Round 3 – It’s the baby’s fault

For those of you who may be using P90X to get into shape before the baby comes let me just give you a couple of pointers.

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 time 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 1Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 2Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Day 3Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X

Day 4Cardio 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 8Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 9Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Day 10Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X

Day 11Cardio Power and Resistance

Day 12Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 13Pure Cardio

Day 14Rest or X Stretch or Yoga X

Dining on Accountability

Sometimes letting your mind go is worse than letting your body go

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 1Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 2Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Day 3Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
Day 4Cardio Power and Resistance
Day 5Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 6Pure Cardio
Day 7Rest or X Stretch or Yoga X
Day 1Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 2Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Day 3Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
Day 4Cardio Power and Resistance
Day 5Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 6Pure Cardio
Day 7Rest or X Stretch or Yoga X

P90X Insanity Hybrid

Day 1Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 2Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Day 3Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X

Day 4Cardio Power and Resistance

Day 5Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 6Pure Cardio

Day 7Rest or X Stretch or Yoga X

Day 1Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 2Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Day 3Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X

Day 4Cardio Power and Resistance

Day 5Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X

Day 6Pure Cardio

Day 7Rest 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…

Round 2, Day 38 – Spinning Wheels and Invisible Tony

New Hole In The Wall

I had a bad weekend, mostly due to the fact that I started to create a pass-through in our living room to get light into the dining room. That took a lot out of me on Saturday with the header building and the support work and then I had to coach on Sunday for one of the other coaches which took most of the day. Needless to say I didn’t get much working out done. So, to make up for it I went on the treadmill in the morning at work and then last night did a quick back and biceps workout even though we didn’t get home until about 7pm after going to see the 3D baby ultrasound.

So, a big few days. I have a huge hole in my wall, I got to see our baby daughter in 3D which was really weird and I made a bit of extra cash coaching all at the expense of my fitness. We have another ultrasound today, a medical one rather than an entertainment one and then coaching again tonight. Hopefully I will be able to go on the treadmill tomorrow morning at work again and then do some Shaun T tomorrow night.

The back and biceps workout is one of the workouts that you can easily do without Tony at all. In fact, last night I put on some music and got to work without even using the DVD (Invisible Tony, welcome, have a seat and be quiet). In some respects I wanted to see how I would fare without the DVD in order to figure out if I really need to take the laptop this weekend or if I just need my recording sheets. The workout was shockingly short. I blasted through way faster than I would normally maybe in part because my elbow was quite sore and so my weights and pull ups were down I am not sure. Either way, I was done the whole thing in under 40 minutes. I also skipped the warmup since I never warmed up in the 25 or so years I lifted weights… Sorry Tony, I know how much you love your warmup and stretch and it’s not that I disagree, I just know I will be fine without it.

This coming weekend will not be any easier, but the best I can do is to plan. We are in Niagara Falls from Friday to Tuesday so I will take the laptop and the DVDs and my P90X workout sheets and do what I can at the workout centre and in my room. Hopefully I will be able to get some workouts in especially since we are planning to do a “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” road trip to 3 or 4 of the locations near Buffalo. We have the house sitter and cat feeder booked, I have my laptop and my DVDs packed and ready to go so… Here is the plan, as far as I can make out:

Today: Off – Coaching
Wednesday: Pure Cardio with or without Cardio Abs
Thursday (Off work to finish wall): Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X + Coaching
Friday (Off work, go to Niagara): Cardio Power and Resistance
Saturday (Niagara): Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, Ab Ripper X
Sunday (Niagara): Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Monday (Niagara): Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X
Tuesday (Niagara then home to coach): Off

I mean if I am on vacation at a place that has a gym there really is no reason I can’t work out. It’s not as if we have never been to Niagara before or we need to go sightseeing. It is also going to be in the 20’s this weekend so the weather will be beautiful for walking (even though Nicole is starting to waddle more than walk now).
I guess we will see, we already know how poorly I stick to plans I make but this is vacation, surely it will be easier?

Round 2, Day 33-35. Planning your work, working your plan.

Most people don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan.

I am disappointed in myself. Well, maybe disappointed is the wrong word. Frustrated maybe.

So far the workouts have been fine, I am working hard and although I constantly feel like I am not pushing hard enough that is not the problem. The problem is discipline with my eating habits. So far this round my weight loss has been disappointing and while I know that for most people weight loss isn’t the goal with P90X, for me it is the major aim. I don’t have a reason, and I assume that I am just like so many others out there who really don’t have a good excuse why they are still snacking at night, still buying crap at the coffee shop and waking up feeling like crap every day because they just can’t seem to stop the insanity.

Sadly, I don’t have a solution. Well, maybe I do. There are people who will say that your motivation isn’t enough. You don’t have a big enough “why” to drive you on and in some respects that is true. However, there are people out there with massive motivation, huge goals and reasons for being healthy who still can’t get the job done. The question is why? I believe it is simple, you just haven’t committed to the goal you need to set. Motivation is one thing, having a reason to do something is separate from having a goal and I think that is where I have stumbled a little. Having a reason to succeed is like being back in high school and having a crush on the head cheerleader. It’s great to think about, it makes you feel good but in reality unless there is a plan to go along with the goal that matches the reason you are just some creepy guy who stares too much. What you need is a goal, something concrete that your mind can work on while you sleep, something you can plan for and build action items towards. Without a plan and waypoint goals (with rewards, by the way) your vision is just a pipe dream.

Here is what you need to do. Get a pen and write this stuff down and stop wasting your time.

1. Write down your reason. This should be easy. Mine is to get down to a healthy weight (bodyfat level) before the baby arrives some time in June. You can have more than one reason, come up with two or three. If you can’t think of reasons to be healthy then think of reasons why you don’t want to be dead of an aneurysm or heart failure by Christmas, that usually works.

2. Write down your action plan. Make it basic. For example you should plan to work out at least 5 or 6 days a week and adhere to whatever nutritional guidelines you set for yourself. Some people want to avoid starches and sugars, some want to go vegan. It’s up to you what you do, just pick one and make it part of your plan. This is still pretty simple since it is a large framework that you should have little problem staying within. If you are having difficulty sticking to the 6 days a week thing, don’t sweat it. You are lazy. Just resolve to not be lazy 6 days and be as lazy as you want the other day.

Your plan should also include what method you want to use to get to your end result. You may decide that you are going to do P90X or Insanity or just to go the gym but decide what your vehicle will be. Also, plan ahead for what you will do afterwards. 60 or 90 days is a long time, and to be honest most people won’t make it but the ones who do are often struck down at the finish line by a lack of planning of “what’s next”. (That was me, by the way). The plan can get pretty detailed but if you are using a program like P90X then it becomes very simple.

3. Most people don’t plan to fail, they simply fail to plan. Make a list of your goals and rewards. This is where you start to get concrete. This is the detail that goes into your framework with dates and goals attached. These don’t need to be daily goals, they can span the year if you wish, just make sure that they are measurable and attainable

GOAL COMPLETION DATE REWARD Next Goal
Workout 6 days a week for 4 months (96 days total) June 1 2010 Vibram 5 finger shoes Another 4 months
Weight to 250lbs May 1 2010 Patriot Media box for TV 240lbs
Waist to 36″ May 15 2010 New Jeans and Khakis Waist to 34″

If you structure your goals along with your plan then you have it all in place, you just need to execute the plan. If you find yourself slacking or not executing, then start paying more attention. Write down your progress daily like so many of the online blogging community does. State your goals to people around you or post them in your cubicle or on your fridge. You will find no lack of commitment and drive when you take time to think about your goals. The problem is keeping them at the front  of your mind with so many other things going on. If you have a goal such as a certain waist measurement or a certain number of chin ups then write down your progress on a chart where you can see the improvements.

This is what I need to do because my problem is that my reason is overshadowing my plan and my goals. I spend lots of time thinking about what will happen when the baby gets here and not enough time thinking about what I need to achieve before it happens.