Day 34 - Kenpo Karate

Did the workout listening to house music on my iPod again. The music made the routine go by quickly! Feels good to exercise, finding the time is my challenge!

Day 26 - Cardio X

So since I have been going pretty loose with this week's schedule, I figured "why stop now?". I did Kenpo today instead of Cardio, which is OK since I switched Cardio for Kenpo two days ago. I played house music on my stereo during the workout, which actually went really well with the tempo of the exercises. I will have to remember that for next time, as I find that Kenpo gets a bit boring.

Day 24 - Kenpo

I switched out Kenpo and decided to do Cardio X today. I was a bit pressed for time before a dinner engagement, so I did Cardio, which is a shorter routine. I was also in the mood for Cardio rather than Kenpo.

The workout went well, it feels good to sweat!

This week is for recovery and I feel like I am recovering, getting ready for the next 3 week phase.

Day 20 - Kenpo Karate

Wow! 20 days already! Tomorrow will be three weeks since I started, hard to believe. I am noticing differences in my body, albeit slight ones. My pants are looser, I can feel muscle on my torso again, and I see more definition on my arms. I still have a long way to go, but it is encouraging!

I really brought it during Kenpo, which is the routine that I find can be less than demanding. I pushed during the kicks section, so I kept my heartrate up. It also helps to have only music and cues, rather than Tony's chatter. I debated about playing a separate music CD during the workout, but the tempo of the soundtrack is good to keep pace with the video.

Tomorrow is stretch! I have already noticed increased flexibility, so tomorrow will feel good.

Day 13 - Kenpo Karate

I've started doing the workouts with only music and cues of when to do the next move because I have gotten tired of listening to Tony's chatter during the routines. They were helpful for the first week, to remind me of the form and technique, but now I just want to focus on moving, often to the music.

Karate felt good today, my biggest problem was keeping my heartrate up, so I did most of the exercises faster than the video, to stay active and raise my heartrate.

It's hard to believe the second week is almost done!

Day 6 - Kenpo Karate

Another good mix-up in the exercise routine today with Kenpo Karate. I strained my right forearm a few days ago and although I threw hundreds of punches in this workout, there was no serious stress on the muscle as there would be with weights or pull-ups (that was yesterday!). I hope the exercise helps my muscle get back to normal.

The one issue I have with this workout is that the middle part is not as intense as the start or finish. I guess this is good, to give my body a bit of a break from the intensity of the usual workouts. Don't get me wrong, I still broke a sweat and had my heartrate in the target zone most of the time.

Stretch tomorrow, looking forward to it!

Round 4, Day 6

Kenpo Karate. I find it tough to stay in my cardio range with this routine during the kick and blocks sections. I end up going much faster than the DVD and not stopping between moves. I actually find the "breaks" in this workout are good to raise my heartrate!

Anyway, Week 1 is almost over. I feel better than the start of the week and I am looking forward to seeing the differences after the first phase.

Day 6

Kenpo! What a fun workout! Martial-arts moves for an hour, maybe that's why those UFC guys are so fit. Probably my favourite routine so far, and not just because there was no Ab Ripper X after it!

Nutrition-wise, still going strong, though I am missing carbs a bit. I used to be a heavy-duty bread eater, so having no bread all week is a big change. I feel great, though, lots of energy and not sluggish getting out of bed in the mornings. This is how no carbs must feel. Strangely enough, I have no cravings for fast food restaurants, which is a good thing.

I need the Stretch routing tomorrow to get more flexible again, I feel like I am tightening up with all of this rigorous exercise and no real amount of stretching afterwards. I may simply take more time after each workout to stretch by myself.