Real Life Fitness – Getting Fit With Brent

Wow…P90X day 3 was rough. Last night was a rough night with two of our daughters, so 5am was a bit tough. But got up and did it, and was quite pleased with my weights. My shoulder started off tight again on the shoulder presses.

Diet was on today, but might have been a bit short. I forgot one of my snacks at home and had to use my protein shake as the snack instead of with my lunch. I can tell my body is kicking into “must consume” gear. I am getting to be constantly hungry.

The ketosis from the reduced carbs/higher protein is kicking in as well. Typically I get more tired early in the night. I also get grumpy. My wife’s comment to me was “You must start eating more carbs”. But I am going to stuck it out.

Very proud of my wife too. After a major headache and a rough night with the girls she got up and pressed play later in the morning. She is going to do great with it!

Tomorrow is Yoga day, my favorite day of each P90X week.

Brent P90X P90X, p90x ab ripper x, p90x fat shredder, p90x shoulders and arms

Boy I love P90X Shoulders and Arms!  I have come to love lifting days, working on lifting more and more weight, becoming stronger, building more muscle and losing fat!

I could not find my sheets from last time, so I was not really sure where I left off.  So, I jumped in head first, trying heavier weights first, and then backed down if needed.  Started out with 25 pounds on the alternating shoulder press and kept pushing to go heavy from there.

And I feel like I can accomplish it now.  We purchased the Select Techs with this in mind:  To have a lot of different weights to keep on working on strength.  And I really like having the increments in the lower range.  They give me the chance to get the reps in on a heavier weight than last time without making a full 5 pound per arm jump.

Ab Ripper X was a bit better today.  Scissors still get me.  I need more sleep, but I ate really well last night.

The fat shredder should start bothering me a bit by tomorrow.  3 full days of lower carbs should really kick in.  I’m eating at the 2,400 calories so I can focus on burning yet not have too large of a deficit this time around.  Being within 10 pounds, I’m comfortable with losing only 1 pound a week over the 13 weeks.  My goal right now is a bit of weight loss but work on really crushing the fat loss.

And I know its early, but I think I can already tell some loss occurring in my mid section.  I look like I am getting trimmer, my ab wall is showing more…and I love it!

Going to make a video soon, probably tomorrow, of Yoga X (if I can remember that early in the morning!).  I’m going to do all 90 minutes.

Brent P90X P90X, p90x ab ripper x, p90x shoulders and arms

P90X Day 59 was P90X Shoulders And Arms and Ab Ripper X.

I increased weight or reps throughout the entire routine.  The only one that gave me problem was going up on in and out curls the second time through.  Lying tricep extensions towards the end also did not improve, but I was fairly fried at this point.

And I struggle with some parts of Ab Ripper and then some moves I do very well.  It’ll get there and will be easier once I drop a lot of the belly flab.

Brent P90X P90X, p90x ab ripper x, p90x shoulders and arms

P90X day 17 was shoulders and arms and Ab Ripper X. I decided since this was the last arms workout for this phase to really push myself. I felt it for half the morning, in particular my left arm. I thought I had strained something. Nope, just fatigue.

Brent P90X P90X, p90x ab ripper x, p90x shoulders and arms

Day 3 is one of my favs – P90x Shoulders and Arms….and Ab Ripper X, of course.

I learned just how much my strength had increased since the start of round 1.  I learned that I really, really need 25′s.  I may try some curls at 30 lbs next week, but 20′s were feeling a tad bit light.  I prefer to move up in 5 pound increments, but we’ll see how 10 works.

I still have a bit of a pinch in my left shoulder that I could feel on some of the rows.  Hopefully the chiropractor can help with some of that.

I’m still a bit dissappointed in myself with Ab Ripper X.  I really thought I should be doing better on it than what I am.

But in thinking through this and my goals, I began to research starvation mode and finding the fat burning zone.  I believe that part of my problem may be a bit of fatigue from not enough calories as well as the general soreness from starting another round.  But I did learn that I’m a bit under my target calorie intake (300 or so) as far as my meal plan, so I am probably going to step back up to a full Level 2 eating (7 protein, 1 carb, 1 fat, 3 veggies, 1 fruit, more snacks, etc).

Right now I’m eating at an inbetween level, reaching for 2k calories a day.  And I think I’m way under because of it.

I’m going to give myself through the middle of next week to see how energy level is during the workout.  Plyo will be a really good test since I would have been on the diet over 1 full week at that point.

Brent P90X ab ripper x, P90X, p90x calories, p90x shoulders and arms, p90x starvation mode

Busy P90X day for me.  Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper this morning, Cardio X this afternoon.

I’m falling in love with Cardio X.  Tough 43 minute workout that makes me sweat a lot more than Kenpo does.  I turned on the calorie burn function on my watch and it put it right at 600 calories in that 43 minutes.  Not Bad!

I’m a bit dissappointed that my bicep curl strength does not feel like it is getting better.  I’ve been stuck struggling with 8 reps of 20.  I figured I would start progressing by now (i.e. 10, 12, or 15 reps), but it will get better.

Yoga X tomorrow!

Brent P90X ab ripper, cardio x, P90X, p90x ab ripper, p90x cardio x, p90x shoulders and arms

P90X day 10 had me on Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper X.  I increased the weights I used on a couple of the bicep curls which gave me a bit better workout.

For Ab Ripper, I set a goal of no less than 12 of each rep, aiming for 15.  Only 2 of the exercises did I not make it, but that’s okay.  There’s always Friday.  My goal is by the end to get all 300+ reps in.

Diet was fairly good today, although I’m about to really hone it in….get the calories I’m missing, eat cleaner, and get leaner.  I’m missing a protein bar from my plan, which is something I’m working on finding something that is good (most protein bars taste like crap, to be honest).  I had a suggestion that I’m trying out this weekend.

Shoulders, bi’s, and tri’s is one of my favorite workouts.  Its lengthy (around 60 minutes) but really pushes my upper body, which is an area I want to build strength.

And I found a short-term goal for appearance.  A couple of summers ago my mother-in-law bought me a shirt that was, well, too small.  It was an XL, but this company’s XL’s are about mediums to larges.  I tried it on tonight and almost, ALMOST looked good in it.  So I have a goal to work for:  Look good in that shirt!

Tomorrow morning is Yoga X and then vacation (yes, I’m still going to BRING IT while on vacation).  This to me is the toughest of the DVD’s, and having a better idea of what to expect, I’m going to push myself pretty hard tomorrow to get it right.

My next blog will be from Dallas, Texas….check in tomorrow to find out how badly Yoga X kicked my butt.

Brent P90X P90X, p90x shoulders and arms, p90x yoga, P90X-Diet, yoga x