p90x - graduate

Well, I made it!

After 90s days of intense workouts and eating properly, here are the results. I can honestly say that I am pleased with the results when compared to day 0. I didn't expect that I would be in the shape that I am in, but I am glad that I did it.

From the nutrition side, it was a very eye-opening experience. I didn't realize how much junk I was really taking in. During the program, I also read a book called "Fast Food Nation", which is in-depth look into the fast food industry and how it has not only changed America's eating habits, but also how a typical American business operates. Once you've read this book, you'll never look at a hamburger from any fast food restaurant in the same way you once did.

I am planning on starting a second round of p90x, actually next week. But I am considering going with a modified routine, to minimize the time commitment. I am also starting another program called: the hundred push ups training program. This is only a six week program and only takes about 15-20 minutes a day, and since I am just coming off of the p90x program, I am able to cut out 2 weeks.

My mom and step-dad also started the p90x program some time ago, I believe my mom is at or around day 60 and my step-dad is a little behind her, I am excited to see how they have progressed.

On with the 90 day photos...

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p90x - day 72

I am into week 11 and I still dread the Plyo X routine... When I hear Tony say "half-way man", I am thinking; "you got to be kidding right?" Honestly, that is the one routine, that if I were to mail it in, and decide to skip, I would have no problem with it. Oh well, one more instance of that bad boy and it will be all over.

I haven't yet decided what I am going to do once I am finished. I think that I will at the very least, I will take a few weeks off and enjoy the extra time with the wife and kids for the rest of the summer. I am considering cutting out the non-resistance days, but keep KempoX (I actually enjoy that one) and still try sticking with the 90 day routine.

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re-living the high school hey days

I had the very fortunate opportunity to participate in a flag football tournament this past weekend. It wasn't just any flag football tournament, but rather one that is an annual charity event hosted by a member of the Indianapolis Colts. Gary Brackett's Impact foundation, has put on this event for the past three years and I happen to luck into a roster spot in this year's event.

The circumstances that led to this roster spot are a bit involved, but my connection to the Code Blue Fanbulance was the key. Kroger is the title sponsor of this event and they had three teams that were participating in the event. The third team, called the Kroger Customer Team, was where I landed. The regional marketing director, Karol, had some roster spots to fill and felt it appropriate to allow some Colts fans to step in and fill those spots. Chad, my brother-in-law, and I were happy and excited to participate. Each team consists of 8-10 players, which would include a "celebrity" quarterback.

We were invited to not only participate in the tournament, but also attend the reception dinner the night before, where a NFL like draft was held to select your "celebrity" quarterback. Upon arrival to the reception, Chad and I, (accompanied by his wife and my mother-in-law), noticed that the Kroger Customer Team was clearly not as respected as the other Kroger sponsored teams. They had full tables with chairs to sit at, as we only had a small pub style table and were required to stand. No matter, as the old saying goes, "we were just happy to be here". I should point out that we weren't the only team with this treatment, the majority of the other teams had the same setup.

Sitting on the table upon arrival was a folder that contained the agenda for the evening, rules for the tournament, and the draft order of the 24 teams that were participating. Sitting at positions 1 and 2 were, you guessed it, Kroger teams 1 and 2. Where was the old Kroger Customer Team, yep, draft position 24... No problem, we'll still get to play with a "celebrity" right? Also included in the folder was the list of "celebrities" that were available for the draft, many of them were actual Indianapolis Colts players, with a few local television and radio personalities mixed in. We quickly noticed that there were only 26 "celebrities" to choose from in this list, which meant when it was our turn to choose, we would be left with only 2 to choose from.

Just before the draft selection process was set to begin, one of the members from Kroger team 1 stood up and announced that they would be giving up their 1st pick in the draft and awarding it to the Kroger Customer Team. Whaaaaaaaa? We moved quickly and picked up Gary Brackett with our first pick. Though, I don't think that we really had a choice in the matter, it was his event anyway, and I am pretty sure it would have been in bad taste to draft anyone other than him 1st.

The tournament itself was a blast, every team was guaranteed to play at least 2 games. Participating members were given VIP treatment; jersey, duffel bag, nice team photo frame and pretty much all of the food and drink you could imagine. All of the Colts players that were present were very approachable and didn't turn the other way when someone asked for an autograph or photo op.

We ended up winning our first 3 games and made it into the semi-finals, but ran into a really good team and lost. I was really glad that we were invited to the event and was happy to come out injury free. My legs were pretty sore, despite my p90x regimen. I think that I tweaked both of my hamstring during he 2nd and 3rd games...

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p90x - Day 60 - Photos

Well, day 60 is here, seems like the time between day 30 and 60 was longer than the first 30 days. Is was a busy 30 days that's for sure; graduation, vacation, birthday and there were a couple of days where I wasn't sure if wanted to work out or was simply going to have the time. But here I am at day 60 and the results are evident, that I stuck with it.

The thing that I noticed was the biggest difference between the 30 and 60 day photos was my back, it has much more definition than before. My chest is finally coming around as well.

And no, I have not been hitting the tanning bed, just spending more time in the sun, man I was a bit pasty on day 0.

Here are the Day 60 Photos...

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p90x - Day 57 - Phase 2 complete

Today was the first day of Phase 3 and thus marks the completion of Phase 2. Phase 3 brings back some routines that were introduced back on day 1. As I am going through this workout, I noticed that all of my reps for push-ups and pull-ups were up. Example:
Phase 1 - Day 1 - 22/10 push-ups
Phase 1 - Day 1 - 10/11 pull-ups
Phase 3 - Day 57 - 30/20 push-ups
Phase 3 - Day 57 - 18/12 pull-ups

Most of you who know me, know that I just had a birthday, my 31st. So it was great to feel like I am actually getting stronger despite getting "older". One of my birthday presents was a yoga mat, I had just been using a towel, so this will be a nice change for the last phase of the program. I did have a small piece of birthday cake, it was yummy, but I did feel a bit guilty eating every bite (I did want another piece when I was done). Thanks go to Debbie, Makayla and Grant for a great day!

Day 60 photos are up next!

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p90x - day 50

Today was the first day of the Phase 2 recovery week. The recovery weeks are built into the program and are still pretty tough, but do not include any resistance training. Instead, they put you through 2 sessions of Yoga and Core Synergistics. I am actually really liking the Yoga now and the Synergistics is a nice break from the ever brutal Plyometrics workout.

Time to step it up though, I have been a bit laxed at times with my nutrition over the past couple of weeks, so I am going to try and make the final push without as many slips. I think that I am also going to purchase some additional weights for the last phase. I have noticed that on some of the exercises my 20 lbs are actually getting easier, so I have just been doing more reps! But I hate doing more, it takes more time...

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p90x - Day 45 - Half Way Home...

Today I finished day 45 of my p90x journey. I considered taking some day 45 photos, but then decided against it, I figured it probably would just be a little too vain of me....

The first 45 days have gone by pretty quickly and the results so far, I think speak for themselves. I am definitely stronger and leaner overall. All of my reps and weights are increasing with each week, so that is a positive sign. I think that I may have to purchase some additional dumbbells to progress.

I was able to complete my week of vacation without missing any of my workouts, I did swap my rest day at the end of the week due to a trip to Kings Island. It was a fun week visiting with my dad and my step-mom, I think that we all had a great time, went by too fast as usual. My nutrition for the week was up and down, good days and not as good days, but I think that I did pretty good overall.

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p90x - Day 39

Today was the first day of the program that I thought that I might end up skipping my workout. With my dad in town, our daily schedule hasn't really been set and we have been having lots of fun just hanging out and enjoying their visit.

Turns out that I was able to get my workout and in the company of some guests. Debbie and my step-mom, Pat, decided to join me in my Yoga X workout. I have grown to enjoy the yoga workout more and more each week, but I tend to sweat more during this particular workout than any other. This was no exception, we ended up all in the same room with the door closed and not much in terms of circulation, so we were pretty soaked by the time it was all said and done.

Friday, could be another challenge... We are scheduled to go to Kings Island, but worst case scenario, I can do my workout on Saturday, which is usally my rest day, so we'll see how it goes.

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p90x - Day 36

A week into Phase 2 of the p90x program and I am still going strong. But I think that I am clearly not a morning workout person. For the second week in a row I did my Sunday routine (Chest, Shoulders and Triceps), and I was pretty wiped afterwards. I am guessing its just due to the lack of food that I have in my system at the time of the workout.

My nutrition has been pretty good, but this week could be a bit of a challenge. My dad is coming in town for the whole week and I am not sure what we will be doing throughout the week, so we'll see how it goes, but I am going to try my best.

The weather around here is getting warmer, so I getting geared up to be outside more and work on my tan a bit, I seem to have gotten pretty pale this winter...

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p90x - Day 30 - Phase 1 Complete

I finished my last workout of Phase 1 of the p90x program and was excited to take my 30 day photos. I have definately noticed the changes in my body's overall physique. I didn't go crazy trying to flex during these photos, so the changes may not look that dramatic, but they are there...

I think the biggest area of improvement was my abdominal area, and a little in my chest; which chest has always been my weakest area of my body.

I'd say that overall I am very pleased with the results from the first 30 days, now on with the photos.

   
 
 
 

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p90x - Day 29

I did my first routine for Phase 2 yesterday (Chest, Shoulders & Triceps). I am not sure if that rest week was a designed set-back or what, but I was whipped with this workout. But I managed to get through it and then rocked the ARX workout afterwards. I finally did a complete set of the those fifer scissors, yeah!

Tomorrow is day 30 for me, I'll try and post photos after Plyo or the next day sometime.

Nutrition has been good, I picked up a box of premier nutrition protien bars from Sams Club about 10 days ago. They have 30g of protein per bar, and taste great, come in three flavors peanut butter, double chocolate, and yogurt peanut butter. A bit of sat fat, but for 12.98 for a box of 15, they are a great deal.

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P90X - Day 17

Day 17 in the books (Shoulders and Arms) Making nice progress (strength) in my arms, but not as much as I would like in my chest. Oh well, some progress is better than none at all.

Nutrition is going well, only had a small bite of b-day cake, didn't want to disappoint my baby girl on her birthday. I Haven't had any of the ammonia issues in almost a week, so I believe that I have made the appropriate adjustment to my carb in-take.

Started taking, per suggestion of another P90Xer, the GNC Mega Men multi-vitamin. I am assuming that day one's use of these type of supplements isn't that noticeable?

I convinced my mom and her husband to start the program, I am not sure if they have started yet, but they are amped about it.

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P90X - Day 15

Starting week #3 and just finished chest and back. Feeling wiped, i really pushed it in the second set, could barely do the last set of dive-bombers... I did notice, that I wasn't nearly as sore at the end of this week as I was the past two. So either, I am getting better, or not working hard enough.

I can get all the way through ARX now, all reps, with one exception, those damn fifer scissors. I get to about 18 and then fall apart, not sure why, perhaps not enough breathing? Anyway, even got through the bonus on the Mason twist. Definitely getting there.

Diet has been going very well, starting to get a lot easier to resist those bad foods and crave the more healthy stuff. Can get enough of the Fuji apples and love the tuna salad recipe, but I have substituted Albacore for the tuna...

My daughter's 5th B-Day today, so I am going to have to watch it.

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P90X - Day 13

I finished Legs and Back last night then did ARX, I was feeling great, my abs are really starting to churn out the ever-desirable "six pack". However, afterwards began to smell ammonia in my nose. At first I thought was something my wife was cleaning with or something. But I did a few google searches and it turns out its due to my routines/diet.

I found this quote, which sums it up pretty well:

"Actually, this isn't terribly uncommon. During intense exercise your body can begin to burn amino acids (protein) for energy, especially if you have depleted carbohydrate stores. When your body burns amino acids, it produces a number of chemicals and compounds that have to be flushed from the body. Urea - a form of ammonia -- is one of those compounds.
Under normal circumstances, your body excretes urea via urine. However, if you are producing a lot of it (for example, during intense or long-duration exercise), your body can also excrete urea via respiration (through your lungs) or in perspiration. This can result in an ammonia scent in your clothing, sweat or even in your nostrils.
Diet can have some impact on this. If you are low on carbohydrates, this can encourage the body to turn to protein for fuel -- thus producing more urea. Also, if you don't have enough or too much dietary protein, you can experience a similar result.
Try eating a meal one hour before you work out that has plenty of complex carbohydrates (like oatmeal) as well as at least 20 grams of lean protein. Whey protein or a whole food source such as skim milk or chicken breast are all good choices.
Finally, if this persist more than a few weeks, just to be safe, see your doctor. Excessive urea excretion from perspiration and respiration can be a sign of more serious conditions, including diabetes and kidney disease."

So it seems that I am going to have to up my carb intake a bit.

KempoX tonight, then a rest day and two weeks in the bag.

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P90X - Day 10

Just finishing rocking Shoulders and Arms this evening. I improved on last week's numbers, so I was stoked.

Still trying to get all of daily calories/protein to where they need to be.

Tomorrow is YogaX, which kicked my butt last week, but now that I more familiar with the moves, I am hoping to improve my effort.

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New Mission - P90X

Back in early April, I was at a get together with some friends and one of them mentioned he had started a work out program called P90X. I was intrigued, as Debbie and I had made somewhat of a new year's resolution to start working out and being more active than we had over the past couple of year since the kids had been younger and we were a bit limited.

Debbie and I had started back in late January or early Feb with a pretty simple workout video and at first it was tough. We had good weeks and bad weeks as far as staying committed to the workout.

That workout was nothing like the P90X workout.

Even though it is much more of a time commitment (20 min vs. 60-90 min) and the workouts are tougher, for some reason, I am much more motivated to keep this program up. I actually look forward to the workout each day.

I'll try to post day 0 pics soon. The first workouts were tough, but I was able to get through them without pausing. I was sore in specific muscle groups, but I think the recovery drink must help that a lot, as I was not sore more than 1 day.

I have been feeling great so far. The toughest thing for me, which it sounds like for most people on this program, is the diet. I have been trying really hard this to stay off of the junk, and I have been pretty good thus far.

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Am I the only one?

This past weekend was a pretty lazy one at my household, needless to say the television got quite a bit of use. As I am calling it a day on Saturday night, I decide to see if anything worth watching is on and stumbled upon a good one; Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Anybody else out there find that when surfing the guide of the the numerous things to watch on television that it never fails that we land on a movie that is being aired on some network/cable station that we can't help but stop and watch? What's worse is that 9 times out of 10, it's a movie that we already have in our own DVD collection and we could watch in a commerical-free mode without all of the in-movie ads that said network/cable station tends to throw at you during these airings.

Why is it that we can't help, even if it is only for 10-15 minutes catch a peek? Usually, there's a good or funny part coming up that we enjoy, there's simply nothing else interesting to watch, or perhaps my summation of my recent weekend is the real answer; lazy? But if there really is nothing else to watch, why not just pop in the DVD version? I am as guitly of this as anyone I am sure, but my DVD collection tends to collect more dust than anything else.

Please tell me I am not the only one that has this problem, oh well, gotta run.
The Borne Identity Trilogy is about to start on TNT in 30 minutes...

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Free Grand Slam from Denny's

As many of you may have already heard, this past Tuesday, Denny's offered anyone in America a free Grand Slam breaskfast. It's possible that you took part in this marketing promotion, which estimates indicate that Denny's expects to give away as many as 2 million Grand Slams! Denny's reports that annually they sell over 10 million of these, at 5.99 a pop, they aren't giving away just an after-dinner mint.

Being that I am always up for a good deal (refer to my previous post...), I asked the kids if they wanted to join me for a free breakfast. Of course, I put some stipulations on the deal. The kids had to go to bed the night before and not come out, or else no breakfast. Makayla complied, Grant however did not, though I couldn't take the look on his face the next morning as we were getting ready to go, so I caved...

The crowd was about what I expected, we had a 10 minute wait to get seated and then another 5-10 minute wait for food. Both the kids were rewarded for thier patience with a baloon. I only ordered 2 Grand Slams, one for me and the kids split the other.

It was fun and I think the kids enjoyed a change from the normal weekday morning schedule.

FYI: Since the new year, I have been trying to cut back on extra food intake, the Grand Slam breakfast weighs in at meager 1128 calories...ouch, no lunch for me!!

By Unknown with 1 comment

Apparently I've been tagged....

Despite my resistance to join the social network, Facebook, I somehow have been "tagged" with a request to share 25 random fact about myself...
So, without further ado.

Enjoy!

25 Random Facts about Chris Coburn

1. I am pigeon toed
2. I like to listen to books on my ipod during my daily commute to/from work
3. My middle name is in its 4th generation of being used (grandfather, father, me, my son)
4. I love tech gadgets
5. I have an amazing wife, who happens to be my high school sweetheart
6. I love watching the discovery television network (Discovery, TLC, Science Channel, etc...)
7. I think it would be cool to live in a posh high rise in a big city for a short stint.
8. I prefer not to interact with idiots
9. I am a gamer reborn, circa 2008
10. I have parents at opposite ends of the US (AZ & CT).
11. I sometimes have short temper
12. I love to cook/grill
13. I can no longer watch NBA basketball
14. I am employee #9 in my company
15. I will never forget the births of my two children
16. I would love to visit Europe
17. I would never approach a celebrity for an autograph
18. I blame 90% of my farts on my kids
19. I refuse to join a online social network
20. I wish I could go out to eat everyday
21. My first job (age 13) was "working on the railroad", literally
22. I firmly believe that life will be found on another planet in my lifetime
23. I seem to have a good immune system and am rarely ill
24. I am always looking for a deal, am a bit frugal on certain things, and not so frugal on others.
25. I was a 3-sport athlete in high-school...those were the days

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