Week 8: Chest and Back, Plyometrics

I feel reborn again after thoroughly hating phase 2 for the most part (if you couldn't tell by my infrequent postings). The workouts just aren't as well developed, in my opinion, as the first. Round 3 alternates between what you did in the first phase and the second.

No surprise that after a lackluster recovery week that saw me get a jaw infection, I started this week feeling bloated and miserable. It's amazing that after only a week of high carbs, low protein that I would retain this much water and weight gain. The scale said I gained 3 pounds in a little more than a week. However, the combination of working out hard, eating good and sunshine has got me back on the wagon. I know I've relapsed many times, but there's still time to prove that p90x can be an effective program (and also why it falls short in some areas).

You see whereas I was highly motivated to do the program in phase 1, by phase 2 it had started to get old to me. The whole muscle confusion thing is almost completely smoke and mirrors: every exercise you do is still muscular or aerobic endurance without fail. Changing from divebomb pushups to plyo pushups isn't a large jump. It would be more "muscle confusing" if in the second phase you suddenly started doing heavy weight, but I digress. Tony's voice has become from annoying to teeth pulling, and the frustration kicked in. I'm surrounded by weight lifters, and now I'm afraid my lifts have plummeted. Certainly although I've become more efficient in the workouts and am more athletic, I'm not stronger. Counter this with despite some hiccups, I've busted my ass and have only slight fat loss to show for it. Is it really the depriving diet that's the key? If so then count me out. I can stand low carb but no carb is out of the picture. But me, being stubborn as hell, has to see this thing to the end.

No surprise that not doing this particular workout for a month that I would see no real gains from the last time I did it. That's not really a big issue with me, though. If I haven't stressed this enough, the improvements workout wise you get from p90x are mainly due to muscle memory, weight loss and an increase in endurance. This is not due to strength, muscle or power gains. Case in point: despite not being able to outdo my week 3 numbers, I was a lot less gassed while doing them. I also added a run outside in the morning because its finally above freezing up here. Ab Ripper X was a little harder than normal, but I attribute this to coming off of painkillers from the forementioned infection. Same with plyo.

As it stands now I still feel there's time to get to my goal of breaking under 180. I don't eat religiously but I'm avoiding sneaky calories, binge eating, high carbs and high fat. Protein's my only real concern: if I can achieve 150+ grams a day without eating burgers and fried chicken, then I'm probably going to be alright. School food is a struggle because things you think are light can actually be calorie laden. One example is a so called good 4 u wrap: the thing has 900 calories by itself (more than a big mac with fries). But by using IM techniques, I'm cutting out quite a bit of calories without shutting down my metabolism. Before my emotional wellbeing tanked on my recovery week and barely got through the 3 core syns, the scale was going down so I know my process was working.

For now I'm in the driver's seat again. As long as I can stay mentally sane and happy, I'm all set. P90x goes from a snap to scrap if you become discouraged. If after the final 4 weeks I see marked improvements, I might continue the fat loss for a little while longer before I jump back into muscle gain. Either way the process has been incredibly enlightening, and I know so much more than where I started. I'm rambling again, so that's where I'll end it tonight.

Weeks 7 and 8 Recap

Whoaaa, its been awhile since my last post. I really have a hard time taking the recovery week seriously. That meant no yoga this week, only core syn (twice) and cardio. My diet also basically sucked again for the past couple days. These last 4 weeks I'm going to try to knockout and then go from there. At this point I've gotten pretty tired of the program but I'm sticking with it till the end.

Week 7: Plyometrics

"Jesus...I mean JEEPERS!" Tony Horton

Advice: listen to them when they say don't eat right before plyo. Although I still had a tremendous workout I cramped up pretty badly. Didn't stop me from completing it, though (minus rock star jumps, theres still no way). Onwards to tomorrow's chest and tris!

Week 7: Back/Bis and Ab Ripper X

I'm beginning to think I should just call beachbody and tell them that p90x's order for phase II would be improved by switching back and bis to monday. Seriously, it makes a huge difference. My rep and weight counts were the highest for the workout yet (a theme for the third week in a phase). This could be because I'm back at my school's gym which is far superior to the rec center's near my house, but I'm more inclined to think that its the combination of muscle memory and proper recovery. Also, I'm hoping that the fact the workouts are getting easier is a tribute to me getting leaner, which would be a miracle considering I ate pretty crappy over vacation. Never the less, through p90x I'm going forward not backward.
Really today's only setback was a light hand strain, so I had to stop two sets short of the full workout. No matter because my back was waxed and my bi's swollen (seriously its one of the best pump workouts I've ever done). Another round of ab ripper x (I've got all of Tony's lines unfortunately grafted in my brain by now) and I was good. The difference lately is that I'm no longer scrambling for breath, even with increased reps.
Today I also ate totally legit. I've gone back to trying to get as much protein as possible without too much fat, carbs and most importantly calories in the IF time frame. Its 9:30 and I'm not starving or craving anything. But monday-thursday I'm not worried about. If I can tame the weekend monster, then I'll feel like a breakthrough is happening. The sky will truly be the limit after that.

Rest of Week 6

Whoops, seems like I'm getting a little lazy at this. Switching chest/tris with back/bis was a good idea. By the time friday rolled around I was able to crank through pullups, whereas a week before I did two sets before having to quit the back portion altogether. I got through each workout this week, although it was a little bit of going through the motions. Here's hoping week 7 is better.

Rest of Week 5 Recap/Progress Pics

So I realize its way past day 30 but I figured it was time to show some comparison pics. OK, this is about as bad as it gets for consistency but hear me out. As you can see, I'm way tanner on the left than the right. That's because I mistakenly just chose a photo from this summer instead of taking a true day 1 photo. Beyond the creepy identical pose, its tough to get a grasp on what p90x has done thus far. No, it didn't make my nipples shrink, I guess I was freezing when I took the day 30 pic.
If I had done an actual day 1 photo, then there would be more discrepancy in the changes made. I had a physical job in summer and stayed active up until school. In contrast I had pretty much slid to rock bottom before starting p90x (described in earlier posts). To see that despite being pasty white I have slightly improved definition in my abs and a smaller waist, and a slightly less flabby chest is great. Thus I know that what I look/feel like now is a definite improvement over December.
However, the pictures don't lie, either. Although I'm not one of those people who expect dramatic shifts in short time frames, I know I could be better than where I'm at now. It really comes down to dieting. I've compained about what I eat in almost every post, but thats where it lies. I started out thinking the opposite: that if I killed every workout, I could eat moderately decent and become super lean. For dipping in to those sub 10 percent body fat levels, that couldn't be more wrong. For all the flack I give the p90x nutrition plan, I still wish I could follow it. Not just from an ego standpoint but succeeding in their guidelines would almost have certainly kept me away from slipping, which I've done every weekend since about week 2. IF has helped, but I still need more protein and to stay away from crappier foods.
These pictures are a wake up call: if I can for the next couple of weeks buckle down and stick to the script, I should start seeing better results. I already feel better, now I just need to look better.

Week 5 Day 4: Yoga X/Cardio

Blahhhh, yoga. I got through over an hour, still don't have the drive to get all the way through yet. The burn is good and I sweat but not nearly like the other routines. I added HIT at the end and that more than compensated. I will admit some poses like the Crane are redic. Maybe I'll be able to do the hardest poses one day, but flexibility and balance are the least important on my ladder of fitness. IF continues to keep me satisfied and I'm not overfeeding at any point. I try to get as much protein as possible for each meal, and not worry about the rest since none of it is processed stuff. Other people doing p90x treat their diet plan as end all be all, but its flawed. With this new strategy, hopefully this leads me to a 2 pound reduction by wednesday. I'll have to use a different scale so I won't put too much stock in the numbers but I figure if I keep the sizes of my meals down but protein packed, I'm going to hit that deficit and the fat will finally disappear.
I did take some day 30 photos, but I might wait until I return home to take some more for better comparison. I do notice some difference in my stomach, but not enough. Of course its only been a little past a month and I haven't dieted the way I should, so I'm confident day 60 will be a bigger jump. My body feels a lot better and that's enough for now.
Tomorrow is legs and back, which I'm a little sketched out about since my back is still pretty tired. Also nervous since its a one week break in school for me. I'm confident that I can hit every workout no problem (no doubles though) but leery on the eating. I've had about 3 bad weekends in a row and I know that's whats holding me back. I must be more disciplined, dammit!