Day 8

Breakfast: Spinach and Turkey Omelet (6 egg whites, 3oz turkey, 2 cups spinach, 2oz of cheese)

Snack 1: Protein shake, 1/2 Protein bar (had the protein shake because it was right after my workout)

Lunch: Tuna sandwich, carrots, and a banana (tuna, Smart Balance Omega Plus mayo, 2 slices of whole wheat bread)

Snack 2: Celery with peanut butter

Dinner: Half of a chipotle size burrito (rice, shredded beef, cheese, tomato, lettuce, and sour cream)

Snack 3: 1oz Almonds and 1oz of raisins

-Had a third snack because I didn't eat a big dinner

P90X Workout (Chest and Back):

Week 2 is the same as week one so there's no need to go into a lot of detail. Push-ups, pull-ups, and a few lifts. I improved a little bit over last week in the second round, being able to force out one or two extra reps on most exercises. For some reason I wasn't able to do the same amount of reps on the wide push-ups (15 reps) in the first round so my goal for next week is to do more than I did the first week (20 reps). Otherwise I was satisfied with today's workout.

Ab Ripper X:

Still hard as the last three ab ripper x workouts. The exercises that work the legs are still really hard to keep up with because it really burns in the quads.

Notes:

Water is your friend, be sure to stay hydrated before, during, and after the workout and throughout the day.

I bought some protein powder at king soopers for $15.00 over the weekend by Body Fortress. It's strawberry flavor and I must say, it's one of the tastiest protein shakes I've ever had. It's got 26g of protein in one scoop along with small amounts of things like creatine. If anything its a great bang for the buck IMO.

Day 7

Same thing here as yesterday, woke up late and just made sure to eat healthy.

There is no "required" workout on day 7 but there is a Stretch X workout for those who wish to do it. I decided to take Sunday off and rest because the first week took a lot out of my body. Next week I plan to give the stretch workout a shot but for now I'm going to relax and get ready for the start of week 2.

Day 6

So its the weekend and I went out last night and got up late so I didn't really keep track of my diet today. I did however make sure to stick to healthy food and ate similar to how I have been.

P90X Workout (Kenpo X):

Kenpo X is based (loosely) on Kenpo Karate. Being someone who has done kickboxing in a real gym with a trainer, I found this to be a really annoying workout. The moves are adapted to be more cardio based and it definitely got my heart rate up. I decided to incorporate my kickboxing knowledge into the workout which made it better for me personally. Altogether it was a good way to end the first week of P90X!

Day 5

Breakfast: Cup of Oatmeal with 1 banana sliced

Snack 1: 1/2 Protein bar

Lunch: Tuna sandwich, carrots, and a protein shake (tuna, Smart Balance Omega Plus mayo, 2 slices of whole wheat bread)

Snack 2: 1oz cheese

Dinner: King soopers baked chicken, 2oz cheese, and corn (a little more than half of an 8 piece order of chicken)

P90X Workout (Legs and Back):

This was not an easy workout for the legs, which is reall the main focus of this workout. Because I do my my workouts at the gym I had to split this excercise up. I did some of the more "interesting" leg workouts at home because, honestly, it would be embarassing to do them at the gym (lol). I did the 9 "interesting" leg workouts at home first then split up the rest of the exercises for the gym, making sure to alternate between back and leg workouts. The gym portion of the workout went well, it's a mix of leg workouts and the same pull-ups from day 1.

Ab Ripper X:

Today last day of ab ripper x for the week and it was just as hard as the first two. Nothing much to go over on this that I haven't already covered. Gotta push through the burn and BRING IT!

Day 4

Breakfast: 1 cup Oatmeal with raisins and a protein shake

Snack 1: 1/2 Protein bar

Lunch: Salad (4 cups loose spinach, 1 can of tuna, 3oz of turkey meat, 2oz cheese, and some fat free ranch dressing)

Snack 2: 8oz Cottage Cheese

Dinner: Hamburger patty with 1oz cheese and broccoli

P90X Workout (Yoga X):

Got up at 6:45am this morning so I could get yoga in before class. The yoga workout is about an hour and a half long, which is about half an hour longer than any of the others. On top of that, it is a non-stop workout. That means there are no "scheduled" water breaks etc., that's why there's a pause button though. Yoga was not easy by any means. Keeping up with the first part of the workout was tough. You start everything in the first part off the ground and move your body upwards into various poses, such as: Runners pose, warrior one, two, and three, and a bunch of others. The second part focuses on balance and its less physically demanding (though not too much less). It gets very difficult to maintain balance in some of the poses. From here it moves to the floor which is a bit of a break but there are some challenging poses in this as well, specifically "the crane" pose which I had to skip. Almost done. The final section focuses on your core and, having done ab ripper x yesterday, I could feel the burn. A few minutes of cool down after and yoga x was in the bag.I did this before breakfast again but next time I think I might eat a small snack before because an hour and a half of yoga on an empty stomach doesn't feel that great when you're done.

Day 3

Breakfast: Spinach and Turkey Omelette (6 egg whites, 3oz turkey, 2 cups spinach, 2oz of

cheese)

Snack 1: 1/2 Protein bar

Lunch: Turkey sandwich and carrots (4oz/slices turkey, 1 slice whole wheat bread, Smart Balance Omega Plus mayo, and mustard)

Snack 2: Banana and ants on a log (1 celery stalk, 1-2oz peanut butter, top with raisins)

Dinner: Turkey wrap and broccoli (1 whole wheat tortilla, 1oz shredded cheese, frozen turkey breast (guess about 5oz) grilled and seasoned, mustard, and hot sauce)

P90X Workout (Shoulders and Arms):

Day 3 was the most "fun" workout so far. Like it says above, it focuses on the shoulders, biceps, and triceps. There are 15 exercises in total, which are done in groups of three, and sets of two. Thanks to the chest and back workout on day 1 I was still pretty sore going into day 3. However, because of the way the program is designed, the majority of the soreness was in the chest and back. Like I said earlier, I really enjoyed this workout. It's simple lifting designed to hit specific muscles, and it works. Right now my entire upper body is sore but it feels good.

Ab Ripper X:

Yep, its back again for day 3! This time I really paced myself and used the pause button when I needed it. I managed to complete most of the exercises in ab ripper x although it took me almost twice as long (25-30min. for the mathematically impaired) to complete the 15 min. workout. Now, my core was already sore going into day 3 but after ab ripper x today, I now know the true meaning of sore. My hip flexors in particular feel like they've been torn right off. Although slightly moment limiting, its the good kind of sore, the kind that I know is going to give me good results.

Looking forward to a bit of a break with Yoga X in the morning. Keep bringin it!

Day 2 Recap

Breakfast: Homemade Smoothie (recipe at the end of this post)

Snack 1: 1/2 Protein Bar (Big 100)

Lunch: Burrito bowl (Barbacoa, pinto beans, lettuce, cheese, tomato, and black olives)

Snack 2: 8oz Cottage Cheese

Dinner: Two 80/20 Hamburger patties, 1oz cheese, and peas and carrots (about a cup)

P90X Workout (Plyometrics):

I got up early and did this workout before breakfast so I could make it to class on time and... wow! I thought day 1 was hard but the plyometrics workout was a beast! For anyone not familiar with plyometrics, it's basically "jump-training." Check out the wiki page for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plyometrics. Like all the workouts in this program, it was about an hour long with the warming up and stretching. By the end of the workout I was struggling but I managed to complete all the sets, although I definitely struggled towards the end. They do show how to do all the exercises with low impact if you need it, which I thought was pretty cool.

Homemade Smoothie recipe:

1% Milk - 1 cup

Protein Powder - 1 scoop

Frozen Strawberries - ~1 cup

Spinach - ~2 cups loose

6 or 7 Ice cubes

Day 1 Recap

Its Day 3 of P90X and because I've been busy the last 2 days, I'm going to recap here.

Lets start with the nutrition part of this program which I have heard is very hard to stick to. Luckily for me, for the last 2-3 months I've been working on the Abs Diet (decent nutrition program but slow slow results). Thanks to the Abs Diet my nutrition was already pretty good and well scheduled. With that being said, I love how well set up the P90X nutrition program is and how well it's explained. It tells you exactly how many servings of protein, carbs, fat, etc. to eat in a day. With a little bit of quick tracking before meals I've found it really easy to stay on track with this diet. *I am not taking the P90X supplements because they are too expensive and I don't really think they are necessary.*

For the purpose of being helpful to anyone else who starts this program, I will add my diet into each days post for at least the first week or two.

Day 1:

Breakfast: Spinach and Turkey Omelette (6 egg whites, 3oz turkey, 2 cups spinach, 2oz of cheese)

Snack 1: 1/2 Protein bar (Big 100, half is plenty for a snack)

Lunch: Tuna sandwich, carrots, and a banana (tuna, Smart Balance Omega Plus mayo, 2 slices of whole wheat bread)

Snack 2: 1oz Almonds

Dinner: Frozen Turkey Breast (guess about 5oz) grilled and seasoned, frozen peas and carrots (about a cup).

DRINK WATER all day!

P90X Workout (Chest and Back):

I went into this expecting it to be hard, and it was. The majority of this workout revolves around push-ups and pull-ups. There are 12 exercises in the chest and back workout, which you do twice, in the ~60 min. it takes to complete. Part 1 of the workout went well, I was doing 15-20 push-ups and about 8 pull-ups per set. Part 2 however, was not quite as easy. I was lucky to get 10-15 reps on the push-ups and only about did about 3 pull-ups each set. Because I've been lifting weights, the lifting exercises were fairly easy but, believe me, I felt the burn.

Ab Ripper X:

Not much to say about this other than... holy shit! This is by far the most intense ab workout I've ever done. I tried my best to keep up with the DVD but it is definitely a struggle. My legs held me back the most during ab ripper x because a bunch of the exercises require you to elevate and move your legs.

Although it was definitely a hard day, I really like the program so far. I'll post my Day 2 and Day 3 (today) reviews later today. I would also like to point out that right now, about 10 min. before I start Day 3: Shoulders and Arms, I am STILL pretty damn sore from Day 1 and 2.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to BRING IT!

Intro to the blog

Alright everyone, I started the P90X workout/nutrition program on Monday (April 5th) and I will be blogging about it here. My goal is to: A. Give myself a bit of motivation by having a blog to maintain surrounding P90X; B. Highlight and show the results of the P90X program for anyone interested in the program.

I don't expect many people to read this but, I plan to make a vlog on youtube to go along with the blog, so you can just watch too/instead.

Grant