Day: 26, Calories: 0, Insanity Pure Cardio

Workout

Insanity Pure Cardio Status: Completed GRUMBLE!!!!!! Grumble grumble grumble grumble! Alright, that was dramatic, but I am so freakin' sleepy today! Allergies kept me up again, and 5:45 crept around way too quick. I hit play and felt like an absolute zombie for the warmup. And this wasn't a very good warmup....I zoned out a lot and took more breaks than I wanted. The week has caught up with me. My body is really sore today and Pure Cardio was probably the last thing I wanted to do today. I worked, I sweat and I'm happy it's over, but it's definitely not the same as Sunday's workout. Like I said, my body is feeling the end of week 4, and I am really looking forward to the recovery week next week. I'm just hoping Core Cardio and Balance feels like some sort of relief.

Workout

Insanity Cardio Abs Status: Completed Cardio Abs went a little better than Pure Cardio. I can definitely hold the c-sit position a lot better than I can do level 2 drills. The beginning cardio stuff was lackluster, but the isometric stuff felt pretty good. I can feel my abs in a good kind of pain, so I'm glad I got a good workout. Overall I'd give this workout a B-, so not terrible but not what I wanted either. One more day in Week 4. Dig deep!

Workout

P90X Shoulders & Arms Status: Completed Just want to document that after work last night I did shoulders and arms. I wanted to get it out of the way. I upped my weight on the bicep curls, and did all of the shoulder stuff a lot more isometrically. Overall, good workout. Because it was after work, I was hungry, tired and wanted to play video games, I opted not to do the Supreme 90 shoulders and arms too. I like that workout, but back to back would have been too much last night. K, it's documented. Time to get the day started. Bring it!

Day: 22, Insanity Pure Cardio

Ah! For some reason the blog didn't work again yesterday, and I just now saw that. Here's yesterday's post.

Workout

Insanity Pure Cardio Status: Completed Week 4 has begun! And today was by far my best Pure Cardio ever. I was a little worried how I'd do since I pushed through a really great chest and back workout this morning. I took a few hours off, and hit the gym around 4. The warmup was incredible! I took two or three breaks, but this was noticeably my strongest warmup yet. After the stretch I pushed really hard and ended up getting through three fourths of the whole thing with only two of three breaks. Somewhere near the end it caught up to me, and I didn't finish as well as I'd started, but overall this was the best pure cardio yet! I think I only do this one one more time, and that's in a few days. After that is recovery week, followed by Max Cardio. I think I'll be ready!

Workout

Insanity Cardio Abs Status: Completed Great cardio abs session too. My abs were on fire the whole time, and for some reason I think I figured out how to properly do the c sit position because today it ripped my abs up! This is definitely not ab ripper, but I'm finally starting to really dig it. I wonder what Insane Abs will be like in the second month. Dig Deep!

Workout

P90X Chest and Back Status: Completed The final chest and back session for my Insanity doubles workout is done. Since it was my last one, I really pushed hard today and it turned out great. I woke up around 9 and got started early since tonight I knew I had pure cardio too and would need a break. I had a slow start since it is Sunday and I like to sleep in a little later, but I pushed through the workout. I wore the weight vest for the entire first half, and even though some of my numbers went down because of it I really feel like I get a stronger workout. The second half I took the vest off, which helped me get my numbers back up. Overall this is a still one of my favorite workouts and I'm glad I brought it with me for the first month of Insanity.

Workout

P90X Chest and Back Status: Completed I also threw in a round of Supreme 90 Day and once again it was a good workout. I love the flys and the back exercise where you lie down and move the weights from behind you to above you are awesome. No weight work next week since it's recovery week, and when it comes back it'll be completely different workouts. I wonder what the Supreme 90 Day chest shoulders & arms workout is like, because depending how the max workouts go this will be joining me in month 2. Today is off to a great start. Lots of sitting is planned for the rest of the day, and pure cardio tonight. You'll of course read these out of order, but that's how it goes. Bring it!

Day: 15, Insanity Fit Test

Workout

Insanity Fit Test Status: Completed Solid fit test. All of my numbers went up, most by around 10! The last three exercises were all the same number of reps, but that's still good because nothing went down. I also did this one with Heather. She wanted to try Insanity, and I figured the fit test was a good place to start. She did a great job, and trying to show off for her definitely made me try a little bit harder. I think she may give Insanity a go at some point. I wish her luck if she does....these workouts are bananas!

Workout

P90X Chest and Back Status: Completed I threw in another round of chest and back, and it went pretty well. I used the 12 lbs weight vest, which I read really added something to this workout. It definitely did. I was pretty wasted from the first workout, but pushed it and got some good reps in. I could only wear the vest for the first 8 sets on both rounds, but it went well.

Workout

Supreme 90 Day Chest and Back Status: Completed I threw in the Supreme 90 Day chest and back again. I've gotta say, I'm impressed by this workout. It's definitely different than P90X, but not bad at all. The three sets of the same two workouts concept feels a lot more like what I'm used to from the gym, and the speed of them actually reminds me a lot like Insanity. The only problem I have is the generic warmup and cooldown, but as an addition to P90X workouts it's awesome. Good speed, I break a sweat, original exercises (very different than P90X exercises) and in the end I end up doing double the reps than if I'd just done P90X. Week 3 has begun. Dig Deep!

Day: 12, Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance

Workout

Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance Status: Completed Ya! I just destroyed cardio power and resistance! That was a great workout and this is definitely my favorite Insanity workout so far. I started with a really solid warmup. I took a few less breaks than normal, but the big improvement was today was that the breaks were noticeably shorter. Usually I'd skip a rep, maybe 1 second, and hopped right back into it. The warmup is getting more and more realistic, which is great. The actual workout I brought the same intensity. The first set I only took one or two breaks each, and those were always towards the end. The second half I was starting to get drained, and those globe jumps destroy me. I'm determined to someday get better at those. My triceps were pretty dead from my workout this morning. That made the tricep dip stuff in the middle really hard. That aside, the pike presses (v pushups) in the beginning were really strong. Combined with my workout this morning on shoulders and my absolute love of pike presses (they're awesome....it's a pushup for your shoulders!) my shoulders feel amazing right now. And even though I was tired, I really rocked out the 8 pushup 8 jump things at the very end. One more day in Week 2, and I'm finally going to try cardio abs. Cardio abs after pure cardio.....yup. Tomorrow morning will be interesting. Dig deep!

Workout

P90X Shoulders & Arms Status: Completed It's a doubles day, so I woke up early and did shoulders and arms. For some reason I was exhausted (again) and my weight numbers dropped a little bit. I pushed the 30 lbs for the shoulders, but by the end my arms felt destroyed. Despite being tired, this was a good workout. Not too much to say about it, but I'm glad I did it. Bring it!

Workout

Supreme 90 Day Shoulders & Arms Status: Completed Like last week I threw in the Supreme 90 Day shoulders and arms workout. For some reason though, I ran out of time to finish it. I checked the clock after the third circuit, and I was already 5 minutes later than I prefer to be done with the workout. Usually I come in under time. I hit stop at that point, gave myself a cooldown and stretch and called it good. I'm glad this happened though; even though it wasn't a bad workout at all, after P90X and just being tired in general I was ready to call it quits today. Good workout, but I need to double check I'll have time for both of these next week. Waking up at 5:30 cannot become my normal routine....it destroys me! 6am is hard enough. Again you'll read these out of order, but Insanity Resistance tonight! Wish me luck!

Day: 8, Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance

Workout

Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance Status: Completed You'll be reading these out of order, but the app I use to write this blog uses the first workout listed as the title, and the Insanity workout deserves the title for the next few weeks. My final workout of the day was Cardio Power & Resistance. This is the second time I've done this workout, and so far I've decided it's my favorite. The cardio isn't terrible to keep up with, but definitely works me like crazy. I like the body weight exercises in here too. I had a little trouble keeping up with the warmup, partly because I was still recovering from my chest and back workout. I had drank a lot of water in between workouts too, and I felt that sloshing around in my stomach. But once I got past the stretch and got into the workout I felt like I kept up with the group pretty well. I definitely took breaks, but overall I was hanging in there. Maybe there will be a day that I can do this whole workout with stopping. We'll see. Week 2 has begun! I'm getting stronger and feeling amazing right now. Tomorrow I get up early for the dreaded return of Pure Cardio. Wish me luck, but I think I'm ready. Dig deep!

Workout

P90X Chest and Back Status: Completed It's Sunday, one of my two doubles days. Last night we pulled an all nighter playing Halo, and there was a time change. Long story short, I'm coming off of a night of little sleep and a lot of junk food. Getting started was really hard, and I felt pretty drained through this workout. Even so, I pushed through and had a pretty solid chest & back workout. I definitely feel worked right now. Bring it!

Workout

Supreme 90 Day Chest and Back Status: Completed I added in the Supreme 90 Day Chest & Back workout today too. For some reason, even though I was exhausted during the P90X workout I actually got through this one really well. It's another circuit set of one chest and one back, repeat 3 times, and there's four sets of those types of circuits. There was some really different stuff from my other workouts in here and I really think I hit some new muscle areas. I also like the all the chest stuff isn't just pushups. There's some fly stuff in there too, which is great! I'm done with the muscle stuff, but I still have Insanity to do. I'm on break now, and working out in 2 or 3 hours. You'll read these out of order, but that's how it goes. Bring it!

Day: 5, Insanity Pure Cardio

Workout

Insanity Pure Cardio Status: Completed This is after work, just for the record. Read the whole blog....you'll get that comment. Wow. That was the hardest home workout I have ever done. That was one of the hardest workouts I have ever done, and back when I was 20 in drum corps, we did some hard workouts. It was like a really hard Insanity workout, and Shaun T just decided not to do any breaks. None! And everything was a minute instead of 30 seconds. I had an amazing workout today! The normal warmup and stretch starts this one, and I was actually feeling a little gassed in the second set. I was dizzy all day in fact; I think I need to eat more on my heavy lifting morning days, which was today. But my energy started to rise during the stretch, and the first half of the actual workout I really brought it. I was soaked, and it was hard but I got through most of it. Lots of breaks, and around the third move my legs started to feel like jello, but it was good. The second half was not so good. I know Shaun T says to not sacrifice form, but it was either that or stop, and I really didn't want to stop. I definitely slowed down though, which made form a lot better. Basically though the second half I was just a lifeless dummy going through the motions trying to survive. Very difficult workout, and I laughed when everyone after the workout is completely silent. Not a word. That's exactly how I felt. I'm pretty sure I do this with cardio abs next week....THAT will be bananas! One more day in Week 1, and I get to revisit plyo cardio circuit. Let's see if I've improved this week. Dig Deep!

Workout

P90X Shoulders & Arms Status: Completed I got up at 5:30 today, had a no-xplode and went to work on shoulders & arms. Thursdays are my second doubles day of the week, and this is where I'm going to keep my strength and maybe build on my size too. I haven't seen this workout since Round 1 of P90X, since I did mc2 last time, and I forgot how good of a workout this is. The shoulders get rocked and my biceps were on fire! For some reason I feel like the triceps almost get a break in this routine though, but I still managed to bring it. I focused on upping the weight and doing fewer reps today, and my arms feel great right now! Bring it!

Workout

Supreme 90 Day Shoulders & Arms Status: Completed I picked up Supreme 90 Day a few weeks ago at Walgreens. It's a knockoff of P90X, but at $20 I figured I'd check it out. It's definitely not P90X, but it has slightly shorter versions of all of the resistance workouts, and since I'm trying to build strength I threw in their shoulders and arms workout after P90X today. It's a lot faster paced, slightly easier workouts, but it focuses on circuit training. It's shoulders, bi's, tri's, repeat 3 times, then rest. No breaks in between. 4 total sets of those circuits, and that's the workout. It was actually a great thing to follow up my heavy duty shoulders and arms workout, and at half an hour it's real easy to keep doing. I think I'll stick to adding in these resistance workouts in the future. You'll read these out of order, but it's time for work, then I come home for Insanity! Can't wait!

Day: 1, Insanity Fit Test

Log Entry

Daily Note: The last six months flew by, and I have done P90X twice now! I remember years ago wondering if I would ever even try it, and I failed twice before. Then boom, six months and I beat it twice! I challenged myself and I did it. That's the thing I like about the home workout things. The body is nice, but it's not the promise of the body that drags me into the gym every day. It's the challenge! That 90 right there in the middle of P90X is just sitting there, asking if I can do this for 90 days. It's a challenge, and I brought it. And then I did it again! Now it's time for Shaun T's challenge. 60 days huh? I've done 3 sets of 60 days already. Bring it on Shaun T! I'm ready. Then I'll take GSP's challenge, and then I have a few more challenges of my own ready to go. I'm on my way. I wonder where I'll be in another six months!

Workout

Insanity Fit Test Status: Completed Insanity has officially begun. Today was the fit test, so nothing crazy....or so I thought going into it. This is the benchmark workout. Where in P90X they gave you time to write everything down, there isn't enough time in Insanity. Instead, every 2 weeks there's a fit test, and you measure your growth on that. My numbers were ok...nothing spectacular but all a few short of the test group folks' original starting numbers. I'm hoping I'll have major gains in the next two months. We'll see. One thing about this workout is the glimpse I got of what the Insanity workouts will be like. There were a lot of complex body movements, like bringing the knees to the side while in plank. Crazy. And fast! Even in plyo x, nothing was every incredibly fast. This whole thing was push push push, go go go! The next few weeks will be interesting. Week 1 has begun. It's time to Dig Deep!

Workout

P90X Chest and Back Status: Completed As scheduled, I did my first mass workout style workout for Insanity, Chest & Back from P90X. Just the usual stuff for this workout, but I threw in the resistance pushup thing I bought a few weeks ago. It's two resistance bands with a piece of fabric in between. Basically it adds resistance to pushups, which it did. I didn't do it for all of the pushups, mostly because I didn't have time to put it on between sets. But it really did add something, and my pushups destroyed me. I will say my numbers went down a little, mostly from the resistance thing, but also because I did Insanity first. The fit test I'll always do before P90X workouts because I want to be fresh for those. When I have to do an actual Insanity workout though, I'll do P90X first, then probably take a break and do Insanity later or after work. That's partly because I heard you should do weights first, because you get the same benefits from cardio whether you're fresh or wrecked, and partly because I know I'll flake on the P90X workouts if I do them after. They're optional, and I don't want to treat them like that. The Insanity workouts are not optional, so they'll get done no matter what. Big changes are coming for the body! The next two months will be Insane! Bring it!

Day 1, 90 and 180 pictures

From left to right we have Days 0, 90 and 180 (Day 90 of Round 2). I didn't lose as much weight this round, and honestly didn't weigh myself for about two months. That's partially because I feel weight is a poor indicator of success since I'm building muscle too. I notice somewhat of a difference in my stomach between 90 and 180, but not as much as I'd hoped for. I wasn't the best nutrition person this round, though, and attribute a lot of that to that. That said, I notice a great difference in my neck and chest areas, the latter feeling a lot stronger. Also my arms (which are hard to see in these pics) are the biggest and strongest they've ever been in my whole life, which is why I really look forward to continuing the resistance workouts throughout Insanity.

Nutrition is a huge part of all of these programs, especially as I move forward. I've lost as much fat as I can with my diet, and will be getting back onto the nutrition program starting Sunday. That, plus the additional cardio should put me a lot closer to my goal of being a rock hard sex magnet. But there's still some great changes being made between all three of these photos, and I am stoked about my success.

Expect a recap of P90X Round 2 sometime soon, but I'm glad I got these pictures up.

Way to Bring It Fat Free Jew! Way to Bring It!

Day: 90, P90X Yoga: MC2

Log Entry

Daily Note: Today is the final day of Round 2! I'm going to take pictures in a few minutes, and I'll put together a recap sometime today or tomorrow. Insanity starts on Sunday! It's time to Dig Deep!

Workout

P90X Yoga: MC2 Status: Completed The final Yoga: MC2 is completed. I'll be honest, it wasn't my best, but I'm exhausted this morning for some reason and I'm ok with the work I put in. I'm really glad I used this DVD for this round of P90X. It's an awesome routine and much more engaging than Yoga X. I don't know when I'll next do yoga, but when I get a program that has it in I hope the routine is as fun as this one. Maybe I'll do it again. See you in the future yoga! Round 2 is complete!! Namaste.

Workout

Martial Arts Status: Completed Just to document it, last night I actually did GSP Rushfit's all around fight conditioning workout again. This thing is like kenpo x on crack. Really really strong crack! It's a good workout and I broke a good sweat. Just wanted some extra work in the final two days. Can't wait to try this whole program in a few months.

Day: 89, P90X Core Synergistics

Workout

P90X Core Synergistics Status: Completed The final Core Synergistics is completed! I only get to do this one 6 times in a round, so I'm never too familiar with it when I do it. For that reason it always kicks my ass, and I love it. The pushups are all really crazy (I love the staggered hands ones in the beginning) and the full body weight workouts are nuts! The lunge kickback curl press things are my favorite in this whole workout, and I also love that I can do the entire plank chattaranga iso. One more day in this round of P90X, and it's Yoga! I'm ready to wrap this round up and get started with Insanity! Bring it!

Day: 88, P90X X Stretch

Workout

P90X X Stretch Status: Completed Feeling stretched. Running late for work so I'm making this short. Two more days! Bring it!

Day: 87, P90X Kenpo X

Workout

P90X Kenpo X Status: Completed The final Kenpo X of my life is done! I woke up early, had a protein shake, threw on the boxing gloves and got to work. I still hate the stretch section on this disc, but once the punching starts I always get into it. I hit the bag as hard as I could because I knew I wouldn't see Kenpo X again, and I tried out a lot of the stuff from the Machida-Do DVD from the other day. Mostly stance and movement stuff, but it really adds more to work on in this DVD. I also switched a few things up so I could hit the bag more. I switched the back kicks with roundhouse kicks again, and I also switched the side kicks with a side kick from a front position. Basically I would pivot my whole body from straight to side while I chambered the kick, and then I was ready to hit the bag with the side kick. I got that from the Machida DVD. Very cool, and again it added something new. I dig it. I say this is the last time I ever do Kenpo X because I've found a few workouts that I think are better. I wanted to do it as part of this round of P90X, but I don't think I'll ever do this program verbatim again. Next is Insanity, then GSP Rushfit, then either another program called ESP-XC (look it up....it's awesome) or develop my own program. If I do the last idea, it'll be the P90X schedule, but switching the discs for harder ones I've found (ie Insanity Plyo instead of Plyo X). I already like one of the GSP Rushfit DVDs more than Kenpo X, and expect to find some even more intense DVDs on the way, so this is probably it for kenpo. It's a good start, but I've outgrown it and I'm ready to move on. Kenpo X, thanks for everything you've given me over the last 6 months (holy crap, it's already been 6 months?!). Three workouts left in this round. One stretch, one core and one yoga. Bring it!

Day: 86, P90X Core Synergistics

Workout

P90X Core Synergistics Status: Completed The final week is going strong. I woke up at 5:15 to do some homework, and didn't get to work out this morning. After work I was completely drained, but pushed play and had a damn good workout. I always forget how crazy core synergistics is, and it always works me great. I pushed as hard as I could, used heavier weights, got a lot of pushups in and just felt great all over. I love how much I sweat during plank chattaranga iso. Very cool. I think I'm ready to start Insanity. Just a few more days. Bring it!

Day: 85, P90X Yoga: MC2

Workout

P90X Yoga: MC2 Status: Completed The final week of round 2 has begun, and I got to do yoga: mc2 on a weekend! Being able to sleep in, do yoga and not have to be anywhere after is amazing. I had a great workout, stretched and felt great. It's an excellent way to start my final week of P90X. Namaste.

Workout

Martial Arts Status: Completed I added an in hour of Machida-Do karate. This is Lyoto Machida's MMA home study course and I thought it would be fun to add in every once in a while. Not the hardest thing, but I did break a sweat. I added in two rounds of Bas Rutten at the end though, and that destroyed me. Great workout today.

Day: 82, P90X Base & Back

Workout

P90X Base & Back Status: Completed The final Base & Back workout is completed and it went fantastically! The pullups were very strong, and in total I did more than 150! The leg stuff was a little rough today after yesterday's yoga, but I still broke a great sweat and jumped very well. I'm very glad I used this DVD instead of Legs & Back this round. It's a killer workout! Adios Base & Back! Thanks for the muscles!

Workout

P90X Ab Ripper Status: Completed The final ab ripper is complete! I realized right as it started that this was the last one, and decided to really bring it! I got to 25 reps on almost everything (those damn bicycles always kill me) and was exhausted when it was all over. And I completed my goal for this round, as I did all 50 mason twists again today. That means I did 50 mason twists on every single ab ripper in round 2! That's 1,500 mason twists! When I started this thing I couldn't do 10 in a row! It's amazing the progress I can make in 6 months! I don't know if Kenpo is going to happen tomorrow. I'm getting up early to go snowboarding with my buddy Ryan, and that should suffice for my daily workout. If I feel up for it I'll make the workout up on Saturday, but there's a very real chance I won't be able to walk that day so I'm not too concerned with that. So on that note, Week 12 is wrapping up very nicely. One recovery week after that and it's on to Insanity. I'm ready! Bring it!

Day: 81, P90X Yoga: MC2

Workout

P90X Yoga: MC2 Status: Completed Yoga: MC2 was done this morning. Phone was dying after the workout and never got a chance to update the blog since it was charging all day. Good yoga session. Not great, but good. Week 12's still going strong so I'm good with that. Namaste.

Day: 80, P90X Back & Biceps

Workout

P90X Back & Biceps Status: Completed I woke up about 45 minutes earlier than normal so I could get some homework done before work, but wanted to get the workout done first. Being so early I was convinced today was going to be a rough workout, and boy was I wrong! I got a huge burst of energy at the very beginning and I honestly think this was my best Back & Biceps ever! All of my lifts were strong and my pullups felt very solid. The energy stuck with me the whole workout, and even my strip sets at the very end were dripping with quality! This may be the last time I do this workout, at least for a very long time. Today is the last true resistance day in Round 2. I might do this starting Week 6 of Insanity, but I'm debating swapping it for the new V Sculpt from the One on One series. Still debating. Glad I got a great workout on my potentially last back and bi's workout though!

Workout

P90X Ab Ripper Status: Completed The energy carried over from back and bi's, and this turned into one of my best ab rippers. I felt great the whole time and got a ton of great reps in. Very cool! And as always, all 50 mason twists. I only have one more ab ripper to go in Round 2. Only 50 more mason twists to go! Week 12 is still going strong. Bring it!

Day: 79, P90X Plyocide

Workout

P90X Plyocide Status: Completed After not wanting to get out of bed for a good ten minutes, I dragged myself to the dojo and hit play on plyocide. I got a pretty good burst of energy and crushed this workout. Lots of good jumps, and I've gotta say that adding in the weights (and the weight vest of course) takes plyo to a whole new level. Plyocide is a pretty great workout. I'm glad Tony and Mason put it together. Week 12 continues. Bring it!

Day: 78, P90X Chest, Shoulders & Tris

Workout

P90X Chest, Shoulders & Tris Status: Completed Week 12 is off to a solid start! Chest, Shoulders & Tri's was a great way to start the week, and I really brought it today. I upped my reps on most of the pushups, except the last two...by that point I could barely lift my body up! My shoulder stuff was strong, and I used the 30 lbs weights for the Y Presses! That's huge! Tricep work was great too. I'm starting to figure out how to use the Tower 200 for some of these exercises and for triceps I really love it! The next time I see this workout (according to my upcoming modified schedule) I'll be on Week 6 of Insanity! Not for a while, but I know it's going to fly by. I wonder what my body will look like when I'm there! Can't wait!

Workout

P90X Ab Ripper Status: Completed I was a little tired after the great resistance workout, but got a second wind pretty quick during ab ripper. Stronger bicycles than normal today, and the lying down on the back section was a lot better today. As always, I got all 50 mason twists in! Only two more times and I've officially accomplished that goal! Welcome to Week 12! So far so GREAT! Bring it!

Day: 76, P90X Kenpo X

Log Entry

Daily Note: Today is my girlfriend Heather's birthday, so just making a quick shoutout to her. Happy Birthday Babe! 25.....you're a quarter of the way there. Sigh....I used to be 25.....like four days ago. Not a fan of getting old.

Workout

P90X Kenpo X Status: Completed I got to wrap up the week strong! I started the morning feeling as crappy as I've felt all week, plus my stomach hurt (decided I needed a Matt night which included a lot of food). I was dragging ass through the stretches, and then out of nowhere Pandora pulled up some Rise Against. I'm not am extreme Rise Against fan, but they are pretty awesome, and when they start playing right as you start throwing punches, it definitely fires me up. Nothing was 100% power, but I definitely had a great kenpo workout. Week 11 is done. Let's root for a solid week 12! Bring it!