P90X Day 7 - I'm Back!

The cast came off last Monday and later that day I started P90X!

Left Wrist: The joint felt extremely weak when the cast was removed. Everything in and around it hadn't been used in six weeks so I have been tasked with regaining full range of motion. I can't yet sweep out a full 180 degrees but it's loosening up a little more each day. Overall it feels strong.

Right Wrist: The limiting factor on this side is supination. The ulna was fractured on the surface that articulates with the wrist and radius. It has been seven weeks since it was fractured but I can't yet turn my palm up without cheating. This limits me on exercises such as bicep curls, overhead tricep extensions and chin-ups. Once the pain goes away it will be good to go.

Modifications: Push-ups: Chest presses with the door attachment and heavy bands. Chin-ups: Neutral grip or pull-ups. Pull-ups: Max out with full body weight. Max out with the assist. Yoga: None last week and this week. I'll see where my wrist flexibility is next week.

I'll post the next update on Day 30.

Site News - Upgrading to Squarespace 6

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I am doing the best I can to move the site over to SquareSpace 6. Squarespace definitely needs to do some optimizing. The editor can't seem to keep up with plain text. So far the only impact on the reader is that images included in posts below this one will not expand to full size when clicked. I tried writing this post on the iPad app but "Publish" sent the post to somewhere that wasn't this blog. It would be nice to edit an image in the iPad's iPhoto app and insert it into a post but as far as I can tell the app is crippled.

For now the domain gabemedina.com will point to the Squarespace 5 version of this site and gabe-medina.com will point to the Squarespace 6 version.

Update: The new site is now available at gabemedina.com. The old site is still available at gabemedina.squarespace.com.

P90X Day 66 - Broken Bones

I started Phase III on a roll! Last Tuesday I did an extra afternoon workout and decided to go for bike ride before the cool down and stretch. When I pedaled away from the house I was in the best shape of my life. When I pedaled back up to the house I was in the worst shape of my life. My front tire caught the lip of a driveway which sent me over the right side of the bike, breaking one bone, fracturing another, and causing pain and swelling in other parts of my body. Because I have an ego, I slowly rode about a mile back home instead of immediately calling for help. I don't recommend that.

A few hours later I recieved the diagnosis in the ER. My first thoughts were, "How am I going to work out? Am I going to lose everything I've gained?" The reality of the situation is that my legs (the body's calorie burning engine) and core are fine, so I can alternate those in order to keep moving. I'll lose some upper body strength but I'll get that back this fall when I start over with P90X.

Another thing I'm going to try during my recovery is Beachbody's new Tai Chi program called Tai Cheng (named for the instructor, Dr. Cheng). It's designed for recovery and is not a "get ripped" program. But as I mentioned above, I do intend to use my legs for some intense cardiovascular workouts during my recovery time.

For the sake of completeness, here are the before-and-after photos to show my progress from Jan 1, 2012 to June 6, 2012, the morning after the bike crash.

When the time comes to get back to a full sequence P90X workouts, you better believe I'm going to bring the intensity. This whole thing just kind of pissed me off and I've got several weeks for that drive and that desire to build up a full head of steam!

"'Work around the injury' doesn't mean you don't do anything. It means you got to find solutions to some of your problems and that's important." -Tony Horton

P90X - Day 30

Nutrition

Last week I took my first negative steps in a good long while. My job had taken me out of town and although I had a bunch of fresh food in my hotel room, I decided to have a couple of not-so-healthy restaurant meals during the second half of the week. I even had a few beers. Was it a total loss? No. I got to engage in a little bit of conversation which otherwise would not have happened if I had dined in. What I shoud have done is simply ordered the healthiest thing on the menu and stayed away from the booze.

I've all but confirmed my suspicion that gluten was the primary cause of my persistent acne. I ingested some for the first time since December and like magic, the switch turned on. I don't like that, so I'm not going to test it any further. Gluten...TO THE END OF THE LINE!

I also consumed meat (one serving each of steak and grilled chicken) last week. I felt less than optimal the morning after the steak, but I think the beer had more to do with that than the red meat. I'm going to add egg whites to my vegetarian diet in attempt to increase my protein intake while limiting my intake of additional carbs and fat. Beans are great, but they are a high carb food. Peanuts are great, but they are a high fat food. Spinach is great, but you need to eat several servings for a comparable amount of protein.

Fitness

I feel great! I came out of the blocks for Phase II in a full sprint. I feel energized, strong and determined! It does seem like I've lost a little bit of the hip flexibility I had after P90X2, but I can get that back with some extra stretching. Everything else is firing on all cylinders.

Doubles have returned! I'm planning to do a yoga or lighter cardio in the morning and the normal workout in the afternoon. The new(er) Energy & Endurance formula works really well for those early mornings and/or that just-got-off-of-work lull.

Lastly, I started tracking my steps and sleep with a Fitbit. Cool gadget, but I'm not sure that the data provides a lot of added value. I have a Withings Body Scale on the way. It claims to measure BMI and body fat percentage (IMO more important than BMI and weight) so I'm excited to start collecting that data and integrate it with the Loseit.com calorie/nutrient tracker. There is a fine line between being obsessed with the numbers and using the numbers to guide you. I hope to stay on the side of the latter.

The goals for Phase II are to keep working hard and keep eating healthy food. It's pretty simple, but when you do both of those correctly, the sky is the limit!

"It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be." -Tony Horton

P90X2 - Day 92 / P90X - Day 1

These are my before-and-after measurements for P90X2. The Day 90 measurements will serve as my baseline for P90X.

              Day 1     Day 90
Chest         37"       37"
R Arm         10.25"    10.25"
L Arm         10.15"    10.25"
Waist         30.75"    29.75"
Hips          34.875"   34.5"
R Thigh       19.5"     20.25"
L Thigh       19"       20"
R Skin Fold   9 mm      6 mm
L Skin Fold   10 mm     6 mm

These are my before-and-after Fit Test results for P90X2. The Day 90 results will serve as my baseline for P90X.

                      Day 1       Day 90
Resting HR            63 bpm      63 bpm
Pull-ups              15          17
Vertical Leap         17.75"      16.75"
Push-ups              55          61
Toe Touch             +3.625"     +5.5"
Wall Squat            1:25:43     1:46:79
Bicep Curls           18 (25 lbs) 19 (25 lbs)
In and Outs           42          76
HR Maximizer (0 min)  167 bpm     157 bpm
HR Maximizer (1 min)  121 bpm     116 bpm
HR Maximizer (2 min)  106 bpm     99  bpm
HR Maximizer (3 min)  101 bpm     93  bpm
HR Maximizer (4 min)  87  bpm     89  bpm

I'm going to rest for a couple of hours and refuel. Up next is Chest & Back! See you on Day 30!

P90X2 - Day 90

That's all she wrote for P90X2!

Fitness: When I started this program I had no idea what to expect. Perhaps the most important observation is that this program is very different from P90X. It focuses on making you more athletic whereas P90X focuses on making you stronger and leaner.It begins with core strength, hip strength and hip flexibility. It ends with explosive, athletic movements in the Phase III P.A.P. workouts. I think that alternating these two programs has the potential to create some very strong, functionally fit people.

I loved how the medicine balls and stability ball were used to create unstable surfaces. That alone doubled and maybe tripled the repetoire of exercises I have to draw from in the future. Push-ups now come in several different flavors. They will be making appearances along with the foam/rumble roller in my next round of P90X.

I'm going to rest tomorrow and then take the Fit Test on Sunday. I expect to see a lot of improvement in the numbers dispite not lifting more than 30 pounds in the last three months. This will also serve as the baseline test for P90X. That starts on Sunday afternoon!

Nutrition: During the last 90 days I have not consumed any meat, dairy, eggs or grains. I feel as good as I ever have and my digestive system is rolling! I'm going to continue with a vegetarian diet but try reintroducing grains and continue to be gluten free. Tomorrow I'll have my first taste of the new Shakology Tropical Strawberry. It contains brown rice protein rather than whey protein which is in Chocolate and Greenberry.

Conclusion: If you have a decent fitness base and want to challenge yourself, you should buy this program. I'll be doing a second round later this year.

Enjoy the journey. Relax, have fun and don't get caught up in being perfect. It's not about that at all." -Tony Horton

P90X2 - Day 84

I have one more week of my first time through P90X2. Look for my complete thoughts next week. I'm going to do a double on Day 90, because I feel that I should end the program same way that P90X ends...with an om. Here's the plan:

1. P.A.P. Lower
2. P.A.P. Upper
3. X2 Yoga
4. X2 Recovery + Mobility
5. P.A.P. Lower
6. P.A.P. Upper, X2 Yoga
7. X2 Recovery + Mobility
8. P90X2/P90X Fit Test, Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X

P90X2 - Day 70

The first week of P.A.P. workouts went well. They're both tough, but P.A.P. Lower just destroyed me both times. It's one of those workouts where there is not doubt that you earned the recovery drink.

I was feeling good today after rolling out so I did an extra session of V Sculpt and X2 Ab Ripper. If I continue to feel up for it, I'm going to sprinkle in some extra resistance work during these last three weeks because, why not? I know my body well enough to do the right thing.

I'm planning to rest on Day 91 and then take the fit test on Day 92, which will also serve as Day 1 of P90X. That's right, folks! I'm going back and doing another round of the original!