Warmup: Jog up the hill at the side of the house 10x
Set 1: 10 14″ Jump ups 10 wide front pull ups
Set 2: 10  18″ Step ups with knee raise, 10 narrow front pull ups
Set 3: 10 14″ Jump ups , 10 reverse grip pull ups
Set 4: 10 18″ Step ups with foot tap not step down, 10 wide front pull ups
Set 5:  10 24″ Jump ups, 10 narrow front pull ups
Set 6: 10 24″ Jump ups, 10 reverse grip pull ups
Set 7: 10 24″ Jump ups, 10 wide front pull ups

Unfortunately the highest point of the deck is 24″ off the ground which, for a person my size is probably high enough! The circuit only took about 28 minutes to complete but my heart rate was alarmingly high after doing the jump ups. I was really surprised just how difficult it was even with all the Insanity stuff I have been doing. I think I will keep doing this though, at least trying to incorporate the outside world, we live on a private circle which is 600m around, so maybe I will start incorporating 600m runs into the program now that the oppressive heat seems to have broken.

Since I am writing this the day after and  I am able to walk, I can speak to the success of this program. I did have thoughts of not being able to move this morning, unsure how my back would have reacted to the workload.

I have also recently cancelled our water delivery company and although I am still a devout spring water fan, I realized that buying a small bottle of Multi-Mineral supplement drops is a far cheaper way of getting great tasting water.

This by the way is a miracle to me. I have fairly sensitive taste buds thanks to my Father’s weird genes and as such I hate the taste of tap water. A few drops of Health Solute ions (sic) ConcenTrace minerals and the water tastes better than anything you will find from a spring or otherwise. There are several companies that make mineral supplements (Albi Naturals is another great one) but if you hate the taste of municipal water and don’t want to pay for spring water, get some drops, it will blow your mind.

I am keeping up with my program of doing the Max Insanity workouts and so far so good. I did have some knee soreness for a while but after a week of only 4 days working out, it seems to have disappeared.  I am also not failing to make it through the warmup any more, a fact I only just noticed yesterday!

I am also having a problem with the gym I am supposed to be working at. I coach gymnastics but since they failed to contact me during the summer, they had apparently assumed I was going to be quitting after the baby arrived, I don’t have a group. The ONLY potential upside to this is no long evenings on Tuesday and Thursday and an uninterrupted workout schedule. I would rather have the problems coaching brings though…

I substituted a bench workout for my chest, shoulders and triceps workout on Monday. It is a significantly different workout than doing pushups and I found that I really missed that full pump that I can only really get from heavy benching. Fortunately due to the type of bench I have I can also do a pretty good shoulder press workout too since doing flies doesn’t really cut it for building or maintaining your shoulder mass. I did find however that I was not sore after, which speaks to the conditioning of the muscle, regardless of the diminished strength. It was great to get back to basics, and I think come the coaching season I will be incorporating a couple of bench workouts into my program. They are short and intense and remind me of why I have been going to the gym for all these years.

Insanity however, is still kicking my ass. I am doing the max workouts now which I find better since I am unable to match the intensity that is required to get the most out of the shorter workouts. I think as time goes along I should also consider getting outside while the weather starts to cool down and do some short distance runs, maybe 1 -3 km at a quick pace to get my running back. I find that jogging hurts my calves and feet but running doesn’t. Weird huh?

I failed to complete the program last night. For the first time in 41 days I quit. I was doing the Max Interval Circuit workout and after the second section before the third and final section I was simply too tired to go on. So tired in fact that as I lay there on the floor recovering from the second run through I actually fell asleep. I think maybe I have been pushing too hard, not necessarily during my workouts but in general. Losing sleep, taking care of the baby, working a full time job and working out 7 days a week may be catching up with me. My butt is sore so my legs are sore and that usually makes me a very tired and grumpy boy.

Since I started this entry I have done another 11 days putting me at the 38 day mark. This is significant in the fact that I am not only into part 2 of the P90X program but I am also now into the break-in phase of the Max workouts for Insanity.

So far I have done the Max Cardio and Max Interval Plyo both of which I thoroughly enjoyed and found to be more beneficial than the shorter regular workouts. The reason behind this is pretty simple. I am unable to do the full compliment of moves or time during the regular workout so often I find that after 20 minutes I am simply not tired enough. The extra time of the Max workout means that even if I can’t do every move for the full time, the volume of workout is getting to a more fulfilling level for me.

Hmm… re-reading that it seems that the phrase “not tired enough” is misleading. The purpose of insanity is to push you very hard for a short time to max out your intensity. Unfortunately if you are unable to match the intensity all the time, as your fitness increases you find that although you are exhausted and your heart rate is through the roof, a few minutes later you feel fine and are ready for more. That is where I find myself now and that is why I am enjoying the Max sessions. It gives me an extra amount of time to get that extra work that I missed skipping out a few seconds ahead of the end of the timer. I suppose if I were to do the whole workout as directed that the regular workouts would be fine but at this point in my life my limitations tend to dictate what I do rather than my ego.

Wow, talk about customer service… Dreamhost fixed my issue already.

New 2" chin up bar

Day 23 – 26

Cardio Power and Resistance
Shoulders and Arms + ARX
Pure Cardio
Legs and Back

Unfortunately I got caught out with having to take 2 days off this week due to unforseen baby issues. However, so far so good, the mix of insanity and P90X is keeping me entertained and challenged and in fact this week I start the Max Insanity sessions so that will be, well, painful I am sure.

1. This is not a weekly program. It is not do 6 days on and 1 day off. It is based on your schedule of breaks, do what you can when you can and rest when you must. Although the schedule adheres to the 7 day routine, by now I think we all understand that the schedule must be flexible.
2. It is not set in stone. There are options to do FOYY or any other oddball workouts you feel like on the days you need a change. Some days you know what you need, some days you don’t. If you feel like you could use a break and do a fit test to see where you are with your fitness then go for it.

The Outline below is based on the following:

Week 1 – 4 Phase 1 Regular Cardio

Week 5 – 7 Phase 2 Mixed Cardio

Week 8 – Rest Week

Week 9 – 12 Phase 3 Max Cardio

The last week was the biggest let down for me with P90X since it is actually a rest week. I felt like I had been working towards something for 90 days and deserved a finale so this time around I am going to work out a handful of workouts that will test me for the last week and see what I can do with the new level of fitness I have achieved. For me, this may include a 5K or 10K run and a day of to-failure chinups and pushups and v-snaps. We will have to see but this time around my 90 days will go out with a bang not a whimper.

I have been doing this for 3 weeks now and this is how it has looked so far:

1 Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X 6/7/2010

2 Plyometric Cardio Circuit 6/8/2010

3 Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X 6/9/2010

4 Cardio Power and Resistance 6/10/2010

5 OFF 6/11/2010

6 Fountain of Youth Yoga 6/12/2010

7 Pure Cardio 6/13/2010

8 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X 6/14/2010

9 Plyometric Cardio Circuit 6/15/2010

10 Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X 6/16/2010

11 Cardio Power and Resistance 6/17/2010

12 Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X 6/18/2010

13 Pure Cardio 6/19/2010

14 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X 6/20/2010

15 Plyometric Cardio Circuit 6/21/2010

16 Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X 6/22/2010

17 Cardio Power and Resistance 6/23/2010

18 Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X 6/24/2010

19 Pure Cardio 6/25/2010

20 OFF – Deck build all day 6/26/2010

21 OFF – Deck build all day 6/27/2010

22 Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X 6/28/2010

The Outline:

23 Cardio Power and Resistance 6/29/2010

24 Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X 6/30/2010

25 Pure Cardio 7/1/2010

26 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X 7/2/2010

27 Plyometric Cardio Circuit 7/3/2010

28 Foutain Of Youth Yoga 7/4/2010

29 Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Ab Ripper X 7/5/2010

30 Plyometric Cardio Circuit 7/6/2010

31 Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X 7/7/2010

32 Max Cardio 7/8/2010

33 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X 7/9/2010

34 Cardio Power and Resistance 7/10/2010

35 Foutain Of Youth Yoga 7/11/2010

36 Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Ab Ripper X 7/12/2010

37 Max Interval Plyo 7/13/2010

38 Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X 7/14/2010

39 Pure Cardio 7/15/2010

40 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X 7/16/2010

41 Max Interval Circuit 7/17/2010

42 Foutain Of Youth Yoga 7/18/2010

43 Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Ab Ripper X 7/19/2010

44 Plyometric Cardio Circuit 7/20/2010

45 Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X 7/21/2010

46 Max Cardio 7/22/2010

47 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X 7/23/2010

48 Cardio Power and Resistance 7/24/2010

49 Foutain Of Youth Yoga 7/25/2010

50 Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Ab Ripper X 7/26/2010

51 Max Interval Plyo 7/27/2010

52 Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X 7/28/2010

53 Pure Cardio 7/29/2010

54 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X 7/30/2010

55 Max Interval Circuit 7/31/2010

56 OFF – Scheduled Rest 8/1/2010

57 Foutain Of Youth Yoga 8/2/2010

58 Core Cardio and Balance 8/3/2010

59 Core Synergistics 8/4/2010

60 Foutain Of Youth Yoga 8/5/2010

61 Core Synergistics 8/6/2010

62 Core Cardio and Balance 8/7/2010

63 OFF – Scheduled Rest 8/8/2010

64 Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Ab Ripper X 8/9/2010

65 Max Interval Plyo 8/10/2010

66 Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X 8/11/2010

67 Max Cardio 8/12/2010

68 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X 8/13/2010

69 Max Interval Circuit 8/14/2010

70 OFF – Scheduled Rest 8/15/2010

71 Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Ab Ripper X 8/16/2010

72 Max Interval Plyo 8/17/2010

73 Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X 8/18/2010

74 Max Cardio 8/19/2010

75 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X 8/20/2010

76 Max Interval Circuit 8/21/2010

77 OFF – Scheduled Rest 8/22/2010

78 Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Ab Ripper X 8/23/2010

79 Max Interval Plyo 8/24/2010

80 Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X 8/25/2010

81 Max Cardio 8/26/2010

82 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X 8/27/2010

83 Max Interval Circuit 8/28/2010

84 OFF – Scheduled Rest 8/29/2010

85 Push Ups and Triceps Test Day 8/30/2010

86 5K run 8/31/2010

87 Pull Ups and V-Snaps (abs) test 9/1/2010

88 Sprint tests with hills 9/2/2010

89 Leg and Back test 9/3/2010

90 Cardio Test 2 9/4/2010

It hasbeen so long since I have done a P90X workout that I really genuinely enjoyed listening to Tony and the gang. Of course, being day 1 I am keen, full of energy, able to keep up with the kids and taking it all in stride. I am ignoring the menace that awaits me tomorrow and the following day and just enjoying doing the work. I stuck with the workout as instructed and even agreed that I would do the ARX workout instead of skipping ahead and doing things in my own time. It is actually a relief to submit to someone else since all I have done for the past few days is plan and work around the new female in my life. I was able to slip away for an hour during an afternoon nap and that reminded me just what a great system this P90X and Insanity workout system is. Not only that, I have been building a deck and my soreness is more of a reminder that I need to stick with the program just to survive my new life!

Day 2 Insanity - Plyometric Cardio Circuit

I didn’t feel too bad after yesterday, my chest is a little tight but knowing that today was cardio I thought I was relatively safe. Of course I was forgetting that part of the Insanity workout involves more than a few minutes of plank and pushups and that my fate was already sealed. Once Shaun T went into the level 1 and ski abs I immediately regretted yesterday and my shortsightedness but realized that at least this was the worst I was going to feel. At least that is what I told myself at the time. By the end of the workout, as short as it was, I was face down in a pool of sweat and the floor of my gym once again looked like a slaughterhouse. I had forgotted just how hard the warmup was, and although I accurately remembered how long the workout was, I had obviously blocked out the memory of exactly how difficult it was. Needless to say I was spent both physically and emotionally and just thankful that today there was no abs.

Day 3 P90X – Shoulders and Arms

I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a truck. Although the lack of sleep due to the baby hasn’t really affected me so far I was still physically a wreck. I hurt all over, I couldn’t stand up straight and my calves were on fire all day. I went into the workout relieved that I didn’t have to do any more pull ups and that for me today is a favourite session. I soon found out that in fact my weights are significanltly down and the soreness in my chest prevented me from effectively doing my shoulders. Regardless, I soldiered on knowing I wouldn’t have to coach or go to work for the coming weeks and that I could in fact rest almost on demand.

Day 4 Insanity – Cardio and Resistance

I thought the last time around that I had done a few of the Insanity workouts. In fact, my memory sucks and I found out that in fact I have only done a couple of them. It was therefore a horrific shock that I didn’t know this workout ahead of time. I managed to do most of it, however the power jumps are killing me. I have to admit that I just love the Insanity workouts, the intensity is amazing, the time is short and I sweat bullets knowing that my heartrate is sky high. Not knowing what was coming however made me nervous and as such I think I will do better next time. I was drenched again and I swear I lose 5lbs each workout!

Day 5 Rest

Day 6 One on One with Tony Horton – Fountain of Youth Yoga

I had made a deal with myself that I would incorporate Yoga back into my schedule and rather than do the 90 minute P90X version I managed to get my hands on a copy of FOY Yoga. The thought of being alone with Tony in his basement made me queasy however he was personable, likeable and altogether different. The workout was great, just what I was looking for, a short but varied Yoga workout that I can fit into my schedule. Of course I couldn’t actually do much of it, partly due to my soreness from the past few days of deck work, baby holding and walking and my new Round 3 and partly due to the fact that I gave up Yoga so long ago any flexibility I had is long gone. I have the workout on my Patriot Box Office Media Player so I had Tony on the big screen upstairs while my daughter slept in her pack and play baby holding cell. If you don’t have one of these things yet, get yourself one, it is amazing. Full HD and the ability to play almost any media type.

So that is me all caught up. My daughter is 8 days old, my new workout is 6 days old and I feel like I am 70. Ah, just like the good old days.

You have many more things to do before the baby arrives, and you will be amazed at how insignificant your fitness is in the big picture.
When the baby does come, if you are in shape and part way through your program a large part of your brain will be beating you up while you spend time adjusting rather than working out.
It can be done. I just couldn’t do it.

So that brings me here, the day after the baby came home, 4 days after the birth and I am off work for 3 weeks. I literally cannot waste any tine of my “vacation” sitting around doing nothing. I promised that I would use this time as a springboard to get my P90X journey back on track and since I eclipsed my time on the program with down time over the last 2 months I thought it was time to start over. I also realized that I needed a better idea of what I was actually going to do rather than trying to adjust on the fly. So here I go, the program I promised myself and the return to fitness I promised my new daughter so that her Dad won’t be the fat guy at the PTA meetings.

P90X Insanity Hybrid – Round 3

Day 1 Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 2 Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Day 3 Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X

Day 4 Cardio Power and Resistance

Day 5 Fountain of Youth Yoga (Rest Day)

Day 6 Pure Cardio

Day 7 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X

(Optional rest day after day 7)

Day 1 Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 2 Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Day 3 Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X

Day 4 Cardio Power and Resistance

Day 5 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 6 Pure Cardio

Day 7 Rest or X Stretch or Yoga X

Keep your mind in the game

It has been a while since I posted however this was something I realized was going to happen and was prepared for. It is something I am also prepared to counteract. However, not posting to this blog every day has taken a toll on my momentum mentally speaking. A large part of my commitment to fitness is also a commitment to public (albeit not popular) accountability via this site and while I knew I would have a hard time trying to recover from  my back injury and going to baby classes and taking trips out of town I didn’t realize that not posting to my blog would have such a profound effect on my attitude. I find myself listless mentally, a state I was hoping to avoid since mental apathy is the worst thing you can do to your workouts.

Of course, like anything in life you should plan for an overextension of time, with projects at work we like to plan an extra 50% of time in order to achieve realistic timelines and I had done that with my back. However, it is now time to take back control and unfortunately as I stepped on the gas yesterday I found I was in neutral. So it’s time to wake up my mind and get back in the game. My back is still terribly sore however now I am thinking more from inactivity than from the injury. This week and the next couple are tailor made for catching up with my workouts. Today I have coaching so it is a wash but hopefully I will be able to engage my brain and get my attitude straight for tomorrow. This weekend is the final gymnastics competition of the year and as such is the final push and since it is at our club, the Thursday class will likely be compromised anyway leaving today as the last real training before the end. Given that I coach older kids too, for some of them it will be their last competition of their gymnastics career so this week is particularly significant for many reasons.

We are 3 weeks away from our due date, which means that basically the baby could be born any day now. I am hoping not during vault on Sunday, if we can make it to Monday with the baby still inside, we will be fine!

So in order to get my head back in the game and hopefully encouraging my body to follow here is the schedule that I will be following for the next 14 workouts, regardless of timing.

P90X Insanity Hybrid

Day 1 Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 2 Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Day 3 Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X

Day 4 Cardio Power and Resistance

Day 5 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 6 Pure Cardio

Day 7 Rest or X Stretch or Yoga X

Day 1 Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 2 Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Day 3 Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X

Day 4 Cardio Power and Resistance

Day 5 Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 6 Pure Cardio

Day 7 Rest or X Stretch or Yoga X

This is, in fact, the start of my insanity Hybrid that I originally had planned to do after my P90X Round 1. However, I got sidetracked and looking at my “reality hybrid” tracker I realize that I was so far off this it is ridiculous… So I am going to patch up my Round 2 and get back to work regardless of the fact that I have had almost 50 days off. The reason being that I don’t want to call it Round 3, it will give a false sense of achievement that I don’t deserve and haven’t earned.

I don’t have a problem calling this Day 43 and putting 47 days in to make up a full Round 2. I just hope that I can get started in good faith this week and not be too sore for when the baby gets here since I secretly have a plan to blast my body to pieces with my new home made gym equipment and to build a lower deck outside my basement gym so I can spill out into the summer heat while doing my workouts.

More on the home made equipment as soon as it is done. I am working on a dip station and something to store my dumbbells on not to mention the replacement for the chin up bar in the garage. As a hint I have found that the metal bar I was using (which was hollow, bought from Home Depot) has been usurped by a plumbing fitting used for pool and spa plumbing. A very solid 4ft bar, much thicker than the other one which I am confident will support my weight with no problem at all.

I feel better already…