Well, it was bound to happen. As much as I tried and tried, I ended up getting sick. A wicked head cold that lasted an entire week. I had just come off a high on Sunday running a 10 mile course that was 5 miles out on a steep uphill, and 5 miles back with the downhill. Amazingly, I felt great on the run. I was at the highest of highs. I had climbed that mountain that Rocky Balboa conquered in Rocky 4. I was at the top, yelling DRAAAGO at the top of my lungs. Then, Sunday night kicked in. I got little to no sleep. Twitching away like my legs had some more running to do. Then, on Monday night, even worse. I didn't fall asleep until 1:45am. Needless to day, my running took a huge hit. I ran on Monday, but it was hard, and I felt like crap. By Tuesday, my body had run down, and I had no energy to even consider working out. I had that scratchy feeling in my throat, and I knew it was over then. I started loading up on vitamins and orange juice, but nothing was going to stop the onslaught of misery that would be my next week. My head felt like it was going to explode. On Thursday, I did my Tuesday workout. I pushed my way through it, but it was exhausting. That was it for workouts for the week. Saturday, I coached my football game, and immediately hit the baseball fields to grade talent for the upcoming majors draft, of which I'm one of three managers. By Sunday, I thought I had turned the corner, but I was soooooo wrong. Monday was just as brutal, but by the end of the day I had felt the break I needed.
It was then and there that I made the decision, to completely throw out last week, and give week #6 a Do-Over. In the past, I would have completely gone into a funk of how I screwed up my workouts. Not this time. This time, I have the resolve and determination to KEEP THE TRAIN MOVING FORWARD. You have to keep your eye on the prize. And so yesterday, I re-did that week 6 Shoulders, Chest, Tris and ARX! I did it with passion and vigor. I pushed out more reps on almost every single exercise. And on ARX, my abs have improved so much, that I can not only get through every exercise with good form, there are many where I can do extra in the allotted time!!! I'm absolutely LOVING my progress so far.
Finally, this morning, I was rewarded with a HUGE mental victory. When I stepped on the scale, I had left the 190s, and broken into the 180s. Sure, it's 189.4, but that's STILL less then 190! What that means is that I've lost a total of 17.2 pounds along this journey in 37 days! That's HUGE!!!! It also means that I've only got 14.4 pounds until I reach my final goal of 175!!! Man, that will be a GLORIOUS DAY WHEN I GET THERE!!! AND I HAVE THE RESOLVE THAT I WILL GET THERE!!!!
I'll close with this. I'm not a personal trainer by any stretch of the imagination. I just want to be a fit guy, who has a healthy life. If you're motivated by my story, follow this blog, and don't hesitate to post comments if you have questions. I would love to help you meet your fitness goals.
http://beachbodycoach.com/kidstallyn
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
P90X Week 5: Muscle Confusion
WELCOME TO WEEK 5!!!! Week 5 is where @P90X takes you deep into muscle confusion territory. After a nice rest week, I've come into week 5 with a completely new refreshed view of my progress. Last week included some pretty amazing milestones.
First, it marked the 30 day mark. @P90X and @BeachBody both tweeted how have you done on your New Years Resolution after a first month. Sadly, you will find a LOT of people who have fallen off the fitness bandwagon. It's where I hope this blog will help those who are wavering, to stay on the program, and Keep Pushing Play. I'm also on a TeamBeachbody message thread, and I've noticed a LOT of people who have left the message thread. And we were just one third of the way through. So, I'm adding to my new years resolution to help others meet they're own goals. So, in my excitement, I tweeted to @P90X, the link to my blog, and my 14.5 pound weight loss! Amazingly, they re-tweeted me, and my Blog STATS went through the roof! Thank you so much for all of you who made comments or sent me feedback. First off, yes, I am a TeamBeachBody Coach. Yes, I know ALL about Shakeology. I am a part of an AMAZING team called Team Sixpack, and we are ALWAYS looking for people who are interested in helping others meet their fitness goals. For me, my Coach John Cowart (@JohnDCowart on twitter) has really helped me in areas where I've been lacking. For me, that's ALWAYS been nutrition. For everyone NOT seeing huge weight loss, and getting frustrated, I would first do a deep dive into your daily caloric intake. I can say first hand, I thought I was doing it right, but in the end, everything I was "choosing", ended up being processed and full of sodium. These foods are NOT on the list, and they are going to compromise your results. Sodium is one of the HUGE killers of any diet plan. In fact, the FDA has implemented new guidelines regarding how much sodium is recommended, and I think they're even double what we should have. I've tried to keep my sodium intake around the 1200mg levels, and I am seeing amazing results so far!!!! Just take a look at my week 4 post that includes my 30 day comparison pics from week 1. 14.5 pounds over the first 30 days is pretty amazing.
So, this week we went from PUSH/PULL to ALL PUSH, ALL PULL. Muscle Confusion. Your muscles have no clue what's coming up next. My chest....WIPED OUT. My arms......BLASTED. My ABS.....OMG! On Thursday I had my best AB Ripper X session yet. First off, I did 45 Mason Twits. HUGE goal of mine is to be able to get through them all, including the OT that Tony does. But, what I'm proud of most, is the fact that I was able to get through 23 of 25 of V-Up Roll Ups with perfect form!!!! Those have always been my Achilles heal. I finally got to the point in week two where I could come up on the pulse up. From there, it was my goal to increase the number of pulse ups EACH AND EVERY TIME. It's that personal goal setting that's going to get you through each and every workout.
Finally, I had a SIGNIFICANT amount of running during this week. Monday and Wednesday were great days. I managed to get my running partner to get his butt out of bed and meet up for that 5am run. Thursday, in 19 degree record setting cold, I bundled up like the stay puffed marsh mellow man and did my 3.5 miles. FINALLY, what I'm most proud of, on Sunday, I met up with my old running group and went out for a 10 mile run. This run was like no other. In our neighborhood, we have a new road that opened up a few months ago, and it included a 5 mile paved running path that's off the road. From where we start, it's 5 miles of uphill fun. I knew that I needed to get 10 miles in, and I knew that if I didn't running 10 miles by yourself was going to be really difficult. So, I set out with my group, and when I got to the top of the 5 mile hill I was absolutely AMAZED at the pace I was able to keep. Basically, we ran about a 9:11 pace heading up the hill. WHA WHA WHAT! And this was no easy uphill! This was a CRAZY Supersized X-HILL!!! For your reference, here's the GPS track of the out and back course with elevation.
And let me just tell yahs......DAAAAYYYYUM!!! My legs are MEGA sore today!!!! But, you know.....It hurts so good, because I know that I'm making progress and dropping pounds of fat with each and every workout I do. Last week, I lost ANOTHER 1.9 pounds, and am down a total of 16.4 pounds after completing Week 5. So, if you ever need motivation, send me either a message on Twitter (@kidstallyn), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/kidstallyn) or email (kidstallyn@gmail.com). I may not know everything in the world, but I have made enough mistakes to know quite a few thing NOT do do.
Keep Pushing Play and Stay Motivated!
First, it marked the 30 day mark. @P90X and @BeachBody both tweeted how have you done on your New Years Resolution after a first month. Sadly, you will find a LOT of people who have fallen off the fitness bandwagon. It's where I hope this blog will help those who are wavering, to stay on the program, and Keep Pushing Play. I'm also on a TeamBeachbody message thread, and I've noticed a LOT of people who have left the message thread. And we were just one third of the way through. So, I'm adding to my new years resolution to help others meet they're own goals. So, in my excitement, I tweeted to @P90X, the link to my blog, and my 14.5 pound weight loss! Amazingly, they re-tweeted me, and my Blog STATS went through the roof! Thank you so much for all of you who made comments or sent me feedback. First off, yes, I am a TeamBeachBody Coach. Yes, I know ALL about Shakeology. I am a part of an AMAZING team called Team Sixpack, and we are ALWAYS looking for people who are interested in helping others meet their fitness goals. For me, my Coach John Cowart (@JohnDCowart on twitter) has really helped me in areas where I've been lacking. For me, that's ALWAYS been nutrition. For everyone NOT seeing huge weight loss, and getting frustrated, I would first do a deep dive into your daily caloric intake. I can say first hand, I thought I was doing it right, but in the end, everything I was "choosing", ended up being processed and full of sodium. These foods are NOT on the list, and they are going to compromise your results. Sodium is one of the HUGE killers of any diet plan. In fact, the FDA has implemented new guidelines regarding how much sodium is recommended, and I think they're even double what we should have. I've tried to keep my sodium intake around the 1200mg levels, and I am seeing amazing results so far!!!! Just take a look at my week 4 post that includes my 30 day comparison pics from week 1. 14.5 pounds over the first 30 days is pretty amazing.
So, this week we went from PUSH/PULL to ALL PUSH, ALL PULL. Muscle Confusion. Your muscles have no clue what's coming up next. My chest....WIPED OUT. My arms......BLASTED. My ABS.....OMG! On Thursday I had my best AB Ripper X session yet. First off, I did 45 Mason Twits. HUGE goal of mine is to be able to get through them all, including the OT that Tony does. But, what I'm proud of most, is the fact that I was able to get through 23 of 25 of V-Up Roll Ups with perfect form!!!! Those have always been my Achilles heal. I finally got to the point in week two where I could come up on the pulse up. From there, it was my goal to increase the number of pulse ups EACH AND EVERY TIME. It's that personal goal setting that's going to get you through each and every workout.
Finally, I had a SIGNIFICANT amount of running during this week. Monday and Wednesday were great days. I managed to get my running partner to get his butt out of bed and meet up for that 5am run. Thursday, in 19 degree record setting cold, I bundled up like the stay puffed marsh mellow man and did my 3.5 miles. FINALLY, what I'm most proud of, on Sunday, I met up with my old running group and went out for a 10 mile run. This run was like no other. In our neighborhood, we have a new road that opened up a few months ago, and it included a 5 mile paved running path that's off the road. From where we start, it's 5 miles of uphill fun. I knew that I needed to get 10 miles in, and I knew that if I didn't running 10 miles by yourself was going to be really difficult. So, I set out with my group, and when I got to the top of the 5 mile hill I was absolutely AMAZED at the pace I was able to keep. Basically, we ran about a 9:11 pace heading up the hill. WHA WHA WHAT! And this was no easy uphill! This was a CRAZY Supersized X-HILL!!! For your reference, here's the GPS track of the out and back course with elevation.
And let me just tell yahs......DAAAAYYYYUM!!! My legs are MEGA sore today!!!! But, you know.....It hurts so good, because I know that I'm making progress and dropping pounds of fat with each and every workout I do. Last week, I lost ANOTHER 1.9 pounds, and am down a total of 16.4 pounds after completing Week 5. So, if you ever need motivation, send me either a message on Twitter (@kidstallyn), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/kidstallyn) or email (kidstallyn@gmail.com). I may not know everything in the world, but I have made enough mistakes to know quite a few thing NOT do do.
Keep Pushing Play and Stay Motivated!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
P90X Journey Week 4: To Rest and Recover
So, for those who follow P90X, we all know how important those rest and recovery weeks are. After three hard weeks of going balls to the wall, it's a really good idea to take a respite, and let your muscles recover. That's what my last week was all about. Let me qualify this though....It doesn't mean that you should go out and totally forget those new eating habits that you've worked so hard in establishing. It doesn't mean that you become a couch potato for a week and sit there surfing TV channels while downing a bag of chips, beer and Pizza. That's not what it is at all.
P90X has designated workout rituals specifically made for that week. Two rounds of Yoga. Two Rounds of stretching. Cardio. And two rounds of Core Synergistics. Honestly, I'd totally forgotten what a great workout Core Synergistics actually was. And so did my abs.....my arms....and my shoulders. Just call it Cardio Abs.
To follow onto that, I added what would be my longest week of running mileage to date. After my 8 mile Sunday run, I logged a total of 22 miles for the week. I also enjoyed the loss of another 1.8 pounds. Making my grand total fat shredding for the month of January, 14.5 pounds!
Talk about a HUGE motivational factor. To see the scale down to 192.1 pounds was an absolute MENTAL victory. It totally showed that when you follow a plan to a T, you can make gains. Furthermore, I have so much more energy then I have in the past. My runs in the morning are strong and fluid. My times, are coming down in average per mile. What I used to run in 34-35 minutes, I'm now consistently doing in 31s.
I'd figure I'd leave you with a little picture of my progress, down 14.5 pounds. Don't mind the horrifically white skin. It's 19 degrees outside in Arizona as I write this, so I don't see myself getting any sun anytime soon, but this is my day 0 vs Day 30 photos. I really wish I had taken measurements on Day 0, but I totally spaced it. I did take them for Day 30, so when I put of the Day 60 pictures, I should have an accurate measure to what I have shed to date.
P90X has designated workout rituals specifically made for that week. Two rounds of Yoga. Two Rounds of stretching. Cardio. And two rounds of Core Synergistics. Honestly, I'd totally forgotten what a great workout Core Synergistics actually was. And so did my abs.....my arms....and my shoulders. Just call it Cardio Abs.
To follow onto that, I added what would be my longest week of running mileage to date. After my 8 mile Sunday run, I logged a total of 22 miles for the week. I also enjoyed the loss of another 1.8 pounds. Making my grand total fat shredding for the month of January, 14.5 pounds!
Talk about a HUGE motivational factor. To see the scale down to 192.1 pounds was an absolute MENTAL victory. It totally showed that when you follow a plan to a T, you can make gains. Furthermore, I have so much more energy then I have in the past. My runs in the morning are strong and fluid. My times, are coming down in average per mile. What I used to run in 34-35 minutes, I'm now consistently doing in 31s.
I'd figure I'd leave you with a little picture of my progress, down 14.5 pounds. Don't mind the horrifically white skin. It's 19 degrees outside in Arizona as I write this, so I don't see myself getting any sun anytime soon, but this is my day 0 vs Day 30 photos. I really wish I had taken measurements on Day 0, but I totally spaced it. I did take them for Day 30, so when I put of the Day 60 pictures, I should have an accurate measure to what I have shed to date.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
P90X Journey Week 3: I Am Ironman
Week 3 for me wasn't the mental test that week 2 was. On my last update, I posted about the mental challenges I was going through with respect to all of the evil negative diet influences. Seeing all of those beer and pizza commercials during the Football playoffs were killing me. Seeing my favorite candy on sale for buy one get one free, could have put me in a sugar induced coma where I'd be lying on the floor with drool coming out of my mouth, and maybe a lemon head friend stuck to my forehead. But it didn't. I made it through the week. I conquered. I overcame. And I made HUGE strides. When I woke up and saw that email from my running partner telling me that he wasn't going to show up at am for our run, I made a point to go out there and run harder. I ran 8x400m interval sprints up a pretty nice hill. While he was deep into slumber, I was out there working my ass of to get stronger.
Tuesday I did my final Chest and Chest workout for phase 1. Looking back at the workout logs, it's pretty amazing how far I've come in 3 weeks. I look back at week 1 were I couldn't even finish the entire workout, to where I was Tuesday night, totally drenched in sweat. I'd managed to up my push ups in ever single category. I'd done more Lat Pull downs then the previous 2 weeks. And I got back to LOVING the burn. And then I sat down for a little more motivation to watch Biggest Loser. And seeing the Twin brothers gain 9 pounds EACH totally made my hard effort even that much better.
On Wednesday I convinced my running partner to quit slacking and get out for that 5am run before work. When it came time to make the decision to turn for the 2.8 miles, or extend to 3.5 miles, I casually looked at him and said.....we're going longer today.....He grimaced at me, but then quoted in true fashion that it was his punishment for wussin' out on Monday. With a little laugh, I said.....how he had read my mind. But when we were done, he felt better about his efforts, and I managed to keep up to my goals of increasing my mileage each and every week.
Thursday came to my most favorite workout of the week. I absolutely LOVE anything that has to do with biceps. Tony Horton calls it the glamor muscles. I 100% agree. And I totally BROUGHT IT. I upped my curls from 15 to 17.5 pounds, and still did the 15 reps, with the last 3 being pushed to failure. By the end, I was totally wiped out. I could barely lift my arms.
With Friday being my designated off day, I rolled into a busy Saturday that started with my sons Flag Football game, of which I'm the coach. This is the point of the blog where I get to divert attention from my goals to my sons. We started off our season 2-0, with two very impressive wins in our double header debut. We had some high hopes going into week 3, but we fell quite a bit short against the best team in the league. We didn't have our A game going on, and it you want to beat the best, you have to up your game and play your best. So, at 2-1 we came into Saturdays game against a team that we lost to last year, but a game that was by far the most exciting game I'd ever coached. Last year, down by 6 points, we had the chance to score the winning TD with about 45 seconds to go. We fell short that day, but the kids sure played their hearts out. This year, as if deja vue, we come down to the final 45 seconds of the game with 1 last ditch chance to tie the game. But this year we had the inner fortitude to move the ball down the field, methodically and score a the game tying TD with 11 seconds left on the clock, on our FINAL down. After failing to convert the extra point (pass called incomplete by the refs) we went through not just one but 2 overtimes. the 2nd overtime is a 2 point shootout. You get one play in an attempt to score. Our defense came up HUGE and we shut them down in their opportunity. When it came time for our chance, I called a quick timeout to talk it over with out offense. I made a crucial switch in personnel that ended up being key. I split up my two best receivers to opposite sides of the field. This split up their double coverage. I used my best player as a decoy, and had my QB pump fake to him. Everyone bit enough on the fake, that it gave my son Dylan the extra step he needed to clear his coverage. My QB made amazing throw and my son Dylan made a catch, outstretched on the sideline of the end zone to complete the catch for the win. I couldn't believe we pulled off the victory!!! It was HUGE!! There had to be 150 people watching the game at that point. The next teams who were to take the field, all their parents. All our parents.....Random people at the park. It was AMAZING. And to be honest, I credit P90X training giving these kids the strength to get through a game like that. I incorporate P90X moves into their practices. And it's helped with speed and focus that's for sure.
So, coming off a high like that, I went out for an AWESOME 4 mile run that afternoon. I was still so jacked up, that each mile split got faster and faster. My final mile split was 7:45. We finished off the night with a little Super Hero action of Ironman. And after a game like that, and a run like that....I truly felt like I was Ironman!
Sunday I went out for a nice easy 6 mile run. Managed to get in 17 miles for the week. I'm slowly ramping up the miles each week, so that when my 90 days are over I can roll right into half marathon training. I want to be lean and strong when I get there in April. Can't wait to get there. Larry Fitzgerald lives by three words. Faith, Focus, Finish. I've adopted these three words to help me get better each and every day.
So, until next week: Work hard, and Keep pushing play!
Tuesday I did my final Chest and Chest workout for phase 1. Looking back at the workout logs, it's pretty amazing how far I've come in 3 weeks. I look back at week 1 were I couldn't even finish the entire workout, to where I was Tuesday night, totally drenched in sweat. I'd managed to up my push ups in ever single category. I'd done more Lat Pull downs then the previous 2 weeks. And I got back to LOVING the burn. And then I sat down for a little more motivation to watch Biggest Loser. And seeing the Twin brothers gain 9 pounds EACH totally made my hard effort even that much better.
On Wednesday I convinced my running partner to quit slacking and get out for that 5am run before work. When it came time to make the decision to turn for the 2.8 miles, or extend to 3.5 miles, I casually looked at him and said.....we're going longer today.....He grimaced at me, but then quoted in true fashion that it was his punishment for wussin' out on Monday. With a little laugh, I said.....how he had read my mind. But when we were done, he felt better about his efforts, and I managed to keep up to my goals of increasing my mileage each and every week.
Thursday came to my most favorite workout of the week. I absolutely LOVE anything that has to do with biceps. Tony Horton calls it the glamor muscles. I 100% agree. And I totally BROUGHT IT. I upped my curls from 15 to 17.5 pounds, and still did the 15 reps, with the last 3 being pushed to failure. By the end, I was totally wiped out. I could barely lift my arms.
With Friday being my designated off day, I rolled into a busy Saturday that started with my sons Flag Football game, of which I'm the coach. This is the point of the blog where I get to divert attention from my goals to my sons. We started off our season 2-0, with two very impressive wins in our double header debut. We had some high hopes going into week 3, but we fell quite a bit short against the best team in the league. We didn't have our A game going on, and it you want to beat the best, you have to up your game and play your best. So, at 2-1 we came into Saturdays game against a team that we lost to last year, but a game that was by far the most exciting game I'd ever coached. Last year, down by 6 points, we had the chance to score the winning TD with about 45 seconds to go. We fell short that day, but the kids sure played their hearts out. This year, as if deja vue, we come down to the final 45 seconds of the game with 1 last ditch chance to tie the game. But this year we had the inner fortitude to move the ball down the field, methodically and score a the game tying TD with 11 seconds left on the clock, on our FINAL down. After failing to convert the extra point (pass called incomplete by the refs) we went through not just one but 2 overtimes. the 2nd overtime is a 2 point shootout. You get one play in an attempt to score. Our defense came up HUGE and we shut them down in their opportunity. When it came time for our chance, I called a quick timeout to talk it over with out offense. I made a crucial switch in personnel that ended up being key. I split up my two best receivers to opposite sides of the field. This split up their double coverage. I used my best player as a decoy, and had my QB pump fake to him. Everyone bit enough on the fake, that it gave my son Dylan the extra step he needed to clear his coverage. My QB made amazing throw and my son Dylan made a catch, outstretched on the sideline of the end zone to complete the catch for the win. I couldn't believe we pulled off the victory!!! It was HUGE!! There had to be 150 people watching the game at that point. The next teams who were to take the field, all their parents. All our parents.....Random people at the park. It was AMAZING. And to be honest, I credit P90X training giving these kids the strength to get through a game like that. I incorporate P90X moves into their practices. And it's helped with speed and focus that's for sure.
So, coming off a high like that, I went out for an AWESOME 4 mile run that afternoon. I was still so jacked up, that each mile split got faster and faster. My final mile split was 7:45. We finished off the night with a little Super Hero action of Ironman. And after a game like that, and a run like that....I truly felt like I was Ironman!
Sunday I went out for a nice easy 6 mile run. Managed to get in 17 miles for the week. I'm slowly ramping up the miles each week, so that when my 90 days are over I can roll right into half marathon training. I want to be lean and strong when I get there in April. Can't wait to get there. Larry Fitzgerald lives by three words. Faith, Focus, Finish. I've adopted these three words to help me get better each and every day.
So, until next week: Work hard, and Keep pushing play!
Monday, January 17, 2011
P90X Journey: Week 2 In the Books
P90X week two is officially in the books after yesterday. Week one came in kinda like a lamb with the workouts, but week 2 I really kicked up the intensity. As you may remember, in week one I was unable to actually complete the workouts in full. Talk about epic fail. If it weren't for the fact that I had lost 7 pounds, it may have been a major setback in my mental aspect of training. And that's what really fueled me for the week 2 road ahead.
As I started into week two, coming off the emotional high that I had lost so much weight, I was really looking forward to so good hard workouts. Monday, was an early morning 3 mile run. I took that one pretty easy, but even in that, I marked each mile and got subsequently faster on each split. Tuesday was chest and back day, for this one I really worked hard. So hard, I went to complete exhaustion. I lowered the weights, and went for total quality on each and every exercise. Focusing on form. The same held true with AB Ripper X. Did get the full 25 on several exercises, but my form was good on the ones I was able to do. And mason twists, my arch enemy exercise.......30. I had to stop at 23, but I was able to bang out 7 more after a little rest.
Wednesday, I got out for my morning run. I set the tempo nice and easy, but found myself going faster and faster. It was weird. Negative splits again. ended up running around 8:15/mile by the end of the run. Not sure where that was coming from, because lately it's been a struggle to get the legs moving at anything but a slow speed. Maybe it's the decreased weight loss that's making me faster....who knows. All I know, it's really hard to get out of bed in the AM, but I'm still doing it.
Thursday was shoulders and arms. One of my personal favs in the P90X library. I absolute love working biceps. Big fan here. Again, I worked to exhaustion. I push so hard, my arms were screaming for a little Results and Recovery drink post workout. Well, they got their wish because they earned it.
Friday was my designated off day. Slept in till 6am, and that was such a nice reprieve. Saturday I did another 3 mile run. This time, the splits were even faster then the previous 2 runs. Again, not sure where this is coming from, but I like it.
Sunday is my designated longer run. Sunday morning, I didn't feel all that great. Not sure if it was too much coffee or what, but boy....My body was having some disagreements with me. So, needless to say I didn't run in the morning. By 2pm, I was totally dreading lacing up my shoes. But I went ahead anyways. My son was really pushing me to get going because he wanted to ride alongside. So lace up the shoes I did and we started out on the 3 mile loop. Once I got going my legs really felt in tune, and my body started to feel better. Totally crazy! At my normal turning point of the 3 mile loop, I made the decision to take it a little longer....and so I lengthened my run, and turned up the speed while my son road on home. I cranked up the gear to about an 8 min/mile pace. In all, I ran 3.8 miles. Not as long as I had initially intended on the grand schedule, but longer the the 3 miles my brain had settled upon. And when I got back and took a shower afterwords, I felt like a million bucks.
And that takes me to this morning. I got up at 4:15am to get ready for my 5am run with my running partner. Well, shocking news here, my running partner decided to bag the workout (again with another lame excuse) and not show up. So, what did I decide to do....Well, I kept it close to home by doing quarter mile hill repeats. The uphill segments I ran in around 1:45s. The downhill back, I ran in 1:41 as my fastest. Yeah, that's between a 6:40 and 7 min/mile pace. HELL YAHS!!! I kept telling myself during the workout, as Paul slept in, I was getting stronger, with each and every step. And I kept throwing in there, LAST CHANCE WORKOUT!!!! Yes, yelling at myself Biggest Loser Style!! Why??? Because today is day 15. It's weigh in Monday to see how much weight I had lost over the last week. And with each beep of the scale I kept wondering in my head if I could trhow down another 7 pounds. Well, it wasn't a 7, but it was an equally good 3. Today I weighed in at 196 pounds. That's a total weight loss of 10.4 pounds over 2 weeks, or 5.2 pounds per week. Not too shabby in my mind. And let me just tell you, this was a difficult week in training my diet. Holy crap have I been having cravings!! Probably one of the worst weeks ever. Seriously, I think that pizza commercials were put on TV to torture me. And then there's all the beer ads during football playoffs. DAMN YOU!!! And wine.....COME ON MAN!!! And finally, it was that late night run to Walgreens to get the kids some poster board to make fund raising signs for a community garage sale. Seriously....did EVERY candy have to be on sale that night. Well, I passed the test. I didn't buy any candy. I didn't buy any beer or alcohol. I didn't eat a truck load of pizzas. Not even a single whiff. It was a huge test in what I'm going for. It just means that when I get to where I want to be, that I will have earned it. But in moderation. Right now is no time to take steps backwards. Right now I the time to keep taking steps forward. Progress to the body that I know I can have. I have to make short term sacrifices if I want to make long term goals. Yes, I can have Pizza again someday. But not right now. Yes, I will be able to throw down a cold one or a glass of wine. But not right now. I need to cleanse my body of all the daemons that got me to where I am. It's all about being healthy.
As I close this out, I remind everyone.....Do your best and forget the rest.....and BRING IT!!!!
As I started into week two, coming off the emotional high that I had lost so much weight, I was really looking forward to so good hard workouts. Monday, was an early morning 3 mile run. I took that one pretty easy, but even in that, I marked each mile and got subsequently faster on each split. Tuesday was chest and back day, for this one I really worked hard. So hard, I went to complete exhaustion. I lowered the weights, and went for total quality on each and every exercise. Focusing on form. The same held true with AB Ripper X. Did get the full 25 on several exercises, but my form was good on the ones I was able to do. And mason twists, my arch enemy exercise.......30. I had to stop at 23, but I was able to bang out 7 more after a little rest.
Wednesday, I got out for my morning run. I set the tempo nice and easy, but found myself going faster and faster. It was weird. Negative splits again. ended up running around 8:15/mile by the end of the run. Not sure where that was coming from, because lately it's been a struggle to get the legs moving at anything but a slow speed. Maybe it's the decreased weight loss that's making me faster....who knows. All I know, it's really hard to get out of bed in the AM, but I'm still doing it.
Thursday was shoulders and arms. One of my personal favs in the P90X library. I absolute love working biceps. Big fan here. Again, I worked to exhaustion. I push so hard, my arms were screaming for a little Results and Recovery drink post workout. Well, they got their wish because they earned it.
Friday was my designated off day. Slept in till 6am, and that was such a nice reprieve. Saturday I did another 3 mile run. This time, the splits were even faster then the previous 2 runs. Again, not sure where this is coming from, but I like it.
Sunday is my designated longer run. Sunday morning, I didn't feel all that great. Not sure if it was too much coffee or what, but boy....My body was having some disagreements with me. So, needless to say I didn't run in the morning. By 2pm, I was totally dreading lacing up my shoes. But I went ahead anyways. My son was really pushing me to get going because he wanted to ride alongside. So lace up the shoes I did and we started out on the 3 mile loop. Once I got going my legs really felt in tune, and my body started to feel better. Totally crazy! At my normal turning point of the 3 mile loop, I made the decision to take it a little longer....and so I lengthened my run, and turned up the speed while my son road on home. I cranked up the gear to about an 8 min/mile pace. In all, I ran 3.8 miles. Not as long as I had initially intended on the grand schedule, but longer the the 3 miles my brain had settled upon. And when I got back and took a shower afterwords, I felt like a million bucks.
And that takes me to this morning. I got up at 4:15am to get ready for my 5am run with my running partner. Well, shocking news here, my running partner decided to bag the workout (again with another lame excuse) and not show up. So, what did I decide to do....Well, I kept it close to home by doing quarter mile hill repeats. The uphill segments I ran in around 1:45s. The downhill back, I ran in 1:41 as my fastest. Yeah, that's between a 6:40 and 7 min/mile pace. HELL YAHS!!! I kept telling myself during the workout, as Paul slept in, I was getting stronger, with each and every step. And I kept throwing in there, LAST CHANCE WORKOUT!!!! Yes, yelling at myself Biggest Loser Style!! Why??? Because today is day 15. It's weigh in Monday to see how much weight I had lost over the last week. And with each beep of the scale I kept wondering in my head if I could trhow down another 7 pounds. Well, it wasn't a 7, but it was an equally good 3. Today I weighed in at 196 pounds. That's a total weight loss of 10.4 pounds over 2 weeks, or 5.2 pounds per week. Not too shabby in my mind. And let me just tell you, this was a difficult week in training my diet. Holy crap have I been having cravings!! Probably one of the worst weeks ever. Seriously, I think that pizza commercials were put on TV to torture me. And then there's all the beer ads during football playoffs. DAMN YOU!!! And wine.....COME ON MAN!!! And finally, it was that late night run to Walgreens to get the kids some poster board to make fund raising signs for a community garage sale. Seriously....did EVERY candy have to be on sale that night. Well, I passed the test. I didn't buy any candy. I didn't buy any beer or alcohol. I didn't eat a truck load of pizzas. Not even a single whiff. It was a huge test in what I'm going for. It just means that when I get to where I want to be, that I will have earned it. But in moderation. Right now is no time to take steps backwards. Right now I the time to keep taking steps forward. Progress to the body that I know I can have. I have to make short term sacrifices if I want to make long term goals. Yes, I can have Pizza again someday. But not right now. Yes, I will be able to throw down a cold one or a glass of wine. But not right now. I need to cleanse my body of all the daemons that got me to where I am. It's all about being healthy.
As I close this out, I remind everyone.....Do your best and forget the rest.....and BRING IT!!!!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
2011 Is a New Year: P90X Week 1 Complete!
That's right, 2011 is a New Year with new goals. One of my goal is to take this fitness stuff serious. Why is it that I continue to let my mind take over and rule my non-activity? I don't know. But that's how the year ended. Making up all kinds of excuses as to why I shouldn't work out. I was at a high point closing out October, and was on a roll in November. But that sickness at Thanksgiving threw me a one two punch where I took several steps backwards. Mentally, I shut down the workout routines and got plain and simple lazy. Everything that I had worked so hard for the previous year, totally wiped out. I ate all of the wrong things, drank lots of alcohol, sodas, and started back onto the candy routine. My weight rapidly increased and I stopped looking at the scale. My wife saw the spiral that I was getting into, and she basically said enough is enough. You've got to get back into the habits and routines that you'd tried to establish before. She talked to another friend of mine who was doing P90X and he mentioned that, when you follow the diet religiously, that you will have amazing results.
Now, I love P90X. The workouts are amazing, but the diet for me, was really hard to follow. I didn't use any of the recipes, and I thought I could do it myself being the super smart engineer that I was. It's just food right. Well, my wife, after her talk with Jason, was dedicated in helping me achieve my goals. 206.4 was not anywhere either one of us wanted me to be. My problem is, when I'm inactive.....I gain weight. I look at a doughnut, I gain 5 pounds from the smell of all those carbs in it. That's just how my body rolls. And speaking of rolls.....well.....Yes, I was starting to get that fat belly. Not cool in a bathing suit. So, on Saturday Jan 1st, my wife and I sat down and we went through page by page of the Nutrition Guide. We first determined my daily calorie calculation. We settled on the low end of Level 2 for phase 1 which was 2400 calories. We used the portions to come up with that first week menu. Sure it was a lot of work. But when we went through all of the ingredients to build a shopping list, we were pretty surprised at how much we already on hand. Sure I didn't have egg whites, things like that. As I said before, I followed the diet, but I used my engineering judgment. Instead of doing 8 egg whites, I use 4 eggs. Volume is about the same. Unfortunately, the fat count is NOT!
So January 3rd, I started my next round of P90X with an emphasis of leaning out and losing about 30 pounds. I want to go from that nasty looking 206.4 to somewhere around 175. Honestly, that would be a GREAT weight for me. It's not near my lower threshold of being "healthy", but it's where I think I will be the most comfortable. I really don't think I will ever see that 143 number that comes up in calculations. But, 175 is also something I haven't seen win WELL over 20 years, and it's 3 pounds below the 178 upper range. So my first goal is to start there. When I get there, I know everyday things will be so much easier. Carrying 30 less pounds will have that effect.
That's where I come to the Week 1 results. Let me preface this by, WOW. It's amazing how much fitness you can lose in a 6 week period. Or should I say...DAYYYUMMMM!!!! I lost a LOT! Push-ups were hard. Pull Downs on my Bowflex dropped 20 pounds from where I was before. I didn't even make it through my first two workouts, and I was ridiculous sore after both of them. And as for running. I didn't get in as many days or miles as my mind had planned for. But with that, I followed the diet. Measuring and weighing EVERYTHING! I ate a hot breakfast of 8 egg whites with some varying flavor every morning. Spinach Scramble HIT. Cheese Scramble HIT! Every single recipe from the P90X library was AMAZING last week. Hunger cravings, non existent. I didn't come home and go through a half bag of chips. It's not on the plan. So it's not going into my body. I didn't have that nightcap of Cran-Apple Juice and rum, or wine. I haven't had a single soda. I've logged everyone of my meals and followed it to a T. And I am so happy to report that after week 1, my weight loss was damn near Biggest Loser Esque! I went from 206.4 to 199.0 in the first week! A whopping 7.4 pounds or 3.6%! That's HUGE!!! It's a major victory for both Body and Mind. So much so that I have totally ramped up my efforts in week 2. Hit both target runs so far. ROCKED my chest and back workout. ROCKED AB Ripper X afterwords. I totally cannot wait to see how the weight loss progresses for week 2. Will I have that dreaded Week 2 Biggest Loser curse with a low number, or will I pull through and continue with the home run that I knocked out of the park last week. Stay Tuned!!!!
Now, I love P90X. The workouts are amazing, but the diet for me, was really hard to follow. I didn't use any of the recipes, and I thought I could do it myself being the super smart engineer that I was. It's just food right. Well, my wife, after her talk with Jason, was dedicated in helping me achieve my goals. 206.4 was not anywhere either one of us wanted me to be. My problem is, when I'm inactive.....I gain weight. I look at a doughnut, I gain 5 pounds from the smell of all those carbs in it. That's just how my body rolls. And speaking of rolls.....well.....Yes, I was starting to get that fat belly. Not cool in a bathing suit. So, on Saturday Jan 1st, my wife and I sat down and we went through page by page of the Nutrition Guide. We first determined my daily calorie calculation. We settled on the low end of Level 2 for phase 1 which was 2400 calories. We used the portions to come up with that first week menu. Sure it was a lot of work. But when we went through all of the ingredients to build a shopping list, we were pretty surprised at how much we already on hand. Sure I didn't have egg whites, things like that. As I said before, I followed the diet, but I used my engineering judgment. Instead of doing 8 egg whites, I use 4 eggs. Volume is about the same. Unfortunately, the fat count is NOT!
So January 3rd, I started my next round of P90X with an emphasis of leaning out and losing about 30 pounds. I want to go from that nasty looking 206.4 to somewhere around 175. Honestly, that would be a GREAT weight for me. It's not near my lower threshold of being "healthy", but it's where I think I will be the most comfortable. I really don't think I will ever see that 143 number that comes up in calculations. But, 175 is also something I haven't seen win WELL over 20 years, and it's 3 pounds below the 178 upper range. So my first goal is to start there. When I get there, I know everyday things will be so much easier. Carrying 30 less pounds will have that effect.
That's where I come to the Week 1 results. Let me preface this by, WOW. It's amazing how much fitness you can lose in a 6 week period. Or should I say...DAYYYUMMMM!!!! I lost a LOT! Push-ups were hard. Pull Downs on my Bowflex dropped 20 pounds from where I was before. I didn't even make it through my first two workouts, and I was ridiculous sore after both of them. And as for running. I didn't get in as many days or miles as my mind had planned for. But with that, I followed the diet. Measuring and weighing EVERYTHING! I ate a hot breakfast of 8 egg whites with some varying flavor every morning. Spinach Scramble HIT. Cheese Scramble HIT! Every single recipe from the P90X library was AMAZING last week. Hunger cravings, non existent. I didn't come home and go through a half bag of chips. It's not on the plan. So it's not going into my body. I didn't have that nightcap of Cran-Apple Juice and rum, or wine. I haven't had a single soda. I've logged everyone of my meals and followed it to a T. And I am so happy to report that after week 1, my weight loss was damn near Biggest Loser Esque! I went from 206.4 to 199.0 in the first week! A whopping 7.4 pounds or 3.6%! That's HUGE!!! It's a major victory for both Body and Mind. So much so that I have totally ramped up my efforts in week 2. Hit both target runs so far. ROCKED my chest and back workout. ROCKED AB Ripper X afterwords. I totally cannot wait to see how the weight loss progresses for week 2. Will I have that dreaded Week 2 Biggest Loser curse with a low number, or will I pull through and continue with the home run that I knocked out of the park last week. Stay Tuned!!!!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Marathon Training Week #2 - Off to a Rough Start
Week #1 was in like a lion, and out with a bang. I didn't get in as many miles as I had done the previous week, but that was mainly do to a distinct lack of time more then anything. I did, however, have a GREAT group of workouts, so it was not a failure by any stretch of the imagination. In all, I had almost 31 miles. That's just over 3 miles sort of what I did the previous week, but I managed to do that without a Sunday run yesterday. That's the part that's HUGE. Had I had the time to run for the hour and a half, I would have logged 42 miles. Again, not a failure at all. Especially when you look a the quality.
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 3.5 miles / P90X+ Weights & Abs Ripper X
Wednesday - 4 miles / 4 miles
Thursday - 5.6 miles / P09X+ Weights & Ab Ripper X
Friday - 6.5 miles to include 5x800m repeats at sub 3:45 splits
Saturday - 10K plus 1/2 warm up and cool down, Total of 7.2 miles
To call that a disappointment would be crazy. I am not going to complain about that kind of output. Especially, when I go out on a Friday evening after work, blast out 5x800m exceeding my goals, only to come back early Friday morning for a 10K run and do that in 56:23. On a ridiculously hilly course. AMAZING. The main question is, how do I feel. Well, actually, I feel great. I feel stronger then I have in a very long time. There's not been any soreness in my legs whatsoever. I've been using my hot tub in the evenings to open up the pours and get the junk out of the legs. I've been doing so X-Stretch along the way to keep limber. This week, now that there is a lull in the kids baseball schedule, I'll get my P90X Yoga workouts back on the schedule to get even more flexibility into these legs!
In all, it was a great workout, and so far, I'm loving the progress in my running. Well, that was until the disaster of last nights attempt to sleep. What a joke. By 12;30 PM I had succumbed to the fact that I wasn't going to be running in the AM. It is what it is. I was angry after a pathetic showing of my Arizona Cardinals, in a must win division game that, I as a season ticket holder, attended. I was angry at the lack of heart showed on the field. I was angry in the lack of focus on the field. And most of all, I was angry at how these professional athletes have forgotten some of the most basic aspects of the game. Some would say I take it too hard. Maybe I do. I have high expectations, since I pay a good chunk of change in Money and Time to make the 2 hour trip from Tucson to go watch a game. When they lose like they lost on Sunday, it just makes that 2 hour trip back even that much longer. So, anyways, I've got to get my workouts in this evening, and hopefully, after a good restful night of sleep, I'll be able to come out refreshed tomorrow and lay the schmack down on some pavement!!!
Remember, strength is built by how you respond to adversity. You can crawl into a corner, or you can face it head on and beat it into submission. I choose to face it head on! Keep Pushing Play and BRING IT!!!!
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 3.5 miles / P90X+ Weights & Abs Ripper X
Wednesday - 4 miles / 4 miles
Thursday - 5.6 miles / P09X+ Weights & Ab Ripper X
Friday - 6.5 miles to include 5x800m repeats at sub 3:45 splits
Saturday - 10K plus 1/2 warm up and cool down, Total of 7.2 miles
To call that a disappointment would be crazy. I am not going to complain about that kind of output. Especially, when I go out on a Friday evening after work, blast out 5x800m exceeding my goals, only to come back early Friday morning for a 10K run and do that in 56:23. On a ridiculously hilly course. AMAZING. The main question is, how do I feel. Well, actually, I feel great. I feel stronger then I have in a very long time. There's not been any soreness in my legs whatsoever. I've been using my hot tub in the evenings to open up the pours and get the junk out of the legs. I've been doing so X-Stretch along the way to keep limber. This week, now that there is a lull in the kids baseball schedule, I'll get my P90X Yoga workouts back on the schedule to get even more flexibility into these legs!
In all, it was a great workout, and so far, I'm loving the progress in my running. Well, that was until the disaster of last nights attempt to sleep. What a joke. By 12;30 PM I had succumbed to the fact that I wasn't going to be running in the AM. It is what it is. I was angry after a pathetic showing of my Arizona Cardinals, in a must win division game that, I as a season ticket holder, attended. I was angry at the lack of heart showed on the field. I was angry in the lack of focus on the field. And most of all, I was angry at how these professional athletes have forgotten some of the most basic aspects of the game. Some would say I take it too hard. Maybe I do. I have high expectations, since I pay a good chunk of change in Money and Time to make the 2 hour trip from Tucson to go watch a game. When they lose like they lost on Sunday, it just makes that 2 hour trip back even that much longer. So, anyways, I've got to get my workouts in this evening, and hopefully, after a good restful night of sleep, I'll be able to come out refreshed tomorrow and lay the schmack down on some pavement!!!
Remember, strength is built by how you respond to adversity. You can crawl into a corner, or you can face it head on and beat it into submission. I choose to face it head on! Keep Pushing Play and BRING IT!!!!
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