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Tony Horton’s "Bring It!" Day 10

Workout

My aerobic workout was 35 minutes again, plus 20 minutes on the treadmill for a jog/walk while watching The Biggest Loser. I find that show always makes me go a little faster! The calorie burn was moderate for that amount of time. My form improved on the exercises, especially the Line Jump. “Hopping back and forth, like bunny rabbits!”

Nutrition

Breakfast was one fried egg on a multigrain english muffin, with a little ham. I had a Pure Protein bar for mid-morning snack. Lunch was vegetable soup with kidney beans and quinoa, a rice cake with spicy hummus, then some mixed nuts (unsalted) in the late afternoon. Dinner was tuna steak with white rice (not my choice, but OK) and broccoli. We go out on Wednesday nights to a friend’s house, and usually there are goodies. I did have a piece of cake. Overall, It was nice to see that I was at the break even point for my calories today. I need more days like that, and maybe some calorie deficits too.

Health and well-being

I am surprised at how well workouts are going with an average six hours sleep per night. I am not proud of that, but at least I am holding up OK. I don’t want to give up caffeine until I am getting better sleep. Maybe that’s an excuse, but I have spent plenty of afternoons in a zombie-like state.

February 10th, 2011 | Category: book review, Bring It, Bring It book, P90X, success, Tony Horton | Comments are closed

Tony Horton’s "Bring It!" Day 9

Workout

Today I remembered another one of Tony’s lines as I completed the resistance workout. “You just brought up the level!” I moved smoothly from one exercise to the other. My only breaks were the 30 seconds (more or less) between circuits, and the two times I changed the plates on my weights. I had a better calorie burn than previous days. As a matter of fact, it was a very respectable calorie burn compared to the P90X arm/shoulder/bicep workouts. I know the point of those is to work on the “glamor muscles,” but they aren’t very aerobic. Anyway, at the end of the workout, I felt just as sore and tired as with some of the P90X resistance workouts.

It took me 60 minutes to complete the workout. I really don’t know if can it be any shorter. I mean, I really didn’t take long breaks, and even my weight adjustments only added a few minutes. Oh, I was writing stuff down, but wouldn’t Tony include that in his timing? Maybe not.

In order to avoid more weight adjustments, I am trying a higher weight with less reps on certain exercises. It’s another way to add variety, I suppose.

Nutrition

For lunches this week, I switched from salad to vegetable soup. I do enjoy salads, but now that the soup is made I can just grab it and go.

I still have a lot of brown rice and quinoa in the fridge. Tony recommends half-cup servings, so if you cook a cup, which doubles or triples after cooking… Doing the math… Carry the two… Just kidding! Anyway, if you don’t eat rice or quinoa every day, it takes a while to get through even that much. So I am adding rice or quinoa and some canned beans to my soup.

I stocked up on Zone Perfect and Pure Protein bars on my latest Costco trip. Yes, it’s processed food, and the Zone Perfect has more sugar than the protein bars, but they are for use as needed. As I think about it, I really haven’t been eating much packaged food at all.

I did eat a half brownie my wife brought home. Foiled again! My calorie count was about the same as yesterday, 175 surplus. Still working on that.

Health and well-being

Once again, I am working with less than five hours’ sleep. This is a tough problem to fix.

I am feeling some stress from what I am spending on groceries, when you combine it with the family’s needs. We are not making extravagant meals, for sure, but it all adds up. I do get some funny looks when I come home with the pricey coconut oil or some kind of supplement. There’s room for improvement there, too.

February 9th, 2011 | Category: Bring It book | Comments are closed

Tony Horton’s "Bring It!" Day 8

Workout

It’s the beginning of week 2! Back to the aerobic workout. I decided to do the warmup and cooldown from the P90X Plyometrics DVD, instead of the one in the book. The stretches are similar, but I keep a better pace and form when I follow along with Tony and the gang. I do get tired of the dialogue, but that’s why all the P90X graduates know it so well.

The workout took me 35 minutes. I got a good calorie burn for that amount of time, but I need to have a longer session for better results. Hopefully on Wednesday I will have time for the treadmill, too.

Nutrition

Today was another mixed bag as far as good vs. bad choices. I had leftover Chinese food from the other day, without the soup, so it was more reasonable. Overall, my calories were a little high (150 surplus), and my protein percentage a little low, but not terrible.

I did try a couple of new things today. I have been trying to find coconut oil at the store because of all the health benefits. It’s apparently well-hidden or unavailable at most supermarkets, because I couldn’t find it until I went to a local vitamin store. I guess it’s at the health food stores, too.

Recently I heard a podcast from Ben Greenfield Fitness, in which the guests were talking about some convincing evidence linking body temperature and fat burning. One of the techniques they mentioned, which I am sure has been part of some fad diets, is drinking ice water to burn more calories. It’s not a large amount of calories, maybe 100 or so per day if all the water you drink is ice cold. They did make the point that if you overeat by that amount of calories per day, you can gain a few pounds per year, and so on. I figure it’s worth a try, so I am sitting here with a big insulated jug full of ice water.

Health and well-being

In the podcast I just mentioned, the guests talked about other experiments they have tried, such as ice-water baths (which are a prety common recovery step for athletes) and even walking outside in the cold with as little clothing as possible. I think they called it a “shiver walk” or something like that. Once upon a time, I did some early morning runs in the cold, and they compared it to that, but for now I am trying to keep my coat open when I go outside, or maybe wear a layer less than I normally would. Again, it can’t hurt to try. No ice baths for me just yet.

February 8th, 2011 | Category: book review, Bring It, Bring It book, coconut oil, P90X, Ray Cronise, Tim Ferris, Tony Horton, workout | 2 comments - (Comments are closed)

Tony Horton’s "Bring It!" Day 7

Workout

No workout today, except for going to church, singing in the choir, then running some errands for most of the afternoon. That was tiring, but not aerobic or weight-bearing (OK, the shopping bags were heavy). I didn’t wear my heart rate monitor, either.

Nutrition

I had some coffee and cake during our usual break between church services. Just a little cake. My meals were healthy, but I did end up at a 580 calorie surplus. This is why I need to establish a calorie limit.

I made some vegetable soup for lunches this week. Tony suggests in a sidebar of the nutrition chapter that soup can be for breakfast, too. I did try that with the butternut squash soup, but probably not with this one. I also plan to make the tempeh yam stew recipe at my earliest convenience this week.

Health and well-being

I’m typing this late on Sunday night. So far, my plan to start the work week with a good night’s sleep is not succeeding. Oh well.

February 7th, 2011 | Category: book review, Bring It, Bring It book | Comments are closed

Tony Horton’s "Bring It!" Day 6

Workout

Today I actually completed the Striver’s Resistance Workout, Phase 1. It took longer than expected (over an hour. I was definitely worn out, but I don’t know if it packs the same wallop as a P90X workout. Of course, it is the middle level of difficulty, after all. I took the time to make the adjustments to my weights, too. I guess I will be giving this workout at least an hour and fifteen minutes, to be sure to complete it on a weekday.

Nutrition

I behaved myself today, mostly. We did have Greek food for lunch, which means a chicken breast sandwich on a large pita, with lettuce, tomato, onion, and yogurt sauce. On the side I had some fries (gasp!). Also, my son shared half of his dessert, to the tune of a couple hundred calories. Hey, it’s good to encourage sharing, right?

I had no caffeine today, even though I made a trip to 7 Eleven. I was tempted, though.

My calorie intake has been all over the place, rather than trying to stick to a specific daily number. I know about the idea of “calorie averaging,” where you consider your calorie intake over the past couple of days, but maybe I need to be more consistent.

Health and well-being

I took a rest/nap mid-afternoon, even after a full night’s sleep. I do find myself getting really tired in the afternoon. As a matter of fact, other than exercise time I don’t feel particularly energetic.

The last day of the exercise week (tomorrow), Tony encourages us to rest, stretch, and/or find an activity we enjoy. I plan to get another full night’s rest and see how it goes from there.

February 6th, 2011 | Category: book review, Bring It, Bring It book, P90X, Tony Horton, workout | Comments are closed
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