The Power of the Buddy System

This is always a difficult time for people to keep working out and eating right. Everywhere you turn there is a plate of cookies and plenty of reasons to not take the time to work out.

I am as human as anyone else, have the same excuses and temptations, and just plain don't feel like working out sometimes. Add to that an injured shoulder and shin splints that just started creeping up and I've got more than enough excuses to put my workouts off until I feel like doing them again. That's just how it is.

One of the only things keeping me on track right now is knowing that other people are looking to me for guidance with their health and fitness goals. They say that life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent what you do about it. If my example to my family, friends, and people I coach is to give up when things get tough, then that's exactly what I would expect to see from them.

There are also a lot of people who motivate me. People like Jesse, who I coach. Jesse has done three rounds of P90X and is in phase two of his fourth round. Every time he gets done with a round of P90X he jumps right back in and finds ways to work around a busy schedule. My Team Beachbody workout Buddy Lynn, who works nights as a 911 dispatcher. Working out literally paid off as she won the $500 daily prize this week for logging her workout in the Online SuperGym. Fred and Rob, who have shown me how fit and ripped you can be into your 50's. Fred just won the monthly Beachbody Challenge, transforming his body after a total hip replacement, and Rob is still running times in track meets that I wish I could run now. I've mentioned IceBandit before and my quest to match his Insanity fit test numbers. I did the fit test this past week and used his numbers as my challenge again. I don't know that I would have pushed myself nearly as much without knowing that he did it, and so could I.

I could go on and on, but these are just some of the people who are my workout Buddies. They inspire me and give me motivation to keep going and push harder. I know that peer support is a major piece of the puzzle to keep going when times are tough. Hopefully I help to keep my Buddies and people I coach accountable, because I know that they do that for me.

Happy New Year.

Charities Challenge Track Meet

I had my first indoor track meet of the year (or you could say the last meet of the year) this past weekend. They did not have blocks for us, which was a bit of a surprise. Otherwise it was a great meet and very well run. I wanted to see how I could do only using Insanity as my workout program. Last summer I backed off on the training on the track and used Insanity: Asylum. This year it was the original Insanity program.



We only ended up four people in our heat for the 400 meter dash. Just as we were lining up the first heat of the 400 Meters, one of the officials pulled a couple of us out because he wanted a couple of people from the fast heat to run with two late high school aged entrants. They thought it would be better to split up the fast heat into two groups of four than to have the younger guys run against the older men. As it turned out, the other two kids probably would have been better off running with the older heats.

Overall I thought it went pretty well. I should have gone out faster, but I'm just not used to the pacing for an indoor meet yet. I'm going to try to get into a few more of these meets and I should be able to improve my times later in the winter. I'll also be starting up P90X2 as my primary workout program. It is specific for sports performance improvement so we'll see how that goes.

First Indoor 400 Meters This Season

I normally don't do indoor races, mainly because I don't have a facility to train and would prefer to take the winter off of the track to recover. But this year since I am planning to really push for a good finish at the Outdoor Championships I want to get as many races in as I can. I'm going to head up to the Twin Cities this weekend to run in the Charities Challenge meet. I will run the 200 and 400 Meters.

I've had some soreness in my legs lately and I'm not entirely sure why. It could be the couple of days I tried to do double workouts of Insanity and P90X2. I had a few days off last week so I was feeling pretty good going into the week. I wanted to preview the P90X2 workouts so I can be ready to jump right in on January 2 when I officially start the program. I also want to make sure I finish up Insanity so I don't want to back off on those too much. So I have been doing both a morning and night workout, but really taking it pretty easy on the P90X2 program. I guess not easy enough though. After the Plyocide workout I have been pretty sore in my left hamstring and both calves. That's not a good thing to have going into a track meet. So last night I did Insanity Max Recovery and the night before that I did X2 Recovery + Mobility.

One thing about the X2 Recovery + Mobility is that it incorporates the foam or rumble roller into a large portion of the video. I can alread tell that the rumble roller is going to become one of my best friends this year. It's all the pain of getting a deep tissue massage on my legs without the expense and time of going to a massage therapist.

Well, I hope to have my brother videotape the race this weekend and I might post the video next week. Unless I do poorly.

How to lose 5 lbs in two days

It's been a different couple of weeks. I've really been focusing on getting ready for our church Christmas program. I had the only adult role in the play with quite a few lines. I haven't acted in much more than a few small video parts since high school. It is a challenge memorizing lines and there were quite a significant amount of lines to remember. I also had a solo to sing, which I also haven't done for a long time. I am the kind of person who, if I say I'm going to do something, I really try to put my all into it. So I really put a lot of time into working on my part and now that it's over it almost feels like a weight has been lifted and I have regained some of that time.

My old shop teacher used to say, "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well." That's why I like to put myself on a workout program where I know what I am supposed to do each day. If I say I'm going to do it, I know I will do it.

I've had a few days off from working out due to an unexpected sickness. It started with this feeling of being really full. I just didn't feel like eating anything for a couple of days. Seems like a sickness people would pay a lot of money to have. I haven't weighed in since last week, but I would just about guarantee that I lost at least 5 lbs over the weekend. Although I hate missing workouts, the stress of being ready for the play and needing to make sure I got better was my main priority. Now that the play is over I feel like my next priority is getting ready for some indoor track meets. I've got the first meet coming up this Sunday and I'm focusing on keeping my weight down and getting my legs recovered and ready for the stress of sprinting on an indoor track. I don't do any indoor training on a track so I depend on my home workouts to get me ready.

My P90X2 program came in last week as well and it was difficult to not just scrap everything else and start it right away. But I started Insanity and I am going to finish it. I may try out a couple of workouts and do some double-workout days with Insanity and P90X2, but I will finish Insanity by the end of the year. I'll need to adjust my workouts a bit this week and may even do a Yoga workout, since that's what I usually do on a meet week.

Maybe I'll have some X2 Yoga to talk about later in the week.

Insanity Month 2

It's been a busy week with the P90X2 pre-orders coming to an end and working with a whole bunch of new Beachbody customers. I haven't posted here for a while, but I wanted to update a few things and briefly recap the week.

I finished the recovery week and thought I was ready to get back into the regular Insanity workouts. Anyone who has done Insanity knows that month 2 is more difficult than month 1. I did not preview any of the workouts ahead of time. I wanted it to be a nice surprise. Well, the first day has a fit test and a workout. That's the first time that the fit test isn't the workout. So I though maybe the workout would be short. Oh no. It is a full hour. And that's after the 25 minute fit test.

One thing I did for this one was write down the results of one of my workout buddies. I looked at his number right before I started and tried to hit it or surpass it. It was a great help because I know I probably would have given up earlier if I didn't have those numbers to shoot for. So thanks IceBandit. He just finished his last fit test and I don't know how I'm going to match his new numbers, but I guess I'll have to just do my best and forget the rest.

Here are the results for my third fit test with the first two for reference:

1. Switch Kicks
Day 1 - 41
Day 15 - 47
Day 36 - 61

2. Power Jacks
Day 1 - 42
Day 15 - 48
Day 36 - 48

3. Power Knees
Day 1 - 62
Day 15 - 80
Day 36 - 82

4. Power Jumps
Day 1 - 24
Day 15 - 30
Day 36 - 32

5. Globe Jumps
Day 1 - 7
Day 15 - 8
Day 36 - 9

6. Suicide Jumps
Day 1 - 14
Day 15 - 16
Day 36 - 19

7. Push-up Jacks
Day 1 - 25
Day 15 - 30
Day 36 - 33

8. Low Plank Oblique
Day 1 - 44
Day 15 - 45
Day 36 - 62

I had great improvement on some of my numbers simply because I was not just trying to beat my own numbers, but going for something more. That's going to help me get even better results because the brain usually gives out long before the body. So thanks again IceBandit.

"I've got 5 more in my brain. Can my body match my brain?" - Tony Horton (trying to crank out 5 more reps on push-ups)

A recovery week from all this Insanity

It's the Insanity Recovery Week which means an entire week of only the Core Cardio & Balance workout. Six straight days of the same workout every day? Doesn't that get repetitive? Well, a little bit. But compared to the intensity of the usual workouts, it is a welcome relief. I like to think of the Core Cardio & Balance workout like the workouts in the old days. Back when you bought one DVD and it only had a couple of workouts on it. Before workout plans were as comprehensive and included 12 or more DVDs. This is a workout you could do every day for a week.

So I'm wrapping up the recovery week and then move to month 2 workouts starting Tuesday. I have not previewed any of the upcoming workouts, but I hear from some of my online workout buddies that the workouts are longer and more intense. Bring it on.

I found a few indoor track and field meets coming up in the next few months so I am going to try to make it to a few of them if I can. I need to throw everything into getting ready for the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships next summer so this will give me some meets to work on my 400 meter starts and curve running. Insanity and P90X2 will be my only training for these meets so it's a good experiment to see how the programs prepare me without any on-track training. I believe that I should have comparable times to my outdoor season without any track training. We'll see how that turns out for me.

One important thing I want to bring up. If you are even considering doing P90X2, this is the very best time to put in your order. Until December 1 you can get free shipping and guaranteed delivery by Christmas. After December 1 - no more free shipping and you may not get it by the New Year. The free shipping will probably save you about $20, so now would be the time to place the order. There's a banner above or you can go to my teambeachbody site - Promisetobefit.com and find details there. If you order from me you get free coaching from me and two bonus workouts.

Enough advertising - go and Bring it!!!

Steroids in my eyes

"I have never knowingly taken steriods."

Sounds like something a pro baseball player would say. But I could honestly say that, until today. I know you must be thinking to yourself, "how can you have a body like that without steriods?" The answer is just lots and lots of hard work.

I've had this issue with my eye for the past five weeks or so. It's called a chalazion and is similar to a sty. It's kept me out of my contacts for the most part. I am not really able to do Insanity workouts or play basketball with my glasses on so I put my contacts in for my workouts and then take them out right away. Other than when I am working out I have had to wear my glasses. I really don't like wearing glasses, but I can't read anything more than a foot away without them. I've had contact lenses since 9th grade and they have never really been all that effective.

When talking to my eye doctor about my contact lens issues and wondering if I should switch to a different brand again, he suggested that I get a Lasik evaluation. Working at a healthcare institution I can get a discount on certain procedures and Lasik is one of them. All I needed to do was get my evaluation in before November 30th to see if I am elegible so I can submit some flexible spending account money for next year and I'll save a lot of money and be out of my contacts and glasses for good.

Unfortunately, they need to take very precise measurements of the eyes and any obstruction can throw off their numbers. They even need me to be out of contacts for at least three days before the evaluation because that can affect their measurements. They will not do the evaluation with the chalazion so I have already rescheduled three times. Next week is my last chance before needing to submit my flex spending elections.

So today I got steriod injections in my eyelids. It's not as fun as it sounds. The doctor thought he may have hit a blood vessel in one eye because blood was running down into my ear after the shot.

It's all good now. My chalazion seems to be going away and I have the added bonus of my eyelids feeling stronger than ever.

So I can no longer say that I have not knowingly taken steriods, but I can say that I have built my body naturally over the years and will continue to do that.

Last Month 1 Insanity Workout

I've got my last workout before the recovery week tonight. I played basketball yesterday so I did not do an Insanity workout. There is just one workout in the recovery week that you repeat for the entire week. I will probably watch through it first, but if it doesn't seem too challenging I might not take the day off tomorrow and go right into it.

My back has been bothering me just a bit these past couple of days so I'm going to be very conscious to not overdo it. I'll see how I feel tomorrow morning. I know I've got a full day of being on my feet for a video production at work on Wednesday. That's what usually hurts it more than anything. You would think that jumping around for forty minutes down in my basement would be bad, but I don't normally have any problems from the workouts. It's either standing or sitting for an extended period of time that seems to give me the most trouble. I also usually see a chiropracter once every 5 weeks or so. I had to move my appointment because of a work conflict last week and couldn't get in until next week.

We'll see how it goes.

Starting Week 4 Insanity

I finished out week 3 a little rough, but now I'm back at it for week 4. I took yesterday off since I played basketball on Sunday. I didn't want to make the same mistake as last week and I new I needed some rest for my calves. I'm not sure that this is a workout I can stick with long term since I end up working my calves so much. I think the P90X/Insanity Hybrid might be a good solution, but for now I'm going to try to get through it.

I had some great encouragement from some of my workout buddies on teambeachbody.com. It helps a lot to know that you're not alone and other people go through the same things. You know that if they can get through it, you can do it too. It also helps to take a step back and really remember why I do this. That got me through the rest of the week. Then I had a good game of basketball on Sunday and made the decision that I would take Monday completely off. Tonight's Pure Cardio went much better than last week and by the time I finished Cardio Abs I was feeling great. That's how it should be.

When you get knocked down, you get back up. Only sometimes you need to catch your breath first.

Didn't Bring It

Ever have one of those days where you're just not into your workout? That was me yesterday. That's right, it even happens to me. I was doing Insanity Pure Cardio and realized pretty early on that it was going to be tough to get through. My left calf was really bothering me during the warmup and I started feeling pain in my neck and shoulder. This is one of the more difficult workouts so I knew what was coming up and I just couldn't get myself up to "bring it". I took more breaks than I have since I started the program and found myself watching the people working hard on the television while I was hunched over with my hands on my knees.

I also knew that I had the Cardio Abs workout on the schedule after I finished Pure Cardio. All I wanted to do was sit down on the couch, turn on the tv, and veg out. Maybe it was the long day of work with some less than ideal things to deal with, then stressing over being able to learn my lines for an upcoming Christmas play at church. Who knows. It just wasn't what I wanted to be doing when I got home.

So what did I do? Finished the workout and did the Cardio Abs. That's the advantage of scheduling your workouts. You know what you need to do and once you press play on the DVD player, you do it. I didn't do it well, but I pushed on.

During the workout Shaun T says "The stronger you get, the better you'll feel."

From that point on I knew that if I could just get through it, the next time will be better.

Insanity Week 3 Fit Test

I ended up doing my fit test a day early so I could get a jump on my workouts for the week. Instead of taking a day off on Sunday and playing basketball, I did the fit test and then played basketball. Don't get me wrong though, the fit test is a workout in itself. I just have a lot of things going on this week and I'm not sure if I will be able to get in all of my workouts. This puts me ahead of things so I have a little flexibility to take a day off during the week if needed.

Here are the results from the Day 15 fit test compared to my Day 1 fit test:

1. Switch Kicks
Day 1 - 82
Day 15 - 95

2. Power Jacks
Day 1 - 42
Day 15 - 48

3. Power Knees
Day 1 - 62
Day 15 - 80

4. Power Jumps
Day 1 - 24
Day 15 - 30

5. Globe Jumps
Day 1 - 7
Day 15 - 8

6. Suicide Jumps
Day 1 - 14
Day 15 - 16

7. Push-up Jacks
Day 1 - 25
Day 15 - 30

8. Low Plank Oblique
Day 1 - 44
Day 15 - 45

I improved on all of the moves, but not much on the last four. That makes sense because I improved quite a bit on the early moves so I probably wore myself out by the end.

Sweat in my eyes

"I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm just trying to make you better." - Shaun T

Well, I've made it through two weeks of Insanity now. I accomplished my goal of making it through an entire warmup without taking a break. I would like to say that there's no going back now, but I realized today that one of the reasons I have been stopping is that my left calf is hurting so much. With my compartment syndrome I need to give it a break now and then and there is no break during the warmup.

Today I had my second dose of Pure Cardio for the week and an additional workout of Cardio Abs. Cardio Abs will take a little getting used to since there are no crunches. What's unique about this workout is almost every move is using your core from the bottom up. Instead of bringing your chest toward your waist you bring your legs toward your chest on most of the moves. It seems to work for Shaun T so I'm not going to argue with it.

One issue I have been having is trying to keep the sweat out of my eyes. These workouts do make you sweat a lot. I got a sweatband a while back for my head and it helps a little bit, but not enough. I always keep a towel handy so I can wipe my face during the breaks, but the Pure Cardio workout doesn't have many breaks. By the time I get to the stretch and cooldown at the end I'm pretty much doing it with my eyes closed. I guess it's good that I am getting so much of a workout to be sweating that much, but it gets pretty annoying. One of the guys that I coach has said he has the same issue with the P90X PlyoX workout and we haven't been able to come up with a good solution. If you have things that have worked for you, let me know.

So next up on the schedule is a day off, but I plan to play basketball. Then I do another Fit Test on Monday. Look for me to post the comparison of my day 1 and day 15 Fit tests on Monday night.

Insanity Week 2

I'm starting to notice more differences in the Insanity workouts as I get used to them. The most difficult workout for me has been Pure Cardio. Unlike most of the other workouts, this one has no breaks once you get past the stretching portion. You start out with about an 8 minute warmup with no breaks, then some stretching, and then a whole lot of cardio. Each move is one minute and you go right from one thing into the next. It is challenging, but Pure Cardio has the most variety since you're not repeating the moves like in the other workouts.

I have Cardio Recovery today which is good since I have been a bit sore lately. It's a lot of stretching moves and holding of Yoga-like positions. There are a couple of times in the workout where you have to hold some uncomfortable positions for about a minute and do small pulsing movements. Those are really the only areas where I have had to take a little break now and then. Otherwise it is by far the easiest day.

The only other thing I need to work on right now is to quit eating peanut butter cups. I haven't had any today so I think I'm getting back on track. People say that Thanksgiving and Christmas are the most difficult holidays to get through in their diet. Mine is Halloween.

Special Workout Contest on November 1 and 11

Just a quick note to let you know about an opportunity to win some money just for logging your workout online. Normally if you log your workout at teambeachbody.com, you are entered to win $500 each day. On November 1 and 11 there will be two additional drawings for $1,111. You don't need to be doing a Beachbody program to qualify.

You can get the details at promisetobefit.com.

Good luck.

First Week Insanity Impressions

I made it through the first week of the original Insanity program, so here's some impressions so far. It's going to be difficult for me to talk about the program without comparing it to Insanity: The Asylum so I'll get a couple of things out of the way first. Insanity is broken up into two 4-week segments with a recovery week in between. The workouts from this week have been easier compared to Asylum, but I have a feeling that after this first month they will get harder. Plus the Asylum is meant to be a sequel to Insanity so I expected it would be harder. There is also a definite timed structure to the Insanity workouts that is not as apparent in the Asylum. Alright, no more comparisons.

Each workout in the first 30 days has the word cardio in it. There's a good reason for this. These are all cardio workouts. There are no pullups or resistance moves. For folks without weights, bands, and pullup bars this is appealing since there is no equipment needed. The program starts with a fit test that you take every couple of weeks to track your progress. I like to be able to look back at numbers to see where I have improved so it's nice that it is incorporated into the program with specific days assigned to take the test.

There are five DVDs that you rotate between for the first 30 days.
Fit Test
Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Cardio Power & Resistance
Cardio Recovery
Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs

You start out each workout with a warmup. So far the warmup has been the same for every day except  for the Cardio Recovery day. I have yet to make it through the entire warmup without taking a break, but I'm working on it. That will be my goal by the end of week two. That's sad to say, but it shows how intense this program is. I don't see a lot of difference right now in the types of exercises for the different days except for the Fit Test and the Cardio Recovery day. The Cardio Recovery is kind of a stretch and balance day, but there is still a fair amount of cardio work. I expected it to be a pretty easy workout and ended up having to take a couple of breaks.

I ended up missing a workout on Friday night unexpectedly, so I did two workouts on yesterday. I did one in the morning and one around 5 pm. I really wanted to play basketall today and didn't think I could get in an Insanity workout and basketball. I don't want to get behind on my schedule and I know it will be hard enough with the holidays coming up to not miss days. My plan is to do two workouts on any days that I need to make up a workout or shift my off days where needed. I'll just have to keep a check on my my body so I don't overdo it.

My plan is to post some short thoughts on the workouts a few times a week as I go through the program. So look for updates throught the week.

"Don't hate me, because I'm going to make you look good." - Shaun T

http://teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/Insanity?referringRepId=111635

Vacation Time

I've been out for the past week at Disney World in Florida. I chose to take a break from most online communications during that time. I'm back now and writing my first blog post since getting back from the trip. I knew it would be difficult to work out so I didn't plan any workouts, but I did get the Insanity program ordered in time so I would have it by the time we got back. I started with the fit test today.

I didn't have the best diet when we were there and did not bring any shakes with me, so I am planning to double-up on Shakeology for some of the days this week to get me back on track. I wouldn't say my diet was terrible, but it could have been better.

I don't want to be too hard on myself so here are some good things. I did plan to take the week off from structured workouts so I did that successfully. That was the easy part. I did purchase snacks at a grocery store that were not that bad for me. I also walked quite a bit each day with a backpack that had two full bottles of water. I went swimming with the kids one morning and did some laps in the pool. And one morning I did 100 push-ups. It's not much, but it was something.

I also know that there were some things I could have done better. The place we were staying had a blender, so if I would have done a little research I would have known to bring some Shakeology packets with me. They would be easy to pack and don't take up very much space. I also could have ordered a little better at some of the restaurants. There's always that part of you that says, "I'm on vacation so I'm going to eat whatever I want." I think that's fine, but there were a couple of times I went a little overboard. I think our eating schedule just got delayed enough that I was so hungry by the time we got to our meal. Then it is easy to overeat or make poor food choices.

I do think the best thing that I did was make a commitment to start up 60 days of Insanity for the week after getting back. It's good to give your body a break now and then and this will take me right through the holidays and give me a running start for P90X2 in January. So I should be back on track this week.

As Tony Horton says, "Cheeseburger bad, fries bad, Coca-cola...oops I said it. Drink your water people."

What are you dying from?

I was reading through some of the success stories on the TeamBeachbody site when someone's story reminded me of this quote from Lance Armstrong in the movie "Dodgeball: A TRUE Underdog Story". There's an old saying from Homer Simpson that "it's funny because it's true". Whenever I start making excuses I think of Lance Armstrong's quote where he says "what are you dying from". Here's the script from that scene:



Lance Armstrong: Could I get a bottle of water. - - Hey, aren't you Peter La Fleur?
Peter La Fleur: Lance Armstrong!
Lance Armstrong: Yeah, that's me. But I'm a big fan of yours.
Peter La Fleur: Really?
Lance Armstrong: Yeah, I've been watching the dodgeball tournament on the Ocho. ESPN 8. I just can't get enough of it. But, good luck in the tournament. I'm really pulling for you against those jerks from Globo Gym. I think you better hurry up or you're gonna be late.
Peter La Fleur: Uh, actually I decided to quit... Lance.
Lance Armstrong: Quit? You know, once I was thinking about quitting when I was diagnosed with brain, lung and testicular cancer, all at the same time. But with the love and support of my friends and family, I got back on the bike and I won the Tour de France five times in a row. But I'm sure you have a good reason to quit. So what are you dying from that's keeping you from the finals?
Peter La Fleur: Right now it feels a little bit like... shame.
Lance Armstrong: Well, I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life. But good luck to you Peter. I'm sure this decision won't haunt you forever.

We've Got a Situation

Since I'm not really following a specific program and I'll be heading to Disney World for a week I decided to try something a little different for my workout tonight. I played basketball yesterday and jammed my big toe so I didn't want to do much that would involve jumping around.

So I thought, what better night to try The Situation Workout with Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino.

Now keep in mind that if I had to pay for this I would not have done it. I already think this guy gets way to much attention and I don't need to put any money into supporting him. There are actually a whole bunch of workouts on Netflix instant streaming and this is one of them. I thought it would be just an ab routine, but I found that it is a series of 15 minute workouts for different body parts. I watched a little bit of the other routines and then skipped to the ab portion. There are actually two ab workouts. I'm not sure if they are meant to be done back-to-back, but that's how I did them. After doing Ab Ripper X these are pretty easy to get through.

I don't have a lot to say about the program. There are some good exercises and they seem to be done in a good order. It's not anything really new and you could probably just put together a bunch of ab exercises from a Men's Health type of magazine and get an equally good ab workout. But the thing you would miss out on is hearing the word "Situation" more times than you have ever heard in your life. It's pretty obvious that Sorrentino is not a fitness instructor. He stumbles through his introductions and explanations of the exercises and then hits on the girls in the video while they are trying to demonstrate the moves.

If you have Netflix instant streaming, feel free to check it out. But remember that you will not get any of the time that you spend watching this video back. I did get a small ab workout in, but I could have easily done half of the P90X Ab Ripper X for a better one.

Here's a little quote to leave you with for today from The Situation Workout:

"From my situation to your situation. Hope you have a great situation." - Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino

Without a plan

I've been working out without a plan for a couple of weeks now. I thought I would go back to P90X workouts for a few weeks, then take a week off for vacation, and come back to P90X until P90X2 comes out. But I started missing the Asylum workouts, especially the fact that they are usually 30 - 45 minutes long.

I find it is difficult to just decide at the last minute what I want to do. In fact, what I really want to do is lay down on the couch and watch a movie. That's why my brain must tell my body that it needs to push play on the workout video and do it. Once I'm started, I'm committed. It's starting that's the difficult part.

So tonight I decided to do P90X Back and Biceps mainly because I was looking for a good weightlifting workout. I am not as concerned for these next couple of months with keeping my weight down and I would like to increase my strength before starting P90X2. I did the Asylum Strength workout which mainly worked my chest and shoulders so I wanted to back off from that. In fact, I probably should have done a plyometric workout or yoga tonight, but I felt like lifting weights instead. I will probably be taking tomorrow off so I think this was a good choice.

I need to get back on some kind of a routine and have a plan so I don't fall into the danger of deciding not to work out. Take the decision making out of the equation and then there's nothing to it but to do it. I like these little quotes that Tony Horton and Shaun T use so I think I'm going to incorporate them into my posts from now on.

"Do your best and forget the rest." - Tony Horton

Who got the better delivery?

Today I came home to find yet another t-shirt waiting for me. This time it was the Insanity: Asylum - "I'm Committed" shirt for completing the Asylum program.

But this time there was another box waiting there by the door as well. A larger one with my daughter's name on it. We just had her birthday party this weekend so we opened them up at the same time to see what we got. It seems that we both received clothes. Hers were for Barbie dolls and mine was for me. Hers was a gift from her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Taiwan and mine was a reward for completing a month of some of the hardest workouts available on DVD. 

Happy birthday to my little girl.

P90X Crushed It T-shirt

Look what arrived in my mail the other day.

It was a nice suprise that I didn't really expect. After receiving so many comments on my transformation I decided to submit my success story at Teambeachbody.com. I was planning to put together my before and after photos anyway for the Asylum T-shirt offer so I thought I might as well enter. They give out $1000 to ten people each month for their stories. Plus I guess they send out free t-shirts to everyone who enters the Beachbody Challenge.

It's a nice motivator that I didn't really know about, but I can share this with you. Here's the link to the challenge: http://www.teambeachbody.com/connect/beachbody-challenge

Something to shoot for. Good luck.

My Diet Plan

Diet is a very important element of health and fitness. While I've followed a number of different plans over the years I haven't settled on just one. Rather I have taken elements from many of the programs and incorporated them into my everyday eating program.

A diet is no good if you can't stick to it and your progress will often be lost as soon as you go off the diet. So I have decided to stop with dieting and just use things I can follow all the time.

Although I generally eat things that I want, I do try to follow these rules:
1) Eat 5 to 6 times a day.
2) Consume most of my carbohydrates at the beginning of the day.
3) Try not to eat after 7pm unless I have just finished a workout (then it's usually a recovery drink, Shakeology, or whey protein powder).
4) Eat 5 servings of fruit and vegetables each day (can include Shakeology).
5) If I don't like it I don't need to eat it.
6) I don't deprive myself of foods I love, but I don't need to go overboard either.
7) If I'm full, stop eating.

That last rule is one of the most important, especially if weight loss is your goal. This is a key principle of a program called Winning Weighs. Imagine your body is like a car and you fill it up with fuel. If you keep filling after the tank is full you will end up spilling gas all over. In your body the excess food that usually would get used for energy is not needed so it is converted to fat for use later. Since you're probably not going to be going for an extended period of time without food, you most likely don't want that fat.

Whatever you do for your nutrition plan, find something you can stick with and that gets you the results you want. I could stick to an all pizza and peanut butter cup diet, but it probably would not help me to run faster or feel fit and healthy.

Here we go again

I decided to start up another round of P90X this week. I planned to take thing easy for a while, but I also could see that if I didn't have a plan for the next few months prior to when I get my P90X2 program, I was going to lose a lot of what I have gained over the summer. I feel like I am in great shape right now so I don't need to necessarily get better at this point, but I do want to keep from going backwards. I know I have a vacation coming up and I'm not planning to do much for workouts during that time.

The major thing that I noticed was that I did not feel sick from the Chest and Back workout this time. Now I did do the workout in the evening instead of the morning and I ate about an hour before doing the workout, so that may have helped. But I started off trying to pace myself and found that I was easily hitting the numbers that I was getting at the end of my last round of P90X. When I finished it up I was able to go right into Ab Ripper X.

Yesterday was the first time that I did the PlyoX workout for quite some time and it seemed easier than it has in the past. I guess when you've been doing Shaun T's Vertical Plyo workout anything seems easier. I do have to say that even though PlyoX seemed easier, it was by no means easy. It just means that I could stick with pretty much the entire routine and work on keeping better form and jumping higher. The workouts are always as difficult as you make them so I still have room for improvement. I try to stick with Dom as much as I can until the jump knee tuck where he has to go double-time. Maybe next time.

I've got to say, it feels good to feel good. Especially after a workout that used to pummel me into the ground.

2011 USA Track and Field 45-49 year-old 400 meter finals

Here's a video from the USA Track and Field National Masters Championships. It's not every day that you get to see a world record get broken. Khalid Mulazim of Cleveland, Ohio, set the world record in the M45 400m by posting a time of 50.18 seconds. It might have had something to do with being in his hometown, but this was an impressive performance.



He also gave an interview after the race talking about his strategy and preparation for races.

Before and After Photos

One of the most important things you can do when starting a fitness program is take your before photos and measurements. I have not always been good at doing this, but I did take some before photos when I started my first round of P90X. I'm very glad I did.

Body transformations don't take place overnight and it's often difficult to notice the small changes that take place when you see yourself in the mirror every day. They also say that you imprint a picture of what you look like in your mind and that image is usually from around age 18-20. So when many people visualize themselves, they have an image in their mind of their body that may not be reality.

In my case I had not looked at my before photos for quite a while, but I remember when I took them I thought I was looking pretty good. I did a few rounds of P90X and was feeling good and losing weight gradually over time. It wasn't until I started receiving a lot of comments from people who hadn't seen me in a while that I decided to look back at those photos and have a bodyfat test done. Boy was I happy that I took those pictures. That was not the body or the face that I saw in the mirror every day. I had become so accustomed to the small changes that I didn't notice the big changes that were taking place. It has given me motivation to keep going and not go back to that.

I don't really feel very comfortable posting photos of myself without a shirt on (especially my before photos), buy I do think it's important for people to see that you can get these kinds of results if you work at it. If there's a reason why I seem to be such a believer in the Beachbody programs, it's because I know they work. They worked for me and I have seen them work for many others. That's why I became an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. To help others to receive the same results I have.

Oh, and the results of my bodyfat test: 4.6%.

P90X/Insanity: Asylum Hybrid Results

I finished up the P90X/Asylum hybrid program yesterday and had my after photos taken. I'll post my before and after pictures in a couple of days. I had them taken with a photographer this time and I am really happy with how they turned out. Here's a little preview.

I did the Asylum program along with my track workouts prior to the Masters US Championships, so I did not quite follow the program as written. This time I did the P90X/Asylum program pretty much on schedule with the program calendar. I'll throw a full review up on www.promisetobefit.com in a couple of weeks, but here is my basic review: It's hard. It's really hard.

This was the most challenging program I have done since college track & field practices. I finished up with the fit test that you do before and after the program and even that is a heck of a workout. I had forgotten how difficult the fit test was, and it's only 25 minutes long.

The main positives from the program are that it has really improved my endurance and brought my weight down lower than it has been in years. I weighed in yesterday at 162.5 lbs, the lowest I have been since 1996. For comparison, prior to my initial round of P90X I was typically somewhere between 180 - 190 lbs depending on the time of year.

With that being said, I will be taking a break from the Asylum for now. It's so intense that I think some time off will be good for my body. I'm not quite sure what I will do between now and when I start P90X2 in January, but I have some ideas. What I don't want to do is lose the momentum I have going or fall back too far in my fitness.

Yoga X

I did the full Yoga X workout last night and I have to say that I kind of missed it. I have been doing a variety of shorter yoga workouts in its place, but I decided that since I am getting close to the end I could use the longer workout.

Yoga X is one of those workouts that when I started and saw that it was 90 minutes I was not excited. Many people I have talked to say they either skip it or only do part of it. It is definitely not a beginner yoga program, but it has really helped me to improve my sports performance, balance, and flexibility. When I did my first round I did the Yoga X workout every time it was scheduled. Since I was working out mostly in the morning it meant waking up at 4:30 to get done by 6 am to get ready for work. My other option was to do it at night which is what I often did, but even starting at 8:30 means I wouldn't get done until 10pm. Then I would get up at 5am the next morning to do my next day's workout.

I eventually found that Tony Horton had created some new yoga programs for his One on One series. He even mentions on one of the programs that there were a lot of complaints about the length of the yoga and that was why he made a shorter version. He has also stated that the yoga session on P90X2 will be 60 minutes. 90 minutes of yoga can be very refreshing at times, but it is not something I can do on a regular basis. There are two programs that I use the most in it's place and they are Fountain of Youth and Patience Hummingbird. They are between 30-45 minutes in length and are a little less extreme than Yoga X.

If I was going to name one thing that I think has accounted for me not getting injured in the past two track and field seasons it would be the yoga. My flexibility and balance have improved dramatically, but the other thing that is very important for a 400 meter runner is the ability to remain calm when your body is in an uncomfortable state. For anyone who has run a 400 meter race you know that the last 80 to 100 meters is a battle between your body telling you to stop and your brain telling you to keep going. Bill Cosby appropriately described it as rigor mortis setting in.

Using the techniques you learn in yoga can be extremely beneficial to getting you through that final stretch. It is important to remain relaxed when your muscles are tightening up. It has helped me in more ways than I probably know and has become a regular part of my workout program.

Last Game Day Workout

I've got four more workouts left in the P90X/Asylum hybrid program. Today is the last Game Day workout, which by far is the longest and one of the hardest. I'm looking forward to finishing up and taking a few days off. It's really improved my conditioning and jumping ability so it will be nice to transition this to the basketball court.

I've got my 30 day after photos scheduled for Tuesday and then I can submit for my free "I'm Committed" t-shirt.

This will be a tough one.

2011 USA Track & Field Masters 35-39 400 Meters

I've been catching up on the World Track & Field Championships coverage from this past weekend. I love the DVR.

I thought I would post our Masters 400 Meter US Championships race.

I'll try to post more of the 400 meter races as I get time.

Training on the go

One of the most difficult things to do while traveling is to keep up with your workouts. When I used to travel for work a lot I would usually just rule out those days and call it a recovery week. Sometimes I would hit the pool in the morning or do some pushups in my room, but usually by the end of the trip I had given up. Many hotels have workout rooms, but they are usually very small with little equipment. When I would get back from those trips it would usually take me a couple of weeks to get back into the gym again.

Now that I'm doing mostly at-home workout programs it actually gets a little easier. If I am traveling by myself it's easy enough to bring a DVD, laptop, and a couple of resistance bands with me. Then I can stay with my usual program with a few modifications. If my family is with me I usually won't be able to get enough space or time to work out. But I can still try to incorporate activities into our day that are active. If you're at a hotel, you can usually take a few laps in the pool or take a walk outside.

On weekend trips, which we seem to take a lot of, I try to adjust my workout schedule so that the most difficult day to work out will be my off-day. An example would be this weekend. We are heading out of town for my son's birthday party. We leave on Friday after work. I do my Friday workout in the morning, move my Saturday workout to Sunday, and take Saturday as my day off (which is usually Sunday). I will need to plan to be back soon enough on Sunday that I can get a workout in at night, but that way I still get all of my workouts in for the week. Then Monday picks up right where it normally would.

I have also condensed two workouts into the same day by doing one in the morning and one in the evening, but I try not to do that unless it is necessary.

What it really comes down to is what works for you and what your motivations are. I'm motivated by keeping my weight down and improving my race times. If I tell myself that not skipping workouts gets me there then I am more likely to find a way to get it done.

How to get P90X2 by Christmas and save 25%

I don't want this blog to become a constant advertisement for Beachbody products, which is difficult since that's where the majority of my training and supplementation is coming from. But I'm very excited about the P90X2 program coming out this winter. It is really geared toward athletic performance and looks like it will be a great pre-season workout program.

Preorders start on September 1 and there is a good likelihood of selling out of their initial run. Most people like to start new workout programs around the new year so the best way to make sure to have the program is to preorder. The only way to preorder initially is through a Team Beachbody Coach like me. I'll be going through the program starting January 2 so we can do this together and I can help you get through it.

Here's a video of me explaining the program and how to get it.

Off-season track & field training

I'm often asked when I go to masters track & field meets what I do for training. I'll go through my in-season training that I do on the track in a future post, but for the off-season the answer is pretty simple; P90X.
The reason I started on P90X was to improve my core strength and flexibility. I used to fight through some sort of hamstring injury every year. I tried a number of things to keep this from happening without much success. I happened to be at a sports medicine symposium where the presenter was talking about research studies that found that the greatest method for reducing the risk of hamstring injuries was to improve balance and core strength. I remember watching the P90X infomercial and Tony Horton said "This is balance, flexibility, strength, the whole frickin nine yards." Those words stuck with me as I thought about what I could do to improve in these areas.

I did some research on the program and it looked like it would be a good fit for my off-season training. It would help me keep my weight down during the winter as well, which has been an issue for me.
I've been doing the P90X program on and off since February of 2010. I'm happy to say that I have now gone two full outdoor track seasons without having a hamstring injury.

I have also started incorporating a new program into my in-season training It is called Insanity: The Asylum and is more sports specific training. Shaun T is the trainer and he is a former track & field athlete. I now am doing a hybrid of P90X and Asylum that came with the Asylum program. I'm about halfway through that program and I'll keep updating how that is going.

I've become such a big believer in these programs that I decided to become a Beachbody coach so I can help others. If you are interested in having me as your Beachbody coach or you want more information about the programs, email me at 400MeterDad@gmail.com or go to http://www.promisetobefit.com/.
Thanks.

P90X/Insanity Asylum Hybrid Program

I finished up the first week of the P90X/Asylum hybrid about a week ago and made a discovery. I had made some assumptions about the program being mostly P90X workouts for the lifting days and Asylum for the cardio days. That's how it starts out, but I guess I didn't look closely enough. Instead of being three phases like P90X it is one 30-day program. I was getting my workout sheets ready for the next day and noticed that instead of repeating the same workout I did last Monday, I was going to be doing the workout from the start of the next phase.

I'm actually kind of excited about this as it's going to mix things up a little more than I thought. It also means I won't have to worry about getting sick again like I usually do when I do the Chest and Back workout. I'll be looking forward to getting sick during the Asylum: Game Day workout instead.

Usain Bolt False Starts at World Championships

It had to happen sooner or later. With the one and done false start rule in place for the past year it was only a matter of time before a big star gets kicked out of a championship race.

Everyone plays under the same set of rules, but it's unfortunate to not see how Bolt would race at the World Championships after a disappointing year so far. He looked great in the preliminary races.

Don't Forget to Cancel Netflix

The Netflix price increase for discs by mail takes effect in a few days. I keep forgetting to cancel my by-mail subscription. I send the discs back intending to cancel and they get me a new one right away. Then I feel like I need to watch it before sending it back. Right now I have Rango and I need to watch it in the next couple of nights or just send it back.

If you're not aware, Netflix is changing it's pricing structure from one plan where you can get unlimited streaming and discs by mail for $9.99/month to two separate plans where each service is $7.99. If I would keep my current plan it would cost $15.98/month to continue. Since I rarely can even watch one DVD each month this would be a good time to drop the disc plan. I also have about 120 movies/shows in my online cue right now so I think I could find plenty to watch without it.

Compartment Syndrome

One of the reasons I do Track & Field sprinting events instead of 5 & 10k runs is that I have a condition called chronic exertional compartment syndrome. What happens is my calves get very sore and swollen after about 2 minutes of jogging. It is very painful and not something that you want to continue to push through for very long, as the swelling in the compartments causes increased pressure in the calves. If the pressure is high enough, blood flow to the compartment can be blocked. This can lead to permanent injury.

I had surgery about four years ago on one leg and did not notice much improvement. I couldn't walk for about three weeks and it was not a pleasant time. It's not really something I want to go through again, but it is something I hope to have corrected if possible.

In the meantime I will stick with exercise that doesn't aggrivate it as much. With sprint training I can take enough rest between high intensity short runs to let the pressure go back down. I also believe that sprint training works the muscles in a way to get the body type I'm looking for.

Take care.

Make Time

One of the biggest reasons most people give for not working out is that they don't have time. Between work, family, and keeping up with friends, there are so many things pulling at us that our days are already full.

The key is to prioritize.

I remember someone putting up a post on Facebook about not having time to work out that day. I looked back and noticed that this person had posted five status updates and numerous comments over the past hour. Obviously connecting to others on social media was more of a priority than working out. If it's important enough, you'll find a way to fit it in.

You wouldn't say, "I don't have time to pay my bills." If you do, you will likely have your electricity, phone, and internet turned off. You make paying the bills a priority or you deal with the consequences. I used to play about 4-5 hours of video games each week. That's not as much of a priority as working out so that;s one of the first things to go. Not to say that I don't miss it. I would much rather sit and play video games or watch television than go through a Shaun T workout, but setting a priority for working out is more in line with my desire to be fit.

If improving your health or bringing down your time in an upcoming race is important, you will make the time.

The Beginning of the 400 Meter Dad Blog

This is my first blog post, so I'm not quite sure how I should begin. I think the reason I decided to start blogging was to get my training experiences out there. It may help others looking to do some of the same things I am doing and it will be a good way for me to look back on what I was doing and how it worked.

I think the question I get asked the most is why I do track and field events instead of road races. Road races like 5k fun runs seem to be more normal to people. It takes a certain level of intensity and dedication to train for shorter track races such as the 100, 200, and 400 meter dashes. It is difficult to get through an entire season without some kind of injury. I'll go more into my motivations and reasons for why I do what I do, but I will say that the main focus is always on giving myself a reason to train and keep myself fit and in shape.

Being in great shape is a byproduct of the training for the races. As Tony Horton says, "time keeps ticking and you can get better or you can get old and crochety."

I choose to get better.