Crappafatccino

This is straight from Tony Horton's nutrition tips:

Try this recipe. Take one McDonald’s^® Big Mac^®, carefully remove the wrapping, and place it in a blender. Add half a cup of ice and blend into a smooth consistency. Add milk and sugar to taste, and serve in a tall glass. Garnish with whipped cream and drizzled caramel.
Sound crazy? Well listen to this: a Starbucks^® Venti^® Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino^® Blended Crème coffee drink has more calories than a Big Mac, the fat of a medium order of fries, and more sugar than half a dozen Krispy Kreme^® glazed donuts. Trying sticking that in your blender.
Most fancy coffee drinks are essentially high-calorie caffeinated fast food. But they have other factors that make them even more troublesome. The first factor is caffeine. Blended coffee drinks are loaded with it, making them more addictive. The second factor is their liquid form. When you eat solid food, your brain decreases your appetite and you feel satisfied. But when you consume liquid food, your appetite isn’t satisfied in the same way—so you wind up eating more.
So if you do need that java jolt during the day—keep it simple. Order up a small drip or an espresso. And if you still want something sweet, treat yourself to a blended fruit smoothie. It’ll not only taste better, but your body will thank you, too.

Adjusted the schedule to have my travel-to-work day as a rest day

Yesterday was a cardio day, and it being Kenpo on the Classic X schedule, and wanting to get some martial arts practice I did my Martial Arts Cardio workout instead of Pure Cardio. Got a great sweat and felt good afterward.

If you're interested in seeing it, the entire thing is broken down into 5 videos on youtube. S

http://www.youtube.com/user/grglblch

They are set up as Sets 1, 2-1, 2-2, 3, 4. I didn't go for great form in recording it the first time because it was just meant to be a demo for some folks at Beachbody. I figure maybe there are some out there who might want to give it a shot on their Kenpo day.

Today to get my schedule where I'm on track with our Fit Club on Monday nights (always a cardio workout) I rolled right into C&B tonight. KILLER. Great pump, heavy weights. Blasted the upper body. I also added a double scoop of BCAA powder to my pre-workout drink. It's another supplement experiment.

Long days, lack of sleep, but there is no rest for the weary

Last night at our hotel, someone managed to set a microwave on fire in the lobby.  At 12:40 the fire alarm woke up everyone in the building.  Although the person was smart enough to wheel the cart with the burning microwave out of the hotel, the alarm was set off and the fire trucks showed up, and it was enough to interrupt eveyrones sleep.

That coupled with a very early wake up and van back to the airport made for a long day.  After flying, the commuting home to VA from Orlando, FL. I was pretty beat, but I have set the ground rules for this round:  I WILL NOT MISS MY WORKOUTS.  Period. 

So I got home and put on the workout clothes, did 25 min to loosen up on my Lifecycle, then hammered through P90X Legs & Back.  I actually felt really good during the workout, and my legs were wobbly and shaky at the end, which rocked.  My pull up numbers continue to increase with my forearm injuries becoming a thing of the past.

All in all, I'm progressing and feeling good about this.  4 years after my first Round, I'm still at it with a vigor!

Week 1 continues

It's always a bit challenging coming into a new defined round of a program.  With my travel schedule as an airline pilot, I have to workout at different times throughout the day.  One day it may be at 3:30 in the afternoon, the next day at 11:00 at night.   It all depends on a lot of factors.

Today was Insanity: Cardio Recovery.  Very light workout but a decent stretch for the upper body, which is something I really need.

The lack of sleep is catching up to me, but I'm not going to let it get me down.  I will not miss my workouts!

Getting enough sleep

Yesterday was a GREAT day.  Started off with Beachbody's national Super Saturday event, where we recapped the Summit for those who didn't get to go.   Then I led a workout which was a combination of P90X One on One: Plyo Legs, and Insanity: The Asylum : Back to Core.
  

Since Summit I've been fighting a respiratory infection that's left both Kim and I hacking all night long.  I can't say it's a cold because I'm not fighting the typical stuffy-nosed, sneezing nastiness,  just a brutal cough.  Kim has had it worse than me.

What has manifested has been fatigue.  2 days ago I couldn't keep my eyes open.  Yesterday on the way home I hit the same thing, so Kim drove and I slept.  When we got home I went in, crawled into bed, and slept until 10:30, for a total of 14 hours.  I am guessing my body was just exhausted and it caught up with me.

I'm still dragging a little but not coughing, and I do feel better.  So I'm pressing into some cardio today, and beginning Round X of P90X tomorrow.

I'm looking fwd to crushing it!

Some days you just have to listen to your body

I struggle with taking days off from working out.  Yes, I may be addicted to it, but more than that I mentally feel better about myself when I workout.  With that in mind, taking days off I tend to feel like I didn't do something for myself I should have done.   It's rare that I give myself the chance to just recharge because of this.

That is a bad habit and one I need to break.  I'm about to start my 10th Round of P90X, or at least using the X as the primary program.  I'm going to push really hard, nail my nutrition (which I am usually good at anyway), and see what I can truly accomplish.  Because I know I'm going to push my boundaries, I know I will need more down time to recover.

So today, being exhausted all day, I did 30 minutes on my Lifecycle and that was it. 

Tomorrow is our monthly Group Workout/Cookout and Beachbody's Super Saturday.   It will be a blast!

Shoulders and Arms MC2 Destroyed

Today I hammered P90X Shoulders & Arms MC2.  I was lifting heavier than I have in a long time, prepping for the kickoff on Monday for the 90 day challenge with That Team.  I had planned on waiting to start Round X, but now is as good of a time as ever, so BRING THE PAIN.

I have been asked by several people lately how I stay so dedicated.  It's actually a fairly simple answer: I have goals I want to achieve, and being healthy, fit, lean and muscular are among them.  It's part of my lifestyle.   Yes I'm human and there are times I want to cheat, I want to pig out on nasty food, but I know how I will feel, both mentally and physically after I do.  It's not worth feeling like lethargic crap for a day after eating badly, just for a few minutes of pleasure with the food.

A good buddy of mine at the Coach Summit also likened it to an alcoholic falling off the wagon: give in and the next thing you know I'm licking the bottom of the dessert tray in the corner. 

So I keep myself in check just by nature of my lifestyle.  I like how I feel, how I look, and want that to continue and improve.

Getting down to business

It's been a long time since I have posted, but it's time to get back to it.

I spent a month hammering out Insanity: The Asylum and it is nothing short of a brutal set of workouts.  I actually enjoyed the change of pace to hard-core speed, agility, and sports specific training.  I have never been much involved in sports so many of the drills and exercises were new to me, but I really enjoyed them.

This last week was spent at the Team Beachbody Coach Summit, surrounded by 2500 fitness fanatics.  The energy was off the hook.  I got to do my first live workout with Brett Hoebel of RevABS, and The Biggest Loser fame.   It rocked.  There is supposed to be a training and certification in his workouts to become instructors, which I will definitely do.

I'm working hard on my fitness, and the business of being a Coach is leading me to new places.  Case in point we are working on putting in an offer on a home in Southern California.  It's amazing what is possible part time through sharing my passion for fitness.

I'm also double stoked for P90X 2 being released later this year.  Pre-orders are coming in August and I'll be in line on day 1!

Getting back to it

It's been too long since I sat down to this.   I'm focusing on adding some muscle mass right now, pushing heavy weight and working hard.  It's a beating on my body, but I'm making progress.   I'm also fighting my right forearm hurting similar to what I dealt all last year with on my left arm.

I'm not going to let it sideline this year.  I am working to modify the moves to avoid the pain, but I know after I get through this phase I will give it a rest.

I'm OCD about this, and many other things, so I never will give it up.  The same is obviously true of my Beachbody business.  However I'm analyzing myself on a mental level, and trying to weed out my natural first response to a lot of things which tends toward the negative.  I've heard too many others lately who say only negative things, and have heard the same pouring from my own mouth, and that's just not who I want to be.

So in all things, I'm a work in progress.  The trick is moving  a small step forward every day, gaining momentum and working hard.  That's the Slight Edge at work.