Last Week

All in all, not a bad week last week.  I exercised 4 days out of the week:

Mon - P90X Chest & Back + Ab Ripper X
Wed - P90X Shoulders & Arms + Ab Ripper X
Thurs - Ran 4.0 mi in 35:50 (8:55 min/mi)
Fri - P90X Legs & Back + Ab Ripper X

The run felt great.  I was happy with my time because I didn't set out to hit any specific time.  It was my 2nd fasted time on that particular route.  My PR was 34:30 a month ago, and I was really pushing hard to hit that time.

The Monday and Wednesday workouts were pretty routine as I have already completed 2 rounds of P90X.  The Friday routine killed me, however.  I really pushed hard and felt exhausted by the end.  I didn't really start feeling my legs until the next day, but I was pretty stiff and sore for 3 days after that.  I need to get all of my P90X workouts up to that intensity level.

As for the weekend, we went camping, so other than a few short hikes with the kids, I didn't do much in the way of exercise.  But I'm feeling great because I got plenty of sleep and didn't have to worry about work or having to be somewhere.  We pretty much stuck to low carb meals for the entire trip with the occasional exception for a couple of beers.  Jumping on the scale this morning, I was happy to find my weight stayed the same.

I'm pretty happy with last week.  This week is off to a rough start so far.  No workout Monday since it was a holiday and we were still on vacation.  Today, I was still pretty tired from unpacking and mowing the lawn the night before.  So although my alarm went off at 5am today, I didn't work out.  Back on the wagon bright and early tomorrow though.  I am planning on going for a run so I can finish the week with a couple of P90X workouts and another run Saturday morning.

The Catalyst

Back in July 2011, my company, as part of a health initiative, offered employees $100 to have a bio-metric screening done.  I was on the verge of completing my graduate degree and knew my health and eating habits had declined over the last couple of years, but figured besides some extra weight I was relatively healthy.  Much to my surprise, the results showed high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, and high triglycerides.  For the first time in my life, I was scared about my (not so good) health.  Yikes!  I wanted to be an active and healthy dad to my two young daughters, not a lazy, fat, unhealthy slug, which is why the results told me I was.  It took me until October of that year to start doing something about it.  I started on a journey of low carb eating and regular morning workouts.

I've been proud of my progress.  My latest bio-metric screening a month or so ago showed great results.  The one focus area highlighted for me is LDL cholesterol.

Launch

Okay, so why am I starting this blog?  Mainly, to write down my fitness goals and accomplishments.  I've progressed a lot in the last year and a half, and I wish I would have documented the journey.  Now it's time to start.  I have ideas in my head for what I want to accomplish in the next year, but I really need to write them down and get busy!  I think I'll spend the next few posts explaining my progress so far and then start blogging about my plans and goals for the future.  In the end, I hope this blog will give me motivation as well.  Perhaps, if people stumble on my blog, I can even inspire others to get out there and make their fitness goals a reality too.  Bye for now!