Shoulders & Arms– I would consider today my best P90X workout ever, and “yes”…I was talking back to the video. I did not have it in me to do cardio-x last night so I told myself I would do it in the morning. I started the “shoulders & arms” routine at 5am which is 30 minutes earlier than I normally do. I purchased heavier dumbbells last week so this morning was the first time using them with this workout and it was such a good feeling using a heavier weight while still reaching my rep count. I then completed the “cardio-x” routine and finished the workout with “ab ripper x”. I exercised for 1 hour and 40 minutes and loved every minute of it. During the CORE section of cardio-x when you perform the “squat cross-x press” where Tony gives the option to leave the ground for the last few reps…I left the ground for all 30 reps so that pretty much was the icing on the cake that I was bringing it HARD all morning!

I am becoming addicted…

Plyometrics – Sometimes people can take electronic post out of context so if you are a female, take this as a compliment and not a male chauvinist comment…

I want to give tons of credit to any female out there doing P90X…and a bit more credit to all mothers out there doing it.

I thought about this more at the beginning of this program and it hit me again this morning…P90X is NOT easy! It takes a mentally strong person to participate in this program and takes even a stronger person to finish it. Even if you are not following the nutrition plan, it’s still hard work. Doing both the workouts and following the nutrition plan just makes you a crazy individual, especially if you are just an average person (student, someone who works full-time, stay-at-home mom, etc…) and not a professional athlete of some sort. I think this program is even harder for females due to their physical makeup. Completing this program is an accomplishment for anyone but if you are a female and can finish this, it’s so freakin impressive…keep pressing play ladies!

Also – I had a great plyo workout this morning, I really can’t remember my last bad P90X workout. I am at the point physically that I “bring it” everyday. Even though I am doing great with it, nutrition is my daily battle. I did not have time to piggyback cardio-x on top of my workout this morning so I am going to try to fit it in tonight…if not tonight, I will fit it in by the end of the week.

Chest & Back- I am becoming a big fan of having a whey protein shake about 25 minutes before I exercise. I felt great this morning as well as last week since starting this. From an energy perspective, I don’t think it’s necessary if you workout in the evening assuming you are eating properly throughout the day but if you feel the need…you should consider it. I have mentioned it before but there are studies that show whey protein is just as effective before a workout as it is after. I just started taking it before my workouts so I don’t have an opinion on it yet…I just know the carbohydrates that come with it give me the much needed energy to finish my workouts in the morning at a high-intensity level.

Nutrition – I was happy with my day 70 measurements so I decided to allow myself to cheat a bit during NFL playoffs yesterday. I did not go crazy but I did have a few beers and made some nachos with low-fat cheese, seasoned ground turkey, salsa, and organic chips. I am sure they were still loaded with calories because they tasted fantastic. I have three weeks left in the program and my goal is to continue to do what I have been doing. For me, the workouts are automatic…I find myself “bringing it” without much effort. I just need to make sure I stay disciplined on my nutrition these next few weeks.

I am happy with my measurements these past two weeks…I lost another 4 pounds, cut my waist size another 1/2 inch, gained an inch on my chest, and my body fat dropped a bit. The last time I was below the 200 pound mark was freshman year in high-school!

Instead of doing two cardio-x sessions this morning, I ended up doing one core synergistics routine. At the end of the day, I pretty much burned the same amount of calories and that is the goal of doing “doubles”…burn extra calories. You could even replace cardio-x with a walk, jog, or cardio on an elliptical-type machine…do what works for you.

Also – I feel like I have to say this every time but “no chance” my body fat percentage is that low but it has dropped significantly.

Here are my Day 70 measurements:

Body fat % – 5% (Day 1 – 18%)

Weight – 198 lbs (Day 1 – 220lbs)

Chest – 43″ (Day 1 – 40″)

Waist – 351/2  (Day 1 -391/2″)

Right thigh – 25″ (Day 1 -271/2″)

Left thigh – 25″ (Day 1 -271/2″)

Right arm – 16 1/2″ (Day 1 -16″)

Left arm – 16 1/2″ (Day 1 -16″)

Here are my Day 70 Pictures:

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Kenpo-X- I just finished my kenpo-x workout (5pm), I give credit to those that workout at this time or later. I know some people wouldn’t agree but I find it so much easier to workout in the morning when there are zero distractions. I had to go into work early this morning so I pushed my workout to this afternoon. My plan was to do kenpo-x and cardio-x but I was not feeling the cardio-x workout one bit so I am not going to do it tonight. Seeing that my goal is to do “doubles” in phase 3, I will have to do cardio-x twice tomorrow (only did it twice this week) so I will most likely piggyback both of them together in the AM.

Nutrition- I had excellent willpower last night at the party. My kids were having a great time playing with  their cousins so we ended up staying until 11:30pm. I had a turkey bacon turkey burger on a 100 calorie english muffin with two servings of spinach before the party so that pretty much satisfied me for the night. I did give in a little and had some pretzels around 11pm but I was happy that I did not dive into anything else. I will be posting updated pictures and measurements tomorrow so that is another reason why I was so good.