P90X continues

… slowly.  We have been out of sync for a bit, now.  Month three is no harder or easier than the other months, but making sure our schedules are clear for a 1-1.5 hr workout (of any kind) is difficult with kids, jobs, etc…  In addition, the wife is preparing for an upcoming race and is running (outside, distance) instead of using the P90 dvd’s.  My diet has suffered somewhat, but I’m maintaining weight due to getting a good breakfast and still hitting lunch accurately at this point.

I’ve likely been averaging 2-3 workouts per week and feel that, along with the dietary changes, I am treading water for now.  That’s ok – it’s good to know I can loosen up a bit and still fit into these jeans (2 sizes smaller than when I started 2 months ago).  I still plan on finishing and will be stepping back into the more rigorous routine soon.

P90X Update #6

Ah, it’s been a while since I updated the P90X postings.  Partially, because I don’t like to overdo it, and partially because it’s been fairly boring lately.  Not that I don’t like the videos any more – I still do, and I can still watch them without undo boredom.  We are quite used to how to work out now, though and it’s a good routine; we are still missing sessions now and then – this week was fairly poor, for example (missed two so far, three?)  I’ve still kept the weight off, thanks to a better overall diet plan, and we are both seeing improvements in our physiques – personally in my stomach, the wife in the tone of her arms and belly both.  I still need to convert about 5 pounds of fat to lean, but I have another month to go – I think she and I will both get there.

Regarding the videos themselves and how I feel about the program, in general, now that we are 2 months in… I still enjoy watching Tony joke around on-screen, I still enjoy yoga and kenpo most, I still get my butt kicked by plyo.  What you put into any workout regimen is what you get out – I like putting in the effort on these videos – will I forever? no, but 90 days is enough, eh?  “Keep hitting play.”

Regarding Stars of the Lid

I don’t often tout music I enjoy, but for some of the best ambient drone out there (which I do enjoy) I’d recommend “Stars of the Lid”.  Look them up on iTunes and try out either “Dopamine Clouds Over Craven Cottage” or “The Daughters of Quiet Minds”.  I also am curious about their upcoming (2010) full length film, previewed on the Vimeo website (which I also enjoy from time to time).

http://vimeo.com/1847116

By the way, if you don’t like artsy, ambient stuff, you won’t like this.

P90X Update #5

Ok, I admit it… I’ve been slacking on the diet – not all the time, but enough that I think my energy levels are not always great and enough that my weight has plateaued for now. I’m going to try extra hard in the upcoming week to focus more on getting back to a consistent diet. In the meantime, we are still at it, though it’s getting tougher to simply keep putting the time in each day to getting things done – we have missed a couple of days over the last 3 weeks – not bad, but still not to goal. Next week is the “rest week” for month #2 – getting closer to done!

Laptop Review Asus N81V Update

So I’ve had the Asus N81V for about a month now (close anyway), and it’s been a good investment to date. The build quality is holding up to frequent use at home. I haven’t traveled much with it, though. The weight is a nice change from my prior notebooks (it’s about 4-5 pounds). The keyboard has minimal travel and feels solid. Oddly, the one area of the keyboard that is a little soft is the top… near the 7 or 8 keys.
The speed is great and I experience minimal, if any lag whilst browsing, downloading, emailing, or playing the occassional game on Kongregate, etc. Bootup has proven to be adequate for a laptop and it takes a bit but is still less than prior laptops that I’ve used (I’d estimate it takes about 45-60 sec to boot into Vista).

Regarding the ::

Video – LED brightness , EXCELLENT crispness and resolution (not quite 1080); no lag on any apps so far

Audio – clear and crisp; not loud enough

HDD – good speed for a laptop; hammers on bootup but is not a bottleneck during any normal application usage

Memory – no bottlenecks with 4Gigs

Input – Keyboard is stable and has a good, if average, feel; touchpad is smooth, buttons are too “clicky”

Multimedia shortcut keys – usable, workable, pretty

Power – 3 to 3.5 hours of basic use (browsing, music, word processing, email); 2 hours to 2.5 hours of more intense graphical use

Aesthetics – Subtle, refined, glossy (which I like), not too glossy (which I like)

I/O – Has everything I want (5 USB’s, DVD, 12-in-1 card reader, 1394 firewire, mic, IR, Bluetooth, e-SATA, HDMI, VGA)

Processing – Excellent – Duo T9550; no complaints

Overall – I am quite happy!  I was looking for a something in the middle of pricing, power, and weight and got what I wanted.  The 14″ screen and lighter weight (compared to my prior 9.5 pound Dell XPS) was a pleasant change for the better.  It is more transportable than my prior laptop and has a great screen and work area which is ideal for my current needs.  I chose ASUS for its reliability and the reportedly good customer support.  I chose a lower-power unit due to my previous problems with overheating video cards and motherboards.  I’ll let you know if, down the road, I made the right choice in the end…

Cheers.

P90X Update #4

We are still at it… keep hitting play! Month number two has begun and is going well. The weight workouts are a slight change-up and have been causing muscle soreness (nearly) on par with month #1. Things are tolerable though, and still enjoyable. I think that both the wife and myself are getting more out of the sessions, as we can now put more INTO them. I’ve even been able to perform more pullups and pushups – amazing!
The diet is not as difficult to maintain right now and I’m a little more used to replacing carbs with protein, though I cheat (mildly, truly) at times – a few chips here a beer there… Anyway, I’ve lost several pounds – some water weight, admittedly – and for the first time in 5-6 years I am below 160 lbs. and nearer to my goal weight. I’ve gained a hole or two on the belt and can see a difference in my waistline (objectively, I’d say). Two more Plyometric workouts and we’ll be halfway there!

P90X update #3

We just finished the 4th week (the first months’ break week) of P90X and have begun week #5. So far, so god, though we have been hard pressed, due to fatigue, to maintain the program. We switched up some days during the break week, but are back on track now and yesterday was the first time we had done the “Shoulder, Chest, Triceps” workout. I thought that Chest and Arms was a pushup-focused workout, but this was the MOTHER of all pushup routines! We are also continuing to use the official P90X orange recovery drink. It tastes good (like Tang) and we hadn’t found any other drinks like it that are much cheaper. Note that the drink itself is a little pricey – we each use a half dose of the stuff so that it lasts 24 days between the 2 of us.

Diet has been fairly on target lately – I have been controlling portions and I have been eating many less carbs over the past few weeks and replacing them essentially with protein. It’s do-able and I can get into the diet fairly easily. I still have a hard time getting in 4 servings of vegetables daily – ugh.

We will continue to push forward and stick with the routine – it’s getting a little easier every week, though taking 1-1.5 hours out of the day each evening to work out is a sacrifice… a good one though!

Laptop Arrival

I finally received my Asus N81V Laptop! Out of the box, it looks great. This is the first laptop I’ve had that is this small and it takes some getting used to. On the whole, it is put together well and has a sturdy feel to it. The keyboard is good and is at or near full-size. It is fairly quiet and charged up quickly. The screen had no dead pixels and the image is clear and crisp at max resolution. Windows Vista (new install, obviously) runs very smoothly with full Aero activated. The webcam works and supports a nice resolution. The fingerprint reader did not come activated or with software to control it, as far as I can tell – but the facal recognition software is pre-installed and functional. Having read about it in general, I promptly uninstalled it. Anyway, I’ll have more to say soon regarding its ongoing functionality and speed, heat, etc. By the way, it’s been running now for several hours (music, pics, web, email) and is still quiet, and very cool – I am using the LapCool3, laptop cooling pad with it though… without it, the fan had turned on (audible but not loud at all) but the laptop was still cool to the touch on the keyboard surface and handrest area (great!).

P90X Update #2

We are still going strong on P90X, week number 3 is starting! The aches and pains are lessening and we really haven’t missed a beat yet. So far, each workout has its hard parts and can get me gasping, but I am still enjoying Kenpo the best. Diet has been modified and I’ll be sticking with it as much as possible – except for my once-a-month Pizza Hut binges (I can’t help it!). Stay tuned for more goodness…

P90X Update #1

We are one week into P90X now and we are still hanging in there. “It’s tough – it’s supposed to be.” So says Tony and so says me, as well. This program is a bitch at the beginning. Like most exercise programs, you get out of it what you put into it, and you can push yourself very hard with what they give you. I had a hard time with the first day of ‘Chest and Back’, but this week was a little easier, already. One of the problems I see this early in the program is that I’m have to work to keep my heart rate ‘in the zone’ (like around 70% maximal) during each workout differently than on other workouts throughout each week. An example is to compare the Kenpo X workout with the Chest and Back workout. I find it easy to stay in a certain zone (Zone 3 and/or 4) with the Kenpo workout and I find it difficult to do the same with the Chest and Back – I’m usually in Zone 2/3 and can’t get into Zone 4. Not that it’s that bad of a thing, but I just wish my upper body strength was enough to keep me going – instead I have to “cheat” during pull-ups (use a chair to assist). I know that, as I gain muscle mass and stamina in the upper body, I’ll be able to better hit higher workout goals, heart rates, and overall caloric effect. I need to lose about 15 pounds of fat and gain about 15 pounds of muscle… it’ll just take time.

At any rate… the workouts are fun and the changeups are nice. I enjoy watching and working with Tony on the DVD’s – he’s a great coach! Some workouts are harder than expected (Yoga X – holy Downward Dog Batman!) Some workouts are just fun (Kenpo X). I recommend the series, so far, and I think that we will be sticking with it for the full 90 days…