Two Middle Names

Day 57 of 90 - Chest & Back

07 Sep 2010 00:38:08 EST

Color me surprised at my feelings of nostalgia at seeing my old friends from the first three weeks. I remembered in the middle of the routine that the first time I did this one, I literally vomited. I'm happy to say that I didn't this time. It was also cool getting to see a jump in my numbers having done other routines for a month, especially in pullups. On my last time doing this one, I couldn't do a single pullup unassisted. This time I did none assisted and that, my friends, is pretty thrilling. I increased most of the pushups by about 25% which was also cool.

I swear Monday's are easily the most ego boosting workout because that chest pump is just ridiculous. I was thinking about doing some quick bench press work on Thursdays for this last four weeks, but I don't know if that's just being silly or not. I was also thinking I might do some cardio during this last part just to get a little bit more out of it, but yea, finding time for that should be easy peazy. Maybe I'll write a book too. And build a sailboat.

I did Ab Ripper right after the main routine and that was tough. I'm holding my legs up in front of me for most of the pullups, which is a bit of an ab ripper in and of itself, so the ab work felt really tough. That's a good feeling though and after all was said and done, I felt quite beastly. It's nice not feeling like I can complain about much of anything at this point since this is the last real push. 60 day pics in three days!

Day 56 of 90 - Stretch or Rest

07 Sep 2010 00:17:25 EST

Or core synergistics of course. I still had to do the synergistics to round out this week of core strengthening and whatnot before heading back into the truly intense stuff, though I have to say I did not have what it took for this routine today. I was "doggin' it" as Tony would say I think. I was just tired, which isn't that shocking given the circumstances for the last couple of days. To be honest, I've got nothing to complain about since Christina is ridiculously content, sleeping four hours at a time and has cried maybe seven times.

So, this ends recovery week and I'm on to the first of four last weeks of the intense stuff. Pretty crazy. Home stretch and all. I dare say I feel a little giddy. I was out grilling hot dogs today and I jumped up on to the deck covering and did a few pullups just because I could and it was wild. Stuff like that is crazy. It's still unbelievable how much more capability I have to do things and I swear I enjoy it every day when I'm flinging the kids around. And, shoot, it's safer for them too. I haven't dropped one in quite a while. Well, not unintentionally at least. They love being dropped on the couch over and over again. I suppose I could have just made a routine out of that and it would have naturally gotten more intense as they got older. I guess it would be a little odd once they were in college and their spouses would have to be very understanding.

I'm excited about tomorrow and kicking off the last big push. Here's to making it all worth it.

Day 55 of 90 - Core Synergistics

05 Sep 2010 10:39:53 EST

I almost didn't get to it. A fairly wearing day taking care of three on my own and not getting quite as much sleep because of the fourth, but you gotta push through it, yea? So at 8:00PM, I fire up the ol' television set and begin my Yoga, and to my surprise and delight, I quite enjoyed it. Maybe it was just having some peace or pushing my body in a way I hadn't in a couple of days, but whatever the reason, this was the best Yoga day ever. Maybe it's just the sunshine fringed perspective I have now that our fourth has been delivered and has all her fingers and toes.

Whatever the reason, I felt like my form was pretty good throughout almost the whole thing and I really felt the difference in flexibility as a result. I was able to make a decent 'L' laying on my back with my legs up in the air, which is a ridiculous level of flexibility for someone as boardlike as I tend to be. It was also quite nice being able to do (and hold for the most part) the poses that I used to consider impossible. The warrior three, half moon and twisting half moon sequence is the only thing that I still chortle at, but other than that, it was pretty good. Now, this is mostly guesswork since I don't have someone telling me if I'm doing it as well as I think I am, so I could just be delusional, but since I'm not planning on entering any Yoga competitions, I guess it doesn't really matter so much.

So tomorrow, Core Synergistics. I don't mind that so much. The we kick back in to gear for the final set of four weeks of really pushing it. The end is in sight. I'm going to have to seriously start thinking about what I'm going to do when this whole thing is done.

Day 54 of 90 - Yoga

05 Sep 2010 10:31:16 EST

Yoga? On the one day anniversary of the birth of our newest kid? Preposterous. So instead, I snagged the rest day from Sunday and plan to do Yoga tomorrow and then Core Infragistics on Sunday. No where near as tired as I expected to be today with a newborn. So far, she is very encouraging in the sleep and quietness department. We'll see if that continues or if she's just trying to get our hopes up. =\

Day 53 of 90 - Stretch X

05 Sep 2010 09:18:47 EST

I suppose I was going to do Kenpo today (to make up for missing it yesterday), but we had a baby instead. I argued with Heather about it, but she insisted that having a baby took precedence over doing P90X. I asked in the beachbody.com forum and they disagreed but that didn't convince her. I also mentioned Langdon's tendency to see my excuses as nothing more than flimsy charades of improper priorities, but still (between contractions) she felt I should prioritize the birth of Christina Brooke Johnson over maximizing the effectiveness of P90X. As such, I figured I should at least post some pictures.

Day 52 of 90 - Kenpo

05 Sep 2010 08:55:05 EST

Ha, I totally thought this was rest day. My bad. I should check the schedule on these off weeks more diligently. So, needless to say, I did nothing today, but I don't mind a flexible schedule on these recovery weeks. I've noticed, though, that I feel like I'm losing all my progress if I don't do P90X for a single day that I'm supposed to. It's a nice mindset to keep me going, but obviously flawed. I suppose at some point I'm going to have to deal with that faulty thinking.

Day 51 of 90 - Core Synergistics

05 Sep 2010 08:51:30 EST

I honestly couldn't remember if I was supposed to be dreading this routine or not. I went ahead and assumed my default attitude and expected the worst. I was positive that this was one of those routines that just started over half way through, which I don't particularly care for. So I'm going through this routine and I keep waiting for the starting over part. It's getting later and later and the longer it goes the more I'm lamenting that it's going to begin again any moment now. Fortunately, we finally got the the point where, mathematically speaking, there was no way it was a repeat routine and I realized I was almost done, so that was a pleasant surprise.

I didn't mind the routine so much and felt like I was able to get through it without mentionable event except for one minor detail. Bow/Boat and Superman/Banana are impossible. I simply cannot balance on my stomach with my feet and chest up in the air without significantly uncomfortable side effects. Generally it's just a feeling of nausea that stays with me the rest of the routine. It doesn't help that Tony is at his most obnoxious when he's flipping people over with a mere word. I'm sure all the power would go to my head, too, but seriously.

Day 50 of 90 - Yoga

30 Aug 2010 12:26:40 EST

A week of recovery begins today. How you can begin "recovery" with Yoga is beyond me, though I will say I did enjoy it a little more than usual today. I actually came close to enjoying small bits and pieces of it, especially considering I was still mighty sore from Saturday's leg routine. I guess I can't gripe and complain so much anymore, though an hour and a half is still a surprisingly long time.

So I was realizing that the next "building" part of the whole program is four weeks and then one more week of "recovery" and that'll be it. That seems a might crazy. It makes the end seem much more imminent. I guess it's also helpful to think that I have less days then I've been through. Anyway, all said and done, I'm feeling really good about it right now even though at times it does still feel like P90X is all I'm ever doing. Somehow, life doesn't seem to have suffered too much, though that's in large measure thanks to Heather's awesome support.

Now the trick is to find out how else I can better myself/the world for an hour and a half a day now that I know I can apply discipline to my life on that scale. Meanwhile, I'll just get pudgy while enjoying the after pictures of back when I finished P90X.

Day 49 of 90 - Stretch or Rest

30 Aug 2010 10:07:08 EST

Well, since my rest day was already used up, today was Kenpo instead. It was largely uneventful (as Kenpo tends to be) so I don't have much to say about it. Tony obviously thinks this workout is a bit lame too since his idea of a 'break' is running in place, doing about 15 or so jumping jacks, and then 10 x jumps. Says a lot when you need those kinds of breaks to make a workout tough.

I will take this opportunity, however, to mention that the extra protein I'm drinking really seems to have made a significant difference in my energy levels. Lately, for about the last two weeks I'd say, I've had a significantly higher level of energy and it's been absolutely awesome. I've been getting a little bit better sleep too, but it seems I had been getting good sleep here and there without the expected energy dividends here for the last couple of months. So, good news on that front. If you're interested, I'm drinking the Jay Robb Vanilla Whey. Here's the delicious recipe Heather invented:

1 1/4 Cup of Kefir or Whole Raw Milk
2 scoops of Jay Robb Vanilla Whey
4 Tbl of Organic Peanut Butter
6 Ice cubes
3/4 Cup of Water

Blend until creamy and enjoy the energy you've just infused.

Day 48 of 90 - Kenpo

30 Aug 2010 09:58:28 EST

Kenpo nothing. Instead, I did some sweet Legs and Back, and had quite a different experience. I took a one hour nap today (which was delightful), and after waking up, I started doing the legs and back routine. For some reason, I was able to far exceed my previous performance on this workout. It was pretty surprising. My lunges were super low, my squats were super quick, and I was just generally feeling shockingly powerful. All in all, I wasn't quite sure what was going on. The only problem is the after-effects.

I'm not sure if it was because of the nap or what, but whatever gave me the ability to perform with such intensity also made me more sore than I have been since the beginning of this whole endeavor. I remember on those first few days being absolutely shocked at the devastation that this program wreaked on my poor body. I am now re-experiencing that annoying inability to sit down with any semblance of control. I can't imagine how effective it would be if I could work out with that level of intensity every time but I don't know how to make that possible.

I was also able to continue my pullups. I did six of each set (eight all together) but on one set, I did seven!!! I know, shocking, but somehow I was able to eek it out. I was pretty delighted with how realistic it is for me to pull my body into the air consistently and that is a really good feeling. Pullups have always been tough, but with the toe tap at the bottom, I'm feeling pretty good about my progress. Soon I'll have to have a kid hanging on my legs to make it a challenge at all.