December 24 - 30

December 24-25:

Holidays - hope it was a good one!

December 26:
Jog, Shoulders/Arms, Ab ripper X

• Since I want to ultimately get back into more running I did the jog first to get more out of it
• Completed 2mi - no time taken... felt good in the snow/sleet
• Shoulders/Arms - just knowing the routine helped prepare mentally
• was able to get better quality reps out of each exercise since I knew what was in store
• Ab ripper X: utilizes plenty of core muscles, including upper thigh... I am guessing that because I ran first is the reason they tightened up so much...

LETS HOPE I CAN GET SOMETHING GOOD OUT OF THIS WEEK!

December 27:
YogaX

• So, this is still a great workout
• I can tell my balance is improving just with the basic exercises I have been doing
• Couple of issues
• 1) My flexibility is a real hindrance
• 2) So is my spare tire - I feel like I could do the moves more easily if it was out of the way... Duh, right?

December 28:

Core Synergistic X/Jog

• So, core synergistic wasn't what was on schedule today, but because I missed it monday and it is a great workout, I wanted to fit it in
• My issues with this workout are that I still fatigue fairly quickly with the push-up rounds and the variety of such, (staggered, chatarunga runs, etc., etc..)
• Because I STILL want to be a runner again, I followed up today's workout with a 2mi jog... felt fairly okay, but only managed 10min miles...

December 29:

Shoveling and playing in snow for a couple hours - it felt like a workout

December 17 - 23

So, as I said yesterday I started on a mixed P90x/jogging campaign

December 17:
Core synergistic DVD for P90x + 1mi post jog

• Pretty good workout; couldn't keep up with everything - had to take a couple breaks throughout.
• Jog was tiresome
• Felt ridiculously sore during the evening

December 18:
CardioX DVD for P90x:

• Woke up really sore from the previous day
• Warm up on the DVD really loosened me up
• I was able to do this DVD with greater success than the day before
• Already feeling ridiculously sore, again

December 19:
Shoulders/Arms, Jog, Ab ripper X:

• So, I was pretty sore - back, hamstrings, required a message; warm up of DVD was helpful - considered if it was actually a good idea to workout while so sore, went for it anyway
• Decided that since I needed my core to run that the order would be Shoulder/Arm, Jog, Ab ripper
• First DVD where I had to use weights often - used the only set I had, 10lbs weights and "20lb" resistance bands - perfectly fine for me and the number of repetitions required
• DVD went well, certainly "burned"
• 1.8mi or so on the jog, fairly slow/easy since my hamstrings were still sore
• Ab ripper X - it's ridiculous, (for me at least), I could not keep up to do the number of reps per exercise - sure I am going to have a hard time moving tomorrow

Jam of the day

December 20:
Legs, Back, Ab Ripper X:
Since I didn't write about it that day - the only thing I can recollect was that it was hard... Legs became very sore...

December 21-23:
Ridiculously sore... rested...

So, the fall was a disaster... But December could be the start of something new...

What a disaster the fall was - no matter how I tried to "plan" my workouts I just ended up too busy, tired, etc., etc.. I'm just making excuses but it didn't help that I had an irregular class schedule and tests nearly every 1.5wks...

I've just wound up going father down the spiral and in even worse shape

I tried parking farther away from school so that I'd at least get a decent walk in everyday; 15min in and 15min out... but that did little to curb anything

So, here is what I started today - my first official day of christmas break

About a year and a half ago I purchased P90x to go along with my running plan I was doing at the time - I really couldn't do it because it gave me a massive headache, (that was the tumor). So, the DVDs have just been sitting around nearly untouched for all this time.

Today I busted them out...

Because I am ridiculously out of shape I decided to do the "lean program," which pretty much means it is easier than the "classic" or "double." It seems that it is basically "suped-up" calisthenics without much concentration on weighted resistance - so it should be great for building core strength to help improve my running.

Now I still want to get back into running form, so the idea is that I will supplement the P90x schedule with light jogs afterwards - until I am able to do more...

Here is my sample schedule:

And I will be the first to admit, today was rough...

The core synergistic workout consisted of a lot of planking, push-ups, and lunges with variations of how each is done.

I was only able to accomplish a light 1 mile jog afterward - I was just beat...

My plan is that because I have a 2.5 week break in school, that I can establish a routine in that time... Also, I am finished with my lecture classes, all I have to do is concentrate on my research now.