Get in the best shape of your life.

I have finally finished the long journey that is the P90X Experience! 13 weeks of pushing myself to change my body has finally come to a conclusion. I can tell you it has been a long time coming and I appreciate everyone staying with me through this excellent trip. This would have ended about a month ago had there not been that ankle accident, however, we just have to go with whatever life throws our way.

The week was a breeze. It was a “Recovery Week” according to the workout schedule but I mindlessly went through the workouts. They were all very simple except for Yoga and Core Synergistics (that’s about half your week right there). Kenpo X was never that much of a challenge for me and Cardio X would never be a challenge for me based on it’s slow pace and mixed use of the Kenpo, Yoga, and Plyometrics programs. As you’ve all come to know, I love my intense workouts and Cardio X just never did it for me. This isn’t to say it’s a bad program, it just isn’t for me.

The entire week was smooth and almost cathartic. It all seemed very nostalgic as if I had been away from the program for a very long time rather than simply entering into the phase of concluding it. I’ve never quite done a program that has crammed so much into such a small amount of time (6-7 hours a week) and I feel that I will miss the structure that P90X has so lavishly provided to me so that I didn’t have to use my brain. You just follow the plan and you have results.

So, Week 13 and P90X came to an end and I find myself lost. Why am I lost? I just finished one of the more intense programs conceived. I’m lost because now I have come to the inevitable question that plagues everyone when they reach their goals. Now what? Where do I go after this? What should I attempt to ascertain next?

Well, it’s back to the gym for me. My muscle capacity and structure has changed, so I’ll have to reinvent a new workout routine to keep me along the lines that P90X has started. I will continue doing the Plyometrics workout as that has increased my athleticism much more than any of the other programs. I will also be holding onto that Core Synergistics workout for those days I don’t think I can make it to the gym and I’ll be continuing the Ab routine until I find something that works my abs harder. Aside from that, it’s back to the weights. Oh sweet weight room, how I’ve missed thee! Next week’s P90X update will be the last P90X update and it will be about all of the gains I’ve made.  Here’s a hint: My poor bench press has suffered…

Week 12 is finally in the books leaving only one more week that has to be accounted for before I’m an official P90X graduate! I find this actually to be more exciting than any of my other graduations, but that just goes to show the power and fulfillment of sticking it out through a tough situation, and in this case, a pretty messed up ankle.

I finally found that I could take it no longer. After so much of my life had been spent in the weight room I found that lifting in my home was not the same and was slowly taking it’s toll on me. I have moved the entire operation into the gym, officially, so that I can create a smooth segue from the P90X lifestyle back to being in the gym I know and love. As I’ve said before, I plan on keeping a few of the exercises and principles I’ve learned in order to build a better workout routine for myself, but nothing is going to beat the feeling of picking up free weights again.

I’ve mentioned a few times that my biceps and my back tend to be weak points as I view them. I found a way to successfully integrate some weak point training while doing the P90X workouts in the gym. On day three of this week my workout consisted of the P90X Back and Biceps. I took every opportunity while I was in the gym to blast my biceps as hard as I could which included switching from the exercise band I’ve been using to free weights in order to fully gauge where my biceps are at. When I was younger I always wanted to be able to curl 50lb. dumbbells with no problem. On day three, I got to watch as I was able to mark that goal off of my bucket list. Apparently my biceps are strong, but they do not have the size I desire. I also should have given more credit to the exercise bands. My biceps are much stronger because of them.

As for my back, I believe weight loss will help with the manifestation of more pull-ups. It’s not that my back is weak, it just doesn’t have the same “Umph” as all of my pushing muscles (thank you sports). I will continue to work hard on my back until it’s where my chest is and I can officially do 30 pull-ups with ease.

The rest of the week was a breeze. Even yoga has become much easier for me. I believe that my dedication will start manifesting visually for me now that I can get back to running with a fully healed ankle. My muscles have just about finished changing from a high intensity explosive set to a set of muscles with more endurance and tone. That was the goal afterall, but I’m not sure how I’ll like it in the future. Maybe I’ll begin blending the two philosophies to get a happy medium. Ok, everyone this is the last week. Wish me luck!

The days of old have slowly crept upon us! I can feel the sky falling down around me. The days when people would gather in large groups to feast upon the bounty of the crop while drinking mead in their wooden goblets have finally returned upon this land with a fiery vengeance. The long lost days of the Kettlebell have returned!

While there has been some debate on whether the Kettlebell was originated by the Russians or the Shaolin fighting monks, there seems to be a unanimous agreement that the Kettlebell is a superior piece of equipment, even in it’s simplicity. The Kettlebell is very simple in it’s design. It’s simply a ball made from a heavy material with a handle attaching in two places on the ball. See, simple.

The reason for the separation from the Kettlebell within the more recent decades has been from the advancements in workout equipment. The Kettlebell used to be the standard when it came to a weight lifting routine that needed something aside from the barbell. They were the dumbbells of yesteryear.

A glaring problem with the Kettlebell was the way it was weighted. With all of the primary weight from the Kettlebell being in opposition of the handle it wasn’t conducive to lifts that needed the weighted portion of the Kettlebell to rotate away from the gravitational pull (bicep curls, tricep extensions, etc.). But the biggest reason for the disappearance of the Kettlebell was the fact that it promoted bad form for most lifts. With the weight essentially hanging from the grip it caused a lot of momentum during each rep which can cause injuries, most notably, back problems. The development of the dumbbell fixed this problem with an even distribution of the weights on either side of the grip.

Now, thanks to the wide growth in the fundamental understandings of the weight room and, consequently, weight lifting, and to Mark Twight’s “300″ workout (yes, this is the workout the giant guys in the movie “300″ did to get ripped), the Kettlebell is back in canon. Perhaps, the Kettlebell wasn’t as bad for us as previously labeled?

The Kettlebell causes you to cross train your body by using the smaller muscles for stabilizing the oddly weighted object. By focusing on every little movement you make while lifting you reach a new level of fitness. With your understanding of momentum and how it can be detrimental you use it to your advantage. An unstable environment often yields the most desirable results. Much like the use of a Physio ball, the Kettlebell forces you to focus on your core and desired muscle group simultaneously. Many tests have shown that using a Kettlebell increases muscle activity throughout the body, not just the targeted area. This we know benefits in two ways: Build more lean muscle mass than you thought you were, and burn more fat. How could we ever get rid of such a simple yet advanced piece of equipment? Next time you are looking to shake up your workout routine, look into Kettlebell training. Who knows, you may fall in love with the gym all over again. I know I did.

As I mentioned in my last post, keeping on top of all my tracking has been really hard the last few days. I finally pulled my self together today and got everything down. One of the most challenging aspects of life tracking is actually planning. If I don’t do a good job of planning everything I eat and all my workouts in advance, it becomes much harder to properly track everything.

Calories out: 3349, Calories in: 2716, Protein: 260g, Carbs: 305g, Fat: 42g

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Very exciting new stuff coming very soon