Here we go: Day 20 has come and gone and I’ve decided to step it up a notch… well, at least for a few weeks. Why? Because I feel like I have some lingering fat around my stomach that I’d like to eliminate, and the quickest way to do that is to burn it off by doing more cardio exercise (and of course by eating well).

I haven’t quite decided what my new plan of attack will be (on top of the regular P90x schedule), but I’m pretty sure I’ll do extra cardio 3-4x per week (probably in the morning hours). I’ll either run in the morning or do the stairmaster, and eventually once it warms up outside, I’ll start biking as well.

So on top of the normal P90x routine, I’m pretty sure I’ll start throwing in an extra 30-45 minutes of cardio a couple times per week. We’ll see how that goes, and what that does to help eliminate the trouble areas that need a little extra work.

Yesterday was day 19 and I did the plyometrics exercise, and it went very well. I’m visiting my brother and sister-in-law (Duluth, MN) for a few days before heading back to the cities on Friday, and I have to adapt without my regular equipment and/or facilities. I did the plyometrics (60 minutes of jumping) in their basement, and it was a little harder than normal because my head and arms were very close to the ceiling during most of the jumps. On a few occasions my head bumped the tiled ceiling.

Today, I went to the YMCA for about 90 minutes and did 30 minutes of intense stairmaster, abripperx, and some arm exercises. It’s nice to have the YMCA available, but it costs $10 every time I go since I’m not a member. That being said, I couldn’t believe the energy I had on the stairmaster! I kept increasing the “steps per minute” throughout the 30 minutes because my past routine simply wasn’t doing it for me. It felt really good to get a good stairmaster workout in. I definitely sweat a lot on that thing.

When I first started P90X roughly 20 days ago, I was only able to do 1 pull-up (I know… kinda embarrassing). Today, I did 7 pull-ups at the YMCA, so I’m definitely improving. I’ve noticed a TON of improvement with abripperx. By the time I’m finished with P90X, I think I will double and even triple the number of reps for most of the ab exercises. Bottom line: I can tell I’m in much better shape and I’m getting stronger. I expect that to continue to hold true as I progress through the remaining 70 days.

Today was a pretty intense day of P90X. I ran 2 miles this morning and then did the AbRipperX immediately afterward. I’m definitely in better shape now; I ran that last mile pretty hard and still had juice left in me. I also usually do more than the 25 reps per exercise for the ab workout. When I first started, I couldn’t do all 25 reps for each of the 12 exercises, and now almost 3 weeks in, I’m doing more reps (usually 30 instead of 25). I don’t take any breaks, either. As I get more and more used to doing 30, I’ll continue to up the reps as needed to continue to feel “the burn.”

Later in the day, I completed the Chest and Back workout. It was tough – as usual – but I did improve on just about every exercise from my previous workouts, so that was good to see.

I uploaded my week 2 photos and they can be seen here. For some reason, the picture quality is a little weird on some of them, but it is what it is. FYI: I don’t smile in the photos so that they stay as consistent as possible, plus I don’t want my gorgeous smile to distract from the real purpose behind the photos. Just kidding … but the photos do make me out to look pretty dull/serious/intense/stupid (you can choose), and that’s not really how I feel.

That being said, I don’t feel like the photos accurately reflect the improvement I am feeling. I try to remind myself that you can only do so much from week to week, and most people who do P90X only take 1 set of photos every 30 days, whereas I’m taking them every week or so. Change is gradual, but I can still see improvement from week to week. It’s just not as much improvement as one would see from day 1 to day 30. I have dropped a few more lbs, too, even though that’s not really my goal. Oh well … I’m still working hard, and in a week or so, the program will mix itself up and I’ll start to experience some of this “muscle confusion” the program is known for, meaning it’ll probably be really hard again. As if it wasn’t hard enough …

My legs are finally starting to feel better. They’re still a little tight, but not nearly as bad as they were yesterday. For fun, I’m thinking about running in a 5K this weekend. I’ve never done one before, but I don’t see why I’d have any real trouble finishing it in a respectable time, but it’s still up in the air.

I might be heading back to San Diego in a couple weeks, too, to work on that line of hair products. Traveling makes P90X more difficult, but it can still be done, and it’s impossible to stop “life” for 90 days while performing the daily exercises anyhow. Anyways, lots going on, which is good. Should be a good week, and an even better weekend.

Good God Almighty I am in pain. I had my first soccer game last Friday night, and it didn’t go as smoothly as I expected. Not only are my legs, hip flexors, groin, and lower back still extremely sore (2 days later!), but I also got kicked in the stomach by a girl, and both sides of my abs are tender to the touch. I also fell on the turf and got a burn on my left knee.

And oh yea, we lost 7-1. But I did score our one goal so, you know… no big deal. I was joking around with the other team and asked if they would accept me in a trade, but they didn’t want me. Man there was this girl on their team, too, that gave me fits all night long. I asked her towards the end of the game if she would let me get past her just once without her trying to stop me; she said no.

Anyways, it was fun playing soccer again, and as great as P90x is going for me, it didn’t prepare me for the beating I received on Friday night. I was reminded as to how good a workout soccer really is …

I had a resting day today, but I still did the AbRipperX. I try to do it at least every other day, and I can tell it’s working its magic. My abs are getting harder and I think they’re starting to take shape. It’s only been 3 weeks, so I’m pretty excited to see where they’ll be at the end of the program in 9 weeks! For anyone looking to tone up the midsection, I would strongly suggest giving the AbRipperX a try, although I don’t think you’ll get defined abs without eating well and doing other forms of exercise, too.

I’m a little behind on my week 2 photos, so I’ll definitely get those posted by tomorrow night. I know I’ve lost a few lbs, and I can see some better definition. Still a long ways to go, but I’m pleased thus far with the progress I’ve made.

Keep checking back! This is only the beginning.

I had dinner at Muffuletta’s – a nice little restaurant in St. Paul on Wednesday night and instead of getting a salad or some chicken, I decided to splurge by eating some of the “wrong” foods! My date and I each had a steak, and I must admit it was probably the best steak I’ve ever had. But steak alone isn’t really all that bad for you, although the delicious cream cheese layered on top probably wasn’t the healthiest of options. The bowl of french fries that came with the steak probably wasn’t the best choice, nor was my cup of beer cheese soup, and Tony Horton would have probably suggested that I didn’t need the flourless raspberry chocolate cake with goat milk ice cream we shared, either! haha

But what are you going to do?

In reality, I think it’s okay to cheat every once in a while, especially when you’re working out on a daily basis. It’s unrealistic for me to assume that I’m not going to enjoy some “junk” every once in awhile. It’s not like I’m eating Taco Bell. And to be honest, besides a root beer I had on my brother’s birthday, I haven’t had any soda since January 1st. So I think I’m still doing pretty well.

I’ve been continuing to work hard the past few days. I’m due for another round of updated photos soon, so I’ll be posting those sometime this weekend. I have my first indoor soccer game tonight in Maple Grove, so I’m excited to play soccer again. It’s been about a year since I’ve touched a soccer ball, although I’ll think I’ll be able to pick it up pretty quickly.

I also added a recovery drink from GNC to my supplements. It’s a protein, carbs, and creotine mix that you’re supposed to drink within an hour of intense workouts, so we’ll see what impact that has on my body. It might bring me one step closer to my goal of competiting in next year’s World Heavyweight Boxing Championship, but I think it’s probably too early to tell.

I am nearing the completion of my 2nd week with P90X and I’m still going strong. I wake up each morning and a different part of my body hurts, but I’m getting used to feeling that way, and in a sick, sick way I look forward to it. No pain, no gain, right?! Let me attempt to recap the last few days: on Monday (day 11), I started the day by running a hard mile (~7 min/mile) and then immediately doing the AbRipperX. Later in the day, I did the plyometric exercises (my 2nd time doing plyometrics), and noticed a slight improvement  from week 1 to week 2. I think I’ve already said this, but plyometrics is considered the “mother” of all 12 P90x workouts. It is definitely a workout, but I still find some of the weight lifting exercises to be more difficult. Many days require that you document your reps/weight for each exercise so you can measure improvement as you progress through the program. With regards to the chest and shoulder exercises I did on Sunday (day 10), I improved in every category, which means I either lifted more weight or performed more reps. I hope this continues to hold true as I move forward.

Yesterday, Day 12, I didn’t start my day by running, but I did get my butt kicked in racquetball (although I feel I somewhat got cheated), which I imagine was still a better overall cardio workout than simply running a mile. Either way, later in the day, I performed round 2 of the arm and back routine and it was brutal. I did improve in many areas but man … that is a tough 60 minute workout. I think I’m going to make a short video of each workout in action so you can get a glimpse of some of the things I go through on a daily basis. Maybe I’ll start doing some of that next week! haha

Today, which is day 13, will involve another round of AbRipperX,  a good hard mile, and a little more of the yoga exercises. Tomorrow will conclude week 2, so I will take another round of updated photos, which I’ll most likely post on Friday. I have my first soccer game of the “season” Friday night, so I’ll have to ensure I don’t do anything crazy beforehand so I don’t make a fool out of myself by requesting a sub after 3 minutes. I think I should be good to go.