Recovery Week

Tomorrow starts recovery week. I have to admit that I’m a bit nervous about not lifting for a whole week. The general consensus is that you should take a break from your routine every couple of months or so, but it seems a little early since we’ve only been doing P90X for 3 weeks.

I snuck a peek at my measurements this morning — down an inch of my hips and an inch and a half of my waist. I don’t do my “official” P90X pictures until next week though. I’m not sure how much of a difference there will be since the program is designed to see results after the second month, but not so much after the first. When I look at Jason, I see a difference, but I can’t really tell any physical changes in myself yet. I’m down almost 7 lbs, I think, and some inches, but I don’t really look different. Maybe I’ll wake up on Day 90 with rippling muscles. Ha! Of course, I started the program with a good chunk of weight to lose whereas Jason only has about 10 lbs or so. At least my muscles will be chiseled by the time I lose 50 lbs or so.

My eating has been a gazillion times better than it was a month ago. I’ve reigned in my sweet tooth and we haven’t been eating out nearly as much. I had a Milky Way yesterday (which I was eating pretty much daily after Harper was born) and it tasted weird… way too sweet. I’ve been eating chocolate, but when I do, it’s higher quality dark chocolate. It’s a nice (and strange) change not to be craving sweets ALL the time. Now, to kick my Red Bull addiction. When we moved a few months ago, I went three weeks without a drop touching my lips, but I’ve really been relying on caffeine since we came home from the hospital. I wonder if I’ll ever sleep more than 3 hours at a time again.

I’ve also decided not to sign up for the 2010 Marine Corps Marathon. First, Jason starts 60-84 hour work weeks in April, and there’s almost no way for him to fit a long run into his schedule. I could always run it without him, but I really want him by my side. Then, I have to admit, I’m nervous. I’m pretty sure I could go from my current 0 miles a week to running a marathon in less than 7 months, but I’m worried about my time. It’s stupid because first time marathoners aren’t supposed to have a number in their head. The goal is supposed to be just to finish.

But I don’t want my first marathon time to suck.

Yeah, I’m letting my ego get in the way here, but I can’t help it. Plus, I’m planning on running the 2011 Kansas Marathon in Lawrence. I haven’t been back “home” since I moved to Virginia a couple of years ago. I’m dying to see my friends and some of my former professors. Also, Lawrence has some of the most kick-ass food I’ve ever had. I plan on taking a week of vacation and enjoying the town.

P90X - Day 15

Is it just me or are push-ups getting just a tad bit easier?

Week 6 weigh-in today. Down 21 lbs (35 if you count what I lost at the hospital). Yay!

P90X - Day 12

I meant to post this yesterday, but… well, let’s just say the Madness of March is getting the best of me. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Anyways, I should have known better than plan to do double workouts when I haven’t been able to find the time and energy to do even one workout a day so I wound up just taking a full week off. I picked back up last night with Legs & Back. I’ll do Kenpo later today (before basketball starts) and start week 3 on Monday.

My knees are killing me from all the legwork last night. Like, I want to cut my knees out of my legs and walk around like Hank’s father, Cotton, on King of the Hill. I had knee surgery 6 years ago to remove scar tissue but it only created even more scar tissue. I’m not sure why, but I also have only 1/3 the amount of cartilage in my knees that the average person does. I ran out of my glucosamine supplements this week and now, I’m paying the price. One day, someone will figure out how to regrow cartilage and I can run without a second thought and lunge until my hearts content.

Falling Behind

I’ve been MIA for a bit; Jason’s dad passed away last week and since then, we’ve been… well, let’s just say working out isn’t high on the priority list.

We haven’t done P90X since Thursday, so we need to catch up. We could just pick up where we left off or we could just cross out the workouts we’ve missed and start the regular schedule again tomorrow. However, we decided to do double workouts to make up the few that we missed. Here’s our planned schedule:

Tuesday - Plyo, Chest & Back
Wednesday - Kenpo, Yoga
Thursday - Legs & Back, Shoulders & Arms
Friday - Kenpo, Yoga
Saturday - Legs & Back, Yoga
Sunday - Rest
Monday - Back to Schedule (Recovery)

It looks like it’s going to be a long week, but I’m not going to beat myself up if it doesn’t happen. Life isn’t perfect, and everything doesn’t always fit into a neat schedule. The important thing is that we are continuing on with the program instead of throwing in the towel because we missed a few workouts. Also, Jason will be gone a couple days for the funeral, so I’m not going to have him there pushing me… although, it will be nice to not worry about where I’m kicking. :)

Q & A

Question: Your blog is called KUrunner. Why aren’t you talking about running?

Sadly, I haven’t been able to do much running since I became pregnant. At first, I was too sick. Later on, I was too big. There are tons of women who can run while incubating a baby; I just don’t happen to be one of them.

Now that the bun is out of the oven, I’m trying to ease back into running. However, finding time to run with a newborn who is nursing every hour or so has been difficult. I also need to buy a couple of new sports bras because of aforementioned newborn. Let’s see… I also need a new pair of shoes, a new Nike+ sensor, and a few hours to make a new running mix for my iPod. (I’m sorry, but if I have to hear SexyBack one more time, I’m going to shave off those pretty little locks of his.) Plus, running with an extra 30+ lbs on your bones is killer on your joints.

Question: You are doing P90X. Are you following the whole program?

No. So far, I’ve followed the exercise program, but P90X also has a nutrition plan. For the first month it’s very low carb, and bad things happen if I don’t get enough carbs. Sure, I’m not going to get the same results as if I used their meal plan, but my husband’s not going to get stabbed with a butter knife. That’s a win in my book.

I’m also going to add running back into my routine. I’ll still be doing the same P90X workouts but with a couple of added cardio sessions.

Edit: I’m also not doing AbRipperX. I just had a baby; my abs are ripped enough, thanks. (I’ll be starting it during month 2.)

Question: So, what sort of diet do you follow?

Diet? What’s that? I haven’t done a “diet” in almost 10 years and that was Slim-Fast. Yes, I lost some weight, but it wasn’t anything I could follow for the long term. I’ve tried South Beach a couple of times but I’ve never made it more than a few days because, again, carbs keep me sane.

Basically, I eat real food. If something is made from chemicals, I don’t eat it. Real food: eggs, milk, wheat, etc. Fake food: HFCS, aspartame, red dye #3, etc. I do have a sweet tooth and I tend to eat out bit too much, but it’s a work in progress.

Question: What’s up with your picture page? Are you taking before & afters of your P90X experience?

My old computer crashed. While I have bought a shiney new computer, I have yet to install my old hard drive into it. All of my weight-related pictures are on it. (At least I hope so. Man, it would suck if my old hard drive crapped out. Let this be a lesson about backing up your files.)

Yes, I have before pictures of both myself and the husband. However, they are incredibly embarrassing and I don’t want to make them public until I have some awesome after pictures to share. Plus, I just had a baby. Nobody looks good right after having a baby. You know all those celebrities on the tabloids? Airbrushed!

P90X - Day 10

Day 10 finished! Woooo! Only 80 more to go.

I did get my Plyo workout in last night, although I did have to hit pause a couple times to calm down Harper. She’s dealing with a cold and she’s been very fussy this past week. I could tell I wasn’t as in to it as last week, though. I had to stop some of the exercises early, take longer breaks and I don’t think I was working as intensely as I could have been. Oh well; at least I did it.

Shoulders and arms again today… definitely my favorite workout of the week. I moved up in weight and reps so I know I’m sloooowly making progress, even if I can’t see it yet. Jason, on the other hand, is already bursting with new muscle. I can’t wait until our 30 day measurements and pictures!

Excuses

It’s after 8:00 and I still haven’t worked out. I had too much fast food today and the baby is cranky. I’m tired. I haven’t had enough water. The Biggest Loser is on. I have so many excuses.

But I’m getting up. I’m going to put my gym clothes on. I’m putting the baby in her playpen. I’m going to push play and do my workout.

P90X - Days 3 through 7

I’m still with P90X; it’s just been a hectic couple of days and computer time has been eluding me.

A quick rundown of my week:

Day 3 was shoulders and arms. By far, it’s been my favorite workout, but probably just because it is pretty similar to my gym workouts. For once, I didn’t feel completely weak. Unfortunately, I don’t have a huge selection of dumbbells so I used heavier weights than I should have on some exercises and lighter weights on others. At some point, I’ll be able to afford more dumbbells, but for now, it will have to do.

Day 4 was yoga. Um, about yoga… well, I haven’t done that yet. Not to make an excuse, but the baby came down with a cold and decided she wasn’t going to sleep. If baby doesn’t sleep, mom doesn’t sleep. If mom doesn’t sleep, mom sits comatose watching tv instead of working out. We were planning on getting it in on rest day, but after a week of P90X, we really needed the rest.

Day 5 was legs and back. The back stuff was pretty comparable to Day 1 — all pull-ups (or bands in my case.) The leg work consisted of lots of lunges and squats. I HATE lunges and Jason HATES squats so it was pretty much an hour of complaining. I have knee issues, so I didn’t go as deep as the people on tv, but that’s the great thing about P90X… you do what you can. I did enjoy the variety of exercises and Tony really did hit the muscles from different angles.

Day 6 was kenpo. Kenpo is basically Tae-bo with a cooler name. I’m sure I’m going to love this workout later, but for now, it sucks. The moves are complicated and Tony changes the tempo a lot. I’m not the most coordinated person so remembering 4 different punches while trying to kick without falling over is a challenge.

Day 7 was rest. Yay rest. My legs hurt. My butt hurts. My triceps hurt.

Anyways, it’s been an interesting week, and I know that it’s too early to see any changes, but I would still recommend P90X to anyone.

P90X - Day 2

Wow.

Just wow.

Day 2 of P90X was plyometrics. After one workout, I have a love/hate relationship with it. I got a great burn although I will probably have to invest in a superduty, industrial strength sports bra. There should be a warning at the beginning cautioning us busty girls. I spent about 90% of the workout holding my boobs in place. (The other 10% was spent yelling “Superstar!” )

P90X - Day 1

In my anxiousness to get my fitness back, I decided to go ahead and start P90X instead of waiting until 6 weeks postpartum. I passed the fit test… almost. I have never been able to do a pull-up and my abs are pretty much non-existant after 9 months of pregnancy.

Day 1 was chest and back. Lots of push-ups and pull-ups (or in my case, modified pull-ups with a band). I HATE push-ups. There is a reason they’ve never made it into my normal gym routine. I’ll do all the bench presses, pec flyes, and cable crossovers you want, but I completely wuss out on push-ups. P90X has you do like 30 varieties of push-ups too. Ok, well, it’s more like 6, but it still sucks. I’m not able to do a decline push-up or a divebomber yet, but hopefully that changes soon. Day 1 also involves ab work, but I’m going to wait a few more weeks before I start.

Plyometrics tomorrow. Fun stuff.