Kenpo/No AC sucks.

Well, despite having no AC in the house (They're not coming til MONDAY) I managed to start and finish Kenpo, effectively completing week 7. That means next week is a recovery week! Woooooo.

It's been pretty unbearable with no AC. We've shut all the blinds and turned on fans but we can't open windows because of my roommate's severe allergies. We even considered sleeping elsewhere tonight!

And now for something completely different. I'm storytelling a new Vampire: The Masquerade campaign with a bunch of people, which is geeky and exciting. I'm reading all the books to get me back into it and concocting a nice little campaign to run through. Can't wait to roll those d10s! (Such a geek.)

Legs and Back/FINALLY

Today was FINALLY A DAY where I could just work out and relax. I LOVE it! Totally necessary, especially considering that our final subscription concert is this weekend and it'll be an all-day affair involving a bus trip to Reading, PA. We're leaving at 11:30am and we're coming back around midnight. Yeah, that wasn't a typo: midnight.

On the up side, Monday nights will be free for a while after that!

I was concerned because I wasn't hitting the number of reps that I did last week on the first set of pullup/chinups on today's workout, but I brought it on the second half and got a few over each time to make up for it. ROAR

Is it bad that I LIKE the way ab ripper feels now? WHAT is wrong with me?!

I got a very encouraging email from my coach today. :) If you're reading this, I do appreciate it and I'll send you one back when I get a chance!

Yoga X/Concert at Waterloo Elementary!

My kids had their chorus concert tonight and it went FANTASTICALLY. I was thankful to have so many staff members on hand to manage the kids backstage. I was really worried because the usualy people around to help couldn't make it but after an email request I had a raft of people back there. Woo hoo! The music was great. I had my kids singing Gaelic, Italian, spirituals, 2 part, 3 part. No sweat, man!

Yoga was great also. Clearing your mind really helps you maintain difficult balance postures. After tonight's concert I was much more relaxed so I'm glad I did it afterward!

Back and Biceps

Whew man. I came home early and mowed the lawn and then did Back and Biceps. I think I should do it the other way around next time--I was STRUGGLING LIKE CRAZY at the end of the workout today and THEN I had Ab Ripper!

Back and Biceps does make you feel all pumped up afterward though, which is awesome.

I made more P90X pesto tonight and it was delicious as can be. Had to add earth balance to my oatmeal tonight and still barely got over 2800 cals. I think I'm going to have to add something else soon because it looks like I'm still maintaining my weight--I weighed 140 today. Not awful, but if I'm still 140 next week I'll add 100-200 cals.

Back later :)

Plyo X/Nada mucho

Rather uneventful day today. I did plyo which went well and went to rehearsal. We'll be spending all day in PA on the rest day so thank god I set it for that day.

Other than that, it seems to be tough for me to get to my goal calories. Today I had a ton of whey to get to the amount of fat and calories that I needed. Ridiculous!

Chest, shoulders, tris, abs/Yesterday's madness

Hello there.

Well, as you can see, I'm posting this a day late. I seem to be having trouble keeping up for now! Don't worry though, I'm still maniacally logging my foods and doing my workouts.

Yesterday's workout was hard as ever but I'm forcing myself to push more weight in it. I upped several exercises by 5 pounds. Some I simply couldn't raise, though. Surprisingly, I didn't have issues with ab ripper like I usually do on Sundays. Good sign!

I saw hints of the top 4 packs of my 6 pack today. I must've really lowered my body fat! I need to get a caliper.

Still haven't weighed in or taken my pics. I'm saving it for Tuesday this week. Have a good one.

Rest day/Star Trek!

So today was a rest day. I decided to do Stretch X and we went to go see Star Trek. It was really fantastic! Considering JJ Abrams has been messing up his other projects (Heroes) it was refreshing to see some good work. Nice job!

I didn't take the recovery drink today because there was nothing to recover from but I decided to take another carb in its place so that I wasn't down on calories. I saw a hint of me dropping a pound earlier this week so I opted not to drop calories on non-workout days. Let's see if it helps.

Kenpo/I HAD A BEER ><

So I went out tonight and...

I had a beer.

I KNOW I KNOW but it's the first one I've had since I've started and it's not a regular thing. 1 won't kill me! Life will go on... right?

Anyway, Kenpo today. I sweat like a fiend on that workout. Quite satisfying.

Legs and Back/I was busy yesterday!

Sorry, I forgot to post with all the stuff going on!

Yesterday I was doing legs and back and cooking rice and chicken at the same time. It was madness! I got it all done though.

I just paid 80 bucks to get my car's 5000 mile service. Hurts a bit, bit whatever--it's a necessary evil. If you do all the 5000/10000 mile things with a Toyota or Honda, the car usually runs perfectly until death. Let's hope mine does!

Yoga/Saint Beachy

Yoga was okay today but I seemed to have some balance issues on things I'm usually okay with: prayer twist in a lunge and extended right angle pose. On the other hand, I was awesome with my triangle pose. Oh well! I'm getting closer and closer to holding crane and I was okay with the standard half moon today. That's a step in the right direction!

Today I had to run out and eat dinner on the fly because it was the night where my colleague Bill Beachy gives all his strings concerts. We call him Saint Beachy because of his ability to listen to so many amateur instrumentalists. My brain already hurts when I do recorder! His concerts were great. We'll truly miss many of the 5th graders that are quite adept at the violin. They were playing some challenging stuff!

As expected, calories come down by 200 for Yoda and stretch days. Here it is for you.

Back and Biceps/Hulk Smash

ROOOOOOOAR

I love this workout. My arms feel like they're about 50 pounds each from all the pump. Well, see you around; I'm going to go do some hulk-style smashing.

Going out to eat tonight for the first time in AGES. Noodles and Co! I'm getting a small whole wheat noodles with marinara topped with chicken. I didn't know that it'd be so refreshing to not have to cook tonight considering my love for cooking!

See ya.

Plyo X/Rain, Rain

Hello hello!

Well, it's going to be raining for a week straight. Fortunately, all my workouts are inside! Unfortunately, the lawn's going to be ridiculous when I get to it. Oh well.

Plyo was today. Great as ever! I sweat like crazy, of course. I'm following my workout with beef (GASP); deal with it. My 93% lean burgers with onion and worcestershire sauce are pretty healthy if you ask me. I make them 3 oz each and have two on whole wheat english muffins!

Anyway, I have to get ready for rehearsal. Have a good one!

Chest, shoulders, tris, abs/Day 35 pics and weigh-in

Chest. Shoulders, Tris is definitely the hardest workout. My arms kill me after Back and Biceps but Chest, Shoulders, Tris makes it so my arms feel like they're going to fall off. I pushed myself to the limit today!

Good news: I'm 140 pounds! That means I gained around 2 pounds this week. No changes to my diet for now!

Day 35 pics. I know I took pics 5 days ago but Sundays are the traditional day, so I did them anyway. I'm pleased mostly with the definition in my abs and my sartorial muscles. Things seem to be setting up correctly. Now to kill that body fat and gain muscle :D

(If you're wondering why I look crazy sunburnt, it's because I was trying to mess with the shadows/highlights to show actual contours of muscle and I suck at photo editing. Today was horribly overcast and I wanted to show something more than a dark, washed out picture of white flesh.)

A bit of catchup.

So yesterday's Kenpo was interesting. I was without a protein shake pre-workout and had no DVD with me so I literally mixed something up right when I got to Tom's (thankfully I had a ton of whey on hand) and 45 minutes or so later I had Tom read off all the things that occur in the workout and did them without the DVD. It took about 50 minutes or so. I had no idea when I was supposed to do the jumping jacks/jumping rope/jumping X's so I just did them after every 5 moves or so. I was sweaty as can be afterward so it must've been fine.

Today was a rest day. Watched Persepolis which was pretty awesome and did a little mother's day shopping in the District. I roasted some sweet potatoes tonight which was pretty awesome. I think that the nutrition info for sweet potatoes is a little off on myfitnesspal--shouldn't a relatively large sweet potato be more like 200 calories?

Anyway, no workout, so the calorie count was a little lower today. The workout I dred (Chest, Shoulders, Tris) is tomorrow so wish me luck!

Legs and Back/I'm a hardgainer.

Today's workout went well. I'm now pushing as much as Tony and working as hard as I can to get unassisted pullups and chinups. I was also very good with ab ripper--got to 50 mason twists without stopping. I probably had more in me, but not many more!

Anyway, I posted my day 30 pics in the Scrawny to Brawny thread in the P90X forums and they're telling me that I'm still not eating enough. I'll be checking the scale after a while on 2800-2900 calories and see if I still need to go up. They also said I need to cut back on the cardio but I'm sticking with it for now. I'll modify the program but not until I've completed it like it's intended for the first 90 days.

Everyone keeps calling me a hardgainer. Many people in that thread said they hesitate to call ANYONE a hardgainer but I'd be it. I guess I'm pretty scrawny then, eh?

Anyway, below is the nutrition.

Yoga day/Intake woes

Well, today was Yoga day. My balance was good today so I managed to do Warrior 3 without any serious problems. I'm still struggling on the half-moons, but those are RIDICULOUSLY HARD, so I'm not concerned--I'll get them eventually. I also have trouble with crane, but I read that keeping on is the only way to do it. No surprise there.

I'm having a tiny bit of trouble--I think I save too much intake for the evening! I find myself constantly having to eat carrots, a serving of whey, a cup of oatmeal, a condiment, a dairy, and a protein bar AFTER dinner! I have to figure out how to spread that out better throughout the day. Any suggestions?

Intake below.

Day 30 pics and comparison

Click:


A few spares:

Back and Biceps!

Today's workout felt awesome. My arms were on fire after the workout!

I found CLIF bars at BJs on our huge grocery run today. 20 bucks for 18! It was a STEAL. I got a variety pack with half chocolate and half chocolate mint. Booyah :D

On another note, I lost a pound. I'm adding a protein because it seems to get me closer to 40/40/20 percent split of protein/carbs/fat, respectively. I'm near 2900 cals! WHEW.

Anyway, I'm way to tired to stay up posting. Here's my nutrition for you.

Plyo/I LOVE CARBS

Good lord, I need to get to sleep. So tired! Couple things first, though:

I LOVE PLYO.

Man, I sweat like crazy on this workout but it really makes you feel fantastic. I guess that's how you know something is working.

PS: 3 carbs a day now? HECK YEAH. Eating my OATZ now.

PPS: Day 30 pics tomorrow, I'll post them here so you can see them

Chest, Shoulders, Tris, Ab Ripper/CHEAT WEEKEND RESULTS

Back! The infamous cheat weekend wasn't THAT bad. I'm back on track now that I don't have Italian grandmothers to please!

First time doing Chest, Shoulders, Tris. TOUGH TOUGH TOUGH. I was a little hard on myself at the time but I know I'll do better. One step at a time.

Which things were the hardest? The one-handed pushups (I did wide knees), the pushups where you move your feet and hands side to side, and some of the weight things. I had sloppy form here and there even when I was trying to fix it.

Oh well, can't always be perfect and chugging along. The cheat foods and poor sleep certainly didn't help.

A note: I'm waiting til day 30 (Tuesday) to take photos. Expect them then :D

ONE MORE THING! I'm in PHASE 2 starting today! 3 carbs, 3 veggies, 1 fruit, 1 fat, 1 double snack, 1 recovery drink, 1 protein bar, and 6 proteins. Now my body will have the carbs it needs to burn burn burn!

Below is the food for the infamous cheat weekend. I had to improvise here and there because we went out and some sauces and dressings were unidentifiable. BEHOLD:

Yoga/Time to go!

Today's Yoga was good. Tom's already here, no time to chat!

I'll see you folks in a few days and post my nutrition when I get back!

Core Synergistics/Getting packed

Today was a teacher in-service day. I saw Karen Kennedy, my undergraduate choral director, who was running one of the sessions. We also had some sessions to increase cultural proficiency--I went to the Latin music session and we sang songs that were from Central America, the Andes, and the Caribbean. It was pretty cool :)

Anyway, Core Syn was today. Once again, I'm TOTALLY wiped out! It's definitely hard work. Thankfully I get to have my leftover pesto tonight. That'll certainly hit the spot!

Gotta get packed for this weekend. It's going to be a warm one!

X Stretch/To recovery drink or to not recovery drink?

Well, today was X Stretch, a 60 minute video of nothing but stretching. It felt like HEAVEN.

I was trying to decide what to do nutritionally for today. I didn't break a sweat at all so I feel like taking a recovery drink on a day like today was probably ridiculous since I didn't burn as much. After some thought I've decided to skip it for today. The calorie count will be down a bit but I'm not too worried--it's still 2400 calories!

We made the P90X pesto again. Holy CRAP that stuff is good! I love it to death. I have to modify it because I don't have lemon juice or wine around usually. I typically just do all chicken broth and a splash of white wine vinegar to keep the acidity up for a nice green color and that does the trick.

More core synergistics tomorrow. I'll totally rock it!

Kenpo X/ Sweat machine

Intensity = sweat. I'm a sweat MACHINE during this workout.

I've heard a few discouraging things from internet friends recently but I'm not letting it get me down. I know I'm seeing good results right now so I'm as encouraged as ever!

Tomorrow is a Stretch X day. CAN'T WAIT for that one!

Everyone doing P90X complains about the recovery week being hard as crap. Recovery week is definitely feels less intense for me, but then again, I'm a cardio machine. I can cardio my brains out--the lifting is what gets to me. I think it's the opposite for most people.

Anyway, I'm terrified about this weekend. I'm visiting Tom's folks and I'm going to have many a cheat meal. I'm bringing a ton of whey and egg substitute and cans of chicken breast and veggies and wheat berry bread as a clean eating survival kit in between the onslaught of delicious Italian food spreads. Cheating is inevitable, but this is the big cheat weekend I planned for. Moderation is the key!

Core Synergistics

Holy CRAP that was a workout!

I couldn't believe how wiped I was! There was a ton of really fun stuff even though it was exhausting. The chaturanga running and iso wasn't really something I could manage--I'm okay with chaturanga when I keep moving through a vinyasa, but to freeze in that position so close to the ground is not something my arms can currently support.

The rest of it was AWESOME though. Holy GOD, when I was doing Leaning Crescent Lunges with 10 pounds I thought my arms and abs were going to fall OFF. The Lunge-Kickback-Curl-Press was an awesome compound movement. I'm a new fan of the SUPERMAN BANANA as well! Woo hoo!

I definitely felt WIPED after this workout... so wiped that I'm considering entering phase 2 nutrition for 3 daily carb servings even though it's technically supposed to start next week. I'm thinking that since I'm a skinny guy trying to bulk I should be having the carbs anyway. Oh well, I'm putting off my decision until tomorrow.

We roasted potatoes tonight which was awesome. It was a tad salty though so it won't be too regular. I already get PLENTY of sodium from my 1 cup of cottage cheese daily.

Day 21 pics!/Hello recovery week.

Well, it's that time again. Here are the photos for day 21 of P90X. I did a closeup of my back this time because WOW! There's a LOT going on back there.

Today's Yoga was AWESOME. I felt much more relaxed and my body's angles seemed more natural. I think I'm definitely improving which is good. I still struggle with warrior3 and the half moons but hopefully they'll come in time.

BURGER NIGHT! We use a little worcestershire and onion to make them awesome! I pan fry them so they'll probably get to sit on a paper towel before they go on my whole wheat english muffins.

Until tomorrow...

Saturday: rest day!

Well, I rested a LOT on rest day. I actually took in a few less calories than usual but that's okay considering I didn't do ANYTHING. They had made all kinds of food this weekend and I managed to avoid most of it. I did eat about a cup of that "puppy chow" stuff (sometimes called "muddy buddies"; it's crispix tossed with melted butter, chocolate, peanut butter, and dusted heavily with powdered sugar) and surprisingly myfitnesspal had an entry for it, so it's listed there! I still came in with very decent macros so I'm totally not worried--I decided that since it was pretty much straight carbs with a little protein from the peanut butter, I'd just have it instead of the recovery drink which is exactly that--straight carbs with a little protein. It's the exception and not the norm, so no sweat.

Traveling around with all my supplements and eggbeaters is sucky, by the way. It's much easier to stay at home when you eat this way.

Anyway, recovery week is starting tomorrow. Yoga over and over! Hopefully I'll get better with those right angle poses and warrior 3! Also, I'll be doing day 21 pics and weighing in. I do anticipate a few pounds--some sneak peaks lead me to believe that I'm actually at 139-140. Woo hoo!

Kenpo/Weekend plans

After Kenpo today, I finish week three. Next week (week 4) is the recovery week, full of core synergistics, yoga, and stretching. I'm also probably going to go to level 2, phase 2 with the nutrition plan soon. Yay more carbs! Chicken is much improved over rice or pasta or on toast.

Tomorrow is a rest day and I'll be away from the computer. I'll probably still manage to make a post, however--you know me!

Yesterday's DC gathering was great. I'll be going out of town next weekend to visit Tom's family some more which should also be good! I'm looking forward to it.

Legs and back/ANOTHER cheat meal?!

Hey, didn't post last night because it was so busy!

Legs and back was yesterday and I brought the intensity so now my gluts are sore as ever! I got through ALL 50 mason twists yesterday which was awesome.

Last night was dinner out with Tom's folks. We went to Nooshi, yet ANOTHER asian restaurant with no brown rice. I went as conservatively as I could but still managed to have some chicken that tasted fatty, 1 cup steamed rice, 1 cup mixed vegetables, 1 tuna roll piece, and 1 tamago nigiri piece. All in all I was still pretty much on target, calorie-wise, so not too bad, and hardly a cheat. That's a good thing considering I'm going to a party tonight and next weekend I'm with Tom's Italian family all weekend where I'll inevitably lose the clean eating here and there. I'll be bringing my eggbeaters, whey, oats, and canned chicken with me just in case!

Yoga X/Not much to report.

So tomorrow will be crazy--a cheat dinner with Tom's folks who are coming down to DC. His little sister is checking out some colleges in this area and we haven't seen his family in a while so it'll be awesome.

Friday? Shenanigans! Ben is coming down from Massachusetts so we'll be having a blast down in DC.

Today? Nothing. Just some Yoga. :)

I did have a LOT of trouble today with the Warrior 3/half moon/half moon twist stuff. I just can't pull through. I know those are THE most advanced moves but I'd like to at least be able to stand on my leg without DYING partway through. Oh well... keep pushing play.

Shoulders, arms, and abs, oh my!

Good god I love the arm workout. It kills you but the pump is highly encouraging. :) I'm feeling good and making my low gi whole wheat carb and lean protein as we speak!

More good news: I managed to gain 1 more pound. 136 now. Woo hoo!

I'm going to keep this higher-calorie diet and see what happens. Hopefully nothing but goodness, but we'll see.

That's all for now.

What a busy day!

Plyo X today--I totally rocked it. Good god today was busy! At least I got it all done.

1) ALL quarter 3 grades, due tomorrow (Took 4.5 hours with no breaks)
2) Plyo X
3) Mow the lawn (WHY GOD WHY)
4) Wash car
5) Buy gas (Poor poor poor)
6) Balance budget (Reminder: poor poor poor)
7) Rehearsal
8) Go to bed as soon as I return from rehearsal to get ready for school after quite possibly the most boring and tedious Spring Break in history (BAH)

Tomorrow is Arms and Shoulders... yay! I like it because it makes you feel hardcore.

I managed to get 2600 calories of clean eating in today. Woo hoo!

Until tomorrow...

Day 14 pics!

Chest and back and abripper were today. Another day in the books!

I HAVE PECS NOW although they're difficult to photograph when you're as white as it gets. Also my arms and back are shaping up VERY nicely! As predicted, the abs area is still flabby, but I hear that's the last area to tighten up. It's only day 14, so no need to rush.

Anyway, check it out. I even took a close-up of my pec for you. A nice bit of skin on Easter--woo, I'm blasphemous.



I have a bit of cheating for Easter Dinner tonight (steak, and maybe a little dessert), but I'll try to post the nutritionals as close as I can get it. I'm aiming for as little cheating as possible.

Happy Eastover, all!