Usually, when I get to wall squats, I’m ready to end the workout.  Not yesterday.  Wall squats have never felt better.  I’m finally to that ~3 week period where all of the moves in my workouts just feel good.  It’s not even really a workout any more.  It’s more like a gift I’m giving my body – the gift of being and staying in good physical shape.

Working out often has negative connotations attached to it, but if you really want to succeed, you can’t look at it as ‘working out.’  It has to be a lifestyle change.  Nobody can change your life but you.

For those of you looking for that magic moment in your workout regimen, it’s right at about 3 weeks in.

That’s right, folks. My Southwest Rapid Rewards Companion Pass has arrived! Who wants to know how many miles I had to fly on a Southwest plane to get the pass? Anyone? I’ll give you a small hint… zero.

I got the Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Visa and Personal Visa cards, and then spent over $10,000 on the Personal Visa. All of the resulting points (50,000 + 50,000 + 10,000) netted me with over 110,000 Rapid Rewards points, which awarded me a Companion Pass for the rest of 2012 and all of 2013.

The even slicker part of this deal is that I transferred 66,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to my Southwest account when I closed my Sapphire Preferred card (to get the SWRR cards), so my current total of Rapid Rewards points is 181,686. At the current award rates, that’s about 17 free trips for me and Jessica.

If you’ll excuse me, it’s time to go flying!

• Shoulders & Arms
• Ab Ripper X

Notes

Man-O-Manischewitz, what a great workout!  My pythons and my shoulders are feeling great after doing this workout.  Ab Ripper X went equally as well, and my abs are feeling stronger than they’ve ever been.  I’m loving P90X, and I love the way it makes me feel.  I also started juicing again today, and it has already started to clean me out.  My oh my.

Photos

Workout Sheet

Video Update

Vimeo.  YouTube.  Vevo.  Hulu.  The list goes on.

All of these sites are powered by Flash, although some of them are coming around and supporting the HTML5 video standard.  Flash also powers quite a few of the annoying banner ads you see on sites every day.

You know what else is pretty common about Flash?  Each time you visit a site with a Flash video playing, you’ll notice your computer’s fans speeding up, as the computer skyrockets to temperature levels close to those of the surface of the sun.

I kicked Flash to the curb

For a while now (a few months?), I’ve been debating whether or not it would be a smart idea to get rid of Flash completely from my MacBook Pro.  I develop websites professionally, so it might seem daft to do such a thing.  What would I have to gain from it?

Geek factor.  Yup, the main reason I disabled Flash on my MacBook Pro is for the geek factor.  Did you know that you can get up to an hour of extra battery life when you don’t allow your browser to load Flash content?  What a resource hog, right?

It turns out that HTML5 video uses up to 20% less CPU resources than Flash does.  You know what that means?  I might actually get the advertised 7 hours of battery life on my MacBook Pro!  But there has to be a tradeoff, right?  There must be something that makes this decision not worth it.

Productivity

Since I disabled Flash, each time I go to a video site to watch a video (be it news, comedy, or movie trailer), if it doesn’t work, I simply leave the site.  Have you ever gotten stuck in the YouTube Zone?  It’s where you go to YouTube to watch just one video, but it turns into a Weird Video Marathon, lasting three hours.  That doesn’t happen any more, since I turned off Flash.

Sure, YouTube does have HTML5 support for some videos, but it doesn’t work on all of them.  That’s better for me, because I save the initial 5 minutes of video watching AND the extra 2 hours of unplanned video watching.

Cheating, when necessary

So what about the times when I absolutely need Flash?  A week ago, I had to check in for a car service appointment, and the dealership’s check in service was written completely in Flash on their website.  Sure, I probably could have called, but I preferred to do it online.

As it turns out, Google has baked Flash directly into Chrome.  Since getting rid of my Android phone, I’m a huge fan of avoiding Google products as much as I can, but sometimes it’s just necessary.  When I absolutely need Flash, I’ll fire up Chrome, get done what needs to be done, and close Chrome as quickly as possible.

You might call this cheating, but I call it a necessary evil.

Closing thoughts

So that’s all I’ve got for you.  Flash is going away, folks.  It doesn’t ship on the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.  It also doesn’t ship on any Apple computers.  HTML5 will get better and better, and there will soon be no need for Flash.  I’m getting rid of it now, because it not only increases my productivity, but my laptop’s battery life as well!

• Plyometrics X

Notes

Plyo X is always the ‘mother’ of all the P90X workouts.  Today was no exception, as the workout felt unquestionably vigorous.  I powered through it and finished up strong, energized and ready for the day.  I had bacon and rice and a fruit (and kale) smoothie for breakfast, and then a lovely juice colored with the redness of beets as a breakfast chaser (although an hour or two after).

Photos

Video Update

• Chest & Back
• Ab Ripper X

Notes

Today’s workout was quite nice.  I worked out to a combination of some Evanescence and The Bourne Identity soundtrack.  It was much more productive than working out to the video.  Choosing to omit the video from the workout, I got through the Chest & Back quicker and did the Ab Ripper workout more completely – doing each move for a full 25 reps.

My nutrition includes 2 glasses of freshly squeezed juice per day, as many whole foods as I can consume and as few processed foods as possible.  I’ve been specifically trying to avoid corn chips and corn tortillas.  I am having a good bit of rice, but that’s the largest sugar source of my entire diet.

Workout Sheet

Photos

Video Update

That’s right, folks.  Keane is back.  After the atrocity that was Night Train, Keane is coming out with a new album on May 8, 2012, called Strangeland.

I have just listened to the 90-second iTunes samples of every song on the new album, and quite frankly, I’m blown away.  I’m not blown away by musical quality or lyrical brilliance – I’m more amazed by the apparent decision the band has made with this album.

The sound of this new album is so classically Keane, it makes me want to go give Tim and the gang a big hug.  Hopes and Fears is my Desert Island Album.  I believe that in many ways, Hopes and Fears is edging dangerously close to the border of sonic perfection.  Each song complements the others, and as a whole, the album can be listened to completely from start to finish without skipping a single track.

The crazy thing is that Strangeland sounds as good as Hopes and Fears.  The style is extremely reminiscent of Keane’s debut album, and with 8 years for Tim’s voice to develop further (although he likely still needs auto-tune as much as he did on Hopes and Fears) the album is even stronger.

I know it’s premature to give an album a colorful review before it even comes out, but I keep replaying the 90-second samples, even as I write this.  This album will be monumental to long-time Keane fans.  Even though it seems as if Keane lost their way with their two most recent releases, rest easy in the fact that they are indeed back.

• Legs & Back
• Ab Ripper X

Notes

As this first week comes to a close, I did my last resistance training workout for the week.  Legs & Back has often been the toughest for me, but it was attainable today.  I got through it doing each of the exercises, and I feel absolutely great right now.

Workout Sheet

Photos

Video Update

• Shoulders & Arms
• Ab Ripper X

Notes

Ah, I’m really feeling sore now!  Day 3 is a great day in the P90X routine.  My whole body has gotten a nice workout, and I can feel the fitness tingling in every area of my body.  This Shoulders & Arms routine was a bit tougher than it usually is.  It’s usually one of the easiest.  Nonetheless, I got through it AND the Ab Ripper X routine, and I feel great.

Photos

Video Update

• Plyometrics X

Notes

I got all the way through Plyo!  It’s been a while since I’ve done it last (about a month or so), but I got through it without a hitch.  I’m feeling incredibly energetic and strong, and I know it’s due to the physical fitness and nutritional measures I’m currently taking.

I had three large glasses of juice yesterday (freshly squeezed veggies & apple) and one bowl of lentil soup.  Today started off with a large serving of freshly squeezed juice, and I’ll likely only consume juice today.

This P90X Lifestyle is freaking awesome – I feel so good!

Photos

Video