Week 9

Day 63: Kenpo X

Today I decided to try the punch exercises with boxing gloves on. The gloves didn't weigh that much, but they sure did make my shoulders burn. Doing all those jabs, crosses, hooks, and uppercuts with an extra few pounds really makes the shoulders work and tires you out sooner. No complaints though since I was still able to finish all the punch exercises.

Nutrition: protein shake 300 cal, steak 300 cal, protein shake 300 cal, turkey sandwich 200 cal, protein drink 300 cal, turkey sandwich 200 cal, garlic cheese bread 150 cal, okra sandwich 100 cal - 1850 calories 

Day 62: Legs and Back + Ab Ripper X

This is one workout that I am ambiguous towards. I've been doing this workout for the past 2 months and I can definitely tell that my legs are getting stronger. I have noticed that they've gotten maybe a bit larger in mass which was one of my goals for P90X, but nothing major by far. I'll just have to wait until the 90 days are up to see what the final results are on mass gains for the legs. There are two exercises for the legs which I don't particularly like: wall squats and sneaky lunges. I don't like the wall squats because they REALLY make your legs burn which makes it a good and effective exercise. I don't like the sneaky lunges because they require a lot of space, don't seem to give a good muscle burn, and they're time consuming.

Nutrition: protein drink 300 cal, steamed green beans 140 cal, ricotta cheese 200 cal, protein drink 300 cal, turkey sandwich 200 cal, steak 400 cal, roasted potatoes 300 cal, protein drink 300 cal - 2140 calories 

Day 61: Yoga X

Yep, I skipped it again. I walked over 5 miles in 80 degree weather after sleeping 4 hours and was exhausted - plus I hate Yoga - so I just skipped it today. Not sure if I'll make up for it this week - we'll see.

Nutrition: odwalla food bar 230 cal, nutrigrain bar 170 cal, sushi 700 cal, chili 220 cal, chicken nuggets 230 cal, enchiladas 350 cal, milk 200 cal - 2100 calories

Day 60: Shoulders and Arms + Ab Ripper X

This is a good workout. It's up there in my list of favorite P90X workouts... maybe even second after Kenpo X. I enjoy it because it's easy to maintain good form with these exercises and the workout seems to go by pretty fast - probably because I'm enjoying what I'm doing, unlike Yoga X which seems to drag on FOREVER. Be careful when you're doing the shoulder press exercises because your lower back will want to arch inward. If it arches inward too much, you can herniate a vertebral disc.

Nutrition: protein drink 300 cal, protein drink 300 cal, turkey sandwich 200 cal, protein drink 300 cal, steamed green beans 300 cal, banana 100 cal, yogurt with granola 200 cal - 1700 calories

Day 59: Plyometrics

I don't think I've sweated more with any of the previous plyo exercises as I did with this one. I think the reason is because my endurance has increased allowing me to last longer, do more reps, and bring more intensity. Yesterday during Jiu Jitsu training, I slightly tweaked my right thigh muscles while practicing Closed-Guard Armbar. Because of this, I spent a little more time stretching during the pre-workout warm-up. Having done this, I had no issues during the entire workout.  One thing to keep in mind is to make sure you've eaten enough so you have energy to do the workout. All I had eaten before I did plyo was a couple eggs + slices of bread and a protein drink, a mere 600 calories. I'm sure that if I'd gotten in more calories I would have been able to bring more intensity to the workout.

Nutrition: two eggs/two bread slices 280 cal, protein drink 300 cal, pad see ew 700 cal, protein drink 300 cal - 1580 calories


Day 58: Chest and Back + Ab Ripper X

It's HARD getting back into the grind of things when you've just had a 'recovery week'! Although I struggled, I was still able to do the same amount or MORE reps than I did for the last chest/back workout. Doing decline pushups was harder than I remembered but I still got 'em done. This final month is different in that Weeks 9 and 11 consist of the same exercises but vary from Weeks 10 and 12 which consist of the same exercises as well. So it's sort of an alternating schedule from week-to-week.

I don't think I ever mentioned recording the rep numbers and weight amounts. I didn't start doing this until the third week after I realized that Tony emphasizes this many times in the videos. But it makes sense though. You don't really know if you're progressing in P90X unless you write these things down and can match them or increase the values from the last week's values. Plus it holds you accountable for when you're feeling burnt. Imagine that you did 15 decline pushups last week. The next time you do the workout, you KNOW that you should at least be able to do 15 decline pushups because that's what you were capable of last week. You also know that you might possibly be able to squeeze in 1 or 2 extra this week due to increased strength.

At the start of Phase 2, I remember writing that the 'recovery week' break helped me destroy the Ab Ripper X (ARX) workout without getting too fatigued. This was not the case today. I felt the usual amount of fatigue with ARX even though I had the 'recovery week' break.

Also, I had 1 hour of P90X today plus 2 hours of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts. That's a total of 3 hours of moderate to maximum intensity exercise.

Nutrition: turkey sandwich 200 cal, green beans 140 cal, protein drink 300 cal, sauteed mushrooms 100 cal, turkey sandwich 200 cal, green beans 140 cal, protein drink 300 cal, protein drink 300 cal - 1680 calories

Day 57: Rest Day

Today marks the start of the Phase 3 ie the last month of P90X. I spent the day driving today so I took my Rest Day today instead of saving it until the end of the week.

Nutrition: chicken nuggets 460 cal, fish sandwich 640 cal, nuggets 180 cal, fish sandwich 380 cal, turkey sandwich 200 cal, V8 drink (2) 140 cal, bananas (2) 200 cal - 2200 calories