p90x3 Day 3 - Yoga "Don't Skip This"!

Yoga X3 done. It went by really fast! I wanted more, but this was "just enough". I like the figure 4 series, that was new to me. 

Most difficult pose? Dancing Dog! followed by tree pose on right foot. 

Favorite line? Since I'm still learning the moves on each workout it was from the beginning, "Don't skip this".


I was again nicely sore today but not too sore.  Until after dinner that is. 

I woke up refreshed and could feel the Agility X from yesterday in my glutes...the felt awake and strong and I noticed them participating in walking, and several times found myself lightly jogging...it just felt really good to "wake them up", even though I hadn't realized they had gone to sleep.   The dangers of our society...sitting, driving, typing.   Every time I go through this phase I tell myself I won't ever stop exercising again.  

Needless to say there is always a time I stop.  Yet this time, after only 2 days of p90x3 my body feels awake, refreshed, limber and like strength is coming back quickly!  


I've lost 2 lbs already, clothing is fitting more loosely. I haven't't done my fit test yet I'd better do it soon! Same with a new set of photos.  


Tonight I went to dinner with my boyfriend, his boss and another friend of his.  His boss wants to lose some weight (not sure how much) and admits trouble with cholesterol and sleep apnea.  They all commented and noticed that I"d foudn the only "healthy" thing to eat on the menu, and he was proud of himself that he had crushed pineapple and dried cherries that day for lunch. 


So while other people may not be doing what I am doing...some are doing way more and some doing way less, it's nice to see a positive influence, no matter how small it may be.  


Keep up the great work everyone and keep. Pushing. Play!  


PS  sitting here typing this I feel a different posture than previously...even earlier today.   


PPS God please never let me go more than a day without some sort of exercise or stretching again.  P90x3 yoga is so quick and simple and feels so good...no reason not to do it or something similar every day. 

p90x3 Day 2 - Agility X

I'll start with summarizing how I felt on Day 2 after waking up this AM. First of all, I had an amazing night's sleep yesterday.  Getting physically active again helps me sleep soundly through the whole night. That for one is a welcome change.  Why go to a doc for sleeping pills when it can be fixed with 30 minutes with Tony Horton?

Throughout the day my upper arms and lats felt nicely and lightly sore...not like I did a ton of work, because I did everything lightly yesterday. But I could feel that I had done something.

Here' sthe best part...for at least 18 hours post exercise (keep in mind this was the first exercise of this kind in 6 weeks...that is, a full body, weight bearing type of activity), I had zero discomfort in my  upper back and in my right shoulder...two places that had been bothering me quite a bit.

I'm now fully convinced that my right rotator cuff discomfort was flared up by tight pecs from sitting & typing posture and not actively stretching my pecs or working my shoulders. So for that alone...reduction in pain and Sound sleeping, I'd gladly do Day 1's Total Synergistics over and over again.   Better than the best medicine, and cheaper than an MRI.


Now to day 2, Agility X.
WOW...I'm spent.  Amazing that so many different activities can take place in a 4 foot by 4 foot box.  All new exercises and no equipment needed except for two strips of tape.  

At the start of Agility X I was doing the full minute or at least 50 seconds before petering out.  It hadn't even really occurred to me that I wasn't not doing the full round, albiet with not as much agility as the pros.

As the 30 minutes went on, I found myself doing 40 seconds, then 30 seconds and by the end of the workout I was pretty much on my knees faking the plyo pushups, lol.  I'm glad Tony wasn't really there.

Favorite quote from the day? I wasn't really listening enough to pick one, I was paying too much attention to getting all the moves right.

I'm looking forward to doing this one again, and getting the moves down so I can really go at it.

Favorite exercise?  I don't remember!  I think the cooldown at the end.  I"m sure that will change.

Thanks Tony & Thanks Beachbody for an amazing home DVD workout program!!!

p90x3 Day 1: Total Synergistics with Cold Start

The day finally arrived!! Day 1 of p90x3!  Been waiting for this for about 6 weeks now.  It's been a full year since my last round of p90x and I have been really excited to see what x3 will do for me in terms of motivation with the shorter workouts, and how it will integrate with my swimming and triathlon training.

In December I was sick with what started first as a cold, progressed to sinusitis, then bronchitis and possibly influenza. I was out for 2-3 weeks with NO energy, not even the kind of energy when I've had a cold in the past but was still able to do stuff.  I was on the couch unable to get up sick for at least 5 days, then slowly energy returned, but during that time I really became deconditioned.

I swam only 5 days in December, taught several lessons and rode my bike about 5 times on the trainer for less than 30 minutes each.    The last 2-3 weeks my shoulders, low back and hips have been aching in a way then never have before.  I started to think (briefly) maybe I'm getting old...wondering if I'd be able to sustain swim volumes I have in the past...I got glimpses of me being an old, fat swim coach who couldn't swim anymore.

But then I reminded myself of all my over 45 friends who are fit and lean and healthy, and of all the accomplishment's I've had over the past year (new PRs in all swim distances, Open Water National Championship Racing -7th place age group), my fastest crossing of the Kealakekua Bay) and of how much progress I made last year in such a short time with p90x.  

I loved how I looked last March/April/May and even later in the year.  I did put some weight back on, not all of it, but I also stopped doing the additional training for the full body, and really slacked off on weight bearing activities also, like running and my running activation drills.

So....

That brings us to today's workout...Total Synergistics.

First let me say how much I have missed Tony!  I love working out with him and friends in my living room. Some people hate his banter, but not me.  He is motivating, funny and goofy enough to find entertainment in little things, "Oh Mississipi....", "I could store a rabbit under there", "Let me write that down. That was Hard!".   They sound goofy if you haven't heard them but it keeps me smiling which makes me want to PRESS PLAY.

So what about total synergistics?   Fun, fast workout. not a fast tempo, but the time goes quickly. I loved the variety. Almost all new moves, but all very functional.  I enjoy the new "salutations" named after different folks as well.

For the Half Moon Warrior Squat near the end, I did a nice modification that I"ll post a video of.  Dreya showed some modifications, but I feel he could have spent a little more time on them.

My shoulders were really tired just after the 2 minute warmup...and the arm circles keeping the hands "mostly " behind the shoulders showed me how tight my chest/ pecs have gotten from TOO MUCH computer work (like this typing) and not enough stretch or strengthening work.

I am so happy and so excited to be going down this path again.  Keep in touch for updates on weight, measurements AND photos as well. :)

Tilapia Fish Tacos with Jalepeno Slaw - A quick 90/10 Nutrition Idea

These 90/10 fish tacos took about 20 minutes to make from scratch and were as good as the 'original street taco' recipe we get from the local authentic Mexican taco stand on the NorthSide.  They were so good, even my boyfriend enjoyed them!

Tilapia Fish Tacos with Jalepeno-Lime Slaw

Slaw:

1/3 Head of Green cabbage, shredded

1 lime, juiced

1 small bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 medium Jalepeno, diced

6 scallions, chopped

salt & pepper to taste

Fish: 

2 tilapia fillets, sautéed in olive oil, salt & pepper to taste

Wraps:

Choice of corn tortilla or rice paper wrap (highly recommended!)  

Directions:

I started with about 1/3 head of green cabbage and use this $20 mandoline/veggie slicer to make quick work of shredded cabbage.   Next I took a medium sized jalepeno, sliced it in half and scraped out the seeds.   I chopped it into small bits and tossed it into the cabbage. I rinsed off about 6 scallions, cut the roots off and sliced the whites, then added a small handful of fresh cilantro.  I used a nice heavy duty lemon/lime juicer to squeeze in the juice of a full lime, then added salt & pepper to taste. 

Next I sautéed 2 tilapia filets in a small amount of olive oil with salt, pepper and lemon juice until white all the way through and just browned on the top & bottom.  I separated the fish into flaky chunks then added a few tablespoons of fish on top of a corn tortilla as well as  rice paper wrap, and added the jalepeno-lime saw on top.   

This recipe was enough to make six small hand-tacos, and the rice paper fish tacos traveled really well to work in a tupperware container.  

Let me know how yours turn out!

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Get Ready for p90x3!

P90x3 went on sale today, and I'm going to order my copy tomorrow. This whole journey started with doing p90x and I love working out with Tony Horton.

I've put together a page that covers all the frequently asked questions regarding p90x3 but just post a comment if you have any additional questions.

I'm planning to start my next p90x3 group challenge on Jan 6th, 2013, so get your order placed, and guarantee that you can participate on time.

All orders placed through the links here will connect you with me as your personal beachbody coach and advisor, at no additional charge.

If you can't wait, just go ahead and place your order right now! 

Writing Down Your Goals! Reading Summary - Power of Habit

I am loving my new reading habit! Today's "Power of Habit" reading was about willpower! Fun to read about habits and willpower while forming a new habit. It's making it easy for that 15 minutes of reading to be the first thing I do. 

This chapter started by discussing the idea of delayed gratification, and how children who displayed the ability to wait 15 minutes to earn an extra marshmallow scored higher on their SAT exams years later. Many studies of willpower have since followed.

One that I find fascinating was a study that looked at recovery activities for elderly people that had joint replacement surgeries. They recruited a bunch of folks averaging 68 years of age, and gave them a book of guidelines for rehab with 13 blank pages in the back, one for each week's goals. Half the participants were instructed to write out their goals for each week. The other half were given no specific instructions. The ones that wrote out their goals for each week started walking twice as fast as the others!

But even more interesting is that the ones that did the best created a written plan for "inflection points", those points they knew would be the most difficult and the easiest time to give up. Like that first step was so painful, it would be easy to just sit back down. One man specifically wrote that he would take 2 steps before he stopped so it would be harder to sit back down.

One man made an afternoon routine of walking to the bus stop to greet his wife as she returned from work...that 3:30 walk was the longest and hardest of his day but it had the biggest reward, "Hi Honey, welcome back!".

Companies like Starbucks also have robust employee training systems in place where they give workbooks with blank pages to their employees so that they can write down a plan to deal with "an angry customer", " a wrong order", "a long line", and they give them coping strategies to help formulate their response (like the LATTE plan). Then the manager will role play scenarios with the new employee. In this way, even new employees with little professional experience become well trained in setting aside personal difficulties of the day and experts in customer service.

Good stuff. I know that I have things I'd like to have more willpower with. One of my groups that I am involved in right now involves creating a "vision board" for 1 and 5 years down the line. I came up with a list of my 1 year beachbody coach goals and wrote those down. Based on today's reading...I'll be much more likely to achieve them! : )

Les Mills Combat Hybrid Schedule with HIIT Plyo (Post workout Smoothie too)

Today was my fourth Les Mills Combat workout and the first one I was able to do all the way through!

I did what's listed as the 4th workout in the Les Mills "Combat Warrior" schedule, the easiest of the 3 schedules that comes with the program.   Don't get intimidated though by the title "Combat Warrior"!  It's actually got several rest days and many days the workout suggested is only 30 minutes long, so really no excuse not to do it!



It's one of the reasons I chose to do Les Mills combat right now because it's so easy to fit it in with other obligations.   In this short video, I talk about the schedule I'm doing and how I modified it for my triathlon "off-season" training blocks where I want to primarily improve my running.

The plyo, leg work is very helpful for improving running economy among other things.

I find it VERY challenge right now so I just modify according to the video and if I don't feel it's safe for me to continue some of the plyo or go quite as deep in the moves, I just march or jog in place.

Aftwards I REALLY look forward to some kind of a post-workout shake since I want to hydrate and refuel and don't feel like "fixing" a meal...I need something quick and easy and good for me.  Guess what I use?  Shakeology!   Right now I'm enjoying the vanilla Shakeology and adding various things to see what I like the most.

Try this recipe:
Ginger & Spinach Shakeology, Post-Workout Smoothie
1 scoop Vanilla Shakeology
1 large handful of fresh baby spinach leaves
1 small handful of strawberries
1 tbs of flax seed
12-16 oz of filtered water, to suit your desired thickness.

Check out the video to see my reaction to how it tastes (and what I did after I turned the camera off! )