DAY (MINUS 6)
Nov 25 - Preparing for P90X

Okay, so I got sucked in by the informercial. If Ayhan can buy his Dr. Ho neck extender, then I can buy an extreme exercise program. I think this is totally my thing though. Everything is completely organized and structured, from the day-by-day exercise regime to the nutrition guide. The program looks fun and incorporates yoga and kenpo karate. As well, the people on it look like athletes and not muscle-heads. I'm thinking of it as the Da Vinci Code of exercise--it's very approachable.

So I went onto Ebay and scored a genuine version of the dvds, with a chinup bar thrown in. I didn't take the chance to buy online from the States because I've been screwed before by surprise duty charges. The kit comes with the dvds, a nutrition guide, a fitness guide, a goofy calendar, and a coupon code (SERTW7X) for buying their products online.

The program is split into three phases, each about a month long. You work out 6 days a week, so it's pretty intense. Each phase has its own set of exercises--but the idea is that once your body starts getting used to those exercises, you switch to something different. They call it "muscle confusion". Similarly, on the nutrition side, the program is split into three one-month phases: Fat Shredder, Energy Booster, and Endurance Maximizer. I've been trying the fat shredder diet, and it's tons of protein...I don't know how I will eat that much every day!

So the past few days, in addition to the extra grocery shopping, I've been gathering some things needed before you start the program. Chinup bar. Resistance bands. Yoga mat. Protein bars. Protein powder. I must say that it's going to be expensive!

So we'll see how it goes. I'm going to try to blog it as I go to help keep me motivated. As they say on the dvds: get ready to Bring It!!

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DAY (MINUS 2)
Nov 29 - How much body fat?!?

So I've decided that if this P90X doesn't do anything, I'm going to apply to be on The Biggest Loser (btw, I love that show!). I went to Extreme Fitness today to get my body fat measurement, and it came out to a whopping 24%!! I laughed when she told me, "are you serious?". She nodded with a straight face. Now I don't trust my gym when it comes to these things because they have an interest in making you think you're fat, and I truly believe that they pad that number. Anyways, I got a second opinion from Brad's fatty scale, and it clocked in at 19%. Which, while still high, is more reasonable. Whatever the real number is, I now have some benchmarks to start with.

I did the rest of the tests and measurements too. Wow, I have gone downhill the last year. Farley was definitely right when he says that pants are labelled two sizes less than what they are! But I think it's mostly because of the travel I've been doing this year. I haven't even been keeping up with my maintenance workouts. I guess I'm getting older too. Or maybe it's just too many excuses...Anyways, having this program set up the regime for me is fantastic.

Well we'll see how this program goes. It looks fun. I don't expect to be a hulk by the end--if you search on p90x before and after photos, the differences aren't extreme makeover type changes. They just look like regular people getting into better shape.

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DAY (MINUS 1)
Nov 30 - The Last Supper

Tonight I went out with Farley for my last supper of crap. We ate singapore fried noodles, greasy dumplings, fried rice, lemon chicken, and ginger beef. It was awesome! We crossed the street afterwards and had Greg's Ice Cream. Pumpkin and coconut...mmmm....

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DAY 1 - CHEST AND BACK + ABRIPPER X
Dec 1 - Pushups and Pullups Galore

Ouch. That hurt. My first session with Tony wiped me out—it’s basically all push-ups and pull-ups. Now I understand why this is a home workout program. Because at the end of the session, you can lie on the floor, dry heave, and generally feel nauseous in the comfort of your own home without bystanders wondering if they should call a doctor! I have done push-ups and chin-ups before. In fact, I probably did 3 sets of them twice a week when I was working out more regularly. But this session was crazy. What made it so difficult was that they were doing it all in such quick succession. They never really rest in between the sets. You work to failure every set, and then continue with the next exercise immediately. And the exercises change each time. You can see by my numbers that by the end of the hour, I was completely wiped and could barely lift my body. I was lying on the ground for about 15 minutes afterwards, just feeling nauseous and a general malaise.

One other thing I realized during this first session is that I probably need some weights to do this program properly. The bands I have are too light and unwieldy—I had to push pause a couple of times just to figure out where to put the bands. But at least my chin-up bar held up (I’ve nailed it into some dry wall along the frame above the closet door, so it’s possible that I may pull the entire wall down at some point).

Overall, it was a painful workout. I’m saving the Ab-Ripper X tack-on workout for after work. I think I have to start getting up even earlier to fit the workouts in. I am going to be sore tomorrow…

+ ABRIPPER X

NUTRITION
AFTER WORKOUT: 1 protein shake w/ skim milk
BREAKFAST: 8 egg whites, 2oz cheese, 3 slices of turkey, orange juice SNACK: 2 oz beef jerky
LUNCH: 3 oz chicken shawarma, ½ cup rice, 1 cup salad, 1tbsp hummus SNACK: 1 protein bar, 30 pistachios
DINNER: 6 oz chicken, ½ cup rice, 1 cup salad, 1oz tomato blue cheese
SNACK: 1 cup cottage cheese

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DAY 2 - PLYOMETRICS
Dec 2 - Unending Squats

That session was pretty extreme! Tony called this the workout that puts the X in P90X! Tons of sports moves, quick bursts of power, squats and jumps—I would have been much better at this before my knee injury. As some AkaWesley’s fans know, I tore and removed my ACL almost 7 years ago (wow, time flies!) and haven’t played any real sports since that. I tried a couple of times to get back into volleyball and badminton, but my knee buckled both times. So I was a bit nervous about doing this workout. I put on a neoprene band just to give me a bit more stability and started the dvd.

The workout is pretty harsh—it really got my legs burning and my heart was unstoppable. The pause button was my best friend because they don’t take any breaks between these tough sets. So I’m grunting away while Tony and his friends look like superheroes. And I admit that I was lying on the floor gasping for air during the pause breaks. At about 40 minutes, I felt like throwing my cookies—thank god I didn’t eat any cookies beforehand. By the time they got to the “bonus round”, I was done and just limped through the final exercises.

But the motivating thing is that I think this will help with my bad knee, and the resulting weakening of my legs. The doctors thought I had enough muscle around the knee to stabilize it, but it has really been getting weaker lately.

In the end, it was super difficult, and I dread doing it again. And after chest and back yesterday, I now understand why a blog I read suggested wearing a good sports bra on day 2! My titties were sore from all that bouncing! But seriously, I’m pretty stoked about getting better at all the moves and becoming a superhero myself!

NUTRITION
AFTER WORKOUT: 1 protein shake w/ skim milk
BREAKFAST: 6 oz sliced low-fat turkey, orange juice
SNACK: 2 oz beef jerky
LUNCH: 6 oz stir-fried chicken, 2 tbsp oil, 1 cup rice
SNACK: 8 oz cherry tomatoes
DINNER: 6 oz chicken shwarma, 1 cup salad, 1 tbsp hummus

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DAY 3 - SHOULDERS & ARMS + ABRIPPER X
Dec 3 - Lifting a Toaster

So I borrowed Brad’s $500(!!) set of adjustable PowerBlock dumbbells. I actually saw these on a P90X Youtube video, and I thought the lady was going ghetto and lifting some toasters, cause that’s what they’re shaped like. Anyways, they were great—they’re pretty fast to load up and down, although I still had to push pause a few times to change weights. For this session, almost all the exercises are done with weights, so it was great to have them ready.

I counted 30 sets of shoulders, biceps and triceps exercises altogether. This session wasn’t as bad as the first two sessions, mainly because I was using lighter weights—I read the dumbbells incorrectly for the first few exercises (no wonder it was so easy!) and I also wanted to focus on having good form. All the videos so far have provided a lot of moves that I haven’t seen before, so it makes things interesting.

Unlike day 1 and day 2, you aren’t lifting your body weight, so you have full control over how intense the session is. I think I took it a bit easy this time because I couldn’t tell what weight to use, but it should be more “extreme” next week now that I have a better idea.

+ ABRIPPER X

NUTRITION
AFTER WORKOUT: 1 protein shake w/ skim milk
LUNCH: 12 oz tandoori chicken, 2oz tomato cheese spread, orange juice
SNACK: 3 oz grilled beef, 3 oz grilled chicken, 1 cup salad
DINNER: 6 oz sushi, 1 cup rice
SNACK: 1 cup salad, 2 tbsp hummus, 5 oz mango tofu

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DAY 4 - YOGA
Dec 4 - Namaste--My First Yoga

This is really my first time doing yoga. I’ve always meant to sign up for a class at the gym, but just never got around to it. It was pretty difficult with lots of balance, flexibility, and stamina needed for the moves. I kept twisting myself into pretzels that I wasn’t sure I could untwist. I fell over a few times, so it was good to have soft things around to break the fall.

But that damn upward / downward dog. Every time we did that, I knew there was some impossible move coming up. I think I was able to get decent form on most of the moves. Flexibility has generally been one of my fortes, but I still can’t yet stretch out to the extent that they do. I don’t know how less flexible people would get through this the first time.

Tomorrow is legs & back. My legs are still pretty sore from the plyometrics day—in fact, my whole body has been pretty sore every day so far. Hopefully they loosen up by tomorrow or I’ll be in a whole lot of Trouble X.

By the way, if you’re wondering how I am measuring all the food in ounces like those crazy Americans, I have just been divided all my serving sizes by 30 g/oz. I don’t understand why the Americans are still on that outdated system of measurements. And we Canadians just get sucked into it just because we’re on their periphery.

NUTRITION
AFTER WORKOUT: 1 protein shake, skim milk
BREAKFAST: 8 oz egg whites, 3 slice turkey, 2 oz cheese
LUNCH: 1 slice sausage / olive pizza, 1.5oz buffalo pemmican
SNACK: 1 protein bar
DINNER: 6 oz tandoori chicken, 1 cup broccoli & carrots
SNACK: strawberry yogurt

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DAY 5 - LEGS & BACK
Dec 5 - Oh My Aching Legs

Today’s workout was kinda harsh—more chinups and squats. My legs had luckily finished recovering from the plyo day, so I was ready to go. I like leg days cause the guys wear shorter and tighter shorts--and Tony has super sexy legs. Wow! It’s pretty amazing that this 50 year old has a better body than almost any guy half his age. This workout has tons of static holds where your legs burn, and I had to just grit my teeth.

The best bit was Tony during the Groucho Walk. I’m sure they added that exercise just so that Tony could do his hilarious impressions of Groucho Marx. It is the highlight of the dvd.

I also stumbled on my diet a bit. I went with a coworker to an Indian buffet, and I had enough willpower to avoid the naan and papadum (okay, I admit I had 1 pakora). But when dessert came, I couldn’t avoid having a tiiiiny bowl of gulab jamun. Delicious. I’ve been good all week, one meal of crap isn’t too bad.

NUTRITION
AFTER WORKOUT: 1 protein shake, skim milk
BREAKFAST: 8 oz egg whites, 2 oz slice turkey, 2 oz cheese
LUNCH: 8 oz tandoori chicken, 10 oz goat / beef curry, 1 pakora, 1 gulab jamun with kheer
DINNER: 1 cup mashed lentil (mercimek kofte), ½ cup rice, ½ cup leeks (zeytin yali pirasa)
SNACK: 2 oz mashed lentil (mercimek kofte)

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DAY 6 - KENPO
Dec 6 - Kickin Some Imaginary Ass

My last workout this week and it was pretty fun. Lots of punching, kicking, and blocking. It’s definitely a different take on cardio than I’m used to. You don’t really try to beat anyone up in step classes or on an elliptical. By the end, I had sweat rolling off my chin, but I didn’t feel exhausted. I could totally get into this.

So that’s it—the workouts I’m going to be doing for the next month. I’ll try not to rehash details about the workouts from now on in my blog. I’ll just keep track of my weights and reps. It’s not really necessary to rehash the same workouts over and over again. And keep complaining about where I feel sore (today, it’s my butt!).

NUTRITION
AFTER WORKOUT: 1 protein shake, skim milk
BREAKFAST: 8 oz egg whites, 3 oz cottage cheese, 1 oz turkey kielbassa, orange juice
SNACK: protein bar
LUNCH: 8 oz steak, 2 grilled tomatoes, 1 cup salad
DINNER: 3 oz chicken with mushrooms in tomato sauce (mantar sote), 1 cup rice, 1 cup salad

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DAY 7 - REST DAY
Dec 7 - A Well-Earned Rest Day

Finally an off day. I have literally been sore every day this week. Today it’s my back and ass that are sore. Next week will be interesting because I may have to try to juggle the workouts around because of work. This program doesn’t give much leeway with the 6 workouts a week.

NUTRITION
BREAKFAST: 8 oz egg whites, 1 cup grape tomatoes, 1 cup broccoli, ½ pomegranate
LUNCH: 3 oz mantar sote
DINNER: 3 oz mantar sote
SNACK: ½ cup mercimek kofte, ¼ cup zeytin yali pirasa

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DAY 8 - CHEST & BACK + ABRIPPER X
Dec 8 - Am I Getting Weaker?

I was a bit disappointed today. It was my first repeat workout, and I noticed quickly enough that I couldn't do as many pushups as I could the first time around. Now there are a couple of possible reasons for this. One, is that my body is getting trashed by these constant workouts and it is really weaker now. Two, is that I switched to using push up bars which do allow you to get deeper into the pushups.

But on the bright side is that I was able to complete this workout WITHOUT pushing pause! I was able to keep up with them--although they still do a whole heck of a lot more reps, which gives some extra time to rest in between. I had way more stamina, and didn't peter out as much during the last sets. I still felt a bit queasy at the end.

+ ABRIPPER X

NUTRITION
AFTER WORKOUT: 1 protein shake w/ lactose-free skim milk
BREAKFAST: 8 egg whites, 2oz turkey kielbasa
LUNCH: 9oz cajun chicken breasts, 1 cup broccoli
SNACK: protein bar
DINNER: 3oz turkey kielbasa, 1 cup mercimek kofte, 1 pomegranate

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DAY 9 - PLYOMETRICS
Dec 9 - Plyometrics Bites!

I think I have to stop doing this first thing in the morning. It’s too much too early. I feel like puking. I want to “squat jack” on the face of all those bloggers who talk about how fun and energizing plyo is.

NUTRITION
AFTER WORKOUT: ½ cup OJ, 1 protein shake w/ lactose free skim milk
BREAKFAST: 8oz egg whites, 2oz sliced turkey, 2oz cheese
LUNCH: 1 can V8, bowl beef veg soup, ½ cup rice, ½ cup chicken stirfry
SNACK: 3oz beef jerky, 1 protein bar
DINNER: 6oz baked chicken, 1 cup salad, 1tbsp olive oil, ½ cup rice, 2 tbsp semolina dessert (irmik tatlisi)

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DAY 10 - SHOULDERS & ARMS + ABRIPPER X
Dec 10 - I Just Want to Add 2.5lbs!

I found one problem with the PowerBlocks for this workout. Because the exercises switch so quickly, you need to switch weights quickly. The problem with the PowerBlock is that the two incremental 2.5lb weights are buried in the handle, so once you start getting to higher weights, it’s not easy to switch the incremental weights in or out. That really explains why most of the weights I lift are either 15lbs or 25lbs—because I didn’t bother to spend time with those incremental weights.

The exercises here really isolate your arms and shoulders. I increased all the weights from my first time around on this dvd. At the end of the workout, I really felt the burn across my arms and shoulders. And my upper body looked bigger when I saw myself in a mirror afterwards--kind of like McCoy when he fluffs up his body and looks all tough and buff.

+ ABRIPPER X

NUTRITION
AFTER WORKOUT: 1 protein shake w/ lactose-free skim milk
BREAKFAST: 8oz egg whites, 2oz sliced turkey, 2oz cheese
LUNCH: 6oz chicken shwarma, 2 cup salad
SNACK: 3oz beef jerky, 30 pistachios
DINNER: 2oz ahi tuna, 1oz mushrooms, 13oz grilled steak, 1cup mashed potatoes, ½ tomato

Dec 26 - Update: Solved the Powerblock Problem

I went out and bought some Energetics wrist / ankle weights that go from 2lbs to 10lbs. Now if I need to add a bit more weight, I just need to strap on these babies, and I don't have to worry about opening up the Powerblocks. I can probably strap these on to my ankles to make Kenpo and Plyometrics even more fun!

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DAY 11 - LEGS & BACK
Dec 11 - How to Know When You Really "Brought It"

I went a bit wild today and changed the order of the workouts. Don't tell Tony.

I'm flying to Austin to mark some exams, and I called the hotel where I'm staying to see if they have a chin-up bar in their gym. The lady said "I don't see anything shaped like that..."--what a strange answer. Anyways, I decided not to chance it and just did the legs & back workout at home. My weekend in Austin will consist of the displaced Yoga session and Kenpo. It is really difficult to follow the chin-up parts of the P90X schedule while traveling.

Anyways, this session was tough. I swear the sessions are getting harder, not easier, on my second time around. This one feels like it has the shortest breaks. I barely have time to scratch my ass in between sets.

And I truly believe that when you feel like crying partway through the workout, then you really know that you "brought it". So I mark this session as a success.

NUTRITION
AFTER WORKOUT: 1 protein shake w/ orange juice (ran out of milk)
LUNCH: 3 cup salad, 20g Viva chips, 1 protein bar
DINNER: (Eddie’s V Lounge) 16oz steak, 3 pieces sashimi, 2 cup arugula, 3oz mozzarella, ½ tomato, ½ cup snap peas, 10 fries, ¼ banana in syrup
SNACK: sugar free red bull & vodka

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DAY 12 - YOGA
Dec 12 - Ommmmm...

Did the yoga workout in my hotel room. Those single leg yoga moves at the end are killer.

I also found out that the chocolate protein powder I use works GREAT in orange juice because I didn't have milk. And it's much easier to drink than milk--but I guess less protein. I did a search on the internet and I couldn't find any warnings that the acidity breaks down the protein or anything.

NUTRITION
AFTER WORKOUT: 1 protein shake w/ orange juice
BREAKFAST: (Hilton) 5oz steak, 3 egg whites, 2oz potatoes, 1½ slices bread
LUNCH: 9oz sliced turkey, 2 cup salad
SNACK: protein bar
DINNER: 5oz steak, 3 yuca fries, 1 mojito

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DAY 13 - REST DAY
Dec 13 - Relaxing in Austin

I switched my rest day with the Kenpo day. I spent the day touring Austin. I really liked the city—lots of energy and good infrastructure in the downtown core. Because of the tons of university students, there’s a lot of places geared towards entertaining them (as well as the tourists). The coolest place was Qua with its aquatic theme. The glass dance floor covers a tank full of sharks and rays. Very cool.

We also took the half hour drive to the fantastic outlet stores at San Marcos. Talk about great sales—like 50 to 70% off retail! Saks Off 5th took most of my money. I also hit up a GNC at another Austin mall and they had a buy-one-get-one half price sale on the protein powder I’m using. Plus their prices were cheaper—Canada truly has crappy prices for this stuff. I saved a whopping 57%...even with the bad exchange rate (1.25)!! Unbelievable!

I also ate steak about 5 or 6 times because I was on the Society’s dime! And Austin has some delicious steaks. I think I could eat the steak at Eddie’s V Lounge every day for 90 days. It had a bit of a salt-crust on it, which I’ve never had before, but it was delicious. The beet carpaccio at Parkside was also a highlight—I realized how much I like beets.

Overall, it was a great trip, and I was able to stay on track with the program by doing in the two non-weight, non-chinup days. I fell off the bandwagon a bit with the martini night—but those martinis were fantastic!

NUTRITION
BREAKFAST: 5oz steak, 3 egg whites, 2oz potatoes, 1 slices toast, protein powder in OJ
SNACK: protein bar
LUNCH: 12oz steak, 3 cup steamed veg, 2oz tuna sashimi
DINNER: 3oz scallops, some french fries, 2 cup salad, beet carpaccio (delicious!), 5 strawberry martinis (oops!)

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DAY 14 - KENPO
Dec 14 - Kenpo with a Hangover

I decided to keep to the program and sweat out the martinis from last night. It was tough keeping balance due to the hangover and sore muscles, but I worked through it all. Fun stuff!

I didn’t eat much today either. Oh well.

NUTRITION
LUNCH: shrimp lettuce rolls, 5oz fried salmon, 2 cups vegetables
DINNER: 6oz turkey, coleslaw, potato salad, 1 piece bread
SNACK: prune yogurt

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DAY 15 - CHEST AND BACK + ABRIPPER X
Dec 15 - I Am Definitely Doggin It

I think I know why I'm doing less and less pull ups each workout. My arms are getting wasted by the workouts. It's my arms that are giving out during the pull-ups, not my back. I also noticed my bad knee is starting to hurt more. This program really forces all the joints and smaller muscles to work constantly, and it doesn't give much chance for them to recover.

I think that in some ways, the third week is harder than the first. In the first week, I had the excitement of starting a new program to get me going. Now, it's moving to pure motivation to drive myself. I wake up groggy every morning (I am normally a morning person and used to wake up within seconds) and constantly feel sore in some part of my body.

But this week will be my last week before my "rest week" and Christmas (that was perfect that they coincided!). So I'm really focused on pushing as hard as possible through this last week before I finally have a chance to let my muscles and body mend.

+ ABRIPPER X

NUTRITION
AFTER WORKOUT: protein bar
BREAKFAST: 8 egg whites, 2oz cheese, 3 slices of turkey, protein powder with orange juice
LUNCH: 5 oz stir fried beef, 2 cups mixed vegetables, diet iced tea
SNACK: 2 oz beef jerky, 30 pistachios
DINNER: 3 oz salmon, 2 cups stirfry vegetables
SNACK: 1 cup cottage cheese

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