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July 20, 2007

Day 17: Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X

I had a great workout again today… no puking though.

I know I’ve said it before, but it continues to be the case. Every time I use the B-lines Bands I feel that I am more comfortable with them, and that I am getting a better work out from them. Today my big breakthrough came with the use of a loop.

Up until today, I had tried to watch what the guy on the DVD was doing, whether he was using a loop in the band or not, and do the same. However, today I departed from this practice and struck out on my own.

The guy who uses the B-lines Bands in the Shoulders & Arms DVD, (David Hass, I believe), never (I think) uses a loop for the exercises where he is standing up straight. This makes sense to me and works well for me with exercises where you raise the bands above your head, like the Alternating Shoulder Presses and Lying-Down Tricep Extensions (you don’t actually lie down when you are using the bands), for example. However, I found that the bands were slack and thus not giving me much resistance at the bottom of the exercises where you are standing up straight but only raising your hands to shoulder level, like the Upright Rows and Static Arm Curls. So, I started using a loop for such exercises and got a much better pump as a result.

The only problem is that this means that I need to reconsider which B-lines Bands I use for these exercises. And, I won’t be doing these exercises again for six weeks.

As I said with regard to the Chest & Back workout a couple days ago, I am kind of disappointed that I won’t be doing the Shoulders & Arms routine again for six weeks. I feel like I am just starting to get the hang of it. But, once again, that is the whole idea behind the “muscle confusion” concept; if you feel like you are getting the hang of it, it’s time to do something else. I am fascinated by the “muscle confusion” concept and I will write more about it in the future.

I also want to mention that I did Ab Ripper X again today… well, sort of. My neck was actually not the problem. I am unhappy that I skipped a week of it (3 times in total) and I started out the routine happy to be doing it again. However, during the first rep of the first set of the first exercise (In & Outs) that muscle above your quad and below your pelvis (hip flexor) cramped up on me. I couldn’t believe it. However, I did continue through the routine, attempting every exercise and doing the ones for which my hip flexor did not cramp.

Here’s my Shoulders & Arms stats:

• Alternating Shoulder Presses: 10, 10 orange; 10, 10 green; 10, 10 green
• In & Out Bicep Curls: 16, 16 orange; 16, 16 green; 16, 16 green
• Two-Arm Tricep Kickbacks: 10, 10 magenta; 10, 10 orange; 10, 10 red
• Deep Swimmer’s Presses: 10 orange, 6 green; 10, 8 green; 10, 8 green
• Full Supination Concentration Curls: 11, 12 green; 12, 10 green; 7, 8 green
• Chair Dips: 25, 25 bent legs; 30, 25 bent legs; 20, 13 straight legs
• Upright Rows: 15, 15 magenta; 15, 15 orange; 12, 12 red
• Static Arm Curls: 16 orange, 16 green; 16, 16 green; 16 green, 8 red;
• Flip-Grip Twist Tricep Kickbacks: 10, 8 magenta; 10, 15 magenta; 14, 14 orange
• Two-Angle Shoulder Flys: 10, 10 orange; 16, 16 magenta; 16, 12 orange
• Crouching Cohen Curls: 10, 16 magenta; 20, 15 orange; 16 red, 10 yellow
• Lying-Down Tricep Extensions: 12, 16 magenta; 12, 10 orange; 12 orange, 10 red
• In & Out Straight-Arm Shoulder Flys: 16, 12 magenta; 16, 16 magenta; 16, 10 orange
• Congdon Curls: 10, 10 green; 12, 15 green; 7, 8 green
• Side Tri-Rises: 10/10, 8/8; 15/15, 20/20; 20/20, 21/21

Purely by coincidence, I am publishing this journal entry on the day that I did the P90X Shoulders & Arms workout for the first time since the day I wrote this journal entry. I was just writing my journal entry for today and I definitely did the Shoulders & Arms workout differently as a result of what I learned doing the Back & Biceps workout during Phase II.

Yeah, I’m hard core.

 July 19, 2007

 Day 16: Plyometrics

 I Puked!

 Yes sir… Threw Up!… Blew Chunks!… I was Praying to the Porcelain God! (as we used to say in college)… Whatever you want to call it… However you want to describe it… I did it!

 The first two times through the Plyometrics workout, I was worried that I wasn’t pushing myself hard enough.  However, I didn’t want to push too hard and hurt myself.

 As I wrote on Day 1:

 The P90X program has three phases.  The P90X Fitness Guide says that during the first phase ‘your goal should be to master each movement and finish the workouts in one piece.’  It goes on to recommend that you, ‘focus less on the amount of weight you are lifting and instead try to achieve your desired number of repetitions while maintaining strict form.’

 Well, I’m not worried that I didn’t push myself as hard as I should today!

 I was conscious of the fact that I felt a little less hydrated than I would have liked to be when I started the workout this morning.  It’s been somewhat sweaty here in Concord, MA over the past couple of days, and I don’t think I drank enough water before I went to bed last night.  In fact, I even started my workout this morning a little later than I wanted, just so I could drink an extra glass of water.

 Once I started, I felt thirsty throughout the workout and kept going back for a little more water whenever given an opportunity.  I felt good though, at first anyway. 

 I have yet to actually sit down and figure out how all the heart rate zones work, and what my heart rate should be at during the workouts (I should do this soon).  However, I have been wearing my heart rate monitor during the Plyometrics and Kenpo X workouts and keeping an eye on it.  During the first two Plyo workouts, my heart rate remained above 130 for the most part and got into the 140s on occasion.  During the first two Kenpo X workouts, my heart rate remained above 120 for the most part and got into the 130s on occasion.  Today, my heart rate remained above 140 for the most part, got into the 150s on occasion, and even hit the 160s a couple times.

 Like I said, I felt good, at first.  I felt like I was pushing myself a bit more.  I felt comfortable doing so.  I was sweating and huffing and puffing and it felt like I was doing the Plyometrics workout the way it was meant to be done… or at least closer to how it was meant to be done than the first two times.

 However, about three quarters of the way through, I began to feel a little nauseous.  “I’ve been drinking too much water,” I thought to myself, in the midst of all those feel good chemicals that Tony talked about in the live chat on Monday flowing through my brain, “I just won’t drink anymore until it’s over.” 

 Well, my heart was pounding, sweat was dripping onto the mat, and I was huffing and puffing like I have not done in years.  I finished strong, not feeling too nauseous… but then when the cool down started… all that water started to come up… and I was not about to keep it down!  I rushed over to an empty trash barrel and…

 I Puked!

 Then, I threw up again… then I blew chunks again (actually, there were no chunks at all, it was all water and froth and a little stomach acid I suppose)… and again… and again… and again…

 By the time I was done, so were Tony and Co.

 It was hard because, even though my body wanted that water out of my tummy, my body also wanted to be moving around and cooling down.  I went from a heart rate above 160 (I don’t recall looking, but I did really push it at the end), to on my hands and knees with stomach convulsions.

 Nevertheless, I wiped off my mouth, scanned back the DVD, and did the cool down, complete with some extra stretching and breathing at the end.

 By the time I was done, I felt fine.  And, thankfully, the P90X Peak Recovery Formula remained in my stomach with no problems.

 Although I don’t want to repeat this experience, I do feel like an official hard core P90Xer now!

This entry makes me smile…

July 18, 2007

 My First Glimpse of the MDB Coaching Program

 I can’t believe how much time I am spending writing about my experience with Million Dollar Body in these journal entries.  This journal was intended to be about working out with P90X… and it is.  Only, I have discovered that working out with P90X does not merely involve “pushing play”, as Tony is always encouraging you to do.  Rather, if you want it too, working out with P90X involves a whole community, which I had not anticipated, as well as additional financial opportunities, which I certainly had not anticipated.

 I discovered and wrote about the Million Dollar Body Game a couple weeks ago.  I discovered and wrote about the Million Dollar Body Success Story Contest yesterday.  Well, I did a little more digging last night after I had completed my journal entry, wondering what else I may still be missing, and I cannot believe what I found out about the Million Dollar Body Coaching Program.

 Obviously, I knew about the MDB Coaching Program before.  I’ve written about my wonderful experience with my MDB Coach, Coach McD, already.  However, until last night, I did not have the slightest inkling as to what the MDB Coaching Program truly was.

 Shortly after my initial interaction with Coach McD, I checked out his MDB website.  I thought it was cool that MDB provides every MDB Coach with a webpage.  I also noticed that he mentioned something about his appreciation for the MDB Coaching Program and “the opportunities it offers, both professionally and physically” and an “improved quality of life both financially and through better health,” but this was not what I was focusing on.  If I did give it a second thought, I’m sure I figured that MDB was offering a small stipend to its coaches or something.  (In fact, when I just went back to find these quotes, it took me awhile to locate them, they were so buried within his bio and given so little importance.)

 However, last night, I took a closer look at the Million Dollar Body Coaching Program and quickly fired off an email to Coach McD… to say the least, I am intrigued!…

 As you know if you have been reading this blog, I am now an MDB Coach.  As if a gift from God, the Million Dollar Body Coaching Program came at the time that I needed it most!

 But there will be more on this in upcoming journal entries…

On Day 15, I completed my third session with the Chest & Back workout and said goodbye… not permanently… just for 6 weeks… but it was hard… we were just getting to know each other…

 July 18, 2007

 Day 15: Chest & Back

 I had a great workout today!

 I positioned the chair closer to the pull-up bar today and found that I was actually able to rely on it less while also supporting myself with it more when I needed it.  Also, I continue to feel more comfortable with the bands.

 I didn’t do Ab Ripper X again today because, although my neck was not stiff when I started the workout, it felt somewhat stiff at the end and I am mindful that it was after doing the Chest & Back/Ab Ripper X combo last week that my neck really stiffened up.  It stands to reason that all those push-ups and pull-ups would torque a guy’s neck a bit.

 Nevertheless, I really like the Chest & Back workout and am kind of disappointed that I won’t be doing it again for six weeks.  I feel like I am just starting to get the hang of it… but that is the whole idea behind the “muscle confusion” concept.  If you feel like you are getting the hang of it, it’s time to do something else.

 Here’s my Chest & Back Stats:

• Standard Push-Ups: 12, 8;  15, 10;  15, 12
• Wide Front Pull-Ups: 5, 3;  12, 14;  12, 12
• Military Push-Ups: 10, 6;  12, 8;  12, 7
• Reverse Grip Chin-Ups: 5, 3;  12, 10;  12, 12
• Wide Fly Push-Ups: 10, 10;  12, 12;  12, 12
• Closed Grip Overhand Pull-Ups: 3, 2;  12, 12;  9, 10
• Decline Push-Ups: 8, 5;  8, 3;  12, 6
• Heavy Pants: 10, 10 orange;  15, 10 orange; 15 orange, 10 red
• Diamond Push-Ups: 10, 3;  8, 6;  10, 8
• Lawnmowers: 12, 15 orange;  15, 15 orange;  12 orange, 10 red
• Dive-Bomber Push-Ups: 10, 5;  8, 8;  8, 6
• Back Flys: 10, 10 orange;  15, 15 orange; 12 orange, 10 red

It’s a little hard to believe, but today is my last day with Phase II of P90X. Tomorrow, I’ll be doing Chest & Back again for the first time since my Day 15 journal entry. The past six weeks have gone by fast… but I guess time flies when you’re having fun working out!

I did the X Stretch again at the end of the second week and I recall that it felt quite good.

However, when I sat down to write my journal entry that night, my mind was focused on something else…

July 17, 2007

Day 14: X Stretch

Million Dollar Body Success Story Contest

Well, I completed week two today. The stretching felt really good. I will write more about this routine in the future, but… I’m a little excited about something else at the moment.

I periodically get behind on my emails and end up spending an afternoon or more going through them and clearing out my inbox. Today I was doing just that when I opened up an email from Million Dollar Body entitled: “Check Out the Latest Winners of the Million Dollar Body Game!”

I wrote about the Million Dollar Body Game a couple weeks ago. To review (from my previous entry):

In order to play the Million Dollar Body Game you log in to MillionDollarBody.com, go to WOWY (Work Out With You… more on this later), click on “Start Your Workout Now”, select your exercise routine, and click “Continue.” At this point, you can post a message for your fellow WOWY gym rats to see (like I said, more on this later), or just click “Enter WOWY Now!” and start working out.

At this point, you have entered the Million Dollar Body Game and are eligible to win the daily prize. It looks like about 1000 people enter every day. Six days a week, the winner gets $300 or a physical prize like an iPod. Once a week, on the WOWY Mystery Day, the winner gets $1,000!

You can enter once per day and winners are chosen at random and notified by email when they are selected. Theoretically, you could win the daily prize every day. Highly unlikely…but possible. No purchase is required. You just have to have registered with WOWY and uploaded your picture to your profile.

So, when I opened up the aforementioned email this evening, I was expecting to see the winners of the aforementioned contest… Instead I saw the profiles of two people who had won $10,000 and five others who had won $1000 all under the title: “Check out the June Winners of the Million Dollar Body Game.” The winners were broken down by gender and age.

I was a little confused for a moment, before I remembered that I had seen something about a monthly “success story contest” as well. Now, I hadn’t paid any attention to this before. However, this email revealed something interesting to me…

As I said previously, there were two $10,000 winners pictured and five $1000 winners, but there should have been six. The sixth winner was missing because there were “no entries for Men age 20-29”… that’s me! This means that Million Dollar Body wanted to give away a grand to a male age 20-29 who had achieved success with the Million Dollar Body Products, and no one had shown up to claim it.

Sounds like an easy grand to me! I’m doing P90X anyway. I’m two weeks in and loving it. And, obviously, I’m doing this because I want results… without really being conscious of it, I already wanted to be a success story! Now, I’ve got at least a grand waiting for me as a little extra motivation… very cool.

Upon further research, I found out that the way it works it thus:

To enter the Million Dollar Body Success Story Contest, you need to be a member of the Million Dollar Body Club. I have known about the Club since I first registered with MDB, but I hadn’t really looked into it. I’ll look into the Club in more detain later, but it costs $3 a week and comes with lots of benefits.

Once you are a Club member, you just upload your “before” and “after” pictures to your Success Story page (which you get when you first register with MDB for free), add your stats (weight, body fat, etc.), and write a relatively brief transformation story. It takes MDB a day or two to approve your pictures, but once they have, you are ready to enter. You just log in to MDB and click “Enter the Success Story Contest.” You’ll be sent to your “profile page”, where you click “Submit my Success Story for the transformation contest!” That’s it!

There are eight winners every month, four men and four women. They are selected from four different age groups: 18-29, 30-39, 40-49, and 50+. The best male and female entries each month win $10,000 and the six other contestants win $1,000. Plus, all the monthly winners can compete in the annual contest, where six $50,000 prizes are awarded and the best male and female entries win the $250,000 Grand Prize!

I’m sure I will write more about this in the future and get into more detail… but this is great! I now understand why they call it “Million Dollar Body!”

I chuckle to myself now when I read that last sentence because, although I thought I knew why “they call it ‘Million Dollar Body’”, I only knew half of it. At the time, I was still unaware of the full benefits of the Million Dollar Body Coaching Program.

By the way, I’ll be finishing Phase II of P90X tomorrow and taking my pics and measurements, and I’d say my “Million Dollar Body Success Story” is coming along quite well!…

This was exciting…

July 16, 2007

Live Chat with Tony Horton

I just got out of a live chat with Tony Horton, and it was awesome!

When you register with Million Dollar Body, you receive a free newsletter in your inbox that, among other things, provides tips on getting in shape and information about their various products. While I was checking out the most recent newsletter, I noticed that Tony Horton had a “live chat” scheduled for this evening at 8 o’clock eastern time. I did not know exactly what this meant, but I thought I would check it out.

So, I logged into the Million Dollar Body chat room shortly after 8 and was met with a flurry of text messages streaming before me. Tony wasn’t even their yet. Nevertheless, everybody was already having a great time texting back and forth, joking around, and talking about fitness. I noticed right away that many of these people knew each other.

Quite a few of them were talking about “camp” and how awesome it was. Later, after Tony had made his entrance, I realized that he had recently conducted a fitness camp which many of these folks had attended and obviously loved. I can only assume that many of them knew each other before this most recent camp as well.

When Tony logged in just a few minutes after 8, it got even cooler. At first he was just chatting with everybody, saying hello, and goofing around. I was impressed that he knew many of them by their real names (as opposed to their screen names). It had the tenor of a “groupie fest”, and I don’t say that derogatorily… I’m quickly becoming a Tony Horton groupie myself.

After a little while, Tony asked how many of the folks on the chat were here for the first time. After witnessing the flurry of activity for the past 10 minutes and not adding to the discussion at all, I typed in, “my first time” (it felt good to add something, even if it was just “my first time”). Then Tony announced that he was about to start “pontificating”, which drew a flurry of hoots and jeers. I didn’t know what was about to happen, but those that did were awfully excited about it.

Tony then launched into a speech that was truly inspirational. There is no way I’m going to be able to do it justice here. However, I can give the highlights.

He began by saying that he and his products (Power 90, P90X, etc.) are not just about transforming your body… if that was all they were about, he wouldn’t be here. Rather, he makes these videos and comes to these chats and does these camps because he is in the business of transforming your whole person. He wants to influence you in such a way that you transform your lifestyle, which transforms not only your body, but your mind and soul as well.

It was really a powerful speech. He got really scientific for spells too, which I really like. He was talking about certain parts of your brain and the chemicals they release and how they make you feel good and at peace. Yeah, it was really a powerful speech. He went on for about 45 minutes and I really did feel inspired at the end.

One of the things that made it so inspirational was that, as Tony was talking, other folks in the chat room were typing in how he was right… how it had worked for them… how he had helped them do just what he was talking about.

It was really something else. The next chat is scheduled for the 30th and, even thought this one just ended, I can’t wait.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to make another one of Tony’s chats yet, but I will the next chance I get.

A week after I noticed that sore spot under my right shoulder blade, it had fully recovered. I was careful not to re-injure it during my second round with P90X Kenpo X.

July 16, 2007

Day 13: Kenpo X

I really had a good time with the Kenpo X workout again today.

While I have written in some detail about my concern for my shoulders when doing pull-ups, as I touched on in my letter to Coach Mcd, I believe the overly sore area beneath my right shoulder blade last week came from a little too much punching enthusiasm. After all, that sore spot did surface the morning after my first round of Kenpo X. Therefore, I was careful not to punch too hard this time.

Tony Horton’s tip of the day for Kenpo X is, “Don’t bang… Don’t bang the joints!” Good advice no doubt. However, perhaps he should add, “Don’t overextend… Don’t overextend your arms!”

I think this is precisely what I did. I was getting all into the punching… “Jab, Cross… Jab, Cross… Jab, Cross, Hook… Jab, Cross, Hook… Jab, Cross, Hook, Uppercut… Jab, Cross, Hook, Uppercut…” And, while I was not banging my joints, I do think I was overextending my arms, particularly on the cross punches.

With regard to that sore spot beneath my right shoulder blade, I think I just stretched it a little further than it wanted to go due to the ferocious force of my right fist!…

Watch out Mike Tyson cause I’m gonna knock you out!!!

Anyway, that sore spot beneath my right shoulder blade feels better now and I was careful not to re-injure it today.

When you are in the early stages of a workout routine, especially when you have not worked out in a while, it is important to monitor your body for budding problems and alter your workout accordingly. This is particularly true when beginning a routine as extreme as P90X. As stated in the P90X Fitness Guide, your goal during the first phase (first four weeks) of P90X is to “finish the workouts in one piece”.

My neck was still feeling a little stiff and my shoulders a little weak on Day 12, so I altered my workout accordingly.

July 15, 2007

Day 12: Legs & Back

Even though I skipped the yoga moves that seemed particularly hard on your neck yesterday, my neck was still a little stiff when I woke up this morning, so I decided not to do Ab Ripper X again today. However, I imagine that I’ll do it again, as scheduled, in a few days.

The rest of my body felt great. Once again, it stuck me that the Yoga X workout is well timed.

Once again, it struck me that the Legs & Back routine is well balanced. I pushed a little harder than last time and once again felt just maxed out at the end.

I felt much better about my performance with the pull-ups today than I have in either of the Chest & Back days or the Legs & Back day that I have done so far. I’m getting the hang of using the chair and getting a nice burn at the end of each set.

Rather than switching the position of my hands every two reps, as Tony suggests, during the Switch Grip Pull-Ups, I switched them every six reps (so only once) during the second set today. I felt like that was a good compromise between protecting my loose shoulders and getting some benefit from the switch. As my reps per set increase, I think I may stick to switching every six reps.

Here’s my Legs & Back stats:

• Reverse Grip Chin-Ups: 5, 6; 12, 16
• Wide Front Pull-Ups: 5, 5; 12, 12
• Closed Grip Overhand Pull-Ups: 5, 5; 12, 12
• Switch Grip Pull-Ups: 6, 6; 12, 12

I did the P90X Yoga X workout a little bit differently the second time through and I was glad that I did.

July 14, 2007

Day 11: Yoga X

When I did Yoga X last week, I attempted, more or less, all the moves and did my best to keep up with Tony & Co., even when I knew I was doing them improperly. I decided to do it a little differently this week.

Since I had the experience of trying everything last week, I decided to go a little more slowly this week and spend more time watching the video.

One of my problems with yoga, although I do have some experience with it, is that I am not so accustomed to it that it seems to come naturally. I have done thousands of push-ups in my 27 years (although not many in the last 9) and I can hit the deck and pump them out with perfect form until I get tired. This is not the case with yoga. However, this is certainly not due purely to my lack of experience.

I’d have to say that yoga is inherently more complex than strength training. Form is of supreme importance in both, to be sure… as is breath. However, it strikes me that, with strength training, once you have the form down, you, more or less, have it down. When you want to make it more difficult you add more weight. But with yoga, when you have it down, in addition to holding poses for longer and stretching farther, you add more complexity.

It is telling that the Hindu tradition dictates that one should learn yoga only under the direction of an instructor. Now, there are many reasons for this, many of which don’t apply to the way yoga tends to be done in the U.S., and I’ll write about these more in the future, but I find it noteworthy that my high school football coach (who was also my middle school baseball coach) never told me, “Only do bicep curls under the direction of an instructor.” Rather, when I first approached him about lifting weights, he wanted me to go out and buy some free weights for myself and get to work pumping iron.

Anyway, I did spend less time doing the yoga and more time watching Tony & Co. today. Anytime I was not sure exactly where my feet were supposed to be, how flat my back was supposed to be, the position of my arms, etc., I stopped and checked out the video. I even stopped entirely for about 15 minutes in the middle when the moves get especially difficult and just watched. I learned a lot, and think I’ll do much better next week.

Once again, even though I spent less time in a state of discomfort this time than last time, I cried during the ohms at the end of the routine. Once again, I was physically and emotionally exhausted. Once again, I have been emotional all day, alternating between feelings of anger and sadness for the most part. However, as I wrote last week, this is to be expected… and won’t last forever as long as I keep doing Yoga X.

In this journal entry, I touch on the related concepts of “muscle confusion” and the “plateau effect”.

July 13, 2007

Day 10: Shoulders & Arms

My neck did feel a little better when I woke up this morning, but it was still stiff, so I skipped Ab Ripper X today.

The Shoulders & Arms workout went better this week, mostly because I had a better idea of which B-lines Bands to use for which exercise and how to use them.

There is definitely a learning curve with P90X. Not only do you need to learn mentally about the program, the various routines, the equipment involved, the supplements to take, etc., but you also need to learn physically. You body needs to learn how to move and what its limits are. There are so many moves in P90X that it requires some coordination and muscle memory to get them all down.

In fact, the whole point behind P90X and the concept of “muscle confusion” that P90X promotes is to keep your body off balance. In so doing, it maximizes the learning curve, and thus maximizes your results by constantly challenging your body and avoiding “the plateau effect”. “The plateau effect” is where the effectiveness of your workout routine diminishes because your body becomes accustomed to the routine. The end result of avoiding “the plateau effect” with “muscle confusion” is that your results are better and faster.

Here’s my Shoulders & Arms stats:

• Alternating Shoulder Presses: 10, 10 orange; 10, 10 green
• In & Out Bicep Curls: 16, 16 orange; 16, 16 green
• Two-Arm Tricep Kickbacks: 10, 10 magenta; 10, 10 orange
• Deep Swimmer’s Presses: 10 orange, 6 green; 10, 8 green
• Full Supination Concentration Curls: 11, 12 green; 12, 10 green
• Chair Dips: 25, 25 bent legs; 30, 25 bent legs
• Upright Rows: 15, 15 magenta; 15, 15 orange
• Static Arm Curls: 16 orange, 16 green; 16, 16 green
• Flip-Grip Twist Tricep Kickbacks: 10, 8 magenta; 10, 15 magenta
• Two-Angle Shoulder Flys: 10, 10 orange; 16, 16 magenta
• Crouching Cohen Curls: 10, 16 magenta; 20, 15 orange
• Lying-Down Tricep Extensions: 12, 16 magenta; 12, 10 orange
• In & Out Straight-Arm Shoulder Flys: 16, 12 magenta; 16, 16 magenta
• Congdon Curls: 10, 10 green; 12, 15 green
• Side Tri-Rises: 10/10, 8/8; 15/15, 20/20

There is much more to say about “muscle confusion”, “the plateau effect”, and P90X, so I’m sure I’ll write more about them in the future.