A sample text widget
Etiam pulvinar consectetur dolor sed malesuada. Ut convallis
euismod dolor nec pretium. Nunc ut tristique massa.
Nam sodales mi vitae dolor ullamcorper et vulputate enim accumsan.
Morbi orci magna, tincidunt vitae molestie nec, molestie at mi. Nulla nulla lorem,
suscipit in posuere in, interdum non magna.
|
Workout
Big news, folks: Today was yoga day, and I did P90X Yoga! It has been a while. I really prefer an instructor-led yoga session, if I do it at all, and even though this one has its flaws, I am familiar with it. Some people, like personal trainer Ben Greenfield, have suggested that a short stretching routine (10 minutes or less) can provide the same benefits as a once or twice weekly yoga session. Ben argues in this article while yoga can help to reduce stress and manage your blood pressure, you can get the flexibility benefits in a much shorter time every day. I might just give that a try.
Nutrition
Today was Chinese food day at the office. I took the somewhat healthier choice (among my usual choices, I mean). This was black pepper chicken, fried but not battered, in a sweet sauce, and some peppers and onions mixed in. I had brown rice, and added some broccoli from home (microwaved). This is how I like to bulk out meals so that I can split them in two. I also had hot and sour soup (300 calories). Dinner was a little high in calories, too. I had some hunger and cravings a while after dinner, and I didn’t eat junk, but I had some extra calories in the form of plain yogurt, whey powder, and almond butter. One of those nights, maybe? In the end I had a 140-calorie surplus (almost the opposite of yesterday’s good day). Not terrible, but not the trend I was looking for.
Health and well-being
I was tired at the end of a typical work week (with a lot of the usual evening activities), even though it was only four work days. Maybe that was another contributing factor to my hunger at the end of the day.
Workout
I took another shot at the level 2 resistance workout. It was really tough! It took me 60 minutes again, but I finished it this time. This really feels like the intensity of a P90X workout, at least to me. The difference is that it is a hybrid, with the combination of back, leg, shoulder, arm bicep, and abs exercises.
Nutrition
I had steel-cut oats, a banana and whey powder for breakfast, a protein bar snack, the last of my yam tempeh stew for lunch, then mixed nuts for an afternoon snack, and a ground turkey-based casserole for dinner. I did great (relatively speaking) with my calories, ending on a 200+ calorie deficit for the day. Some days seem easier than others! I did have some coffee in the afternoon, but made it through the morning OK.
Health and well-being
I was tired and sore from the workout! Also, I read Tony’s chapter about supplements, and I am considering which I should add. Currently I take a multivitamin, vitamin D, magnesium (in addition to the Concentrace which contains magnesium), fish oil capsules, and flaxseed meal (which I add to my oatmeal). In addition, Tony suggest things like a greens supplement/drink, along with a “reds” supplement/drink (fruit-based), recovery drink (of course!) and some other stuff. I need to figure out what I am spending right now on supplements, and how much I can afford to add. I see the benefits, but it’s in the same category as eating organic, where I have to consider the costs.
Workout
This time, the level 2 Aerobic workout took 40 minutes instead of an hour. No distractions from my family or the new routine! I had a moderate calorie burn, similar to comments I have read about Kenpo and Cardio X, and comparable to the level 1 workout. I want to add a short treadmill session on a consistent basis, to burn a few more calories and still keep it at an hour or less.
Nutrition
Today’s meals were healthy: An egg sandwich, yam tempeh stew (with a little italian sausage from leftovers), salmon fillet with vegetables…
Let me just add a little plug here for wild-caught salmon. Yes, it’s more expensive than farm-raised. When I learned what it means to “farm raise” a salmon (in crowded tanks laced with whatever drugs are necessary to keep them healthy), I decided this was a perfect opportunity to make a healthier choice. I have tried free-range chicken (or whatever you call the ones not raised in crowded warehouses), as well as grass-fed beef. Financially, I am not ready to go all the way. The prices are significantly higher, and of course I know that means I should eat less, with better quality. I’m getting there.
The downside of today’s eating activities: I had a big afternoon snack, consisting of a rice cake with hummus, and a protein bar, and then… CAKE. After dinner, at our weekly meeting with friends. The damage was a 600-calorie surplus for the day.
Health and well-being
I got to bed quickly after our meeting. Of course, I woke up at 3 AM for about an hour. At least I got back to sleep.
Interesting side note: Check out this review of P90X and these Most Annoying Things About Tony Horton from Brett Blumenthal. I came across a link to her blog thanks to Twitter and the #p90x hashtag. I think she’s done a great job summarizing the pros and cons of P90X. She makes some good points about Tony, too, even if I think the word “annoying” is a little mean.
Workout
I took my first try at Striver’s Resistance Level 2 today. I created new worksheets, just as I did for Level 1. There are pullups and chinups in this one, as well as arm and bicep exercises, and no Tony Horton workout would be complete without pushups. There are also two versions of a plyometric squat, which P90X fans know as the jump squat.
Timing was an issue for me on this workout, just as it was for Level 1. Where Tony says it should take 40-45 minutes, I had to stop after an hour when I had only completed Circuit 1 (twice) and Circuit 2 (once). That last circuit would probably have taken about 10 minutes. It was my first time through, so hopefully I can streamline this a bit. I do have to walk back and forth to my pulldown resistance bands for the chinups and pullups, and that’s where I have my exercise mat for the floor exercises like the good old side-tri-rise.
Nutrition
Today was a pretty good day. My meals were healthy, protein percentage was in the high 20s, and I stayed away from the junk. I did have some coffee.
Health and well-being
I made my best effort to get a good night’s sleep. It took me about an hour to fall asleep, and I woke up an hour earlier than planned and couldn’t get back to sleep. Grr. Better luck next time? At least I am not having as much trouble with feeling sleepy today, and I think it’s only partly due to the coffee I had mid-morning. Meanwhile, I keep hearing about the benefits of sleep. Gee, thanks.
Workout
I’m making progress! Today I moved on to Striver’s Aerobic Workout Phase 2. There are some exercises from the Phase 1 workout, and others have been replaced. It took me about 45 minutes. Tony’s estimated time is 35 minutes. I had the day off from work, so I was starting later, and there were distraction from family, along with learning the new moves. The calorie burn was OK, not great, for that amount of time. It did feel like a pretty good workout.
I had a small bonus round today: More snow shoveling! Actually, it was just an inch or two, so that was pretty quick.
Nutrition
Breakfast, lunch and snacks were healthy today; then, my wife and I went to Olive Garden for dinner. We had a gift certificate, it was dinner out minus the kids, etc. I did not make the healthiest choices; however, I did eat only one third of my entree. Just like that, 1500 calories becomes 500! The whole meal, including soup, breadsticks, entree, and *cough* cake *cough*, added up to 1600 calories. I was at a calorie surplus of 312 at the end of the day. Maybe I should have hopped on the treadmill again.
Health and well-being
Once again, I am not feeling very energetic today. I want to set a goal of being in bed for eight hours per night, and hopefully sleeping through most of it. That’s still not eight hours of actual sleep, but it would be better than the six hours or so that I have been getting.
|
|
