Chronicles: Alan B. Rowley II - Success Warrior - ECoach - P90X

Me-Me Monday: Old & New and Tracy Lawrence and Chris Isaak

Today's meme is from Friday5 again.

1. What makes you feel old?

Sleep.  The desire to sleep.  Especially when that desire over-rides the desire for sex.  I think that's a definite sign that I'm getting old.  10 years ago, there is no way that I would have told a totally hot well-endowed nekkid blond that I was too tired.  Now, it's mumbled as I fall unconscious while my head sinks into the pillow.  That's old.

2. What makes you feel young?

Just about everything else.

Rolling Thomas the Train back and forth on the floor in JC Penney's lingerie section.  Watching Spongebob with Trey.  Running faster and lifting more than people half my age.  Feeling like I have a bright future full of endless possibilities.

3. What was better when you were allowed to do it the old way?

Nothing really. 

I did like it when my friends lived close to me.  I have friends scattered across the country and thanks to the miracle of the Internet, I'm able to keep in constant contact with them. 

4. What's better now that you do it the new way?

News via the Internet.  I'll never get news from the TV ever again.  Never.  Ever.

UnderArmour.  Love it.  Much better than the old t-shirt.

5. What's something you are old school about?

Opening the car door for my wife.  Opening doors for women, kids, and the elderly.  Saying "thank you".  Talking face to face instead of by phone or through a drive-thru.  Personal responsibility.

Lots of things that have gone out of style. 

I don't think all the blame can be put on people for these things going out of style.  There has been a movement to enslave everyone so people feel more rushed, less helpful, less community.  One person used to be able to bring in enough money to raise a family.  Now it takes two people working a couple jobs plus picking up overtime where they can if they want anything extra.

I don't believe this is in any way an accident but I'm not going to go into it now.

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X Journal (Cruise Plan Days 28 - 22)

Disclaimer: P90X is tough and you should be in decent shape before going all out using this system.  You could certainly use P90X to get fit but listen to your body and only do what you can.  This is *my* journal and I do not advocate that anyone do what I'm doing.  Some of it is probably very foolish and you should do your own research and/or consult with a doctor before doing crazy stuff like this.

Another catch up post and I'll probably be changing my blogging structure yet again, incorporating my fitness entries right in with everything else that comes up in a day.

Day 28 - Bryan Kest's Power Yoga Energize in the morning and half of P90X X Stretch in the afternoon.

Walking: 1.91 miles.

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X Journal (Cruise Plan Days 40 - 32)

Disclaimer: P90X is tough and you should be in decent shape before going all out using this system.  You could certainly use P90X to get fit but listen to your body and only do what you can.  This is *my* journal and I do not advocate that anyone do what I'm doing.  Some of it is probably very foolish and you should do your own research and/or consult with a doctor before doing crazy stuff like this.

This is going to have to be a quick and dirty update.  Sometimes quick and dirty is better than nothing.

Day 40 - P90X Legs and Back followed by Ab Ripper X.

Walking: 3.37 miles.

Day 39 - I started the day by spending 30 minutes alternating between wide grip pull-ups and curls.  I'm working on my push-ups, pull-ups, and bicep strength for the rest of this phase then I'll probably have to focus in more on the push-ups until September.

I followed that up with Bryan Kest's Power Yoga Energize. 

Walking: 2.63 miles.

People who take more than 6,000 steps a day tend to be leaner.  For April, my daily average steps was 9,849.  How cool is that?  Once again, I'd like to thank PTE Rick for the sweet pedometer.

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X Journal (Cruise Plan Days 42 - 41)

Disclaimer: P90X is tough and you should be in decent shape before going all out using this system.  You could certainly use P90X to get fit but listen to your body and only do what you can.  This is *my* journal and I do not advocate that anyone do what I'm doing.  Some of it is probably very foolish and you should do your own research and/or consult with a doctor before doing crazy stuff like this.

Day 42 - As I reported in the last P90X Journal post, I lost 2 pounds during my recovery week.  I didn't expect that because until the week before, I haven't lost much weight and because I increased the number of calories that I ate during the recovery week.  I've decided to increase my calories to that level for my weight lifting weeks and increase calories again during the next recovery week to see what happens.  I don't care about losing weight during the recovery weeks.  The idea is to recover.  To let the muscles heal from the weight lifting and to eat enough to allow the process to go without hindrance.

4 more pounds and I'll be the lightest that I've been in who knows how many years.  I was at 188 last year before I got hit in the throat with a stick during karate practice.  I'm at 191 now.  I don't think I look as good as I did last year but I'll take a picture when I hit 187 and let you decide.

I started the day with P90X Plyometrics X.  I still can't get air born the whole time but I sure like this workout.  On the Mary Katherines, I do the easiest version so that I can catch my breath.  You can do the same thing during P90X+ Interval Plus.  Instead of bumping up the intensity every 20 seconds, every once in a while you can do the whole minute at the lowest intensity if you need to.  It's still a cardio workout if you keep on moving, panting, and sweating.  You don't have to keep up with Tony Horton and the kids.

After Plyo X, I drank my P90X recovery drink and then mowed the lawn.  I'm one of those crazy people that would mow the lawn for fun.  Years ago, my mower broke down.  I traded my services as a lawn mower for the use of a lawn mower from Milan.  I borrowed his mower to mow my lawn and then when I got back to his house with the mower, I mowed his lawn.  He hated mowing his lawn so it was a perfect deal.  I bought the gas and did the work and he drank margaritas while sitting in the shade.  Okay, he didn't really drink margaritas but it was still a good deal.

Around noon, I did P90X X Stretch before I got too tired.  I only got 4 hours of sleep so if I waited too long, I knew that it wouldn't happen.  I've been really trying to get the yoga and stretching in during this new plan so I did it before fatigue would sap my motivation.  I am getting more flexible.  There are a couple of poses that I do that are drastically different than when I started.  Who knows, in another year, I might be one of those freaks that can do 100 push ups and the splits.  Yeah, not likely, but I'm going to be working in that direction anyway.

I am absolutely loving White Flood and Anabolic Halo.  I ordered some more because I'm going to keep taking this stuff for a while.  I'm losing weight but I'm getting more definition.  What ever is happening is good and I want to keep it going.  I'm convinced that these two products along with the P90X Recovery Drink are helping me make the change.  There are other factors, to be sure, but since I've started to take these products, I've seen noticeable changes.  Call me superstitious but if it's working, I'm going to keep doing it.

Walking: 3.61 miles.

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X Journal (Cruise Plan Days 45 - 43)

Disclaimer: P90X is tough and you should be in decent shape before going all out using this system.  You could certainly use P90X to get fit but listen to your body and only do what you can.  This is *my* journal and I do not advocate that anyone do what I'm doing.  Some of it is probably very foolish and you should do your own research and/or consult with a doctor before doing crazy stuff like this.

Day 45 - P90X+ Total Body Plus.  You do work your whole body too because you're doing some pretty bizarre stuff.  Things like curls while standing on one leg.

You're obviously working your biceps but your also working the leg that your standing on and your abs as you try to keep everything under control while you lift and lower the weights. 

I was thinking about Yoga X and my comment about how long it is.  I have read numerous accounts of people who have done half in the morning and the other half in the evening.  I just wanted to throw that option out there for people. 

If you're using P90X as part of a lifelong health aid, you don't have to do it exactly as outlined.  You can modify things to fit your life.  If you don't have 90 minutes to spend all at once doing yoga (or if you don't *want* to), you can certainly do 45 minutes when you wake up and the other 45 minutes before you go to bed.  I won't say there aren't any rules but I will say that the rules allow for a lot of flexibility.  Flexibility is a good thing when talking about Yoga X, in more ways than one.

At work, I learned that the guy that challenged me to a push up contest in September has doubled his max already.  That was quick.  I've decided to quit alternating P90X with Turbulence Training workouts within the same week and go with a different plan that will have more push ups in it.  Sport specific training, if you will.  I'm still not going to focus solely on the push ups but just add in a couple days where I do a bunch of extra push ups.  I'm going to stick with my cycle of 2 weeks of weights with 1 week of recovery.  The two weeks of weights will change after each recovery week to keep the muscle confusion going.  I've set up a 12 week plan.  It'll be interesting to see how it goes.

When I got home from work, I did the Turbo Jam 20 Minute workout with the weighted gloves.  Thursdays I keep it shorter because I have karate.

I've started exercising in karate class.  Today we did 45 minutes of cardio and body weight exercises.  We'll probably work our way up to an hour.  I have to spend time teaching them the moves I want them to do.  When they know it all, we'll be able to pick up the pace plus get in a few extra circuits.  We focused on legs and triceps tonight. 

They're going to need to work out on their own as well.  Once a week probably isn't going to do a whole lot.  Anything is better than nothing but people should probably  workout  vigorously at least 3 hours a week.

Walking: 3.97 miles.

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X Journal (Cruise Plan Days 47 - 46)

Disclaimer: P90X is tough and you should be in decent shape before going all out using this system.  You could certainly use P90X to get fit but listen to your body and only do what you can.  This is *my* journal and I do not advocate that anyone do what I'm doing.  Some of it is probably very foolish and you should do your own research and/or consult with a doctor before doing crazy stuff like this.

Day 47 - I started the day by exercising for eternity.  I hadn't forgotten how long the P90X Yoga X DVD was (90 minutes) but I had forgotten what it felt like.  I know that this DVD is the least favorite for a lot of P90X people and I'm going to have to give them all an amen.

It just seems to drag on.  There are so many updogs and downdogs that my shoulders give out and my legs aren't strong enough to do all the one-leg stuff that I'm supposed to do.  Yoga X was my introduction to yoga and I was okay with it but after doing Bryan Kest's Power Yoga, I'm not as okay with it.  I'm glad my current plan has me doing Yoga X once every 3 weeks.  Maybe I'll build up the strength over time to do the dang thing.

There was a bit of fun near the end.  Trey decided to join in with me.  He had me slide over on my mat so that he could share.  He did Bridge, Cobbler's Pose, and the seated hamstring stretches.  It was fun to watch him participate.  Do you remember when exercise wasn't exercise, it was just a game?

In the evening, Trey and I went for a walk.  Tia had a meeting that she attended so I asked Trey what he wanted to do.  He wanted to go for a "long" walk where he would be riding his bike.  It wasn't as long as he had originally intended but he decided that he was hungry and he wanted dinner.  It was still a good bit of distance considering how many times he has to pedal to get those little wheels to any sort of distance.  We turned around and came back for some dinner.

Walking: 2.36 miles.

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X Journal (Cruise Plan Days 49 - 48)

Disclaimer: P90X is tough and you should be in decent shape before going all out using this system.  You could certainly use P90X to get fit but listen to your body and only do what you can.  This is *my* journal and I do not advocate that anyone do what I'm doing.  Some of it is probably very foolish and you should do your own research and/or consult with a doctor before doing crazy stuff like this.

Day 49 - Well, well, well.

I lost 2 pounds this week. 

How cool is that?

With all the hard training I've been doing and the slow progress I seem to be making, 2 pounds is wonderful.  I think I'm seeing more definition.  Tia gave me a back massage a couple of days ago and she said that she could see a difference.  That's nice.

I'm into my recovery week so that means less weight lifting and more calories.  I'm adding about 1400 extra calories for the week.  That's not really that much.  200 calories a day isn't a whole lot.  At least not for a 195 193 pound male doing excessive amounts of exercise.  When I get down to the weight that I want to be, I'll be able to eat copious amounts of food without gaining weight.

I keep saying it and I'll say it again.  If you like to enjoy food, work out hard.  It's worth it.  Life was meant to be lived this way.  Sweat a lot, eat a lot, laugh a lot with friends, love a lot with your spouse.  It seems like so many people live a life of dullness.  That's not what it's supposed to be like. 

I started the day with Bryan Kest's Power Yoga Energize.  I really like this workout.  I'm getting better at it.  I still struggled.  Probably because of all the other workouts that I do.  I'm not trying to make excuses but if I took a couple of days off, I could probably hold the poses for a few seconds longer.

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X Journal (Cruise Plan Days 52 - 50)

Disclaimer: P90X is tough and you should be in decent shape before going all out using this system.  You could certainly use P90X to get fit but listen to your body and only do what you can.  This is *my* journal and I do not advocate that anyone do what I'm doing.  Some of it is probably very foolish and you should do your own research and/or consult with a doctor before doing crazy stuff like this.

Day 52 - P90X Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps followed by Ab Ripper X.

My ribs are getting better and I'm doing better at the Ab Ripper.  Not great but better.

I did the Turbo Jam 20 minute cardio after work.  The Turbo Jam DVDs are fun because Chalene Johnson and the kids are just plain having fun.  It's not a workout.  It's play time.  There are even "bust a move" breaks where you just go off and do your own thing.

I taught karate tonight and we got back into working out.  We go through about 30 minutes of cardio and body weight exercises.  We slowed down in a couple places because there was a new student and we only did one circuit of the weight exercises.  We used to do three so we'll build back up to that.

Walking: 4.07 miles.

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X Journal (Cruise Plan Days 54 - 53)

Disclaimer: P90X is tough and you should be in decent shape before going all out using this system.  You could certainly use P90X to get fit but listen to your body and only do what you can.  This is *my* journal and I do not advocate that anyone do what I'm doing.  Some of it is probably very foolish and you should do your own research and/or consult with a doctor before doing crazy stuff like this.

Day 54 - P90X Legs and Back because apparently my legs don't get enough exercise. 

I followed it up with P90X+ Abs/Core Plus.  I enjoy this workout more than Ab Ripper X.  You do exercises hanging from the pull up bar, standing, in plank position, and on your back.  They move fast though.  I'm going to have to put more effort into the hanging exercises.  I run out of time before I run out of energy.  That's not normally the case with ab exercises and me.

I ended the day with Kest's Power Yoga Tone.  I couldn't hold all the poses because I'm not "toned" enough.  Don't kid yourself about Yoga.  You have to be strong to do it.  I have quite a way to go.  I'm getting a bit more flexible but I'll be happy when I can just hold the poses as long as the DVD, no matter how deep in the pose I am.

My P90X Recovery drink arrived today.  I've read quite a few blogs of other people who have tried it.  There is little doubt in how good it is for you but the taste has gotten quite the mixed review.  I tried it when I got it to see if I was going to like it.  I went with extra water because I tried a drink similar to this a few weeks ago and the thing that put me off was how thick it was.  For some reason, the orange cream sickle flavor and thickness don't match in my brain.  Knowing this ahead of time, I watered it down.  It tasted like watered down Orange Julius.  Probably not appealing to some but it was fine for me.  I tend to dilute most of the powdered mixes that I have.  That's just the weird way that I like them.  You can learn more about what's in it by visiting HERE and clicking on Shop for Products.

Walking: 2.10 miles.  It was my day off from work but I thought I would see how far I walk in a day just taking care of stuff at the house.  I told Tia my mileage and she asked me where I had walked to.  To the bedroom, to the kitchen, helping Trey, and just here and there in the house.  Trey and I did go to the post office but we drove so any walking at the post office would have been minor.  2 miles of walking around my house seems like a lot to me but maybe everybody is like that.

Success Warrior Diet Program: P90X Journal (Cruise Plan Days 56 - 55)

Disclaimer: P90X is tough and you should be in decent shape before going all out using this system.  You could certainly use P90X to get fit but listen to your body and only do what you can.  This is *my* journal and I do not advocate that anyone do what I'm doing.  Some of it is probably very foolish and you should do your own research and/or consult with a doctor before doing crazy stuff like this.

Day 56 - No weight change.  I can live with that for now.  I want to get to where I'm able to complete a couple cycles without bonking.  If I get to that point and nothing has changed, I can ease back on the calories.  There's no rush.  I want to find what will work long term for me.

I did P90X Plyometrics X this morning.  It's a great way to turn your legs into jello.  Modify, modify, modify.  I can't get into the air all the way through but I just keep on trying and when I can't go airborne anymore, I just try to get down as low as I can.

One thing that I have been better about this month is logging in to WOWY for each workout.  Every time that you log in for a workout at Million Dollar Body, you have a chance to win a prize.  Prizes range from cash to iPods.  You don't even have to use Beach Body products to play.  If you are going to do any type of exercise, you can log in and play for free.  That's pretty darn cool.

I'm doing the exercise, I might as well take the few seconds that it takes to log in for a chance to win.

In the afternoon, I did the X Stretch.  Love it!  It feels so good to get everything stretched out after working hard all week.  I need to get back in for a massage as well.

Walking: 3.09 miles.