Mon. Feb. 25 Workout(s)

P90X Chest, Shoulders, Triceps + Ab Ripper X + Walk

Week 8 begins!

Great to be back on the ground in NC and back to work -- but, heck, why not start the week with a few things I need to come clean on.

First, Ab Ripper X. I hate it, but I "love" it. I've been doggin' the last few moves for most of this first round of P90X.

No more.

Beginning with last weeks iterations, I've been focusing on form, bringing the serious burn/crunches to my midsection, and doing ALL of the moves. It hurts, hurts, hurts, and getting my lower back in the air for those moves about 80% of the way through the routine brings the most lovin' pain.

But I can see now that between my diet, the rest of the routines, and now FULL Ab Ripper, that this will be my key to success on deflating the remainder of this spare tire around my 37-year-old midsection.

Next, I took the entire day off yesterday. First time since I started the program that I actually slept in (till nearly 10!) and got my body back on track from CA to NC. I feel a touch guilty not walking or doing the stretch routine, but this crash really gave me the chance to rest, recharge, cook up some awesome steak chili for the family, and get some good calories into my body before hitting today (Monday) with some level of insanity.

Last, I'm excited as heck about last week. Travelling and exercise rarely go hand in hand, but thanks to a pretty open room layout and access to a fairly new workout room with good treadmills, I was able to do my regular workouts AND do some 3 mile-ish fast walks which brought the burn and an amazing amount of sweating. Nice, nice, nice.

One regret/oops -- my red band gave up the ghost during a bicep move. Woot! I mean... yikes. Gotta get some free weights I think next (here I come Craigslist) to get some lighter weights back in the homestead. I only have the cazy light green band atm, and it's tough to do the lighter weight moves with it.

So, red band, thank you. Thank you for sticking with me through 2007 for all of Power 90, and through more than half of P90X in my first round of 2008. May whatever landfill you fall into in sunny CA be a fitting reward for your months of service.

Ack, what am I saying? CA made me soft. Back to the good ol' NC/PA work ethic. Hut, 2, 3, 4...