P90X Adventures: P90X3 Challenge Days 4 & 5: "The Challenge" and CVX

Last weak, I got beat the hell on this routine.  I tried to be wise out the gate picking 15 pushups and 12 pull ups.  I knew I was capable of busting those numbers out easily in the past.  What I hadn't anticipated on just how many sets of pushups and pull ups there were gonna be.  I wasn't ready for just how wasted I was gonna feel after the 4th or 5th set let alone, the complete changeover in pushups or pull ups working completely different muscle groups.  Needless to say, I didn't maintain those numbers last week.  I suppose, I didn't think I was really going to, but nonetheless, I had high hopes after the first set when I decided to do 19 pushups, going strong out the gate.  By the end of the routine, I was just a mess. I could barely lift my arms to wipe the sweat off my face.  I had to wait a couple hours to eat because I felt like I was gonna puke, I'd worked so hard.

This week... a completely different story.  I figured I'd keep my 15/12 numbers and since every routine had improved vastly this week thus far, I'd have similar improvements on this one.  I was right!  It didn't stop the routine from kicking my ass though, it just meant that I managed to always do 15 pushups (sometimes on my knees, which was still better than last week's sometimes on my knees and STILL less than 15), and 12 pull ups (with a chair of course).  Military pushups still get me.  They're damn tough, but I'm getting more in before having to go down on my knees and that's progress!

Zu on the otherhand... She championed that shit like it was nobody's business.  It could be the fact that we don't have any real decent resistance bands for her to do pull ups with at home.  Even so, she chose higher numbers for that reason which was smart.  She still made it work and got the work in.  When it got to the burnout round, she actually did one more round of pull up and pushups than me.  Impressive!  She also doesn't have pushup bars yet, so she's just doing them regular style.  I'm really glad that she stepped up to the challenge.  I'm not sure what number of pushups she picked.  I never asked.  I think she may have told me once and I forgot, but it's all about getting in there and giving it all you got, and she definitely did that.

At the end of the routine, Tony lines everyone up and they all flex to show off the pump they got in the routine, so I figured I wanted to do that too.  Zu was having none of that though, so I was alone in it.  I tried... really I did, but in the end I just kinda looked like I shat myself haha...

I was hoping that CVX would also just sort of complete the cycle of everything being easier to do.  I was wrong! To be fair though, I chose a higher weight this time, and it took a lot longer for me to finally give up and drop the weight down.  We're talking small numbers but they make ALL the difference.  Last week I had a 7lb weight and after the first or second break, I jumped down to 5lbs.  This time I went 8lbs and after maybe the last break near the final round, I had to switch to 5lbs.  I felt like my arms were going to fall off!  I suppose I did have better form this time on all the moves so there's definitely improvement.  That's always good.

Zu, gave it a good effort, but she was just kinda flopping around for the majority of it.  Can't blame her though, I think there were a couple times where I might have just not been moving trying to catch my breath.  She was still flopping around, so kudos to her for keeping some kind of momentum!

Zu's work has a small workout facility that's available to employees and family, so we started going there on some days when we need to use a wide breadth of weights because my little 40lb set wasn't really cutting it for me anymore.  It would take way too long between moves to have to pull off weights and put on new weights.  There wasn't really all that much room for two people to really comfortably do stuff at home, and also, what if I get anybody else involved.  A third person wouldn't work at all.   Anyway, while we were there doing CVX, there was a group of young people also working out and after we got done, they were asking us questions about P90X3 and giving us props on doing it.  A couple of them were familiar with P90X and had done it sometimes on their own at home.

I think getting the props really lifted Zu's spirits.  It definitely feels good when someone else acknowledges the obvious hard work you're putting in.  It doesn't happen very often so it definitely feels great when it does.

I had more bitter melon, but I also wanted to get some more protein in to recover from CVX.  I decided to make a smoothie with it rather than a juice.  I called it:

 BitterBerry Smoothie:
1 Bitter Melon *juiced*
1 pear (or apple) *juiced*
1 Banana
2-3 handfuls of greens (I had mixed salad greens on hand)
1/2 cup of blueberries
1/2 cup of blackberries
2 Tbsp chia seeds

Last time, I talked about the benefits of bitter melon for diabetics.  Blueberries and blackberries are also friggin' amazing.  Blueberries are considered a brain food and are often referred to as the healthiest berry ever.  They've been known to improve brain cognitive function and slow and sometimes reverse the effects of age on memory.  Blackberries are also chock full of antioxidants that are good anti-cancer measures.  Blackberries also have benefits for skin and eye health, digestion, cardiovascular, you name it!  Throw all that in with Chia seeds as my source of complete protein and I was all set this morning!  This all masks the bitter melon incredibly well also.  I've yet to try it on it's own.  It may not even be all that bad, but I keep reading that it can be a really strong and hard to handle flavor. anyway, until next time!