Legs & Back– I am starting to see a pattern here, this was my best leg workout to date! I had my whey protein shake (with carbs) about 30 minutes prior to exercising so I was all fueled up and ready to go this morning. I pretty much hold mine own during pull-ups but by no means am I even close to Tony and his gang on reps. I probably could max out at about 16-17 pull-ups right now but during the P90X back routines, I only do about 4-7…and sometimes 2-3. I guess I do not recover too well after doing my first set.

Nutrition– I have a family party to attend tonight but my plan is to be very good as far as nutrition goes. I will be driving so I know there will not be any adult beverages flowing…which usually leads to unnecessary snacking. I hope to fly under the radar tonight and just have water and hope they have a vegetable tray of some sort. It’s funny, the old me would have brought beers to the party and now I am thinking of brining a vegetable tray….seriously, how awful is that?? At least my wife will be representing us as she will be bringing and having some wine.

I understand I have to LIVE a little but this program is only 90 days long and I am trying to do my best to follow the nutrition plan during this time. I am definitely not going to go back to my old ways once this program is over but I am also not going to be as disciplined as I am now. To undergo a body transformation, you need to be very strict on both nutrition and working out. Once you hit your transformation goal, maintaining those results will be a lot easier to do than achieving them.

My goal is to follow this program to the best of my ability for the 90 days. I did not set any weight-loss and/or muscle mass goals. I will be doing another round of P90X (March 1st 2010) and my goal during that 90 day period is to build muscle mass while maintaining my body fat percentage. I am going to allow myself to eat more and not be as strict as I am now… also, my plan is to “bring it” even harder during the P90X workouts by lifting heavier weights.

Yoga/Cardio– It’s funny how much I appreciate this workout now, I look forward to the change of pace. I did complete cardio-x after yoga so that is two down…two more to go for the week. Seeing that it was yoga, I did not think I had to eat something before working out but I was so wrong. I did not have enough in the tank during cardio-x to perform it at a high intensity level. I now know that I need to consume carbs/protein before every single workout.

I have to contradict myself a bit and say I must have had a great bicep workout yesterday. I started feeling soreness in my biceps last night which tells me that I tore (tiny microscopic tears) them up a bit during my workout. The best part about a muscle tear is the process of rebuilding…this rebuilding process creates new muscle that is bigger and stronger than before! Knowing that my muscle were sore and rebuilding themselves, I helped them out a bit and had a protein shake mixed with water right before bed time.

Back & Biceps – I pretty much feel a good/great burn during all P90X exercises but for some reason, I struggle to get that burn when doing bicep exercises. It does not take much to get a burn on chest, back, shoulders, triceps, and leg exercises but it seems to be 50-50 when doing bicep curls. I increased my weight this morning thinking that might help but it did not. Don’t get me wrong, I struggle on all bicep exercises and I always use a weight that I can only muscle up 8-10…sometimes only 7. I feel that this lack of burn is playing a role in why my biceps measured smaller recently. I am sure they are becoming leaner but I have been focusing on bulking them up a bit. I guess I should feel fortunate that the burn comes a lot easier on the other muscle groups and who knows, maybe I will figure this out one day??

ARX – The last 2-3 workouts, I have been able to finish the “mason twist” without that ridiculous burn that comes with it. I still feel a burn during this exercise but it’s not as intense….which makes this workout less dreadful!

Plyometrics– This might have been my best plyometric day since starting. I also banged out cardio-x right after so needless to say, I was soaked with sweat by the end…I never thought struggling to take my wet shirt off would be so rewarding! Instead of eating a banana this morning before exercising, I decided to have a protein shake. A medium size banana has 105 calories, 27 carbs, and 1 gram of protein. A beachbody meal replacement protein shake mixed with skim milk has 220 calories, 27 carbs, and 23 grams of protein.  I realized this last night but there are many studies backing up the notion that having a protein shake before your workout is just as effective as after it (I still believe a post workout drink with whey protein is the most critical drink/meal of the day). I do prefer the protein shake over the banana though as it contains a lot more protein and will enter my system quicker seeing that it’s a liquid, not a solid.

I not sure how accurate this is but my heart rate monitor also keeps track of calories burned during a workout. Between plyometrics and cardio-x, it claimed I burned 1011 calories. I don’t think it’s too farfetched as both of these workouts combined, totalled an hour and fifteen to twenty minutes of intense cardio.

Seeing that my nutrition has changed before and after my workout, I figured I would share…

5:00am – Shut off alarm clock, while I am up I have a protein shake…go back to bed
5:25am -  Get up again and head to my workout room
5:30am -  Start my P90X workout.
6:30am/6:45am – This time varies but I drink my P90X recovery drink immediately following my workout.

Let’s face it, anyone that has participated in the P90X exercise program knows that it was designed to help you build lean muscle and shed unwanted pounds and fat. Some of the P90X before and after pictures you see on the internet are simply amazing, they just confirm that this program is no joke and one can easily achieve their fitness goals by following it.

P90X is so effective in getting you ripped that it’s very difficult to build muscle mass when following the program to a tee. It’s great for those that want to drastically tone up but how about those that are happy with their body fat percentage and want to gain muscle? Below are just some of the key components that are absolutely required when your goal is to build muscle mass via P90X… (more…)