An update

OK, I'm done with P90x. Done, finished, finito....you get the idea. I completed it, and that's all you need to know. I'll be taking a few weeks off from working out and updating. But don't worry, I'll be back.

1.1.10

CROSSFIT

www.crossfit.com

A little something different

So, I'm not really going to talk about my workout today. Or for the past few days. I have been doing them and sticking to the diet and am down about 15 pounds. That's really all there is to say about that.

I would like to discuss my current job situation. I am currently in a job that I do very well, but I absolutely loathe. I hate being a cube monkey, strapped to a desk for 8 hours a day. I guess the only difference between my job and prison is that I get to leave when I'm done. But I always have to come back. Since October of last year I have applied for 11 positions with my current employer. I have interviewed for approximately 8 of those positions (2 were cancelled, one I was passed over as being "not qualified" for the position). I applied for a position that I felt like I was really qualified for in the sense that I have kind of done the job before. I say kind of because I did the job on the property side and this is the auto side. I know the demands of the job and feel like I was successful in my last post with the organization. I had a phone interview last Thursday and I felt like it went really well. I was feeling pretty pumped. I got the dreaded form email today that basically stated "thanks, but no thanks." Good thing that it came late in the day, cause I left after I received the email.

Now, I have to wonder why this has occurred. And what I can do to fix it. I feel like I interview very well for the most part. I admit that I could be wrong, but I know that I have had many strong interviews in the past. I have done everything I can to prepare for these interviews and for the most part felt like I was good enough to be moved on to the next phase of the interview process (they all start off with phone interviews initially). I haven't even been selected for a second interview. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that there is something else at work here. Maybe I have a mark against me in my employee file that I don't know about.

I'm really starting to see the connections between my new job search and my dating life. Well, what used to be my dating life. You see, I got rejected so many times by the ladies that I just gave up. I decided that since the ladies all thought they were too good for me I was too good for them. So I have taken myself out of the dating game. The bachelor life really suits me. Like an Armani. Unfortunately, I can't just abandon work and say that I don't need it because clearly I do. But I have made up my mind that I am going to look for other positions in which I can hopefully move up the chain a little more efficiently than my current employer.

10 pounds!!

OK, so I'm down 10 pounds today. Woot, Woot. I know, I've been doing this thing for almost 3 months...but it's not as easy as it seems, if it were 6 pack abs wouldn't be so difficult to attain.

I didn't do my two-a-days today, and I feel OK with that. I worked through the WOD very quickly this morning and felt like that was a pretty good cardio component of the workout.

OK, I'm tired. Yoga tomorrow. Ugh.

Phase 3, day 2

Titles are getting cliche, sorry about that....

2 days of two-a-day workouts. I'm awesome. Didn't do so well on the diet today, but that's an easy fix. I just skipped lunch...and didn't eat a big dinner. I did my squat/thruster routine today followed by my ab routine. Pretty sure I won't be able to get out of bed in the morning. Here's the entire routine:

Squat/thruster skills: 2 rounds, relatively light weight cause my knees hate this stuff.

Squats--body weight only

Front squats

Overhead Squats

back squats

Thrusters

Abs

Leg raises

Pilates situp

Medicine ball toss

Weighted crunch

Standing weighted bends

Frog crunch

Max rep sit ups

Plank

Woot, I'm tired. And sore.

Phase 3

We're just going to ignore the fact that it has been almost 2 weeks since I updated.

On to other things. I have started phase 3 and am successfully (at least, today) navigating 2-a-days. That's the plan for the next month. 4 weeks away from not doing P90X for a very long time. I'm excited. I'm also excited to see the results of the past 3 months kick in. All told I'm down about 8 pounds...which isn't a lot considering the diet that I have been following. But I hold that to some not smart decisions regarding meals and not being 100% committed to the program.

I started a food diary today. All told for the day I'm at about 2300 calories. I'm not just counting calories, I'm also watching my fat, carb, protein content to try to get a baseline. And to also monitor weight loss. I'm really hoping to see some good results this month. And carry them in to the next month and the next year....

Also, I would like to make a point about something. If you invite me to lunch/dinner/coffee and I decline, please don't be insulted. I am making a very active attempt at a serious life change. I'm human and have my weak times. But fried chicken, even in wing form, has never been healthy for anyone. I say this all because I had to have this discussion with my boss when I refused to go out to a team lunch.

Stepping off the soap box now...

Wall

So, I've hit the wall. Glad that it is this late in the game. I am repeating week 3 of phase 2 this week. Next week is recovery week and then it's phase 3. Haven't weighed myself in a while, but I have been sticking to the diet pretty well and have been feeling really well. I'm repeating last week because I had some sleep issues. And some work issues. But I'm keeping up with it.

Sorry for the short update (Matt). Just don't have a lot to discuss.

Don't stop believin...hold on to the feeling..

So, I got on the scale on Friday...had added 1 pound from when I last weighed myself. That's no way to begin a friday. But, I weighed again yesterday morning and lost another pair of pounds. Still sticking to the paleo. Haven't cheated...yet. And I'm feeling great. So, that' puts me down 7 pounds thus far. And as I realized today, I'm in my last week of phase 2. The real weight loss is supposed to show up in phase 3. That's when things are changing so much you're body kicks into overdrive. This is probably I've taken this program as well. I'm ready for it.

I made an executive decision to stick with the Paleo diet until the end of the year. Should make the holidays interesting. Especially when I show up at my family's house with my own groceries.

M

What a week

First off, I'm going to do a better job of updating this thing, I promise. It's gonna happen.

The week started off crazy. Work had me busy for about 20 hours on Monday and Tuesday. So needless to say, workouts didn't get done. But I've started making up for lost time and after tomorrow, I'll be all caught up on my workouts for the week.

The diet has been going well. Haven't eaten out or consumed a processed sugar/carb in over a week now. Headaches are gone. There's even a 2 liter of diet dr. pepper in my refrigerator that was left by my roommates girlfriend that has gone untouched. I even turned down a free lunch at mazzio's from my boss today as I didn't want to deal with the temptation of cheating on the diet.

I think that tomorrow I'm going to make some chilli. Use some ground turkey instead of beef. Perfect food for enjoying a cool Oklahoma Saturday while watching football. Who would have known that Oklahoma would have a fall this year? Usually it's still 90 degrees at this time of year.

I think it's time for sleep...got two WODs to do tomorrow.

F R A N . . .

It could be said that this is not the lady you'd bring home to momma. She's not very nice, tends to make you work harder than you ever thought possible, and kind of makes you want to die. In general.

It's ok, this lady is not a real person. I decided to change things up a little bit after the stunningly bad performance of my OU Sooners at Miami tonight. Figured Kenpo just didn't have the type of outlet that I wanted. And unlike Kevin Wilson (OU's Offensive Coordinator) I decided to use a different playbook tonight. I went Crossfit.

Keep in mind, I didn't do this workout as Rx'd....not even close! But I did it...and I know some things that I need to work on...like thrusters. Anyway, here are the details of the workout.

Video:

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFitPrimal_ChristyFran.wmv

Program:

Fran

Thruster 95 lbs Pull-ups

21-15-9 reps, for time

Source:

www.crossfit.com (in case anyone from crossfit.com is on this site, my intention is not to steal from your very reputable source, but simply to educate those that follow my blog. If you wish, I will take down this entry...please don't sue me)

Hopefully, I can move in the morning...

PALEO!

Well, as I am writing this it has been 24 hours since I have had sugar (minus the sugars found in fruits). Which means that in 24 hours from now I'm going to be cranky. Today was a pretty good day. Got in my workout and ate very well all day. Actually felt energetic for most of it. Had a couple of eggs and some turkey bacon for breakfast. Some sliced turkey, celery and apples for lunch and some broccoli, black beans and chicken for dinner. Feeling pretty good right now. But ready for bed. Went to Sam's before I had dinner and was having a tough time with all of the sweets and stuff stacked everywhere in that store. But I made it, and didn't get any of the free samples...of the brownies that I walked by 3 times. Woot for me.

Week 5?

Phase 2 hasn't started off too well. I've been having some trouble sleeping and what not so I haven't been getting up in the mornings to work out. And I've been putting in really long days at work the first couple of days this week. The work is going to start slacking off a bit as I get further into the week. Today was the first day that I worked out. I just did chest, shoulders, and triceps. I plan on coming home today and doing cardio. I'll probably double up these next couple of days to get caught up on the week.

Tomorrow starts the paleo diet. I'm pretty pumped for it. I've heard good news about this diet if it is properly done. I won't be going hardcore with it, but will be mixing it with the zone diet as well. Just because hardcore paleo is crazy!

OK, gotta get ready for work.

Yes, I know, I've been bad about updating....

I know, I haven't been diligent in updating the blog this week. It's been recovery week and kind of a long week as well. But I got called out today, so I'd better do an update. So here goes.

Monday starts phase 2. The cardio workouts are the same, but the weight-training workouts are different except for the legs. I'm going to make a couple of changes for the month though. I will be changing up the ab routine and changing up the diet. So far, I think I'm about 10lbs lost roughly. I'll be going with a Paleo diet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleo_diet) as close a possible this month. I say as close as possible because anyone who does a strict paleo is crazy. The goal is fruits, vegetables, and lean meats for a month. No sugar, no eating out, no high fructose corn syrup. No stopping at starbucks in the morning to get a carmel macchiato. No stopping at sonic to get a happy hour beverage.

I say that I won't be sticking to a strict paleo because It's pretty much organic fruits, vegetables, and meats. I don't like milk, so I need to get the nutrients in dairy products some where so I'll have some cottage cheese every now and then as well. Low fat, of course.

And then there will be the abs routine change up. I feel like this is one area were this program is lacking...it's the same ab routine 3 times a week for 90 days. This needs to be changed up, so I'm going to do so. It's always been really difficult for me to work my obliques, and I don't think that this program does a good job of hitting those, so I'm going to focus on the love handles.

OK, it's 1:30am and I'm tired. This is the longest entry for me since the first one. I'm going to try to add more content to this thing here in phase 2, maybe talk about what I ate that day and such. Stay tuned.

they call this hump day

I finally dragged myself out of bed this morning to workout. This was not an easy task this morning; it was the first time I did all week. But I guess that if this stuff were easy no one would be overweight and everyone would be in top physical condition. At least that's what someone said. I can definitely feel like I am going at this differently this time around because I forced myself to get out of bed this morning. And I'm going to do it again tomorrow morning...for yoga.

Ugh.

Woot.

Got on the scale yesterday morning. 5lbs...gone. Woot, woot.

OK, that's the first step, but a long ways to go. Learned something new yesterday...I've been doing push ups completely incorrect. But I have corrected that and now gonna start rocking them out. I did 50 in my work out last night alone.

After tomorrow's workout I'll be halfway through the week. And that much closer to recovery week. Awesome.

Night all.

2 weeks down...

2 weeks down. One more week and then a recovery week. This week had a couple of difficult days in them. I didn't get to legs and back at all, and did shoulders and arms today. I really rocked it today, pouring sweat all over my garage. It was pretty awesome. Looking forward to a good week of workouts before taking a little break....then bring on phase 2.

Speaking of phase 2, I am making a little amendment to my goals. This one has to do with my diet goals. For the month of October I will be sticking to a heavy Paleo diet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleo_diet). My roommate and I are going to do this. No eating out, easy on the processed grains, which won't be difficult because I don't eat a lot of grains anyway. I usually stick with quinoa, now that I've learned how to prepare it. And no sugar. For 31 days. Also, no coffee...while it gets cooler...this isn't going to be easy at all. But with any luck it will pay off.

Aaaaaaand, that's all he wrote...

Yoga

So, let me explain why I dislike yoga so much. It is over 90 minutes long and has a lot of "plank" positions. Plank is basically the push up position. It just kills my shoulder. I really wanted to go longer on the dvd today, but the pain in my right shoulder was too much to keep going. I strained my rotor a few years back and it has been bothering me ever since. Although, I have been doing better on my push ups, so that's a plus.

OK, it's time for bed. Going to do a double either tomorrow or Saturday since I skipped Wednesday. I'm hoping that I get a good enough night of sleep tonight and have the energy to do a double tomorrow, just to get it out of the way. That's what I'm going to shoot for.

OK, I'm out.

Woke up this morning after a very fitful night of sleep (had some weird dreams, but in all of them I was much, much slimmer) and got in my workout. Did some cardio today. Decided against working on pushups today because I worked really hard on them yesterday and my shoulder is still sore from it.

I had to return to work today. It was not fun at all. I wanted a nap all day. Stupid vacations. Also had some guys come out and look at my garage door that became busted over the weekend. Getting a new door tomorrow. So Thursday morning when I'm doing Yoga I shouldn't be eaten alive by mosquitos and what not.

OK, I'm going to sleep. Peace out everyone.

Week 1 recap/Begin Week 2

I know, it's been a few days since I've updated. I did complete legs and back on Friday and then came down with a bug that my roommate had for the remainder of the weekend. I skipped kenpo because I wasn't feeling up to it at all. To recap week 1, I felt like it went pretty well. The soreness has passed and I feel like I'm getting back into the groove of working out and eating better.

I did complete the WOD this evening. I really focused on my push ups. They certainly aren't getting any easier. Hopefully in a few weeks they will though. Today I decided to outpace the DVD...since there are lots of breaks in between the movements and I was feeling really good, so I just kept going. I would typically rest only about 30 seconds between each movement.

OK, I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open. Have to go back to work tomorrow...booo!

Yoga

I know that Yoga has been around for thousands of years or something like that. But it's still no fun. My shoulders were really sore during the WOD. But I did what I could. Granted, it was not the entire 90 minute long DVD.

I'm probably going to wait until tomorrow afternoon/evening to workout as I've got some stuff going on during the day. Going target shooting tomorrow with the boys. Should be fun times.

Until next time...

Soreness

OK, I am finding it very difficult to move. I forgot how much beginning a program hurts. Hopefully it'll be all gone by Sunday. Fortunately, that is my rest day...and I plan on taking full advantage of the day off. But I should probably go walk or something due to the celebration of the start of OU football the night before that. Dieting is no fun.

On a brighter note, today was my "Friday" at work. I don't have to go back until next Tuesday. Thank goodness for PTO. I need the time off. Going to take some time to get rid of about a dozen 5 gallon buckets of old paint in my garage (thanks, previous owners for not cleaning up your mess...yeah, it was a year and a half ago..so what?). And I also plan on going to a target range and doing some shooting on Friday. And a watch party here at the house on Saturday. Busy weekend huh? Notice how I've spaced things out right? I know I won't be up at 0530 until next Tuesday, which is pretty awesome.

The diet has been going pretty well these last couple of days. I actually skipped lunch today because I went to a store with a buddy at work and just didn't have time to eat. But for the next couple of days it'll be home cooked meals for me. I even found some halibut in walmart the other day...at $10 a pound. So I got a pound. Had some last night, and it was delicious. I think my family in AK should send me some more sometime...but that probably won't happen...haha!

Anyway, I'm out. Yoga tomorrow...and you all know how much I love yoga (I freakin' hate it!).

Day Dos

2 days down.

Today was better. I ate more which helped me have more energy throughout the day. I am still sore though, which is to be expected. The P90x program calls for Plyometrics to be done on Tuesday's. I've decided to switch it out for the Cardio disc to keep myself from getting hurt though. So it was nice to have a shorter workout today. Still didn't help me get around any quicker though.

Have one more day of work this week, then a short vacation for 5 days. I'll still be getting in my WOD, just not at 0600!

88 to go...

Day 1

Wow, today was not at all a good day. I couldn't fall asleep last night...at least not until approximately 4am. So when the alarm went off at 0530, I didn't get up. Great start to the workout program right? I made it to work and put in my 6 hours and came home. Which means I have 2 hours to make up by Wednesday. Fun times.

Anyway, I got to the workout this afternoon. It was brutal. About half way through I realized that I had not eaten enough today and almost passed out. But I did make it through most of the WOD (Work Out of the Day), sans abs.

89 more days to go...

Goals.

“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”
- Muhammad Ali

Today I'll be documenting my goals. I have tried to make my goals realistic and I hope to not only meet my goals, but exceed them. These are all that I plan to accomplish during this rotation of P90X.

1). Lose 50lbs.--No, it's not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it is a start.

2). To complete 25 perfect form push ups. As you can imagine, push ups are not easy for a guy like me, but they are a great exercise. And fortunately, this program forces me to do a lot of them. And if I lose weight, they'll be easier to do!

3). To complete 5 standard pull ups without assistance. Again, this isn't a large number, but considering the fact that I cannot do even 1 right now shows the need for such a low number.

4). COMPLETE THE PROGRAM. This is roughly the 4th time that I have attempted this program. I find that it isn't especially challenging, I just seem to have a bit of A.D.D with it. So the goal here is to complete at least 85% of all workouts. If I miss a day, then I'll be making up a day later in the week.

That's it. I begin tomorrow morning at 0600. As I stated earlier, I'll be working out in the morning and in the evening. Since most of these videos are an hour long, I'll do the main program in the morning and come home in the evening to do a skill building exercise and abs. On weight training days I'll be doing some cardio in the evening which will be walking, or hitting the heavy bag for a while. On cardio days I'll be working on push ups, pull ups, abs, etc.

All this being said, I'm going to try to do a daily update...we'll see how that goes.

And so it begins...

As many of you may have known for a while, I have been a big guy (i.e. fat) for most of my life. And with my 3oth birthday coming up very soon (yes, that says 30) I have decided to make a lifestyle change. I have taken up this task many times before and made great strides in doing in my goals. But I haven't ever been this motivated and focused. So here it goes.

I'll be doing the P90x (www.beachbody.com) program starting Monday, August 31, 2009. I'll also be supplementing the program by doing additional skill work on things that I feel that I am weak at. Some examples of skills that I'll be working on are pushups (I'm a large guy, thus these are difficult), pull ups, overhead squats, etc.

I'll be outlining my goals during this week as I prepare for my adventure. My main goal is to become fit. For my definition of fitness I will be using the crossfit idea (www.crossfit.com). The article "what is fitness" by Greg Glassman is available for download at http://journal.crossfit.com/2002/10/what-is-fitness-by-greg-glassm.tpl. I highly recommend anyone starting this sort of endeavor read this article.

Please use your relationship with me to encourage me along the way. So that everyone can keep their last meal to themselves, I will not be posting photos on this site at this time. I might if my results are appealing enough to me at the end of the program. I will make my email address available somewhere on this page and you can email your thoughts to me at any point. I will also allow comments on entries, but reserve the right to remove them if they are filled with profanity. If you prefer to encourage me like a drill sargeant, then feel free.

Finally, if you would like to go about this adventure with me please, by all means, do so.

Thanks everyone!

Matt