Week 6

Day 42: Kenpo X 

Kenpo X is great workout and I look forward to it every week. But don't try to attempt it on a slippery floor. It's darn-near impossible to do the blocks/punches/kicks when you're slipping around without any traction. Another thing I learned is that it's pretty difficult to do Kenpo X when your legs are sore from Legs and Back. I was still able to get through the entire workout with the soreness, although I did struggle with the kicks. Don't forget the shoulder stretches! They're not included in the warm-up so you have to do them on your own to prevent shoulder injury with the punches and blocks.

Nutrition: four eggs/three bread slices 490 cal, protein drink 310 cal, chicken drumsticks 350 cal, chips 150 cal, protein drink 300 cal - 1600 calories 

Day 41: Kenpo X

I wasn't feeling well today so I skipped Kenpo X and plan to do it tomorrow. And I'm DEFINITELY feeling sore from yesterday's Legs and Back.

Nutrition: protein drink 300 cal, chicken nuggets 500 cal, protein drink 300 cal, sushi 500 cal, sweet tea 100 cal, meatballs 300 cal - 2000 calories

Day 40: Legs and Back + Ab Ripper X


I usually would do this workout at home but today I wanted to try increasing the weights so I went to the gym for Legs and Back. I'm sure I'll be feeling sore tomorrow because of the increase in weight. Also, the ARX workout is much harder to do after an hour of working your legs. This is probably because some of the ARX exercises require leg muscles to be done properly. Don't be surprised if you struggle with ARX after doing Legs and Back... I did.

Nutrition: coffee 50 cal, ham wrap w honey mustard 600 cal, misc 1000 cal, chicken nuggets 550 cal, odwalla bar 230 cal - 2430 calories

Day 39: Yoga X

Today was supposed to be Yoga X but I have a hardwood floor and couldn't keep from slipping around. I guess I'll take the day off as a "Rest Day". This will be only the second workout (both Yoga X) that I have skipped without planning to make it up.

Nutrition: coffee 50 cal, ham wrap 500 cal, peanut butter sandwich 450 cal, milk 100 cal, protein drink 300 cal, protein drink 300 cal - 1700 calories 

Day 38: Back and Biceps + Ab Ripper X

Unlike Day 36 when I had an easier time with Phase 2's mixed-up workout #1 (chest/shoulders/triceps), I cannot say the same for mixed workout #2 (back and biceps). Even though today's the second time I've done Back and Biceps, it was just as difficult as the first time I did it last week. There were some exercises where I couldn't do as many reps as last week and there were also some exercises where I did more reps than last week. Hopefully next week's Back and Biceps will not be as difficult as today and last week to the point where I'm struggling.

I had made the last 5 days ARX-free to see if it was the culprit for my left lower back strain. I believe it was since I have had very minimal strain in those 5 days. Today, I restarted ARX, or at least a modified version of it. At this point my goal, now that I've restarted ARX, is to isolate specifically which exercises contribute to the back strain. Today I did all the exercises except Roll-Up V-Ups, Fifer Scissors, Hip Rock-and-Raise, and Pulse-Ups. If I continue to be back strain-free for the next few days, then I have isolated the culprit to one of the aforementioned exercises and I can work from there to further isolate which specific exercise(s) out of those four are the instigator. One thing I did notice today is that I was able to keep up and do many more reps then I previously was able to do for the ARX workout. I don't know why the sudden change. Maybe it was the 5-day break for my abdominal muscles - who knows? I'm not complaining though. I'm pretty ecstatic actually.

I'm not sure if I have previously mentioned this, but ever since I've started Phase 2, I've abandoned the purple resistance band in favor of free weights. I don't have a wide selection of free weights, but I do have a gym membership. The workouts that I specifically need the free weights for are Chest/Shoulders/Triceps and Back & Biceps. I transferred these two workouts to my phone so that I can go to the gym and perform the workout there. For Legs and Back I have a small set of bars and interchangeable plates at home that I use so I still do that workout at home as well as Plyo, Kenpo X, and Yoga X.

Nutrition: protein drink 300 cal, chicken wings 700 cal, protein drink 300 cal, chicken breast 300 cal, yogurt 100 cal, protein drink 300 cal - 2000 calories

Day 37: Plyometrics

Plyometrics today. The same blood-pumping workout from the last 5 weeks. There's nothing really that I dislike about this workout. There's no particular exercises that one would have to worry about injuring themselves from, unless they had previous knee issues (since this workout is packed with lots of jumping). I am curious about how many calories are burned with Plyo. If I had to guess I'd say about 500-600 calories.

Nutrition: protein drink 300 cal, coffee 40 cal, three eggs/two bread slices 380 cal, chicken wings 700 cal, protein drink 300 cal, three eggs/two bread slices 380 cal, protein drink 300 cal - 2400 calories

Day 36: Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps + Ab Ripper X

Today marks the start of the second week of Phase 2. I remember being exhausted and barely able to finish during last week's chest/shoulders/triceps workout. Today was different. Today, I was able to not only finish the workout without having to put forth a major fight, but I was actually even able to increase the number of reps for some of the exercises. I was pretty impressed and happy with this. The workout seemed much less impossible than it did the first time I attempted it.

Also, I cannot stress the importance of preventing injury. If you feel like you have tweaked something or are having sharp pains somewhere, STOP and STRETCH the muscles/tendons/ligaments in question. Last week, I tweaked my right tricipital tendon and didn't stop to stretch - the end result was that I had to stop lifting after only a few reps and wasn't able to complete the full number of reps for triceps extensions. Today, I again tweaked my right tricipital tendon but I DID stop to stretch and take care of my injury. The end result was that I rehabilitated my injury best I could and was able to complete the full number of triceps extension reps without further tweaking, pain, or injury to my right tricipital tendon. When in doubt, STOP and STRETCH!

I haven't done ARX in the past few days because I speculated that it was the culprit for my left lower back strain. My plan was to not do the ARX workout and then to see if my back strain flared up in the subsequent days. I HAVE noticed the back strain but very, very minimally and it is tolerable - not like it was when I was doing ARX. I also kept away from ARX today since I did not want to have back strain while doing tomorrow's Plyometrics workout. I think I'll restart ARX on Day 38.

Also, I've decided to take a break from the CellTech supplement drink. Creatine does take a toll on the kidneys after a while and since I've been on it for a few months, I'm going to take a month off.

Nutrition: coffee 40 cal, chicken breast 310 cal, protein drink 300 cal, crab legs 500 cal, beer 200 cal, yogurt 300 cal, protein drink 300 cal - 1950 calories