Kenpo – Page 2 – Something Beats Nothing Every Time

Days 40-43 Major Malfunction, Long Weekend

So I kind of messed up this week. I did Kenpo on Thursday because I was sure that was the right thing to do. I realized once I checked the schedule that I was supposed to do Yoga on Thursday and Kenpo on Saturday. I actually ended up taking Saturday off (well, I did 45 minutes on the treadmill instead) instead of Sunday and then doing Yoga on Sunday. Then on Monday I built a large TV shelf to sit on top of the fireplace in the living room that would accommodate the tuner, the Satellite box, the DVDRW and both the Wii and the PS3. However, between fixing that up and installing it which took around an hour with the ridiculous amount of cabling involved and the small but significant amount of gardening that I did I managed to miss out my workout all together. So I now find myself on Tuesday without having done my Monday workout which means that I will now have to go without a day off this week.

So here is the plan.

Tuesday: Chest Tri Shoulders
Wednesday: Plyo
Thursday: Back and Biceps
Friday: Yoga
Saturday: Legs and Back
Sunday: Kenpo

This will get me back on track for next week which coincidentally is a rest week which fits perfectly.

So what did I do with my 4 days off? Well, I completely finished revamping the garage so that I actually have room to work and room to park the Jeep again. I built the shelf I just mentioned and installed it however if it works out fine and we like it, I will have to take it down and paint it black so it fits in. I did a good job with it too, routed the edges and everything to make it look professional! I also bought and installed a new stereo head unit for the Jeep, one with a USB port on front so you can use a flash drive for your music instead of CDs. That means I can get an 8GB memory stick and put every song I have ever heard on it! Nicole thinks we need a road trip now so we can listen to all that tuneage!

pioneerp3100 I did manage to fix the broken fence on the walkout deck and do some gardening, attempting to rescue our front yard flower bed that I built last year from the grass that has overtaken it. Weird how I still have stupid holes in the actual lawn but the grass grows like crazy everywhere I don’t want it to. I also “fixed” the mirrors in the basement, ever since I installed them I have been meaning to glue them to the wall instead of having them rest on the rail I built for them. I had assumed that if I glued them to the wall they would all be aligned properly and would look perfect. Not the case. In fact, the wall is so messed up that the mirrors are even worse than they were. Oh well, lesson learned that if you want a mirror wall, get a large mirror, don’t try to make one from small mirrors. Actually, it would probably have worked OK if I had stuck the mirrors to a surface I knew was flat and then against the wall. Maybe I will try that if I can get them off the wall now. Stick them to a piece of MDF and then attach that to the wall… hmmm…

So there you have it, a few days of major achievements around the house but not the greatest outcome on the P90X front. Although, even though I missed 2 workouts I added 2 days of cardio. Maybe that will all even out in the long run.

Day 39 – The 4 Days Ahead

Kenpo

So I have a lot of extra days in hand for vacation time at work. I decided to take tomorrow off to give me a 4 day weekend. This way I can get some yard work done, get some garage work done, take care of a lot of outstanding DIY stuff and get my P90X workouts done during the day when I actually have some energy.

Today I did Kenpo, still my favourite and still a workout that I am guaranteed will give me a real challenge. My coordination continues to improve every time I do this workout and I find that the harder I work, the more focused I become and the better I do. I think that is a bit weird but there you go.

Day 34 – Tricking myself.

I find myself in the routine, able to predict how sore or tired I will be and looking forward to the Sunday rest day when I can do a little cardio on the treadmill or outside and take a day off from beating myself up. This is not a bad thing, it is not a rut, it’s a routine. I have been trying to imagine in my mind what the basement would look like if I knocked out a wall down there and created an entire room for the gym instead of having the small desk and the couch against the wall. Other than the aesthetic appeal, I don’t think it would give me much more functional room. Having spent lots of time thinking about moving stuff about in the house I spent the majority of the day, while Nicole was out at a Trainers course, cleaning up the garage and rearranging all the shelving etc. It was a monumental job to do and I was really proud once I finally got round to starting it. It still requires some finishing touches but for now the garage is almost done. Once it is finished I can get to work building and fixing all the stuff on my list including the TV shelf, the stereo in the Jeep and maybe even getting started on taking the wall down in the main living room.

The reason that I mention all this is because I was astonished at my energy levels and mobility. Usually I overcome the shortcomings in my flexibility or range of motion with brute strength. This time however I found myself bending and twisting into corners without a problem, preferring to inch myself into tight spaces to get the job done instead of my past solution of getting a bigger hammer. What is even more weird is the fact that as I was contorting myself around the shelving units I caught myself thinking of the name of the yoga pose I was in. Tres bizarre.

Even after a day of work in the garage I was still able to get the Kenpo workout done. As usual, I was not sure I would be able to do it however a long, long time ago I made a deal with myself regarding my workouts. The deal was that when I didn’t feel like going to the gym I would go anyway and if I still didn’t feel like it after the first 10 minutes then I was allowed to leave. I wasn’t allowed to quit up front without trying but I was allowed to throw in the towel if I had at least tried. Up to this day I have never caved after that first 10 minutes even though there have been countless days where I have made the deal with myself. Today was one of those days. I though I would do the warm-up and see how I felt. Doing that is kind of like giving a dog a bone, once I have it, I won’t give up. Around 10 minutes in I found myself pushing harder, trying to improve on my last session and I laughed a little at my ability to trick my own lazy subconscious. I felt good enough that after I was done I took some day 34 pictures to show my 1/3 distance progress. I still haven’t decided if I will publish those photos…

Day 24 – Chinup bars and P90x quitters

July 17 2009 – Kenpo – again!

Seems like just a couple of days ago I was doing Kenpo. Skipping that day obviously has thrown off my perception a little. In fact, I did Kenpo on the 12th which is only 3 days ago and checking the schedule I am only one day off so even with the rest day it would only be 4 days between Karate workouts rather than the usual 7.

I realized something really bizarre today, I tend to close my eyes during Kenpo. I don’t do it during any other workout except Kenpo and it is really confusing me. I mean I really enjoy the workout, it goes by quick and I really feel like I get a good workout so why am I closing my eyes when kicking and punching? Anyway, the more I do the Kenpo the more I like it. As with all the P90X workouts, it is only as difficult as you make it and the harder you push yourself the more of a workout you will get. Today I was sweating like a beast after I finished because I tried to get my kicks higher and my body twisting more into my punches. Evena little change will amount to a lot if you are doing over 100 reps total. In the back of my mind was the fact that tomorrow is stretch X which is basically a rest day so I wanted to get as much out of the workout as I could while I could.

I am also trying to find a way to produce a better chinup bar than the door mounted one I have. I know it is rated over 300lbs but I just don’t have the confidence in it. I was thinking of putting a metal or wooden bar between the support pillars of the deck so I can use it outside but in reality putting one between door posts would be best. I just want to be able to do everything that I would do at the gym as far as chinups go. I find myself holding back with the setup that I have at the moment due to fear of falling (again!) and hurting my back (again!). I will see what I can find at Home Depot as far as bars go, in fact I may go to Fitness Source and see if they have any straight curl bars I can use. I also wonder if shelling out for something more substantial may put me in the ballpark for a better chinup bar instead, I mean I can’t be the only 250lb guy who wants to do chinups with confidence can I?

Now I don’t want to sound superior, or to jinx my progress but I am trying to find a P90X blog where the person has actually managed to do the 90 days and it is almost impossible. The vast majority of blogs contain a handful of entries, a litany of excuses and a pathetic fading away to nothing. Come on people, it’s not that hard! Well, it is that hard but seriously, commit to something and stick with it for once in your life! There are a few blogs out there by the P90X coaches, of course they are completely biased when it comes to discussing the program, maybe it is something they put in the recovery drink to brainwash people. Maybe it is the same stuff they put in the Mac Get-An-iLife Kool Aid. Anyway I am searching for blogs away from the official P90x Boards just to get an unbiased opinion. I guess they are harder to come by than I imagined hey would be.

Speaking of the Forums at Beachbody, they are a great resource but again there are core members who have done P90x multiple times and if you pay attention you will see the same high attrition rate of people starting and either giving up or caving in just a few days in. It is good to read some of the stories but it is also full of people with crazy expectations and unreasonably high hopes blowing smoke up each others behinds. I guess that is human nature though. So for the time being I will stay detached and hopefully put together a 90 day experience that people can actually relate to and compare to their own journey.

Day 20 – My butt hurts

Kenpo.

This is by far and away my favourite workout. I know last time I said the same thing, the past week has only served to reinforce my attitude. Today my legs were killing me. Between trying to improve my frog stretch and the insane pounding I gave them yesterday I felt like I was on stilts today, a little wobbly and not altogether under control. We went to look at some open houses just for a laugh and every time I got out of the car it felt like I was ripping my butt muscle from the tendons. I am sure I looked like an overstuffed Forrest Gump walking towards the open houses as if I was in leg braces. It didn’t help that we stayed over at a friend’s house last night and I got to sleep on a rock hard matress. Now I am not complaining about the matress per se since I am very fond of hard beds however when I only get to spend one night, my body reacts in an unfavourable way. However, I woke with less lower back pain than normal but more leg and butt pain. I also woke with more children pains but that is a whole different issue.

I knew that no matter how I felt starting out, that the workout would go by fast and I would actually enjoy it so I dragged my butt off the couch after watching the Indy and went downstairs. My kicks were better today, my coordination is also improving and the whole workout is getting better the more I enjoy it. That is typical given that today is my last day of the first active session of P90X. The next week is what is referred to as a rest week however I believe it only means I don’t have to do 100 chinups and 400 pushups every other day. Once this week is done it is time for phase 2 of 3. I will preview the differences later.

I am in a conundrum now however. I am 0ne day short of being on the right day so I think that given that I am going into a rest week that I can skip my rest day and go to day 1 of the rest week. Technically it would mean that I am doing P89X but I am sure that is not the end of the world. The benefit is that my rest day would be Sunday, the day after I pull my normal double which makes much more sense. It also means that Monday is my start day much like it is for my gym workouts. It means that today would be YogaX instead of rest day/stretchX. Given what I have accomplished so far and the benefits, I think I will go ahead and skip day 21 and go on to day 22.

Day 13 – Moolatte or move on.

Kenpo X

Moolatte - The best drink IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!! Ya, no more of those :( — Moolatte - The best drink IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!! Ya, no more of those 🙁

It’s taken me 17 days to do 13 days workouts with the sickness and the coaching time off. Tomorrow will be Monday and that will mark 14 days, or 1/6th of the P90X program. It feels like so much longer than that in some ways and in others, like in the physical appearance department it feels like not much has happened. Although I feel like my belt is looser and I know I have dropped a few pounds I am at the 2 week frustration point. This point is the watershed of the workout world. After 2 weeks either your body will win or your determination will win. It is the breaking point where suddenly your body realizes that the changes are most likely long term and so it starts to adjust. It lets go of some bodyfat, boosts its metabolism to catch up and generally starts to adjust to the new regime. Of course, it is also the day that your brain will tell you that nothing is happening and you should probably get a Moolatte and forget the whole thing. It really comes down to that, Moolatte or move on. If you Moolatte, you can expect at least another week of the same battle. If you decide to move on and keep up with the work you will start to see the changes you have been looking for.

Kenpo is my favourite workout. Not because I like martial arts or the thought of beating people up but rather because it seems to last about half as long as most P90X workouts. The kicking is difficult to master especially if you haven’t done any martial arts before. The combinations of kicking and punching or the multiple blocking sequences are challenging also. Today my legs were sluggish, my back was aching but I knew that once I had made it through that I would be fine. I also knew in the back of my mind that one more week of this and I get a week of stretching / rest. The workout went quickly, my heartrate was up in the 140s for most of the hour and I felt great afterwards. Tomorrow is rest day but for me it will be a stretch day.

P90X – So far so good!

Day 6 – DOMS strikes with a vengeance

Every kid I knew growing up either had this poster or desperately wanted it.

DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. This is why when you work out hard you are not sore the next day but rather 2 days later. It is one of those things in the fitness and medical field that is still up for debate as to the cause. You would think that in this age we would pretty much know why the body does certain things. Apparently all that money we pay to the doctors really does go on BMW’s and country clubs! Regardless of the reason, the facts are simple. 2 days ago we did a difficult leg and back workout, and yesterday I was in some discomfort. Today I feel like I have a large hunting knife stuck in my left butt cheek. The pain is excruciating, it is a significant hindrance to my ability to walk and my whole hip/back/pelvic girdle area is seized up like an old Chevy that has been sitting in the rain and the snow since Charlie’s Angels was on the telly. Speaking of which, it is with great sadness that we note the passing of one of the greatest sex symbols of my youth, Farrah Fawcett. I watched Charlie’s Angels in England as a kid with fascination not only at the wonder that was American TV but also because every kid I knew thought that Farrah Fawcett was without a doubt the most beautiful woman in the world. There was no debate, she just was, and she will be missed greatly and remembered fondly.

Back to day 6 though, which means at some point I have to stop bitching and do Kenpo X. The saving grace is that a few years ago I took Kempo Karate (Kempo is the Americanized version of the original Kenpo) classes for a summer and also the P90 program (the beginner Beachbody program) had some karate type components to it when we did that a few years ago. I am not going to say I know what to expect beacause to be honest this program has already given me enough curve balls to prove that they have obviously done their homework in preparing a system to throw you off balance. It’s going to be difficult, it is going to be extremely painful, but in the end that is what I signed up for and I am not going to be beaten by a DVD, I just won’t!!!

So it was just as difficult as I imagined however it was a lot more fun than I imagined and the hour just flew by. Probably knowing I didn’t have to do Ab killer afterwards helped. The workout itself it fairly predicatble, some strking, kicking and blocking along with some complexÂ multiple movements that I wasn’t quite able to master right away. My heart rate was over 130 the whole hour, peaking at almost 150. So far, it was the easiest day of the program simply because the movements didn’t really require advanced balance or strength just endurance and an amount of coordination that anyone should posess. It was easy to do well, in so much as you are able to push yourself hard even if you can’t do the movements exacltly as you are supposed to. Of course, there are enough of each repetition that at the end of the workout you are left with the infamous jelly legs but the workout is enjoyable enough that you don’t really notice. It is the perfect way to end the week especially after such a gruelling start.

Hard to believe it was a week ago that I started this. Although I did have to take the 2 days off, I will make up by not taking the rest day and doing a double on Sunday with a morning run while Nicole is at work at the gym.

Week one done! I would pat myself on the back but my shoulders are too sore to reach back there…