Why I love Kenpo X

Becasue it's this


and this


and a little of this


combined with this


and some of this


and it makes me feel like this


Simple, right?

TODAY'S WORKOUT - Kenpo X

TODAY'S MENU
BREAKFAST - scrambled egg whits, 3 strips of turkey bacon, 1 banana, 1 cup of coffee
SNACK @ 11AM - protein bar
LUNCH - sliced turkey on 12-grain bread, glass of milk, 8 fresh strawberries, protein bar
SNACK - handful or two of dried cranberries, same of almonds
DINNER - grilled chicken, chicken Medley rice, green salad with lite italian dressing, whey protein in 8 oz of milk
MIDNIGHT SNACK - protein bar, frozen berries

Interesting how much "easier" this got...

It's funny how, after not doing it for a month, I come back to Core Synergystics and it was not only "easier" (meaning that I was able to do it without collapsing every other move and dying of a sore midsection), but also much more fun! I guess that's more evidence that this is really working. Wonder what else I could possibly get better at after not doing it for a month.... nothing I can think of right away. Still, it was kind of a neat "acid test" for my physical progress, not to mention a real morale booster during the "doldrums" of recovery week.

Beyond that all is well in my little corner of the world. The stolen truck was unfortunately declared a total loss today, but hey... in this day and age where insurance companies hold suspect every claim for the possibility of fraud, mine has been absolutely wonderful to both me and my ex, who had possession of that car. It's made that little bit of humble pie more palatable. Beyond that, I am actually enjoying the snow out here! Can't drive anywhere, but it's okay... I kinda want to be a hermit this weekend and enjoy the company of my dogs and a few good movies. I'm also jolly because I got the last carton of milk the store had too! YAY! MORE PROTEIN SHAKES!

Anyway, hope you all have a good weekend. Kick-ass Kenpo X tomorrow!

TODAY'S WORKOUT - Core Synergistics

TODAY'S MENU
BREAKFAST - 1/2 grapefruit, strawberry banana muffin, cup of coffee
LUNCH - can of minestrone soup, handful of almonds, protein bar
DINNER - 2 Boca burger patties, 2 tbsp of hummus, a couple of handfuls of baby carrots, glass of milk, 3-4 large (fresh!) strawberries

AUM........ zzzzzzzzzzzz

Yoga X before bedtime last night.... nice way to end the day. But I was so pooped after it was all over that I didn't write last night.
Ah well.

YESTERDAY'S MENU
BEAKFAST - 2 soy sausage patties on a whole wheat English muffin, 1/2 a grapefruit, coffee
LUNCH - grilled chicken with Montreal spices, green beans, protein bar
DINNER - 8 oz steak, serving of broccoli, serving of asparagus, whole wheat dinner roll, slice of vanilla cake for dessert (I'm bad, I know)

Quick Week 7 Review

I'm in a bit of a rush this morning, so this is going to be a real brief review of week 7:

BEST - Feeling great and seeing some physical changes that I really like. The compliments haven't been too bad either! Oh, and most important, I'm still having a lot of fun.

HARDEST - Watching myself on cam compared to the videos was also a real insightful experiment, but I see I still have some places to work on form. Thank God there's another month ahead where I can continue to improve on that.... and a whole lifetime after that too!

WORST - Nothing really. All in all, it's been a very good week.

I have to admit that I am already starting to think about doing this again a couple of weeks after I have finished Week 13, and I am hoping I have just as much fun next time around. Wonder how I can make Round 2 a little more interesting...

Maybe I'll just cross that bridge when I get to it.

Just stretching tonight? Heck with that!

I needed some catharsis after a decidedly odd day. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that after finding that the stolen car I mentioned in another entry turned up completely trashed in Southampton, the IRS Form 990 which had me and the financial agent at work pulling out what's left of our hair, and that the person who is replacing me at my job starts work a week from today, I really needed more than just stretching today. Cardio X preceded that hour of X Stretch tonight.... and that was probably a really good decision.

Anyway, I still can't believe I am almost done with Phase 2... it went by so quickly! Well, the recovery week starts tomorrow. Will be nice to do some Yoga after work, I think. If nothing else it will cleanse out a lot more weirdness waiting on the other side of the night.

TODAY'S WORKOUT - Cardio X and X Stretch

TODAY'S MENU
BREAKFAST - spinach omelet, 3 strips of turkey bacon, 1/2 a grapefruit, coffee
LUNCH - grilled chicken breast with montreal spices, slice of 12-grain bread, serving of green beans, protein bar
DINNER - same as breakfast minus the bacon and the coffee, 1 whole grain English muffin
MIDNIGHT SNACK - I woke up ravenous so I had a couple of handfuls of cashews, a handful of dried cranberries, and a couple of tablespoons of dry oatmeal.

You're so vain, you prob'ly think this workout's about you... don't you?

Well, the workout is indeed all about me, but it was not exactly vanity that drove me to turn on the camera and watch myself today. I will say this much: when you don't have someone watching you while you do this, it's hard to know whether or not your form is good. I suppose it's the same principle that drives every one of these muscle-bound thugs at the gym to stand in front of the mirror while they are working out.... well, in most cases.

Anyway, I decided to run the camera again while I did Kenpo X this morning. No video this time, but I did watch my own form while following Mr. Horton's cues. I was able to see that most of the time my form was good, but surprisingly it was not so good on my side kick. I say "surprisingly" because I always thought it was the strongest of all my kicks... even when I was doing Tae Kwon Do. And it probably was when I was doing it everyday under Master Kim's tutelage (and Master Poos before him). I saw today on the camera that compared to my back kick, which I always thought was the weakest of my kicks, I wasn't getting my knee up enough. It looked more like I was just putting my leg out. Granted, this isn't Tae Kwon Do training that I am doing, but I was taught better than that so I should be doing better than that, right? And hey, had it not been for the camera running at the same time, I wouldn't have caught that and decided to make room for improvement.

So yeah, still feeling good... still excited about the final phase too. Onward and upward!




TODAY'S WORKOUT - Kenpo X

TODAY'S MENU

Looking down the barrel of another recovery week

Well, there's nothing really profound to say today; I think I spent all my creativity on posting yesterday's movies and doing the half-moon pose for Yoga X. All I know is that I am looking down the barrel of another recovery week, and I am hoping that I enjoy it a little more this time around. Legs & Back and Ab Ripper X today... Kenpo tomorrow.

TODAY'S MENU -
BREAKFAST - banana, coffee, protein bar
LUNCH - vegetarian chilli, sliced turkey on 12-grain bread, 1 Polly-o string cheese
SNACK - protein bar
DINNER - Thai chicken peanut sandwich with hummus and puta chips, heaping scoop of whey protein in 8 oz skim milk