© Tim Pannell Photography

My favorite P90X workout after over a year is still, hands down the  Shoulders  and Arms Workout. I’ve added over an inch of muscle to both of my arms and am much stronger because of it.

I’ve had a problem a couple of times over the last year when my elbow joints gave me problems with soreness.  I used to think that the soreness in my right elbow was from racquetball, but once I started experiencing the same pain in my left elbow I assumed that it was from using too much weight in several of the P90X exercises.

I think the main culprit for my problem was using too much weight while doing the “in and out bicep curl” exercise.   After the last several months of holding off on my workouts until I was fully healed I decided to take it easier on my arms, especially when it concerned the “in and out” exercise.

I think it was the wise thing to do.  Since getting back on track with my P90X workout schedule over the last month, my elbows are just fine.  I prefer to have my muscles sore and not my joints.  I’ll be fine as long as I keep things under control.

I figured out my limits the last go around, this time I’m gonna be sure to not overdo it.  I still have to push myself so I get the benefits from the P90X workouts, just not over the line.

Although I have to be careful with the bicep exercises it seems that I can just pile on the weight when it comes to my triceps.  The “Flip Grip Twist” exercise is my favorite and now that I’m up to 25 lb. dumbbells with that workout I’m really pleased with the results.

If you’re looking to build up your arms, you can’t go wrong with “Shoulders and Arms.”  You should see some results within the first couple of weeks.

Of all the P90X workouts the only one that I still hate to this day is the Yoga X….I just don’t think it flows very well, but for me….the P90X Workout – Shoulders and Arms more than makes up for it.

P90X Workout – Shoulders And Arms is a post from: Losing weight with P90X

© Tim Pannell Photography

Well…here it is another Wednesday.  I love Wednesdays…it’s my wife’s day off and we have no excuses for not doing P90X together.  Today we just finished the P90X Shoulders & Arms Workout and we both feel great.

Neither of us slept very well last night.  We have 12 different smoke detectors throughout the house and for about 3 1/2 hours they were all going off every 15 minutes or so.  We changed all the batteries out, we dusted and vacuumed each individual alarm just like the manufacturer suggested……..what happened next?  They all went off non stop for close to an hour.  We ended up taking them all down and popping out the batteries on each one and draining their capacitors in order to be able to sleep.

These are the same alarms that didn’t even go off when the dining room table was set on fire by one of the little kids in the neighborhood on the 4th of July.  The entire house was filled with smoke as 6′ flames went up from the table…not a single alarm went off, no beeps, no sirens, no nothing.  I feel so safe and secure knowing these pieces of crap are “protecting” my home from fire.

Do not buy any alarms from FIRST ALERT…they are crap……..just FYI.

Anyway….in spite of us both being tired and wanting to bail out 2/3 of the way through the workout…we both sucked it up and finished and are glad we did.

I love working out with my wife….at this point it’s one of my favorite times of the entire week.  Life is good.  P90X is good.  Being married for 28 + years is great.

We had a really big thunderstorm this morning during our workout.  1/2″ sized hail came down…..super loud….really cool.  The sun popped out during it and the sky lit up just like a sparkly snow globe…I’ve never seen anything like it.  It was absolutely amazing.

What a great start for today.

P90X Shoulders & Arms With My Wife is a post from: Losing weight with P90X

© Tim Pannell Photography

I just got back from playing racquetball for 2 hours and I’m absolutely hammered.  I did a round of P90X Shoulders & Arms this morning and felt great afterwards.  It’s still my favorite P90X workout.

I was sore, but it was the good kind of sore.  I still have soreness in my left elbow, but nothing near as painful as a month or two ago.  I do have something going on in my right shoulder and tricep area.

I had to lower the weight on my dumbbells on most of my bicep exercises by 5 pounds.  I kept the same weight on all the tricep exercises, but fell short of my goal of 25 per side with the side tri rise exercises.  I also lowered the weight in most of my shoulder exercises by 5 pounds as well.

I really struggled playing racquetball.  I played great the first game winning it easily 15-3.  I lost the next two – 15-14 and 15-9.  By the fourth game my arms were feeling like jello and my legs were starting to feel a bit like tree trunks.  I got a second wind for the last few games winning 2 of the 3.

I’m exhausted at this point.  I’m sitting here in my bed typing this up and feeling like I have zero energy.  Food doesn’t sound real appetizing at this point, but I know I need to go downstairs and find something moderately healthy to eat.  I’ve lost about 6 or 7 pounds of the extra weight i picked up this last month…so that’s a good thing.

I’m just going to keep doing the workouts everyday and play racquetball at least 4 times a week for at least 2 hours a whack.  Sooner or later…..somethings gonna have to give……it better be the weight and not one of my knees.

P90X – Shoulders & Arms – Racquetball – Exhaustion is a post from: Losing weight with P90X

© Tim Pannell Photography

Again I’m guilty of not writing for a while.  I’m making it a habit of not staying up on this blog.  P90X has definitely been part of a healthier lifestyle for me, but my wife and I are still trying to get a better handle on her schedule at work and make our P90X routines more………well…….routine.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how random things can be in life and appreciating all that I have to be grateful for.  I have a very dear friend who was just diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer.

They never smoked a day in their life, run 6 to 8 miles 6 days of the week…religiously, lift weights, teach gym at elementary school, play tennis and eat healthy 99.9% of the time.

I’ve known since I was a kid that there was no fairness in life, but this seems so far beyond unfair.  Here I am, a schlubb with a huge weight problem and they get cancer and are in a battle for their life.

They are strong and extremely healthy other than that small mass of cells and I believe that they will beat this thing down into submission.

I think about Lance Armstrong and his very public fight with cancer.  He was such a healthy individual and came out on top in the end.  My friend will do the same……I’m sure of it.

I know that the numbers of success stories are few and far between for this type of cancer, but the number of extremely fit and healthy people to get this type of cancer is few and far between as well.  In the end, my friend is the kind of person that will triumph over this stupid disease.

Today, I’m just grateful for my health, I’m grateful for my amazing wife….my soul mate….my best friend and our 5 wonderful kids.  Life is good.  I need to make the most of every minute I have.  I will be fit again…I will most likely never have the “8-pack” I had in High School and college, but I’ll be healthier and more fit.

If you took a snapshot of my lifestyle 7 or 8 years ago and compared it to today….I have a much healthier lifestyle today and P90X has a big part of that.  I’m playing racquetball again several times a week and I’m doing at least 3 rounds of P90X each week.  I have a lot of room for improvement so I will recommit again to doing what’s best for my health.  My wife and I will find a way to make this more of a routine and get consistent with our P90X schedule.

If any of you have cancer success stories you’re aware of and wouldn’t mind sharing them, I’d love to be able to share them with my friend so they can hear some positive re-enforcement.  Thanks in advance!

P90X – Healthy Lifestyle is a post from: Losing weight with P90X



© Tim Pannell Photography

Today my wife and I did the P90X Chest & Back workout together.  We both love it!

It has been a rare occurrence for us to be able to do P90X together . Her work schedule has been really difficult this last month.

She has to be at work by 6 am so she hasn’t been able to do any of the P90X workouts for over a month.  I haven’t been able to consistently workout for over a month either.

My big problems have been health related for the most part.  I did have 2 weeks when I was shooting photo assignments and was away from home and did a poor job of staying on top of my workouts.

I did push ups and crunches , but that was about all.

Once I got home i tried getting back inot the flow, but struggled this last week.  I finally went and played racquetball on Tuesday night just to try to jump start myself back into doing something physical.

It was fun to play again, although I pushed myself too hard and pulled a muscle on my right side.

It felt better this morning so I decided to put in the P90X Chest & Back DVD and do it with my wife.

Her sister can’t workout for a while since she just had her gall bladder removed.

It was nice to be working out with my wife again….it just makes the whole thing more fun to do.  We both noticed a drop in our ability to do the exercises.

My numbers dropped off by about 25% on half of the exercises and stayed the same on the rest, but I was a lot more out of breath than I was a month ago when I was doing P90X on a more consistent basis.

I know I will be sore tomorrow, but it’s a good sore.  I love feeling the muscles in my body and these workouts really do bring that about.

Kim might be changing jobs in the next week and we’re looking forward to being able to do P90X together every morning.

It helps us both with our overall attitude and well being.  We both have better outlooks when we’re working out and the benefits show up in just about every aspect of our lives.

Stress is reduced, we get some valuable time to spend together and everything else seems to fall into place.

I’m looking forward to next week……I really do love the P90X workouts!

P90X – Chest & Back – I Love This Workout is a post from: Losing weight with P90X

© Tim Pannell Photography

Well……..P90X workout failure is a bit of a stretch.

This last month has been a series of setbacks, starting with illness.

I have been sick off and on for the last 4 months plus.

I chalked it up to having the flu or a cold or a combination of the two, but when it just kept going and coming back and continuing I finally went into the doctor’s office.

I was having a hard time catching my breath on some days and no problem on others…..my throat felt like I had strep.

I just felt like crap most of the time.

The doc determined it was allergies.

Well, after 3 weeks of being on meds I’m finally starting to feel better.

My other setback has been work.  Not that I’m not thrilled with having some assignments…. I love ‘em!!!

They just add a new wrinkle when it comes to doing P90X.

I’ve had a couple of photo assignments the last 2 weeks.

I was in LA shooting a series on community service and back home in Arizona for over a week shooting for a luxury apartment developer.

I brought along my workout bands, but have to admit that I didn’t use them at all.

I did push ups and chair dips and some side tri rises, but that was about it.

I was still pretty tired so I just took it easy.

Now I’m back home and feeling better physically and mentally than I have in quite a while.

It’s time to get back on the horse so to speak.

These last 4 weeks don’t really add up to failures as much as they are setbacks.

Sometimes crap happens that we don’t like.

Things that are more or less out of our control sometimes take over for a little while.

I have had to learn when to take my foot off the gas and just take what life hands me.

In the past I would get injured playing racquetball and just play through the pain and end up doing more damage than good.

In that sense I had a classic “old school” mentality about pain….”just rub some dirt on it and get back out there!”

I would also beat the crap out of myself if I didn’t perform to my highest expectations.

I’m doing my best to not get down on myself when I experience temporary setbacks.

It serves no purpose to dwell on past difficulties……it actually keeps me from moving forward.

Today is a new day.  I’m no longer as sick as I was a month ago…..I still have junk in my lungs, but not like before.

I can breath, I can take in oxygen, I can start back up on my P90X program.

Today will be  P90X Chest & Back.………Bring it!

P90X Workout Failures is a post from: Losing weight with P90X

© Tim Pannell Photography

This was a crappy week for P90X!   There’s no other way to describe it.

I had a number of setbacks this week, mostly soreness in my left elbow and a fair amount of lower back pain.

I did the P90X Chest & Back workout on Monday and the P90X Shoulders & Arms workout on Tuesday.

On Wednesday I could barely move my left elbow.

This type of pain would come around fairly often in my right elbow when I was playing racquetball.

This is the second time I’ve experienced this in my left elbow.  If you’ve ever had tennis elbow…….that is what this feels like.

It got so bad I could barely play any low notes on my guitar without serious pain.

The twisting motion is just horrible.

I decided to take it easy the rest of the week……thinking that it would get better.

Well, it hasn’t really.  The left elbow is still really sore.

I’m guessing I overdid it with any of the bicep exercises in the P90X Shoulders & Arms routine.

I’ve added a lot of strength to my arms and I guess I just pushed it too hard.

As far as my lower back is concerned….I haven’t got a clue.  Throughout most of my experience with P90X I’ve been pain free in my back.

I did P90X Kenpo X yesterday with my wife, sister in law, brother in law and niece.

I figured this wouldn’t hurt my elbow any.  It was more painful than I expected it to be, but not too bad.

This workout actually helped stretch out my back and as of this morning the pain in my lower back is almost gone.

There is still some pressure, but nothing like the last couple of days.

I think this next week I’ll stick to the P90X Yoga X, Kenpo X and Aerobics X workouts to give my elbow some rest.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

P90X Setbacks is a post from: Losing weight with P90X

© Tim Pannell Photography

I’ve done pretty well with the workouts for the last several months.

I’ve added quite a bit of muscle to my frame, but I haven’t lost any real weight….maybe 5 pounds.

I’ve said in earlier posts that I wasn’t going to let myself get too down if I wasn’t successful at dropping the weight.

I’m pleased with my efforts as far as the p90x workouts are considered, but I want to do better in the weight loss category.

I have to admit that my diet throughout my previous p90x cycle has been the ultimate problem.

We got into the habit of eating ice cream almost everyday and I know that I can’t keep doing that and expect to drop the weight.

I’ve cut out soda from my diet almost completely – maybe 12 oz. every week or 2.

On a typical day I’ll get up at 6 am, do a little work on my blogs and my commercial photography website.

At around 8 am I’ll pop in a P90X DVD and do an hour workout.

About 1/2 hour after my workout I’ll mix up a Shakeology Shake.

I’ll usually make an egg sandwich for lunch…nothing too crazy.

I haven’t done a good job snacking on healthy options in the middle of the day.

By the time dinner rolls around I’ve been starving and I’ll overeat.

Chicken, salmon, lean beef, pasta, salads, veggies.

They’re nutritious and healthy dinners, just too much of them……portion control will be the answer.

I’m trying to keep things simple and balanced.  No crazy diets…nothing overly complicated…..in other words just common sense.

I’ve got grapes and carrots lined up for gnoshing today.

My kiss of death over the last 3 months has been after 9 pm when I’m still winding down.

I’ve eaten junk to be honest – ice cream and chips and crap.

This time around with this P90X sequence I’ll do better with my diet.

The rule this time around is – no junk food during the week.

I’ll let myself eat ice cream or whatever on the weekend, but that’s it.

I should drop 5 pounds a week if I stick to these principles.

If I don’t drop a bunch of weight in the next couple of weeks I’ll have to go back to the drawing board as far as the diet is concerned.

P90X Diet Tips is a post from: Losing weight with P90X

© Tim Pannell Photography

The P90X workout schedule is pretty ambitious.

I’ve had quite a few people ask me over the last several weeks what the actual P90X schedule is.

For any of you wondering about that….this post should explain it……….here goes:

There are a total of 12 DVDs that make up the P90X Exercise series.

The basic P90X schedule is broken up into 11 dvd routines plus an additional 12th dvd that focuses on your abs, called Ab Ripper-X.

DVD #1 –   Chest & Back
DVD #2 -    Plyometrics
DVD #3 –   Shoulders & Arms
DVD #4 –   Yoga X
DVD #5 –   Legs & Back
DVD #6 –   Kenpo X
DVD #7 –   X Stretch
DVD #8 –   Core Synergistics
DVD #9 –   Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
DVD #10 – Back & Biceps
DVD #11 – Cardio X
DVD #12 – Ab Ripper X

There is also a “How to Bring It” Instructional DVD included with your P90X Workout Schedule which gives you an overview of the entire set of P90X exercises.

Here’s what the classic P90x workout schedule looks like:

P90X Workout Schedule for Weeks #1, #2, and #3:

Day 1 – Chest and Back, plus Ab Ripper X
Day 2 – Plyometrics
Day 3 – Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
Day 4 – Yoga X
Day 5 – Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 6 – Kenpo X
Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

Weeks #4, #8 and #13 of the P90X workout schedule  are designed as recovery weeks.

P90x Workout Schedule for Week #4:

Day 1 – Yoga X
Day 2 – Core Synergistics
Day 3 – Kenpo X
Day 4 – X Stretch
Day 5 – Core Synergistics
Day 6 – Yoga X
Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

P90X Workout Plan for Weeks #5, #6 and #7:

Day 1 – Chest, Shoulders and Triceps, Ab Ripper X
Day 2 – Plyometrics
Day 3 – Back and Biceps, Ab Ripper X
Day 4 – Yoga X
Day 5 – Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 6 – Kenpo X
Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

P90x Workout Schedule for Week #8 (Recovery Phase):

Day 1 – Yoga X
Day 2 – Core Synergistics
Day 3 – Kenpo X
Day 4 – X Stretch
Day 5 – Core Synergistics
Day 6 – Yoga X
Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

P90X Workout Schedule for  Week #9 and Week #11:

Day 1 – Chest and Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 2 – Plyometrics
Day 3 – Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X
Day 4 – Yoga X
Day 5 – Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 6 – Kenpo X
Day 7 Rest or X Stretch

P90X Workout for Week#10 and Week #12:

Day 1 –  Chest, Shoulders and Triceps, Ab Ripper X
Day 2-   Plyometrics
Day 3 – Back and Biceps, Ab Ripper X
Day 4 – Yoga X
Day 5 – Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 6 – Kenpo X
Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

P90X Workout Schedule for Week #13 (Final Week):

Day 1 – Yoga X
Day 2 – Core Synergistics
Day 3 – Kenpo X
Day 4 – X Stretch
Day 5 – Core Synergistics
Day 6 – Yoga X
Day 7 – Rest or X Stretch

The basic P90X Workout Schedule has you working out 6 days a week for 13 weeks from 1 to 1  1/2 hours each session.

It is a great set of workouts and I highly recommend sticking to the schedule if at all possible.

Good luck!

BRING IT!

P90X Workout Schedule is a post from: Losing weight with P90X

© Tim Pannell Photography

Man, what a weird week!

I love P90X, but this week I’ve had some problems with it.

My wife and sister in law headed out of town Monday and Tuesday….leaving me all by myself.

Monday morning I got up and dutifully did my P90X Back and Chest workout.

It was great!  I felt good afterwards and was pleased with myself for doing it even though I was alone.

Tuesday………I don’t even remember Tuesday.

That wouldn’t bother me if I was a drinker, but I’m not.

I just know I didn’t work out that day.

Kim got back into town Tuesday night.

For whatever reason, we didn’t work out Wednesday morning either.

Yesterday I got up at 5 am because Kim started her new job and had to be there at 6 am.

I got up with her and took her to work and then got home to get the youngest of our kids off to school.

After that I went out and did some photography….shooting scenic backgrounds for a photo project I’m working on.

I spent the whole day after that at the computer processing and retouching….at least until I went out and shot scenics for another 3 hours in the late afternoon – early evening.

Right now it’s 5 am and I’m going to shoot outdoors again at sunrise.

Kim will head off to work at 6 and won’t get home til this afternoon.

Here’s the question – When in the crap are we going to work out?!?

For almost 3 months now, we had a nice little system in place.

We’d get up, get the kids off to school.

Kim’s sister would come over around 8 am and we’d pop in a P90X workout and we’d get moving.

We were really consistent with this P90X routine.

It was really nice starting the day off with a great sweaty workout.

It was also nice having 2 other people there to keep me motivated.

Afternoons are busy around here and I’m worried we’ll find excuses.

Melanie won’t be able to work out at that time every day.

Kim really enjoyed the P90X workouts and was getting stronger and stronger by the day.

It was fun watching everybody make a lot of progress from week to week too.

It’s always a drag when a good routine comes to an end.

I guess we’ll see what happens today.  The plan is to workout at 2:30 when Kim gets home.

I’ll keep you posted.

P90X – Problems? is a post from: Losing weight with P90X