DAY NINETY TWO

Welcome to my free week!

I get to do whatever I want this week! Today, I am going to go for a walk. It's gorgeous weather. Why not?

I allowed myself to sleep in this morning after my busy weekend. But tomorrow, I'll be up bright and early to do a video or something. I can't lose my early morning superhero abilities. Especially not when I'm starting Turbo Jam next week!

DAY NINETY ONE

Wahoo!! The end!

Well, just like I suspected, the super busy day at my parent's place made doing any kind of working out difficult. It was B2X's birthday! And, we had two church services to go to. So, it was a jam-packed day.

It was appropriate that the last StretchyX day was spent as a rest day...

All in all...this was a great program. I really liked how it varied the focus from one area of the body to another with the blasts of cardio in between. But there are some things I would change... You have to do the ab video three times a week and yet there's only one video to choose from? Same with the cardio ones. They are the same all the way through - there is a cardio X video - but if you are sick at the start of the first rest week (like moi) you never get a chance to do it again... Seems odd that you only do that video once in 91 days.

I am really impressed at the amount of push-ups I can do now. How my legs have shrunk down. At my ability to tackle some of those moves that just made me stare in awe at the beginning. And of course, my ability to get up every morning just after 5 to fit my workouts in. I think that is one of my favourite "gifts" from this program. I would have never believed that I was a morning workout person if I wasn't forced to try it for 90 days.

I'm going to miss Tony and all of the other P90X kids in the videos. But, on June 1, I start Turbo Jam, where I'll "meet" a whole new group of BeachBody kids.

So, happy birthday B2X! I'm glad your birthday coincided with this big day. B1X, get all healed up so you can do P90X again with me next year sometime. Salz, I hope you made it through and were as impressed with your abilities as I am with mine! And for all you readers out there - thanks for checking in, following along and witnessing this X-formation.

Air-in-X

p.s. Since I'm not done my total transformation yet, I think I will maintain the blog. It will be awhile until I reach my goal, but hopefully we'll all find it rewarding in the end.

DAY NINETY

WOOT WOOT!!!!!!

Day ninety!!!

I did YogaX with B2X this morning. I am SO glad I did this video with him today. We were like 1/2 way through the vinyasa series and I was ready to stop. Not give up. Just take a break for a day or so... But we did it! And I'm REALLY glad I hung in there. I did the SHOULDER STANDS!!! I haven't been able to do them this whole time. It was super impressive. I am still impressed with my accomplishment.

And then, I did the best yoga belly 7 I could muster. It was the final dash to the finish line...

Yahoo!

The plan is... do Fountain of Youth tomorrow. It's a stretchyX or rest day tomorrow. We had planned all along to do FOY with B1X tele-connectedly (yes, completing 90 days of P90X DOES give you the power to create words). But with his broken back situation and our busy schedule, I think we're going to have to do it without him. We can't be the ones responsible for making his back worse...

DAY EIGHTY NINE

Feeling fine on day 89...

Got up this morning and did Core. Ah-yeah. Superman Banana all the way. There are some moves that I despise in this video. But there are also some that I love. I do not like Prison Cell Push-ups. So much so, I am going to try my absolute best NEVER to go to prison. And the Dreya Roll-ups. I wish. For some reason - either I don't have much trust in the whole rolling on to my back from a standing position, or it's my difficulty jumping back on to my feet after having my feet over my head... something in there just doesn't jive. But Dreya...way to go. You can definitely rock it.

Some of the moves I love... Superman banana, squat/shoulder press - when you raise your hands (with weights) above your head so you're in an X formation and the side hip raise/push up. I like those ones because I couldn't do them before. And now, I can keep up with all the kids in the video. I'm one of the cool kids now.

This is one of the videos I might do next week in my "free" week.

DAY EIGHTY EIGHT

It feels great to be at Day eighty eight!!

Today's workout was StretchyX. Now, as some of you keen readers may have noticed, I haven't done this workout much throughout the program, opting for the "rest" day instead of the stretch. But, this morning, going through the stretch video was very calming, soothing and a FANTASTIC start to the day. If my "stretchy X/rest" day fell on something other than Sunday, I probably would have done it more often, and really enjoyed it. Next time...?

All in all, today was a very busy day for me. I am SO glad that tomorrow is Core and not Yoga, which I was worried it would be. I don't think I could have handled a long workout, early morning AND a long day tomorrow. Phew!

Looking forward to some "Superman! Banana! Superman! Banana!"

DAY EIGHTY SEVEN

I am writing RIGHT after completing Kenpo this morning, because I just want to capture for you the level of energy I have right now... On the second last move, Tony (good ol' Tony) says, "I just got my second wind." I usually roll my eyes that it even matters that he has his second wind when we're two moves from the end... Well, I take back all of my eye rolling today. I got my second wind at the end of the workout today. I could do a huge, intense dance-off in my kitchen right now... If it weren't for the fact my sister and brother-in-law are still deep in sleep upstairs.

A couple of times I was losing my intensity, but then I'd remember that this is the last time I doing this in the program, and I'd dig deeper.

Kind of hard to believe that I am done KenpoX and PlyoX after doing them once a week the whole way through...But I believe it and I have to admit, I'm looking forward to new cardio.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

DAY EIGHTY SIX

This one is dedicated to B1X.

Months ago, B1X mentioned that a move in the Core Synergistix video really hurt his lower back, "steam engines." Both B2X and seemed to have no issues, but did pay attention to the exercise more closely to see if we did have any pain. Nothing. So, then his pain got worse. And finally he got in to see an English speaking specialist in Tokyo (very cool, and hard to get). Turns out, he's broken a pieces off a vertebrae. In the exact spot we twist from when doing "steam engines"... Of course it hurt!!! He was agitating the exact weak spot of his back. Poor guy!

The crazier part is - they don't even know how long he's had a "broken back"... Could have happened when he was young. This is the brother that has done everything - serious weight lifting, marathon running, football! He's just lucky it's not worse. Anyway, they're still investigating to see if his back will be able to heal with the help of a back brace. Otherwise he may be able to get surgery or he'll have to live with the pain for the rest of his life. Which, will hopefully subside if he stops playing tackle football and doing steam engines...

For me, the workout was good today. I was TIRED! After my big workout day yesterday I was in bed by 9:30 and my alarm still went off too early for me! I should be sleeping right now. Tomorrow is KenpoX again. I'm looking forward to it.

DAY EIGHTY FIVE

Are you paying attention??? DAY EIGHTY FIVE!!!

So, the other day, when I was chatting with B2X, I told him that I was hoping to get in YogaX yesterday instead of Stretchy (for those of you who haven't read yesterday's post, I didn't do either). I felt bad that I haven't done Yoga X in like three weeks because of time constraints. You can imagine my excitement when I saw that it was TODAY'S workout! On a long weekend! When I have plenty of time!

I am being honest here, I was excited.

I did the entire thing, well, minus the shoulder stands - which I attempted. It was good to go through the whole program again. I believe I'll have one more opportunity to do it this week.

In the afternoon, I had another tennis match - this time it was for real - not just rallying for fun. (I'm in a league, I have a division ranking to at least maintain, if not beat) Anyway, I decided that since it was beautiful out, I would ride my bike. I don't have exact kilometers, but it's more than 8. So, I rode to the tennis courts, 45 minutes. Then, I sat for 5 minutes, meeting my opponent (sizing up the competition - which was bad when she said, "I played against a woman yesterday, she was good, she returned almost every thing I threw at her." That wasn't an optimistic moment for me.) Anyway, we played for an hour - and it was intense. I did a lot of running and very little scoring. Then, since I was hungry and worried about the ride home, I got on my bike immediately and headed home. Another 45 minutes with the last bit up a VERY steep hill. Over 2.5 hours of very intense working out. But, at least it wasn't my "day of rest"... Suddenly that does seem restful!

DAY EIGHTY FOUR

As you know, I like to choose the "rest" option on my Sundays instead of StretchyX. It's never that I don't want to do StretchyX, I just love having a day when I don't have to plan around a workout. As you'll see from my recap of today, "rest" doesn't always mean rest, more like, a "rest" from videos.

Today, I met up with Mini-Mon (she doesn't even know this new nickname exists! I'm inspired by her new dark blue Mini), we went to play some tennis. Side note: It looked really pretty when I was getting dressed. And since it was still fairly early when I was leaving the burbs, I thought for SURE it would get warmer... I was FREEZING in my cute little tennis skirt! Anyway, we rallied for an hour, getting back into the swing of things. And then Mini-Mon recommended we go for a run. She wanted to get a run in anyway, so I figured, why not? I haven't run in well over a year, let's see what I've got in me... Well, apparently over 3 km of running in me... I was pretty impressed with both of us taking that on after an hour of tennis.

See, "day of rest" is just another day for me. ;)

DAY EIGHTY THREE

I got up a little early today (8:30 on a Saturday of a long weekend - and it was rainy) and did KenpoX.

Today I really challenged myself. I wanted to make sure I was holding tension in all of the areas that needed tension through the moves. I was definitely more aware this round and I know the tension paid off in the series of blocks at the end. I felt like the Karate Kid. Wax on. Wax off.

Afterwards, I called B2X and we discussed both of our KenpoX workouts. Not as much fun as doing Kenpo in the same room, but a close second. For him, this is the twilight of round 2! Wow. When I think I am getting bored of hearing Tony (good ol' Tony) shout out the same things, I think about B1X and B2X seeing all of these videos for almost six months... Way to go boys!

DAY EIGHTY TWO

This is it ladies and germs, the moment I've been waiting for... the last workout sheet. This morning I completed my last workout sheet and it felt awesome. I also finished my Recovery Drink (drink created by Beachbody that's awesome - for those of you who work out hard, go to Beachbody.com and order some through Blazingbrent, aka B1X. He'll hook you up) I love advertising. Ha!

Anyway, back to the workout... I didn't realize how many exercises in this video I'm happy to have a break from. It's not like I can't do sneaky lunges, I just don't like doing 24 of them... But I'm happy to take a break from them. I did pretty well through the entire "show", I made sure I was above all the numbers I tracked last time. And, just like B1X told me months ago - Tony DOES leave out a move at the end of the workout... I can't believe it took me until now to really notice!

See, still learning. Day eighty two and I'm still learning.

DAY EIGHTY ONE

May sweeps is killing me... All of these season finales are keeping me up until 11 or later and it's making my morning very difficult!

This morning it was even worse. There was a thunderstorm going on AND I didn't want to get out of bed... So, I gave in - slept in for about 45 minutes and then got up to do a quick 30 minute yoga video (with Bob from Biggest Loser). I rushed through the rest of my routine and was ALMOST on time for the bus. Until I opened the door and realized it was garbage day... You haven't forgotten that it's raining, right? It got worse as I got to work. By the time I was at work I was DRENCHED! And about two hours later - bright sunny day...

But the yoga - I have to say - it's pretty good stuff! A nice compact 30 minute workout that had me sweating. Don't worry, I promise that next week, for my last week, I will DEFINITELY do YogaX.

DAY EIGHTY

Today was an awesome day. At first I thought it was bad that I didn't get to do ab ripper x, but instead... I went to the ab class at work and afterwards I went to say hi to my former trainer, T. We're chit-chatting and she asked what I was doing after this and I said, I'm going to do Turbo Jam in June. And she said - I am doing Turbo Jam in June! She bought Turbo Jam off tv after seeing the infomercial and decided to try it over the summer! It was SO crazy cool. We're going to be workout buddies!

Although I'll miss working out with my brothers, I am VERY excited to have T on board!

DAY SEVENTY NINE

Jump! Jump!

For a couple of weeks, B2X has mentioned how Plyo has effected his knees as of late... and I experienced the same thing today with Plyo. My left knee was NOT happy. I didn't workout in the morning. Remember that grogginess I was expecting? Well, it hit me on Tuesday morning instead. I was SO tired. So, I slept in a bit and then did my workout after work. This meant that I had to workout in the living room - where it's all carpet. I thought that was going to be nicer on my knees because of the added cushioning, but, I think it hurt my knees more...

And, doing it after work made me SOOO tired! I was exhausted afterwards! Totally spent! Now I know why I work out in the mornings...

DAY SEVENTY EIGHT

The start of week 12...the second last week...

I was impressed at my ability to get up this morning! Normally after travelling for the weekend I'm groggy on Monday morning, but I was good to go!

It was the lots of push-ups day... For some of them, I was really strong - for other ones, it was really Monday morning... But - I have come a long way from the start when I did all of them from my knees!

This is my last weight-focused Monday... Next week it will be part of my "recovery" week with all of the non-weight workouts.

DAY SEVENTY SEVEN

Lucky 77...

Holy cow. 77. That's pretty awesome. Especially falling on a rest day... :)

Happy Mother's Day everyone - celebrate your mom! And your motherhood - if applicable.

DAY SEVENTY SIX

B2X - good times!

I was at home this weekend and had the pleasure of doing KenpoX with B2X.

I am still a little confused when I have to do back knuckles > front kick > back kick. But, I am getting really good at my kicks in general.

We were doing some jokes about Tony and crew. All of his repetitive comments and the little nuances between him and his teammates. It was fun to share this with someone who know the videos as well as me.

If you started watching the videos for 90 days straight, you would have enjoyed our "inside" jokes...

Actual DNA removal... See? You'd get that.

DAY SEVENTY FIVE

Sneaky lunges are going to kill me...

I still hate this move. I am almost done this round and I am done with this move. They are hard to do 30 times! However, I am sure they're part of my great results. But still... I am still doing modified pull-ups, but I can't imagine doing regular ones yet... I still have a lot of development to go through.

And, I did Ab Ripper X - but I had to skip a couple of my least favourite moves...due to time constraints.

DAY SEVENTY FOUR

Ommmmm.....

I did Fountain of Youth again instead of doing YogaX.

It was gooood times... I still can't get over how much I sweat through that 48 minutes... I love the flexibility I have gained. I can almost put my hands completely flat on the ground, pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.

DAY SEVENTY THREE

The money muscles

This morning was all about biceps, shoulders, triceps. Good times. And - I got to complete another sheet!!! That's two sheets completely done! I haven't really been thinking about the end - but running out of weeks to track - what a huge milestone!

And - I've really improved since the start! I did a quick glance across at each exercise and there's a big difference from start to finish! I started using 3 or 5lb weights, then I moved to a blue resistance band, and then to the black resistance band - which is much tighter. There was a dip in the number of reps I could do when I first switched to the black band - but now I am above all the numbers.

At the end of the video, there are these tricep side raises. Tony makes a big deal about how many Dreya can do - and I did just as many as she did today!!! Yay!

I am supposed to be doing ab ripper x right now... however... my stomach hurts. So, I can't move myself to do it... I don't even know why it hurts... but I feel like puking... Oh... was it the watermelon I consumed an hour ago...?

DAY SEVENTY TWO

Lateral leap frog squats - everyone go!


It was plyo day today. Good times. Like all videos, there are some items that I totally rock - like lateral leap frog squats - and some items that I do SOOO poorly - like rock star hops. This is an issue. Seriously. How am I to become a rock star if I can't hop across the stage doing windmill strums and jump tucking my feet up to my butt...? These things keep me up at night.

Overall, I'm really impressed at how I've improved on most items. I'm a plyo machine!

At lunch, they were offering a "tester" Pilateez class. It was good to sample - and did make me think of all my ab ripper moves. Mostly it had me thinking about how weak my hip flexors are...

DAY SEVENTY ONE

Chest and back... the first workout sheet I've completed! I want to frame it.

I did over a hundred push-ups this morning and over a hundred modified pull-ups. Hello? That's freaking amazing! I was a little scared after I went all out in the first round... But I hung in there for the second round. I was SO proud of myself. 30 standard push-ups? Amazing.

I was running behind this morning, so I did ab ripper X after work. Another milestone! I only whimped out on the v-roll ups and didn't do this bonus Mason Twists. But otherwise, I did the WHOLE thing. Including reverse bicycle AND crunchy frog.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm bringing it.

(Weighed in this morning - no change. I'm a little surprised, after my steady -2lbs a week, but staying neutral for one week is totally fine by me!)

DAY SEVENTY

Can you feel it??? The Homestretch!??!

And the joy of having a day of rest... Today was really a day I should have done StretchyX... However, my day was full. I did enjoy a long walk through the park with a friend. So, I was active all day - I just didn't get the stretch in that my body wants... My muscles are feeling so strained today... At first I thought I'd mention which ones, but there's too many!

I'm heading to bed RIGHT now to have my body repair them!

DAY SIXTY NINE

Oh my poor legs...

I don't think my legs liked having just more than 13 hours between workouts... they are VERY sore right now. I hope they aren't worse tomorrow...

Kenpo was good this morning. I brought it and felt great about my energy and focus. It was a great workout.

I guess I don't have much to say about it today... I just want to go to sleep...

DAY SIXTY EIGHT

Oh my poor little calf muscles!

So my friend MQ has this theory. Both of us are a tad vertically challenged... and she believes that we both have such strong calf muscles because we go up on our toes far more often than those taller than us... That being said, it came as quite a shock today when I felt like I was on the verge of pulling my calf muscles during Legs & back today. I don't remember ever having issues in my calf muscles. Soreness, yes. Muscle spasm pain, no. I don't know what I did yesterday or today to really over exert them...

Regardless, I got through the entire workout - even all of the calf raises with your feet in three different positions (toes out, toes straight, toes in). And then I did ab ripper x. That workout STILL kills me. But, I am getting MUCH better at the toe touch one and can complete ins & outs, front bicycle, crunchy frog (although I almost die), cross-legged sit-ups, toe touches, hip rock and up, and I'm up to 30 Mason twists at the end.

Ladies and gentlemen, I know that for most of you that bears no meaning, but trust me, it's an incredible feat. Trust me!

Anyway, after my workout, I had a bath in Epsom salts to help out my calf muscles. I do not want to wake up at 3 am with a Charley Horse. Charlie Horse? Ah, Wikipedia to the rescue... Charley Horse

DAY SIXTY SEVEN

Yooooooga...

Something must be going on... I almost slept in again! It's not good. But, I did get out of bed, and I could have finished all of YogaX before I had to shower - although it would have been VERY tight. Ten minutes in... I was feeling like I wouldn't make it. So, I did the smart thing. I took the DVD out and I put Fountain of Youth in instead. I skipped the 90 minute workout and went for the more condensed and more challenging 48 minute workout.

Don't worry, I brought this up with my homeopath today and we're working on balancing my energy level. Phew!

DAY SIXTY SIX

Doing the impossible...

Ok... that's probably going a bit far. But, I did accomplish something that seemed impossible today. Here's the lead up:

I turned my alarm off and fell back asleep this morning (for those keeping track, that's the second time it's happened this week!). And then after an exhausting day at work, I came home with a headache. All I wanted to do was nap in the sunny backyard, and maybe read a bit of my book... And, I did lay down for a bit... 20 minutes or so. And then, suddenly, I realized, I *could* do it! I could still squeeze in my workout before dinner. I didn't have to let my headache drag me down... So, I got changed and went and did my video.

I spent all my willpower in one shot. But, I'm proud of myself for getting up and getting moving.

Since my willpower was shot, I gave in and had a Rolo ice cream cone after dinner. Definitely doesn't happen when I have an ounce of willpower left - so you know now how much I spent on starting my workout. My whole allowance.

But, back and biceps and ab ripper x are done for today! AND!! I only have ONE week left to track of back and biceps and then I'll have a full worksheet!! Wahoo!

DAY SIXTY FIVE

Oh my goodness! What a big day! I got up, did plyo - I sweated A LOT. I know, you wanted to know that. And then I had a very busy day at work. And then...I did Body Flow with most of my Fitness Challenge team. And then... I walked to J'bella's house. (30 minutes). Needless to say... I was EXHAUSTED when I finally got home - 10:30pm.

But - I'm glad I completed each of those activities. When I was in the Body Flow class, I really enjoyed the stretch... I just hope that being SO tired doesn't negatively impact my progress tomorrow...

DAY SIXTY FOUR

Oh. My. Goodness.

I was so tired this morning - my alarm went off, I turned it off and went back to sleep. The next thing I knew, it was after 6. So, I reset my alarm, slept for another 40 minutes and then got ready for work. It was a hard day. I was groggy all day. All of my blood vessels are usually all pumping and moving... they didn't know what was happening today... Poor body.

And then, I got home and had to get down to biz-wich. It was a SUPER DUPER hard workout today. I couldn't believe how hard it was! I think working out in the morning really reduces the mind play... I don't even think in the morning... I just do... But there were times this afternoon that I had to force myself to do... My arms are very sore right now. Chest, shoulders and triceps...all...sore...

I did ab ripper X. I still can't get through all 25 reps of all the exercises, but I'm much better than I was at the start. So, for that, I'm grateful!

I'm down another pound. So, only 5 to go! Yippee!

DAY SIXTY THREE

Oh day of rest how I love you...

I wasn't going to have a day of rest. B2X and I were going to do Fountain of Youth. But I was SUPER lazy and tired. Sleeping on a futon mattress in the middle of the living room sometimes doesn't make for the best sleep... So, we ended up going for a rest day instead. I like having the option. Choose my own destiny. For at least one day of the week.

DAY SIXTY TWO

KenPOW!

I did Kenpo with B2X this morning! What a treat. It's so fun having someone else to workout with - especially Kenpo - where there's a lot of energy that you need to bring to the workout.

We got to do a lot of kicking and punching and blocking... good times!

DAY SIXTY ONE

Legs, legs and more legs...

The Leg and Back workout is almost all personal resistance... and every week it gets harder and harder! This time however, I added the pull-up bar that B1X bought from the circus store (see previous entries). And it was TOUGH!!! I will be SOOO impressed with myself if I'm one day able to do even 2 pull-ups on my own...

Now, since we're being honest with eachother, I am willing to admit that I turned off Ab Ripper X before the last two exercises... I was done. I couldn't do any more - nor did I have the time.

But, it was a great work out and I'm proud of myself for attempting to do the pull-ups!

DAY SIXTY

Ta da!!! Day 60!

Only 30 beautiful days to go! How exciting!

This morning was YogaX. And I am impressed at the millimeters of extra distance I'm gaining... Slowly but surely I'll be able to put my hand flat on the floor for all the moves... I still fast forward through plow after I give a couple of attempts at the start. Maybe this weekend when I'm done KenpoX with B2X I'll see if he can help me in position... It eludes me...

I really enjoyed the workout this morning. It was very zen for me.

I did have some slight discomfort in my lower back for a few minutes after, but it went away... or maybe the rush to get ready helped the pain go away since I didn't have time to think of anything except DON'T MISS THE BUS! And in my regular fashion, ended up waiting about 5 minutes at the bus stop. So, it wasn't a rush in the end at all... Oh, and I finally brought my umbrella to work today so it was gorgeous and sunny! I should have been bringing it with me since Monday... Sorry everyone.

DAY FIFTY NINE

No fears!

I'm no longer dizzy. I am back to being strong, agile, and fantastic.

I didn't get a chance to do Plyo at the end of the day, so I made sure I was extra active in my volleyball game - the last of the season! It was actually a great game - sometimes we don't play that hot - we're in a recreation league, it's just supposed to be fun. We won all three games and I had to stop serving twice because I'd reached the max 5 points in a row... Yep, I'm awesome. ;)

This morning I did Shoulders and arms and kids - I BROUGHT IT! Holy goodness! It was pretty awesome. All of the exercises I did completely and really pushed it.

However, I was running out of time and steam (ok, I might be fantastic, but I am also dealing with cramps...) so, I skipped ab ripper. After work, I did "The Firm" workout with my sister instead. It was 6 VERY intense minutes. At first I was making fun of her for being scared of 6 minutes of working out...and then I experienced it... At the third minute, I was ready to call it quits! Although, I believe a can get a better workout over a longer period with breaks between each move... Regardless, I got my ab work out in - and somewhere between Fountain of Youth on Sunday or Ab Ripper on Monday - I have some VERY sore lower ab muscles!! Oh my goodness! It was SO painful to do that video with these muscles crying in pain... So crazy. I think this is the first time my lower abs have been sore through this whole program.

DAY FIFTY EIGHT

Hopefully there will be a part 2 to this entry...

I had to stop Plyo this morning only like 20 minutes into the video. I was VERY lightheaded! I had NO idea that donating blood yesterday afternoon would effect my game so much this morning. (Yes, I just called it "my game")

Ten minutes I sat in a chair with my head between my knees waiting for everything to calm down - this is after I clung to the edge of the counter, waiting for the ground to stop moving... I figured that standing with my eyes closed, feeling like I could puke, and being all dizzy was not a smart idea and then moved to the chair. All I could see was my sister coming downstairs in another 90 minutes and finding me passed out on the floor (ok, in my imagination, I also got a gash to the head so there was blood there too... )

Hopefully tonight I'll be able to squeeze a workout in around my plans.

I still encourage everyone to donate blood - just don't try to do plyo the next morning...

DAY FIFTY SEVEN

And welcome back to our regularly scheduled program...

Chest and back this morning - just like Day 1... But oh, how improved thou art! I did all of my push-ups from my toes, thank you very much! And - for my standard push-ups (2 rounds) I did 20! From my toes. I was proud of myself. I challenge you to find someone else on my block at 5:30 this morning who was as proud of themselves as I... When I got to some of the other types of push-ups, not such a hero, but - the tip of the day was - do your best and forget the rest. And that's what I did. Thanks Tony. (Good ol Tony!)

I have also decided that next Monday, when I have to do Chest & back again, I'm going to use the pull up bar that I have put up in the living room for that purpose. (Not as a clothes rack like my sister and brother-in-law believe it's there for...)

At lunch today, I went to see my former trainer, T. She has a co-op student working with her right now, so, they both interviewed me to find out all about P90X. It was interesting to recap my experience and to answer various questions about the program. I felt like I passed the test... not like there really was one... but I think I left them curious to learn more for themselves. T also liked my long-range plan, so I'm glad she's onside too. And she's also impressed that I'm down 13 lbs! She and I have struggled before to get me to lose this much, so she knows how great this is. Good times.

So, only 7lbs to go until Goal #1. And only 33 days left of program #1.

DAY FIFTY SIX

Ah...to sip from the Fountain of Youth...

Tony (good ol Tony) has these one-on-one videos you can order. It's basically just Tony and a camera guy filming a workout in a private gym overlooking the Hollywood sign. B1X has ordered a couple of these videos and speaks about the Fountain of Youth (FOY) video quite often. So, today, when I was feeling a little rebellious, I decided to break from program and instead of doing 90 minutes of yoga - I did 48 mins of yoga with Tony (good ol Tony).

And...

I loved it. It was a good, compact, challenging and satisfying workout. I was sweating! So, don't think that just because it was only 48 minutes that it was all play... There were some serious stretches going on! Hello!

Note: now when I yell out "Hello!", I hear it in Tony's voice in my head. Thanks goes out to good ol Tony.

Have I mentioned yet how much I enjoy recovery week??

DAY FIFTY FIVE

Ah...Freedom 55...

I have decided to switch my workout days this weekend. I'm treating today as my rest day, and tomorrow as my workout day. The weather has been GORGEOUS today - and I was still tired when I got up this morning, so I decided to just "chill". It's been a great rest day.

Tomorrow will be YogaX before moving back into the "serious" videos on Monday.

Hope everyone's enjoying the sunshine!

DAY FIFTY FOUR

Superman! Banana! Superman! Banana! Super..Banan...Sup...

Ok, in this Core workout, that I did this morning - Tony (good ol' Tony) starts speeding up between you doing "superman" (on your stomach - arms and legs extended and raised off the ground) and "banana" (on your back - arms and legs extended and raised off the ground) keeps getting faster - until you barely have time to be in one position before moving to the opposite... It's a challenge. I was speaking to B2X earlier, and he commented on it too.

Regardless of all that - it's still a good time. I skip the Dreya rolls because I can't boost back up on to my feet from lying down on my back...no matter how much momentum I have...

Maybe one day...

DAY FIFTY THREE

Gumby...I'm THAT stretchy!

Ok, not really. But, I did enjoy my stretch time this morning!

Saw my homeopath today - things are going well - my pancreas and gall bladder are much happier. Now we're going to focus on my liver. Good times.

So, all is well at Day fifty three!

DAY FIFTY TWO

i LOVE recovery week!!

The workouts are all a bit shorter and a little bit easier... I am really enjoying this mini break.

Today was KenpoX day. I was really bringing it. I still get all disoriented in one of the last exercises - you have to extend a fist to the front and back at the same time and look to the back (it's called "back knuckles") and then we kick forward, facing forward, and then a mule kick to the back, looking back. The face back, front, back thing tends to get a little confusing like 5x in... But, I'm getting better. B2X can attest to how poorly I was the first time around...

Good times. Tomorrow is StretchyX. I haven't done it since Week 1. I'm looking forward to it!

DAY FIFTY ONE

Time travel...

I just got a note from B1X all about Day 52...and so it threw me off when I logged on here and found I was at Day 51... Oh the good ol international date line... B1X also informed me that the pull-up stand he got - he ordered it from a company that makes circus supplies...

"TrapezeRigging.com makes the finest circus equipment in the world, from hula-hoops to full-size riggings. We design & manufacture our products, and sell them directly to amateurs, professionals, and large organizations around the world."

Awesome. Oh - and he gave me some tips on starting to use the pull-up bar. I'm going to put a chair under it and do my pull-ups using one foot on the chair for support. I'll give it a whirl and let you know how I fair.

Today was Core syntergistix (not the way Beachbody spells it, but I think it's cool with an X). I did pretty well... It's a nice change from the other videos.

Oh, and by the way... I'm down 11 lbs. Only 9 more to go until I reach goal one! Ta da!

DAY FIFTY

I like the ring to that... Day fifty...

Yay! I'm back to completing YogaX after last week's "nap attack". It was a good session this morning. I have improved some flexibility, but still have some big long-term goals.

I was feeling so rested this morning... and then at about 10:30, I wanted to just curl up and sleep...under my desk. Luckily for my department, I held it together, took some giant swigs of water and got back to work. Something tells me though, I'll be sleeping early tonight...

B1X ordered himself a pull-up bar and it arrived today, in my care until he's here this summer. I put it together (working out the assembly directions on my own, since the ones provided totally left out a piece), and tried a pull-up... Holy moley. I could barely raise myself two inches... I'll keep you updated on my progress - as slow as it may be...

One day I'll be able to touch the floor in all the yoga moves (no blocks for me), I'll be able to do shoulder stands/plough AND I'll be able to do six pull-ups... One day...

DAY FORTY NINE

Happy Easter everyone!

Today was a VERY relaxing day. Probably a little too relaxing, but it was great to just chill with the fam. I did have some treats, but I also had some good things - protein shake this morning with B2X, an appropriate afternoon snack - a carrot - and some healthy dishes with dinner. I just didn't get much exercise... But, that's what tomorrow's for! ;)

Tomorrow begins my second recovery week in the program. The first recovery week was when I was battling a cold - so I didn't do many of the workouts that week. So, this week is going to feel brand new!

Hopefully tomorrow's yoga session is absolutely delightful...and I don't fall asleep again... Ha!

DAY FORTY EIGHT

Back knuckles, front kick, back kick...

I am getting pretty good at kicks and punches... best to be warned of these kinds of mad skillz...

With my stiff legs, I did Kenpo today - expecting they'd loosen up... Barely. Maybe I'll do Stretchy X tomorrow. It's been a long time since I've done it, since I had my second "gall bladder attack"... Maybe I'm avoiding it in case it's connected to how I felt then... Silly rabbit... Tomorrow's activities will all be about timing and coordination. I have A LOT of family members here right now for Easter, so I think it's safer to just aim for something we can all do together - like a walk through the park... but B2X did just arrive tonight, so maybe he'd be into some StretchyX...

DAY FORTY SEVEN

I don't look like this because I do pull ups...but because I do legs and back together...

I can't wait to give this answer to someone one day when they ask me about my cut physique... ;)

The legs workout ALWAYS gets me. It is HARD. Oh those sneaky lunges! They sneak up on you alright!

The worst part about legs and back is always the afternoon/evening when you feel the twinges and the soreness...

DAY FORTY SIX

It's all downhill from here kids...

This morning was ROUGH! I have had a busy week - coming and going - and not being in a regular routine... I really felt it this morning! I started Yoga X. I did about 20 minutes, and then, when I went to do an upward dog - I just lowered myself to the floor and had a nap. I thought I could test the theory that when you visualize yourself doing the activity - movement by movement - you can fool your body into actually doing it... But I don't know how well I did at that considering the next thing I remember happening is waking up... On my yoga mat in the middle of the living room floor.

Since I was meeting my parents downtown a couple hours after work - I stayed for the Body Flow class and got my yoga in. It was a routine I hadn't done before - and I rocked it. I did all the advanced moves - and was really impressed at how strong I am!

DAY FORTY FIVE

HALF WAY!!!!

I know. You were thinking that 90 days was a REALLY long time. And that it would NEVER end... Well, guess what - it's closer than you think! I am already 1/2 way through the program. I say this with a lot of certainty since it's late in the say already. (The brothersX have already clarified that the program is actually 91 days, so I'm glad I'm not proclaiming this first thing this morning...)

I had to change my schedule today. I went to a taping of CityLine at CityTV today. So, I had to leave really early. I worked out as soon as I got back. I didn't want to delay even ten minutes from getting in the door out of fear of me finding an excuse...

Today I wore jeans I haven't worn in months! Ta da! ;) Way to go 1/2 way mark! Oh - and I'm down 9 lbs too! So, only 11 to go until I reach my first goal. Yippee!

DAY FORTY FOUR

I'm a leap frog!

It was PlyoX day today. Good times. I had fun jumping everywhere as usual...in my new shoes... I finally bought myself new shoes. It has only been like five years since i bought my last pair... I'm willing to say that they've been worn for at least an hour four times a week (on average) since I bought them. Incredible. And, they still look fairly new.

I didn't enjoy the experience getting my new shoes... I bought them from the Sport Chek at the Eaton Centre in the middle of the afternoon... Three people working the shoe walls - no one else trying shoes on - including me apparently... It took FOREVER to get someone's attention - and then the sales guy walked to Kingston and back (where there store room is apparently located) - to only return with ONE of the THREE pairs I requested... Oh. My. Gosh. I had 30 minutes to spend in the store and I got to try on ONE pair of shoes... Good thing they fit.

(Yes, I could have just walked away. And probably should have. However, I don't get many opportunities to visit a sports apparel store, so, I didn't want to miss this chance. They are similar to my "old" shoes, and they're still in great shape, so I was confident in my choice.)

Feel free to test out the staff at Sports Chek in the Eaton Centre, but you may want to bring a book or a coffee... It's a longer wait that at a Doctor's office...

DAY FORTY THREE

Oops...

No workout today.

I was still visiting my best friend and her daughter and didn't get back home until 7:30pm. At which point I didn't feel like working out... It's all about the routine...

Tomorrow I'll be back on the rails. It will be a 5 am start - I'm back to taking the bus to work now that my brother-in-law is starting his new job and no longer driving my sister and I to work. Good thing I'm used to getting up at 5:30...what's 30 minutes...?

DAY FORTY TWO

Ahhh...Rest day...

Do I ever need it!

I did a lot of running around and standing last night and then had to get up early to catch a bus to make it to my goddaughter's birthday party on time! I have never been so grateful for a rest day! Although - I will admit that by the time I got off the bus (three hours later) I was wishing for extra time and a visit by Tony Horton so I could have done my stretches...

The party was a lot of fun - worth the early bus, the long trip and the sacrificed stretches.

DAY FORTY ONE

Hep!

That's what you yell out as your "spirit cheer" during Kenpo X. Good times. I did Kenpo this morning - with my tired legs. Oddly enough though, I can feel the tiredness in my legs at the start of the work out - but at the end of it - when we have to be in "horse stance" forever - my legs are never burning like I think they should be... Am I not low enough? Wide enough stance? Or am I just that good...? LOL.

I love when I get up early on a Saturday to get my workout in before I start my day. I feel most proud after these workouts... The 5:30am workouts are good - but I have to be up and at 'em anyway. But on a Saturday when I could be sleeping in or reading a book in bed for hours - it's impressive to get up and workout. And I know myself well enough that if I don't do it as soon as I get up - I won't get around to doing it... And it's important to know your weaknesses. HEP!

DAY FORTY

Legs and back - on spa day - good timing

Ah, this is awesome - legs and back day AND my day at the spa. Good times. I am usually quite tight in the legs by the afternoon - so it was great timing having my massage at about that time. My legs were tired by the time I got home last night, but I was doing a lot of running around for an event I'm helping at, so it was to be expected.

It's crazy to think that I am already at day forty! 51 days to go kids!

DAY THIRTY NINE

Yoga belly X

I am not going to lie to you - it was very hard to do yoga this morning. I was not motivated at all. I wanted to skip it. I didn't necessarily want to go back to bed - I just didn't want to do yoga. But I did it anyway. After about the first 10 minutes I gave up my mental struggles and just did it. See, I'm all zen and shit.

I still can't get back into shoulder stands... I think I need someone to just boost my legs up. Like when we were kids and learning how to do hand stands.

One day...

DAY THIRTY EIGHT

Oh my goodness... for a minute there I couldn't even remember what I did this morning... I remember B2X commenting about how yesterday was a beautiful day for Plyo... Oh right, Back & Biceps. I am really learning how to adjust the band - and adding extra isometric holds to increase the tension. It's cool. There are a couple of things I know I really need to challenge myself on next week.

Ab ripper X is still freaking hard. There are some things that I can do - and there are some things that I cannot. And there are a couple of moves I just plain out hate. Like climbing my leg.

This session - ab ripper x - it's the one I don't get out of this whole "package"... They give us a video we have to do three times a week for 90 days... Wouldn't you think that it's THIS video we'd need a different version of...? I'd love to do some other ab exercises... Yes, I am seeing improvements over time - but I'd love to think I'm having a break from it by doing a different one that works out the same muscle area.

There's my rant for the day.

Big moment of the day - getting dressed. I'm beginning to notice some small changes on my body. It's awesome. The first 7lbs gone feel like the first 20! Can't wait until the first 20 are gone... Only 13lbs to go until Goal 1.

DAY THIRTY SEVEN

37? Already?

We're getting high in the numbers now... 37. Pretty impressive. And I'm still enjoying it... I'm writing today RIGHT after my Plyo workout because my computer is still having difficulties connecting to my airport (wireless). I shouldn't have brought it to the coffee shop...

Anyway, today's plyo was ON. I brought it. For sure! The amount a sweat running off my hair still is a good indication.

Alright - off to the shower we go.

DAY THIRTYSIX

Tri harder...

Ha! This just made me think of B1X when he was finishing high school and one of the first in our area to jump on to the triathlon bandwagon... I was his trainer. :) And everything became a "tri" something...

Today was chest, back and triceps. Man. I can do push-ups. No doubts. I am still doing modified ones, but I want to make sure I'm getting through every set. Next Monday will be time to step it up...

I could definitely feel where I worked out later in the day. My shoulders were reminding me of what I'd done...

But all in all...it feels good.

DAY THIRTYFIVE

Best intentions...

I totally thought I would work in StretchyX today...but no. I even gave it some thought to do it before I went to bed, but I got caught up in an arts and crafts project and now I'm rushing to get to bed...

I was worried I had wrecked my computer...I went to a coffee shop with a friend today and the internet connection was all screwy. Then I got home and tried to connect to do my post, and it was timing out on me... But alas, everything seems fine now. Thank goodness!

So, tomorrow starts my next week. I LOVE the fact that I just completed a full week without any hiccups or ailments! Let's have another one like this!

Bring it.

DAY THIRTYFOUR

KenpoX

This morning I slept in a little bit - but still managed to do Kenpo before I started my busy morning. Even on the weekends - I like doing my workout first thing. I'm a changed woman.

I did really well at Kenpo today. I know that I can say that with a lot of confidence since I was the only one there to evaluate my performance, but from all my sightlines - I was kicking pretty high consistently. I'm getting much better at the punches/jabs/blocks now that I am more confident in the routine and moves. Good times.

I really deserved and enjoyed my nap later in the afternoon...

DAY THIRTYTHREE

Hit my hand! Hit my hand!

Slowly, you will all feel like you know Tony (good ol' Tony) like I do... One of the "themes" woven through different videos is Tony yelling out "Hit my hand!" or in one video - "Don't hit my hand!"

All day long I have had Tony yelling that replaying in my head - over and over - like "Tom's diner" by what's her name... Suzanne Vega?? Yes...I just checked my work, the folks at Wikipedia agree... Interestingly enough - Tom's Diner is actually the SAME diner that they dubbed as "Monk's Diner" in Seinfeld...What?? How crazy is that?

Anyway - my legs and back work out really worked me. I had pretty stiff legs this afternoon. And then...I decided to go for the first bike ride of the year with my sister... It totally reminded me of every muscle I worked this morning...

DAY THIRTYTWO

Ommmmmmmmmm

This morning was Yoga day. It was a good session. I was really proud of myself - I did all the extra push-ups in the vinyahsas.

At the end of the video, Tony (good ol' Tony) does "oms". After we've finished the cool down we end by doing a short meditative chant - om. This guy is SO impressive! He can hold one note for SOOO long! I am amazed. I used to sing a lot and I had pretty good breath capacity. But now, it takes two breaths at least to get through one of his. I guess I have a new goal... See, there are somethings I'd like to be more like Tony at.

I would like to extend a public congratulations to my brother, B2X. He has reached some major milestones in the Yoga workout. He can now do everything without the assistance of a yoga block - and - he can add a yoga block past his feet when doing his hamstring stretches. Very impressive. I'm proud of him!!

DAY THIRTYONE

Do you have a ticket?

At the end of the Back and Bicep workout - which I rocked this morning with my resistance bands - Tony (good ol' Tony) asked me (yes, I'm the only viewer) if I had a ticket - a ticket to the show... And then in the most tacky way - flexes his biceps and says "The iron show" or something like that. Ladies and gentlemen, there have been moments of eye-rollingness through this - but that takes the cake. No wonder this video isn't until Phase 2. If it was in Phase 1, people wouldn't have taken Tony, the fearless leader, seriously.

Luckily enough, I'm in Phase 2, and I feel like I know the guy. I know that we could never live together. He is way to anal and over organized. He has this vision of perfection that he views the world through and probably spends more on beauty products than I do in a year. And, he's super competitive. But, I respect him for all these things, because I know it's totally not me and I'll never be able to live that life. Go for it Tony.

Anyway - the video was good. I did it with resistance bands because I don't have heavy enough weights. That was alright for today, but I think I'm going to have to get at least 12lbs in weights. I want the challenge, and I find with the bands, it's too easy to let up with your personal resistance... I had put the hardest band through the stair railing for my pull-ups, but that would have been the better band to use today. Maybe next week I'll switch it up.

In other, non-related news, something quite wonderful happened today. I guessed the final Jeopardy answer knowing only the category. Authors. As soon as I saw it, I guessed Lewis Carroll and I was right. Hello??? Before it even came back from commercial, I guessed the correct response. Genius.

P90X is making me smarter. You heard it here first.

P.S. By reading that link on Wikipedia - or at least skimming it - I learned that Lewis Carroll invented Scrabble! Nix, B2X - are you reading this??

DAY THIRTY

Plyo baby

Although there are still a couple of things I don't like in the Plyometrix workout - overall - it's a favourite.

I'll tell you this though - I'm already feeling it in my gluteus maximus

I was just about to go to bed when I realized I hadn't done my research yet - since this is a new phase, the workouts are different. So, I need to figure out what I'm doing tomorrow. If I don't look it up now, it will just be one more valid reason to stay in my warm bed for an extra 90 minutes...Very valid reason. I feel like I'm relearning how to get up early. I am trying to make better choices this time. Like going to bed earlier. The thing that sucks is that as I'm writing this - time is ticking by. When I should be sleeping... But first - I MUST look up my workout. Actually, B2X is online. Maybe he'll just tell me the answer...

DAY TWENTYNINE

Day 1 of Phase 2. Bring it.

So, after my series of illnesses, I am now totally ready to bring it for the second phase, along with a promise to myself that I'll get more sleep.

This morning it was Chest, shoulders and biceps/triceps. I thought that knowing 10 types of push-ups was enough...well, now that I know another 15, I feel like I'm just beginning... Ha! I can't believe how many different variations there are! There wasn't a single variety in today's video that was in the back video during the first phase. Outrageous.

The first time through a video is a trial and error deal. I learned a couple of small things today that I'll hopefully remember next week. And, it was a little challenging getting back into all the strength moves, but I'm ready. Bring it.

DAY TWENTYEIGHT

..........

You couldn't really expect us to be able to keep it up for 3 days in a row and still keep a house of 12 organized, did you?

We didn't workout, but we did get to spend a great day with the fam.

DAY TWENTYSEVEN

What was that? An earthquake? Is someone hitting the house with a wrecking ball? ...

These were some of the comments we heard once the troops got up on Saturday morning. Along with B1X and B2X visiting - so were the rest of the fam. There were 12 of us in total here over the weekend. And 9 of them were warmly woken to the house shaking... Apparently when one person is working out in the living room it's no big deal, but add two other peeps and that's it...earthquakes.

Regardless of them and how they were woken. We had a great time doing Core. Ok, "great" isn't really the term I would have used while I was actually in the midst of the video... There are some REALLY hard moves in there! It was a very challenging workout. And since it was the first time I was doing it, it was difficult to keep up with. I think my favourite part was when we kept having to move a piece of furniture out of the living room about every 3 or 4 exercises because we didn't have enough room... We had to move a whole couch out! But, since we're super strong now, it was a cinch to move it out and back in. At one point in the video, Tony, the lead guy, says you can use a couch if your weight isn't challenging enough - I thought for a sec that B2X was going to take Tony up on his offer...

Once again - super enjoyable to have the brothers there to workout with!

DAY TWENTYSIX

Dreams do come true...

B1X, B2X and I all got up just after 5 this morning and did YogaX. Together. In the living room of The Fortress. It was AWESOME. B2X commented that it goes a lot faster when there are other people in the room. I felt it was more challenging because each move had to meet the standards of the brothersX. Now, that being said, they don't really have standards, nor did they have any expectations, but obviously, I doubt I would have gotten away with sitting through the whole thing... It was a great time though. I really enjoyed doing it with them. Tomorrow morning - Core SynergistiX. This is the one I missed earlier this week when I was still recuperating. I'm looking forward to trying it.

DAY TWENTYFIVE

...oops...

Yesterday, I figured I'd do Stretchy X after I got home from work... But with four extra people in the house, it was way too exciting... I have a hard time working out when I feel I could be missing out on something... Lesson learned.

That being said - I know that B1X AND B2X didn't do the video either. I feel better knowing that.

DAY TWENTYFOUR

What's going on??

My routine has been completely wrecked.

I missed today too.

That being said - I don't know if I'm ready for a full cardio session (KenpoX). Tomorrow I'll do my stretch video. No matter what, by the start of Phase 2 on Monday, I'll be set to jet.

Honest.

DAY TWENTYTHREE

My first cop out

This was the first time I could have worked out and I didn't. But - I have a very good reason...

B1X is coming to visit. And, since I was sick all weekend, I wasn't able to clean for his arrival. I'm still recovering from this cold, so getting up in the mornings is very hard. I just want to savour all the sleep I can!

I returned home after going to see the homeopath and then attending a meeting for an event I'm helping plan to clean, and I wasn't able to squeeze in a workout too.

Sorry.

DAY TWENTYTWO

Welcome to Recovery Week!

(Convenient, right?)

I finally did a video again! YogaX. This is the first time I've done a video after work. But there was NO way I was sacrificing precious sleep time this morning.

It was funny - I decided to do the video in my room, since you only need enough room for a mat to do the entire video - so I was using my iBook, unplugged. When I started it said I had over 2 hours of power. But, I guess when you're running a full screen video, it's not really 2 hours... I was on like the second last move and the power ran out. I was laughing.

And - the second funny thing - the whole time I was working out - my nose wasn't stuffed or runny... It was really strange. So, now that I'm sitting in bed, getting ready to go to bed - I'm thinking that I should do yoga again so my right nostril clears...

OK, off to my fitful sleep after my YogaX experience! I'm planning on waking up cured.

DAY TWENTYONE

.....and the illness continues....

It has barely let up at all. I feel just as bad as yesterday. Thankfully enough it's Stretchy X day - which means I can do the stretch video or just have a rest day. So, I'm calling this a rest day. Wahoo.

DAY TWENTY

.........still sick.........

My throat is still SOOO sore. And my head hurts. I'm not even trying to do this today. Kenpo No.

DAY NINETEEN

Cured...?

Not a chance. I did make it to work, only because I knew I'd have WAY too much of a backlog if I didn't. In my mind, I figured I'd only stay for half a day, but I made it through the whole thing.

The big question is - did I manage to workout today? Nope. Sorry. I stayed in bed as long as I could this morning. I didn't even shower. Gross. I know, right? (I can envision B2X reading this and nodding his head to that - but with pride and respect.)

My throat is a little less sore. Like 5% less. I am going to bed and hoping, once again, to wake up cured.

Please.

DAY EIGHTEEN

Yoga no-go

Yesterday morning was rough! My throat was SOOO sore. So, I stayed in bed. It's as simple as that. Well, in true "me" fashion - I got dressed, put the video in, started Yoga, paused Yoga to go take my morning installment of supplements - and assessed that I was too sick to be up and that having an extra 90 mins of sleep would do me good. So, I went back to bed. Where my sister found me propped up - and sleeping three hours later... I stayed home from work and slept another hour and a half. Got up, watched some TV, ate some soup. And then got cleaned up for my best friend to visit. Good times. After which, I watched one hour of television before going to bed. It was an uneventful day. But I was VERY hopeful I'd wake and find myself cured. Completely.

DAY SEVENTEEN

Shoulders and arms - oh my!

I am still keeping this virus at bay. I will not surrender. But, this also means, it's 8:22pm and I'm ready to go to bed. ;) Life of the party, I know.

I really challenged myself this morning with the shoulders and arms workout. The last time I did it with my 5lbs hand weights, but today I used my two resistance bands. Wow. It really upped the ante. I can't wait until I get new hand weights, then I'll be able to track my progress even better.

My arms and shoulders are already stiffening up. Hopefully they're not too bad tomorrow when I'm doing Yoga.

OK, I'm really going to bed.

DAY SIXTEEN

Plyometrix

With the time change, I'm not up at the crack of dawn - I beat dawn by an hour!

This morning seemed extra early. I know, it's no earlier than any other wake up, but I was exhausted. Still, I was working out by 5:15, jumping my little heart out.

I did tons of jumping. I was like a little frog. There are still a couple of moves that I'm working on. I get a little light-headed in the exercises that make you change direction over and over. And, I don't think I'm ever going to be a rock star. They make you do "rock star jumps" at the end - jump straight up, with your feet going to your butt and doing a big arm circle strum on an air guitar. Over and over. Yeah, I am not a star. Maybe next week.

I saw my homeopath this morning again - and by the time I arrived there, I knew why it was so hard for me to get up this morning - I am coming down with something. My throat is a little sore and I'm really tired. So, my homeopath hooked me up with some immune boosters and I had a nap when I got home. Hopefully tomorrow I feel much better, I'm not stopping my program again, so my body better catch up... ;)

DAY FIFTEEN

Chest and back

Ta da!!! I made it to week three. Ha! It was made a little bit "easier" with my health issues last week, but nonetheless, here I am.

I totally brought it this morning. I picked up some push-up stands a couple weekends ago, and this was my first time using them. Wow. They make a BIG difference - the range you can get is huge. And I'm still doing modified push-ups (from my knees).

There are "decline" push-ups in the workout. You put your feet on a chair and then do your push-ups. They are HARD. So, I quickly learned that the more of my leg I placed on the chair (I was actually using the couch) the easier it became. Even then - they are still hard.

Then there are these other ones "dive bomber" push-ups that are EVEN HARDER. I know, right? You didn't think it could get worse from even doing standard push-ups... Anyway, these ones, you have wide arms AND wide legs and you start with your butt in the air, and then go low towards the ground like you're trying to get under a fence... and then you push yourself back up... The whole thing is like you're in a smooth motion getting under a fence, and then coming back through... Tom Cruise probably used this move in Mission Impossible... H.A.R.D. When I am totally rockin' them, I'll be sure to share. But for right now, I was impressed that I finished 10 of them this morning!

With Daylight Savings Time coming in effect yesterday, I am really feeling it today. It will be an early night tonight, boys and girls. And tomorrow will be an even earlier session so I can visit my homeopath before work!

DAY FOURTEEN

The day of rest...

Today I could have done Stretchy X - however - it's like eating eggs... since it was the last thing I ate before my "attack" last week, I was very nervous consuming it for the first time yesterday... Well, Stretchy X was the last session I had, so I had the same feeling of nervousness, compiled with the fact that I chose to do a fast from Saturday to Sunday, I skipped it and just had a day of rest.

Yes, in all this craziness, I decided to join my mom and do a fast. I figured my body wouldn't mind having 24 hours off from processing anything, after all it's been through this week. She and her church have been having a rough time getting their new building completed, so they were having a fast and prayer vigil. So, I joined in. I didn't stay up all night, I didn't even consider it. But, I did think about their church building a fair bit and how all projects can get way off track. Sometimes it makes me wonder why we bother with project management, when I don't think I've ever had a project plan that has been followed perfectly... I hate project plans. I have things organized in my head and I just want to get it done. Following up on all these plans just seems to get in my way... One day this will either be my downfall or my natural genius. We'll have to see who wins.

Tomorrow morning is the start to week 3! There are 4 weeks in each phase. So, I'm half way done my first phase. Yay! Tomorrow morning I also weigh myself. After my lack of eating all week, I don't even think I'll be able to muster a chuckle if I've gained...

DAY THIRTEEN

KENPO X

This morning I had the pleasure of doing KenpoX with BX2. Good times. It was fun being home and doing the video with him. Especially when he has a broken toe... Well, we think it's broken. In the very least, it's super bruised and swollen. We were talking about the "natural" amount of force that we exert when doing regular things - like walking into a room. He was walking into a living room and misjudged how much space he had and slammed three toes into the doorway. Poor guy.

This was my first cardio session since my "episode" and it was all good. It seems like I'm really returning to normal. Thank goodness!

A lot of sweat was shed this morning. B2X and I were born with the extra sweat genes from our dad's side of the family. Good times. It's so funny to see both of us mopping up all this sweat.

We finally did our "before" shots today. We can't wait for these pictures to be a great demonstration of how far we've come. ;)

DAY TWELVE

LEGS & BACK

Yay! I'm back in the game. And yes, I brought it! I did the entire legs & back workout, but I did cut myself some slack in Ab Ripper X. Really though - it has "ripper" in the title... even on a good day, it's freaking hard.

It makes such a difference to know how to work the DVD player. I'm SO glad I didn't have to re-do a workout.

I am feeling a lot better. I'm probably an 8/10. Much better than Sunday's 1/10 rating! Phew!!!

It's a delicate science though, taking all of my homeopathic remedies at the right times... I had to go take my tonic between Legs and ARX in order to have it 30 mins before my recovery drink...

X baby.

DAY ELEVEN

Tomorrow...?

This morning I didn't do Yoga. I was really tired. Taking a day and half of work really set me back, so I had brought work home last night and it was also LOST night... Anyway, I think I'm ready to BRING IT again.

After work tonight I did do a Body Flow class to get me warmed up. It was good to stretch everything.

So, it will be an early night in preparation of my big return. Brace yourself.

DAY TEN

....missed again....

Each morning this week, I've woken up, got my gear on and attempted the warm-up. The first day, I did the warm-up with the video and then decided I wasn't ready to do the workout. Yesterday and today, I get my gear on, do the first couple of moves of the warm-up - assess my pain level and then go back to bed. Hopefully tomorrow, I'll get up, do the warm-up moves and head downstairs to do Yoga. This should be the one out of the whole week that I'll be able to do.

My chest still has pain after I swallow or eat something. And, currently, laying 1/2 propped up in my bed, also not helpful. I went to see a homeopathic doctor today, she did muscle testing on me. It was pretty cool. I had read about it before, but didn't know how it could really be used in action. Now I do... She had me lay down and put my right arm up (just my forearm up in the air, elbow to shoulder on the bed) and then she asked a series of questions (in her head) and by the resistance my arm provided, she received a yes or no response. (You can read about this in the book, Power vs. Force). So, from this assessment she learned that there's a battle going on between my pancreas and my gall bladder. At times only the secretions from my pancreas are able to get through, and other times only the secretions from my gall bladder... These are causing my stomach to be unsettled - and at times - violently ill. So, she gave me a whole slew of things for me to try out and we'll go from there. I start my remedy tomorrow.

I also told her about this program and about how I am on track to lose 60lbs. And she then told me about the weight loss program she runs. It's based totally on each person's body and looking after the 7 metabolism systems in the body. Ideally, you get all of these on track, and your body will maintain your weight for you... Similarly to those out there who don't really have to watch what they eat. Hello? Nirvana? What? I told her that I would continue with P90X and the diet I got from "The Last 15" by Dr. Joey Shulman, and if I get stuck, I'll definitely come to see her. I gotta give what I started a decent try. Definitely something to keep in mind though. I know of at least one other friend who is having success from the diet her homeopath (or naturopath) set up for her. So, the option is there...

DAY NINE

No X for me today.

I am still really sore. I am surprised that I am this sore. Since I started getting flushed this afternoon, I decided to go to the Urgent Care centre at the hospital. After giving blood, doing an ECG, going for a chest X-ray and happily contributing a urine sample, the nice doctor told me that my results were "pristine." So, don't worry, I'm not dying. But we still don't really know where my pain is coming from. Apparently I'd need an ultrasound to really know. So, in the meantime, I've decided to see a homeopath tomorrow. It will be interesting to hear what she has to say. And what her diagnosis is.

So, I missed PlyometriX this morning. One of my favourites of the week. :( I'll REALLY enjoy it next week!

DAY EIGHT

Chest & back

Ok - after Day Seven - you must be curious about my current state.

I am feeling better - but I am terribly sore across my abdomen and back. I got up to start my video at 5:30 this morning and started the warm-up. I couldn't do the warm-up, my stomach was too tender. So, I didn't even bother trying the rest of the video. I just shut it down and went back to bed. I even decided to stay home from work today because of it.

Yes, I am going to seek out a medical opinion.

So, if by the evening I'm feeling better, I'll do the chest & back video. But otherwise, I'll just really bring it to PlyometriX tomorrow.

DAY SEVEN

Stretchy X

This is MUCH easier than the other videos - but it still wasn't the cake walk I was expecting.

I slept in until 8:30 and then did Stretchy X. Then I deviated from my usual breakfast (smoothie) and I had an egg white omelet (with some light cheddar inside) and dry toast along with my usual green tea. I tucked myself into the couch to get caught up on all my PVR shows and after the first episode of Ugly Betty, I began to feel a tightness in my upper abdomen. I had a very similar feeling last month. And, this feeling followed the same path as the last time... It got tighter and tighter until I started vomiting - only to get even stronger after that. It ended up being just over an hour of super pain (9/10 on a pain scale) and then slowly it ebbed off over the next four hours. It was not nice.

So, it's a good thing I did my workout as soon as I got up, I never would have done it after this big event.

DAY SIX

KENPO X

I've done it! I've completed a week of P90X. Tomorrow is just stretching - I can even take a rest day if I want. So, I'm considering today the end of the week.

My legs are still very tired.

Kenpo X is like Tai Bo (How do you spell that? Is Billy Blanks reading? Could you clarify for me?). It's all jabs, punches, upper cuts and kicks. I think this is another one that I'm going to really enjoy once I get a better grip on the smaller moves in each set. I always want to lead with my right hand. It was frustrating and funny. It was a mental challenge today. Who needs Sudoku?

I stopped by a fitness store today and picked up some gear. I got a new (tighter) resistance band for my chin ups and I got push up bars (or are they handles? They look like handles - you grip them instead of keeping your hands flat on the floor. Considering I'm doing over 100 push ups on Mondays, I might as well do what I can to make them better.)

Don't worry - I did find a solution to my chin up issue - no more rubber bands snapping at my stomach. I now put the band around a spindle in the stair railing going up stairs. It's metal, so I'm not too worried about hurting the railing. (That would be a pretty cool testimony to my strength though!) Anyway, now that I know where to kneel to get the best movement in, I'm not scared of the chin up sections of the two videos. B1X would much prefer that I'm using a real pull up/chin up bar - but considering this is something that women are normally not very good at, I think going through my first round of P90X with a resistance band will have me ready to graduate to a pull up bar next go around.

I really believe in this program and the results I'm achieving. I know this may fluctuate throughout the program, so it's probably important that I comment on it when it's positive - just in case I have to read over my own notes later. ;) It is a really hard program. And it does leave me sore. But - I LOVE that all I have to do is press play. It's like having a personal trainer who lives with me. Better than that - a personal trainer on demand. I loved having a trainer - but I didn't like doing the other workouts during the week without her. She could challenge me, keep my heart rate up and I didn't have to think, I just had to do. And this is the same thing. I just do. In P90X speak, I bring it. (I wonder if I have to pay royalties for that?)

DAY FIVE

Legs and Back

Yesterday (day 5) was HARD.

Ok, some of it was because I just wasn't thinking, but the other part was my body CRYING OUT for some tenderness after a week of "new" stuff.

Dumb parts:
First: I stayed out until after 11pm the night before. It was a friend's birthday, and I really enjoyed myself. But it's a short sleep between 11:30pm and 5:15am.

Second: I don't know how to work my sister's DVD player. When I went to go back like 10 seconds in my video, I actually went back to the main menu... So, then I tried to fast forward in the video and went back to the main menu, skipping over the video completely. The sad part was - I had to do the warm up and the first couple of exercises TWICE. I couldn't let my body cool down, and it seemed silly to just jog on the spot when I could be doing what they were doing. I also figured like the other videos, he would repeat a move, and I would just skip it the second time. But no. So, I wasted like an extra 20 minutes.

Third: I knew I had to do Ab Ripper X(ARX) - but didn't bring the DVD down with me. So, after I was already delayed, I had to go search for ARX in my room (don't even ask why it was up there). I was a girl guide. Why can't I remember to be prepared?

After all of that - I was 40 minutes late. The rest of my morning routine became VERY condensed.

But it was the rest of the day that was so memorable... As each hour went by I noticed the soreness in my legs more and more... By the time I was ready to go home, I was too tired to get off my bus early to grab groceries for dinner. All I wanted to do was have a warm bath with epsom salts.

That's exactly what I did when I got home. It helped a bit. Then my sister was doing the Biggest Loser Yoga video and I thought - hey, that might help. So, I did yoga with her. It kinda helped.

I was so wiped yesterday.

I let myself sleep in today. I was going to try getting up, working out then going back to bed, but the timing of when you eat is important, so I didn't want to be up for over two hours and then go back to bed. Instead, I did what Cuba recommended, slept in a bit and then gave myself a free pass to have a nap today. :)

I know - like I need a pass to have a nap - but it's great to have earned one!

And don't you worry, my sister showed me how to use the remote for her DVD player last night. I was pressing the wrong button.

I can't believe how many lessons I'm learning through this program!

DAY FOUR

YogaX

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I completed YogaX this morning. The first time I ever did this video, I was home for the holidays with B2X, and I was laughing inside. Macho workout people never get real yoga right. It's never really a challenge.

Well, the joke is on me. It is still friggin' brutal to get through.

There is a water break about 20 minutes in - but there was no way I could wait until then to wipe all my sweat off and grab a drink. I was suh-wet-ting.

Normally, the highlight to my Body Flow classes is the balance track. I enjoy doing balance postures. This morning - it felt like I had inner ear problems. I was wobbly on everything.

I can't wait until I'm better at that video.

There's a fit test that they recommend you do first - I haven't done it (yet?) - but there is a flexibility test. When I was doing some moves this morning I was thinking that I should at least do that part of the test. I think that's an area that will really see improvements as things get cooking.

Today I had some healthy eating advice sent in by my friend LeLe. She recommended that I start making my own salad dressings. She and her husband did a big ol' cleanse last year and this is one of the things she continues to do - well, she does more than just this - anyway, this is something I'm interested in trying out. She also told me her favourite desk snack is almonds. I had some this afternoon to test her theory. She's right, it's a gooder. I had some dried cranberries with mine, just to give it a kick. Good times.

Oh wait! I didn't even tell you the most impressive part about YogaX. It's 90 minutes long. Hello? Do you know how many downward dogs you can do in 90 minutes? Millions.

DAY THREE

Shoulders and arms

This morning came fast enough. I had a nap after work to help fight off a cold, and then was up for a couple of hours before I went back to bed. Still, when my alarm went off, it seemed much too soon.

The workout itself was good. It didn't kill me - which means I need some more weights. But, I was still well worked. My arms have been a little tender all day. I was expecting my legs to be crying out a little more, but it seems that they like jumping. I'm concerned I may need someone to brush my teeth tomorrow.

The interesting thing is - I feel like this P90X deal is catching on like wild fire. Sheryl Crow? Hello? All the cool kids are doing it.

It's been a bit of a challenge to get on the healthy eating wagon. I've done a great job all week. But at times, I just want a granola bar. I'm fighting the feeling. For the next little bit I'm being more strict with my diet and then I'll relax it a bit. I felt like it would be too easy to sneak a little something in here and a little something there. This way, if I'm really sneaking something in - it's noticeable.

I decided to not waste any time introducing healthy extras into my life - added protein, veggie greens, fish oil, flax oil, multivitamin with minerals and a little extra B complex. I figured that my body is probably catching on now that it's Day 3 that this is for real and not a one hit wonder.

I'm just hoping that all this extra good stuff will keep me from getting a cold. I feel like I'm on the verge but I am definitely resisting and running the other way.

DAY TWO

PlyometriX

What does that mean? Jump! Jump! Kriss Kross will make you jump! Jump! (Wait - did they spell their name with two C's or two K's?)

Every exercise revolves around having both feet leave the floor at the same time... Jump lunges, runner's stances, leapfrogs, squats, etc...

This is one of the exercises that I tried with B2X over the Christmas holidays, so I knew where this one was going. No surprises.

It is tough. I'm not going to lie to you.

But, when all was said and done, I felt great and knew that at the end of this, there are going to be some serious body changes. I can't wait!

I'm meeting with my former trainer tomorrow for her to do my measurements with me. She's really curious about how this program works and wants to follow along with my progress. I love her. One day, I'm going to look like her. She's 41, has teenage children and looks awesome. I can't wait for my photo shoot with her - when we're wearing matching gear and looking equally fit!

B1X believes very strongly in the Beach Body Recovery Drink - in smooth orange flavour. So, he encouraged me (strongly) to order a bottle of it. It arrived today. So, I'm interested in trying it and seeing just how well it helps me recover.

Must go to bed. Day 3 will come quickly!

p.s. I have been making some changes to my diet as well and have increased the amount of green tea I'm drinking... unfortunately, it comes with a price. I woke up several times last night. I was tired all day today! Yes - even with the extra cups of green tea today! My body is used to having one cup of green tea a day. It will take a bit to adjust to this added caffeine in my system.

DAY ONE

Holy goodness. 5:30 comes VERY fast after the end of the Oscars... I could still see Hugh Jackman waving good night to me and yet I was dragging my exercise gear on... I took B1X's advice and I laid my clothes out the night before. I kind of felt like I was still young and in school and looking forward to the first day again...

The first workout: Chest and back.
Super hard. I'm not even joking. I think I probably did over 100 push ups in an hour. The funniest part was that I did them all in a modified stance from my knees and I had two red welts on my knees for the whole day! There are like 4 different kinds of push ups in this video. And when you're not doing that, you're doing something else crazy to your chest and back... It was the kind of workout that has you wondering who will brush your teeth for you the next morning when you can't raise your arms...?

They recommend that you have a chin-up bar to do all your pull-ups. However, I am still working that out, so I decided to follow their alternative route and put a resistance band around the top of a door. I wish I had a video camera on me. There I was, totally getting into it, when POP! The resistance band popped off the top of the door and snapped my stomach. A really large rubber band. My stomach. It was shocking. It hurt a bit. But even at ten to six in the morning, it was funny.

Then, the surprise. It wasn't *just* chest and back - it was chest and back AND ABS! What?! You don't surprise a girl with that! It was insane. I tell you, the day that I can do every rep in that workout, I will demand people bow as I walk by! Ok, I'm not going to be that crazy, but still. It will be a memorable day. Fo sho.

With the added surprise, it also threw off my well calculated prep schedule for work... So, it was a very rushed shower/dressing/primping/breakfast-grabbing morning.

The best part
My favourite part about doing this, was remembering at different points in the day that I was done! I didn't have to workout again that day. No more gym guilt during my lunch hour or after work. That was awesome.

Welcome to my new blogspot!

I have finally been inspired to start a new blog...to share with you my experience of the daring and exciting challenge of: P90X.

But what is P90X?
It's a 91 day exercise program that attacks every muscle group in your body over a week-long program that you repeat... The workouts range in length from 60 minutes to 90 minutes.

How did I hear about P90X?
From my brother, B2X. He had watched an infomercial about it, then heard some other people had it and then made the life altering decision to mention it to our older brother, B1X. B1X is easily excited by a fitness challenge, so B2X definitely got the motivation he needed to start by inviting him into this. They completed their first round of P90X just after Christmas. I did a couple of exercises with B2X when I was home over the holidays - it was definitely a challenge.

Are you sure you want to do this?
Without giving myself much time to think about it, I told my brothers I was in for round 2. There's nothing like the accountability of two brothers... There will be no slipping or room for error. Otherwise I'll be hearing about it until I'm 97. At the time, I was thinking about what I was going to do to change my life. I recently gained back weight that I had lost a couple of years ago and I knew that I need to get serious and go farther than I did last time. So, really, it seemed like the path of least resistance at the time... But when I'm getting out of bed in the morning, it doesn't feel easy... ;)

So, sit back and enjoy the ride. You're about to witness my 91 day journey to a freaking awesome body.