Core Synergistics--Day 45

Last night I came home after work and was so tired I fell asleep for an hour! My body was obviously telling me it preferred rest to another workout, so I indulged. While I've been pretty good about sticking to the P90X schedule, every now and then I take an extra day of rest when my body needs it. Yesterday was one of those days.

I'm not too concerned about getting behind or going longer than 90 days or anything like that. When I set out to do this program, I promised myself I would complete the program no matter what. And that's still the plan...

I was reading yesterday about the P120x plan, which comes from Tony Horton's comments that most women need 120 days before they see results. Apparently it takes women longer to build muscle mass. For the past few weeks I've been thinking about what I would do after P90x. I think I just may try going for 120 days and see how that works. My BF's sister is doing the Insanity program, so I may wait and see how she likes that program and then switch to that after 120 days.

I'm on Phase 2, Week 3, Day 3 today. Because I did a 1.5 hour hot yoga class with my best friend earlier this week, my schedule is a little off. But I decided to do "Core Synergistics" today. I often refer to this program as "core synergistics of death" because the first time I did the workout it was very rough. However, today was tough...but not horrible. Although Tony encourages you to write down your reps of every workout move, I don't really do this. (I know--slap on the wrist!) The only one I've been keeping track of is the prison cell push-ups. On April 12, I could only do 8 modified ones in a row. Today I did 11!!! Success!! It's little things like that that keep me going!!

Core Synergistics (of death) basically consists of a little cardio and then a ton of core workouts for abs, back, legs, arms...almost every part of the body. There are several different push-up modifications and I'm usually sweating hard just 10 minutes in. The workout is about 58 minutes total. This workout is definitely one I will incorporate into my regular workouts once P90x is over just because it's a total body workout!!

Post workout, the BF and I went on a 30 min walk around a local duck pond/trail. Here's a quick pic I took of a HUGE turtle. There were several other turtles around him, much smaller though, that came swimming up to us quickly because they thought we had food.

Note: Bring turtle snacks next time.

Also, here's a couple additional pics of some food I ate this week--nothing too exciting. Some delicious brussels sprouts that I steamed, my favorite faux-chicken product Quorn patties with goat cheese and cranberries, and some homemade Green Chili Stew topped with cilantro and cheese that the BF made. He's from New Mexico so he knows what he's doing!!

I love good news!

Woke up to some wonderful news today!

First of all, my hometown basketball team, the Dallas Mavericks beat the LA Lakers on LA turf in Game 1 of the second round of the Western Conference NBA Playoffs last night. Woohoo go Mavs!! The BF and I went to Game 1 of the first round against Portland and had a great time thanks to some very generous people who gave us their box seats, $180 of spending money on food, drinks, and gear, and free parking passes. That was quite a fun evening!

Second good news, Trader Joe's is coming to Dallas! The paper said they plan to open up a store in Dallas before the end of the year. Let me preface this excitment by saying that I've actually never set foot in a Trader Joe's, but after years of all sorts of food, health and fitness blogs singing its praises, I am just thrilled about this new shopping option. I am very fortunate to have Whole Foods, Central Market, Tom Thumb, and Aldi within less than a 2 mile radius. And for all I know, Trader Joe's could be in far North Dallas and be almost 10 miles away, but still.....it's just one more option :)

And now for a P90x update....I'm now pretty well into Phase 2. I actually finished up week 2 yesterday and have a rest day today. Some quick observations about Phase 1 vs. Phase 2 and my progress:

-I absolutely feel stronger and have more cardio endurance

-I don't feel like I want to die after Core Synergistics anymore (after the first time I did this workout, I laid on the floor in a pile of sweat for about 10 minutes and refused to move)

-I can make it through all the workouts now

-My flexibility has increased. I now have to use a yoga block when doing seated hamstring stretches because my hands reach way past my feet.

-Clothes are still looser, but not sure if I've lost anymore weight or inches

-I no longer dread jumping jacks

-I find humor in Tony Horton...some of the things he says just crack me up

The only new workout that I have in Phase 2 is "Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps" which replaces "Shoulders and Arms" from Phase 1. This workout is HARD. I've built up my arm strength over the years to the point that before starting P90x I could do about 15 regular (no knees) push-ups in a row. Not bad. However, this workout makes my arms shake!! There are a zillion variety of push-ups in this workout and it's not humanly possible for me to do all of them without going on my knees.

For all this work, I better have kick ass arms by the end of 90 days!! Like this--->