Days 50-53: I know, I'm behindX...

Sue Me.

But hey- I've still been working out, even if I haven't been blogging to keep you posted on it. I've been sick, I've been tired, I've been lazy about the computer. It happens. Also, this is the second recovery week, so the workouts have been a bit more lax.

Day 50 (Monday) was YogaX, and since I was sickX I missed it. I left work at lunch, crawled into bed, and didn't move/ wake up until about 6pm, thought about yoga, and collapsed again until my boyfriend came by to check on me. (How sweet!) So I now have to make up a day of yoga- boo!

Day 51 (Tuesday) was Core Synergistics. Which I forced myself to do despite the cold- while not an overly great idea, it means I don't have to add that to my make up list. It was rough, but I powered through what I could, did a lot of things with half energy and skipped the extra jumping bits. By the time I was done though I was beyond exhausted, went home and collapsed to a comfy couch and movie for added recovery. J. was a massive plus to this workout though because his added jokes/ commentary while I was suffering kept me amused and pushing forward. You're awesome J- thanks for the humor. :-)

Day 52 (Wednesday- yesterday) was KenpoX. Awful, a thousand billion million kinds of awful. It's bad enough that I'm not a huge fan of KenpoX, but I also have done extra days of it (as opposed to plyometrics) so I've gotten bored. Let's not forget I was still feeling pretty congested and worn out from the cold and working all day. Needless to say, I skipped out on a lot of the "bonus double fast" moves and just tried to keep up with the workout. On a positive note- I was working out with all 3 of the guys J. B. and N. who kept my spirits up and helped me push through. They have truly been an amazing addition to this workout- without them I never would have made it this far, nor would I have been willing to push forward this week while sick. Thanks guys- I love you! (Even if I spend a lot of the workout complaining, whining, and yelling at Tony... and beating you up.)

Today is day 53 (Wow!) and we're doing X-stretch. I love X-stretch. It's easy, it's calm, it's relaxing, and it's short enough. I wish I took the time to do it more often on the Sunday skip days because I always feel so much better after wards.

To those of you still following this- you're awesome. Thanks for the added support. Even though I've been slacking with the updates lately, the blog is always on my mind (hence the lunchtime update!), and I am sorry about the delays these past 2 weeks. Maybe it's the old age? Ha!

~Kay

Day 48/ 49.

Yesterday I found doing Kenpo on my own for the thousandth time was really difficult. First off I started at 10am since I would be leaving for the weekend around 12 or 1pm. Secondly I had just rolled out of bed so the energy level wasn't there. Thirdly, I'm just not a fan of the KenpoX... but it's still better than plyometrics.

But I did my best, got it done, and went off to have a fantastic weekend/ mini-vacation. Needless to say I didn't do x-stretch. However, I am grateful for recovery week that starts tomorrow!

~Kay

ps- can you believe I'm still doing this? I'm a little surprised with myself.

Day 47: LonerX

Thanks to B. being a typical muncher of the buttocks, D. having class, J. having pep band, and N. being out of town for the next week (practically) I got to do the back and legs workout solo. Yes, I realize that I've done some of the other days solo... but at least then I was in the comfort of my own tiny apartment. Today I got to go over to their place to get my single loner loser sweat on in style. While doing wall squats J. passed through a few times to the kitchen, D. came through while I was hard at work on some chin-ups, and B. returned with his friend JB when I was doing some ridiculously awkward thing involving weights and lunges.

I never realized just how weird/ awkward some of the exercises must seem until the guys walked in and decided to sit down and WATCH me work out. Because that totally isn't lame and weird at all dudes. I was chilling in sweats and a sports bra... kind of felt a little awkward to have an audience. Thanks guys. I'll remember this and beat you up later.

Tomorrow I'll do an early round of KenpoX, and then I'm gone on a mini vacation until Sunday. Thank goodness for my rest day because trying to figure out a workout while out of the area with people who aren't in the p90x would be difficult. Best of luck to N. with getting his workout done. It's so much harder to do the workout with out him since he and I have been the two most intense about making sure we hit it.

But we still get it done- because we're eXtreme.

~Kay

Day's 45 & 46: I promise I'm better at the workout than I am at the daily posting...

Yesterday was HALF WAY through p90x, and it was full of pull ups and basic weight lifting moves for the biceps. I enjoy that work out, even if I'm completely soaked and tuckered out by the end of it... and then still have ab-ripperX. Which of course, we all try to get through as quickly as possible. By the time we finish up we're so wasted and hurting it's not even funny. I realize now that Tony talks a lot between each exercise for a reason, but I still refuse to put up with it because I still feel like it is a total waste of my time. I can listen to Tony Horton talk when I'm dead and in hell (because we all know that's where I'm most likely headed).

Yesterday for the workout itself I had to pull B. out of bed (literally, pull him out... after jumping on him and stealing the blanket) so that I would have someone to workout with. My method of motivation may be a bit... off center. However! It works because he did get up and work out... even if he was a whiny butt muncher for most of the workout, kept sitting down, and then skipped ab ripperX so that he could get to wherever it was he had to be at 6:30. He's a lamer- but a total trooper for putting up with me.

Even if he does pretty much hate me right now. (Yes, he was still grumpy about it today.)

Today was another exciting day of YOGAX! Being that it was just N. and I trooping through it together, it was also another rousing day of gossipX. Nothing like catching up on each others lives... and the lives of many of our friends... and making fun of people (mainly Tony) together. Screw 'finding our chi'... this is much more entertaining.

Ok, you've been update on how awesome I am for doing this workout and keeping up with it. All should worship me.

No? Ok. Fine. I get it. Idol worship isn't cool anyway.

~Kay

Day's 41-44: I'm still here.

Over the weekend I ended up being so busy that I could barely squeeze in KenpoX- let alone blog about it!

Yesterday was crazy push up/ weight lifting day. I like it- minus the one handed and clap push ups. I'm actually improving in each exercise EXCEPT those two. The one handed are up and down depending, and the clap push ups just get worse. Everything else is going strong, which is awesome.

Today I'll do KenpoX alone because I'll be at work until 8pm. And I don't have the plyometrics DVD (nor can I really do a lot of jumping around in my second floor apartment- I'm fairly certain my neighbors would not be a fan.) To make up I'll be doing plyometrics on Saturday- I was really looking forward to skipping that though. I would have much rather done KenpoX twice.

Okay, got to run- my board meeting is about to start. (Yes, I'm still at work. Blogging. See? I'm attempting to be dedicated!)

Also- I'm really excited that tomorrow marks the HALF WAY point! I would like to reward myself somehow, I just haven't figured out how yet. I may hold off on that.

But still, yay!

~Kay

Day 40: Wow, I'm at Day 40

Ab Ripper X was not meant to be attempted in half the time. Due to running behind in my schedule (flipping momma trucker traffic) I was a solid 15 minutes behind my planned schedule that would have had me ready for my 7pm date just in time.

Not so much.

Luckily for me, my date is also running late- but because I didn't know this until I was almost ready... I have the time for a quick update!

I'm improving each time on my pull-ups, but I still cannot do them without the chair assist- I tried today and got about halfway. Granted, I was exhausted when I tried to do it. p90x on 'double time' when possible is not cool... I'm beginning to think all that time Tony "wastes" talking is really a mini break for us.

Meh, I am accomplished, and awesome. As is N. for getting through the work out with me and bending to my needs to get through quickly. He even suggested skipping ab's and doing it tomorrow- like I'm going to mess with the schedule. Any more than I already have. That one time. Last week.

~Kay

Day 39: Lala Yoga

Yesterday was day 39 (I know I'm late posting, but hey- my power was out when I got home and didn't want to sit alone in the dark so I went back out- sue me.) and I did yogaX for the 137th time. Wee!

Yoga is much better with people- esp with B. because he isn't very flexible and complains quite a bit, so I am constantly amused and spend time yelling at him- telling him he's doing it wrong (in a joking manner). This sounds mean, but really it keeps my focus off the burn and how much I hate yogaX and Tony Horton.

Also, B. claims he is the original hater of Tony Horton, and the rest of us are just copying. He does not hold a monopoly on the Horton Haterade. Just throwing that one out there.

I'm excited for today! Tomorrow I have to do KenpoX on my own at some point, not so fun. We all know how much I am not a fan of that workout. Maybe I'll do it at my friend's house while dog sitting... and watch the dog go nuts.

Awesome.

~Kay

38: I am a beast.

Today was Back and Biceps- all pull ups and curls mainly. I love this day. Mainly because when I see notable improvement- like going from 9 wide front pull ups last week to 22 this week. Um, awesome! I was also able to beef up the curls by using the 8lb weights. (Thanks again friend!)

Today I worked out with N. and J. which was good and bad- having more than the two of us adds the motivation to keep pushing each other forward, but because we only had two pull up bars and three people... which meant a lot of pausing. I got impatient. I sent a few text messages while waiting. However, I know that getting J. to workout with us was awesome, so the waiting was not that big of a deal.

In a side note- I'm being published! (Not this blog, a paper I wrote in college...) But, I've been spending a lot of time working on the re-write/ corrections, which is why these blogs have becoming shorter. And potentially less amusing. I promise to work on this in the future.

Also? It's my birthday this weekend- yay! But do not fear, I will continue my workout and I will post. :-)

~Kay

Day 37: Plyometrics. Again.

For once I didn't wish death upon Tony Horton during the atrocious workout that is plyometrics. I feel like that in itself is an improvement. I also didn't feel the same pain in my knees, and I did work up a great sweat (and required stink that goes with it- ew.)

As I get closer to the halfway mark, the more excited I become... and the sadder I become because if you think about it- after halfway it's down hill right? And what will I do when the 90 days are up? I know I have to take a break for a while (it's mentioned somewhere in the literature that N. read), but once I take a break what do I do?

I know I will definitely want to keep up with ab ripperX- 15 minutes of a killer ab workout and then I feel accomplished? Awesome. I'm not sure if I'll want to do a second cycle of the full 90 days- it does take up quite a bit of time, and it'd be nice to be able to come home from work one day and stay home. Not to mention the fact that p90x makes it a bit harder to plan any vacations because I have to think "Ok, I'll be gone on these days, I will need these discs, and I will need this amount of time each day to do it." Which doesn't seem so bad, but when my support isn't beside me also doing the workout- it's tough. I think N. and I are the only ones still full swing into the workout, which is fine. I think the others pick it up on days they can... whatever works best for them. However, this puts that much more pressure on N. and I to not give up because then the other is flying solo- and that's definitely no fun.

Yet... I love the workout, I love the burn, I love how tired but energized I feel. I like how when people talk about it with me I get the fire of excitement burning in my chest. Weird. I'm actually becoming a fan of *movement*.

Does this mean I have to change my blog title?

~Kay

Day Thirty Six Hurts

I think I hurt my shoulder. 1 arm push ups are NOT my friend.

Before those I was doing GREAT and beating my numbers from last week; after wards- not so much. Grr.

Overall I'm still rocking it, but today I found myself struggling at the end. However, I am becoming a pro at ab-ripperX. I think that's still my favorite workout.

I'm going to shower, clean my chinchilla's cage, and ice my shoulder while I curl up in bed for a bit with the boy. Yay.

~Kay

Day 35: Make-Up Day

As I mentioned earlier- I ended up missing Thursday's YogaX workout, so I eventually managed to get it done today. On my own. Which is really boring, and it gets really tempting to fast forward through all the annoying parts- mainly twisting half moon and the balance postures. Hate those.

However! I am stoked to report that I did the full workout, I did not skip ahead on anything, nor did I take a water break while I was supposed to be in warrior three through the twisting moon bullshit. I actually did all of those and see that I am improving on my balance/ endurance during the work out. The awkward part about that is that I have noticed my left side is better than my right- stronger and more able to balance.

I'm looking forward to this upcoming week, of course, and the fact that I'm closing in on the halfway mark. It's really cool for me to realize that I've managed to make it this far, and can see/ feel results. Earlier today I was helping friends move couches with ease. Yay!

~Kay

Day 34: Morning KenpoX

Today I had to get rolling fairly early for weekend work, so I started my day with a little KenpoX. I hate KenpoX (as you all probably have figured out by now, of course) however- it wasn't so bad this morning. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I'm improving, or that it was too early in the day for me to care to much so I just did it, but whatever it was- it worked. Because of my packed morning, N. came over to my place to do the workout, and we flew through it as quick as we could, but I still had to cut out towards the end so I could grab a pre-work shower.

Despite skipping the punch-kick combo series, I feel pretty good about the workout, and just barely made it to work on time. Awesome.

I've also been jazzed/ energized all day because I knocked KenpoX out early. I wish I could do that everyday- but 6am p90x just doesn't sound as thrilling.

~Kay

Day 33

I looooooooooooove my work out. Love it. Totally in love with it.

Hate Tony Horton.

Love p90x.

Even if I refuse to admit it while doing the actual workout.

also? yesterday I didn't get the time to do yogaX (it was beyond ridiculous of a day... but i plan to make it up on sunday instead of taking advantage of x-stretch.)

Day 31: Tired, but awesome.

I prefer hand weights to bands. Hey look- I actually have a preference! On something dealing with movement and exercise! Look at my improvement!

Speaking of movement, I took my 30 day pictures after today's workout (so technically they're day 31 pictures...) and I could actually notice changes in each pose. It was kind of awesome to be able to look at myself and see the improvement and go "Oh hey- that stomach is slimming down!" or "What are those lines? Is that... muscle!?" I am definitely still stoked about this workout and am glad to be doing it. (Though I do still hate Tony Horton and will continue to hate him. Deal.)

But yes, free weights (I went out and picked up some 5 pounders before the workout today) are a thousand times better because I don't have the same strain on my shoulders that I had before from the resistance bands. Yay! Also, I realized I'm going to have to go back and pick up some 8 or 10 pound weights because in some of the exercises the 5's were too light. Ha! Awesome!

Also? Corn-Cob Pull Ups are the number one most ridiculous thing ever and I want to know who invented them so I can kill him. (And I know it had to be a man to be willing to put up with that kind of torture.)

But yes, improvement is a total yay- my coworkers are noticing it and ask me for help with moving things all the time. Today I was called upon to remove the backseat from a van (easy-peasy) and toss in 2 bikes. While I was able to do this before the workout, now I can do it with hardly a struggle.

I feel awesome.

~Kay

Day 30: Woo!

I still really hateX plyometrics, and I'm really angry that we have to do it every flipping Tuesday (minus the recovery weeks). Technically, we can do cardioX instead, but N. is all "no Kay, I refuse to switch, plyometrics is too mcuh fun." Shove it N. I hate you, I hate Tony Horton, and I especially hate the Tuesday workout. There I said it. It's out there. Bam! Haterade and all.

So, after yesterday my left shoulder feels strained- I need to pick up some 5 lb. weights for tomorrow. Now, after today, my right knee is feeling pretty weak- I also hate my knee brace. It's awesome to feel the burn, but it's not so awesome to have some of these pains that make me slow it down.

Today with the workout from hell it felt even worse than normal because we had the recovery week, so I felt "out of practice" with the jumping and had the hardest time keeping up. We started late, were on a time constraint, and B. started the workout with the desire for a napX instead. This does not make for an awesome workout combo. Add in a friend who shows up halfway through to watch so they can all go somewhere right after wards and we get a lot of extra yelling. Why is it we only seem to get an audience when its the awkward workouts that don't make us look good? Why can't people show up to watch us power through clapping push ups and switch grip pull ups?

Just tossing that one out there... because we look super fab during those workouts.

~Kay

PS- officially 1/3 of the way through p90x and I'M STILL DOING IT! Who would have imagined?

Day 29: Phase TWO!

I cannot believe I have made it to PHASE TWO of this ridiculously intense/ extreme workout! It makes me want to go out and celebrate (I had a really gross and awful for me cheeseburger when I went to dinner with a friend, it was fantastic. As was the water I had with it.) That's another thing- I'm finally drinking water all day long, and enjoying it- I never drank water, it has no taste and used to seem pointless minus the whole "thirst" thing. Now I love water- I drink it all the time!

As for today's workout- flipping crudder muffins! I did not know so many different push ups existed in the world. I thought we hit all the different types in phase one... not so much. They're always changing up and target various muscles. Also? I used to hate push ups, now I find that they're my favorite! I can feel the burn everywhere, but can acknowledge the amazing feeling I have when I start to get them right. I do most of them on my knees still, but I'm working on changing that!

I still hate Tony Horton- this video he spends less time making jokes or tellin gyou how to do something, which while it has its benefits is also a negative because I had a hard time following him on some of the exercises. I've also come to the realization that I suffer hardcore with the resistance bands and would be better off with light weights than trying to overextend my shoulders and keep hurting them. I'll be out to buy weights a little later this week.

Day 28: Skippie x3

I like Sunday Skip Day. My core is so sore I needed the chance to relax...

I'm looking forward the start of the new week, and thus start of a new work out- but at the same time there's the realization that I'm 2 days away from 1/3 of the way through p90x! This is FANTASTIC! I've never stuck around with any exercise routine for this long unless it was related to a sports team. I am stoked.

I also have posted below a personal favorite picture. The p90x workout team's "cover" for Downward Dog:
(This was taken at a "white party" over the weekend when the 5 of us all got excited over our workout for some reason, and decided that we needed to take this picture... I call it motivation.)