Day 43

Week 5, Day 5 Incinerator done. This workout is another good upper body workout. This is like a hybrid workout of The Challenge and Eccentric Upper. No negative reps and more than chest and back. It is back and chest for 4 rounds then shoulders for 4 rounds then arms. I like the way the workout is structured with the first one being a 10 rep set and then the second being a 30 seconds or failure set.To explain this setup where it makes more sense, I will go through the first 2 rounds.

Round 1 is back and you start with Renegade Rows. You start in plank and with a weight in each hand you do alternating rows in the plank position. One row for each arm is one rep. With the bands you put the down hand on them to hold them in place and do alternating sets of 5 reps until you have done 10 on each hand, or that is what I did. I assume you could do the 10 in a row on each arm then switch as well. Then immediately after that you do pullups for 30 seconds. That means 2 exercises for the same muscle group consecutively.

Round 2 starts with Flys. If you are using weights, you lay on your back and do a standard fly keeping your arms bent to almost 90 degrees on the bottom end as to not engage your shoulders. Then directly after that its 30 seconds of standard pushups or failure whichever occurs first. Now this progression continues with different exercises for 2 more rounds then it switches to shoulders for 4 rounds then arms for 4 rounds.

The final segment which is almost two and half minutes long is the burnout section. You start in plank then do pushups then back to plank then forearm plank (sphinx) and back and forth and some variations of raising legs and arms and even side arm balance on both arms. Tony is sure to do both sides for any move that involves one side or the other. Gotta have some balance. Finally ending in downward dog for about 10 seconds.

I had trouble, as I always do, getting the bands right for equal resistance for each side and I have to pause from time to time and even rewind a bit just to get in sync and not waste time with getting it all set right. I like the workout, but I have to go heavier with the curls and military presses. I might have to also pause during the 30 second portions while using the bands for pullups and chin ups to get a better burn. I do the isometric hold at the bottom end of the move on both and many things with the bands and the time runs out after only 10 or 11 reps when I can easily do more and this is on my heaviest band. Something to work on for sure. One thing is for sure, I love the workout for the shoulders as I do with any shoulder workout.

I will counting the 37 pushups within the workout and I did my 50 seconds of plank after the burnout. I actually rewound it for 50 seconds and used that for my timer. I have only 63 pushups left for today's challenge and I will be all set for the day.

I know I haven't really talked about my nutrition for a while and I guess today is as good as any. I have decided not to weigh weekly and or measure anything until I do the 60 day pics and measurements. I feel the first month I had some good weight loss, but then near the end I noticed it seemed to taper off a bit. I don't want numbers to become my focus, I see the changes and I feel the changes. With continued work and determination I will see those numbers go the way I want. I also looked back at my first round of P90X 90 days and I only lost 48 lbs for that entire 90 days. I know I am almost halfway to that mark as well now. I will just let go of the stress numbers cause and do what I know is working. I also know that there is muscle gain with fat loss which leads to lower body weight lost. Muscle is more dense than fat and therefore is heavier.

My nutrition, got off track a bit there. I have been what I would call pretty good. I do sometimes have things I think about maybe this isn't the best thing or the best choice like last night I had 3 corn tortillas with chicken and some cheese with salad. I know I don't need the tortillas and each one is 40 calories. I feel though for the taste and variety that I get with 120 calories of something not "optimal". I get the flavor and don't get burned out on trying to eat clean. I don't do this every week, more like once every 2 weeks. Similarly to my trip to Little Rock on Wednesday where we ate at Golden Corral for lunch. I had too many calories, but I limited it to salad and a good amount of proteins and veggies. My average calorie intake daily is around 1900 cals. I am actually slated for around 2500 calories and P90X3 Nutrition Guide actually states I should be taking in around 3000. I think I couldn't even begin to take in that much.

I remember when I was a nurse and doing diabetic teaching with newly diagnosed diabetics and discussing the 1800 cal ADA diet. I always thought to myself that was soooooo low in calories and how could they live on that. I was probably taking in near 4000 or even 4500 cals per day eating crap. When you eat good, you can eat so much and get less than half the total calories in. I know it gets expensive at times to eat healthy or even just better than the typical SAD (Standard American Diet), but in the end. I would rather spend my money on food daily than spend it on hospital and dr bills after my quadruple bypass or the home health aids because of my stroke due to poor health cast into stone by my poor fitness and nutrition. The biggest expense of choosing to do nothing and eating poorly and not exercising isn't what you are getting, but what you are losing. Your life and happiness.

Good luck on doing what you have to do to be the best you, you can be.