Chest, shoulders and triceps

First day of Phase 2, and I am happy because:

1. The phase 1 is over which mean 1/3 done.

2. No more craving for Carbs, I can eat now 2 1/2 servings

3. We took pictures and we see changes (It's working)

4. Recovery week is over

4-1: We go back to the weights

4-2: No more Core Synergistics for a full 3 weeks

4-3: Ab Ripper X makes its come-back

Now, on the Chest, Shoulders and Triceps...

Well, it's tiring... You're just working the arms for 1 hour non stop, alterning shoulder, push-ups, triceps and there back again.

I am pretty sure i will like this workout as i liked the shoulders and arms.

Ab Ripper X: I hated it and now i kinda love it.

I was able to do almost every exercice at >20 reps but i still struggle with the heel to the heaven.

But i almost manage to follow Tony on the masons.

I am looking forward Wednesday for the next ARX..

Keep up guys...

Results Of Phase 1

So here is pictures of my back, day 1 and day 29.

I am pretty happy with the result SO FAR.

I will keep bringing it...

Yoga X; Week 4 Day 6 alias Day 27

Yoga also come twice this week.

Nothing much new on Yoga X, except that it seems more and more difficult.

It may be because i am doing the exercices better, or because i can do the poses better i engage more my muscles...

A lot of sweat but a good workout overall, and ...

THE LAST WORKOUT OF PHASE 1.

Congratz to the first juners out there...

Tomorrow will be recovery day, there will be no post.. See ya in phase 2.... (Carbs carbs carbs...)

Core Synergistics, week 4 day 5 alias day 26

Very unlucky us, we have Core synergistics twice during recovery week.

As the last time of core, it is so difficult, i am also getting tired as the days go on...

I just hang in there, doing my best, trying to involved the core...

I just prefer doing ARX....

Core synergistics is pretty much just a ARX yoga style....

X Stretch, Week 4 day 4 alias day 25

Tuesday was X Stretch day. I will call that a recovery day compared to the classic workouts.

During that workout, you are stretching pretty much every inch of your body.

And MAN, that felt so good.

It's just too bad we don't have much of X stretch during the program...

Tomorrow will be Core Synergistics, second time.

I am expecting to have soreness again in the shoulders and probably all the core muscles.

Keep pushing play.

KempoX, Week4 Day 3 alias day 24

Wednesday this week is KempoX day!

After core yesterday i am pretty happy to have KempoX instead of an Arms or Biceps.

The core was supposed to work the core muscle but i felt it more on the shoulders and arms with all those push-ups and plank chaturanga...lol

KempoX is a workout i like even if i miss some flexibility and dexterity on the left side (like for plyometrics and the baseball strike, i punch like a girl with my left arm.. lol).

KempoX is basically a lot of kicking and punching but you still use your core all along the workout to pivot the body to follow the moves.

Had again a lot of fun doing KempoX and a lot of sweat.

Keep up he good job people, keep pushing play.

3 day to go before taking the 30 day mark pictures for me and all 1st juner starters !!!!

Core Synergistics, week 4 day 2 alias day 23

After the YogaX yesterday and the fact that my legs are still sore, today is the first day we have to do CORE SYNERGISTICS.

I did watch the workout prior and was happy to do so, i knew what to expect... and that was challenging.

Here is a brief description of the Core synergistics workout (I will also add the other ones as they come up):

In this workout we are working on the CORE, from thight to pectorals, passing by the abdominal.

1-A lot of push-ups: Stacked foot/Staggered hands push-up, Sphinx push-up, Prison cell push-up, Reach high and under push-up, Plank to chaturanga iso.

2-A lot of yoga style poses that will stain your arms and shoulders: Side hip raise, Plank to chaturanga run, Table dip raise.

3-A lot of core work YogaX style: Banana rolls, Leaning crescent pose, Bow to boat, Superman banana.

A lot of work and the worse part is: IT IS RECOVERY WEEK !!!!!!

Tomorrow will be KempoX and the end and phase one is coming....

Yoga X, Recovery week 1, day 1

So we started the recovery week, with ... ...Yoga X.

Let me tell you one thing: This is not my prefered workout but i do it anyway.

I do it because: "i can do what i do at 45, not because i do a bunch of pullups and pushups but because i do Yoga" says Tony.

So i believe him and do my best.

Crane is coming, the stretching is coming too, i can grab my feet now.

But some balance posture are still difficult, i am talking about half moon and half moon twist....

That was a good day overall, i am still scared of core tomorrow.

For the Diet, i think i stick to it pretty well.

Bring it people...

KempoX, Week 3 day 7

After the day of rest yesterday, we were thinking that the legs would be feeling better....

WE WERE WRONG..

We did our best at kempo (that wasn't so bad anyway), i manage to do 138 bpm average on the workout.

And here is the end of the first 3 week which means that tomorrow we start the recovery week lol....

Let me tell you one thing: We will not do weight lifting that week but i am pretty sure i should not call that recovery week b'cause:

Monday: Yoga X

Tuesday: Core Synergistics

Wednesday: Kempo X

Tuesday: X Stretch

Friday: Core Synergistics

Saturday: Yoga X

Sunday: X Stretch or rest

What a recovery week....

Rest

Not much to say: rest day...

Legs and Back; W3D5

Friday is Legs and Back and the dreaded ARX.

Legs and Back went as usual, very intense on the quads, I will still feel them tomorrow.

And after legs and Back we have to do 16 min Ab Ripper X.

I will repeat myself here but the abs after doing legs is like going down to hell...

We had a party friday night, we sticked to nonfat latte at the pub so we are pretty happy to stick with the diet.

Tomorrow will probably be a rest day and we will do KempoX on Sunday afternoon.

Yoga X; Week 3 day 4 alias day 18

Hi guys and Gals,

Today was YogaX.

After 2 weeks and a half of soreness accumulated, YogaX seems to be the only workout to be more and more challenging.

Some of the move are still pretty difficult for me. I am talking about half moons and warrior 3.

I still don't have a yoga block even i should need one... So far I have been using the yellow pages.. lol

On some postures that should work on one leg, i feel it in the other one. Probably because of my lack of flexibility.

The yoga belly 7 is still killing me but i keep trying. I guess that what i have to do to get results.

Agin this week, probably the more sweating workout ever. Tomorrow will be Legs and Back and ARX...

Bring it people.

Shoulders and arms, W3D3

Shoulders and arms, Nice, i love it.

Curls up, shoulder presses, triceps extensions, dip chair... all the ingredients to make a very very nice workout.

And, like a cherry on top of a delicious cake, Ab ripper X...

Everything went well except that everytime i look at my notes ans see 16, i add 5 pounds of weight and by the time i am ready, I hear Tony saying: "everyone does 16 reps".

I tried once not changing the weight again but choose to reduce after that try... lol.

I increased the weights or the numbers of reps for all exercices and might be able to still increase it..

Ab ripper X went smoothly except one exercice that still bugging me : V ups/roll up combos.

I might have to train on that everyday to really understand the moves here...

Otherwise i did again way more than last time...

... and the good news is: '' it is probably not an hernia'' because no more pain for a week now. So i bring it.

Lolable of the day by Tony: "Listen to your ear..."

Plyometrics, W3D2

Tuesday is Plyometrics day...

We are still doing the workouts in the evenings, today was also after dinner (45min after). I still can't wake up early enough to workout before going to work.

The workout was great, I did a lot more than last week. But it still kicked my ass.

My complete body is a little bit sore after the first two weeks and I have to keep bringing it..

My leags are hurting the more and Plyometrics involves a lot the legs (i will say mostly the legs). I am already scared of the friday workout, legs and back, with the wall squat and the one legged wall squat.

Tomorrow is one of my favorite workout: Shoulders and arms followed by Ab Ripper X.

With my new set of weight and the pull up bar, it will be intense.

Will try to do the workout earlier tomorrow...

Keep pushing play, keep pushing play...

Chest and Back, W3D1

Week 3 Day 1, that means (maybe) last week of that set of DVD and halfway through the phase 1 (low carb).

Today was chest and back as well as ab ripper x.

I still struggle with the diamond pushups, as well as with some pullups now that i switched from bands to pull up bar. On military pushups, my elbows flare at the last 3 reps.

The workout was great, but it is still pretty difficult to know why you can't do another pushup; is it "i can't anymore" or "i won't anymore".

As the saying goes, i do my best and i forget the rest. (but on citing that phrase, i hope i will see results at the end).

Abs is getting easier and easier, but be wary, i didn't say EASY... lol

And still, the legs hurt more than the abs on some exercices (in and out, bicyle, froggy, scissors...)

Kempo X, W2D7 ie Day 14

Today was suppossed to be recovery day but we had it yesterday, so we did KempoX.

My legs are still hurting from YogaX and Legs and Back.

I still have some difficulties with some moves.

I used my new HRM and i simply love it. I hope it will help me getting in better shape.

I feel like i lost few pounds and few inches on my belt. I feel pretty happy about it.

Tomorrow will be chest and back, and i will try to switch from the bands to the pull up bar. I am just a little scared of the wide pull ups. But we will see...

Recovery day, W2D6 ie Day 13

Today was recovery day, I know, one day in advance.

The day was busy and we had a graduation party with good food everywhere..

Already difficult to resist, so when we came back home we agreed on doing the KempoX tomorrow.

Not much to say, except that it hurt from the heels to the shoulders.... (the more pain beinf in the legs..)

Legs and Back; W2D5 alias D12

Legs and back, the day after the yoga... argh...

As usual legs hurt a lot. This week I manage to finish the wall squat and to finish the one legged wall squat..

Getting low on some squats was difficult but i gave my best, and I FORGET THE REST.

ARX after the legs and back and i still struggle with the "pieffer" (I might have the name wrong) scissors.

Damn Tony, after your workout on the legs, you're still asking us to work on the quads as we do the abs.. You're crazy man.. lol

Tomorrow we have a graduation party for a friend so it might be our day off and we might postpone the KempoX to sunday...

Yoga X ; W2D4 alias Day 11

Hi there,

YogaX was again pretty awesome, very intense.

I was feeling it everywhere:

Still in the quads from the legs and back of last friday.

In the shoulders and arms from the yesterday workout.

In the lower back also.

But still, i am not that flexible. But i will not change the Yoga X workout for another one.

I believe that it is very good for the core, balance and stretching...

It might be the most difficult and challenging workout for me but it's also one that I want to work on.

My wife and I are still struggling with our schedule, we feel like running all day...

So far we moved the last 2-3 workouts around 9PM but i am thinking on trying to move them back to early morning... Only concern is how early i can get out of bed... lol

Week 2 day 3..

Shoulders and Arms, one of my favorite workout.

I gave everything today (i will feel it tomorrow). I passed on the ARX to get a better recovery.

Since yesterday, i feel my right abs more than my left which mean that it might not be an hernia but a pulled muscle that i had. I will watch that closely on the next session of ARX and if the pain persist, i will consult a physician.

For the diet, so far so good. It's easier for us now that we have ditched the meal plan and are now using the portion plan....

Keep bringing it people.

tip of the day: don't smash your face... lol

Week 2 day 2...

After the failure of yesterday with my abs, i gave everything on plyometrics.

Damn what a hard time I had with this workout. it's definitively one of the hardest work out with Yoga.

Well, you'll have understood that I am more a weight lifter than a cardio lover. My wife is the total opposite so we can support each other every day....

I didn't push too hard for everything that involved a bit more the bas, i am still worried about a potential hernia....

Day 8... first week is over...

Yesterday was the first day of the second week...

I was really motivated to nail this workout, but it wasn't the case.

After the fifth push-up, I felt a ball in my lower abs... on the left side.

I manage to do what i could for the push-ups, either by putting most of my weight on the right leg or by doing on knees for the diamond push-ups. Mostly i did as good as first week....

I tried the Ab Ripper X without success, the first in and out and I was rolling on my left side.

I will try to compensate for having missed the abs by doing them maybe tomorrow if i am better or adding a week complete on Stage1 or 2 depending on the outcome of fat shredder...

Day 7...

Recovery day..

I made the first week.

Not much to do today, We did the stretch X at the end of the day.

First time today that we went out to have lunch, at some friends place.

We eyeballed the servings and i believe we did pretty good.

Only one small thing out of the diet: a glass of wine.

I jumped also back on the scale (i know i shouldn't...).

Not muched difference in weight but... I lowered a bit the % fat...

Anyway, i didn't wrote the number down and i will try to not remember it to much.

Tomorrow is a new week starting...

Chest and back, as well as Ab ripper X....

Day 6

I woke up late, due to the day before that we had dinner at 9:45 pm, and we stayed active until 1am to not go to sleep during the 3 hours post-dinner.

My legs feel sore man.....

I am a bit scared by Kempo today as we will probably work a lot on the legs again....

YEP, warm up with some yoga poses, crescent.... I can feel my quads already.

For the Kempo, same thing than yoga. If you're not stretchable and if you feel sore in your legs, it's gonna be difficult to get those legs up for the kicks.....

Very enjoyable work out, a bit (tiny bit) less sweaty than yoga

Tomorrow will be either rest but more probably stretch.

Tomorrow will be also the first day we go out for lunch at friends place so we will train our eyeballing skills...

See you, and bring it....

Day 5

Hi all, i missed a day loging in so i will put the two days here.

End of the week and boss out of town for the day, I was in a very good mood to enjoy the legs and back.

However, i was still filling a bit sore from tha Yoga of the day before (mostly in the quads).

I felt way better on the pull ups that day 1, and i gave everything on the legs.

Very good work out but i feel i will feel it tomorrow..

4th day...

Hi all,

Yoga day ...

I will tell you that i don't remember having sweat like that for a long time and moreover, I NEVER sweat that much without even moving...

I felt good all day and I was feeling confident about the yoga. I am (was now) that kind of person that never did yoga and was saying: "what a girly activity..."

I did yoga at night and OMG: IT IS NOT GIRLY.

It works the core. My only concern is that you have to be strechable, not like me...

So some positions where more difficult than other.

Mainly i felt my soulders and arms from yesterday and probably i will feel the yoga tomorrow in my quads for the legs and back.

3rd day...

Hi all,

My abs are hurting way less today thanks to the stretching of yesterday. I feel pretty good.

As for the diet, i am still amazed by the quantities i should eat. This morning i can't eat more than 6 white eggs and the 3 slices of turkey bacon, and i should eat 8 white eggs.

I prefered waiting for the evening to do the training, giving more time for my abs to recover.

We did the shoulders and arms, i would have said piece of cake, BUT.

At the first rep i went with medium weights and did pretty good on the biceps, triceps and shoulders.

Second round, not that good with the biceps but got the triceps were still going. I am wondering if it could be due to the number of push-ups from monday, that might have started the triceps going...

I tries to do the abs but i was still too sore from monday, my in and out broke after 3 reps and i couldn't make my abs follow my will.

Today, i am strugling with the recipes of the diet: steak arugula... the servings and the recipe don't match...

2nd day...

Pain, Pain and pain.

I don't know if i did something wrong for the ARX (Ab Ripper X) or if it's the combination of ARX and my biking commutes but my obliques started hurting pretty bad in mid-afternoon.

By the end of the afternoon, it was difficult to stay tall when straight and I was way better sitted.

I decided to not force the thing and replace the Plyometrics with the Stretching. The Cobra stretch was the crucial part and I couldn't even complete it nicely, only finishing on my elbows. After the Stretching, i continue by laying on the floor 5 min with a pillow below my lower back... Damn, it felt good.

I have no plan for the tomorrow exercices, it should be ARX and Arms and Shoulders. I might wanna put ARX at the end of the week but i will probably do the Arms and Shoulders.

As a side note, next ARX, I will probably not try to follow Tony on the numbers of reps...

I am not quitting, i will try to keep the pace as i can, trying to push my limits..

First day...

So I started on Monday 01 June 2009, good day to start i believe, beginning of the week and of the month and probably still able to have good result for the summer.

I woke up without even a slight motivation to start, but my beloved one pushed me to (we are doing it together).

We started early morning (6am45) with the fit test and followed up with Abs ripper X. First of all, i couldn't follow up with all the moves and the pace and the number and crunches... I did my best and I forgot the rest... lol

The day at work went by without any pain... damn pretty good.

After work, we followed up with chest and back (7pm) and I started feeling my abs hurting a bit, but it was hurting in a good way... lol again. Again, i couldn't follow the pace and some push-ups look hardly attainable for me (read here diamonds push-ups).

Anyway, i think i did a pretty good training that day as i didn't push too hard on the first round but I had to really push limits to reproduce the figures at the repeat...

By the time I went to bed, abs were hurting, chest and triceps were starting feeling sore. I had a good night sleep anyway....

Hello Everyone !

Welcome to my blog!

After a long wait, i finally started P90x on June 01, 2009.

Keep coming for the almost daily updates....