A work in progress

I still haven't figured this whole P90X thing out yet.

The first week I hit it hard, and I paid for it hard. My arms hurt and my body ached. I continued to hurt for the next three days!

The next week, either I got stronger or I got a lot more timid, because I didn't feel overly sore after any workout. I felt like I worked but I didn't feel beat down.

The third week, I think I became complacent. I barely put effort into the workouts. Once I hit my max rep I stopped. I told myself not to push it too hard and that my body will get stronger naturally. This may be true, but really I think that I just got lazy.

By the fourth week it was recovery time and I screwed up and forgot my workout CDs at home while on vacation. I tried to do my best, and I went for a few aerobic runs but it was a far cry from the pescribed plan.

On the Fifth week, I was at a lost. Do I pretend like I never missed a week and keep going? Do I repeat the recovery week? Or do I start all over again? In the end, I realized that my motivation was slipping and I most likely wouldn't recover from starting over again. This all meant that I shouldn't go back and do the recovery week, so de facto I was moving ahead. Unfortunately, my motivation did not move ahead with me and I rather pathetically tackled the weeks workouts.

It was right about this time that I seriously considered dropping out and beginning another triathlon training schedule. I know these workouts. I know the exhaustion I feel and what they mean. I know what progress is. This was also the time that I decided to blog about P90X. If its out in the open then maybe it'll be harder to abandon.

Now that I am on my sixth week, I still feel undermotivated. I have missed several workouts and feel so far behind that it seems impossible to get ahead. Curiously, this is also the time that I decided to start picking up some cardio exercises too.

Funny enough, that seems to have helped out. With my cardio exercises lined up, I feel more energized to do the P90X. I have a plan and a psuedo schedule. I feel like I can do it.

Which brings me to my latest revelation regarding how to tackle these workouts. It seems to require a change in mentallity. I have been focused on the (long)endurance aspect of training so long that I try to leave a little in the tank, not to exhaust me so much that I can't do another long hard workout the next day. But P90X wants you to go full out. Blow every bit of strength you have on that pull up. Be exhausted after your workout. Because the next workout is going to be something completely different.

I am not sure how this different is different from triathlon different. I mean each day in Tri training is a different focus too. I am also not sure how exhausting myself each workout is going to effect my cardio workout but this is all just a big experiment.

I'm gonna roll with the punches. Drink my protein shakes and nurse my sore muscles.

Wish me luck!

And now for something completely different

Despite what I do, I actually believe that you should take some time off after an Ironman. Or at least after your first one, you should take some time off. The body is in shock; you deserve a rest; in my case, you have a new family to enjoy. Blah, blah, blah…Truth is I wanted to relax for a little while.

That didn’t last long. Before too long my mind was raring to go. I needed something to do physically. I needed some way to make the body tired and the muscles sore. I needed to hurt.

P90X

P90X is a ‘revolutionary body changing program’ (the program doesn’t say that…but I am hoping….). Basically, you follow the DVD program for 90 days and viola! A new fitter, leaner and better you. Each day consist of either a muscle or a cardio exercise with a few stretch or rest days thrown in too.

Each day is a different type of exercise and the basic idea is shock the body so that it never plateaus or gets lazy on us. It’s right up a triathletes alley! Each day something different? Each day my body is getting stronger and better? You mean I might actually have some arm definition after I am done with this? I just might have the shoulder strength to swim without having to resort tot the doggy paddle?

Well…the program doesn’t say that…but I am hoping….

So, what the hell. I went for it! I mean what do I have to lose? I am on ‘vacation’ right? Time to shake it up a little bit. “Shock and awe” the body!

I started the program right after the 4th of July, so I am a month into it now. I’ll post soon in more detail on how things are going but let me tell you, there is nothing in this program that doesn’t make you sweat! Even the silly Stretch X (the ‘lazy’ day) makes me sweat! The Yoga is a grueling and slow torture session that finds me dripping in sweat before I am 30 minutes in. And the Chest and back?? Forget about it! My first day I was sore for three days! I have since learned to pace myself better.

Before you start, you take your measurements and ‘before’ pics. Soo….

That’s right! I am going to do the unthinkable. I am going to post my before pics (or at least a cropped down version of them. Trust me; it’s for your safety. You don’t want to see this thing a swim suit! They harpoon things smaller!)

Now before I post, I just want to remind you…ah screw it! I had this whole speech about ‘cast not the first stone, lest he be judged’ and crap about courage and what not, but screw it! I started this blog to prove that the average man can do it. That holds true even to this, so here we go:





You would think that after 8 months of training for an Ironman, a body would look more ironman-sh?



I'm told there is a six pack in there....somewhere!


This explains my swim times!

Dude! Where you been?

I have been a bad blogger! Not only has it been a month since my last post, but I also stopped reading other people’s blogs. I basically fell off the blogging world!

Luckily I have been training although it’s been a far cry from what it once was. But I’ll get to that next time.

For now, I wanted to say "I’m sorry" for dropping out of the world. Hopefully I can make a return to my former glory.

In the meantime, I wanted to show off my little man, and how awesome my wife is!

She surprised me with these pictures. How freaking cool are these??