WARNING: Semi-naked man photos below

(....nothing you wouldn't see at a public swimming pool)

(......well, not one of those 'shady' kinda suburban pools on TV)

(.........okay, it's going to be pictures of me without my shirt on. Got it? If this is going to cause you to have nightmares and regrets, then click away from this site. NOW! Otherwise...this man below is about to remove his shirt for your enjoyment.)















(....when I say 'enjoyment', that's just me being funny. There's nothing sick or twisted on this website. It's a 'blog' about my exercise routine. Got it? Can we continue now??)

Great! Now here come the half-naked pics!

P90X - Day 265

Yes, it's hard to believe, but I have been P90X-ing for 265 days now. I started my 90 day journey on April 4th. A lot has changed since then. It's been a difficult journey. I mean, seriously: I do not like exercising! That's my wife's department.

I began this journey because I had reached the 190lb plateau, and found myself unable to drop back down into the 180's again. I realized I needed to do something serious to make a difference. I had heard great things about the P90X routines, and so I began my 6-day-a-week 90 day journey. You can see my results in the earlier recorded blogs (check out July's).

Looking back, 90 days made a GREAT change. I reduced my belly-fat content from 1" to 7/16". I was hanging around 182-184lbs on a consistent basis. I noticed a great deal of leaning up and toning of my muscles, specifically my shoulders and arms and back. PLUS -- as you can see by the photos from summer, I felt good about how my body looked, especially with some sun coloring ;-)

And then the 90-day journey was over. But I didn't want to give up all of my hard work and let my body revert back to the old self. But I knew I couldn't continue with the grueling 6-day workout routine. So I modified my workouts, taking from my favorite routines (and leaving out my least favorites!) I modified my weeklyroutine to 4 days a week on a 5 week rotation. Weeks 1 and 3 I worked on strength and cardio; weeks 2 and 4 I worked on applications, i.e. pushups and pullups. Then week 5 I just did cario, plyo, and yoga. During the first 4 weeks of rotation, I did AB-CRUNCHER-X twice a week. But skipped this routine during week 5. Along the journey, I missed a few workouts. I even missed a few weeks. But I felt ok, as long as I stayed faithful to the regimine (sp?).

It's been good. I've been able to keep my muscle tone. And I can still slam out 122 pullups on my application days. I'm not putting on much bulk (that was NEVER my goal), and my muscles still feel/appear to be toned. I lost my summer coloring...bummer. But it will be back next summer, I'm sure. My belly fat is resting at 9/16". But let's be real, here. I still enjoy: beer, whiskey, fried food, and sweets. So I haven't given up the things I like, and I'm able to gorge myself on Thanksgiving Day, knowing that it will not be stored long-term down below.

I still hate working out. But now that I'm self-employed, I budget my workouts for 8-9:30. So after showering, I can make it to work by 10am. In the words of Adam Sandler, "Not too shabby!"

About 2 months ago, I started noticing a lower back pain. Still haven't figured out what it is. I'm blaming my new chair situation at work. I'm going to resolve it this January, so hopefully this will ease, or eliminate my pain. Until then, my yoga and stretching is a bit limited. I still do it, because it helps work thru the pain. But it hurts...

I'd like to believe that I can keep this P90X thing going. I feel healthier, and I think I look better. I just hate the workout. I'd rather be surfing, or playing dominoes with the kids, or chilling on the couch with my bride. But they all would rather have me upstairs working out so that I can enjoy the rest of my life with them being as active as I have always been.

Speaking of being active, today is our last day in Denver for the year. Tomorrow we head up to Breckenridge for a week-long skiing and snowboarding fest. It is our semi-annual Christmas in Breck trip. I plan on coming back completely exhausted and in no shape to resume my P90X routine nor take on my 2012 work load. But hopefully by Monday, January 2nd, I will be back on the wagon and ready to resume a life of "normality".

Hah! As if the life of Aaron Zimmer has EVER been normal. :-)


















May you and your family have a blessed and wonderful CHRISTmas!

Greetings -

When I began this journey, I thought to myself, "What could I accomplish if I ran the P90X program for 90 days?" I've never really been much of a fitness junkie. Sure, I'm in shape from skiing, and ice-skating, and biking, and hiking, and swimming, and all that. But ever since my hockey-ending injury 2 years ago, I've been noticing my overall fitness and physique has been in decline. Actually, I guess that's not totally true. My PHYSIQUE has been increasing, just in areas that I'd rather not see it grow.

I began P90X on April 4th, 2011. At that time I was gainfully employed, busy as ever with kids activities, and scouts, and church, and blah, blah, blah. Fastforward 90 days, and I find myself no longer employed, enjoying the summer activities with the kiddos, and having a great time in the sun (hence the darker colored skin tone in these images).

It has been a tough journey, that's for sure. I have missed a few days, and even postponed my workouts for an entire week. I did not do the meal/diet plan. Rather, I chose to cut back on my calories while still enjoying the food (i.e., beer) and other things that I live for. On Sunday morning, we'll still bike into Lowry for a bagel. Yum, yum! This weekend was a tough one, with some great food options to enjoy. BUT - I eat in moderation, and have worked very, very hard to reduce my stomach size, and consequently my appetite. When I snack, I try to eat healthy. But if I'm eating crap food, I try to limit the amount of bad stuff that I eat.

Also, I gave up pop cold-turkey. 90 days is twice as long as any Lent experiment that I've ever done. It was tough (I'm a huge Diet Dr. Pepper fan), but in then end, I think it's all been worth it. I've turned to lots of ice water, iced tea, and coffee. The only thing that suffers from this is the brightness of my teeth. :-)

So here are the stats: when I began, I weighed 191lbs. Now, I'm hoveeing just below 190, usually around 188lbs. I can get down to 186lbs, but it's not a healthy weight. When I started, I was squeezing into my size 34 waist pants and shorts. Now, I have to wear a belt with all of my pants and shorts. 90 days ago, I had 1" inch exactly of belly fat. Now, I have 1/2". That's a 50% reduction (I like this number!) There's a bunch of other unmeasurable changes. I feel more solid. It's obvious that I have greater muscle mass. My shoulders look amazing -- unfortunately the pictures don't really pic up the smaller muscle tone improvements.

Working out is still tough. However, I've discovered the P90x+ routines, which are only 40 minutes a piece. I think I'll start doing these a bit more. My plan is to work out at least 4 days a week, instead of 6. I'll still do the strength stuff, mixed in with some of the cardio workouts.

it's been a fun experiment, one that I will reap the benefits from for the rest of summer. Now it's back to reality, and keeping the workouts going will be a challenge. Still, I find myself committed to this program.

Thanks for checking in from time to time. It's been fun having an audience!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. When I started, I could only do 30 pullups (5 sets of 6 each. There are 8 total sets to do, and I could only complete 5). But now I'm up to 15 pullups each set. So that's 120 pullups. Woo-hoo!!

Greetings!

30-days, and I can already see and feel the difference. I'm excited about the program, the routines, and the results. Funny story. I'm moving into a different phase of the P90X, i.e. different routines, different muscles, different exercises. I lamented previously about the pushups. Yuk! But I was actually disappointed to be abandoning the pullups for 4-weeks. Good news. I was wrong. Tonight is the pullup session, so I'm excited to build off of my previous achievements. Hopefully I can do my 80 pullups tonight. Maybe even crank out a few extra ;-)

First things first. Last night my son took 1st place in the Speed category for the Pinewood Derby race. While I did have some influence with the design and wheel modifications, I can tell you he did a good majority of the work. Out of the top 4 cars, he took the top prize: fastest car of the night. Congrats to my little man!

Kaleb - First Place for Speed (and overall fastest car of the night cup)















Kaleb came in 4th place for design. No trophy for that!















And then there's Jade. She had the fastest car several years ago (1st grade, I think). And while she had the 5th fastest car in her division last night (3rd thru 6th grade, boys and girls), she managed to scoop up the first place trophy for design. The coolest part of this story is that she owns this award. She came up with the design and spent several nights in the garage working on her car -- on her own. Good job, Jade! I feel like I've taught you to fish...now you can go out and teach others.

Jade 2011 - First Place Design















Jade 2007 - First Place Speed















Jade 2006 - Second Place Design
















And now for the P90X - Day 30 Update Pics
The last pic is my favorite. Enjoy!

Wow. Week five. I find this strangely odd that I've been able to endure the program for 4 solid weeks, without missing a single routine. Even when we were gone for a min-vacaction, I managed to bring along the laptop and squeeze in workout. The cool thing is that I'm seeing results. I've already bragged about the 1/4" of missing belly-fat, and you've heard me lament about the up-and-down weight loss. And yes, my pants are fitting much better. Yeah! What I haven't talked about yet is the comfort in sitting. Instead of having this spare tire sticking out around my mid-section when I'm sitting at the computer (9+ hours per day), I notice there is a nice little crease in my mid-section. The belly is getting tighter! My obliques are rock hard. That's awesome! But overall, I do believe that my physique is sharper. I'll post my 30-day pics online tonight. You all can be the judge.

I've hit a bit of a stumbling block. I've got this uncomfortable knot in my chest, like the early formings of a chest cold. I'm fighting it, tooth and nail. Still, it's setting me back a bit with the cardio. Oh well, keep on keepin' on! Also, I've been working out barefoot on the carpet. And last night I ripped off a pretty big chunk of skin off of my big toe. OUCH! I think I'd better start wearing some tennies for the cardio stuff.

I don't really have too much more to add. Just ramblin' on. So I thought I'd post my worksheets online. You can browse them if you want. You can see the progress and improvement I'm making from week to week.

I'm a bit bummed, because I won't be doing pullups for the next 4 weeks. It's pushups instead (yuk!) Oh well.

One more thing. Keep in mind that I've been doing the lean program, with max. weights at 10lbs. I said this numerous time: I do not want to bulk up. Just want to tone up the muscles for a better beach body!








Have a great week!
a.Z.

Day 24 - Kenpo

Have I told you how much I really like the Kenpo? It's a fun blend between kickboxing, boxing, and karate class. You really get a great workout, it's only an hour long, and lot's of cardio and toning exercises.

I'm really digging the P90X experience. As I was working out, I kept admiring the tone and definition in my shoulders. I think right now that's where it's the most noticeable. Oh, I'm also getting this really cool dimple on the side of my stomach. Either side of the fat deposit up front. I think the muscle group is called the "external obliques".


Anyways, I'm starting to see the muscles get more exposed, so that tells me that the fat deposits that were previously hiding my obliques has been severely minimized! BTW - next time you see me, feel free to take a shot at my obliques. They're rock hard, almost steel-like. Only a few friends have actually taken the opportunity to strike me with a full-force punch. I feel like some silly frat boy walking around going, "Hey, wanna hit me as hard as you can? Go for it. Do it!" But on the otherside, it's fun to finally have the strength back in my core to warrant the party trick.

I was talking with some friends last night. It's amazing how different people get different things out of this P90X. They were lamenting about how much they HATE the yoga. I actually like it. Well, as much as you can enjoy a one-and-a-half hour long torture session. But like everything else, I feel like the yoga is giving me more strength, more stamina, and great results with my body. I guess the bottom line is this: P90X can give you whatever you are looking for. I entered the program not knowing where it would take me. I was optimistic about the journey, and thus far am happy with the results.

Except for one thing: my weight. I entered the program because I was stuck around 190lbs. I thought that doing the P90X would get me down to fluctuating between 180-185lbs. But sadly, my weight has fluctuated between 186-192lbs. Uggggg. But there are a few saving graces. My pants are fitting better, so this tells me that I'm losing weight. I look better in the mirror (I find myself flexing quite often at night, when I'm alone :-) I've improved from being able to do 12 pullups to 80. EIGHTY PULLUPS!!! And I've removed a measurable 1/4" of stomach fat. So I know that my higher weight is most likely a result of new muscles. And I can FEEL the strength on my body, in my core. So I know that the higher weight is okay, since I'm actually doing better things for my body now.

That's all. Ciao!

p.s. Speaking of "Ciao", we watched a terrible movie last night. "The American" with George Clooney. Boy was that movie S-L-O-W! I watched 1/3 of the movie in fast forward, to get past the terrible cinematography. People told me that the movie was worth it for the ending. Nope. Sorry. It reminded me of the movie, "The Departed", where everyone dies at the end, which left me wondering, "Why did I waste my time watching this movie?" Yep. That's how I felt last night.

George Clooney - I want 1.5hrs. of my life back, please!

Day 22 - Yoga

W.O.W. It's hard to believe that I started down this journey just 4 weeks ago. Phew!

Since then, I have experienced lots of sweat, sore muscles, weight loss and weight gain, new achievements, reduced fat content, revised diet, and NO SODA POP!

We spent Easter at some good friend's house. They grilled steak and potatoes (isn't that the traditional easter meal?) The steak was awesome! Some good cuts, nice and thick, and perfectly cooked. But I found that I could only eat about 8oz. This made me smile. I was faced with some good, high-quality food, and I couldn't gorge myself. I have been working hard to reduce my stomach size (intake), and I think I'm seeing the results.

I'm still stuck between 185lbs (low end) and 190lbs (high end), but I know that I'm putting on some great muscle. I can see it in the mirror, and I can feel it on my body.

So as I begin my 4th week on the system, I'm in the interim week. So no weight lifting or pullups, it's all about cardio and yoga and stretching and kenpo. I'm a bit disappointed, but I know that they have tailored this program for a reason.

The good news is that yesterday's yoga session went very, very well. Did I tell you that Kathy did yoga with me during the 2nd week, and has refused to join me in it since? That made me feel great, because she's a tough-as-nails aerobic instructor....and I can out-yoga her. So as I plow my way thru the 4th week of yoga, I'm feeling stronger than ever before. I can hold my poses for most of the 1.5hrs. In fact, there was only two poses yesterday that I had to "pause" on. It makes me feel accomplished.

Tonight is cardio (and I'm going to sneak in the AB ripper routine...shhhh, don't tell Tony!) Overall, I'm looking forward to the week and am encouraged by my results thus far.

I think I'll snap my 30-day shots at the end of this week and get them posted. Ciao!

Day 18 - Arms and Legs

W.O.W.

I had two major accomplishments today.

First, I was able to do all 350 situp reps today during the AB routine. Yeah! For those keeping score, that's twice now for me. Unfortunately, that also means that I have set a new pace, and must now challenge myself to always make it thru the grueling 350 reps. I guess the pro's outweigh the con's.

Secondly, and I think this is a HUGE one: I did 80 pullups tonight. Folks, I'm NOT lying here. I did 80 freakin' pullups tonight.

Let me explain. The arms and legs routine has 8 sets of pullups in various conditions. The first week I did 6 pullups per routine, but was only able to make it thru 5 out of the 8 routines (the pullups are interlaced between various leg and cardio routines. So it goes leg reps, then cardio reps, the pullups. Then repeat. 8 times total). Last week I was able to get thru 7 out of the 8 sets, with 2 of the sets I used a small stool to assist me with the pullups.

So I checked my tracker sheet, and last week I did 8 pullups for my first set. When I jumped up there today, I was pretty impressed with how easily 10 reps came for me on the first set. Then the next set, 10 more. And the 3rd set, 10 more. I started thinking...you know, I might be able to do 10 reps for each set.

As I hit the 7th set, I started to wane. But I pushed (or pulled) through it. And finally, for the 8th set, I knew I had to finish strong. When I completed the 10th pullup (aka 80th), I was SOOOOOO stoked! It was such a HUGE milestone for me.

It really shows how mixing up the muscle workouts, aka muscle confusion, can strengthen each muscle group overall. I only do pullups once a week -- but to see that kind of improvement, it is a testimony to the other workouts and routines (like the pushups during yoga) and how my muscles are growing stronger week to week.

I'm kinda bummed. The weight pumping routines (Tuesday and Thursday) will be skipped next week. Oh well, at least I'll have fun with Yoga and Kenpo.

I'm still stuck between 186-189lbs. But my shorts are fitting much, much looser. In fact, I need to start wearing a belt more often. That's a GREAT sign!

Tomorrow is Friday. Woo-hoo! My day off, and my day to spend with Kim. Great things planned! Have fun at work (if you're into that kind of thing!)