The BS of My Life / P90X: Day 43 – 49

This was the last week of Phase 2 before my Recovery Week, so I was really trying to get it in. There were some ups and some downs, but I did my best and some interesting things came of it all.

Starting weight: 177lbs
After week 7: 160lbs.

Here’s how the week went.

The Workouts:

Day 43:
Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Ab Ripper X

I was a bit excited and a bit pissed off going into this weeks workouts. Because I don’t have a lot of weights, things are getting too easy or are too hard and I feel like I’m not getting as good a workout in as I could be if I had more equipment. My thought was to do more reps with less weight when it was possible, and less reps with more weights on exercises that focused on the muscle groups that I thought I could use some bulk in.

This week, as usual, my goal was to up my numbers from last week, and I was a bit more motivated to do so considering this is the last week of Phase 2.

I noticed that in upping your numbers early, you get tired real quick later on, so you’ve really gotta push to make it through the whole thing. There was no improvement in my Pike Presses (10), Floor Flys (24), One Arm Push-Ups (Only 8 on knees vs. 12 last week), One Arm Balance Push-Ups (Only 7 vs. 10 Last week), but there were improvements in Slow Motion Push-Ups (+5), Plange Push-Ups (+3), Side Tri Rises (+3), Overhead Tricep Extensions (-7 with Doubled Weight), and Cross Body Blows (36 reps with Doubled Weight).

Honestly, I was crashing a LOT today. Like, literally falling on the ground from fatigue. I know what I want out of this experience, and I will get it. Trust me.

Next I moved on to Ab Ripper X.

At this point I’m pretty comfortable with the workout, and today was no different. Yes, it’s still hard. But today I got through it with a ton of confidence, good form, and only a couple of breaks during the Fifer Scissors and Crunchy Frog. I swear my hip flexors are wack.

Overall, today was a good workout. But the first half has got me hurt.

Day 44:
Plyometrics

Over the last 2 weeks, I look lean as fuck waking up after doing Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, and today was no different. It’s a huge ego boost. lol.

I was excited and ready for Plyo, and had a lot to get done today..

After killing it last week I had supreme confidence in myself this week. But right away I noticed my legs were burnt. I was very tired in the beginning, but got myself together and handled my shit.

I can definitely say that after 7 weeks of doing this workout, you start to learn how to manage it and keep your breath going and your body and mind in the right place to get everything accomplished. If you get your head of this workout or the program at all, you will NOT finish anything and you won’t see results. I went all out today, and honestly, my heartrate went up to 180bpm. The highest I think it’s been while doing Plyo. I had pains in my ribs after I was done that lasted 2 hours after completing the workout. It was ridiculous.

Day 45:
Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X

Again, I was a little pissed off going into this workout knowing that I didn’t have a lot of weights to work with. The game plan was the same – more reps with less weight or less reps with more weight.

Honestly, this workout is retarded. You can feel your arms busting through your skin. lol. It’s fucked up. But I noticed some odd fluctuations today in my results. I definitely need more weight for Lawnmowers. I’m doing 20 reps with 20lbs on both variations for fucks sake. Also, Congdon Locomotives and One Arm Cross Body Curls are getting too easy with just 20lbs. I either need 30’s or I need to buy 5lbs wrist weights to wear while using the dumbbells.

I did get a good workout in today, but it was mad frustrating knowing I could have pushed myself further but didn’t know what to do about it.

Next was Ab Ripper X.

Today I was really trying to get it in considering the whole frustration with Back & Biceps. I’ve honestly been struggling with the Oblique V-Ups. As all the other moves improve, by the time I get to that part of the DVD, I’m in pain – bad. So I can really only get 15 out of each side. I’m working on it though.

When we got to the Mason Twist section, I was really determined to get all the way through it and found that taking your mind out of it momentarily makes you forget about the pain and discomfort of it all. I basically kept my body going strong and went temporarily brain dead. lmao. And it fucking worked! Try it if you’re having trouble with this part of Ab Ripper X at all. It worked today at least.

Today was mad frustrating. Can’t wait for tomorrow.

Day 46:
Rest Day

Today I went to check out more samples for the Ideall Clothing Fall/Winter hats I’m doing. I am super stoked about these and can’t wait to show you guys. I really hope you love em. After leaving there I went to the sports store in the mall and saw that 30lbs weights were 70 frickin dollars!! What the shit?! I should just curl 70 dollars worth of pennies in a bag or something. Christ. I gotta go to WalMart asap.

I left the mall and picked my girl up. On our way home we decided we’d both cheat on our diets and grab a Blizzard at Dairy Queen. No big deal. Holy crap it was delicious. Trust me.

We got back to her place and I continued working on the LLadies photoshoot and website to be posted on IdeallClothing.com. Not having touched Flash in so long I needed to reacquaint myself with it a little bit and was a little out of the loop. I went home to finish working on the photos and on the site and was so pressed to get it out that I missed my Yoga workout. I was a little upset, but I’ve switched my rest days before so I wasn’t worried.

Here’s what I did for the LLadies: CHECK IT OUT!!

So that was today. A lot of work, a little bit of play, and some satisfaction in getting that product up. Yoga happens tomorrow!

Day 47:
Yoga X

So my plans to get up today and do Yoga at 8am didn’t happen because I was up until 4 working on the LLadies site. Fucking great.

I started my workout at 10pm and it goes for an hour and a half. No problem right? Well the problem is that I had to go to my Imperial Tattoo to get my arm photographed at noon and I live an hour away on the streetcar. What was I gonna do? Well, I had to streamline a bit, so all I did was fast forward through the Warrior Three section and the Standing Leg Extensions. It really didn’t save me much time and I was still late showing up, so I don’t know that it was really worth skipping through. At least I skipped stuff that I know my body is currently not capable of doing.

I’ve hated these past 3 days workout wise. Obviously I didn’t get a workout in yesterday, but Back & Biceps really pissed me off, and now this? Fucking bullshit.

Whatever, I got it done. I did give it my all throughout the whole workout, but for me doing Yoga is about really clearing my mind and having some time to relax. Today my mind was worried about time, and I hated it.

Day 48:
Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X, Kenpo X

So tomorrow I’m with my daughter during the day and then hanging out with the wife in the evening, so no time to carry Kenpo X over. My solution – do 2 workouts today – Legs & Back with Ab Ripper X, and Kenpo X. Honestly, I do NOT recommend this for anyone. lol. It was absolute hell.. but very gratifying.

I got up and got at the Legs & Back workout right away, trying to do all reps for each exercise. I noticed that on the Super Skaters, not putting my leg down in the back is too strenuous on my knees, so I tap my foot down for more support. I don’t think this is too much of a problem considering I’m still working my ass off.

When it came to the back exercises, my goal half way through the workout became to try to do the pull-ups without the help of a stool. Here’s how I did:

Reverse Grip Chin-Ups:
Set 1: 7 +5(w/stool)
Set 2: 8

Wide Front Pull-Ups:
Set 1: 5 +7(w/stool)
Set 2: 8

Closed Grip Overhand Pull-Ups:
Set 1: 7 +5(w/stool)
Set 2: 10

Switch Grip Pull-Ups:
Set 1: 8(w/stool)
Set 2: 7

Keep in mind that when I can’t do any more pull-ups I get down and take a break, then get back up and keep going. I wanna grow accustom to doing them without assistance. Fuck that.

The leg exercises always kill me, and today I was being very, very mindful of the fact that I still had to complete Kenpo X later on in the day. I replaced the One Legged Wall Squats with regular Wall Squats to take some pressure off my quads. It didn’t really help. lol. My legs are super weak.

I’m a little off with this workout and always have been. I don’t feel like I’m getting a maximized workout out of it and I don’t know why. My legs are killing me, and I’m working extra hard with the pull-ups. Maybe it’s just that I’m not sweating buckets like the cardio workouts or my arms aren’t exploding out of my skin. Who knows.

Next, I moved onto Ab Ripper X.

I could feel how much my legs were burnt from the Legs & Back workout right away. Doing the Bicycles, In & Outs, and Crunchy Frog was very painful and I had to stop a bunch. I didn’t notice until I got to the Pulse Ups that the massage of my lower back that I had been procrastinating on getting was long overdue and the pain in my back was so bad that putting my legs up into the air killed my lower back. I stood up and paused the tape to make sure I didn’t strain anything. I took a second and got back into the workout and completed it. Again, the Oblique V-Ups were difficult, but getting better, and as always, Fifer Scissors sucked. I got it done though, and was pretty happy about my effort today.

After I was done this workout I was feeling really, really exhausted. My body was sore and I could feel myself nearly fainting. I walked over to my bad and passed out for an hour or so and was really out of it for a while. I was very drained from this week and wasn’t happy thinking about doing another workout.

When I finally got to Kenpo, I was kind of excited for it. The workout is so fun and I’m so used to it that it’s pretty easy. I put a lot of effort into every move, I skipped and did the jumping jacks and X jumps during all the breaks, and went extra hard on the 100 punches at the end. When you’re killing yourself for a whole week, getting to finally do Kenpo X is really a relief in a big way.

I was sweaty as hell after I was done, and I felt amazing. I would definitely not recommend doing what I did today, but if you feel like you don’t want to miss your rest day and have to do it, my recommendation would be to pace yourself physically and mentally and stay hydrated.

I felt like I accomplished a lot today. And the craziest shit happened – I HIT MY GOAL WEIGHT!!!

After 48 days on P90X, I have lost 17lbs!

What a way to end the week.

Day 49:
Rest or X Stretch

I decided that I was in grave need of doing X Stretch today so I woke up early and got it done before going to pick up my daughter. It wasn’t as good as getting a massage, but it was worth it. It was a tough week both mentally and physically, but in the end I can’t say I slacked on my workouts at all. I cannot wait for this recovery week.

The Diet:

So as I said already, I cheated this week and ate a Blizzard from Dairy Queen. It was awesome. lol. Other than that I’ve been going into protein overdrive. Veggie burgers, egg whites, turkey, chicken, chicken dogs like crazy. I’ve upped my carb intake a bit, having 2 slices of whole wheat bread with nonfat butter in the morning with my eggs and turkey, and eating whole wheat spaghetti with pieces of veggie burgers and tomato sauce. I’ve dropped my coffee drinking at home to a minimum, but still grab an Americano here and there. (Here and There = Always). I went to see Zaki this week and we ate at Fresh, which was a nice difference in food, but still obviously very healthy. The portion was pretty big compared to what I’m used to, but it was amazing. I’ve been eating an apple a day as a snack as well. It satisfies any craving for sweets and falls safely into the diet, so that’s been good.

It’s crazy that in a week that I’ve been eating more than normal, I’ve still managed to lose weight. That’s the thing with these workouts. If you bust your ass doing them, you’ll burn so many calories that you can eat comfortably and still lose weight. It’s amazing.

I really want a good old fashioned meat burger to tell you the truth. It’s driving me insane. lol. Soon enough I guess..

Closing Thoughts:

The biggest difference this week in The BS of My Life has been the workload. I’m getting really busy again and because of that I’m in good spirits. I thrive when I’m under pressure to perform, so being lazy is not my thing. I enjoy having work on my plate and getting it done and this week there’s been a lot to do. The LLadies site was a big part of that, as was some logo/website work that I’ve got, and the new Ideall toques. Next week I’ve got an exhibit that I’m working on a Fully Wholly Collection for, so I’ve just been slammed with shit to do.

Between the work and the working out, being able to see friends for brief stints has been great. I went over to Imperial Tattoo and shot the shit with a couple guys there, I spent a good day with Zaki, and for the first time in probably my whole life, my sister called me. Things have really been on the ups.

Truthfully, my house has been a mess. It usually is when I’m busy like this, but my dishes are getting done, my living room is orderly, and my fridge is well stocked. I’ve just gotta get some time to clean my bathroom, bedroom and do some god damn laundry already.

The work that I’ve been putting towards my book has been great and it’s weird not posting the stuff on my blog. It’s important for me to share this stuff with my readers, but with a goal in mind, I can’t just flood it all out there right now. Hopefully that’ll be something that you guys see very soon.

I’m very grateful for the things that this week had for me. I’ve worked pretty hard and the rewards have come in numbers. With all the work this week, I know next week is gonna be crazier.. good time for “Recovery”.

Welcome To The Legends League.

Read The BS of My Life / P90X:
Intro
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Day 30 Results
Week 5
Week 6

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