P90X - Day 5

10/17/2008

Day 5

So, I've been "Bringing It" as I should and wouldn't you know, I'm actually feeling better already - more energized. I have even lost one pound. Not that that really matters much, although I'm shooting for 165ish by the end. The biggest difference so far is the energy, better posture (probably because I can't slouch since it hurts my abs), and the exercises are getting a bit more manageable. I think that means I'm seeing improvement. Man, all these things are just making my quadriceps feeling like they're not even supported by thigh bone. Totally elastic and they barely hold me up when I go down the stairs.

Guess what today is? Legs and back. This translates to taking my poor wobbly quads and beating them with a baseball bat, so to speak. Literally with our backs against the wall (try this - back against the wall, feet together and out from the wall 18-20" to the heal and lower yourself until your leg and thigh form a right angle, then raise one leg and hold it for 10 seconds straight out, then switch, then repeat) my friend and I attacked this with gusto. And I thought I my legs were destroyed before. By the end I though I was actually getting better at it, but it turned out I just couldn't feel my legs anymore.

Let me summarize the activities. Destroy your legs in incredible feats of agony, then take a two minute "break" by doing chin-ups and pull-ups until you can't, then back to legs. I started out nice and strong on the chin-ups, but by the end when "one" rep is basically a combo of two chin-ups and two pull-ups with a grip switch while you're hovering, I was often at 1 rep. Even less a couple times. After this demoralizing workout, it was time for....

Ab Ripper X. Yes, again, we punished ourselves with a terrifying workout, only to then have to try to "Bring It" on the Ab Ripper X. I definitely did better than the time before, but still only averaged half or less of the reps.

Beat and dehydrated, we called it a day.

The diet is going well so far, although I definitely seem to be under my target in calories. I feel pretty good, though. We'll see if that comes back to haunt me...