PlyoXT Baby!! Day 3

PlyoXT

I was excited and nervous about this workout. In the past "plyo" days were always one of those where I knew, somewhere along the lines, I'm either gonna get sick, or come thiiiiiissssss close to passing out. What? You don't get out of your comfort zone in a workout?

All day long I kept checking on other people's facebook posts about what they thought of it and every one had agreed that it was a butt whoopin so I had to mentally prepare myself as well and make sure I ate enough calories and drank enough water to keep up. I was carbing it up all day. Some people try to do these workouts while taking in as little carbs as they can. It's been in my experience that when I didn't eat enough carbs, I'm tuckerin out before the workout is half-way over. Each and every workout I try to make sure that I had eaten the right amount of good quality carbs, proteins, and fats so I can turn on Beast mode and bang out a great workout. Plyo day is no exception.

I was still feeling great even after that beating I took the day before with those workouts so I kept telling myself that maybe I'll wear sweats for the workout. Not because I didn't think I wasn't going to sweat, but just really wanted to burn some goo off.

Mission Accomplished!

I got through (I use that phrase appropriately) most of the workout wearing the full sweats but with about 10 minutes left I had to take my sweatshirt off. My t-shirt underneath had transformed into some bizarre version of "ass whooped" grey and I had sweat pouring out of every and any place sweat could come from. It was a non-stop beating that kept pushing me to the brink and at times (most times) had to take a quick break and jump back in. I joked with my wife that I had sweated out that "had to pee" feeling somewhere mid-way through. I sweated so much that I guess my body needed the water to come from somewhere else! This wasn't from a lack of water intake. I had drank probably almost a gallon of water by that time in the day and had a liter there with me throughout the workout. Talk about gettin after it!

Finishing that workout was like I had just won a prize. I gave it my all the whole way through and had a blast doing it. Just half-way through my first week and I'm already feeling better. I cannot wait to see how I progress over the next 90 days.

Ryan

Day 2- Strength and Force Upper

Strength and Force Upper

Day 2 is here and in the books! Still feeling it from those Grinders that ended yesterday's workout. 55 pushups and 55 tuck-ins will do ya in (fo sho). I watched this one last night so I could be as prepared as possible for the beating that would ensue. Again I had my other bands with me in case I needed them. I did end up switching to my 20LB band for a few of the movements but it was only a few. Those punches with the bands get your shoulders a burnin right quick and it's all you can do not to scream out.

Mike had us going from standing up with the bands on one move then back on the ground in some sort of plank right after, almost super-setting the movements to keep your heart rate up and body moving. I must have gone through a dozen sets before a water break finally came and I was ready for it. Again, just about every move is hitting your core so you can feel every little bit of pain (in a good way) from the abs throughout this workout.

You may be wondering why I referred to him by his first name in that last paragraph. Although I have never met him in person or we haven't had any formal introductions, he does make you feel like you can connect with him. I've personally exchanged a few facebook posts with him because he has commented on what I had written. He does that for everyone! It's amazing to see someone really reach out and try and connect with everyone going through the program. Maybe it 's because even after a few of these grueling workouts I feel like I'm going through the trenched with him leading the way so I'm just naturally drawn to that comradere. Either way, the guy's cool and has the ability to motivate you before, during, and after the workout.

The workout ends with the killer move that focus's on your biceps. The Karpenko Curls is a fast paced curl with the resistance band wrapped around your feet. Can't recall the exact timing but it's something to the effect of 20-30 seconds all out curling, followed by a quick curl and slow release, then slow curl and fast release, ending on another 20-30 seconds of all out curling. 2 days later and my arms are still feeling big. Talk about a pump! And no, not those swedish-made enlarger kind that Austin Powers made famous.

Ultimate ABS XT

Ultimate ABS XT followed immediately and I was just feeling pumped going into it. I just got done getting a brutal strength workout and although I was whooped, I had some more energy to give. This workout is one that I am not exactly sure I will master by the end of the 90 days. You start out doing a few reps of each move thinking you're in there like swim wear and realize that, that's all you're going to be able to do is just a few reps. Or maybe that's just me. Either way, I've got some work to do and I can't wait to see how I progress.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!!!!

Right before I started this workout I knew going in to it that I was feeling pumped. Maybe it was because I was feeling good all day and was eating all the right foods and getting myself hyped for the workout. When my wife told me she was taking our 5 year old out to do a little mama-daughter shopping and I'd only have 1 kid to worry about accidentally drop kicking, I figured I'd see what I could do intenisty wise and maybe take my 2 year old outside to play or maybe the dog for a walk. Welp, my lil lady was snoozing like a champ so I decided to put in the Muay Thai workout. That was one fun workout. Nothing but punches, elbows, kicks, and just an all around beat down of a workout. ( I should note that I'm kind of a masochist and really do enjoy the whoopin's I get from a workout. Weird? Yes. Fun? You bet your sweet katookas it is!)

I finished up that little gem right as my wife and daughter were getting home and my youngest woke up. Like it was meant to be. Holla atta balla!

Ryan

Day 1- Cross core Combat

Cross Core Combat

First thing I need to mention about this workout program is that I got excited to know that this program trains you like a fighter. While it does not turn you in to a fighter, it gets you in shape and you'll walk around feeling like one. When you feel like you can stand up to any challenge that comes your way, nothing is going to stop you from reaching your goals.

On to the workout-

This workout was a great cardiovascular and core engagement style workout. Pretty much every move hit my jigglyness I hope to soon call abs in some way shape or form. I love the knee strikes, dropping elbows, and throwing hay maker punches. I'm having a brawl in my own living room!

Between the planks, pop-ups, and knee strikes I could tell that my tri-ceps and core were going to be in for some pain the next day. Learned later in the day that it wouldn't take that long!

That little resistance band you see in the picture at first gave me a little concern because of how small it is. I have other bands that are heavier so I pulled them out just in case I needed to up the load, but used the one that came with the program while I was learning the moves. Man was I glad that I didn't try and go all He-Man on it on the first day because that little red band provided more then enough resistance for the workout. The workout ends with a killer move called "Grinders". Sorry, I stuttered a little bit typing that in there. This move is a pushup/tuck-in combo that has you start out with 10 wide pushups straight into 10 tuck ins. Right from there you go to 9 narrow pushups and 9 tuckins. Back and forth between wide and narrow po-zish all the way down to 1. Yea I had to pause the dvd at that point. Couldn't finish it without stopping but I did want to finish. I got done with that workout and felt accomplished. Not that I was able to do what they were on the screen were doing, but that I gave it my all and had a blast doing it. I couldn't wait to get to the next workout.

Side note: I started eating better a few days before the program. Although it's not what most consider the ideal diet, it's far better than what I was eating out of my food pyramid which pretty much was a box that had pizza, reese's, macaroni and cheese, and a toasted PBJ sandwhich. I have been eating every 2-4 hours in the form of 3-4 meals and 2 snacks a day with a lot of water.

ABS are made in the kitchen, defined in the workout. (Not sure who said that but they're pretty dang smart)

Ryan

Running to the Challenge

The funny thing with a new workout program that comes across is that you're initially psyched about it because you know you want to get the same results that the people on the informercial acheived. You figure they had, at one point, looked and felt much like they way you do. I had done in-home workout programs before and had great success with them (see below for the most recent).

(BTW, I am no longer an Independent Team Beachbody Coach so this is in no way an attempt to sell their products.Great programs; company; people; just out of the game is all.)



Like anything else however, if you discontinue the hard work that you put in you'll eventually find yourself back to where you were before. Out of shape, snoring like a bafoon, jigglin' when you brush your teeth kinda chubby. While I didn't quite reach that sloppy figure you see to the upper left, I did get about half-way there. Time to get on with another challenge!

I found out about TapoutXT on Facebook (hard to believe right) from one of those Ads on the right-hand side and gave it a click. Got to dive into it a little further and learned that it had just come out a few months ago! This was still somewhat brand new and not many people knew about it. I had to try it.

After a few weeks of thinking about it and researching it and getting jealous of every one else posting what a great workout they were getting from it, I decided to order the base kit and see what it had to offer. Besides, I have some pounds to lose and a goal I plan on acheiving so this is going to be my newest tool in acheiving that goal. My schedule at the time I got it in the mail did not permit me from getting started at first. Family, jobs (2), and full time student tend to take up quite a lot of time. But I can proudly say to you that I now have a tweaked schedule that allows me to jump into these bad boys and get after reaching my goals.

My official start date was (I know a few days late here) 6/1/12. I am posting my before pictures because I want to hold myself accountable. By posting these now, I'm forcing myself to work hard and follow the program so I have some better pics to post on Days 10, 30, 60, and 90. I even told Mike Karpenko, the guy who created it, that my results were going to be on their website because it was going to be amazing. Granted, there's more to it then that, but we're looking for "website worthy" results here and that's what I'm gonna bring to the table.

Day 1 pics and stats:

So there it is. That's where I am as of a few days ago. Today is June 4th so I've got some more blogging to do to catch up from the last 3 days of workouts. Join along and see how I progress. If I can answer any questions about the program based on my own experiences I would be glad to help but should point out that I do not work for or receive anything from this company. These are all personal opinions and experiences. From what I've done so far, I'm having a great time and enjoying all of these workouts!

Come get some!

Ryan