The second four-weeks are over. I have to say that this second month of P90X was much more difficult than the first month. For this second month aka Phase 2, all of the workouts stayed the same except 2 of them. You can look at the Introduction section for a copy of the schedule if you are interested in seeing specifically what changed. Of those that changed, not only were the exercises more intense but there were more of them. I found that the hardest part was fighting through the fatigue and completing some of the new exercises from this Phase 2 ie Plyometric Pushups and One-Arm Pushups. In fact, the very first time I attempted these exercises I could barely do more than two.
During Phase 1 I had a left lower back strain that made it difficult to do some of the workouts - sometimes even forcing me to miss a workout and make it up at a later time. During Phase 2, I had some suspicion that the hip-flexor exercises were the instigators especially during ARX. Therefore, I substituted other exercises for these hip-flexor exercises to relieve the strain and it worked. During Phase 2 I pretty much did not have any chronic injuries that resulted in missed workouts. In fact, the only workouts that I missed (and did NOT make up later) were 2 Yoga X workouts - only because I hate Yoga.
The biggest gains I've noticed thus far are improved strength, flexibility, AND endurance. The strength and flexibility gains were seen after Phase 1 and they continued to improve. I know this because I can do more reps with higher amount of weight than I could at Day 1 and Day 30. I did not really notice increased endurance at the end of Phase 1, but I definitely did notice it throughout Phase 2. Despite the workouts being harder this second month (Phase 2), I didn't feel as tired at the end of the workout as I did during Phase 1.
My weight had been stuck around 167 lbs since around Week 4 or 5 and this was a bit frustrating for me - especially since I had been a stickler about counting calories and keeping under 2400 calories daily. (The recommended amount of daily calories for the second month is 2400 and apparently this amount helps promote muscle growth). To try to see some sort of change in that value, I decided to make the 'recovery week' into a 'cardio week' to burn off some extra calories. I believe that it worked because I dropped three pounds and weighed in at 164 lbs. I've been using the same scale for each weigh-in just to eliminate any discrepancies and keep the measurements consistent. My hope for Phase 3 is to lose a few more pounds so that the musculature can 'shine' through ie six-pack abs.
As for the nutrition aspect for Phase 2, I decided to take a month-long break from CellTech creatine supplement to give my kidneys a rest. I will probably restart soon for Phase 3. I did take EAS Protein during the first three weeks of Phase 2, but not so much for the 'recovery week' since I didn't do anything weight-intensive. For the most part I ate healthy. There were a few days such as this past weekend where I was out of town and healthy eating was hard... so I relied on fast food. I tried to incorporate more fruits and vegetables during Phase 2; they were usually the Birds Eye Microwave Steamable Bags that are ready in 5 minutes. I was pretty good about staying under 2400 calories as I stated above. Besides the few days where I ate fast food due to inconvenience, but I would say that I ate well 85-90% of the time.
Phase 2 Stats @ 164 lbs - again, I have no idea how my stats have worsened. This HAS to be wrong.
| Body Mass Index: | 22.3 kg/m2 |
| Waist-to-Height ratio: | 0.52 |
| Percent Body Fat: | 23.5% |
| Lean Body Mass: | 125.5 lb |
Day 56: Rest Day
I'm out of town this weekend and so I'm taking today (Sunday) off. Tomorrow marks the start of Phase 3, the last month of P90X!
Nutrition: pancakes 400 cal, baked chicken 200 cal, misc 200 cal, pizza 800 cal, chicken nuggets 460 cal - 2060 calories
Day 55: Plyometrics
Did plyo today. As I've said before, this is a great calorie-burning workout which is appropriate for this week of cardio. Eight weeks into the program and I still struggle to finish the workout, but it's a 'good' struggle that lets me know I'm definitely working hard and burning calories. The sweat-soaked t-shirt is proof of this. I guess one thing that I've just come to realize is how much of a leg workout it is. All the squats and jumps really work the legs, thighs, and glutes. Thus, it's important to really stretch out these muscles.
Nutrition: penne with sausage 600 cal, misc 400 cal, smoked links 500 cal, sandwich 400 cal - 1900 calories
Day 54: Cardio X
Decided to do Kenpo X today. Remember to do shoulder stretches as these are not done in the warm-up in the video. You're throwing a lot of punches and doing lots of blocks so it's easy to pull something in an unstretched shoulder.
Nutrition: steamed green peas 200 cal, steak 400 cal, omelette 400 cal, misc 500 cal, grilled cheese sandwich 300 cal - 1800 calories
Day 53: Cardio X
I didn't do any Cardio X or Plyo workouts today, but I DID do two hardcore hours of BJJ/MMA training so this will count as today's workout.
Nutrition: turkey sandwich 200 cal, banana 100 cal, turkey sandwich 200 cal, turkey sandwich 200 cal, banana 100 cal, hot dog 400 cal, veggie chimichanga 400 cal, appetizer 300 cal, misc 200 cal - 2100 calories
Day 52: Cardio X
Today I skipped Cardio X and was supposed to go for BJJ/MMA training, but at the last training session I had the skin off my wrists rubbed right off while grappling and doing many repeated Elbow Escapes. My first BJJ/MMA injury... though pretty minor in comparison to broken bones or other such major injuries. The wrists were pretty red and raw so I skipped BJJ/MMA training today. Instead, I vegged out most of the day. In hindsight, I should have at least gone for a run or something cardio-intensive not involving the wrists. I'll just mark today as a Rest Day and train hard the next few days.
Also, I weighed myself today to see if there had been any change. I previously noted that I had not seen any change from 167 lbs for the past 5 or so weeks. The number today was 164 lbs. I reweighed myself four different times just to be absolutely sure and it was the same each time. I'm not sure what changed but I finally got the number to budge from 167 to 164 lbs - maybe it was the change I talked about implementing in the journal entry for Day 50.
Nutrition: steamed veggies 140 cal, indian food 460 cal, turkey sandwich 200 cal, enchiladas 1000 cal, banana 100 cal - 1900 calories
Day 51: Cardio X
This morning I woke up and I was SORE and feeling beat up. This was probably because I had done Cardio X yesterday AND Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) hours apart coupled with not eating enough calories. I decided that today I would only do one of the workouts and went with the BJJ/MMA class. I'm going to up my calories today, and try to do both Cardio X and BJJ/MMA tomorrow.
Nutrition: protein drink 300 cal, indian food 500 cal, turkey sandwich 200 cal, pear 80 cal, protein drink 300 cal, protein drink 300 cal, cherries 100 cal, turkey sandwich 200 cal - 1980 calories
Day 50: Cardio X
Today marks the start of the Phase 2 recovery week. There is a set schedule of Yoga, Core Synergistics, and Kenpo for the week, but I think I might change it up. Up to this point, I have not seen much in the way of weight loss. It seems that I've been stuck at 167 pounds for the last five or so weeks. Sure, I may have lost a few pounds in fat and gained a few pounds in muscle but it'd be nice to see some change in that number, even if it is only a few pounds. So to try to accomplish this, I've decided to dedicate this recovery week to cardio - hoping that doing hardcore cardio for a week will do the trick. The Cardio X workout is a compilation of yoga x, kenpo x, plyometrics and core synergistics. It's a good calorie burning workout, but not as many as with the Plyometrics workout. Even though plyo burns more calories, I don't know that I could do it every single day since it takes a toll on the legs although I may try to alternate Cardio X and Plyo from day-to-day. All the moves in Cardio X are pretty much taken from the other workouts and there is only one new move called 'Wacky Jacks'.
I've also taken up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) which most people have seen at one point or another on TV as a UFC Fight. This should add to the daily calorie burning but might also increase the number of potential injuries. Each week, the BJJ/MMA training will be 1 hour x 4 days OR 2 hours x 2 days - a total of 4 hours per week.
Nutrition: protein drink 300 cal, two eggs/two bread slices 280 cal, protein drink 300 cal, steamed veggies 170 cal, ricotta cheese 150 cal, banana 100 cal - 1300 calories
No comments:
Post a Comment