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DAY 12: It's Been a Minute

Workout: N/A I went camping over the weekend and caught the flu so I don't have any major updates other than that I took the entire week off (3 days camping, 4 days being sick). I think I mentioned somewhere in my prior posts that sticking to a tight workout schedule can be extremely stressful and you shouldn't beat yourself over breaking it. Life happens. Good shit happens, bad shit happens even more.  I am not sure if it was from the semi-raw eggs that a 5 year old coughed on, 30-degree nights and 80-degree days, falling into the swampy muck in the lake while learning to fish (amazing), or just plain shit luck. But I had 2.5 amazing days camping with friends and 4.5 crummy days ailing and recovering from a flu thereafter.  I am hopeful that I can get back on track this weekend as the lingering guilt of missing out is pissing me off and my body is getting sluggish again. It is really hard to not feel guilty even though a flu is as good of a hallpass as any. It kinda feels like

DAY 11: Slow Day

Workout: CVX Duration: 25min Condition: 5lb Weights (On Some Routines) Body Feels Like: 7/10 Good Mind Feels Like: 4/10 Feelin' Lazy I really like CVX because it is such a great all-around workout that encompasses cardio and strength training. It is also super flexible in that you can adjust the difficulty with rep counts and weights. It can be a light cardio for days when you want to just check off the workout in your to-do list or it can make you feel like you've completed a cross-fit tournament and get sore for days.  One thing I would advise for CVX is to be very careful with using heavy weights on the first set as there are no warm up routines and you're susceptible to injury at cold start. If you want to go nuts, spend around 5 minutes warming up like 1 min jumping jacks, 1 min arm rotations, 5 vinyasas, 20 push-ups, etc. If you're not feeling creative, you can always use the MMX warmup. Today I decided to raise the bar by lifting a...bar. A 5lb bar that is, for a

DAY 10: New Schedule?

Workout: MMX Duration: 25min Condition: 1 Sprawl (Set 2, Mountain Climber) Body Feels Like: 5/10 OK Mind Feels Like: 5/10 OK  I resumed snacking a few days ago. I was starting to get irritated by the constant lull of fatigue, hunger and soreness and had to satiate myself with something naughty. I try to limit my snacks but fuck it I will munch when I must. I had a hot dog yesterday at 3pm for example and it was glorious. As long as I am not grazing (constant hand-to-mouth) , I should be OK. MMX Breakdown Warm Up:  Done Set 1:  Done Set 2:  Routine 2 - replace sprawls with high knees, Routine 4 - Sprawl Set 3:  Replace sprawls with high knees, kicks (routine 2) and kicks (routine 4) STOP Set 4:  Replace sprawls  4 knees per leg (routine 2)  STOP  (I derped) Cool Down:  Done Today's mood is meh but the body is starting to adjust/plateau so it's time to up the ante and bust out the sprawl (burpees) in my MMX. Also I forgot to continue Set 4 so I should make a note to collect that

DAY 9: KISS! (Keep It Simple Stupid)

Workout: 3-Hour Hike  Walk Duration: 3-hour walk  Condition: Sunscreen Body Feels Like: 6/10 Starting to feel the plateau Mind Feels Like: 8/10 Meeting up with a bunch of friends  Blogging is becoming another 'thing to-do' and I loathe to feel that way tracking my workouts as I might quit as with max-out workouts in the past. I will try to keep dailies to a minimum and edit/insert additional tidbits of thought when I can.  I skipped today's workout as I went on a 3 hour birthday walk around the Pacific coastline. This was a great replacement of my usual 25-min workout as I caught up with friends and enjoyed a leisurely walk along the coastline. I was also delighted knowing that I did not have to P90.  I think I will replace Day 7 with any physical activity. I was starting to feel confined to the P90X-only trap and the beach walk was a much needed reprieve. 

DAY 8: Embrace My Frenemy

Workout: ACCELERATOR Duration: ~21min Completed Double Trouble Climbers  Condition: Breathing Body Feels Like: 5/10 What a difference a day's rest makes Mind Feels Like: 3/10 My to-do list is crowding my mind I realized just how quickly I can relapse into rest-mode after taking a day off. My body was less sore but I felt lazy and tired after work and almost skipped today's workout. I dragged my limp body over to the gym mat and turned on P90X3 Accelerator hoping for a quick cardio only to have it royally kicking my ass.  Accelerator  Customized Sets and Routines:  For those of you that are unfamiliar with P90X3 Accelerator, it is a 30min cardio-core training workout that blah blah blah pain. It is an amalgamation of plyo (jump) movements, plank variations and crunches without situps.  You can find some great torture videos of this on YouTube should you care to vicariously feel the burn.  I loathe core workouts If you haven't noticed, my Achilles' heel is any movement th

DAY 6: Feeling Kinda Less Broken

Workout: CVX Duration: ~25min Completed 3 Sets  Condition: No Weights Body Feels Like: 3/10 Abs are really sore from a workout a few days ago Mind Feels Like: 2/10 Feeling kinda down Last night I took my good friend out clubbing to celebrate his birthday. I had three bottles of IPA and a Jack and Coke. Music was pop-house with heavily redundant beats with drowning bass. Normally I would bounce around the floor until my lungs give out (around 3 to 5 minute bursts followed by 10 min rest).  Last night however, I more or less waddled around in boredom and wondered why the music was so dang awful. I used to love dancing but I was/am so out of shape. My friend had a great time however, so I was happy for him.  I am a bit broken and need to fix me.  CVX Customized Sets and Routines:  For those of you that are unfamiliar with P90X3 CVX, it is a 30min cardio-strength training workout that includes 4 sets of 3 routines, repeated twice per set followed by cool down. Weights are incorporated anyw

DAY 5: I Think I'm Getting Somewhere

Workout: MMX Duration: 28min Completed Set 4 Routine 2/4 Condition: No Sprawl I'm still warming up in week 1  Body Feels Like: 5/10 Stiff and sore from abs and yoga from the previous day Mind Feels Like: 6/10 The soreness doesn't bother me as much today I bounced in and out of P90X yoyo routines for over 10 years and one thing that I realized is that P90X at max intensity is unsustainable over long stretches of time. Far too often I trained super hard and went all out for a week, month, even 6 months only to wake up one day and tell myself fuck it and quit. The purpose of this blog is to share my journey in becoming healthier and to put pen to paper on my efforts to be less sick, increase stamina, be more alert, enjoy food, and just be happier (and less depressed but I will get to that some other time). I am not an expert or a professional of any kind. I am lazy, aging and don't want to get sick.  MMX Customized Sets and Routines:   For those of you that are unfamiliar with