipperX in the DVD player and got started while I was reasonable warm. I felt good and was able to get through all 300+ moves and even did one extra of each exercise. :-) I was particularly pleased to get the 50 Mason Twists! The one exercise I still need to work on are the wide-legged situps. My feet keep lifting up as I curl up, so I need to work on that. I'm jealous of Tony's technique on these, but am driven to match him by the end of the 90-day mark.

Before I knew it the 17 minutes were over and the abs were truly ripped. It's been a long time, since I've seen any semblance of my abs. In fact, for the longest times when my boys were talking about their "six-pack" or "eight-pack abs" they'd always say "yeah, my dad is carrying a pony-keg". NOT ANYMORE BOYS! DADDY'S WORKING TOWARD HIS OWN "SIX-PACK"!

Thanks for reading today's entries and let me encourage you that if I could make gains like this using P90X then virtually anyone can. You just have to show up, hit "Play" and keep working each day. BTW, I'm on week 7 of a 13-week program, so I'm pumped to see my abs in six more weeks. :-)

Halfway There! - It's Week 7, Day 1..."Chest, Shoulders & Triceps"

2009-07-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

Okay folks I've crossed the halfway point of this first 90 days. I'm feeling stronger, looking better and yet I'm only halfway done. I'm excited for the next 45 days to see the further improvements. I've been pleased with where I've gotten too, but am aiming for even more results. The next 45 days will be critical, since I don't want to stick with where I am now, but to push myself for the "Tony Horton" like physique, but one me! One thing I need to continue to work on is to continue to eat right, since that's half the battle. Enough of the "recap", let's get to today's workout.

Previously I wrote about the "love/hate" courtship I had with "Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps". Of course, this is only the third time I've done it, so one could wonder how it could be a "relationship" at all. Well, today I officially pledge my "workout love" to this program. Perhaps it was because I got through all the moves/exercises, including plank pushups, one-armed pushups, and the killer "pike pushups". The veins in my biceps looked like they were ready to burst, but thankfully they didn't. Oh sure, it burned and there were struggles during the "last three reps", but I felt good throughout.

One thing I've noticed is that some of the pushup exercises I'm making gains in, while others I'm staying at the same number of reps. It's possible it's because of when they fall, but also the specific move required. One-arm balance pushups come toward the end, where my arms are about spent, so I struggled to get to 7 of them.

I did increase my weights on a number of the exercises, and got the 8-10 reps in. While I know my chest felt the pushups and my shoulders & triceps felt the various dumbbell moves & chair dips, I didn't feel "burnt out" at the end.

The first time you do this workout you might wonder if the pain will end. You might question if you should just skip it, but I highly encourage you to just do the best you can. Your body will respond and you will improve. Just keep showing up and doing what you can. I know that's what's been happening with me and the improvements are continuing. Note: I almost skipped this workout after the first time a few weeks back, but I'm glad I didn't. It feels fantastic to work through the pain and be able to do these moves & see the good changes in my body.

I'm going to do AbripperX this afternoon, since I ran out of time this morning. I'll post an update when I'm done.

Thanks for taking the time to read my little part of the world and have a great day!

~ Jonathan

Week 6, Day 7 - Late Night "StretchX"

2009-07-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

Not much to write here. I'm in the process of moving from my house and I had an impending trip coming that would limit my time to finish the final closing details. I was starting to stress out a bit and therefore I didn't get to my workout sooner.

After some flexible thinking we decided that I should delay my business trip until after I've closed on this house and move into a different place. There was so much relief as the pressure was released. Now, I can move my stuff and when I go to Texas, then fully focus on my work. Thank you David & Laura for your flexibility and kindness. :-)

I finally got around to doing the StretchX workout at about 10:30pm. I was going to go to bed, but reminded myself I would be thankful if I stretched . It was a great ending to a very stressful couple of days and I was able to fall right asleep. BTW, don't skip the Stretch workout, since your muscles need it and you'll be glad you did. I find that I'm able to workout better the following week when I stretch on Sundays.

All was good and the muscles were raring to go for Monday mornings, "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps". Until then, work hard, bring it and never ever stop!

~ Jonathan

Week 6, Day 5 - "Legs & Back" We Love Thee So!

2009-07-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Today was an epic day, since I got the keys to the weight room, which meant Caleb and I could lift. Nobody else has been coming on Fridays, so the plan was to open the room for lifting only on Monday & Wednesdays. That's not enough for us, so now we're "Happy, Happy, Happy!".

Today is "Legs & Back" for me. I've mentioned before that it's not a workout I love, but I do it, because it's good for me and helps my overall strength. Perhaps I don't love it as much, since my legs & back have always been stronger, much more so than my arms and shoulders. Of course, I don't want a P90X upper body going with a wimpy set of legs. Okay, on to the workout....

Remember that in this workout there are four sets of pull-ups, that you go through twice, but they are interspersed between a variety of exercises for the legs & glutes and other "leggy" muscles.

My legs were a little sore, but otherwise I felt good. I chugged through lunges, pullups, side lunges, back lunges, more pullups, and so on. I changed my technique with the bands during the pull-up stages, by pulling and holding them for two seconds. I had them stretched about seven feet, this after doubling them over the bar for extra stretch. I'm not sure I'm ready for full-on pullups quite yet, so I may need to upgrade to stronger bands.

I focused on good form and had to remind myself again to not go deep during the lunges. Before I knew it the workout was over. I cooled down and then we were gone. I feel it a bit in my knees and quads, but otherwise feel good.

Tomorrow is supposed to be Kenpo, but I'm going to do a bike ride instead. I need to get miles in on my bike for the next month's Century ride (105 miles) on August 1 and then the American Cancer Society ride (35 miles).

Thanks for reading again today and keep working the best you can.

~ Jonathan

Week 6, Day 4 - Relief Comes in the Form of YogaX Again!

2009-07-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

My arms and shoulders were very tight today. Despite my best efforts to put ice on them, massage them and try to stretch them, the tightness continued. I wondered if I would be able to get through Yoga today without hurting them further.

Caleb, son #2, joined me this evening again. He's finding it very helpful to compliment the heavy lifting he does Monday-Wednesday-Friday. He's a starting safety and running back for the local high school and is one of the strongest kids on the team. Flexibility has been an issue, as he continued to lift greater amounts of weights (bench 225lbs, squat 405lbs, etc). He's already seen improvements after doing Yoga the past three times.

We got started and I immediately noticed my right wrist was a little sore. I tried to adjust my positioning during the chatarungas to alleviate what was feeling "tweaky". As time went on through the sun salutations and multiple chatarungas my wrist started to feel a little better and the tightness in my shoulders was met by loosening relief! :-)

We went on and on, and the muscles were awoken, and the sweat began to pour. You would think that like other exercises and workouts that you might sweat less, but not with Yoga. It seems that all that stretching and posing and chatarunga-ing, opens the floodgates of sweat. Tonight my yoga mat got slippery from the sweat and I had to turn it over about halfway through. (Note: I realize it's "too much information", but I figure it's important for you to know, so you don't "freak out" when you also are sweating copious amounts like someone broke the swimming pool in your backyard.)

We made it through the first half and there was sweat relief for Caleb and I when Tony said "take in the fact that you just did that." We moved into the balance poses and that meant less sweating, but more concentration required to do the various poses. In fact, I was reminded again about the "Yoga Belly 7", which is like "Abripper meets Yoga". I like it, but suppose I don't understand how we go through the stretches and poses and then add in "ab work". Oh well, I don't fight it, rather I just follow the program, since it obviously has worked for Tony Horton.

When we came to "Happy Baby", "Child's Pose", and the other relaxation poses were so welcomed. I sit here now, after finishing and my wrist feels better and my shoulder/arm tightness is gone. That's why I encourage you to not skip workouts or shortchange yourself by doing less than you can. It all evens out if you still to the schedule and do the best you can.

Tomorrow is an early wakeup (5:30am PST) to go to the weight room with Caleb. I'll be doing "Legs & Back". I can't wait!!!!!! :-)

Thanks for checking out today's entry and keep working hard yourself. See you here tomorrow!

~ Jonathan

Week 6, Day 3 - OOH AHH - It's "Back & Biceps" Time Again!

2009-07-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

There's nothing we love more than "the burn". We didn't so much about six weeks ago, but then again, we'd mostly forgotten what it was. No more though! Now I can't wait to get to the next day's workout, just after today's is over. Why...because each "burn" compliments the previous days one. That is if you're following the P90X Classic program. The previous two days, as you might recall, were "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps" and "Cardio", so it would make sense to work opposite muscle groups, namely "Back & Biceps". Make sense? Okay, enough yapping about the "why"....let's get to today's "what".

Today was a return to the "WOW! Muscles", the "OOH-LA-LA Muscles", the "little bit of this and a little bit of that" muscles! I love this workout, because it always burns and I always feel growth faster in these muscles than any of the others.

I got up early again with Caleb to be at the weight room by 6am. I got right into my warm up and after some stretching it was time to bring the awe! One note is that I've noticed a little knot in my right shoulder-blade and also some tightness near my right elbow. I've been massaging it and trying to loosen it up. It feels better than it has, but I'll have to monitor it.

There were the pullups, of which I'm still using the blue and green bands together, for about 60lbs of tension or so. I'm also pulling back about seven feel from their attaching point, so it's a great stretch! There were lawnmowers, which I love and I push my weight up to a 65lb dumbbell and felt great. Then there' curls, curls and more curls! Static curls, concentration curls, corkscrew curls, Crouching Cohen curls and more! You're blasting just about every part of your biceps and back during this workout.

I increased my dumbbell weight by about five pounds (for each dumbbell) for each exercise and while there were some struggles, I maintained good form throughout. I'm finding myself getting stronger each workout and even my 'wimpy' right arm is starting to some definition and isn't being left behind. If you struggle, find a weight you can work with. Here are the results for each exercise for this week, as well as the weight increase from week 5):

Wide front pull-ups 13 reps (blue & green bands) (no change)
Lawnmowers 12 reps w/65lb dumbbell (+15lb diff)
Twenty-ones 14 reps (30lbs) & 7 reps (25lbs) (-5lb diff)
One-Arm Cross Body Curls 10 reps @ 30lbs (no change)
Switch Grip Pull-ups 14 reps (blue & green bands) (-2 reps, but held longer)
Elbows-Out Lawnmowers 10 reps @ 65lbs (+15lbs diff)
Standing bicep curls 9 reps @ 35lbs (3 reps, +5lbs)
One-Arms Concent. curls 10 reps @ 30lbs (no diff)
Corn Cob Pull-ups 10 (blue & green bands) (-1 rep, but longer pull)
Reverse Grip Bent-Over Rows 11 reps @ 35lbs (+2 reps, +5lbs)
Open Arm Curls 4 reps @ 30lbs, 5reps @ 25lbs (+1 reps, same weights)
Static Arm Curls 16 reps @ 25lbs (no diff)
Towel Pull-ups 17 reps (blue & green bands) (-3 reps, longer pull)
Congdon Locomotives 40 reps @ 35lbs (no diff)
Crouching Cohen Curls 7 reps @ 25lbs (no diff)
One-Arm Corkscrew Curls 10 reps @30lbs (no diff)
Chin-Ups 15 reps (blue & green bands) (-1 rep, longer pull)
Seated Bent-Over Back Flys 9 reps @ 25lbs (-1 rep)
Curl-Up/Hammer Downs 9 reps @ 30lbs (+1 rep)
Hammer Curls 9 reps @ 35lbs (+ 5lbs)
Max Rep Pull-Ups 16 reps (blue & green)
Superman 4 sets of 10secs (no diff)
In-Out Hammer Curls 4 reps @ 30lbs, 5 reps @ 25lbs (no diff)
Strip-Set Curls 8 reps each @ 35, 30, 25, 20lbs (+1 on reps)

Hopefully that gives you an idea of the increases that can happen in just a week with this program! I'm excited with the changes and I'm only at "Week 6" of a "13 Week Program"!!

I got to the end of the workout and let out a huge BIG X TIME! Now, most of you reading this are way past my fitness level, but for me, it's a great feeling every time I work hard and get through a workout to completion. Call it "My Little Victory Dance"

Thanks for reading this and keep working the best YOU can and forget the rest!

~ Jonathan

Week 6, Day 2 - CardioX Means "Jump Around, Jump, Jump, Jump"

2009-07-08T01:56:00.000-07:00

Nothing can remove the pain from yesterday's "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps" workout faster than CardioX, at least nothing that doesn't involve multiple shots of gin or medication! Thankfully, this day brought us the glorious CardioX. Now, some of you might be young and agile and able to handle Plyometrics, but if you are new to this blog or haven't read every post then let me take the time to remind you that I've replaced Plyo with Cardio. It's in the P90X DVDs and is the recommended path for those who don't want to or can't put unnecessary stress on their joints.

Cardio is the second shortest workout in the P90X catalog, second only to the 17 glorious minutes of "AbripperX" pain. You are taken through snippets of each program in the 44 minutes of the Cardio DVD. I really like it, since it gets my breath banging, but without straining me two days in a row.

Make sure you eat enough in the day before you do Cardio, or you'll bonk! Make sure to loosen up, even if you have to pause the DVD, to finish. Work hard! The work through Cardio continues to be great, so just keep doing it with me, and we'll be great!

I added AbripperX at the end for 17 additional minute of pain-inducing, ab-ripping glory! Of particulaar note is that I got through every exercise, all the reps, and in the same timing as Tony and gang. I was stoked, since the Mason Twists were kicking my butt, but no more!

I feel good here in week 6 and still have a couple of days left before flipping to week 7, which is over halfway done! I'm still standing tall and "bringing it". Will you?

Week 6 Already? It's "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps" Again!!!

2009-07-06T08:21:00.001-07:00

Wow! It's week 6 already? That means it's time for "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps". If you read my entry from last week then you saw the list of exercises and also know that this can be a "killer workout".

I noticed my right shoulder was a little sore, so I knew I needed to be careful with it. I got right into the warmups immediately when we arrived, since I (and my son) didn't want a repeat of the day that it took me over two hours to do a 70 minute workout!

One of the things I like about this workout is the variety of exercises, so it never gets old. This is in fact one of the only workouts that doesn't cycle through the exercises twice. I can also tell you that my chest and shoulders were screaming by the end. The variety of pushups are intense and I even had to finish some of the final reps of most of the pushup exercises on my knees. Amazingly this time I was able to squeeze out some one-armed pushups, despite them being in the final few exercises. Of course to be fair I only got about six in and they were a struggle.

Pushups were better today, but man! Tony Horton is fit! He's crushing those "3-way pushups". I did well, but only got a few of the bonus pushups! One day I'll get there, but for now I'll do what I can.

I found that this week I dropped the weight on some of the exercises, especially those involving my shoulders, while increaing the weights for my triceps. All in all it was fantastic to get this in early and have the rest of the day to recover.

No pictures today, but thanks for reading and be sure to come back tomorrow for CardioX!

~ Jonathan

Week 5, Day 6 - Happy 4th of July! But We Still Have to Work "Legs & Back'

2009-07-05T00:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Days America! As a History major I find it important to celebrate important days in our lives. Independence Day is one of them. I woke up after a great night of sleep and was ready to get to work. Unfortunately, life has a way of stepping in and filling 'workout time" with "Save the day", "Dad need help with this", "I need a ride", and a hundred other requests that need to be dealt with. I returned from one set of requests and came back to another set. By the time I was done with them it was time to leave for the annual 'Fourth of July" picnic. Despite my heart I couldn't get my workout in prior to leaving and I figured that if history was an indication then I wouldn't get back until midnight or later. That concerned me, since I might not get my workout in then. Oh well..

We had a great time at the picnic and I even got to kayak a little on Puget Sound with my daughter. We even had to rescue some other picnic attendees who flipped over their kayak! Thankfully, they were wearing life jackets and held on to the kayak. We had a great time and the cold water felt good, since it was in the mid-80s and sunny.

We blew off some fireworks and then at 4:30 the picnic was over and we left. We returned home and relaxed from the full day. I didn't get anymore "requests", so I closed my eyes and relaxed. I rested for about 30 minutes, but knew that I needed to get "Legs & Back" in.

I took some No-Xplode to get "going" and started the DVD. As I've mentioned previously I struggle some with my knees hurting a little, which do fine during bike rides, but I tend to over-squat on them, until they hurt. I concentrated on not going to full-extension and did what I could and they seemed fine at the end.

It seemed like I did much better this time and my "troublesome" right quad wasn't being "cranky" like it usually is. I was able to complete all the exercises with a slight burn and especially the pull-ups, which I did the alternate way, with my blue and green bands combined. I really stretched them out far and could feel it in my back & shoulder blade muscle area. I'm addicted to 'the burn".

I couldn't do AbRipperX due to time restraints, but will do it Sunday afternoon. Overall I'm pleased with the work so far and even got a number of comments from people at the picnic about my arms, shoulders & back changes. Some of my friends will be starting P90x on Monday, so I encouraged them to stick with it and do the best they could do, which is what I'm doing.

On a side note: my arms started peeling like crazy from the sunburn I got a week ago. Note to self: the only thing dumber than not putting on sunscreen is to have the sunscreen with you AND STILL NOT PUT IT ON! Oh well, lots of aloe vera and time will take care of it.

Sunday is StretchX day, but it's so beautiful I'm going to fit in at least a bike ride and perhaps play some soccer with my boys. Thanks for reading and "Hey, keep bringing it! Because you look fabulous!"

~ Jonathan

Week 5, Day 5 - It's My Birthday, So I Switched

2009-07-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

Friday was supposed to be "Legs & Back" and Saturday "KenpoX". Alas, Friday was my 44th birthday and I decided to switch my workouts, since there were plenty of events planned (and unplanned). I will do "Legs & Back" on Saturday instead.

I woke up to birthday greetings from my kids, my friends, friends on Facebook and the like. I even got a birthday present from "Judi", which was a surprise, but contain things I really wanted.

Anyway, to the day itself. I did my annual "Birthday Bike Ride", which consists of me riding as far and wherever I wanted. I ended up doing just over 30 miles on my Trek, mostly roads & hills. I rode about 16 miles and then stopped for a midpoint break at my favorite coffee shop "Master's Blend" in Everson, WA and had a 12oz Carmel Macchiato. It was such a sunny day and a nice ride near the hills and I had a great view of the mountains in the distance.

I got back home after another 15 miles of great riding and walked in to the kids asking for breakfast. "ALL STOP". Shouldn't they be cooking for me? Well, I figured what better gift to receive than my kid's happiness. So, I whipped together scrambled eggs, sausage & bacon, along with bagels and orange juice. Everyone was full and it was time to relax...for exactly 20 minutes. Then the boys got a call from friends to play soccer. So...we went and played soccer. Now we're not used to dealing with mid-to-upper 80s temperatures, but they happened to fall this day. So we ran and played and sweated and boy, it was hot! After 90s minutes we (me mostly) were spent. We returned home to drink copious amounts of water and relax.

The relaxation lasted for two hours, at which time my daughter wanted to go on a "birthday ride". WAIT...I thought I'd already done that earlier. Guess not, so we rode about 8 miles, with a stop at the local park and river. There were river mud "castles" to be built, water to be enjoyed and just enjoy the sun. After about 30 minutes we got back on our bikes and returned to the car. Oh, and that's where I got my homemade birthday card and a Hershey's chocolate bar, that she bought with her hard-earned money! :-)

A return home at 8pm left me with time to fire up the grill for New York Strips and chicken breasts. They turned out fantastic and were washed down with a beer (Heineken). It was time to turn in after a very long and very fun day!

It's great to have a birthday, since you get to see those who are truly interested and involved in your life. Thanks to all who sent greetings. Thanks from a very humbled man!

See you tomorrow!

~ Jonathan

Week 5, Day 4 - Yoga Again, But With More Guests

2009-07-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Phew! After Wednesday's "Back & Biceps" I desperately needed to do yoga and lo and behold...it came like a great friend! This time I had some additional guests, who hopefully will continue to workout with me. May I re-introduce my older sons, Samuel (17) and Caleb (15 1/2) and now introducing my nine year old daughter Tirzah! TA-DA! They decided to continue on the journey with me and I was so pleased. Note: Samuel and Caleb are both varsity athletes for the local high school and want the yoga to get further stretched for faster speed, less injuries and high jumping. Tirzah wants to do it, since she loves the balance poses and to spend time with me. I'm Jonathan, so enough with the intro's, let's get to the workout.

Summed up, we all sweated, struggled, felt relief, stumbled, but just kept working as hard as we could. The boys felt pain throughout, as did I, but it was good pain from lengthening the muscles via the stretches. I was able to complete all of the moves, including all pre- and post chatarunga pushups. I could feel my hamstring stretches lengthening, so now I can grab the heel of my foot with both hands and almost put my head on my straight leg. I still struggle with the advanced balance poses and don't even attempt the "Crane", since I don't want to break my neck.

It was so cool to workout with three of the four kids, and Joel would have, but didn't feel well. I totally agree with Tony Horton, because I can feel my body responding to the yoga and muscles and pains that were there previously are gone or going away. If you struggle, just keep working, since it will get better. If you want to quit..DON"T, just do what you can and your body will respond.

What are great present for the day before (Thurs) my birthday (Friday, July 3) than to get healthy through P90X AND to do it with my kids.

Take care of you and those close to you.

~ Jonathan

Week 5, Day 3 - New Workout Alert....It's "Back & Biceps" Time

2009-07-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

I love P90X, since your body can never get "used too" a workout schedule, since the workouts change often. After doing the same cycle of workouts for three weeks and then a Recovery Week, I was hoping for something different. Well, if you read my post from Monday then you know that workout was upgraded in a BIG way. Today, is no different, since we're blasting the back and the biceps.

I got up early to take my son to 6am weightlifting and figured I'd get my lifting in there. Note: as we got there I noticed my stomach was cramping, but wasn't sure why. I've been taking a little bit of No-Xplode during heavy lifting sessions to help me recovery and build additional muscle. I'd also eaten a little bit before leaving the house. These were standard for the past couple of weeks, so it seemed strange it would be either of those. Then I realized two things; first I'd eaten some pizza yesterday at a friends house, while helping them doing some work and second, my water intake the past two days was drastically less than normal. I think those two factors led to the stomach cramps, since they slowly disipated as I worked out.

Okay, on to the workout itself. Summed up in four words, IT'S TOUGH, BUT GREAT! Here's the list of exercises I did:

Wide front pull-ups (with pullup bar or bands - I used my blue & green bands for extra resistence. This is a great warmup for what's to come.)
Lawnmowers - good old work for you lats and shoulder muscles.
Twenty-ones
One-arm cross-body curl
Switch grip pull-up - two frontgrip pulls, switch to reverse grip & do two more, rinse & repeat.
Elbows-out lawnmower - just like regular lawnmowers, except you turn dumbbell so it's turned sideways (so back of hand is pointing forward) Pull elbow up and out. OUCH
Standing bicep curl - good, old regular, hard curls!
One-arm concentration curl - one arm at a time, curled up until your bicep is a "bubble", then repeat with other arm. Rinse & repeat.
Corn cob pull-up - no way I can do these, so I do the bands. For those who can it's a pull-up, then push out from bar, pull back, go left, then go right, then down. Rinse & repeat. OUCH!
Reverse grip bent-over row
Open-arm curl- one arm curls
Static arm curl- standard curls where you should be working hard.
Towel pull-up- grip pull-up bar or bands with one hand and grip a towel hanging from the other side. Alternate the towel to the opposite hand after two reps.
Congdon locomotive - lean over with dumbbells, flat back and alternate lift them up then down.
Crouching Cohen curl - these hurt. Lean over, put elbows in crook of each knee, then do curls. These are pure curls where it's all arms.
One-arm corkscrew curl - start with dumbbells down with back of palms facing forward. Now one at a time, curl dumbbell up to a regular curl, then twist it back down. Alternate arms.
Chin-up - standard chin-ups or bands.
Seated bent-0ver back fly - seated on edge of chair, lean over and do back flys. Ensure elbow goes back and not up, otherwise you're exercising the shoulder.
Curl-up/Hammer down - static curl both dumbbells up, then hammer curl down. Repeat.
Hammer curl - standard hammer curls. Should be able to use a bigger weight than in #19.
Max rep pull-up - go as many as you can with pullups or bands.
Supermans - lay on your stomach with arms start in front of you and legs straight. Now go up at high with each as possible. Now hold for count of 10, rest for 5 seconds, then repeat three more times.
In-out hammer curls -curl up, then hammer weight down, then go curl up sides, then hammer down (that's 1) do 15 more times.
Strip-set curl - this is four sets of full-on curls with each set being one lower weighted dumbbells. I did

This is a “no repeat” workout, so each exercise should be performed with a weight that makes the last 3 reps are difficult. Remember as Tony notes in the program: "12 to 15 reps for longer, leaner, and slimmer muscles", "8-10 reps for building mass." I was doing more reps initially in the program, bu now am going to do some "mass building' for this 30-day cycle.

This is a brutal workout, but oh so worth it. Your arms and back will "POP" big time! Keep bring it, keep bringing it, keep bringing it!!

Week 5, Day 2 - CardioX Time Again

2009-07-01T00:45:00.000-07:00

Today was Cardio, which is one of my favorite routines. It's shorter (44 minutes), it's effective and it makes me sweat! All three make for a fabulous workout. I was a little tired from helping my friend scrap "1970s fluffy stuff" off their ceilings. No matter though, I got right in and was able finish all the exercises on Tony's time and with Tony's reps.

Pushups to Chatarunga were easy and I could see real improvement throughout the routine. Of course, I've already done all of the moves, since they are part of other workouts in the P90X repetroire.

Not much to say, except see you tomorrow for "Back & Biceps", yet another new workout in my journey!

~ Jonathan

Week 5, Day 1 - "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps" Oh My!!!!

2009-06-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

It's the start of a new week here (Week 5) and that means it's back to ripping muscles and no better place to return than the chest, the shoulders and the triceps. These are the "show off" or "Hollywood muscles", since they're some of the first muscles people notice. Here is the routine, with some of my comments about how I did.

Slow-Motion 3-in-1 Push-up The 3-in-1 Slow-Motion Push-up is a slow 4-count on the way down, and then a slow 4-count on the way back up. You do that from a wide push-up position, a standard width push-up position, and a military style (hands close to body) push-up position. OUCH! I got my 16 reps and did the "bonus round"

In & Out Shoulder Fly You do a basic front shoulder raise with a dumbbell in each hand, and then immediately doing a lateral (side) raise. One of the things Tony reminds is to pick an appropriate weight to get 8-10 reps (size) or 12-15 (lean). I went with 15lb dumbbells and knocked out 16 reps. I think next time I'm going to upgrade to 20lbs. Using the resistance bands appears to be a great alternative, since the gent on the tape was REALLY working!

Chair Dip Regular chair dips that you've done before, with three options. I went for the foot off the ground and switching every five reps. I knocked out 23 of them and felt significantly stronger than before. WOOT to progress!

Plange Push-up If this is the first time doing Plange Push-ups you might find them a little different. The wild part is you are ripping from a new angle. In essence, you keep your hands very close to your body, right near your rib cage, and you have your fingertips facing out away from your body, rather than forward as in a normal push-up. Do as many as you can. I could only get to 8 and my lower triceps were screaming!

Pike Press Oh sure...more push-up like moves? Next it was Pike Press time! You bend over at the waist, go up on your toes while your hands are on the floor in front of you. As you drop down, you keep your face towards your legs and drop the top of your head towards the floor. Now push back up to starting position. Repeat. I did 5 reps and almost couldn't get off the floor. (Need to work on these)

Side Tri-Rise We're revisiting an exercise we did all the way back in day 3. These are really good and I maxed out my reps.

Lay on your right side, put your right hand on your left shoulder and your left hand near your right armpit. Now, push yourself up with your left arm until it's fully extended. Go to muscle failure on one side, then switch to the other side, reverse the grips and do the same. I was able to get 12 on each side.

Floor Fly Okay, great exercise, but OUCH warning! You place a towel, paper plate, piece of cardboard, or something else that's not breakable, underneath one of your hands. Get into plank position, then slide the "object" hand out before going down into a push-up. You then slide it back, do another push-up, then out for another push-up, etc. Continue to failure. I could only knock out 12 of these, and almost fell flat on my face.

If you need to, continue pushing from your knees. The key is in the last three reps before failure, so do whatever you can to get that burn!

Scarecrow These are fantastic to strengthen your rotar cuffs, but be warned, use a light weight or the bands, so you don't actually injury yourself. Place a dumbbell in each hand, then bring your upper arms up and parallel to the floor, and let your lower arms hang at a 90-degree angle, perpendicular to the floor. Picture a scarecrow and you'll have the general idea. From there, without moving your elbows (at least with minimum movement), you twist the dumbbells all the way up until your palms are facing forward (like you're being held up by a robber), then all the way down again until they are facing backwards. Continue to failure. I got 12 reps with 15lb dumbbells and that was plenty!

Overhead Triceps Extension Hold both dumbbells together and overhead with your arms completely straight, then unhinge your elbows, bringing both dumbbells down behind your head. Lift them both back up to full overhead extension and repeat. Make sure you have a weight that you can control. I suggest starting with less than you think you need and then you can always move up to heavier weights, if you can keep your form. I did 8 reps with 20lb dumbbells.

Two-Twitch Speed Push-up MORE PUSH-UPs? Yep, and I'm gonna love them I swear. These pushups go in two-stages; slow-motion push-ups and then fast push-ups as well. We did 4 fast push-ups (all the way down and all the way up), and then 3 slow-motion push-ups, using the 4-count on the way down and on the way up. Continue to failure. I did 11 of them and it was a struggle for the last few reps.

Do what you can and if you need to take a break OR drop to your knees to finish them.

Y-Press This is like a standard dumbbell overhead press, only you push up at approximately a 45-degree angle overhead, to make a "Y". Again, start with less than you think and if you find you can get 8 reps out easily and keeping your form then move to a heavier weight. I was able to do 12 reps with 20lb dumbbells.

Lying Triceps Extension Start on the floor on your back with 2 dumbbells held up above your ears and arms extended straight up. Now, keeping your elbows in the same position you drop the dumbbells next to your ears, then back up again. DO NOT OVERDO YOUR REPS OR YOU'LL END UP WITH THE DUMBBELLS CRUSHING YOUR HEAD! I did 10 reps with 20lb dumbbells

Side-to-Side Push-up This is a moving pushup where you slide your hands over twice and your feet follow, then you do a pushup. You then slide your hands back the other way twice (with feet following) and do a pushup. The key is that you stay in the plank or spread-out plank the whole time.

You can make this exercise harder by doing an additional push-up in the center position, or make it easier by just moving your hands to the left or right, not your legs. I did 5 regular pushups and then 3 more on my knees to feel the burn.

Pour Fly You do straight arm fly's, coming up from your side to arms parallel. Next you twist your wrist to bring the dumbbells perpendicular to the floor, like your pouring liquid from then, then put them back to parallel to the floor, then move them down to your sides. Rinse and repeat. You don't need a lot of weight on this. I suggest starting with no weight until you get the moves down and then slowly add weight. THESE ARE SOME OF THE TOUGHEST EXERCISES I'VE EVERY DONE. I did 8 reps with 15lb dumbbells and felt them into next week!

Side-Leaning Triceps Extension Sit in a chair and lean on the back of the chair away from the direction that you'll be pressing the dumbbell up overhead, without flaring your elbow. Use less weight than you think you might do when standing. I did 8reps with 15lb dumbbells and all I can say is "OUCH"!

One-Arm Push-up At this point I thought "this is ridiculous, one-arm pushups NOW?" Yep, it's true and it's tough. I was able to get 10 out while on my knees, since my arms and shoulders were burned-out. Tony says the trick to mastering this movement is simply to keep your feet or knees very wide for balance, and to only go down as far as you can while still being able to push yourself back up. You don't have to go all the way down to get a great burn and workout.

Weighted Circle I expect you're feeling it by this point, since I know I was. This exercise is basically doing the arm circles that are normally done during the warm-up sessions, only now you are doing them with dumbbells in your hands. Once again, light weights are called for here, and if you try to go heavy, you'll never last. KEEP YOUR ARMS STRAIGHT OUT AND UP! I did all four sets of 10 using my smaller Green band, just so I could keep good form.

Throw the Bomb You start with the dumbbell in a tricep extension behind your head, then you point forward with the opposite hand, as if you were pointing to a receiver down the field that you were about to throw a football to, then press the dumbbell straight up in the air and slightly ahead (like throwing a football). HOLD ON TO YOUR DUMBBELL, SINCE YOU AREN'T ACTUALLY THROWING IT!!!! I was able to do 11 on each side with 15lb dumbbells.

Clap or Plyo Push-up I know this is my first time through this workout, but this just seems, so wrong! Oh well, get in there and try. There are 2 version of this exercise, and you should try them both to see which is better suited to your present (but growing) level of fitness. The plyo version is basically just pushing yourself up off of the floor when you get to the top part of a standard push-up. The clap version is pushing yourself far enough off of the floor so that you can clap your hands and then get them back underneath you before you face-plant on the floor.

This is a tough exercise, so go to your knees if you need to in order to get out a decent number of repetitions. I did 10 reps on my knees and almost couldn't get up.

Slow-Mo Throw This is very similar to the Scarecrow that you did earlier in this workout, only this time you raise your arms straight out in front of you. From the up position, you then rotate at the elbow to bring the dumbbells back to your ears, then rotate forward to the straight arm position. Drop your arms briefly to your sides, and then repeat. You will work one of the most injury-prone parts of your body and you might feel this later in the day or next morning. Be sure to start with the bands or a light weight. I did 8 reps with 15lb dumbbells.

Front-to-Back Triceps Extension This is a one-arm overhead triceps extension, only the front-to-back portion is thrown in to work the muscles from a slightly different angle. You basically extend the dumbbell up, then drop it down in front of your face, and then extend it up again before dropping it down behind your head. I did 12 reps with 20lb dumbbells with each arm.

One-Arm Balance Push-up Okay, I did six of these and stood up and ballistic stretched my arms, since they were toast. This exercise combines a push-up with the Yoga X one-arm balance pose. You do a standard push-up, then - while still in the up position - roll over to one side while stacking your feet on top of each other. Keep your hips up as high as you can by engaging your core muscles, and raise one arm all the way to the sky. Roll back down into the push-up position, do another push-up, then repeat on the other side.

Fly-Row Press Okay we're down to two exercises left. I can feel the end. The Fly-Row Press actually combines 4 different exercises: the Dumbbell Fly, the Upright Row, the Overhead Dumbbell Press, and the Reverse Curl. You do the fly first, then drop your arms back to your sides before doing the upright row. Without coming out of the up position of the row, drop your elbows and push the dumbbells up overhead, then bring them down and do a reverse curl, ending the movement in the starting position for the next repetition.

Again, pick a smaller weight to begin with, since you want to hold good form for all the moves. You can always move up in weight. I did 8reps with 20lbs dumbbells and then switched and did 4 more reps with 15lb dumbbells.

Dumbbell Cross-Body Blow We've made it! This is the final exercise in this routine, and by this point, you are very, very tired. Grab two dumbbells of a reasonable weight, and then get on your back on the floor. In a pseudo-punching movement, you punch one dumbbell then the other up and across your body (at a 45 degree angle). I did 7 reps with 20lb dumbbells, then switched and did 7 more reps with 15lb dumbbells.

DONE!

After a standard cooldown the workout was done. Let me say, this is the hardest workout I've done in the past five weeks and my chest, shoulders and triceps were screaming by 1/2 through. You need to do this, since you will get stronger and be able to handle the moves. Just keep doing what you can, write it down and keep GOING!

I was very tired after this workout, but I'd forgotten that I was supposed to help a friend scrape old popcorny-like ceilings in his house he just bought. I worked for four hours and my arms were completely roasted! I can type now, but I'm doing it with ice packs on both shoulders.

Thanks for reading this and come back tomorrow for my CardioX writeup.

~ Jonathan

P.S. Shoutout to "M" Keep bringing it and keep looking fabulous!

Thirty Days Down Already? Time for Pictures

2009-06-28T22:34:00.000-07:00

One of the concerns I've had is, "what if I come to the 30-day mark and there's no noticeable changes in the way my body looks?". Well, today was the first chance to see what my body looks like after 30 days of faithfully "Bringing It". Some of my 30-day measurements:

Weight: 219lbs
Hips: 38"
Waist (over belly button) - 39"
Chest: 46"
Left bicep: 15 1/2"
Right bicep: 15 1/8"

I was pleased that my hips and waist went down by 1" each and my chest up by 1". Of course, I'd eaten just before the pictures (dummy), so I expect the hips & waist measurements could have been higher than normal (due to fueling the body). Note to self: wait until AFTER pictures to eat!! The biceps measurements surprised me a little, but I haven't been pressing as much on heavier weights, but that will change over the second thirty days. Now it's time to unveil the 30-day photos:

My only issue was trying to take decent photos, since my boys weren't real excited about taking photos of "dad". Oh well, the photos show definite improvement, size and definition. Too bad it isn't as evident due to my "Hellboy" arms, due to the sunburn over the weekend. Note to self: put on your sunscreen!

Anyway, tomorrow begins "Week 5" and its starts with a new workout, called "Chest, Shoulders & Triceps". I did a quick look at the exercise list and it will be a definite "Bring It" kind of day! See you tomorrow and thanks for following along on the journey.

~ Jonathan

Week 4, Day 7 - Finishing Up Week with StretchX AND a bike ride

2009-06-28T22:14:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day of Week 4, which means "Recovery Week" is almost over. I couldn't resist getting out on such a beautiful day (Sunny & 70), so I decided to add a bike ride to the agenda.

I had a few minor repairs to do on my bike and then set out. I didn't know how far I'd go, rather I decided to just ride and ride for two hours. Well 31 miles and two hours later I was done. I hit some medium grade hills on the way out and caught a break and got a little following wind for the ride back. I felt the best I've felt on a bike, despite not riding very much over the past six months. I attribute this to all the P90X workouts, so there's yet another reason to get in and do it.

Once I got back I still had to do StretchX and take 30-day pictures. I got right into the stretching, since I needed it after the bike ride and I was still warm. I felt strong and good throughout the entire session. I can't stress enough the importance of daily workouts, and hopefully in the order they're scheduled. If you do, and I have, then you will find each workout gets progressively easier to do each more and the max number of reps. I felt like my body was stretched out and hips were looser and more open than a few weeks back. Progress is great!

I was glad I did these two things, since it gave me a little burn, but a way to quickly recover.

Next up was pictures (30-days), but I'll cover them in a separate blog entry

Week 4, Day 6 - YogaX After a Long Day

2009-06-27T23:21:00.000-07:00

Today is the second YogaX of this week and I needed it for sure. I'm still in the "Recvoery Week", but it seems like my body needs the yoga and stretching more than ever. I didn't do yoga until in the evening, after sitting in a "dunk tank" in support of my son's high school football team. I was in the hot sun for 30+ minutes and spend far more time in the water than above it. It was great fun and worth it, but I knew i had to get the workout in.

Yoga was the same as always, but I felt more limber and able to open up the poses much more than ever before.

I finished quickly and effectively and then got ready for seeing our Community Days fireworks show. It was a great ending to the day. Now for some much needed sleep.

Tomorrow will end "Recovery Week" by doing StretchX. Keep workingit and see yo utomorrow.

Week 4, Day 5 = "Core Synergistics"....With My Son!

2009-06-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

Today it was a return to my new favorite "Love/Hate" workout, namely "Core Synergistics". I wrote about this for the first time a few days back, so I won't rehash the exercises.

What I will do is say again, how much I love doing this workout. It seems that there really are muscles in your core area, yet they seemed to have been hibernating for the past fifteen years or so. That is, until now.

My #2 son, Caleb and I were going to lift at the school early this morning, except someone forgot to inform us that the weight-room was only going to be opened on Mondays & Wednesdays during Summer. Oops. >:-(

We turned instead to the Core workout, which I was going to do anyway. We ended up doing in the comfort of the living room, which is convenient and let us get some good cardio and core work!

I cranked the TV on and we got down to business. I found it easier to do the moves this time, perhaps because I knew what was coming and I returned to breathing to block the pain. Note: I'm starting to like the "breathing thing" and it lets me go further than I've previously been in workouts.

Anyway, we chugged along through the various workouts. Caleb noticed his right shoulder hurt a little, likely from the hitting at football camp earlier in the week, so he paced himself throughout and was careful during the pushup sections. I yelled, wailed, breathed, struggled and fought for maximum reps. I won't make the cover of "Handsome Workout Faces" magazine, but I think I'll make it on the "Bringing It As Best as He Can" weekly.

I can feel my core getting stronger, although the definition is showing as much as I'd like, since I still have some more weight in my midsection to lose before the muscles truly appear. Caleb o the other hand is a workout beast and has the abs I'm seeking to find once again.

We worked hard to the end doing all of the various moves, exercises and poses, while sweating up a storm. I was tired, but felt good as we cooled down and then got our recovery drinks. I took a post-workout picture (see side) in honor of our session. Note: It really is nice to workout with someone, since it pushes you to keep going and vice versa. It's also double cool to workout with my kids, since it gives us something healthy to do together. I suggest you find a workout partner to push and encourage you too, as you will with them!

Tomorrow is YogaX which I'll need to do in the morning. I may sneak in some static curls and other arm/shoulder lifts to get the biceps and triceps ripping a little before my 1:00pm turn in the "Sumas Days" Dunk Tank.

Take care and keep working and thanks for reading this! ;-)

~ Jonathan

Non-P90X Post: aka Uncle Jon Brags on His Nephew Kyle

2009-06-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

It can be intimidating to be in a family where your older brothers and nieces & nephews are doing amazing things all the time. Of course, I'm the proud father of amazing kids that exceed what their "Pops" did in his day. Well, just got news that my nephew Kyle Cragle just won a National Title in Double-Mini Trampoline. He's at the Junior Olympics National Championships in California this week. He competed this morning against 30 other elite gymnasts and he finished first! That's not surprising to those who see how hard he trains, how naturally gifted he is to be a gymnast and most importantly his love of performing.

I'm working on getting a website together for him to show off his wares. Of course, this is only the first of untold numbers of National titles he'll have. He has two more competitions (one Saturday and one on Sunday) and I have no doubt he can win both of them too.

What's particularly cool is that he's doing this just weeks before going back to Montreal, Canada to a prestigious circus school. He was the only boy from North America invited last year and is in fact the only one from N.A. going this year. What's amazing is that he's 13 and was competing against 13-18 gymnasts from around the world for the chance to go to the school this year. This National title is just more evidence why he's going! Heady stuff for anyone, but Kyle was born to do this. To you my young nephew we all raise a toast to you, your talent and now to your National Title!!!!

Weeek 4, Day 4 - Can't We Fit in a Little Biking to Go With StretchX?

2009-06-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

On this fourth day of week 4 I'm scheduled to do StretchX, but circumstances led me to include a bike ride too. Due to a house inspection that the prospective buyers of my house had scheduled I needed to be out of my house for three hours today. Therefore, I decided to not waste the chance to add a tiny bit of burn in my day. Of course, that was the thought.....

So I loaded my bike in the car, along with son #2 and the dog (Star, our white mini-schnauzer) and drove to a local elementary school. Caleb stayed and shot the basketball, while Star stayed in her cage in the car. Me, I jumped in my biking gear, climbed on the "Mighty Blue Speedster" (my blue hybrid bike) and headed out for a quick jaunt. It was windy today, with average winds of 12mph and gusts up to 25mph. I quickly figured a route and decided I should head South, into the wind to start. My thought was that I could relax back with the wind at my back for the return. Unfortunately, the winds in the Pacific Northwest swirl and change directions without notice. I ened up about 12 miles out from my starting point when I decided to turn back. Just like that the wind decided I had not had enough of riding into it, so it switched....back into my face. ARGGGGG! Without another choice I began pedaling and pedaling....and pedaling.

I tooking a little detour that put me in a chute of trees, which actually provided some wind-break. This let me relax a little, while still chugging along. Note to self: "that's why you ride with others....so you get to draft some". I made my way back toward town and after few more turns I was about 90% to my destination when the wind suddenly became downwind. I used this chance to crank up my grears to their maximum and powered my way through three medium hills and back to the school.

I felt the burn for about 90% of the ride, especially when I did some "blow the lungs & legs" anaerobic sprints. I was glad for the burn, which returned like an old friend to greet me. Of course, the wimp in me would prefer a little less wind (actually no wind), but who am I to tell the wind what to do?

Update: I never got to StretchX last night. After the bike ride I did some basic ballistic stretches and then some static stretches. I decided that my bike ride would serve as my workout and that would have to be that.

I'm going to do StretchX shortly, which is good, since my quads & calves got a good workout.

StretchX is the same as a few days ago, so I won't re-write the same comments. I'll simply say that I'm glad for the chance to stretch with Tony & gang, especially after this bike ride.

Take care and see you tomorrow, which just happens to be session 2 this week of "Core Synergistics".

~ Jonathan

Week 4, Day 3 - KenpoX Again?...Really?

2009-06-24T21:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, perhaps it's the length of the program so far or just the fact that I don't find the KenpoX workout particularly challenging or exciting. I committed to following the P90X Classic program consistently and faithfully. I've given each workout the opportunity to wow me, shock me, challenge me, break me or excite me. Each one has not failed to elicit one or more of these emotions and responses. All that is except for KenpoX. Not every workout can be the King or Queen or Emperor of the set, but KenpoX is in it's own class. The workout might be good for some folks and perhaps even in a different DVD series. AS for me I need to feel like I didn't just waste 55 minutes of my day, yet that's exactly how I've felt about KenpoX for weeks.

I noticed after the first time I did the workout and the feeling nagged me. Finally, tonight I couldn't take it. I exploded in mock rage at Tony & gang for wasting my time. I did the workout, but I stepped it up a notch. I needed the burn or I needed to relax (like StretchX and Yoga X), but instead I got a lukewarm workout of mock punching and kicking.

If you've followed my blog you know that I am upbeat about the P90X workout program as a whole, but KenpoX is the odd-man out of the 12 DVDs. I'm considering doing Cardio in the place of Kenpo, but will probably continue to be faithful to the commitment I made at the beginning. After the initial 90 days though I'm gonna have to reconsider what to replace KenpoX with.

I finished the workout with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. Oh well, a recovery drink and sleep tonight might straighten out my attitude. That and the fact that it's StretchX tomorrow AND NOT KENPO!!!!!!

Three days from Dunk Tank showing and letting people in my small community see my 30 day progress. I might need to fit in two quick AbripperX sessions, despite it being recovery week. Can never have too ripped of abs...we'll see.

Week 4, Day 2 (Core Synergistics): aka "Uhhh, World We Have "Burn" Again!!!"

2009-06-23T16:56:00.001-07:00

Today was my first experience with the Core Synergistics workout, so I was wondering what we'd do on this "Recovery Week". Let me tell you, as the title suggests, this is a one-hour muscles burning, heart-pumping, heavy breathing, GOOD TIME. The burn was back and I have to give this the title of "most fun I've had almost hyperventilating workout!". If I hurt yesterday, it wasn't evident as we did a wide-range of exercises that got the heart-rate going almost through the roof. Note: also up-front...I had to pause a couple of times between exercises, since my heart was moving so fast I thought it might pop out of my chest! Good times! :-) Anyway, read on for details on the exercises and workout. LONG ENTRY ALERT (you've been warned)

The Start: As with all the workouts you begin with a warmup to get the heart pumping and the blood flowing and the sweat starting to bead. First, it's some static stretching including:

gentle neck stretches (right and left) for 60 seconds total
wide hand/elbows wide chest stretches (love these)
Topas stretches (love these too)
high hand yoga side stretches on both sides.

Next it's a little ballistic stretching (love-self arm stretches, high hands, then behind you) To get the sweat flowing it's time for:

High knee marching
Wide & high knee marching
High knee running
Wide & high knee running
Knees down, heels up running
Partial jumping jacks (elbows flared up to shoulders then down while feet do normal jacks)
Straight arm lunge run in place

Then it's stretch time:

Hamstring stretchs (two foot, the one foot forward, then other foot)
One foot Quad Stretch (each leg, one at a time)

The tip of the day Tony gave was to "engage the core throughout each exercise". That's what this workout is for...engaging the core muscles. On to the workout.....

The Workout

Stacked foot/Staggered Hands pushup - One hand forward, one back, while one foot is stacked on top of the other--do 5 pushups and switch your hands & foot that's stacked, until you can't do anymore. I got a total of 25 in and that was my threshold.

BananaRoll -Start on back with legs and arms extended 6-12 inches off floor-hold for 5, roll onto left side hold for 5, roll onto back hold for 5, roll onto right side hold for 5, roll to front...continue cycle for a total of two minutes!!!!!! Note: hands, elbows and feet stay off ground the entire time.

Leaning Crescent Lunges -Lunge forward at 45 degree angle while extending your arms in one straight line with your back leg, while holding dumbells. Push back up straight and switch legs. Do 25 total reps.

Squat run - Squat position with one leg in front, holding dumbells then moving your arms back and forth like you are running as fast as you can for 30 seconds. Switch feet and do it again for 30 seconds. Note: do this with 12lbs or less. You can even do it with no weight to get the burn. I started with 20lbs & after about 10 seconds finished with no weights. OUCH.

Sphinx Pushups -Rest on forearms elbows under shoulders with hands straight ahead. Press up off forearms into pushup until arms are straight. I got about six of these and my lats were burning. Whew!

Bow to Boat -5 seconds in bow then transition into Boat for 5 seconds. Rinse & repeat for two minutes. I was sweating and shaking like a rabid dog by the end of the time.

Low lateral skaters -Feet spread apart, then do a deep side lunge and slowly shift side to side while lifting your straight leg at the end of the movement. Alternate legs for one minute. These hurt the worst of anything and I had to keep by fingertips on the ground the whole time & only got a little toe-tap in.

Lunge and Reach -With weight or band in both hands reach down to the side of your front leg as if you are lifting something off of the floor, then reach up and twist up high to the opposite side like you putting the weight or band on the shelf. You do this move for 30 seconds on each side.

Water Break: I actually had to take a 90-second break after we finished, since my heart was thumping.

Prison Cell Pushup - From standing bend forward and go into plank do a pushup, then bring your right knee in and out, do another pushup, bring left knee in and out, then do another pushup, do third pushup and jump or step back to standing. Do this to failure. I got to eight full ones and then did the alternate move where I skipped the third pushup. I finished with ten total.

Side hip raise -You lie on your side resting on the forearm closest to the floor. Now, lift hips up off of the floor and lower them for 35 seconds. You switch sides and do another 35 seconds worth. I got to 19 on each side and my core and lats were scorched! Key to these is to keep your hips up and pushing forward...don't let the buns sag.

Squat X press -Holding weights or bands (I suggest bands or very small weights (no more than 12lbs dumbbells) do squats then push up into a wide shoulder press, so that you form an "X" at the top. Do 30 reps total. I started with 20lbs thinking I was ripped...didn't follow my suggestion and I quickly switched to using the bands, since I didn't have smaller weights.

Note: At this point I almost hit a wall. I had to really fight to not cash it in. Thankfully the Yoga breathing helped me to clear my mind and get back into the game. DON'T EVER GIVE UP...DO WHAT YOU CAN AND KEEP GOING!!!!!

Plank to Chatarunga run-Go into plank then run your knees in toward your hands for 10 seconds then go down to a chatarunga pose and try to "run" your knees to your hands while hovering (note: I did this once and was feeling it big time) Go back into plank and run for 10 seconds again. I chose to skip the chatarunga mode and did the alternate method of staying in plank and running. Do for a total of one minute.

Walking Pushups -You need a carpet or mat for this. Don't do on hardwood floors!!! You start in plank walk your hands and feet forward, then while staying in plank you "walk" forward for four counts and then back for four counts. Repeat for a total of one minute.

Superman/Banana -Alternating Superman (on stomach with hands & knees off floor) and then switch to Banana (on back with arms straight & backwards over head and off floor & legs straight & off floor) Alternate on Tony's count for one minute.

Program note: Okay my core and arms were burning agian and my heart was ROARING, so I took another 60-second break and got some water. WOW...feeling ripped, but good. Recovery Week my eye. LOL

Lunge-Kickback-Curl and Press -Tough to explain, but this works your entire body and you don't need much weight to feel it. You do 20 reps and your body wails and cries, but you keep going. I did.....

Towel Hopping - put a towel down in the middle of your mat and you jump over it side-to-side OR you can jump step over to minimize the impact on your knees. I did the latter. DO this for one full minute and feel the joy!

Regular Water Break - WOOT! I love these breaks. Towel off, get water, keep moving and know that you only have ten minutes left. I didn't think about it, since it would get my focus off working hard.

Reach High and Under Pushups -You do a standard pushup then go into a sideplank, then you reach under your core with your free hand, then go back into sideplank, then back into standard pushup. You repeat these slowly for a minute. These are very tough. I did six and my core finally relented and quite crying about the pain.

Steam Engine -These are standing knee-to-opposite elbow crunches- do 50 reps of increasing speed. This is a core exercise, but also a serious cardio exercise. I got through just fine, albeit sort of winded! ChooChoo!

Dreya Roll -From standing you carefull roll backwards onto your back, kick your legs straight up in the air, then roll forward, push off your hands and come back up to standing again. I had to concentrate on using my foward momentum and push off my hands to get back up up to standing. Of course, I just had to fall back on my butt the first time before I learned. :-/

"Fork-in-the-road Announcement" - this is the point where Tony announced that this was the end of the regular workout. It was time to either do the "Bonus round" or move forward to the "Cooldown". Being a glutton for punishment and knowing I needed core work before this weekends "Dunk Tank" I went for the "Bonus Round"

Bonus Round.......

Plank to Chaturanga Iso -Start in plank and hold for 10 seconds, then go into chaturanga and hold for 10 seconds. Rinse & repeat for a total of one minute. I found plank was easy, but I got the major shakes during the chataranga move and had to fight to keep good form when pushing back up to plank. My bicep veins were bulging, which meant I was going to POP or I was getting a great workout!

Halfback -These are high-knee, 45-degree steps like you're going through big tires. DO right, left, right, left and then high knee jog backwards for six steps. Repeat for total of one minute.

Table dip/Leg raise -Start in a table (yoga position). Now you're supposed to raise one leg in the air keeping your hips up, then do tricep dips changing after 5 reps for a total of 60 seconds. Unfortunately, my hamstrings in both legs started to cramp after about six with each leg up. I lowered my leg and got three more on each side.

The Cooldown - The cooldown is always the best waypoint, since it means you made it through the workout and you get to cool your body down from 50 minutes of agonizing good work. After going through some chest stretches, ballistic arms stretches, "pot stirrers", hamstring stretches (including downward dog hammie stretches), cat stretches, Kenpo Quad stretch, and glute stretches (ahhh). I WAS DONE!! I raced to the fridge to get my much-need Recovery drink and drank it like thirsty man finding an oasis!

Verdict: - this workout just became my favorite Love/Hate workout! It worked the core certainly, but your entire body is engaged. Your heart is racing, you're muscles are working, the sweat is pouring and you wonder why you ever complained about YogaX! I love this workout, since it challenged me like no other. I'm actually glad that I get to do this again this week, despite knowing the good pain that will be coming. Don't avoid this workout. Get in there and do your best, knowing that you will be the envy of every person who chooses to NOT do it! FIVE HUGE STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Week 4, Day 1 - We Made It to Recovery Week & YogaX!!

2009-06-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

Note: I was so tired, as you'll read, from this workout that I wrote it up, but clicked "Save Now" rather than "Publish". Therefore, the publish date shows Tuesday, but the workout and writeup were for Monday. Sorry, but that's how good this stuff is...makes you forget the button's you're clicking... :-)
________________

As I mentioned in my previous posting Week 4 is a Recovery Week, at least it's supposed to be (more about that later). The week consists of doing cardio, yoga, stretching, kenpo, which lets your muscles repair from the lifting portions and it helps continue to burn fat. On one hand I was looking forward to the break for my muscles, but on the other hand I was itching for "the burn" that I got during the lifting sections the first three weeks.

On to the YogaX workout, which I won't rehash in detail. Before I began I felt a little sore in my right shoulder blade area and my right hamstring. I also should note that my water intake was less the past few days than normal, which might be a factor in the soreness.

I got started and immediately with the sun salutations I had a quick doubt about whether I would survive the workout. Sore muscles were waking up, little "knicks"and aches roared to the surface and the first chatarunga was difficult. My mind raced with "oh no, not after three hard weeks am I'm left with going backwards am I?". I kept struggling and fighting through the initial moves. Then Tony, the leader, said "clear your mind of what you have to do or anything else and just breathe". While the moves hurt and the muscles screamed and burned, my mind went quiet and I began to focus on just breathing. Deep inhale and slowly exhale during each move. Soon I began to relax and was breathing in the same rhythm as Tony & gang.

As I went through the various poses I struggled for balance, I felt the pain, I even stumbled a couple of times, BUT I kept going! I can't encourage enough to anyone who is reading this and doing the program to KEEP GOING, DON'T STOP, TAKE BREAKS, BUT JUST KEEP DOING YOUR BEST and corny as it sounds FORGET THE REST! This was the first time the past month that I really had to focus in on this statement and it served me well.

One thing that was apparent was that having a partner(s) to workout with like I did with my sons last week makes it easier, since you have others going through the session and maybe even the pain you are. Unfortunately, both boys are off at football camp and heading to Mexico for a project respectively, so I did my workout alone. Note: if you can workout with others it is easier, AS LONG as they are committed like you!

I got to the end of the first stretching pose section (43 minutes into the workout) and was so relieved. I felt good, but there it was definitely a relaxed fatigue. Note to self: you have to eat, which I didn't as well today (Monday). Next were the balance poses and while I didn't struggle as much they still forced me to clear my brain and breathe. Note: in all my years of sports & exercise I always heard the "Breathe" mantra, but never took it to heart, since I could do the moves or techniques without thinking about....or so I thought. I wonder how much better I would have performed if I'd learned to just breathe.....

As the program wound down we came to one of my favorite sections of P90X, which is "Child's Pose", "Corpse Pose (Shavasana), "Laying side relaxation pose" and "Sitting pose". When the end came my muscles felt a bit "edgy", but I noticed a more relaxed body and mind.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I thought this was a Recovery Week, which I thought would be easy. The reality is that this was one of the most difficult workouts I'd experienced, which surprises me, since it was yoga. Yet, I also realize now that yoga is truly one of the most difficult and beneficial programs you can do for your health. Those who make fun of it, have never done it. I know I fell into that category previously, but never again.

For those that are reading this and are doing YogaX.....keep going, don't stop, do what you can and just keep coming back.

For those that are skipping or feel like you don't need the yoga workout......"you're wrong, you're wrong, you're so, so wrong!" Take one day, put the YogaX DVD in and just try it. You've got nothing too lose, except a short period of time, BUT the lifetime benefits you'll find are so worth it!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is Core Synergistics, which will be the first time for me to do that workout. From what I can tell it's going to be a combination of cardio, squats, pushups and other good old clean fun! I'll write it up after I finish on Tuesday.

That's all I've got for now, but just keep pressing the "Play" button and "Bring it!".

Yours in health,

~ Jonathan

Week 3, Day 7 - We End This Week With StretchX.....Ohhh..Ahhh

2009-06-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Note: I'm writing this on Monday, since I forgot to do it on Sunday after my StretchX workout. Therefore, "today" refers to Sunday and not the day this was written on. Thanks.

This is the end of week three, which means two things; today is StretchX again AND next week begins a "Recovery Week". I'll write about the former first, then explain the latter.

When I started the P90X program I didn't understand the need for an hour of nothing, but stretching. I figured I wouldn't need it, but would follow the program anyway, at least for a few times. Fast forward to today and I can confidently say, "everyone needs to do the StretchX". You're body gets worked and even a little "beat-up" and StretchX lets you work out the soreness and kinks in your muscles. Trust me, you'll be so glad you do it.

I was tempted to be lazy and skip, despite my advice above, but in the end I did the entire routine. Again, I was so glad I did, since my hips and shoulders loosened up and the knots in my legs dissipated. Sometimes the stretching can seem like work, rather than relaxing, but the relaxation comes when you're done. Another thing I noticed was my desire to get right back into lifting, since I was loose AND because I craved the "burn" that comes with the hard workouts. Of course, I relented, since a down day is critical to get ready for the upcoming week. Resist the urge to do anything except stretch and relax after each StretchX session.

Also, I can't stress enough the importance of a yoga mat and yoga blocks. You can pickup up each for $10 each at Walmart or other stores. (Note: the yoga blocks come in a set of two for $10). You don't need anything fancy, but it's so much easier to do all of the workouts on a mat, including yoga and stretchX.

Week 4 begins tomorrow and that means a change in the program for this week. Instead of the heavy lifting, this week will be a "Recovery Week", which has a purpose too. After three hard weeks of lifting and intensity on your entire body it's time for a week for your muscles to recover, while still doing core, yoga, kenpo and stretching. It's time to continue buring the sheets of fat and this week lets you do this, while not tearing muscle. Note: this is the cycle for the 90 days; three weeks of cycled intense workouts then one week of recovery.

Tomorrow (Monday) is YogaX, which seems interesting after just doing StretchX, but hey, who am I to argue? More about this tomorrow.

I will post some pictures following week 4. It's a great thing I'm doing this workout, since I was "volunteered" to sit in the "Dunk Tank" next Saturday to help raise money for my son's high school football team. I wouldn't have done it a month ago, but am actually looking forward to it now.

Keep showing up each day for your workouts (even when you don't feel like it), keep working hard, and enjoy the changes that are happening. You, as I will likely be sore early on and wonder if it's worth it, but if you keep showing up it will get better. TRUST ME!

Take care of you!

~ Jonathan

Day 6 = KenpoX + A Bonus Workout

2009-06-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

It's day 6 of Week 3, which means it's time for KenpoX again. Some people might think this redundancy of workouts would get monotonous, but it in fact lets you do workouts that you know, but also confuse your muscles with their variety. I got up and decided to get the workout early. I won't rewrite the workout that is the same as previous weeks, but I will say that while it was intense, it wasn't intense enough for me this time.

So after the workout and cooldown, I threw on my biking clothes and went for a ride. Normally, I'd have a route settled on, but today I decided to just ride until I was tired or an hour-and-a-half passed. Well the latter was what led me home. I figure I got about 25 miles in during that time, which was a pretty good pace. Actually, it was a good pace, since I had to ride my Trek400 mountain bike, since my road bike was in the shop. I felt good, got some good strong riding in that burned my quads and still had energy to get home.

Things continue to go well and I'm glad to make it this far. Tomorrow is StretchX, which is a down-day where I'll do stretching like previous weeks "Day 7's".

That's all for now. Take care and see you tomorrow.

~ Jonathan

Week 3, Day 5 - Means It's "Legs & Back" Time Again!

2009-06-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

Today was a little different than my normal workout days, since I had to get up with my son and drive him to his high school to meet the bus for their annual football camp. What's different is that wakeup time was 4:15am. Is there life at that time? Needless to say, there is and we got his stuff in the car and headed to the school. Well, the show time and the time everyone started to arrive was actually about 30-45 minutes. The coaches got there first and my son got his gear loaded. I headed in the school to knockout my "Legs & Back" workout. No better time than early to get it over with.

It was eerily quiet, since I'm normally working out surrounded by varsity football players doing their squats, lunges, etc. Not today, since they were all leaving for the week.

I gathered my weights and stuff and got right into the warmup phase. This workout "owned" me last week and my knees were very sore. I have a feeling it was because I was squatting too deep and putting unnecessary stress on my knee joints. I determined to go less low and focus on good form without hurting knees.

I decided to use the blue heavy band instead of pull-ups and really stretch out out for maximum tension. I got right into the workout and found that I felt about 80%, mainly because my outer thigh on my right leg felt cramped. I stretched and decided to not push for maximum extension on the squats. I felt like I was doing less, but was glad to hear Tony's reminder to do what you can if you have bad knees or just sore legs..his tip of the day was "do what you can and don't hurt yourself!"

Here's what the workout looks like:

Balance Lunges balance your back foot on a chair or bench and do lunge squats over the other foot. 25 reps of pure joy and pain, then rinse and repeat with the other leg.

Reverse Grip Chin-ups I used the blue band and stretched it back about six feet. I had it connected to the top of one of the bench-press stations at the local high school, which I thought was plenty heavy. Safety hazard issue: You have to make sure it's sturdy, which I didn't and when I started to the kneel-down stretches with the band I pulled the metal structure to a 45 degree angle and almost toppled it on myself. Tip of the year: don't pull metal structures on your head. Just make sure you band is on an area that won't move! Anyway, I did 15 & 19 reps respectively during the two times through on this. I really felt the burn in my lats and upper back muscles.

Calf-raise Squats As the name implies, you squat down, then come up on the balls of your feet. You can use weights or not. I used 25lb dumbbells.

Wide Front Pull-ups I did 15 & 17 reps with the band. Wow, the further the band is stretched and the more you lean into it (I was at a 45 degree angle on my knees) the more you feel the burn. Starting to like the pleasurable pain and can feel my back getting stronger!

Super Skaters In essence you act like your a speed skater by balancing on one leg and thrusting the other leg back like your skating. The key is to get low, low, low for maximum burnage. I felt these in each leg about 1/2 way through, but made it for all the reps.

Closed Grip Overhand Pull-ups I did 19 reps each time, so I might need to double-up on some bands to get a better burn.

Wall Squats (aka Iron Chair) I call these the "You can't be serious, why not just sit in a regular chair" exercise) It's a simple exercise actually. All you do is put your back against the wall then squat down so that your quadriceps are parallel to the ground, then hold that position...for 15-30 second intervals. Tony gives us a little back by letting us slide up the wall a few inches, for a short 5 second break, then back to the "burning chair". Your legs will burn, but this is a precursor for what's coming.

2nd cycle of Reverse Grip Chin-ups

Step Back Lunges These are lunges, that instead of stepping forward, you step backwards with one of your legs. You can do them with or without weights. I chose 25lb dumbbells. I got quite deep on these, but not to "thigh parallel", so as to save my knees.

2nd Cycle of Wide Front Pull-ups

Alternating Side Lunges Same as other lunges, except you do them to the side, then push back up.

2nd Cycle of CLosed Grip Overhand Pull-ups

Single Leg Wall Squats Okay, these have to be worse than getting hot sauce in your eyes. They hurt and there's just no way to candy coat them. These are just like the previous Wall Squarts that burned our quads. Oops, not exactly like them, since you get into the "chair" and then lift one leg up parallel to the ground AND straight legged. You do each leg for 15 seconds and then switch for a total of two searing, torturing, agonizing minutes.

Deadlift Squats similar to the "Step Back Lunge", but instead of putting your foot on the ground, you instead touch your hand to the floor while putting your back foot out and off the floor. It takes a lot of balance and I fell out about five times. Ouch the legs are starting to hurt.

Three-way Lunge with a Two-Kick Option These were created of sorts by Drea Webber, one of ladies on the DVD> You lunge sideways, then kick your foot up, then lunge at a 45 degree angle then kick your foot up, then lung forward and then kick your foot up. You do this for ten reps, each group of side/45/front is a rep, with each leg.

Sneaky Lunges Stay on your toes and do normal forward lunges. But the key is to stay on the toes of both feet and don't let your heels touch the floor. You do ten reps with each leg.

Chair Salutations This is a Yoga move, which you can Google for a video of. It's tough to keep the arms up, while crouching low with you butt and leaning forward. This has an ouch factor of 8 out of 10.

Toe Roll Iso-Lunges Start with a deep lunge, with a straight back leg and on the toe. Now lunge forward and back on the front foot. The key is move backward past the ankle, then forward but NOT past the toes. You do this while staying in the lunge position. 16 reps with each leg.

Groucho Walk You squat down with wide feet and like Groucho you move forward with each leg; four forward then four backwards. Your quads should be parallel to the floor if you can to maximize the burn and benefits.

Calf Raises You can do these with weights or not. I chose 25lb dumbbells. You do toe raises in three groups; toes pointed out, toes pointed forward and toes pointed in. You do 15 slow toe raises and then 10 fast, explosive ones for 25 reps per group. You might feel them, of which I didn't as much, since I've done toe raises back to my high school basketball days.

80/20 Cyber-speed Squats - The are like catching a basketball in front of you, except 80% of your weight on on one foot. These are good almost ending to the workout and I felt it in my glutes.

2nd Cycle of Switch Grip Pull-ups and you are DONE, except for the cooldown.

Here are some pictures from the workout today.

calf raises 80/20 Seaver squats

I did the cooldown, which was fabulous and which I've written about before. I gathered my stuff and stopped long enough for a post-workout picture. Sorry, maybe vain, but wanted to show the joy on my face after finishing! Of course, I'm not done, since I still have to do my 17-minutes of AbripperX. I'm starting to like it though!

Keep working it, keep working it, keep working it!

See ya'll tomorrow (which is KenpoX)

~ Jonathan

Week 3, Day 4 = YogaX, this Time With "Guests"

2009-06-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

Today was a red-letter day in my P90X workouts, since it was the first time that my oldest two sons, Samuel and Caleb, chose to workout with me. Of course, they chose likely the toughest of the workouts, which is YogaX. Now, just a day ago these sons of mine were having a good laugh with their friends about their dad doing yoga. "Real men don't do yoga", "do you wear a leotard with your yoga?", "don't only women do yoga?". Mind you, I believe I had similar thoughts about a month ago, but I knew what was coming, they didn't. I should note that both of my boys are varsity starters in a variety of sports, including football and soccer. They take good care of themselves and workout regularly three to four times a week. Again though, yoga is something you can't relate too until you've done it.

So we got right into the workout. Fortunately, we closed all the windows in the downstairs, so that we could keep warm and a good sweat going. The boys and I began the same routine as Week 1 & Week 2. We did warmups to prepare our bodies for the peaceful assault of stretching, reaching, twisting and good agony we were about to endure.

We began with the standard variety of poses including “Runners Pose,” “Crescent Pose,” and all sorts of variations to the “Warrior Poses”. As we went into our third set of chuntarungas and down into upward dog, then into "Downward Dog", then into the pose the sweat began trickling for all of us. Soon I could hear my son ask, "we're doing this AGAIN?" I said, "keep working, we'll need it for the upcoming poses". When we hit the “Standing Splits” and “Half Moon to Twisting Half Moon” poses all of our bodies were "raining sweat". What was nice was the guys kept working and that inspired me to keep pushing myself further too. When we finished the first half of the workout I asked how they felt and they both said "agonizing, sore, but good". Makes a dad proud!

We moved on to the “Balance Postures" section, which include “Tree,” “Royal Dancer,” and “Standing Leg Extension.” I was able to balance and hold these poses much better than the first two weeks and I could see how my boys struggled with the same stuff I did last week. I was glad that we didn't wipe out each other when we fell out of the poses. Something we have to be conscious of, otherwise someone will get hurt!

What's interesting is that one of my sons stopped doing yoga when his younger sister and her friend showed up. He wouldn't continue until they left the room. Caleb just continued on without a care in the world. We did frog, plough, and plough to shoulder plough. Unfortuantely, Caleb overextended himself and felt a little pop near the base of his neck. We stopped long enough for me to check him and when I knew he was okay we continued. The warning here is to NOT OVER EXTEND. Take care of your neck.

When we got to “Yoga Belly” we all pushed each other to "get up", in other words our legs and shoulders. It hurts, but feels so great to get strong abs. The old saying is true "you don't nothing good for free!". When we hit the "5 minutes left" I told them "Congrats boys, we get to cooldown!" The relief on their faces was priceless. Unfortunately they banned cameras in the room, so I couldn't capture it, but trust me they were happily relieved! We cooled down like Week 1 & 2 and we all loved the relaxation on our backs, sides and ended with us sitting cross-legged and exhaling loudly to massage our nervous systems. The DVD ended and there was a contented exhale from all three of us. It was so cool for me to workout with my sons and I'm hoping they'll follow through on their expressed desire to continue. We all were tired, as I knew Yoga makes you, but also we felt fantastic!

I can't wish strongly enough for you to join us on our P90X journey and get someone close to you to do the workouts with you. Tony Horton, the leader says "if I could only do one workout for the rest of my life, it would be "YogaX". I heartily agree and this prepares me for tomorrows workout, which is "Legs & Back".

Thanks for following my journey and week 3 is almost over. What's amazing is that others already see big changes in my body, including comments from my son's friends of "wow, look at your dad's ripped arms". Little do they know that this is a full body program, but they'll see when I enter the "Dunk Tank" in about a week! Keep up the hard work and let me know how you're doing!

~ Jonathan

Week 3, Day 3 (part deux) - AbripperX (I hate it, yet I love it)

2009-06-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

Lest I forget, I had to still do AbripperX for today. I used to HATE, HATE, HATE this workout, since I had to take breaks after every exercise. I longed for the time that I could do the entire 17 minutes without a break and at Tony Horton pace.

I had a little break of time, so I thought "what better time to rip the abs than now?". I'm glad I did, since it would let me burn the abs to go with the burned shoulders & arms from this morning.

Today was the best ab day I've had since I started three weeks ago. My abs wouldn't scream at me before, no they would simply quit working. Previously I struggled with the first three moves, since my abs wanted to let me fall backwards into a "resting" position. Today I was able to go at pace through the first three moves. I did struggle with "Crunchy Frogs", but did so much better than previous times. I know I'm getting strong, so I'll be the "Crunchy Frog King" in the future. For now, I was glad to get through just a few reps short of Tony & gang.

I felt good through the Fifer Scisscors, albeit tortured legs. Note: I need to get my feet up higher and pointed backwards, rather than the 50 degree angle they're at now. Regardless, I got through everything just fine.

I was concerned about Mason Twists, since they continue to be the "burr in my exercise saddle". Today though I knocked about twenty with my feet up before having to take a three rep break. I finished with another 20 and then struggled to get through five of the 10 bonus twists.

A quick cooldown, including my favorite, Child's Pose, and we were done.

My recommendation is to do what you can and just keep driving. Don't stop, take breaks, but continue to strive for numbers and good form. Eventually, like me, you'll start to see improvements.

For now, my workout day is done and it's recovery drink time!

Keeping X-ing!

~ Jonathan

Week 3, Day 3 "Shoulders & Arms" - for real this time

2009-06-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

Today is the regularly scheduled day for "Shoulders & Arms". Unless of course you made a major bone-head move like I did a few days ago andl wrote the wrong information. That's in the past and it was time to et the shoulders and arms burn!

Today I went to the high school weight room with my son, so I had access to a wider range of dumbbells than just the one set of 20lb dumbbells I have at home. I felt like this would give me a better workout and let me adjust the weights I was using up and down, based on me I decided to really try to extend myself and increased the weights I was using from 20lbs to 30lbs, 25lbs and even a decrease to 15lbs for one exercise. The biceps work I found I could almost always use the 30lb dumbbells and get the 9-10 hard reps. In the tricep exercises I used either 25lbs, 20lb or as mentioned early 15lbs. The weight increase led to hard work and therefore a bigger burn.

I felt great throughout, although I think I gave a scare to some ladies who were walking around the school. I was pushing hard, while wearing my iPod. A few otherworldly grunts, groans and yells and I think they quickly rushed out of the weightroom! :-)

I decided to drop the weight I was using for Crouching Cohen Curls to 15lbs each, the first time through. It let my arms acclimate to the move. The second time I moved back up to 20lbs and it felt much better and easier, while still getting a good muscle burn.

I did straight leg "Chair Dips" and was able to knockout 27 and 25 reps respectively. I probably could have done more, but time ran out on the video for that exercise and I wanted to keep moving. For the first time I was able to do all the exercises with dumbbells and didn't have to rely on the bands. Hoping that means I'm getting stronger.

Here are some of the numbers from the workout (first number is # of reps the first time through, & second number is the second time. Weight number is amount of each dumbbell):

Alternating Shoulder Presses - 11 & 9 - both using 30lb dumbbells

In & Out Bicep Curls - 14 & 16 - using 30lbs

Two-Arm Tricep Kickbacks - 9 & 9 - using 25lbs

Deep Swimmer's Presses - 10 & 8 - using 25lbs

Full Supination Concentration Curls - 9 & ll (each side) - using 25lbs

Chair Dips - 27 & 25

Upright Rows - 8 & 9 - using 30lbs

Static Arm Curls - 8 each side using 25lbs, 8 each side using 20lbs

Flip-Grip Twist Tricep Kickbacks - 10 & 8 - using 15lbs

Two-Angle Shoulder Flys - 16 & 16 - using 20lbs

Crouching Cohen Curls - 12 using 15lbs, 10 using 20lbs

Lying Down Tricep Extensions -12 & 11 - using 25lbs

Side Tri-Rises - 16 on each side

All of these are increases over my previous weeks results, so I've very, very pleased. I am enjoying the workouts more and more AND am especially liking the results. I can see my body changing for the good. I thought I was in shape before, but it's clear that this workout has been fantastic for healthy change!

Here are some photos that one of the kids took of me, unknown to me until after they shot each photo. Oh well, at least you can I'm actually working out and not just "Ghost working out".

Full Supination Concetration Curls

static curls

another angle

That's all the time I have, but I've been noticing online that a lot of people who are blogging online about their P90X experience are working out, taking a few days off, then trying to workout again. I think this is a mistake, since your body never gets in a rhythm. You also never have a chance to work out the lactic acid that's trapped in your muscles. The result is stiff, sore muscles, which can lead to less of a desire to workout. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you follow the program each day. Carve out time whenever. I've been waking up an hour earlier (from 6:30am to 5:30am) to fit in the workout. You and your body will be ultra glad you do. Keep going, keep working, keep getting X-FIT!

Take care and enjoy the results you're already getting...I know I am! See ya'll tomorrow!

~ Jonathan

Week 3, Day 2 - Change of Pace from Plyometrics to CardioX instead

2009-06-16T22:11:00.001-07:00

Due to the injury to my left Achilles tendon last week after doing Plyometrics I decided that I should probably take the alternative route that Tony Horton suggests in the P90X DVDs. Instead of the high impact of Plyo, I would instead do CardioX. I thought that might mean less workout....boy was I ever wrong.

The workout begins with a 3-minute aerobic warm-up consisting of light jogging, no-rope jumping rope, and jumping jacks. Then you go into 2.5 minutes of static yoga-type stretchs. Following this is a flowing 10-minute series of Astanga-type yoga postures, including sun salutations and then Tony adds standing postures including warrior 1, warrior 2, and reverse warrior, with the plank-up>dog>down dog>vinyasa series between every posture.

Next up was Kenpo, or kickboxing, where you start off with basic drills--eg, a front kick, a hook-uppercut--and then you do a few very simple combinations (jab-cross-side kick; front-side-back kick, etc.). Normally you do 20 repetitions on each side, and the entire kickboxing segment lasts about 9 minutes. Quickly, if you're following Tony, you go right into a 7-minute Plyometrics section, which I worried a little about, since I was doing Cardio in place of Plyometrics! Soon I found that I was doing low impact movies, like Airborne Heismans, Swing Kicks, Jump Shots, Tires ("get thos knees UP, Tony exhorts!) The final plyo move is Wacky Jacks, where you swing your legs from side to side while bending the torso on each side (ie, elbow to hip). Each plyo move is performed for 30 seconds, and the entire sequence is repeated once.

Over half done and into the 7-minutes of cardio, which is from the Core Synergistics DVD, which I haven't done yet. We did Squat X, which was moving from a squat to an X position, jumping for the last 10. Next were "Steam Engine", a very fast standing abs move where you are crunching your elbows to your knees. Finally, the toughest move to do quickly was "The Dreya Roll", where you roll down backwards to a flat position on your back and then spring back up using or not using your hands. Squat Runs were up next, where you get down into a runner's squat position and sort of pump your arms as if you are running in place, yet your feet stay mostly in a forward squat position (like a wrestling move). The final core move is "Superman/Banana", where you lie flat on your stomach in a superman position with arms and legs raised, hold a few seconds, then roll to your back and hold up your arms and legs in an extended arms & legs pose, while both are inches off the floor. This worked both the abs and the back muscles. Before I knew it it was over and I was tired and sweaty.

I was glad to be done, and it was time for the 4-minute cool-down. You do some slow jogs and jump ropes, then repeat the stretchs from the warm-up. This 43 minute period was the shortest of any of the P90X workouts, yet it was a fat burning, lean-getting, fabulous workout!

I'm gonna like doing this and will have to fight the tempation to not include it as a second workout on opposite days from AbRipperX.

This is great, since I just found out I was volunteered to spend 30-minutes in the Dunk Tank at our local "Community Days" at the end of June. This is to support our local high school football team fund raising. Of course, I volunteered my son, who is the starting safety and running back. He doesn't know yet, but thanks to the past 2 1/2 weeks and the coming days I know I won't be embarrassed to be on that dunk tank bench.

Thanks for reading and keep bringing it! Tomorrow is "Shoulders & Arms" for me (it's Chest & Back for just tomorrow for those who read my originally wrong post from yesterday. Sorry "M".)

Take care of you and make someone else's day fantastic in a small way.

~ Jonathan

Week 3, Day 1 - We're in the Flow Now...with Chest & Back

2009-06-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

Editors note: Sorry for the error in the original entry, but I'd actually done "Chest & Back" per the schedule, but in the midst of my post-workout fog, I had written "Shoulders & Arms". Sorry for the error on my part. If you did then simply switch and on Wednesday (Day 3) just do "Chest & Back". Starting next week you will be back in the flow. Note: I will be entering the workout in the subject line for future posts. ~ Jonathan

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Today is the beginning of Week 3 and that means a return to "Chest & Back". After last week I was glad to put it behind me and begin a new week, despite the cycle being the same. I got good sleep and was ready to go. I went to the high school with my son, since he had football lifting and I thought it would be easy to get quickly into the flow. Well, that's not exactly what happened. Instead we arrived at 6:05am and I spent the next 40 minutes walking around, going to the locker room, back to the workout area, adjusting the video on my Ipod, getting dumbbells, sweeping the area AND EVERYTHING EXCEPT BEGINNING! Perhaps it was lack of client work for the day or maybe now that school is out I didn't feel pushed out by the students. Whatever the case I finally went out to my car, filled a water bottle up and put 1/2 a scoop of No-Xplode powder in it, shook it up and downed it. Perhaps it was the concoction itself or maybe just the idea of the creatine flowing in my body. Whatever the case, I got right in and began the workout, like I should have from the beginning.

This time I decided to use the heavy blue band instead of doing actual pull-ups. While I'm getting much stronger and am able to do pullups, I feel like I can go further to fatigue with the bands. Alas, by the 60-day mark I'm expecting to switch to straight pullups, but we'll see.

A couple of notes:

I increased my rep numbers across the board, since last week. I might have pushed a little too hard during the first time through the exercises, yet I still had enough to push to fatigue on the final set of "Dive Bomber Pushups".
This workout is great, but my arms are fried by the end.
I increased my weight during "Heavy Pants" & "Lawnmowers" to 45lbs & 50lbs respectively. I'm still doing 12-13 reps, so I might need to up them another 5lbs each or so.
How impressive is Tony Horton ripping out 14 pullups, resting at the top, knocking out 5 more, resting at the bottom (but still off his feet) and then doing another 6! WOW. One day I'll be there.
Week 3 is here and it seems like I just started this stuff.
When you're done at an exercise....YOU'RE DONE! I tried and retried and re-re-tried doing one or more final pushups in the various stations, yet when my arms were done, there was nothing that was going to get the final one done. Funny story, on my final rep during "Dive Bomber pushups" and again during "diamond pushups", I ended up face down on the floor and didn't have the strength in my arms to push myself up. I ended up rolling over on my back and sitting up. Talk about "wasted arms"!!!
There have been times I considered just doing the sessions through once, rather than doubling them like the sessions are setup for. I decided I'd rather follow the program and see the gains, rather than cutting out early. I recommend the same for all of you.

I was pleased with the session, once I got going. I had a few things to do, so I decided to delay my AbRipperX session until later in the afternoon.

As it turns out I ended up doing AbRipperX starting at about 6:45pm. The exercises were the same as the last AbripperX session, but this time I was able to do MUCH better on "crunchy frogs" and the "Mason (aka. "Torture") Twists at the end. I completed all the reps without taking a break or hitting "Pause" on the DVD player. I can start to see the change my body is going through already in just two weeks. I can't wait to see the 30, 60 and 90-day changes.

Shoutout to my friend Marie who began doing the program today! WOOT! An already body-sculpted woman is going to get ripped! Love it!!!!

It was a good day. :-) Tomorrow I'm changing to doing the CardioX session, rather than PlyometricsX, due to hurting my Achilles tendon on my left foot from the former. Perhaps I'll do Plyo the next 90-day run-through. That's all for now.

I'm down to 222lbs, which is good, since I know my body-fat has gone down too. Take care and thanks for taking the time to read my entries. Your interest motivates me!

~ Jonathan

Week 2 - Day 7 Done

2009-06-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

My workouts have been on schedule, unfortunately updating this blog has lagged a day behind. Therefore I'll double-post today; once for yesterday and once for today. Then I'll focus on getting these entries out on the same day I do the workout.

Anyway, yesterday (Sunday) was a "down day" for P90X, which meant I was doing my second round of StretchX. The workout was the same as Week 1, so head to that entry if you have questions about the workout itself.

I really enjoy this day, since it's a chance to stretch tired and sore muscles, increase my range of motion and prepare for the up-coming week of workouts. The stretches really worked my various muscle groups and I felt better each time I finished each section.

My hamstrings and achilles tendon (left ankle) were tight and I had to pause the DVD to do some extra stretching on each of them. As I think back on two weeks of every day workouts I know why my various parts are sore, yet yield to the stretching. I highly recommend you do this workout and not skip it because you don't think you'll benefit. I think this is the most important workout, besides Yoga that you can do that will benefit your body the most. I feel stronger and the flexibility that I feel is a result of working hard, but also getting further range of motion thanks to Yoga & Stretching.

Don't skimp on this day. DON'T SKIMP ON THIS DAY! Do your stretching, since you're body will thank you by responding with even better workouts the following week, while drastically reducing your chance of injury. Don't believe me? Want to skip it? I suspect you'll find out the hard way that you should have done this day.

See you tomorrow!

~ Jonathan

House Moving, Stop Your Workout? Not A Chance!

2009-06-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Today is "Legs & Back" + the added bonus of "AbripperX"! WooHoo!

My day actually began at 6:15am, which is kinda early on a Saturday, unless it involves a tee time or a kid event. Nonetheless, today my older boys and some other folks were going to help a young family move their belongings from one house to a new one closer to their daily lives. We started with coffee and donuts; I had a cup of the former and a small slice of the latter. We got started right away and there was a steady stream of boxes, beds, sofas, dressers, clothes, toys, and every other assundry thing a young family needs. It took us about 3 1/2 hours to pack the 24-foot UHaul truck. We headed up to the new house and 2 1/2 hours of unpacking we were done.

It was mid-afternoon and everyone else went to the lake (the boys) or home to nap (the older folks). I headed home and realized I had time to still fit in my two workouts before a commitment I had scheduled for the early evening.

I got home, got my workout stuff out and got right to it. The "Legs & Back" routine was the same as last week, so go there for reference. A couple of notes:

I felt good this week, but for some reason, I noticed my feets were pointing inside when I did squats and lunges. I tried to concentrate on keeping them straight so I wouldn't put unnecessary strain on my joints.
This workout seemed tougher than week 1, but that could have been from being tired from the moving event earlier.
I highly recommend keeping the commentary by Tony going, since there is extra motivation hearing him motivate his assistants.
For some reason my right knee seems weaker than the left, so I'm trying to be careful about going to deep on my squats. Better to make it through healthy than to tear something by trying to be a "Robot".
This week I didn't have a pull-up bar, so I used my heavier "Blue" band for the pull-ups. It's a good workout, but I feel like I work my shoulders more with the pull-up bar.

I finished the workout and ran off to my commitment.

I got back about 7:45pm and decided to knock-out the AbripperX routine, before I gave myself an excuse to not do it. The AbripperX workout is the same as previous, so go there for reference. I noticed that I got through many of the routines with the full amount of reps and I had really good form, at least I thought so, but I don't have a mirror to check, so I have to trust myself. A couple of notes:

Crunchy Frogs & Mason Twists both continue to kick my ass! I had a tough time keeping my feet up consistently during both routines and to do the moves without my feet flying everywhere. I paused the DVD until I finished my reps. Phew, got to get better at those!
If burning abs is a good sign then I know I'm make progress, since my abs are sore, but not to the point of bent-over grimacing.
Is there anything more fantastic looking than a great set of abs? I'm pushing toward my goal of having abs like the picture above.

I got to the end up the routine and felt like I was as used as a boxer's heavy bag for the day. I'm spent and know I'm going to sleep well tonight.

I've changed my schedule, since I'm going to skip Kenpo tomorrow, so that I can fit the regularly scheduled StretchX in and get back on my daily routine, starting Monday. I think the multiple workouts today enable me to make this move without a negative impact.

It's time for a recovery drink and a quick shower. Thanks for reading this and the lesson to learn is "don't push your schedule, but don't give yourself an excuse for skipping either". You don't have to be a "robot" to do this, but you do have to want the change and that means ensuring that you're doing the workouts, eating right and "bringing it"! If I can do this, any of you reading this can WITHOUT A DOUBT, DO IT TOO! Join me!

Week 2 - YogaX - Where Peace Meets Pain...And We Love It!!!

2009-06-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

So we're continuing with Week 2, which means today is YogaX. Last week was my first experience with real Yoga and it was much more painful than peaceful. I tried to relax, I tried to stretch, I tried to reach, but my body screamed, pleaded and begged that I stop. Of course, the next day I felt good, so I guess it was like being told to eat your brussel sprouts as a kid...you don't want to, but they are good for you. Anyway, I was looking forward to Yoga this week to further my stretching and relaxing.

We went through the same routine as Week 1, but this week I noticed that I could hold virtually all of the poses, albeit not as advanced as those on the DVD. My muscles desparately needed the stretch after workouts the past couple of days, but I'd forgot that Yoga is work unto itself! My muscles burned, but I fought to retain the poses while maintaining a relaxed state in my face. It is great to turn off your mind, but it's also A LOT OF WORK!

We again did a variety of poses including “Runners Pose,” “Crescent Pose,” and all sorts of variations to the “Warrior Poses”. Each one began in a push-up position (I think called a chuntarunga), down into upward dog, then into "Downward Dog", then into the pose. After lifting, stretching, posing and hurting we went into some of the most difficult poses like “Standing Splits” and “Half Moon to Twisting Half Moon”. This is the pain part of Yoga, where you're still working your core, while trying to maintain a peaceful state. Throughout this first part I called upon my Yoga blocks, so I could maintain a straight leg and open up my chest and hips. I picked mine up for $10 or so at the local Walmart. I highly recommend them!!!!!

Next, it's time for couple “Balance Postures", which include “Tree,” “Royal Dancer,” and “Standing Leg Extension.” I had some difficulty keeping my balance and realized it was due almost totally to rushing to get into the poses. If I relaxed and took my time I did so much better. Slow & steady seems to be the best way in a lot of areas of life!

There were more stretches, including “Frog” where you go from all fours to your feet pointing opposite directions, knees spread, chest as close to the floor as possible while stretching the groin area. You have to be careful, since it can feel like you're going to pop your groin, but again, "slow & steady" will open your hips up in amazing ways. One of the tougher positions, but beneficial is the “Plough into Shoulder Stand.” In essence this move involves getting your whole lower body up in the air and resting on your shoulders only while supporting yourself with your hands. Oh, but you don't stop, next you then take your legs and move them in every direction finishing by bringing them down around your head. I'm not working out with anyone, but just imagine bringing your legs all the way up and over your head while your knees are touching your ears. Now imagine how uncomfortable it would be to be in this position with others around. Of course you don't worry about all that when you're rocking the P90X!

Finally, you get a little ab work in by doing the “Yoga Belly”, which is sort of like doing a mini-AbRipperX. It looks like this, "on back, feet to the sky, hands up, lift hands up to get shoulders off ground, now do it more, then just for more burn lift even higher". My abs cried, pleaded then caused a mutiny during this. I guess they figured Yoga was more "sleeping" and "relaxing" than work. Finally! It's cooldown time. A great, relaxing stretch is the the “Happy Baby”, which is where "you're on your back, feet up, you grab the outside of your ankles, pull down, while rocking gently side-to-side". You do some relaxation on your back, on your side and then if you want you sit cross-legged and exhale loudly to massage your nervous system. Finally, with calm and peacefully the DVD ends.

My body hurt, mostly because I'd worked it again, but it wasn't agonizingly sore. Of course, before I end I would be remiss in not including one of the funny pictures that resulted during my 90 minute workout. My daughter wanted to take a photo during one of the poses, which I didn't think would be a big deal. Well, I guess this is what you get when you combine peace with goofy!

I guess she thought I was ready to dive into a pool, rather than doing the "Chair" pose. Alas, the unexpected fun that results from spontaneity.

I'm glad to continue on and even more pleased that you'd take time to checkout my blog. One thing I'll leave you with is a quote I heard Tony Horton, the P90X creator and leader during the videos said. "The reason I can do all the push-ups and pull-ups isn't because I do a lot of push-ups and pull-ups, rather I can do them because I do YogaX." The healing power and strength you gain from YogaX can't be understated. See you tomorrow!

Back in the Saddle Again - Week 3, Day 3.5 - Shoulder's & Arms Ripped

2009-06-11T21:10:00.000-07:00

I awoke today and after gingerly getting out of bed and doing some ankle/Achilles checks I found that the pain I felt yesterday was gone. I didn't want to push it, so I delayed my workout until the early afternoon, so I could verify it wasn't just a temporary lack of pain. After transporting kids to school, the dentist and a variety of other locations, walking some store aisles and such I felt like I'd put some miles on my feet that would let me assess my ankle's fitness. After doing further checks, movements, stretches and such I felt like I could move forward with my workouts. Of course I wouldn't be working my legs or ankles, but would need them to support my "Shoulders & Arms" workout.

Onto the workout itself. The program was identical to last week (Week 1, Day 3). This week I didn't do the "Bonus Round", since I had less time than I anticipated. It was okay, since I did more reps than last week, felt the burn in my arms and shoulders and was glad to finish the workout healthy.

A couple of notes from the workout:

It's important to have a selection of weights, so that you can move up or down, based on how much you're struggling or not struggling to keep good form. I only have 20lb dumbbells and three bands. I need to have a couple more bigger weights like 35 & 40lb dumbells.
The Crouching Cohen Curls are great and agonizing at the same time. My biceps felt like they going to POP out of my arms. Definitely the hardest of the exercises in this routine. Course, I also saw my veins popping out too. Vein popping is good, unless an artery breaks!
I did MUCH better during the chair dips, even doing them straight legged, versus bent knee, which I did last week.
I hit my 13-15 reps with the 20lb dumbbells, but I would like to do 8-10 with a higher weight.
If you stick with each day then I believe you will feel good during the following routines, the same as I have.

I really am enjoying the variety that each day brings, since my muscles don't have a chance to get used to one workout, but they also aren't fatigued for the next day. By the time they get worked again they're "healed".

I'm drinking a lot of water, seeking to eat well and most of all continuing to hit the workouts with a good attitude. I'm driven to be healthy, strong and to look and feel good. If the first 10 days are an indication then I know I'll reach all of my goals. I'm tempted to upload Day 10 pictures, but I think I'll wait, since the change could be even more dramatic at Day 30. Okay, I'm not one for delayed gratification, so I'll upload a few arm shots following today's workout.

That's enough for this post, so be safe, seek to bring happiness to others and keep focusing on "Bringing it" BTW, I'm excited that my oldest brother ordered the program and will be working it soon. I'm doubly-excited that my good friend "M" is going to be starting the program this next week. For my brother, I'm pleased for the benefit for his health. For my friend "M" I'm excited to see an already healthy person get "ripped" and even more "Beach Ready".

Until tomorrow....

~ Jonathan

Oops, P90X We Have a Problem....

2009-06-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I missed blogging yesterday due to a boatload of issues and happenings. Needless to say I had to take a break from the scheduled Week 2, Day 3, workout, which was supposed to be "Shoulders & Arms". It seems I tweaked my left Achilles tendon and it was sore enough that I felt it best to take a break to ice and rest it. I was disappointed, but determined that I didn't want to risk further potential injury just to finish "on time".

I spent the day icing it with a fantastic ice pack that we used for the Nooksack Valley high school boy's soccer team I'm an assistant coach & medical trainer for. The company that makes them is EColdPack and you can order different sized packs online. (Click the link and either call them or download the Order Form. The bad news is that you have to order a case of them. The good news is that it's much cheaper (like $4.95/each) than getting them from your local chiropractor, who charges up to $18 per pack and sleeve. I suggest you get together with friends who want one or two and order a case together. I actually have two packs on hand; one that stays in the freezer and the other I keep thawed in case I want to put it in the microwave for a "heat pack". They get my highest possible recommendation!!!! Anyway, I digress.

I rethought about how to handle this day off and decided to slide the workouts one day forward. I was planning to do "Shoulders & Arms" on Thursday and go forward. (Note: I realize this is being written on Thursday, but wanted to keep you up to day on my thinking). I was going to decide if I would combine two days in one to get caught up. We'll see.

The key is to "listen to your body", which Tony Horton, the P90X creator preaches. I did focus on eating well and drinking copious amounts of water. Look for me to start up again on Thursday. For now, enjoy some nice music

Week 2 - Day 2 - We're Back to Jumping, Jumping, Jumping

2009-06-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

The subject if you didn't figure it out means today was Plyometrics again. I have enjoyed jumping throughout my life, playing all types of sports, but as I've gotten older I've noticed my explosiveness is waning. A week ago I was struggling through this routine, since my legs felt heavy and my right knee was twinging a bit.

The one thing I noticed is that my right knee, which normally feels tight after exercise isn't hurting as much. It will take more time and strength, but I felt like I could do lunges and such without it sometimes feeling like it would buckle. Of course, I'm stubborn, so I had found ways to get around the idea that my leg was buckling and made sure I had something to support me. Now, I feel much strong there and less chance of it giving out at any point or in any activity. I'm amazed at the benefits I'm already gaining from doing this program.

Fast forward a week and the struggle was less, but I really had to focus on landing soft, which is tough for 220lb dude who has never been known as graceful. I went through the entire series of exercises without stopping. The one that still kicked my butt were the "Squat Jacks", which are jumping jacks done in a squat position, while your hands are behind your head. They burned, oh baby did they burn! We got to the end before I knew it and once again I let out a yell, albeit through heavy breathing.

The one thing I've noticed is that day builds upon day and week is building on week. Slowly there are changes in my physique and this time they are in a positive manner. I'm seeking to be more consistent in eating the five small meals a day they recommend. Of course, I'm prone to going long periods without eating and then "Scarfing" anything I see. I have stayed faithful to drinking at least three quarters of water a day and usually it's a gallon. I haven't noticed that my eyeballs are "floating", so I must not be drinking too much. Tomorrow it's Week 2, Day 3, which means it's "Shoulders & Arms" and those are the "Showtime" or "Glamour" muscles. I enjoyed that workout last week and expect to do the same this week. Who knows, maybe my 9-year old daughter will join me again like Week 1. :-)

Well, there's not a lot more to say about this week, that I didn't already say in Week 1, Day 2. (Imagine me not having more to say! Ponder that.) Anyway, just keep showing up, pressing "Play" and doing the best you can.

After some good sleep I'll be ready to hit it on Day 3.

All my best and whenver you're reading this, make it a great rest of the day or evening!

~ Jonathan

Oh No, Week 2, Day 1 Isn't Over Until the Abs are Ripped

2009-06-08T21:23:00.001-07:00

Normally I would try to do AbRipperX immediately after my first workout, but I was hurting a little, so I decided to delay it. Of course, my intent was to do it at 1pm this afternoon. Of course, with my schedule it turned into 8:30pm tonight. Sigh.

Anyway, I was a little concerned about doing the routine, since it kicked my A$$ last week. Of course, that was also one of the first workouts I'd done in P90X and a lot has happened, since then. On to the workout itself.

I took a few minutes to jog in place, kick my feet up (not in a fit of joy!), jumping jacks, more running in place, etc. I finally got a little sweat going and was ready to step into the fire of abs workouts.

The routine was the same as last week, but the result was much, much, much improved! I finished all the routines with the exact reps as Tony and gang. Well, all except the torturer of my abs, namely Mr or Mrs. Mason, the creator of the Mason Twists. I got 3o of 40, which was light years ahead of last week.

My upper abs felt good and even strong. My lower abs, just below my belly button were feeling every crunch, every situp, every twist, turn and every other action we took in the 17 minutes. I know that I need to keep working, since last week I was feeling it and couldn't do half the stuff I did this week.

One funny theme continues to be my current inability to do backward bicycles. I start going backwards with my feet, but before I complete the turn, my feet are going forward. I slowed down and did the best I could, but clearly that's something I must work on.

I ate pretty well today; oatmeal with honey, green tea, tons'o'water, two chicken breast sandwiches, mayo, and I still have to figure out what to eat tonight to fuel up my body, but not let it digest into fat while I sleep. After that it's bedtime! Big shoutouts to those who are reading this and support me in their own ways. Special thanks to those who help me finish my projects, hopefully I can return the favor soon!

Tomorrow the cycle continues. I'm continuing to work hard, since I want to see at least a six-pack or more by the middle of Summer. Keep working hard, thanks for stopping by, and I'll see you soon!

~ Jonathan

Week 2 Begins: Day 8 = The Cycle Begins Again

2009-06-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

Week 1 of my program is in the books and today was the start of Week 2. Now, it seems that regardless of the event, the second week is both easier and tougher, since you know what to expect AND "you know what to expect". Would I "bring it" with the same intensity as when the program was brand, spanking new? Would my body be ready to work or fight me, as it remembers the hurts and aches from Week 1?

I didn't wait long to find out, as the alarm went off at 5:15am this morning and I drove to pick my son up. We got to the gym and I headed to my corner and got setup quickly. I knew the routine, so I got right into the warm-up and stretching parts.

If you remember from last week's Monday entry, it's "Chest & Back" day. What that really means is a lot of push-ups, pullups, lawnmowers, "Heavy Pants" and more joy, joy, joy! I got right in and found that pushups seemed a little tougher, but that probably was because I'd increased my range-of-motion by holding onto barbells as I went up and down. I increased my pull-up counts by at least one from last week, but to ensure I was getting the fullest workout I switched between dumbbells and a blue "heavy band".

I also increased the weight I was using for "Heavy Pants" and "Lawnmowers" to 45lbs each, since the previous workout I'd used too light of a weight. I felt good thorughout. Of course, when it came to diamond pushups and diver-bomber pushups I was dead tired and could only muster 3-4 I figured I'd work even further to fatigue, so I did a few on my knees, which increased my total to 7-8. My arms were burning, so I'm glad I did it that way.

The workout ended with the standard cooldown and I was happy with how I did. I'm picking up some No-Xplode Creatine/Recovery powder today, which should help during and after my workouts to recover, exercise longer and lift more.

I'm doing well with my nutrition and I noticed I've lost 4lbs, since my weight-in a week ago. I'm going to be more diligent to follow the nutrition guide, since this first 28 days is supposed to be "Fat burning" time.

I'm postponing AbRipperX until the early afternoon due to scheduling, but am looking forward to that too. I expect to be sore, but it feels great!

Thanks for checking out my little space, be safe, keep pressing "Play" and hey, as an extra challenge why don't you greet at least three strangers today (that aren't work related).

Take care and I'll see you tomorrow.

~ Jonathan

A Week Already? Day 7 Is StretchX = "Take Care of Body Day"

2009-06-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

A look on my 90-day schedule shows two things; that I'm done and that today is StretchX. After six days of cardio, lifting, kicking, punching, yoga, and more, it's the day to stretch and take care of our bodies. This fifty-five minutes includes warmup, static stretching, ballistic stretching, some yoga stretches and a cool down.

We started out with some ballistic stretches to warmup our muscles, then moved into static stretches for our neck, triceps and shoulders. There were stretches for the hamstrings (arg), ankles (double-arg) and groin muscles (not too much arg). There were frog stretches (feel my hips opening up, but not enough to bare children), glute (aka butt) stretches (these burned, but felt good after) and other assorted exercises. Each stretch had a little hurt, but not to the point of over-doing it. I could tell that my flexibility was the greatests it's been all week and I know this will prepare me for the upcoming week. I needed this, since the week will be identical to the routines and day of the routines as week 1.

The final eight minutes of the session was some basic relaxation moves, like hugging oneself, cat stretch, downward dog with calf stretch and ending with child pose (love this one!) and child pose with side stretch (another great one for opening the sides and ribcage).

I felt tremendous and definitely ready to spank this coming week of workouts. I will also sleep incredible, although I've been sleeping much better this entire week. What a great ending to a steep learning curve week for my body.

Thanks for checking this out and be sure to come back daily and see how week 2 goes.

Day 6 - Means It's KenpoX (Kickboxing) Time!

2009-06-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

What, you think there's a day off, since it's the weekend? Today is Kenpo-X, which involves a lot of shadow boxing, punching, kicking and medium cardio work. I've never done Kenpo, so this was a new experience for me.

Up front, this is a 57-minute session, including warmup and cool-down. Tony begins with a 12-minute series of yoga-like stretches. Of course, you might want to run in place a little more, since there's not alot of pre-stretch exercise to prepare the muscles for stretching.

Next up is the cardio section and you begin with a basic twist and pivot move: standing in fighting stance. This is a critical movement throughout the entire session, and you want to really get your hips and torso moving Next, you're led through a series of punching drills only, from simple jabs to jab-cross-hook-uppercut combinations. In holding to form, the reps end up at about 25-30 repetitions per side, with the final 5-10 reps at a faster speed and/or with sound effects. Following the punches comes the first cardio interval (there are 4 of these 1.5 minute intervals throughout the workout). You can take a break, towel off, get water or do as Tony does and jog. Soon you do "no-rope" jump rope, jumping jacks, and you finish with 10 power jacks (jumping into an X position).

Next up is about 10 minutes of kicking drills. There are kicks to the front, to the side, to the back and combinations of each. You also combine punches, kicks and blocks in multiple combinations. Finally, you do one more cardio interval, and then the final aerobic move in the session is 100 vertical punches (ie, thumbs up, palms in) to the front; you actually end up doing over 110 punches. Then the main part is over.

You finish the time off with slow jogs, gentle kicks, etc.. You do a few minutes of basic yoga stretches and a final standing quad stretch. I found myself tired, but not exhausted at the end, although my shirt was SOAKED (I'm sure ya'll wanted to know that!). The key for this workout is to not overextend of put stress on your joints as you punch and kick.

Six days are down, with eight workouts during that time. I'm feeling good and actually had to cinch my belt up a loop, which was a great surprise. I'm working on eating healthy, although I'm not religiously following the nutrition guide.

Here's a two-minute "fast-forward" video of some of the 57-minutes of workout.

Tomorrow is StretchingX, which will be a nice break, at least until I start everything over in week 2. Thanks for checking this out, be safe, have hope and enjoy the time you've been blessed with.

All my best,

~ Jonathan

Day 5 - Part II - It's AbRipperX Again

2009-06-06T09:51:00.001-07:00

Note: this entry was written on Friday, June 5th, but didn't post until today. KenpoX referred to is the workout for today, Saturday, June 6th.
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One of the issues you can run into, which I have, is trying to follow the P90X schedule, since it can be tough to carve out 1 1/2 hours to exercise. While the programs are 50 minutes normally, you have to add another 18 minutes for days you're supposed to do AbRipperX. Also, Yoga days are a minimum of 1 1/2 hours. Finally, you have to add in time initially to learn the exercises and moves. That means you have to set aside 1 1/2 - 2 hours. That's tough to do all in one shot.

What I end up doing, is what I did today. I worked out at the high school weight room with my son, they're lifting for football in the Fall. Day 5 was "Legs & Back" as I'd written in my previous post. I was also supposed to do AbRipperX. I ran out of time in the morning, so I decided to do it in the evening.

I've already covered the exercises in Day 1, so go there if you need a refresher. Today's AbRipperX was a little easier and I found I didn't tip over or fall-out of the routine due to "tearing abs" that felt like a little alien was trying to pop out. I was fine during the bicyle's front & back. Of course Crunchy Frogs must look funny when I do them, but I got better with them.

The middle section, "Hip, Rock & Raise", "Pulse Ups" and "V-Ups" were brutal again. I felt better than Monday, but my abs still can't believe I'm actually making them do this stuff. No real big spasms, like Monday, but still plenty of room for improvement.

The real killer is Mason Twists, which is the last part of 16 minutes of tantalizing (just wanted to use that word), ab-tearing, pain-bringing "Bringing It". Needless to say Mr. or Mrs. Mason are not a favorite in my vocabulary. I'm sure they were nice people, but the exercise is like going to the dentist. You know you need to, but you don't have to like it!

I got done and thought "five days down, but when is the next AbRipperX?". I'm continuing to try to change my thoughts to "how long to I have to wait to do my favorite AbRipperX". Alas, baby steps, baby steps.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is KenpoX, so it will be interesting to do the karate-style moves and try not to kick one of my kids or the furniture accidentally. Of course, that would make for another interesting update.

Take care and as always, thanks for reading this.

~ Jonathan

Day 5 - Legs & Back - working the base

2009-06-05T08:14:00.000-07:00

This day would seem right up my alley, since legs & back have always been my strong points, while my upper body lagged behind. I figured I'd be in great shape and not struggle at all. Of course, I'd forgotten that this is P90X, where the worlds "burn", "ouch", grunts and "struggle" seem to be mainstays. Mind you, this doesn't mean it's impossible, rather it's just tough.

The workout began with the requisite warmup, which my body needs and enjoys. After heating up the muscles it was time to do pull-ups. This workout has four sets of different pull-ups that are dispersed around squats and dips.

I felt stronger than Day 1 and got seven pullups, before having to stop. That's more than Day 1, but not where I want to be. We went right into chair squats, where one foot is on a chair, you stretch your other foot in front of you and then squat down. Those burned, a lot.

Next, closed-hand pull-ups, then chair squats, then more pull-ups, then 3-way skier squats, then more wide-gripped pull-ups, and so on. The workout was intense and didn't include much weight, in fact, having no weight doesn't matter, since gravity and staying in form are a workout unto themselves.

I fininshed and my shirt was drenched. One of the kids that works out at the high school I'm doing some of this at asked me what I was doing. I told him and he said, "dude, that's so intense". I'm taking that as a good thing. Wait until he sees me at day 60 or 90!

Anyway, later today I'm doing AbRipperX, since I've run out of time this morning. It should be good and my abs need that intense burn. Gonna try to get some shots of my legs. Week 1 photos will be up on Sunday evening.

Be safe, enjoy this day you've been given and thanks for reading on.

~ Jonathan

Day 4 = Yoga = Pleasure, Pain or Both....

2009-06-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

Three days and four workouts later and a look on my schedule shows that today was Yoga. I've picked up Yoga books, DVDs and had every intention on doing it, but something always came up. My understanding was that Yoga involved funny poses, lots of ohms and somehow made a person magically flexible. After this 1 1/2 hour workout tonight I knew my previous understanding was limited and mostly wrong.

As I mentioned, this was 1 1/2 hours long, which would turn away many people who think they couldn't afford that time. I'd say, "you cannot afford NOT to spend that time on Yoga". Don't get me wrong, this is a tough workout, despite no bands, weights, pull-ups or push-ups. In fact, the workout is poses, changing poses, stretches, opening your chest and controlling your breathing. The reality is that I was sweating harder fifteen minutes into this workout than any of the other three. I found myself struggling more to stay in control than any of the lifting previously.

You'll get familar with "downward dog", "plank" and the like. Each move had 3 or 4 sets with us going back to chatarunga and downward facing dog.

Some of the poses and stretches we did, included:

Warrior 1&2

Chair & Chair twist

Triangle & Triangle twist

Runners lunge

Plank

Chatarunga

Downward facing dog

There were others like Tree, crab and others, too many to list.

Suffice it to say that Yoga is a workout, but I felt refreshed and relaxed. In fact, much of the soreness I had from previous days was gone by the end of the routine. A special treat was my 9-year old daughter joined me in the final forty minutes., which was great dad/daughter time. Yoga will definitely help me perform better, longer and faster and I suspect injury-free for a long time.

Tomorrow is "Leg's & Back", which includes more pulls ups, so I'm glad I'm feeling okay again. See ya tomorrow and in all you do "Bring It".

~ Jonathan