Days 8 through 10 of Body Beast

Wow, I didn't realize I haven't posted since Saturday. Getting back into writing a blog after taking a long break is not as easy as I thought it would be.

So let's recap. Sunday was Build Legs. I did this workout last week and it was a killer on the legs. Obviously this one wasn't any different, though I did up the weights on most exercises and did a few more reps than the week before too. There's a set number of reps on all of the exercises, but last week hitting those numbers was a little difficult. I hate working legs, so staying motivated (and finishing my reps) is never easy on leg day. But I did it and I'm stoked that I did. I've felt that terrible pain going up the stairs every day since!

Monday was back and bis. I think this is my favorite workout, even more than chest/tris. I want bigger biceps, that's always been one of my goals, and this workout rips them apart! And it does it after a brutal back workout, so my biceps are already on fire when I get there. Even now I'm having trouble keeping my arms completely extended, which is a fantastic sign that the program is working! Also I did all of my pullups on the total gym. This is for two reasons. One, because Heather's usually in the living room when I workout and doing real pullups on the door means she can see me, and I get embarrassed for some reason. And two, because I can do a lot more pullups on the total gym and still build muscle and even add weight, and since keeping up with the DVD was a goal of mine this seemed the better way to go. I think I'll stick with the total gym until the Bulk phase, but we'll see how things change as we get closer.

And finally today, Tuesday, was Beast Cardio and Beast Abs. I really am not a fan of this cardio workout for some reason. Probably because it's a little hard and I really haven't done enough cardio in a few weeks (or months), but overall it's not my favorite. I like that it's only 30 minutes (from a lazy standpoint I like that), but even then I wonder if I'd get a better workout from Insanity or something. On my second round of Body Beast (and yes, there will be a second round) I'll think about switching this workout with a more cardio focused one. The ab section was good though. I like that it's 10 minutes of to the point ab exercises, and I like using weights for abs too (where were the weights in Ab Ripper X Tony?!).

So overall it's been a good week for working out. Tomorrow is shoulders, and then rest day is scheduled. Unfortunately I've got a weird schedule this week which will prevent me from working out Saturday, so no rest day on Thursday! Instead I'm going right into Chest/Tris, followed by Legs, and then I'll finally get my rest day. Wish me luck!

Bring it!

Day 7 of Body Beast

Well it's Saturday and I worked out. I'm not used to that, and for anyone that's been reading my blog for a while you know that's because most of the programs I do go from Sunday through Friday with a Saturday rest. Body Beast is a little bit different. Body Beast's first phase in the Lean program (and it looks like all of the phases in the regular program) is 5 days on, 1 day off, repeat. That means the rest day rotates a bit in the first few weeks, which is why I got a very relaxing day off yesterday.

Working out on Saturdays is tricky, usually because I'm either off doing something incredibly productive (and therefore don't have much time to work out) or I'm stuck on the couch destroying dragons or terrorists or something on a video game. Today was the latter, and my 1:00pm workout quickly got moved to 2, then 3. Finally at 2:30 I realized I was being WAY too lazy and since I did want to get out of the house to see a buddy who's moving soon before 6pm, I finally got moving for that 3pm workout.

Today's workout was Build Chest/Tris. This was the first workout in the program, the one I did on Sunday. Great workout overall. The whole thing is a single exercise, a double exercise and a triple exercise, all with sets of 15, 12, 8 and sometimes 8. The nice thing about today is that my adjustable dumbbells were working! They wouldn't turn to let me pick a different weight last week, so I had to use my limited set of other weights. The adjustables gave me a lot more flexibility after I fixed them today (the locking mechanism was sticking), and really helped me add on some weight. There were a few exercises where I even used the full 45 lbs, but I have a feeling that I won't be needing more weight than that any time soon anyways. Keep in mind, that's 45 lbs per arm.

After the chest stuff is another round of the same pattern, but this time all tricep focused. My tris were dying by this time considering they got worked during the chest workout. The pushups towards the end were tricky, and after one completely failed attempt at pushups I finished the final pushup sets using the door gym. Not the best switch, but I wanted to keep working and didn't think I had any more pushups in me.

Overall an awesome workout, and definitely an improvement from last week! Tomorrow is Legs day and I'm ready!

Bring it!

Day 5 of Body Beast (and a rest day!)

I got into Body Beast yesterday morning for the first Build Shoulders workout! I was excited for this one going into it. I like working shoulders, mostly because I believe a large shoulder makes the rest of the arm muscles look huge!

This workout follows the same pattern as most of the others, doing a single exercise, then 2 exercises, then 3 exercises, each with reps of 15, 12, 8 and 8. There was one more exercise mixed in there somewhere, but truthfully I'm writing this the following day at a pretty early time, and I haven't had any energy shots like I usually do pre-workout, so I'm a little groggy right now. Overall though, good workout!

Today is the first rest day for the Lean program. Body Beast is interesting in that the first few weeks (and it looks like the entire schedule on the regular program) is 5 days of work, 1 day of rest, repeat. For those who aren't math wizards, that's only 6 days, and a week is 7. This means the rest day floats around rather than being a set day. For me that doesn't work too well, since I like having Saturdays as my rest and travel day. Travel meaning when I'm on a trip, which is usually on a Saturday, I don't have to work out.

Case in point, my next rest day is next Thursday, but that means Legs are Saturday and I'll be spending all of next Saturday floating in a river with friends. So instead I got permission from a few coaches and I'm going to move that one around and just take Saturday off as normal.

One thing I like about the Lean schedule is the Bulk phase, which is the second phase, is the longest phase of the whole program (5 weeks), and it actually does have the regular Sunday through Friday with a Saturday Rest Day schedule. So once I get through the first 3 weeks I should be on 5 clear weeks of normal schedule.

Anyways it feels good not to be working out today. Frankly I don't know what I'd work if there was a workout scheduled. My whole body hurts, especially my biceps and shoulders. These workouts are killer! I can't wait to start all over again on Saturday with Chest and Tris. 3 weeks of this and it's on to the Bulk phase!

By the way, the nutrition has been CLEAN! Cleaner than I've ever done. I realize it's only been a week, but Heather's not letting me fail and I appreciate that, and her, immensely.

So that's my story. I've got a lot of other big things going on right now too. It's going to be a good day.

Bring it!

Days 3 and 4 of Body Beast

Two more days are in the books. I woke up yesterday and could barely walk, but I still hit play on Build Back and Bis. I'd been looking forward to this workout since Sunday, since it was bicep focused. I've always thought my biceps were too small, even when I'm working out, so I was ready to bring the pump!

The workout was tough, about as tough as the Chest and Triceps workout. Obviously a lot more rows and back exercises, and pullups replaced pushups. I wanted to do more reps so I could keep up, so I used the Total Gym instead of the pullup bar for the pullups, and added weight. The bicep work was good too. This was the first workout to really incorporate the curl bar, which feels a lot more like real lifting to me, so going back and forth between the curl bar and free weights was fun.

The rest of the day I didn't feel much strain in my biceps, and only a little in my back, but I figured it would come. The rest of my body still hurt from Sunday and Mondays' workouts, and walking was definitely difficult all day because of Monday's Leg workout specifically. I felt like I was walking through quick sand all day.

This morning I woke up and as expected, my biceps are on fire. They feel awesome, and my back definitely feels like it worked yesterday. Delayed muscle soreness is a real thing people! My triceps and chest are finally starting to feel normal again after Sunday, and my legs are still in a lot of pain. It's awesome!

This morning's workout was Beast Caridio and Beast Abs. Lots of beasts in this one. Cardio was interesting. It was basically a total body weight/body weight workout, but instead of reps everything was done for time (aka how many reps can you do in a minute). Not my favorite stuff, since I really like the traditional lifting, but at 30 minutes it's not bad at all.

That workout was followed by the 10 minute Beast Abs. This is definitely not Ab Ripper X, but it still felt good. There were shorter moves, but most of them used weights which added something.

I've gotta give this one a few more tries (which I will get in the next 12 weeks), but someday in the future if I repeat this workout I'll swap Ab Ripper X in instead. At least that's the thought at the moment.

Nutrition wise I've been doing great! Heather's been helping me eat really healthy, is measuring out my portions based on the meal guide, and she's even cooking meals straight from the recipe guide! This time I'm doing it right, and I owe a lot of thanks to her for the help!

So that's my story. Tomorrow is shoulders (I love having a dedicated shoulder workout!) and Friday I get a rest day! I'm looking forward to it!

Bring it!

My return and the start of Body Beast

Wow, it's been almost 4 months since I've posted in this blog. That's ridiculous! I used to be so good, but somehow life has gotten in the way these last few months. I've worked out a little in there, but nothing serious. I lost a little muscle, put on a little weight and lost some of my cardio. But not all of it! I have still been trying and I am definitely not where I was before I started this whole journey.

A quick update, I did start jiu jitsu a few months ago. Thanks to work I don't have as much time as I'd like to go, but I am going and getting better and that's helping me stay in shape a bit.

But this recently acquired quasi-sedentary lifestyle has been kicked out as of yesterday, and a new, intense, fun program has begun! Ladies and gentlemen, I have started Body Beast!

For those who don't know, Body Beast is a new program by BeachBody. Where as most of their programs focus on getting lean, losing weight and amping the cardio, along with a little bit of weights (like in P90X), this is weights, lifting and getting big! And that's its focus. I came across Body Beast from a bunch of coaches that I'm friends with on Facebook. They all started the program right after the coaches summit, and the results I've seen from them all look incredible. I usually wait a bit on these kinds of programs, but this one I was too excited about and I ordered it immediately.

My goal the last few years has been to lose weight. A lot of weight. I love my muscles getting bigger and they definitely have, but to some degree that's always been an after thought. Well for a million reasons from genetics to a lack of will power in certain areas, losing weight has been extremely difficult for me, while putting on muscle is a no brainer. This time I'm completely changing focus and I am getting big! Massive! Monstrous! Beastley!

That said, this program has a Beast schedule and a Lean schedule, the latter including one day of cardio each week and a little less bulking. So that's the program I'm following, just because I still do need to shred a little fat still.

I started the program yesterday. Day 1 was Chest/Tris. The concept was pretty similar to P90X Chest/Tris, but the order was very different. It starts with 1 chest exercise, done in sets of 15 reps, 12 reps, 8 reps and 8 reps. Those sets are done with a light weight, a heavier weight, the heaviest weight and slightly less heavy weight, respectively. I've done sets like this before in other lifting programs I've read about, but I've never stuck with a program long enough to see the results. I'm curious to continue.

The next set was the same 15, 12, 8 and 8 combo, except this was 2 exercise. So 15 then 15, 12 then 12, 8 then 8 and 8 the final 8 (no extra 8 on the last set). But no rest in between these sets!

And finally there was one more in this fashion, except it was 3 exercises! The third was only pushups, but truthfully my chest was dying and the pushups were pathetic at best.

Then the entire process is repeated on triceps. And yes, thanks to all the chest stuff my tris were already dying. It was crazy!

And that was Day 1. I got done, ate a bunch of healthy food all day including a lot of protein and healthy carbs (and even a spinach salad!), and towards the end of the day my muscles really started to feel the work. Excellent.

This morning I got up early, popped my supplements (there's a lot of supplements in this program. BeachBody sells the exact ones I'm supposed to take, but I have a lot of supplements that I've done a lot of research on, and I'm using my own blend at the moment). I hit play around 7am on Legs, Day 2. I hate working legs, and I can tell after just this first workout that Sagi (the trainer) is going to kill my legs when this whole thing is over!

The whole program follows the same 1 exercise of 15, 12, 8 and 8, 2 exercises and then 3 exercises concept. It was a lot of squats, single leg squats and lunges, with some calf work at the end. I have really strong legs, but for some reason leg day is always my worst day! I did as many of the squats and lunges as I could, but frankly keeping up wasn't going to happen. These guys flew threw the exercises, and even with no weight I couldn't keep up with them.

That said, I worked my ass off (literally...it hurts to sit!) and despite not keeping up with the group I never quit and got a Hell of a workout! It was awesome. I've said it before, I hate legs, but they're the biggest muscle group and are vital to getting ripped (and to burning fat!).

So that's 2 days down. Eating clean the rest of the day and tomorrow I'm on to Back & Bis! Heather's taking really good care of me in the food department, even making me protein powered oatmeal for breakfast (it was from the Body Beast cookbook).

Alright, time to get in to work. Bring it!

Last week - busy

Wow, the last week has been busy. Very busy. It's non-stop. So what does that mean for working out? Well, it means a few things:

1) I've been too busy to follow an actual program. My schedule's just gotta be flexible.

2) I have not stopped working out. In fact I've worked out pretty much 5 days a week, at least once a day, since my last entry.

3) I just haven't had a chance to update the blog. If it comes down to having the chance to update the blog and not work out and working out and not updating the blog, the better choice is obviously no blog.

So I have worked out. Mostly cardio. I'm liking the Tapout XT workouts a lot. But as for what I actually did this week, it's fuzzy. I do know that we did workouts on Monday and Wednesday with the group, focusing mostly on cardio. And yesterday (Saturday) I did Sprawl and Brawl from Tapout. That was awesome!

So yes, decent week, and no more programs. I'm just focusing on doing one workout minimum a day, preferably 2. I've got a few weeks until EDC and I want to look awesome! I'm down about 8 lbs so I'm feeling good!

Planning to do yoga in about half an hour. I'll try to post later, and if not later then tomorrow.

So that's the deal. Bring it!

A few quick updates

Worked out a few times since I last updated. Here's what happened.

Last night I came home and the Tapout XT discs were in the mail! Ya, I'm a sucker for new workout DVDs, especially MMA ones.

I popped in the Muay Thai one. It was an awesome workout. Much crazier than Kenpo X, but definitely didn't feel too beyond me. And there were a lot of familiar faces (MMA fighters) in it. Very cool workout.

This morning I got up for my run, but it was too cold. I did Body Blast for PT 24/7 instead. I usually like these DVDs, but this one for some reason felt way more Tae Bo than regular workout. Ya, they're all Billy Blanks DVDs, but this one felt more like his old stuff than the new stuff I like now. Still, decent workout.

Came home, did some work, and then the group came over. We ran, and I did my 20 minutes for TSC. Not for the efforts/intervals, but 20 minutes of laps still felt good.

Finished with some lifting, easy lifting, but still barbell lifting, and then the ab ripper from Tapout XT. I don't know the actual name, but it was a good ab workout.

So decent few days. One more day in the week and I'm ready!

Bring it!

Days 2 and 3 of TSC

Days 2 and 3 of the Transformation Super Challenge are complete! Here's how they went down.

Last night I got home, and as promised I completed my 20 minute run. Well, sort of. This thing calls for 20 minutes of straight running. What I got was 10 minutes of straight running (just over a mile), followed by walking a lap and then running a lap. A lap is a lap around the park near my house, and 5 laps equals a mile. Overall I did 2 miles on this run/walk, but considering I ran the first mile straight and 2 miles total is more than I've done in years, I was thrilled.

After that I was pooped and pretty much passed out the rest of the night, aside from eating an amazing healthy dinner prepared by my beautiful girlfriend.

This morning I got a bit of a late start, but hit the gym around 7:40. Today is chest and back day, and I got through the vast majority of it. I like the super set concept (a set of 15, 12, 10, 8, and then one for as many as possible), and that's how the workout goes for two back exercises and two chest exercises. There's pushups and situps after that, each to as many as possible, but I ran out of time as I've gotta head to the office. I'll have another workout tonight, and I'll start with those.

Overall a good two days of work. Can't wait to see some results!

Bring it!

Worked out last night and this morning

Alright, I've got two workouts to document. The first was last night. The group came over around 7, and we hit the park at about 7:15 to do some laps. I need to get better at running so I pushed myself hard. It's 5 laps around the park for 1 mile, and I ran 3 of those laps. My buddy Anthony and I walked the last two, but I actually think I could have kept going for the full mile! Definitely not 3 miles, yet, but I felt good and that's what matters.

After that we headed back to the house and hit the gym. My back's still rough, but better, and my legs were hurting me from the morning's leg workout from the Transformation Super Challenge, so I kept that in mind as we hit the weights. The group started with bench and I still want to work on some heavy lifting, so I did 3 sets of 10 at 135. My back was feeling rough after that though, so I decided that was it for weights for the night. Squats felt like they'd be way too painful, though Thursday I have every intention of getting back into them.

We finished the workout with the new Ab Ripper X2 from P90X2. I was iffy about doing abs with my side feeling the way it has, but the workout actually went pretty well. We had a few issues with room in the gym for everyone; there's a lot of stuff in this workout that has you going left and right, back and forth, and my garage just isn't that big. But overall we all did it and had a great time getting to the end! I actually dug this workout a lot more than the original Ab Ripper, probably because I've done it WAY more times than I can count (though if I really wanted to count, I could go back through the blog).

So that was last night. I'm slowly getting back into my workout mode again, even though my side/back still hurt, and as soon as possible I can't wait to start lifting heavy again.

This morning I woke up with every intention of running. For TSC I'm supposed to do 20 minutes of either running, biking or rowing, with different intensities for different amounts of time. Unfortunately I'm kind of a baby when it comes to cold weather, and it was a lot colder than I thought it would be this morning. I went into the gym to try rowing on the Total Gym, but decided instead to do one of the Turbo Fire Workouts. Yes, I have an obsession with DVD workout programs. I figured the 25 minute HIIT workout would be good to start the day with, and sure enough it was! This thing was a killer. Yes, it's definitely a "girly" workout, in the sense that it's hip hop music and a lot of aerobics, but it was still a great workout. I need to do these workouts more often!

The morning HIIT workout got my blood pumping and I felt pretty great (dead) after, which is where I am now. But this isn't going to count for my 20 minute run. I'm going to do that tonight when I get home, when it's a little warmer. Then I'll probably round that out with 1 more half hour workout in the gym and call it good.

So that's what I've got. Nutrition has been excellent lately. I'm eating a lot of apples, smaller portions, and dinners have been healthy. Last night I made chicken in a tomato spinach sauce with some tortellinis. The pasta probably wasn't too healthy, but I only had one serving. I've gotta get ready for Summer, so I'm really pushing it hard in and out of the gym!

K, time for work. Bring it!

Feeling better and the start of the Transformation Super Challenge

Alright, it's Monday morning. I've officially been hurt, or sore, or sick, for 2 weeks and 1 day now. That's about 2 weeks longer than I'm willing to accept, and this morning I finally said "screw it" to whatever my body's been upset about. Working out is medicine for the body, and with less than 10 weeks to Summer I'm going to give it all the medicine it can take!

I've been wanting to start the Transformation Super Challenge that I found online a few weeks ago. It's a 10 week program, but in a break from my normal routines it is not a DVD program. In fact, it's actually a gym program, written out the same way that I like my DVD programs; each rep, the time in between and all of the exercises is spelled out for me. Perfect! It takes the thought out of the workouts. But the best part? It encourages 3 additional workouts per day! Why's that important? Since I finished my first round of P90X over a year ago I've been doing some form of doubles any time I try to work out, and I've been thinking that that's hindering whatever benefits I'm supposed to gain from that program. Not a lot, of course, but the additional work is taxing my muscles, making me tired for future workouts. This program, on the other hand, is designed to include these extra fun workouts, and while 3 additional a day seems extreme I am taking a lot of comfort in knowing that I'm meant to do more work on top of this program.

With all of that in mind, I got into the gym around 6:45 this morning. Today, day 1, is legs day, consisting of lunges, squats, Romanian dead lifts and calf raises. Since the program's a little bit propitiatory (I had to check a box saying I wouldn't share the e-book) I'm going to leave the rep counts out, but I will say that this program has you doing 5 sets, going from a high amount of reps in the first set to a low amount in the second to last set, followed by as many as possible on the last set again. The weights go up with each set except for the last one, which uses your first weight. I started with lunges, and got through the first 3 sets. Unfortunately, this is where I took a dive. I've been sick/sore for a while now, and the last few days my lower back's been killing me more than anything (aside from the possible gallstones, which still suck too). That, and I really haven't touched my legs in the gym for 3 or 4 weeks. So after that third set I really felt myself hit a wall. In the program there's a note that if you don't have weights to do body weights for a high number of reps. So I finished my as many as possible set on lunges, which was kind of pathetic, and then did body weight stuff for the rest of the exercises. The calf raises I used weight, but not a lot. I figure I'm doing this program to get back into health (not just shape) so easing into it didn't bother me too much.

Despite the lackadaisical workout my legs do feel pretty great right now. I'm thinking next week or the week after I should be able to actually keep up with the pace of the legs day.

So that's it, the beginning of the Transformation Super Challenge! It wasn't my best workout and I wish I could have powered through it a little stronger, but I've got a wedding to go to in 10 weeks (the length of this program) and the weekend after that is a big outdoor music festival that I want to look awesome for, so it was start now or probably not make it in time.

Well, time to start getting ready for work. Tonight I'll see how I'm feeling and might do a 30 minute workout before the group gets here, to count for one of my 3 additional workouts.

Bring it!

Back in the gym

Alright, I'm officially back into working out. I'm taking it easy though. I got started last night with a quick 1 mile jog, which felt ok. I went back and forth between jogging and walking. I felt the stones jumping around when I ran too long. Still, it felt good to be moving.

I didn't touch the bar, as promised, but I stuck to the Tower 200 and did the first half of Shoulders & Arms from P90X. I wasn't looking for an intense workout. Just something to get me started working out again, and nothing that touched my abs, chest or back (for the gallbladder reasons).

Overall it was a lame workout for me, but I needed a lame workout. I'm feeling much better today, though still not 100%. I'm hoping to be over this whole thing soon, whether that means home remedies or surgery. I'll keep you posted.

Incidentally, I found a new workout program today called Tapout XT. It's another MMA style 90 program. I don't know if I'll do the actual program, but I love the MMA workout DVDs and figured I'd pick it up. It said it was only $39.95, though after I hit purchase I found the tiny fine print that said 3 payments of. It's bullshit, but I wanted it and had already hit purchase anyways.

So ya, I'll probably give that a try soon. As soon as I recover I want to kick the workouts into high gear, like 2 a days. Summer's coming up and if I can spend 10 weeks or so getting ready I think I'll be looking great!

So that's my story. No workout tonight, probably none tomorrow, and Sunday I hope to be back into the swing of things full time.

Bring it!

Health problems holding me back

Alright folks, it's been almost 2 weeks since I've really worked out. I worked out last Monday, and a little bit last Thursday, but that's really it. I woke up after my cousin's birthday party over a week ago with intense pain in my upper right oblique area. It's been hurting ever since. The doctor thinks it's gallstones. I'm getting more tests done, but until the pain goes away the gym's kind of going to be a trick. I'm planning on getting in there tonight with the group and working my arms and doing some cardio, but until the pain goes away I'm steering clear of abs and the bar. The bar is only freaking me out because it made the ab pain become really bad back pain last time I touched it.

So that's my story. I'm pretty sure this means no ESP-XC for a while. Not sure what I'm going to do with that, if it means starting over or what.

I'll keep you posted how tonight's workout goes.

ESP-XC Day 21: Strength Upper Body AND the return of Starting Strength

So as I promised, I have restarted Week 5 of ESP-XC! Here's a quick recap.

Friday I didn't work out. Heather's restaurant's grand opening was that night and I went to the restaurant after work. Bitchin' party! There were so many people and the food was incredible! A lot of drinks were present too. Great night!

Saturday morning my cousin Miles and his buddy drove in for the Miles' 21st birthday. We got some sleep, saw my folks, another cousin drove in, and then the five of us (me, 2 cousins, 1 girlfriend and 1 cousin's friend) headed down to Bellagio for a night of ridiculous nonsense. Vanessa, a good friend, met us there as well. We ended up having an incredible night filled with amazing food (like stupid amazing....one of the best meals Vegas has to offer!), nightclubs that overlook the Strip, gambling that actually resulted in winnings for everyone, and more nonsense. There was one negative to the night, but I'm going to leave it out because I want to remember his birthday with a smile for the rest of my life.

I mention the birthday because Sunday, oh man, I was DEAD! I didn't sleep much, went and ran errands for part of the day, so that night I was zonked (good word, right?) and didn't get to work out.

Enter Monday.

Monday morning I was still very tired, so after I got home from work is when I popped in the DVD. I did the workout last week and it's awesome. A good, normal weight lifting routine for upper body, focusing mostly on chest and back. There's a lot of stuff done on the ball too, like flys and bench press. It was a great workout.

Afterwards the group came over. We did a few laps around the park, then got started on Starting Strength again, this time with a few modifications. Vince hurt his shoulder a few weeks ago, so we decided to do Front Squats instead of regular squats. Much harder, and at 135 I was struggling! That said, I did complete them and will be adding weight on Thursday. I did 5 sets of 5 by the way. Since we're only running this program twice a week that's what I'm focusing on.

Next was bench press, and I did 3x5 at 155. I realize I just said I want to do 5x5, but I hurt my back somewhere in the night and that was me calling it quits. The group did ab ripper after, but my back hurt too much.

So overall good workout, and I like that we'll be adding in strength training again twice per week. Tonight I'm going to hit up Legs from the Strength phase. Wish me luck!

Bring it!

I've kind of screwed up, but I'm not giving up!

K, life has severely gotten in the way of my fat free jewness this week. Some stuff came up Sunday, so workout didn't happen until Monday. Then some more stuff came up on Wednesday. Then I tried to catch up on the ESP-XC workouts by getting up early on Thursday to workout, only to find out after the workout that I'd done the wrong workout! Then more stuff came up Thursday night so I couldn't work out before the group came over. Then Friday, today, I ended up getting up at 5am to do some work, and tonight I'm supporting my amazing girlfriend in her restaurant's grand opening, so long story short, I've screwed up ESP-XC. Normally I'd say that's 4 weeks of working out down the drain, but here's the new view on things....I still worked out this week. I worked out almost every day, except Wednesday of course, and last night I had a great workout, so the way I'm looking at it is I can still start Week 5 again completely from scratch, starting on Sunday. Should work, right?

With that in mind, I want to document yesterday's two workouts!

I woke up early and hit play on Cardio/Combo from the Strength phase. This was the one that wasn't supposed to be until the end of the week, but I read the instructions wrong (AKA didn't read the instructions) and did this one instead. Overall it's a fun workout! Much more interesting than the last cardio/combo. I like that there's actual kicks, and most of the combos are original and really fun. I mean, not incredibly original, but much more than the last DVD. Also they use hand weights a lot to build shoulder power, which I thought was awesome!

So that was yesterday morning. That night I came home, cleaned a little bit, and then the group came over for workout. Somehow we ended up talking for longer than normal, and didn't get started until 8. Since most people have to leave by 9:30 I decided no weights for me (and anyone else interested) and instead hit play on Game Day from Asylum. This workout is still a blast and everyone did it with me! It was great! We ran the mile, did the wrestling moves, surfed a little...it was fun. Then we wrapped it up with Ab Ripper. Good stuff.

So that's the last few days. Tonight will be celebrating, tomorrow I'm celebrating my cousin's 21st birthday (happy bday Miles!) and then Sunday I'm back into workout mode, starting Week 5 of ESP-XC all over again!

Wish me luck!

Bring it!

ESP-XC Days 20 through 22

Wow, I'm a few days behind on the blog. Life's been keeping me pretty busy, but I wanted to get something documented real fast.

I wrapped up the Endurance phase of ESP-XC on Friday with Legs. It was a few days ago, but I'm pretty sure it was a decent workout. Not great, as being the end of the week some of my energy had been zapped already, but not bad either. I'm happy to be rid of this workout though. Legs are my least favorite thing to work out and this one's a killer workout.

I took the weekend off.

Monday I got started on the Strength phase with the Upper Body workout. This felt much more like the traditional weight training I know. 3 rounds of slow upper body movements, focusing on 8 to 12 reps and going slow with heavy weight. Then the same 3 rounds are repeated, followed by the finale. I don't know why I'm drawing a blank on the finale right now, but I know it was hard. Overall awesome workout and I really pushed.

The group came over that night and we did the usual stuff. Lots of lifting and sparring/grappling. The fighting stuff is excellent cardio. We even went for a jog around the neighborhood. It was good.

A quick note, the group workout's have lost focus since we switched away from Starting Strength. There's been talk of getting that program started again, possibly starting Monday. I'll keep you posted what we decide.

Finally I did the Legs workout from the Strength phase of ESP-XC last night. Again, this one felt like normal weight lifting to me. Three rounds again of slow heavy movements, then repeat the 3 rounds. The weighted frog sit for the finale was brutal, and there was a part 2 on the finale too. I forget what that was, but it was hard.

So overall great workouts the last few days. I'm looking forward to making more progress in ESP-XC. I think tonight I have a dinner date with the girlfriend, which may push tonight's workout back a day. I'll keep you posted on that too.

Bring it!

ESP-XC Day 19: Endurance Cardio/Combo and the group workout

Last night I got home, got a load of dishes and laundry started, and hit play on Cardio/Combo from the Endurance Phase. This is the last time I get to do this workout before moving on to the Strength version.

Overall I'm going to say this wasn't my best workout. I don't know why but I felt distracted. I think I was thinking about dinner (I'll get to that in a minute). I made it through the whole thing, but my focus just wasn't there. Honestly I like this workout, but after a few weeks it's starting to feel very basic. Don't get me wrong, it's hard, especially the low to high stuff like the burpees and half burpees, but the combos I have down pretty well and have for a while, so they lose some of the excitement. There isn't even a single kick, only knees. And if I ever fought, I'd definitely be a kicker.

So with that in mind I had a great first half and a lazy second half. Not my best workout, but fortunately the group was coming over after.

I got dinner started just before everyone came over, but I got ambitious and preparing dinner took a little longer than I wanted. Everyone was waiting for me, which I felt bad about, but Heather's been under a lot of stress lately and I wanted to make sure she had a great dinner. I made turkey meatballs stuffed with ravioli. Yup, stuffed! They were awesome, but a little dry. I tried to make them healthy, which meant not a lot of sauce.

Anyways, after I got dinner in the oven we hit the gym. I was focusing on striking speed since that was what I was/should have been working on in the cardio/combo workout. I did 4 sets on bench for speed/reps and did well. I used the door gym a lot and worked on strikes, and I used the Billy Bands from PT 24/7 to work the shoulders.

For kicks we decided to put on the Strength Cardio/Combo DVD. Some folks wanted cardio ideas and I wanted to see what I was in for. We only watched the first half, but the strikes were a lot more fun! And everyone that was doing them looked like they enjoyed it.

We finished the evening with Ab Ripper X. No one really likes Ab Ripper, but we all feel great when it's done. Overall I had a great ab workout and was happy with my progress.

So that was the workout. FYI, the diet's been going really well. I started using the Lose It app on my phone and tracking food is helping.

Tonight I have Legs from Endurance, and that's the last workout in this phase. I'm ready!

Bring it!

ESP-XC Day 18: Endurance Core/Balance

K, I'm actually writing this on Friday morning, but I had a test blog (long story) posted yesterday and decided to just edit it so the dates line up a little better.

Wednesday night I came home from work, sat around for 15 minutes, and then hit play on Core/Balance from the Endurance phase. This is the last time I get to do this workout as I'm moving on to the Strength phase next week.

I'm going to miss this workout, but I'm curious what's next. It's a really good ab workout, but it goes back and forth between abs and balance. I have really good balance, so those parts are a nice breather, though I am really working on making my balance better in those instances. The ab stuff is a lot of holding, and I held stuff longer in this workout than I have in any of the previous times I've done this. I almost got the Supermans for the whole 2 minutes too, which is huge progress! And the iron bridge (lie on your back with your legs 6 inches off the ground) I held for the entire minute. It sucked but somehow I did it!

So ya, great workout. I'm ready to see what the Strength phase of Core/Balance has in store for me.

Bring it!


Wow, I missed a blog posts but I never stopped working out!

Wow, I just now am getting a chance to update this blog. But don't think I haven't worked out since Thursday (the last time I posted) because that's just not the case. It's been a few days, so forgive me if I forget some details.


Friday I forget what happened, but the evening hit quickly and I did not get to work out. I ate healthy though, so that counts.

Saturday I still had one more ESP-XC workout for Week 3, and that workout went well. It was Core/Balance and it went well. I got my 100 situps in in the finale and overall felt great about the workout.

Because I worked out Saturday I took Sunday off. Then came Monday. Monday was Legs, and this is a dreaded workout. It's hard, really hard, and my legs were on fire at the end. However, I think I had my best leg workout ever in this program and I felt great about it. I only get to do this workout one more time, since next week starts Month 2, the Strength phase, and all new workouts are coming out.

After the Legs workout the group came over and we ended up having a very interesting workout. We started with bench and pullups, which felt good, but then somehow we started rotating sets of 2 people and those 2 people would grapple for a few minutes. Mark's been showing us a bit of jiu jitsu (not to the level where any of us would claim to know what we're doing) but everyone got to roll with everyone at least once, and that took up about 45 minutes of the evening. It was fun! I really want to study jiu jitsu sometime soon so I'm going to look into it. But long story short the workout was a blast and it was awesome cardio!

Last night I hit play on Upper Body from the Endurance phase of ESP-XC. This was the last time I was doing this workout and I wanted to make it awesome! I pushed hard, held the pushups for a long time, held the chinup for the entire minute on the total gym, and overall had an amazing workout. and I did all 55 pushups in the finale! It was great!

So that's been the last few days. Just 3 more days in Month 1 of ESP-XC, and then onto the Strength phase!

Bring it!

Group Workout and Ab Ripper X

I got home a little later than I wanted to last night, and after a bit of being lazy time on the couch I realized I didn't have time for ESP-XC last night. Fortunately there's 5 workouts per week and the instructions aren't really clear on if I should take two days off, space them out, or what, so I opted to push my last workout of Week 3 to Friday (tonight). The group was still coming over the normal workout, so I wanted to have some energy for that. The ESP-XC workout that was scheduled was Core/Balance, and I knew that after 100 situps I would have no desire to do any weight training.

The group showed up around 7 and we got started around 7:20. I started out with hammer pullups. I don't know what to call them, but they use the hammer handles instead of the chinup or pullup handles. I focused on going really slow and going to full extension down, and I ended up with 2 sets of 4 and 2 sets of 3. It felt good, even though by the end I felt my arms hurting from the upper body workout from Wednesday.

After that I got into bench and did 2 sets of 10 and 1 set of 12. Then came a set of deadlifts, some more pullups and then came Ab Ripper....

I don't really know how we decided to do Ab Ripper, but I'm really happy we did it. It was the usual 15 minutes of absolute agony, followed by an amazing feeling of relief. I did all 50 Mason Twists and felt great about it.

So that was about it. Tonight I'm wrapping up Week 3 of ESP-XC.

Bring it!

ESP-XC Days 13 and 14

Forgot to blog yesterday. Sorry. Almost forgot to blog today. I've actually been playing on SpoonerSpot, a website that I'm beta testing, and lost track of time. That's beside the point though.

So last night was Cardio/Combo from the Endurance phase. I like this one because it's the most punching and kicking of any of the DVDs in the first month. Well, punching and knees. There aren't actually any kicks. But it's fun. Hard too. My cardio really needs work, and especially with my legs being shot from the day before (it was legs day) it made for a difficult workout. Also this is the only workout in month 1 that doesn't go in rounds, so there really aren't any breaks. It's a great workout, but rough. I did well with it. Broke a good sweat and fought through the leg pain. Good stuff.

After that I made ground turkey red beans and rice. It had spinach and tomatoes in it too. Healthy and tasty. I was pleased.

Tonight I got home from the office and hit play around 6:40. Today's workout was upper body. I've really only done this one once since last week I was tied up with the other workout during this one. Upper body is my favorite part to work since it's usually all weights; I like lifting weights. This one really doesn't have much weights (though it has some), but the whole thing is very different than a traditional weight lifting workout. There's a ton of doing one rep and holding it for 1 minute things. That's really hard in a chinup and a pushup. The chinup one I held for about 15 seconds, then a few more sets of 8 seconds. Good, but not great. But man did my biceps hurt afterwards! The pushup ones though I did great on! It was hold at the bottom for 10 seconds, followed by an up and then a straight back down, for 1 minute (so basically 6 reps). I did all of them. No breaks!

The shoulder stuff in this workout is great! Again it's all slow stuff or isolation stuff, but my shoulders were on fire by the end. All of the regular rep stuff went great too. It's all slow up, hold, slow down, repeat. That gets difficult after a few reps, and it's never just a few reps in this workout.

The whole thing ends with 10, 9, 8....., 2, 1 pushups, totaling 55 pushups done in under 3 minutes (2:30 in the DVD). They started to get hard around the 5 mark but I did them all, and actually did them a little faster than the DVD folks so I did the last 1 rep with them too.

Overall a great workout yesterday and today. Tomorrow is Core/Balance one more time to round out Week 3, followed by the group workout. Wish me luck!

Bring it!

ESP-XC Day 12: Endurance Legs plus the group workout

ESP-XC preaches throughout the whole program that "Legs and abs separate the pros from the Joes" Pretty much every workout in some way works the legs and to a lesser extent the abs, and that makes the leg workout, at least the one I've been doing in Month 1, extremely difficult.

It doesn't help that my legs are weak. Weak is a relative term....they're actually the most defined portion of my body. We were being dumb in the gym last week showing calf and quad muscles, and somehow mine were the most defined of the group. I've been working out a while and have always done sports and activities that require a lot of leg, so my legs are pretty awesome looking. But strength wise, or maybe it's endurance wise, they give out quick and this workout is excruciating!

The workout goes back and forth between holding something with your legs for a minute or two, followed by slow movement exercises like lunges and squats. There's almost no weights used, but it's still so painful. The frog sits in the beginning got my legs feeling sore within a minute, and the second minute was me holding for ten seconds and then taking a five second break over and over. The rest of the workout went similar. On a few sets of the one leg lunges I felt like my quad was going to explode. It's a genuinely painful feeling, like a muscle became a knife and is determined to rip through my skin. I pushed through and did the whole exercise, even though one set has you going ten right ten left, and I could only manage five right five left.

So overall a good workout, but I don't understand why my legs hurt me so much! I want to be a pro, not a Joe!

Anyways, that was started around 6:15, so I finished right as the group was arriving for workout. We talked for about five minutes and then hit the gym around 7:15.

The first thing we did was a round of Ab Ripper X. We had talked about it via Facebook during the day, and since it'd been a while (not once in 2012 so far!) since we'd done Ab Ripper we decided to START the workout with that. Ya, start....

So we hit play and all found room on the floor. No one made it through, and we probably should have done a better warmup, especially for our legs. Mine were already killing me (obviously). But we did Ab Ripper and all of us got an excellent ab workout in!

We hit up 300 next. I did pullups for 2 sets of 5. I realize my numbers were higher a few weeks ago, but I'm really focusing on doing the full range of motion at a slow slow tempo, and that really does make it harder.

Deadlift was next and I did 2 sets of 10 and 1 set of 5 at 135. It felt good, but towards the end my legs were giving out.

I finished with 2 sets of 15 on bench at 135. It always amazes me that even though I can (or could) do sets of 5 at 175, 135 still feels extremely heavy. I was proud of my two sets of 15.

After that I went inside to check on Heather but she was sound asleep on the couch. I didn't want to wake her but was pretty sure she hadn't eaten all day, so I did a quick stretch, called it quits on the gym for the night and got started on dinner. I made turkey burgers and rice.

So ya, I'm pleased with the night's workout. After the workout and dinner I got started on some work. My company is creating a very cool, unique new product (I'll post a link sometime soon) so I'm going to be working around the clock for a few weeks. Stayed up til midnight working, then went to bed, and got up this morning about 30 minutes ago to work some more. I'm just using this blog to wake myself up (working good so far!).

Tonight I'm going to get my Cardio/Combo workout in and follow it up with more work or sleep depending how I'm feeling.

Bring it!

ESP-XC Days 10 and 11 - Endurance Core/Balance

I have two workouts to recap plus one crazy birthday event in the middle. The two workouts were both Core/Balance from the Endurance phase, and it occurs to me that it's kind of lame that the end of Week 2 and the beginning of Week 3 are the same workout. Meh, at least it's a fun workout.

Friday I got home from the office and hit play on this DVD. Awesome workout as always. The 100 situps at the end seemed to go by really fast; so fast, in fact, that I finished before the guys on the DVD by a good 30 reps. Overall a good workout.

Saturday I worked out of the house most of the day, and that night we went out for my and Heather's birthday. The group went to sushi followed by a big Mardi Gras party called Naughty Gras. Very successful evening, we had about 20 people floating in and out of the group and we all got home around 2:30 am. Very fun way to bring in my old age.

Yesterday was the beginning of Week 3 of ESP-XC, and like I said, it was Core/Balance again. My roommate decided to join me for this workout, which was good cuz it forced me to work a little bit harder on some of the isometric stuff. I held Superman pose longer than ever before (still not the full 2 minutes though), I held the entire plank, and the rest I kept my pace up really well. Also on the situps I tried to go a lot slower than I have been. I ended up finishing my situps about the same time as the trainers this time, and I kept a good pace rather than focusing on sets of 30 or 20, which is what I have been doing. This felt harder so the slow tempo is what I'm going to stick to.

Overall a good weekend and two good workouts. Right now I'm writing this blog to get my head clear because I've gotta get some work completed before I go in today.

Tonight it's Legs and the usual group workout. I'll let you know how it goes.

Bring it!

ESP-XC Day 9: Endurance Upper Body

Got into Endurance Upper Body from ESP-XC last night. Unfortunately it was also workout night and I had to take care of some stuff before hand, leaving me stuck doing my workout during group gym time again. I had promised everyone on Monday I wouldn't do that, so I put the DVD and did a combo of 300 and upper body. Basically between my sets of 300 I did whatever the DVD was doing. I got a good workout, but it wasn't great. In about a week I'll have some big stuff off of my plate and I can get back into working out in the morning on those days, which will really help me out.

Despite the kind of sort of ESP-XC workout I definitely worked out and I'm counting it! Today I'll hit up Core/Balance and wrap up Week 2. I don't think I'm going to post tomorrow, so just in case tomorrow is my girlfriend Heather's birthday and I want to wish her a very happy birthday!

Ok, tonight's workout sounds fun. I'm ready! Bring it!

ESP-XC Day 8: Endurance Cardio/Combo and a tribute to Jerrame Glenn

Well, last night was kind of a whirlwind of events and emotions, so let's recap that.

It was Valentine's Day, as I mentioned in the last post. I got home around 5:30 from the office, sat for ten minutes and then went straight into the gym. I hit play on Cardio/Combo from the Endurance phase. My legs were in absolute agony from the night before and it made the workout very difficult. The whole thing goes back and forth between a combo (punch, knee, elbow, etc.) and a cardio exercise (weird jumping jacks, regular jumping jacks, burpees, etc.). I made it about 20 minutes in and all of a sudden my body decided to be extremely tired and sore. I pushed through and finished the workout, but the intensity in the second half wasn't even close to what I've normally been bringing to my workouts.

I got done around 6:45 and would overall give the workout a low B. Not terrible at all, but between my legs and my energy the second half I'm not to thrilled with either.

After that was dinner. I met Heather at her restaurant, Mr. B's, around 8. They were packed, which slowed dinner down a bit, but I had my veal with ham and sauce and whatever else it is (it's mighty tasty) and it was a great night. And I got to dance with my girlfriend! I'm not a really mushy guy, I've never been into Valentine's Day and even relationships are something that a part of my brain doesn't fully grasp, but I know that spending last night dancing with Heather was awesome and I'm smiling now just thinking about it!

So I came home and went to work on some homework, but sadly I got some news about a friend of mine from high school named Jerrame Glenn. Apparently Jerrame took his life about a week ago. I was never incredible friends with Jerrame, but we were in band together from 6th grade through the end of high school. I shared a room with him for a week when we went to Hawaii 10 years ago on a band trip. I have nothing but good memories for Jerrame and was very sad to hear that this had happened to him. So I'm dedicating a part of this post to Jerrame. I'm sorry things ended up the way they did for you sir, but please know that I have nothing but excellent memories of you, and I will always remember you as a positive, caring individual.

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So that's my post for the day. No workout tonight. It's actually my birthday (I'm not big on birthdays, but I guess last year I didn't work out so that seems like a nice little tradition) today so I'm going to see the folks for dinner tonight. That's all I've got.

Bring it!

ESP-XC Day 7: Endurance Legs and a little bit of jits

So weird thing about me....about once ever two months I'll wake up with the hiccups, and they won't stop until I go to bed. Well, they'll stop, but only for a little while. Basically I'll have them for about 30 minutes, then they'll go away for an hour, and that repeats all day. And they're painful hiccups. So anyways, I was going to start ESP-XC last night around 6, but my hiccups lasted til after 6:40! There was no way I was going to get the workout done before everyone came over for the night's workout. Then I had an idea....what if I do legs while everyone else does 300?

So that's what I did. We got started around 7:30 and everyone decided to do the first round with me on ESP-XC. Legs is so far the hardest DVD I've done from this program and I was impressed with everyone holding out. Well, until the second minute of the squat hold thing in the beginning. In that exercise you sink into a squat, and then hold it for 2 minutes. Yup, 2 minutes. I made it just about a minute before I needed a break, and the second half was me holding for sets of 10 seconds. At that point everyone else had pretty much gone on to 300.

So I had a killer leg workout last night. I'm really trying to go all the way through the motions on this exercise because my legs have always been a weak part of my body in terms of working out. How they feel today, I feel pretty sure that they got a good workout!

I finished the workout and everyone else still had a few more exercises to do on 300, so I decided to keep working out. My roommate was in there too (the one who practices jiu jitsu) and we decided to spar (roll? I don't know what it's called). I'm not very good and only know enough to sometimes not get taken to the ground, but it's still fun and an amazing workout! So we rolled a few times, and the first two rounds he dominated. Somehow the third round I actually got him in a choke. No clue what kind of choke it was, but it was a choke! He tapped! I couldn't believe it! Still no clue how I did it or what I did, but I was impressed with myself.

After that Mark pretty much destroyed me and punished me for getting that choke, but it was still awesome. He kept trying to choke me and I wasn't going to let it happen, but getting cranked on the chin sucks a lot and I had to tap.

I did a few pullups and floor wipers and that was the end of my workout. Overall a good workout and great progress on week 2 of ESP-XC.

Quick note, today is Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day to my girlfriend, my love, Heather! Tonight we're going to dinner around 8, so I'm going to get home, workout and then head over to the restaurant. Should be a fun night!

Bring it!

ESP-XC Day 6: Endurance Core/Balance

Week 2 of ESP-XC has officially begun. For some reason this program doesn't count the rest days as days, so according to the program this workout was Day 6. I'm going to stick with that on the titles, but know that this was the first workout of Week 2.

Last night's workout was Core/Balance from the Endurance phase. I got to do this workout last week once and this week I'm starting my week with it. It's an interesting workout. It goes back and forth between balance and core stuff. The balance stuff isn't too hard for me, in the sense that I have pretty good balance. That doesn't mean it was easy, but I didn't break a sweat much in these sections. In the core stuff though I really felt my abs getting a workout and I was soaked by the end of each core exercise. Things like holding Superman pose for 2 minutes (yup, 2 minutes P90Xers!), doing a situp and going into boat pose, side crunches and a lot more along those lines. The workout even ends with 100 situps. Fortunately I'm good with situps and ended up finishing them about 20 reps before the crew on the TV, so I threw in 10 more for a total of 110 reps.

Overall it was a good workout, and I like the mix of hard and not hard. It was a very lazy relaxing weekend and working extremely hard didn't sound up my alley.

Tonight I have another round of Legs (didn't we just do this workout?) followed by the group working out as usual. Should be fun.

Also tomorrow is Valentine's Day so the workout will be tight to get in (that's what she said?) but I'm going to make it work somehow. Then the rest of the week is interesting with my birthday (I'm getting old) followed a few days later by my girlfriend's birthday. Should be fun, but a very hectic week.

K, that's all I've got for the moment.

Bring it!

ESP-XC Day 5: Endurance Legs and more 300

I hit play around 6:30 last night on Legs, the final workout in Week 1 of ESP-XC. On Sunday I made the comment that this was one of the best leg workouts I'd ever done and it was enjoyable. Last night, not so much. It's the same workout, obviously, but being the end of the week my legs were feeling pretty beaten and I really tried to push it, making them hurt even more!

This workout focuses almost entirely on body weight stuff, and there's lots of isometric moves in there. The beginning and end both focus on holding a squat for 1 or 2 minutes (I can't remember how long....felt like a few years personally), and throughout the whole workout there's lots of lunges and single leg squats. I feel like I take it easy on leg day sometimes (it's my least favorite body part to work) and I'm really trying to make that no the case in these workouts. That means that my legs are truly killing me today! Sharp pains from going deep on some moves made me know that I did well, but afterwards hurt like a bitch!

The gang came over right as the DVD was wrapping up. We hit the bag for a few minutes, then stretched, and then got into 300. It was an awesome 300 day! My pullup numbers have gone down, but that's because I'm really focusing on going slow with a full range of motion. These pullups were quality. Deadlifts at 135 were good; I did 3 sets of 10. It's amazing how much energy deadlifts zap from me, even at 135 (I was deadlifting 205 a few weeks ago!).

Floor wipers, body squats (no jumping squats today with the leg workout having just been completed), bench press (32 reps total at 135) and more pullups rounded out the workout. Overall I was very pleased.

So that was yesterday. It doesn't look like I'll be able to workout today. Dinner with the folks and grandparents, so maybe tomorrow I'll hit the gym in the morning. We'll see.

Week 1 of ESP-XC is done! So far I'm liking the program a lot and can't wait to get better at these workouts!

Bring it!

ESP-XC Day 4: Endurance Cardio/Combo

Day 4 of ESP-XC is in the books. I got through Cardio/Combo from the Endurance phase last night. I did this workout once before, a week ago, when I was just trying to get a feel for this program to make sure it was something I wanted to do. It was a lot of fun that day. Last night when I did this workout it was noticeably less fun, but still fun and an awesome workout overall!

I hit play around 6:30 and this thing instantly takes off. Two minutes of jumping jacks and then right into a combo. The jumping jacks were killing my calves at the end of the two minutes, and this is when I realized that it wasn't going to be as fun of a workout; my legs are dying from the other ESP-XC workouts from this week! Doing the workout fresh is one thing, but doing it after doing this program all week is very different and much harder!

The combo mentioned above is long, but a good start to the workout. I think it's two straight punches, two ducks, two hooks, two elbows, two covers, two upper cuts and four knees. If that sounds like a lot then I agree with you.

The rest of the workout goes like that, switching back and forth between a basic cardio exercise and a punch/knee combo. No actual kicks in this workout, but I'm expecting those to show up in later phases.

The whole thing ends with a finale (all of the workouts end with a finale in this....it's a cool little twist) of 5 counts of running in place, 5 counts of high knees in place and 3 sprawls, all for 3 minutes. The sprawls really worked me, but by the end I was covered in sweat and I never gave up!

These workouts have so far been an excellent challenge. They all work my body in ways different than what I'm used to. I can do all of them, pretty much, which is a testament to my strength and conditioning from the last year and a half, but keeping up is still difficult and I've got a long way to go on my belly, which says a lot for growth and diet.

So that's my story. I realize yesterday (and the day before) I said I was gonna do Pt24/7 too, but time just isn't on my side these days. Soon I want to get back into a doubles schedule but I've gotta get a few things off of my plate first.

Tonight is Legs again and then I'm officially done with Week 1. I'll be lifting afterwards too with the gang, and tomorrow isn't a scheduled workout but I'm going back to Sunday through Friday on, Saturdays off, so I'll find something fun to do. I'll keep you posted.

Bring it!

ESP-XC Day 3: Endurance Core/Balance

Alright, I'm moving forward full steam with ESP-XC and so far I've gotta say that it's awesome!

I had to take care of some stuff when I got home last night, but ended up hitting play about 6:45. Last night's workout was Core/Balance from the Endurance phase. This was a very interesting workout. My balance is pretty decent, always has been. So the balance stuff felt like a really good stretch. The abs section was pretty intense. There were some moves I'd never seen before and the vast majority of the entire workout was on body weight stuff. There were also a few things that were from P90X and other workouts like that, but because this is endurance we did things for a lot longer than I'm used to. Like Supermans. In P90X you do Superman for 10 seconds, then put it down. In ESP-XC you do Superman (attempt is probably a better word) for 2 minutes! Crazy, but that's how you build endurance.

The whole thing ended with 100 situps. I may have a layer of pudge but I can handle some situps. They sucked but I completed all 100 and felt great at the end!

So I know I'm less than a full week into this program but I've gotta say that so far this is one of my favorite workout programs ever. Ken, the trainer, is a real fighter and he comes across as knowing what he's talking about. And the program itself focuses on actually getting better at martial arts (last night's workout he even says that this is for someone who can't afford a trainer but has a fight coming up). I'm not a fighter...just a guy who likes MMA and likes to pretend....but I definitely appreciate the reality of these workouts. And so far they're mostly body weight stuff, which has been really interesting. My upper body feels incredible after Monday's workout, and it's been a while since I've really felt "worked" after a workout.

Tonight is Cardio/Combo. I did this one last week just to try it and I'm really excited to do it tonight. I also might try to do PT24/7 after, or possibly Bas Rutten, but we will see.

Bring it!

ESP-XC Day 2: Upper Body and some weight lifting

I got home a little later than I wanted to last night (grocery store, work stuff, etc. kept me out of the house) but I finally hit play on the Endurance Upper Body workout from ESP-XC around 6:30. This is a very cool workout, and was completely different than I thought it would be. I'm in the Endurance Phase of this program. Each month is a different phase, Endurance, Strength and Power, and each phase has the same 4 DVDs with emphasis on whatever phase you're in. So the Endurance Upper Body one was all about building endurance in my upper body (that sounds obvious now that I have it written out).

I'm used to working out and I love lifting, but this was completely different than anything I'd ever seen in an upper body workout. According to Ken, the trainer, there's three parts of any exercise: the lift, the hold and the descent (I may be using the wrong terms here, but that's basically it), and they build muscle from most to least in the order of hold, descent and lift. This sounds different than what I've been told in the past, considering all of the emphasis on my bench/dead/shoulder press/everything else I've put all my effort into the lift. But whatever, I gave it a shot.

The whole DVD focused on stuff I'd done in the past, like chinups and pushups and rows, but most of the exercises put WAY more emphasis on the hold and the descent than anything else. For most exercises I focused on 1 second up, 2 seconds of hold and 4 seconds of decent, and I've gotta say that this was excruciating! Rows and shoulder flys that use that rhythm suck! I mean suck in a good way because today my shoulders feel excellent, but ya, they were really hard. And almost everything was like that. There were a few exercises that were even harder (as in holding yourself at the top of a chinup for 1 minute), but overall that was the scope of this workout. It was great, and I can definitely see how in 4 weeks my endurance will be a lot better.

I haven't really explained the ESP-XC workout too much on this blog. Each phase has a Legs, Upper Body, Core/Balance and Cardio/Combo DVD, and there's three phases. I only know info on the endurance phase, but I imagine Strength uses a lot heavier weights and power ties it all together. But basically you do each DVD once or twice a week depending on what the schedule says, and after 4 weeks you move on to the next phase. The focus is on periodized workouts, which, according to a few websites (ESP-XC.com included) means that you go through different phases and each period has a different emphasis for the workout, all building towards the end result.

So far I like ESP-XC a lot. I'm looking forward to Core/Balance tonight.

Anyways, the last five minutes of yesterday's workout didn't happen because people showed up to lift. Fortunately I was getting pretty tired so I turned the DVD off, took a five minute break and then got started with 300. I did a much simpler version considering the upper body workout I'd had, but I still did some really great work. Pullups (10 total, but all slow from bottom to top), deadlifts (2 sets of 10 at 135), pushups (didn't count. There were a lot), jump squats (3 sets of 10), floor wipers (2 sets of 10 at 135) and that was it. I did more pullups and the clean and press, but not well enough to even mention. Hey, at that point my arms were beat!

So that was Monday in a nut shell. Tonight I'm going to do ESP-XC and possibly some PT 24/7. I'll keep you posted!

Bring it!

PT 24/7 Combo Sculpt and ESP-XC Day 1: Legs

Alright, big things are happening! I've been working out consistently again, at least for the last week, and I've finally started a new program. Let's get a recap...

On Friday I got home and popped in Combo Sculpt from PT 24/7. I've made fun of Tae Bo in the past because honestly it's not my type of workout. I love martial arts workouts, but the Tae Bo I've done in the past has been cheesy aerobics at best. Not the case with PT 24/7. I've done two or three of these DVDs since I bought it and I've gotta say they're a blast. Practical combos, lots of punching and kicking, and the bands/gloves that come with the system are awesome. They tie your hands to your feet so you have resistance when you punch and kick and it totally works.

Back to the story, Friday I did Combo Sculpt. This one used way more kicks than I'd done in this DVD series before and it added a nice new challenge. The combos were mostly 3 or 4 strikes done slowly for a few sets, then the other side, then faster on both sides, then move on. The pace is really fast and it makes for an awesome cardio workout. Coming in just over 30 minutes it made for a good quick cardio workout before dinner with the girlfriend and some friends too.

Saturday I took a rest day, and today, Sunday, I finally got started on ESP-XC. I've been talking about this program for a while, I've done a few of the workouts just to do them, but today was officially day 1: Legs.

I absolutely hate working my legs out. It's like the most painful thing that man can experience and any chance I can pass on it I do. So starting with this made me a little weary. The entire thing is six 5 minute rounds, almost entirely doing body weight stuff. Most rounds were a 2 minute exercise, a 2 minute exercise and a 1 minute exercise, and the exercises ranged from isometric stuff like holding a squat to doing sets of kicks. I've gotta say, this was one of the better leg workouts I've ever done. I enjoyed not having to touch weights (I usually like weights, but not on leg days) and right now my legs are on fire so it feels like they got a great workout. Sadly I've gotta do this one again at the end of this week, so wish me luck.

ESP-XC, so far, has been a cool program. Ya, today's only day 1 but I've watched/done a few of the other discs and I like it. The coach, Ken, is pretty chill and is a good motivator. The music is the best of any workout DVD I've ever done, which is probably because it's all house/techno music. That's good considering you can't turn the music off. I hope this program goes a little more mianstream someday. I like it so far.

So tomorrow I have a scheduled workout! I'm pretty sure it's the upper body workout, but don't quote me on that. I'll keep you posted.

Bring it!

The group worked out last night

We all worked out last night. I did about 20 minutes of cardio, did one power set of everything in 300, added in some bicep curls and called it good. It was a good workout. Sorry I've gotta make this short but I wanted to document it.

Bring it!

Two days of workouts!

I have officially worked out for 3 days in a row, of which 2 need to be documented. We're getting back on track!

On Tuesday night I was going to do cardio, then the roommate talked me into yoga. As I was pulling out Yoga X2 from P90X2 (yes, I succumbed to pressure and bought it) I came across Recovery and Mobility, and I'd heard good things about it. We decided to this workout instead. It's not really a stretch; instead it's a lot like working on the body's actual ability to move. And there's a lot of foam roller action involved. I liked it.

Last night I got home and after a tiny bit of getting dinner started I got into the gym and hit play on Endurance Cardio/Combo from ESP-XC. I've watched a few of these DVDs while working in the gym but this was my first time actually doing a whole workout. It was killer!

It starts with 2 minutes of jumping jacks, and then goes back and forth between a 1 or 2 minute combo (jab, cross, hook, elbow, knee, etc.) and 1 or 2 minutes of cardio (jumping jacks, burpees, high knees, etc.). Overall it was a great workout and I felt awesome at the end. The trainer in these videos is surprisingly motivating and the music is actually pretty awesome (which is good because you can't turn the music off) and overall I was kept really motivated. I got tired, but I kept wanting to try harder. There's a lot of workout DVDs out there, and with the exception of P90X and to a lesser extent Insanity I really haven't seen this kind of positive motivation in a DVD workout before. I dig it!

With that in mind I'm planning on starting this actual program on Sunday. I need another solid program to do because just picking a DVD gets me too lazy. So ya that's the plan! I'll keep you posted how that goes!

Bring it!

Wow, I haven't posted much lately

K, looking over the blog I can see that I have not posted enough lately. That's pretty much because I haven't worked out enough lately. For that, friends, I want to apologize. This blog is a dedication to my commitment to getting in shape and staying healthy and for the last few weeks I have done this blog a disservice. So tonight I'm changing that. Yes, I am busy, and yes, lately I've felt really out of it (probably from the busy) but we're done with that!

Last night we did another 300 workout. Overall it went well. I've gotta say I really like the floor wipers now that I can actually do them (with help getting the bar up of course). At the end we did two quick rounds of jiu jitsu, but honestly I was exhausted and had to get dinner in the oven so I called it good.

Tonight is cardio. I'm pretty sure it's Cardio/Combo from ESP-XC, but I'm not 100% sure yet. It looks like another round of P90X just isn't in the cards for me so we're going back to the pick a DVD each night system. As long as I stick with it that should still be good.


I'll keep you posted. Bring it!

Quick recap cuz I feel terrible

Alright, first off I've felt like shit all week. I think it's the weather and my allergies. Migraines are happening every night and outside of work all I've had the energy to do this week is sleep.

So last night we did another round of 300. It went well, just like Monday. We did pushups though instead of bench, but we also did actual floor wipers! I really like those when I have someone spotting me so I don't kill myself.

K, that's all I have energy for. I feel terrible right now but I didn't want to not document this workout. Hopefully I feel better soon and can get back in the gym.

Bring it.

The 300 workout on a Monday?

Yup, the title is correct. The 300 workout was done on a Monday. Well, sort of. Here's what happened.

First off, the last few days got a little screwy. Friday night some stuff ended up coming up that got in the way of working out, then some more stuff got in the way of that stuff. Long story short, Friday's workout didn't happen. The stuff from Friday had me not feeling 100% on Saturday, so 300 didn't happen on Saturday. Sunday I had a few projects I needed to take care of, and that's my rest day anyways, so no workout there either. I know, I'm getting lazy. Heather's arm is still hurting which means she can't work out, and without motivation (ie people to work out with) I lose motivation quickly!

So last night, since P90X is currently on hiatus until everyone's feeling healthy again, I didn't work out until the group came over at 7pm. We hit the gym around 7:30, and instantly got into a conversation about 300. Long story short, with us steering away from strength building somehow we decided to do the 300 workout as our group workout for the night. Not for time, but instead focusing on just completing the whole thing.

There were five of us in the gym, but two modified the program a bit, leaving myself, Caleb and Vince trying to tackle the main workout. Here's how it went down.

I started with 3 sets of 5 pullups. In the full program there's 25 pullups here, but we'll take a minute to get there. Next we did deadlift. I did 2 sets of 15 at 135 lbs. The program calls for 50, but again, I'm working up to it. Next was 2 sets of 15 on bench press with 135 lbs; this one's supposed to be pushups, but it was bench day according to the Starting Strength plans so we kept that in. Next was squat jumps and we did 3 sets of 10. We'd originally planned on doing 5 sets of 10, which is what we have been doing on normal workout days, but after all of the deadlifts we were starting to slow down.

Floor wipers came after all of this madness. I did 1 set of 10 with the ball like I have been doing. Vince then did a set with the bar at 135, which is what you're supposed to do and I've been scared to do without supervision. Fortunately there was supervision today. Caleb did a set of 12, and that compelled me to do a set of 12 too. It was actually a lot easier to do than I thought, after getting the bar up with some help from friends. Then Vince did one more set of 10.

Next came clean and press, and we did those with 30 lbs dumbbells. I did a set of 10 and a set of 5 on the right side and then the same thing on the left.

Finally we finished with some more pullups. I did 2 sets of 5 and called it good.

Over all it was a great workout. It took us about an hour, we did fewer reps than the program calls for and we took lots of breaks. That said, we all felt exhausted at the end and it was a great workout! Expect us to be doing it again on Thursday.

So that was last night. Tonight I've gotta do some work so I won't be able to work out (this is becoming a theme) but I'm looking to straighten a few things out in my schedule in the next few weeks so I should be back into P90X and a regular schedule ASAP.

That's all I've got for today. Bring it!

Lifting and cardio last night

Well folks, I'm officially off programs for the week. Stronglifts and P90X have both been severely deviated this week, but working out is definitely still happening. Here's what happened last night...

First off, I was supposed to do yoga for P90X. With Heather out of commission for the week she wasn't able to join me, and somehow a quick errand popped up in my life that could only work time wise during yoga time. So as you can imagine, yoga before lifting did not happen like it did last week.

The actual lifting workout for the day got started around 7:30. We once again decided to do the 50 jump squats in place of the regular lifting squats. I've decided I really like these. They may not be increasing my strength but they are slowly working my cardio and endurance. I was tired by the end of 50, but not as dead as I usually am.

After squats we did some more body weight stuff, like sprinting in place, burpees (bleh!), pushups and other stuff along those lines. Then we got into actual lifting.

I shoulder pressed 115 lbs for 5x5. I've done this weight before a few weeks ago, but as I'm slowly building back up this was a challenge. I completed all of my sets, but by the end my arms and back were feeling it. I'm going to repeat this weight next week.

Deadlift was next and I did 1x5 at 205. This is the most I've ever deadlifted, but the second or third time I've done it. I'm going to repeat this weight next week and will move up the week after.

Finally instead of pullups Mark and I went 4 rounds on jiu jitsu again. Holy crap, I still can't get over how hard this is. The entire body is being used to push another body away from you, and I've just never experienced any exercise like this. Mark won all four rounds, but I did better than I thought I would. I learned from a youtube video yesterday how to defend against a single leg takedown a little better, and I actually pulled off the move from the video. This worked two or three times, and then Mark showed me something else I didn't know about standing leg takedowns....when they're happening, you're pretty much open to be choked. I didn't realize we hadn't covered that part yet, but man oh man did I realize it quick after I got choked while going for the leg. Ridiculous.

The grappling completely wore me out and there were no pullups. Overall though it was an awesome workout so I'm still happy with it.

We're still trying to figure out what our twice weekly workouts are going to eventually become. I really couldn't care less of squats come back, though they probably should. Shoulders and bench I want to keep working on and adding to, and deadlift too of course. Other than that I think I'm ready to change goals from strength training to fat loss. I want to do more drills like we did last night with the burpees and sprinting, and I want to do more cardio DVDs. And I've told the group I have no problem if everyone does their own thing as long as they come in with a plan. Someone just hanging out in the gym debating what to do next isn't going to get the best workout (trust me, I've been there), so coming in with a set program or a list of things they'll do for the day will really help.

There's also a program I was looking at last night for adding muscle mass that looked good for me. It was basically Starting Strength split into two days, Monday and Tuesday, except it was broken into an upper body day (Monday) and a lower body day (Tuesday). Wednesday was rest, and Thursday, Friday and Saturday were shoulders & arms, legs, and chest & back respectively, each focusing on 3 sets of 8 reps. The program can be laid on top of a cardio program for the same days, and based on my goals this makes the most sense for me.

I'll keep you posted what the next step is. Theoretically Heather and I are starting Week 2 of P90X Lean again on Monday, so I've gotta decide if that schedule will coincide with this new one. Hmm.

Anyways, that's all I've got for today. I'm going to do some cardio work tonight, but not sure what. Hmm.....

Bring it!

My first jiu jitsu class (sort of)

Well, P90X has hit a snag. Heather's arm is officially kaput, at least for the moment. I'm not sure if she slept on it wrong or if she tweaked it during Core on Monday, but it's been bandaged up most of the week and she has multiple appointments with her doctor to feel better. It sounds like she'll be good next week, but the rest of this week she cannot work out.

Since I'm trying to get us to do P90X together, I think we're putting this week on hold and starting up with Week 2 again on Monday. It's cheating, but I don't want her to have to start all the way over again.

So last night should have been arms, but my roommate Mark was home and he wanted to work out too. Mark's been doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for almost a year (which is one of three martial arts I'd someday like to study if/when I ever get the time) but this week he can't train because he's on call at work. So since there was nothing tying me to a specific workout and he still wanted to work out, I got to have my first jiu jitsu lesson!

This was a very dumbed down version of what is seen in an actual bjj class. We started with some basic warmup stuff, jumping, running, stretching, etc. Then we did burpees, which are never fun. A few ground/rolling around exercises after that, and then we got started on the actual fighting stuff. Mark taught me some very basic stuff on how to defend against single leg and double leg takedowns, then he taught me how to do single leg and double leg takedowns. We then worked on some basic standing grappling, and then did a series of 1 minute rounds.

I've gotta say, I was completely unprepared for this. Aside from thinking I'd be much better at jiu jitsu than I actually am (that was a wakeup call), physically this was one of the most intense sports I'd ever played. The entire body is working, and lots of muscles I never even thought about using were used. There's a lot of pressure on the top of the head, so my neck was feeling it. Defending leg takedowns requires a TON of leg strength, and my legs felt like jelly at the end. And as far as pushing a human body off of you, that required WAY more triceps and chest than I thought it would.

After an hour of working out I felt like my soul had been drained, but I was glad I did it. I really want to get back into martial arts, especially this style. It's just so different from any other martial art. Plus, if this is how I felt after a home jiu jitsu class I know that a real one will kick my ass! My ass needs to be kicked so I can lose some more weight, so yes, someday I need to do this!

Speaking of losing weight, my diet's been great the last few weeks. Don't get me wrong, it could always be better, but I'm doing about 6 tiny meals a day (lunch and dinner are the two biggest) and somehow I've finally seen the light and am eating carbs and protein at every meal. I was originally trying to cut carbs out completely, but somehow enough people made me realize they have energy benefits and in moderation they won't make me fat. This whole nutrition thing is beyond me, but I'm slowly learning.

So that's my story. Tonight is scheduled for yoga, but I might work on some martial arts. And of course lifting tonight. We'll see if we do squats again or just start doing some different things tonight. I'll let you know how it goes.

Bring it!

Day: 9, P90X Cardio X

Workout

P90X Cardio X Status: Completed Interesting night for P90X. It's Tuesday, which means Cardio X night, and we had some friends join us. Here's how it went down. First off, Heather tweaked her arm the wrong way. I'm not sure if it was from Core yesterday or from invisible murderous midgets who attack in your sleep. In either case, her left arm is completely bandaged up with a compression heat pack on the shoulder. She looks pretty rough and I feel bad for her; she looks like she's in a lot of pain. Our friends Jacqi and Candyce came over to join us for Cardio X, and with the new modifications to the gym there was plenty of room. Jacqi lifts with me, but she's been wanting to do more cardio and Heather and I invited her. We got started around 6:30, and everyone did great! Heather did was she could, but with yoga as the beginning there wasn't a whole lot she could do. Candyce doesn't work out much, but she kept up the whole time (with a few short breaks) and it was great to see her doing something awesome for her body. Jacqi pretty much kept up with the whole DVD. There were a few things she couldn't do physically yet, but she modified all of that stuff and never stopped moving. I was really proud of her! For me this was a pretty decent workout. I'd had a pretty shitty day leading up to the workout, but as soon as I got moving I felt a good rush of energy. Not as much as last week but I definitely felt better because I worked out. The yoga section felt really strong (Heather did call me out on my runner's pose for not keeping my back straight), the kenpo was solid, the plyo felt good and the core went well. Overall I was pleased with the work. So ya, it was a good workout overall. I think Jacqi is going to join us again next week for Cardio X. Heather said she might try Cardio X tomorrow too, but we'll see; we still have shoulders and arms to hit tomorrow night and I don't want her spending all of her energy on the wrong workout. Ok, that's all I've got for today. Bring it!

Day: 8, P90X Core Synergistics

Workout

P90X Core Synergistics Status: Completed Heather and I got started on Core Synergistics and the beginning of Week 2 of P90X Lean around 6:15 pm. Her back wasn't feeling to well, but I promised her I'd get her in the gym and that's exactly what I did. Heather ended up having a great workout! She did a lot more than I thought she was going to be able to with her back being sore, but she really impressed me. She really likes the Superman/Banana stuff too, and she did great! Me, I had a mediocre workout. I was really pumped to get in there, but once we got started I somehow lost a lot of steam. I don't know. I've been in a slump for the past few weeks, and it finally caught up with me the last few workouts. Hopefully I can push through the week. We didn't do the last ten minutes because people showed up for weightlifting, but overall it was a great workout and I'm happy with the progress!

Workout

Weights Status: Completed We got a late start, about 7:45, for weightlifting. Since we were behind we decided to do the jump squats again. Honestly, I'm starting to think these are harder than the regular squats. Ya, there's no weight, but I feel my legs way more at the end. We did 5 sets of 10 with a squat in the air on each. It was rough, but it helped us fly through the squats and got the cardio going strong. I'm a little worried that this is two workouts in a row that we did air squats. I want to get back into heavy lifting for squats, but if we keep starting late there just isn't time. We'll see what happens. Bench was next and I got started working on 175. I did 3x5, 1x4 and 1x2. Not my best numbers, but this was a lot of weight. And I had done pushups in core. But ya, I wanted to accomplish more. Hopefully I can make more progress next Monday. Rows were next and I did 5x5 at 75 lbs. It felt good but it's starting to get heavy. I'm going to add 5 lbs next week. Instead of chinups Mark talked me into some light sparring. We put on the gear and worked some muay thai and grappling. All of these things I really need work on. I did get a great workout though. My heart was pumping. I'd never really grappled before, and I want to start doing this more. I love mma, so I want to focus my workouts around it more. I did one set of 5 chinups, but at that point I was drained. Overall a good workout, but not really orthodox for what we usually do. There's talk about scrapping the weightlifting altogether and just meeting a few times a week to work out on whatever we want. I'm not sure if that's where it'll go, but it's been discussed so I figured I'd keep the blog up to date. That's all I've got. Cardio X tomorrow! Bring it!

Day: 6, P90X Kenpo X and 300 Workout

Workout

P90X Kenpo X Status: Completed I actually did this workout after 300, but because it's the P90X workout of the day it has to go first according to the app I'm using to write this blog. Heather and I got started around 4:30pm. Unfortunately she and I were both feeling the work from the week, especially in the legs! We made it about 3/4 of the way through, but when it occurred to me that I wasn't sweating because I just physically couldn't push myself any harder I realized I was just wasting energy. Heather made it further than I did. She had a lot of energy and was doing great. When I said I was done though she looked relieved and agreed with me. So we turned it off, and that's the end of week 1. Overall a great week with a mediocre ending. Let's see what week 2 brings....

Workout

300 Challenge - Week 2 Status: Completed I got started on 300 challenge around 10:45 on Saturday. My buddy Richard came over for it too. Richard works out a lot and we told ourselves we'd start this program together after the first of the year. This was my second time doing the work and his first, so here's how it went down. We started with just a quick warmup to get the blood flowing. Stretch, jump around, etc. Then I explained the workout to him. I kept the giant ball exercise in that replaced floor wipers, and squat jumps have officially added a second squat at the top by touching your knees. After explanation I told Richard I would go first to show him how to do each exercise, and he'd go second (since the gym isn't big enough and I don't have the equipment for both of us to do the workout at once). For week 2 I added a few reps to everything. Now I'm on 20's and 10's, which came out to 120 reps total. Not quite 300, but more than last week. I finished the whole routine in 10:49.3. That means I added on just over 2 minutes by adding on 28 reps. It feels slow to me, but I still managed to complete it in under 20 minutes, which means more reps next week! Richard went next, and he looked like he was caught off guard. He works out a lot, even more than me, and he's pretty built. However, he finished the pullups and got into the deadlifts, and by the end of the deadlifts he was moving SLOW! I knew exactly how he felt. Somehow the life just gets drained out of you when you do this workout, and we're not even doing the full workout! All in all he completed the program at just about 15 minutes. Hey, he still did it in under 20 minutes, so his reps are going up next week also! We both felt absolutely terrible by the end! The body feels so drained that you can only collapse and wait for oxygen to remember that it belongs in your lungs. But afterwards we felt great and were glad we did it. I'm going to figure out a formula to plug in x seconds per reps to see if I went up or down this week. That should help keep me on task. So that's Week 2 of 300! Wish me luck in Week 3 as I move up to 13's and 25's! Bring it!