Day 3

Ok, this is day 3 of my 90-day seemingly never-ending journey. I started off with the Chest & Back workout on Monday (Day 1) and let me tell you, this workout is challenging. For starters, about 1 year ago, I broke my arm. I broke my arm so badly in fact, that I needed 2 plates implanted for structural support. Yes, it was that bad (bone popped out for anyone that really wants to know). Anyway, onto my new life transformation; the endless pushups and pull-ups are challenging indeed, mainly because I feel like my arm is going to snap off, but I power through using a chair slightly for the pull-ups as I don’t have too much confidence yet. Also, I really don’t want to go through that whole ordeal again. After the workout, I feel vibrant and accomplished; however, it was only day number one. I should note that when I started, I planned on waking up before work for this program, and so far, no success. Sleep is just too good right now.

Day 2 was much different from day 1, in that it was Plyometrics time; the mother and beast of all the Power 90X workouts. I should mention that I did do a few workouts the week prior (Cardio X, Shoulders & Arms and Kenpo X) as a feeler of what I was in store for. Let me tell you this (whoever reads this, which will probably only be me), this workout was one of the toughest 60 minutes I ever experienced. I could only muster up the strength to complete each exercise about 20-25 seconds out of the 30 seconds indicated on the video. By the end of each grueling cycle, my thighs were burning with pain (good pain, however) and I felt not only completely out-of-breath but like my heart was about to shoot out of my chest and run for its life. A few breaks later and I once again, hammer through the workout minus the bonus round, unfortunately, but feel undeniably powerful and gratified that I finished (which is goal 1 for week 1). To anyone who plans on doing these workouts, if you do not have the determination and discipline to complete these workouts as much as possible then, you will collapse like a thin piece of plywood underneath a towering skyscraper; the plywood being your frail body and lack of determination while the skyscraper is this program itself. I, however, would like to envision myself as an industrial drill underneath this skyscraper, powering through to the very top and demolishing every increasingly challenging floor in my path.

Now then, onto today, day 3; pretty much every muscle in my body is sore. I think even my eyelids are sore. Just kidding. Still, I was unsuccessful with waking up at my planned 6:30 start time (I know, plenty of other people get up before that, but sleep is the best thing for my recovery right now. At this point my muscles feel too sore to complete the shoulders and arms workout as I definitely do not want to injure myself. One important thing many people do not realize is that recovery is just as critical as working out and without ample recovery time, the muscles will never reach their potential and you will fail to make the necessary progress. We will see how I feel after work, but since all my previous workouts have been in the evening, this one probably will need to be as well (to satisfy the minimum recovery time as just mentioned).

Finally, since this is my first entry, I should also mention my nutrition changes since these are just as, if not more important, than the workouts themselves. Carbohydrates are the enemy right now. Fight every chance to eat them with every meal. One meal per day, yes carbs are good but in moderation. I go for either lunch or dinner. For example, my typical food intake consists of an apple and/or banana for breakfast, ham and cheese pita (no sauce) for lunch. Dinner is usually what I change (I know, it is boring), but some good options are eggplant parmesan (personal fav), grilled chicken and veggies, or some pasta. Be very careful though with pasta as the complex carbs can be killer right now for burning fat. I usually eat about a fists worth but start off with a salad (with oil & vinegar, of course). Supplements are also important as it is pretty much impossible to get all necessary vitamins and minerals from almost any diet, but get a quality product from an actual vitamin store and not the cheap versions from grocery stores. A daily time-release is the best way to go. Also, protein shakes for after your workouts. You have to go with whey here if you want the most effective protein within 1 hour after your workout. These are the bare essentials. Any other performance supplement (fat burner, testosterone booster, etc.) could help but tread lightly. Any vitamin store representative can honestly tell you what would be effective for your goal if you want to spend the extra dough. This post is a long one since its first and I will share my status soon but for now, will take it a day at a time and love every minute of it!