Tag Archives: shakeology

Stretching Out With Yoga X2

I got my schedule a little off this week. In that Yoga actually is supposed to happen on Wednesday. However I ended up missing that. Thus I’m stretching out with yoga X2 today.

One of my early goals with Yoga this time around was to be able to palm the floor in a forward bend. If you’ve been following the blog, you’ll know that the goal was reached. Today was no exception. I’m still able to palm the floor and that’s a great feeling.

Another move that has gotten better is one that I don’t know a name of. But it’s where you loop one arm under a leg while in a lunge and reach around to grab the wrist of the other arm that is wrapping around the back. Up until about phase 1 of this journey I was only ever able to touch my fingers. Getting to the point of being able to grab the wrist was never a thought.

The cool thing is… I can now grab my wrist in this move. I have to attribute this ability to the X2 program. It has strengthened my right shoulder and increased it’s range of mobility. No surgery, no specific physical therapy. I always thought at some point, due to an old injury, that I’d have to have it scoped to fix it. Appears that I have thought wrong. That makes me very happy.

I know that next week, when I get the right sequence to the workout, I’ll be doing an extra set of Ab Ripper X2 after the yoga workout. Still a little more to go on the little bit of puff on my lowest part of my 6-pack.

It’s time to have an awesome breakfast with a Shakeology. Then I’ll look at some more music and possibly get another round of golf in today as well. Have a great day!

More PAP Lower And Upper

I got such a late start to my day yesterday that I didn’t get my post in about my workout yesterday. Combining both days again means more PAP lower and upper in today’s little writeup.

My PAP Lower workout yesterday, for all intensive purposes, rocked. I kicked it in the proverbial ass. I was able to keep up with the kids on the DVD and even get through things faster and harder without pauses. Booyah.

The PAP Upper workout today is a slightly different story. I started strong. However by midway through the first complex I was having difficulty working on keeping up. I had to start pausing the DVD to catch my breath. The bright spot is I only needed to stop the DVD 4 times, twice in complex 1 and twice in complex 2. The other bonus is that I did manage to get more reps in for things like the pull ups and the renegade rows.

I’m still not sure why I find the upper body stuff so much harder. It’s not like I’m not in shape.

Time for me to get on with finishing some musicmixes. A hearty breakfast, a little Shakeology and some time later today on the links swinging sticks. What’s your plan of attack today?

Base Back And Abs Ending Phase Two

And so it goes. I got Yoga X2 in a couple of days ago. Took a day break as I was out smacking a little white ball around large fields of green. Which means I’m here today where base back and abs ending phase two is the order. I added an extra week and now I’ve got the recovery week to go.

I found that I was matching or beating most of my pull-up moves today. Which is pretty good considering that pull-ups are my worst area in my workouts. I’m not sure if it’s a height thing or if it’s that I’m not good at them. Either way, they are getting better.

The combination of the plyo and pull-ups is really taxing. I found that I was pausing between sections in order to catch my breath and make sure that I wasn’t overdoing it.

My bonus in this workout is the ab ripper X2. I’m not sure if it’s the moves of phase two or the fact that phase two has the ab ripper x2 workout 3x a week, but I notice more of my little belly going away. It’s getting pretty small. Because of that, I’m planning on adding additional abs workouts to phase three. My goal is that flat belly in the next month. I can do it!

Seeing as how I’m excited to be in the best shape I’ve ever been and that I’m weeks away from looking super awesome naked (it’s that flat stomach thing that is the hold back), I’m wanting to get you in on the action of getting to your goals of being in great shape and looking good for yourself. How would you like to get in on a killer trial of a great workout? You can right now [offer good until July 31st]. Get In Shape Offer <– click that, hit the shop button, then hit Trial Challenge Pack offers. Great price of $14.95 plus shipping and you can see for yourself how great it is!

The base back and abs ending phase two has really kicked me in the pants, but I’m ready to rock and roll. Until next time, I’m off to eat an amazing breakfast, have a Shakeology and do some mountain biking.

Rippin Shoulders Arms And Abs

Midway through my 4th week of phase two in P90X2. As mentioned earlier, I decided to add an additional week to my 2nd phase in order to really work my abs. While I’m finishing up the rest of the week, I’m already thinking about adding extra ab ripper rounds to my 3rd phase. Today I was rippin shoulders arms and abs in grand fashion.

Extra weight and some additional reps added. Meaning that I got some more P90X2 PBs (personal bests). That’s an awesome feeling. I attribute it to the slightly cooler temperature this morning and the rain. I find it much easier to workout when the temperature is cooler.

It’s a great feeling to feel stronger when you’re lifting more weight and doing more reps without burning out and collapsing. It’s been a while since I’ve had a major bonk and I’m happy about that.

The ab ripper X2 workout is really great, but I’m already noticing that the moves are becoming easy. Not sure how I can make them harder. But I like doing it and it’s definitely helping my core and I’m very close to my goal of the no fat belly. I probably have about 1/8″ to go.

Tomorrow is Yoga X2. Again, another workout that is getting better for me. Now that I’ve been rippin shoulders arms and abs, it’s time for a shakeology and a great breakfast. I’ll be working on the soundtrack to a horror film trailer today. Boo!

Extra Week In Phase Two Of P90X2

Doing something I haven’t done before in any of my journeys through a beachbody workout. Usually I’m of the mindset, don’t worry, move on. This time though, I’m adding an extra week in phase two of P90X2.

Two weeks ago I had a half of a week. My body was telling me “Joe, take it easy on me.” Not sure why, but I listened. Oddly though, each time I did do a workout where I was drained or not fully into it, I started hitting personal bests.

Regardless, I decided I’d add an additional week this time around. Today was a little rough with chest back and balance. I didn’t overly push it but I did hit a personal best in one thing. The Impossible/Possible move. I finally got a single rep on it. Previously in the past 3 weeks I had gotten up on the balls but constantly fell. Only to get down in the movement and unable to get back up. Today I did fall again, but then I went down in the move and mustered getting back up once. It wasn’t overly pretty, but I did it finally!

I also got another personal best in plyo stability ball push ups. Those aren’t quite as hard as the Impossible/Possibles. Nonetheless I got a PB there too.

I think the real trick in phase two is the amount of core being work. P90X2 overall works the core more, but the 2nd phase to me is really pushing it. Maybe that’s where the belly fat is coming off at. I don’t have a lot of it. Never did. But now it’s almost gone. There’s a tiny bit left. One extra workout week won’t kill me and may be that push I need to get rid of the soft.

The abs routine, ab ripper X2 is also more prominent in phase two. Going 3 of the days of the week. Which may also explain the decrease of belly size. That is the last goal and it’s sooooooooo close to being gone. Who knows… If I move to phase three and finish without it being totally gone, I may insert another week of phase two before I say I’ve completed journey two.

My P90X2 official T-shirt is in my mailbox. That’s a cool sense of accomplishment. Maybe I’ll snap a pic of me wearing it when I complete this 2nd journey. That could be cool. Anyway, I’m off to eat a hearty breakfast plus a shakeology and get on with my day. I’m mentally prepping myself to continue enjoying this extra week in phase two of P90X2.

My Plyocide

A spark of difference this morning. When I woke up, I wasn’t nearly as tired. This has me thinking if there was something specific in my diet or world that has changed ever so slightly. I’m curious if the effect of a large fire spewing a ton of CO2 or ash into the air would have an effect on my sleep. Especially if I’m downwind of it. Hmmmm… This morning was my Plyocide.

While I wasn’t feeling 100% awake, I got into the workout and felt much better about it than I have in the past couple of weeks. If it’s not the fire issue, it might be a change in the diet. I haven’t changed much of my diet recently so it’s hard to say. Could very well be a heat factor too. It’s been warm, but not overtly hot like it was the past two weeks.

Either way, the workout of Plyocide today went extremely well. I wasn’t pushing myself to max anything out, but I kept up very well. That’s a bonus in my book.

Normally this would be my last week of phase two. However, since I took a half week with it last week and because I seem to notice the most change in my abdominal area during phase two, I believe I will do an additional week of it. I may do two more weeks of it – if only to hit my goal of a perfect flat 6 pack belly. So close. So. Close.

Time for a kickin’ breakfast sided with a Shakeology. I’ve got a hunger thanks to my Plyocide workout today. Follow it up with some music making. In the meantime, I’m going to throw down a challenge to you. Want to feel better than you ever have before? Want to get in great shape? Eat healthier? Then join my fitness challenge! Do it now and get ready for your hot new self.

Chest Back Balance And Abs Oh Yeah

You know, I dislike waking up in the morning feeling like I’ve slept but I’m still exhausted. I attribute that to sleeping in the heat. There should be AC, but there isn’t. Bummer. I sat wondering, is it smart for me to get into a workout? Mostly because I took the 2nd half of last week off with my body saying – time for a rest. I had to really push myself this morning. I got through chest back balance and abs oh yeah!

Once I got into the workout it started to flow. Despite feeling like I didn’t want to do a workout, my body was actually experiencing some PB’s in several of the moves. I still can’t explain that. I’m really not feeling like I should be able to do that. When I’m mentally tired and my body is saying it’s tired and yet I’m getting more reps in multiple moves – weird.

I even got through the bonus with one extra rep in one move. The rest were a tie. By the end of the workout I was sweating and feeling like I needed a rest. There is no rest for the wicked as after the cool down stretch it was Abs time.

The abs went well today too. Motoring through and getting every rep. Even through the haze in my head saying, dude you’re tired. I didn’t just manage, I got it without issues. Even the Phelon twist which is normally tiring, I got all the reps without trouble. I can’t explain that.

Either way I pounded through chest back balance and abs oh yeah! Time for a hearty breakfast along with a Shakeology to boot. Then it’s time to get on with the musical day.

Maintaining Chest Back And Abs

In the saddle of a Monday with a workout to kick off the day. Booyah. As I started today, I was ready for a workout. Once I got into it, I felt, maybe I’ll only do half of it. Instead I got all the way through it treating it like I was maintaining chest back and abs.

What I mean by that is, I didn’t push for personal bests. Instead I felt more like I needed to maintain what I’ve got. There were a couple of moves today where I actually did achieve a PB. I’ll chalk that up to the fact that I wasn’t trying overly hard in most of the other parts of the regimen.

I did manage to get up and do an impossible/possible today. I did manage to do a few plyo med ball pushups. More than last week.

I also didn’t push myself as hard with the abs portion. For some reason, that made it a little easier as well. How odd.

I wonder how I’ll approach this workout next week. Will I push it for an entire round of PB’s? I don’t know yet. I’ll figure that out when I get there. For the time being I’m happy about maintaining chest back and abs. Enjoying the journey of P90X2. Time for some breakfast and a Shakeology!

X2 Base Back And Abs Punched

I got my yoga X2 on yesterday. Didn’t post it, but it got done. This morning I woke up a little early, not sure why. Thus I’m getting my X2 Base Back and abs punched early. This is likely the hardest of workout of the 2nd phase of P90X2.

This is lots and lots of pull-ups interspersed with lots and lots of plyo moves. Work it, then push it, work it, then push it. Omph. Based on my numbers from the last journey through P90X2, I can say that I started off stronger, then ended up a little weaker.

Meaning, I did more pull-ups at the start. By the end I was doing slightly less. While I didn’t hit my PB in pull-ups, I do feel like I brought it as best I could. I did end up using heavier weights in the one move that has weights. Not only did I use more weight, I also did a couple more reps of that move – plyo lunge press.

The ab workout is getting easier, though a couple of the moves seem to be getting harder. I’m not sure how that works in my head. I know my abs and core are getting way stronger and that is the real concept here. The Phelon Twist is probably the one move that I’m still struggling a little with.

This concludes the first week of phase two. Overall I’ve seen improvements from the last time through. That is the goal. To Improve. While I got my X2 back back and abs punched today and I’m a little beat, I’m looking forward to next week. If you’re up for a challenge, contact me to get on the next fitness challenge group (space is limited). Time for Shakeology and breakfast.

Chest Back Balance And Abs Starts Phase Two

Hell yeah! That’s my feeling this morning. The week of doing recovery and mobility mixed with yoga has come to a close and the real workouts begin again. Chest Back Balance and Abs starts phase two for me today! 2nd phase, in my 2nd journey through P90X2. Slammin’.

Here’s my goals in this phase. One, I plan on doing the moves without assistance. I also wish to do as few moves as possible without modifications. There’s still a couple of moves I’ll have to accomplish via modifications due to a lack of equipment. Like the push-ups on 4 med balls. I haven’t yet brought myself to buy more med balls. I will soon though.

Doing the pull-ups without assistance today had me wondering what the fuck. Mostly because there are so many pull-ups. About half of today’s workout was pull-ups. Yikes. I started off strong. But by the end of the hour I was barely able to do more than 1 pull-up in some of the breakdowns.

With push-ups I did much better. However, there is one move where I was unable to do even one push-up. That was a push-up on a med ball with my feet on the stability ball. Holy hell. I didn’t do one. It was damn hard just to get my giant hands on the med ball then even attempt to get my feet onto the stability ball without falling over. I’m guessing that possibly I need to pump the stability ball with more air as it’s a little soft. I was finally able to get up on the balls as per the move. That is a huge step forward I suppose as that took a while to make that happen. It’s not easy. Thus next week my goal is to at least get up and do one push-up.

The other “bonus” is that I did the bonus round. Mind you I wasn’t able to kick serious ass. The very last move was a pull-up move and I did 1. But at least I did those moves.

Here’s my breakfast post beachbody workout:

Huevos Rancheros

Yum!

I sided it with some Shakeology. Now I’m feeling ready to tackle my day. Chest back balance and abs starts phase two and puts me just over the 1/3 mark of completing my 2nd journey. I’m going to be starting another fitness challenge – so get on board and join me.