Day 19: It just gets harder!

This leg work out is a freakin killer! Im getting better at keeping up but i wanna die every time i do it, and the ab ripper at the end.. seriously its EVERY OTHER DAY!!!
It hurt like hell every time and all i can think is when the heck to my abs get time to heal?
By Tuesday next week i will be in Indiana! Goin home for Thanksgiving. I should be able to spend a lil time to visit some of you guys, but mostly a family visit. So the blogging will be very sparse if i get to blog at all.
It'll be good to get a lil break and spend time with family. It'll also be my down week for P90X. Still be working out but not near as hard.
That's it for today not much to actually talk about.. unless you guys wanna hear about cleaning the house, doin dishes, and changing dirty diapers!
Yeah didn't think so.

Day13-18 Im a total slacker

So you may wonder where i have been and if i have given up.
Around and Uhhhh kind of? Not really?

Truth is i completely fell apart last Saturday, that was my Kenpo day.. which i actually like alot, but life got a hold of me and i put off the workout till the afternoon. As most people know procrastination simply leads to failure. So obviously i didnt do the workout and wanted to do it the next day but that didnt work either. by monday i was back on track doing all the other workouts and well thought i could do a two a day but i gotta tell ya bustin my ass at those workouts then taking care of baby and house work.. didnt quite have the energy to do another workout. Dont worry though ill make it up! I dont want to leave even a single workout not done. What can i say i conquered if i skip?
You will be happy to know though that I have kept up with all the other workouts and am actually right on track.. sans Saturday Kenpo.

Id like to take a moment to draw attention to one of my great friends who has been rooting for me since the beginning. This person has been sending texts messages every morning to make sure i was actually working out!
Not only does this person rock for his encouragement but also his own personal triumph! He started weight watchers about a year ago and is now running about 4miles a day! I dont even run that much! He should be the one doing a blog encouraging people. JR take a bow!!! (hes gonna kill me for posting these pics!)
JR has been a "big guy" since i met him in '99 and from what i know before then! Hes now lost about 125lbs and is a slender 168! Thats less than me! WAY TO GO MAN!

BEFORE


AFTER


So if you read this be sure to leave a comment and tell JR how impressed you are.. even if you dont know him.

Day 12: I fell into a burnin ring of Quad Super-sets

Day 12 definitely felt like crap, definitely didnt want to work out, but i did!
Im almost there, if i can make it two weeks, then i only have one more week to go! Why you ask? Studies have shown that humans need on average three weeks to make or break habits. So in theory if i can make it the rest of this week im doin pretty good. Most people seem to give up working out sometime during week two. And if i can make it through week three then ill have created a good habit of working out everyday!

The only hitch in this theory is the dreaded THANKSGIVING!!!!
All that yummy food! Reminds me of high school wrestling. There was always a big invitational the day after thanksgiving, and everyone struggled to make weight. I dont care about making weight, but its gonna be hard keepin the fat content in check.
Im a HUGE COOKIE MONSTER, i really cant resist them!

BTW this leg workout had my quads BURNING!!! No one exercise is killer but when you superset every single workout, its a freakin killer... awesome!

Yeah i had chinese today! BITE ME!!! It was only teriyaki chicken and white rice. Ok Ok and two crab rangoons.. i know i know cream cheese and all, but they are so good theyre like candy! Oh yeah and a coke.. DONT JUDGE ME!!

On the plus side.... fortune says: We must overcome difficulties rather than being overcome by them

Ive decided if i make it all the way to the end of P90X im going to reward my self with a tattoo. Ive wanted one for years and still havent gotten one. I think its a good reason. It seems to me that ive made a lot of accomplishments in my life and never really stopped to celebrate any of them. Im going to start celebrating ALL my victories from now on.
This is what im thinking of getting.. id like some feed back on this

Where: Forearm What: Veni Vidi Vici Meaning: I came, I saw, I conquered
(oh and yes i drew it)

Day 11: Redemption

YOGA again! After doing an hour and a half of freakin HARD yoga, and seriously it is super hard! Your muscles are gonna stretch farther than is comfortable and I dare you to try to stand on one leg, bend over at a 90degree angle with your arms and legs pointing straight out parallel to the floor, and yeah just hold that for a minute mmmkay!
Im starting to really like yoga though it sure hurts like hell when you do it but afterward you dont have a tight muscle in your body..... Yoga is probably great for pregnant chicks!
The redemption part is that even though the end of the yoga video has an ab part i still did the ab ripper x today to make up for being a total bum yesterday.

BTW.... Know that post i made last week and titled it Yoga XXX? Totally a joke right? Apparently NOT a joke! I was looking up yoga poses and saw this.. made me laugh! but its probably true.

Day 10: I must be slippin!

It seems like things are starting to fall apart. I havent been sleeping much lately which makes getting up in the morning super hard. Compounding this bad habit is the fact that my daughter has a built in "mommy and daddy radar" As long as someone is in the room with her in the morning she'll keep sleeping, but the second both of us leave the room she wakes up within a minute!
This is forcing me to do almost all of my workouts while Munchkin is awake. Ive actually gotten pretty good at mastering the art of entertaining a wondering child and working out at the same time. (does anyone have a shepherd's hook?) j/k
Only problem is yesterday was Shoulders&Arms and Ab ripper X, halfway through I had to feed Munchkin and completely forgot to do the Ab Ripper!
And to top it all off I completely forgot to blog yesterday! Seriously I think my brain has turned to mush!

I do have to say though the Arms part of this workout is freakin incredible! My biceps are gonna get pumped!

Day 9: Satans Plyos!

Plyometrics again! YOOHOO!!! "Just kidding plyometrics can P90X suck it!" Bontrager said, while raising his arms making an X in front of his chest then swiftly lowering the X to his crotch in true DX fashion!!
(That one was for Big Daddy Rees)
Yeah uhh no passin out but dang! This crap is still hard! I finished the workout with only a few extra "catch my breath breaks" but Im still no where near keeping up with that Psycho Tony Horton!
If you play sports though this is a great workout! I always think about Jerry Rice or Marshal Faulk juking through the line. Definitely will make me better at rugby.

Mr. NOS called me again today! He was like, "Hey Bontrager, how about you and me get it on today?" I responded with, "Hell Yeah baby, I havent seen you in a week!"
When you cut out caffeine for a whole week then drink a NOS, YOU FEEL IT! I think its gonna be a long night! One might call this Tweeking!

Day 8: Lather, Rinse, REPEAT!

Day 8 because day 7 is a rest day. Not much to say. Week 2 of P90X is a repeat of week 1, we'll actually do it again next week too.
The best part about this week is NO PASSING OUT! Now that i completed the Chest&Back plus ab ripper without feeling like im gonna pass out. Im now officially saying my light-headed heart palpitations were due to dehydration! Thats my official clinical diagnosis and yes im a doctor!
This work out really rocks though. My arms were trembling for almost 10 minutes afterward.

South Bend Sunburst Races 2010!
This is the race Matt and I will be running June 6th. I think everybody should be doing it, Matt and I will be doing the half marathon. Good bet the triathlon queen Tracy K. will be running it too! And if she wasnt planning on it i just called her out!
Heres the link register soon!

http://www.sunburstraces.org/Events/

If you are at all interested check out these sweet pics of me finishing the previous Sunbursts ive ran.

2007
&
2008

You will notice i look like crap! You will NOT see me crossing the finish line with a smile on my face, oh no! That may be fine for some lolligaggers! I on the other hand try to "Bring It" every time I race. Pushing myself as far as i can. You dont run a 7:47 average mile for 13 miles your first time out unless you do.

OK If you have been following SNUGGIES have been on the debate table, most agree RETARDED! My good friend Aubrey informed me that the Slanket is by far superior. I was like what Slanket? WTF? These things are breeding!!!!!!!!! Did some research and i found the following link. I mean seriously people WTF!

See what happens when Blankets, Sleeves, and Coats Breed! OH MY!

Day 6: Kenpo X

Yeah seein a theme here with the whole X thing?
Today i definitely didnt get up early.. I slept in.. till a whole 9am Woo Hoo. It was everything i thought it could be. Monkey woke up at 8:30 that extra half hour of peace was all beth's doing, she watched the kid while i slept.
Kenpo was definitely fun. Definitely good cardio. I was literally dripping with sweat at the end. The best part about it is that even though your breathing hard, youre concentrating on form and you never do the same thing twice so the hour really flies.
Tomorrow is either a rest day or the Stretching video.. yeah uhh as if thats even a question! My butt is gonna try to sleep in again!

Ok seriously last thing on those damn snuggies: They now come in "Designer Fabrics"!

These are some sexy designs I tell you!

Day 5: Luke Im Your Father!

It started like this!
Beth says Hey, its 7. I intern responded with,
"No... No... That's not true... That's impossible!"

How stinking sad is it that even 7am comes so darn early for me? Im gonna chalk that one up to my body being tired from rebuilding all night. Cause i mean seriously there is no way i could be lazy!
I know understand why when i used to tell people i woke up at 5:30 to work out before work, people told me im crazy! You wanna know crazy? My friend Tracy used to get up at 3:30am to work out!

And how is it that babies have this uncanny ability to know exactly when you dont want them to wake up and BAM!! Grunt, rustle rustle, whine, whine, WHAA!
Crap kid! what are you doin to me?
I should just resign myself to the fact that this kid is going to be awake every time i work out unless i get up at 6am. Knowing my luck the "daddy left the room alarm" will go off in her head anyway.

So btw. Never have i ever done such a hard leg workout using NO weights, truly awesome! And afterward yeah im tired and yeah im sore but darnit! i feel pretty good still.

Can i take a moment to go off about the stupidest thing ever??
The Snuggie!
By now youve all seen it, you know that blanket with sleeves? Its literally a HUGE fleece blanket you wear. Yeah picture it a fleece dress! And not only is it for men too, but yup you guessed it.. its for your dog too!!! WHAT THE CRAP!! Put a damn sweater on! Or if you wanna save the money go grab your big fat grandmas moo moo and give that a try!
Am i way off target here or does anyone else agree with me?

At least one person agrees with me!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h05ZQ7WHw8Y

(someone comment and tell me how to add pics and links in this darn thing)

Day 4: XXX Yoga?

Pretty darn good title for my blog right? Ok so maybe its not a triple X, but it sure gets your attention huh? Tony Horton likes to put an X after every single workout just to let you know its EXTREME!!! I kind of laughed at first. Especially when he crosses his arms in an X and gets that crazy look in his eye like Norman Bates from Psycho and says, " Its X cause its EXTREME baby!"
Sometimes i think this dude has sadomasochistic tendencies or even gets a hard on from killing himself. Either way probably still the guy you want whipping you into shape!

So Yoga X, yeah you got it.. only one X. It is extreme! I dont know about most people but im not very flexible and any flexibility that i might have had left me almost a year ago. Even if you are flexible this crap is hard.
I mean really! Ive power-lifted, done super-sets to pure exhaustion muscles quivering. Yoga is probably harder. Lifting something for a couple seconds with explosive power, hard. Contorting your body into an unfamiliar position stretching as far as you can while standing on one leg? Thats hard enough! K, now hold that for a whole minute? On the plus side I already feel more flexible than yesterday, especially since im super sore from everything else this week. I can see how this yoga crap sure does have a lot of benefits!

Getting out of bed today was definitely rough.. yeah 6:30 was the goal.. ill let you guys take bets on what time i actually got out of bed today. Ill give you a hint though.. i had to deal with my little monkey for the whole hour and a half. And if you are even a little unclear im talking about my daughter! Thank God for Pack & Plays!

Thanks again for all the support, hittin up my facebook, commenting on here, you guys rock.. and JR, love you dude, thanks for encouraging me with those 5 texts in a row this morning! Annoying for sure but in the end gets the job done.. Thanks Dad!

Day 3: Two Eggs Balboa Style!

OH MY GOD! It took every once of determination i could muster to drag my lazy butt out of bed this morning! I asked Beth to wake me up, like usual. She says, "hey did you wanna wake up at 6:30 or 7:00?" I think I might have groaned, but not sure i even get that out. She asked again, I groaned im thinking. Then eventually said 7.
At 7 she said, "hey, its 7" Rolled over buried my face in the pillow and said... well i dont even recall. but i know she tried again at 7:15 and 7:30 by 7:45 one leg hit the floor and like a ragged marionette bolstered enough energy to drag the rest of my carcass out of bed.
I worked almost 9 hours late last night so im gonna chalk it up to that.

I started the day off with two eggs balboa style.. thats right crack em in a cup and drink!
I know it sounds gross but if you just swallow them whole you dont even taste it. Again an adaptation from the Ryan Reynolds diet. He used to eat two cooked eggs and oatmeal everyday. But whos got time to cook in the morning. Ever see that movie The Replacements? You know the one about the rag tag team of replacement football players lead by keanu reeves. The fat sumo dude eats a dozen hard boiled eggs and ralphs all over the field. Thats always the fear when you suck down raw eggs, ill start working out then blehhh all over. It hasnt happend yet though.

Sadly enough by the time i got ready to work out munchkin was ready too!
Doing an hour long workout with a wired child isnt easy. I put her in her saucer and tried working out. Gave her some snacks but that didnt last long. Everytime she finished one she'd grunt furiously till i gave her another.. and another and another and another. 3/4 through the workout she got so mad i had to stop and make her breakfast. Really im not a bad parent she usually waits an hour to eat after she wakes up. I did finish the whole workout though.

Today was arms&shoulder with the ab ripper. By far the easiest workout for me.. guess my arms are in alot better shape than the rest of me. The ab ripper killed cause my abs are already sore from doing it on monday. My glutes and hams are killing me from plyos yesterday!

*Ok small confession*
Apparently some time between sucking down energy drinks on the 36 hr drive to california and now i became highly addicted to energy drinks.. specifically NOS!
I wanna thank my great friend Matt for introducing me to my very first energy drink!
Yesterday as i was leaving for work... call it force of habit or chemical dependency i dont care, but it definitely called out to me.
It said, "HEY, Bontrager... whatcha doin? Oh goin to work huh? MMM wouldnt i taste soooo good right now, and hey youll have extra energy for all those dumb cards you gotta put out. Come on Bontrager, youve done soooooo well so far whats just one little NOS? Just a 16oz not even a 22oz. COME ON YOU KNOW YOU WANT ME!"
Thats when i replied, "Youre sooo right Mr. NOS i do want you. i wanna taste your syrupy goodness in my mouth and that sudden jolt of sugar high with your carnitine clearity!"
Yup! i bought him and i drank him SO DONT JUDGE ME! Im not having another for at least a week.. hey im realistic, and im drinking around 80oz of water a day.
Old habits are hard to break

Day 2: Plyometric failure

After almost killing myself yesterday I thought I'd take it easier today.. not that I had a choice!
When Tony Horton starts breathing hard and dripping with sweat you know this crap is tough!
I was doing ok till about 15-20 minutes in, then the heart rate jumped up and the heavy breathing and heart pounding set in. So after that when Tony said, If you want modify to make it easier, and when he said, if you need to, hit pause take, a short break.. all i could respond with was.. YOU GOT IT BUDDY!
I made it through the whole plyometrics video but it wasn't easy and I feel like a total wimp for not being able to keep up, but at least I finished. This workout definitely gets done every week for the next three months so I'll have plenty of time adapt I guess.

The hardest thing to adapt to is getting my diet back on track. I didn't realize how being home with the kid made me wanna grab a cookie from the kitchen every half hour!
For lunch this whole week I'm doing the Ryan Reynolds adapted fat shredding lunch. Its similiar to a diet he did while getting in shape for Blade Trinity. I use the term adaptation liberally since i turned it into just a salad with tuna.. bleh! but hey it works to fill you up, give you needed protein with little calories.
Dinner last night was grilled chicken, rice, and mixed veggies. So I'm doin good there. Besides I stopped living on energy drinks and only drink water, thats gotta make a difference in my waist and my bank account!

Just so everyone is aware the P90X program comes with a complete nutrition guide telling you exactly what to eat for every meal.. but I'm a pretty picky eater so that's not gonna happen! It also recommends using the P90X supplements, but I'm Just gonna do my protein shake, amino pills, and creatine.
Heck I mean come on I was too cheap to pay for the program let alone buy its supplements.
Well day two done.. im tried btw

Day 1: Is P90X hard?

The very first day of the P90X journey is in the bag.. well sort of, i think some of it missed the bag!
The first day is Chest & Back with an ab exercise. The workout is a repeat, you do everything once through then all over again. The first part was easy, you're told to "pace yourself" for the first half then "bring it for the second". Well, I either didn't pace it, or brought it too hard!

I thought the first half went pretty easy, muscles got a tad tired with all the push ups and such, but with about four exercises to go i started to feel really strange. All of a sudden im dizzy, feel like i could puke, cant catch my breath. This threw me cause its never happened to me before.
Well i had to stop, went outside and laid on the cold cement for about ten minutes.
I used to giggle a little at my friend Matt when we used to run together. He used to have high blood pressure and seemed like he felt exactly the same way i did today. Im used to just working it hard when i exercise, i just work till my muscles wont. It never occurred to me that my cardio was so bad that i could actually pass out! Needless to say i was brought down a few notches and wont ever make fun of anyone no matter how hard they are or arent working.
Eventually my daughter woke up and was a bit of a butt, not sure what her deal was, but she whined alot. Made it pretty hard to finish the work out. Even though I had to stop the workout like a wimp, I guess i redeemed a sliver of my dignity by actually finishing it.
So is P90X hard? Yes! and No. While you are doing it Tony Horton tells you to just do as much as you can do, and dont be afraid to take a rest. So as long as you listen to him and dont try to kill yourself its manageable.

Well with that workout over im off to do the regular: Dishes, Laundry, Cleaning, taking care of a particularly stubborn child today.

Thanks for all the support guys!

The Journey Begins

I started this blog site to aid me in my pursuit to get back in shape. Even just a year ago I was in terrific shape, I worked out 6 mornings a week, ran, played rugby, I even ran a couple half marathons. Now that I'm raising a child I've definitely lost focus of that whole fit life. When you live with a pregnant woman your eating habits change, your free time activites change too.. not that it's any excuse. The biggest killer was waking up with a baby in the middle of the night.. the last thing you wanna do is workout! Now that I am at home with my daughter most days, cleaning, doing laundry blah blah blah.. you know what I mean I have found a bit of extra free time. I will be having another child in March, since carrying around a 20lb child can be a strain I thought the idea of holding both of them at the same time would be impossible. Its time to reclaim my old physique! Next summer I'll be home to run another half marathon with my best friend Matt, I'm definitely not ready for that. Sad part is I was the one that convinced him running is the best thing you can do for yourself, now he could easily leave me in his dust while I lay puking on the side of the road.

So all that being said I'm ready to start working again.. so what am I going to do? Go to the gym? Uhh lets see.. baby all day long, and working several hours most nights. That could work but i dont think leaving a 5month pregnant woman alone for hours on end with a rambunctious 8month old would be appreciated!
I ended up barrowing the P90X Ultimate home fitness system from my brother. He didnt really do the program, he actually borrowed it from his friend, yeah your right! He didnt do the program either... but you know who is? THIS GUY. You couldnt see it but there were just two thumbs pointed back at me!
P90X starts first thing in the morning! Its gonna be really really rough! If you wanna know what p90x is or how it works or if it could work for you just keep up with my blog and youll see.

We all know the hardest part of getting in shape is being committed. That is extremely hard to do when YOU are the only one who cares if you get in shape! So if I sent you the link to this blog it means im asking for your help to keep me on task! This program is 6 days a week so encourage me! And bust my balls if I dont write on here even a single day!

As soon as I figure out how to get photos on this thing ill post the dreaded "before" photos, along with a photo of what i looked like a year ago so you can see how far out of shape ive gotten!