I'm back!

For those who noticed, I was on vacation and took a hiatus from my blog (and P90x) for a week. No worries though, I am back to working out and eating right once more. (How I miss those avocado cheeseburgers in California...) 

However, my regimen has changed a bit since I have a 5k race coming up in two short weeks. I am still incorporating my P90x ab workout into my running schedule every other day, but I am doing things like strenuous leg workouts and plyometrics less frequently. I am trying to do an arm workout on the days that I do not do that ab workout. 

My new schedule consists of running about three miles (give or take .2 miles) every day until my race. After my race, I will revert to my previous schedule, which was a blend of P90x and running. There will probably be more of an emphasis on P90x after the race.

If you are all wondering what it feels like to train absurdly hard then take about 10 days off to eat a bunch of unhealthy food and lay on a beach - it's rough. Ok, so I did a lot of walking on vacation and I didn't eat food that was all bad for me, but I felt it when I started working out again.

The first 3.5 miles was brutal and I thought for a minute or two that I wouldn't be able to get back into the groove of training but after 3.5 miles last night and another three this morning, I am ready to train hard again.

Improvements: better balanced diet- My daily diet looks a little like this: fish, broccoli, chicken, fat free cheese stick, fat free yogurt, 100 calorie granola bar, grapes, wheeties, 1 percent milk and orange juice.

Splurges: 1/2 a bacon cheeseburger. I plead guilty. (but it's protein!)

Still slacking: Especially now that it's hot outside, I need to drink more water. Anyone have tips on how to trick myself into this?

All the help I can get is appreciated. Good luck with your workouts! I'll write again all the week of my race.

Last week, I did the P90x legs and back workout and it was wonderful. I upped my weight by 5 pounds (don't get too excited - I am only using 10 pound weights) and I breezed through it. I'm not sure if it is because I work some of those same muscles running, but whatever it was, I liked it. 

Today I want to talk about a different kind of workout that many people have most likely accidentally done before: wearing high heels. Better yet: running in high heels.

Today I wore 3 inch pumps to work and was called out to cover a story. Not a big deal. But I went out to cover this story in a torrential downpour that didn't let up. 

I found that running to and from my car and buildings in the rain made my calves feel great. I've noticed this when I have danced in heels or walked all day in heels but I haven't ever really tried running in heels.

For the record, I don't recommend it as I almost fell on my face and I don't want you to fall on yours. But after a day when I already ran and did some other leg workouts, the heels helped me feel like I did a little more work.

While that isn't a feasible unconventional workout, I'll try to find some more that are actually good (and safe) to do. I don't want to bore you all with straight P90x and running talk.

Can you do that? Without hurting yourself? Thought so...

I tried P90x Yoga for the first time last night and it was entirely different than I expected. I did yoga on a weekly basis for two years and I found P90x Yoga to be a challenge, but at the same time, monotonous and repetitive.

P90x Yoga is and hour and a half long, which is longer than anything should take if you repeat what you're doing once or more in that time period. While the first part was boring, the balance poses were challenging. Just imagine trying to do a standing split. Or this for that matter....

The yoga session ended with an abdominal workout, which was the most enjoyable part of the hour and a half time period. After the abdominal workout, I got to lay around in corpse pose and rock back and forth in happy baby pose, which was a nice reprise from twisting my body into shapes it isn't made to bend in. 

Overall, the workout wasn't fulfilling, although it did leave me somewhat sore so I at least felt like I accomplished something. Tomorrow it is back to running, potentially with a p90x upper body workout to cap it off - if I have it in me. 

Latest mistake: not drinking enough water before a run. The weather is getting warmer and I have to stay on top of this water drinking thing. Oddly, I think that is the most challenging part of this training schedule for me. But now, I have a 1 liter water bottle next to my desk that I will fill every few hours. It's empty now, but I swear I'll fill it up before the next workout...

New focus: speed workouts. I have been working on improving my running time but over the next few weeks it will become my main focus.

New project: creating new workout play lists tomorrow. My form, focus and speed is much better when I workout to music.

The best thing about this training plan is a constantly changing workout schedule and setting goals that will benefit me both now and in the long run.

Happy working out!

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Ready for this? I think that I have found the perfect exercise balance that cheats both training programs I am working on, but also combines them. Doesn't make sense? I'll explain...

The new schedule that I am following fell into place without any coaxing from me this week. It was really based on how much pain I could handle in a given time period.

Here's what happened:

I interrupted my 5-day running spree I had going to do the P90x arms, chest, back and abs workout Tuesday, and on Wednesday morning I discovered muscle pain in places I didn't know muscles existed. I have already done this workout sequence and those muscles have not hurt or even felt a slight burn. I took this to mean I am doing the workouts correctly. My form has gotten better, therefore I am feeling pain where I am supposed to feel pain, er, feel toned I mean.

It was too much pain to run, let alone move, yesterday, so I spent about 30 minutes stretching and was in fine shape for my run this morning. 

For beginners who are trying to increase their fitness level AND train for a race, I recommend the following schedule, from one amateur to another:

Mon: P90x - back, chest and arm workout (1 hour) + P90x ab workout (15 mins)

Tues: Stretch arms and legs for a lengthy period of time (30-45 mins) add some yoga moves so you are still strengthening your core.

Wed: Run - three miles (25 mins) + P90x ab workout (15 mins)

Thurs: P90x - arm and shoulder workout (1 hour) or Run - three miles (25 mins)

Fri: Run - three miles (25 mins) + P90x ab workout (15 mins) or P90x yoga and stretching (1.5 hours)

Sat: Run - three miles (25 mins) *Only do ab workout if you did not do it Friday. It isn't good to do it everyday

Sun: Rest (if you're weak!) Ok, ok, a rest day (in my amateur opinion, is fine.) Just don't munch on an entire bag of potato chips or a gallon of ice cream and you should be ok.

Now for my observations:.

Perks: This thrown-together schedule has given me four times the energy than I had starting out and it has helped me fall asleep at a reasonable hour and wake up at a reasonable hour after eight hours of peaceful sleep. 

Diet tips: I have been having one protein shake on the days that I run or do intense P90x workouts. I have also found that eating 4 small meals per day is keeping me full and satisfied. On nights that I come home from work at midnight, I'm not tempted to go straight to the fridge. I'm now tired (and full) enough to go right to sleep. 

Slacking: I have to make sure I stretch everyday. No matter what. Even for five or 10 minutes. And most importantly, I need to drink way more water. I mean, quadruple my water intake. I drink about 2 full water-bottles per day but should be drinking around eight during this workout plan.

This is a learning process, but I am finding it more enjoyable and less chore-like as I progress. As always, feel free to offer tips or share workout experiences. Happy working out!

I may have mentioned in a blog post from eons ago that I am running a 5k this summer and started some sort of doable training schedule a few months ago until P90x came into my life. My view was: This will be even better than running because I will be super fit, right? Wrong.

My former co-worker, who I am going to (attempt to) run this 5k with, sent me a friendly e-mail the other day about how she has been sticking to her running training schedule and she is, in fact, running a 5k this weekend.

What 5k? Oh yeah, that whole thing I agreed to a few months ago... 

I panicked slightly because although the race isn't until June 25, I haven't run in a few weeks thanks to the rigorous P90x workouts. I was at the point where I was running a comfortable three miles and trying to improve my speed. I never thought a two week slump would make much difference, until I ran yesterday.

It may have partially been the humidity, but I don't remember the last time I had such a miserable run. My legs, which I thought were turning into legs of steel thanks to P90x, felt like lead. I tried again this morning and it was slightly better, but I was still lumbering up hills instead of gliding.

What I've learned: I can't stop running unless I want to look like a fool in this race.

My new plan: Combine P90x with a running schedule. Days that call for plyometrics or leg workouts will be running days.

Caveat: I am not giving up, just switching it up so I don't die in this race. 

Slacking: I haven't been drinking my protein shakes, which seemed to keep my energy levels up. But I'm learning. My excuse is that I'm a rookie.

What I learned today while P90xing: do not drop weights on your face while lifting. Don't worry, I didn't do it. I listened to Tony Horton when he cautioned not to be a hero and to only use weights that are of reasonable size. For those curious, I used some 5 pounders, although in retrospect, I could have probably upgraded a whole three pounds to 8 pound weights during my arm and shoulder workout today. The fitness experts in the video used 20-30 pound weights but really, I'm not even going to go there.

A perk of this new workout is that I have so much energy. After the initial submersion of pain and sleepiness after day one, I am on the fast track to actually feeling healthy and not like a couch potato.

I am also trying things I've never tried before like lifting weights for more than 10 minutes and drinking milk with protein powder.

Not to worry, this is not me

But really, protein powder apparantly helps muscles recover after you spend an hour ripping them to shreds from doing exercises with ridiculous sounding names like the tri-bi-rise-kickback ... or something like that.

The biggest problem I have encountered, even with recovery drinks, is that my muscles don't necessarily recover. After plyometrics on Friday, I was essentially dead. I actually wanted to cry, yell and nap all at the same time while doing those exercises. I was even chided for cursing at the TV too much during workouts that hurt too bad and seemed neverending. My calves have never hurt so much. They still hurt today. nearly six days later.

I am hoping that I'll get used to this. In the meantime, I encourage others to jump on this bandwagon and embark on crazy workout adventures that involve them potentially injuring themselves and drinking vanilla flavored protein powered instead of eating a meal. Ok, so I'm a little bitter, but I promise, it's more fun than it sounds. And tomorrow is yoga, so I get to take a breather and balance my chi, hopefully weights have nothing to do with that.

I survived day one of my 90 day fitness plan following P90x. Don't act so surprised. I'm a champ, you know.

All right, so I'll admit that I struggled through the hour and 15 minute chest, back and abdominal workout. I can comfortably do about 25 pushups. But P90x guru, Tony Horton, asked me to do far more then 25 regular pushups. There were diamond pushups, dive-bombers, military pushups, you name it...

And it is just as painful as it sounds, in case you were curious.

But if I want to be as fit as the girl (Marina, I think is her name?) in the initial workout video who, as Horton said, is "stronger than the average bear," I have to push through it. So I did.

Breathing, walking and thinking hurt after I was done. Chelsea, my friend who is doing the workout with me, said that it hurt to lift her beer after.

Editor's note: Beer is probably not the best choice for an after p90x drink, but in my non-expert opinion, perhaps it will help you relax your muscles. And you are allowed one liquid snack in the diet plan, so that was it.

Yes, there is a (loose) diet plan that comes with the program. I think will be pretty easy to follow, actually. No junk food and portion control, that's about it. Ok, so I gave in and had a burger after the workout, but apparently that counts as protein, so I'm safe.

After work today I will embark on day two of the plan, which is mostly plyometrics. Wish me luck!

Chelsea, me and Chelsea's brother Jake doing pull up exercises with resistance bands.

Verdict: P90x, albeit challenging, is not as impossible as I thought it would be.

Advice: stretch before trying any of the exercises.
Invest in protein shakes - they help you feel full and make up for all the calories you burned while trying not to faceplant while doing pushups.

Results: Three pulled muscles, feeling fit and energized, but was incredibly tired after the workout

So this is a trend blog, as many of you know by now, and I have participated in a lot of the trends I write about - only the moral, safe and legal ones, of course. But I am about to partake in what will probably be the biggest challenge in my life thus far and I want all of you to join me.

There is a supposedly life (and body) changing 90-day workout plan that I am soon going to embark on called P90x. Many of you may have heard of it. If you have, you know that it is not for the faint of heart. 

The masses often write reviews that detail grueling workouts that were so strenuous they had to give up because the workout video is fit for only Olympians.

P90x reviews

Well, I am putting this to the test to see if I have what it takes. My friend, Chelsea Lange, will be going through this with me. While I wouldn't consider either of us couch potatoes, as we do tae boe and pilates, run and zumba together, we also aren't Olympians by any stretch of the imagination.

This will be an exciting endeavor in our lives and hopefully yours as well. You blog readers get a treat - we will hopefully be posting pictures, videos and of course, details of our experiences, along the way. In turn, please feel free to give us tips, encouragement or even, if you must, laugh at our efforts. It's all in good fun!

Now I am going to enjoy my last bacon cheeseburger that, if I don't cheat (I won't, I promise,) will be the last one I eat for the next 90 days.