Early last Wednesday my girlfriend and I left for New York City (first time for both of us), and we returned late Sunday evening. We both had a blast! Below is a summary of what we were able to accomplish in the time we were there, along with my comments.
Wednesday
1. We departed at 5:10am Wednesday morning.
2. We arrived at Carlo's Bakery (aka "Cake Boss") in Hoboken, NJ, at 12:13pm, a 7hr 3min drive. We stopped 1 time for gas. It was nearly impossible finding a parking spot in Hoboken's narrow alleyways, but we were able to find one next to a park by the river. We walked to Carlo's Bakery then got in line across the street. We waited for 1 hour 45 minutes until we got to the front of that waiting line, and received our ticket (when inside the store they call number-by-number to take your order, like the BMV). Then we were moved to the next line right outside the store, where we waited another 20 minutes. Then we were finally allowed into the store and waited another 25 minutes to have our number called. All in all we spent 2hr 30min in line and in the store at Carlo's Bakery. We got a few cookies and a small cake for the 2 of us (which melted into a puddle by the time we got to our hotel). It was a fun experience, and we're glad we did it; but if we went again, we would NOT do this again. We saw most the people from the Cake Boss show except the main character, Buddy (although he was there, and someone else in line saw him in the back alley loading a large cake into a vehicle). Again, cool attraction, but not worth the time. I just now ate my cookie that I bought last Wednesday, and it was still great! (saved 1 for co-worker and 1 for myself, and we ate them together). After Carlo's Bakery, we spent a little time on the Hoboken pier to get our first glance of the NYC skyline. WOW! It was absolutely breathtaking and beautiful.
3. At 3:55pm we left Hoboken for our hotel (Country Inn & Suites) in Long Island City. I got my first taste of driving in downtown New York City (crossed right through Times Square). I kept wanted to say "Driving in New York isn't that bad!" but I didn't because I did not want to jinx myself. We arrived at our hotel by 4:50pm (55min drive, was supposed to be 28min according to GPS). Our hotel was GREAT all week! The area was kind of shady, but just a 2-3 minute walk to the express Queensboro Plaza subway station (Yellow NQR, Purple 7) and a short 5-minute ride to Times Square. Very clean hotel, courteous employees, and everything we needed including free wi-fi, free continental breakfast, and FREE Parking! However, there were only 7 parking spots right in front of the hotel boxed in by parallel-parked taxis. We parked in an alley 1 minute from the hotel for the first day and nabbed one of the open spots on Thursday, and parked there right next to the front door the rest of the week. Worked out perfectly!
4. By 6:00 we were off to visit Times Square for the first time. While there we visited the M&M World, Hershey store, Disney store.
5. For dinner we wanted to get the best pizza in New York City. There were 3-4 we could have chosen from, but we decided to eat at Lombardi's Pizza in Little Italy. It was very good pizza, and we'd definitely go back! It ended up costing us about $32 including tip. After Lombardi's, we went back to the hotel.
Thursday
1. Thursday morning we slept in a little then started our day with the 10:00am reservation at the Federal Reserve Museum. It was not the vault access tour (booked a long time ago), so it was basically a view at the history of coins and money... definitely not worth it. Had some fun trying to get past security guards to the non-employee entrance since they weren't clearly marked, but we finally got inside. Haha!
2. After that, we went to Ground Zero which was totally fenced off for the construction of the new building going up. The new building is going to be amazing! It will be 110 floors (same amount as the original WTC buildings), and there will be a tall spiral at the top making the building 1776 feet tall (signifying our independence). It was about 1/2 constructed when we saw it. We also went into the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site (store) to look at pictures and scaled-down models of the new to-be site. After that we looked at the St. Paul's Chapel & Cemetery which were across the street.
3. Next on our list was the Trinity Church. This place was really cool! The cemetery outside was obviously from the movie National Treasure where Nicholas Cage gets shot at. Inside it was very pretty, but not as pretty as St Patrick's cathedral we saw on Friday.
4. For the next little bit, we hit the NYSE building, a New York City hot dog stand, and the Charging Bull. We could not get into the NYSE building, but we walked around it and saw the heavy security. Just behind it, next to the hot dog stand we ate at, was a statue of George Washington, marking the spot where he first took oath of office. Very cool! The Charging Bull was cool to see, too, but there were lots of young teenagers who didn't understand how to take turns or be polite in groups, so we didn't get many good pictures there.
5. Next after that cluster of attractions was the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Immigration Museum. We boarded the ferry at Battery Park. The first stop let us off at Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty. Tickets for Crown access were booked back in January, so we only walked around the statue. It was still pretty cool and bigger than I thought it was going to be. Then we boarded the ferry to Ellis Island to see the Immigration Museum which was also a neat place to see, given its history and relevance to our nation's heritage.
6. All of these were done by 3 or 4pm, so we had plenty of time that evening to do whatever we wanted. First we stopped by Times Square at the TKTS booth to see if we could get a cheap Broadway show, but the line was wayyyy too long, we opted out of a show. Our New York Pass granted free access to Madame Tussious, the wax museum of famous people, so we went in there. It got old after a while, but some of the exhibits were pretty cool and VERY life-like! We took lots of pictures. The girlfriend wanted the pics more than I did... I was very bored. Had we spent money on it, I would have been upset. Haha! After that, we headed back to the hotel for a break for our feet, which were killing us!
7. For dinner we went to a highly-recommended sports bar & grill, Mudville 9 Saloon. We got wings and a burger and watched the NFL Draft's 1st round (well, most of it). The food was absolutely wonderful! The service was very poor. We would definitely go back just for the food!
Friday
1. Our plan for Friday was to be on the Today Show! So, we got up at 4am and were at Rockefeller Center by 5am for the 7am start time. Around 5:15am, someone asked us "You're not here for the Today Show, are you?" We responded "Yes," and he said "There is no show today. There is only the viewing party on Times Square." We had seen the bleachers and projector screen on Times Square but had not heard a word about the actual Today Show being cancelled. So we went over to the Variety Cafe for breakfast - a few muffins/bagels and orange juice/coffee - and walked around the area for a while and saw a few places including St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was very, very nice!!
2. Originally scheduled for after our 9:30am NBC Studio Tour, we were able to pump Top of the Rock up to its opening time of 8am. We absolutely LOVED the view from the top of this building, even more so than the Empire State Building! There were 3 floors you could view from at your own pace - 77, 78, 79 - and all 3 were great. The view South to all the huge buildings was astounding, and to the North to see Central Park was also amazing. Great view!
3. After the Top of the Rock, we arrived downstairs well in time for our 9:30am NBC Studio Tour, which took us through many different floors and sets for shows such as Nightly News, Dr. Oz, and Saturday Night Live. This was a fun, informative, and interactive tour that I would recommend, although it didn't seem to last that long. While we were sitting in the staging area waiting for the tour to start, someone went around offering free stand-by tickets for the Jimmy Fallon show's taping later that evening around 5:30pm. We took two tickets and figured we'd go and see if we got in. I'll cover this in a little bit.
4. Then we hit the Museum of Sex. We thought it'd be more of a historical/anatomy-type museum, but once you got off the first floor, all the walls were filled with monitors displaying pornographic videos of different "types" of sex. Very weird and uncomfortable. It was kinda funny at the same time, though.
5. Next, we took the subway to Times Square and walked the mile to the Intrepid Sea Air & Space Museum, which my girlfriend was very excited about. We not only got to tour the ship and all its decks (flight deck with all the helicopters and airplanes was very neat), but we also got a tour of the inside of a submarine. It took longer than I thought it would, but it was fun and we were able to get back to our hotel in time for...
6. .. the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon! We arrived at the specified location at 3:45pm to let them mark down our stand-by ticket numbers, then at 4:15pm they announced that we were, in fact, going to be allowed into the show! On top of that, they pulled my girlfriend and me aside and asked if we would mind being on stage with Aretha Franklin while she sang. We obviously accepted the offer! So if you watched the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon on NBC Friday night, you can see my girlfriend and me up on the back-left stage grooving to the music a little bit. The balcony on the right had lots more face time than us, though. It was still a lot of fun and had some funny segments throughout the show!
7. After the show we went back to Times Square to see what it was like on a Friday night. WOW! It was nearly impossible to move and go anywhere on Times Square, across any intersection or sidewalk... completely packed! I'm glad when I drove through Times Square that it was not like this. Wow.
8. For dinner that night we stayed in our hotel and ordered from Jessi's Deli. Our feet and ankles were killing us, and we did not want to go back into town; so we just ordered in. I would not recommend this place. They said it'd take 45 minutes, and it ended up taking 1 1/2 hours! And the food was not even that good. We ended up finishing dinner around 10:30pm, so it was nice having those 1-2 hours to relax and rest our feet for the next day, which was Central Park and lots of walking!
Saturday
1. We were able to sleep in a bit on Saturday and got to Central Park right around 10:00am. We casually strolled through the park on the beautiful Saturday morning and got to see the finish of some kind of 1-mile/5k race, which had the Southeast corner of the park packed! We arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art by 11:00am and were there until 12:25pm. We then continued on our way through Central Park, up to the largest lake in the park, and headed back down. It was neat seeing all the elementary-age baseball teams playing in all the parks, kids playing basketball, others playing Ultimate Frisbee, hundreds of people running or riding bikes, and just everyone in general outside enjoying the sunshine. We then went Southwest to Strawberry Fields, and finished the park by 2:00pm.
2. At that time, we took the subway down to Washington Square Park and Greenwich Village. There we saw 3 men putting on an act in the middle of the park and got some good video of them doing stunts and such. It was funny and cool at the same time. After that, we went to Herald Square to visit the largest store in the world, Macy's! We weren't there long, but just wanted to step inside so we could say we've been in the largest store in the world. And it is absolutely huge! My glasses for some reason had one of the lenses get popped out the day before, and I was unable to get it back in; so we stopped by the Oakley store on Times Square and let them fix it for me.
3. For dinner we ate at Planet Hollywood on Times Square. We both had New York Passes which gave us $10 off per pass, so it was $20 off our bill, or else we probably wouldn't have eaten there. The prices still weren't bad anyway. It was a fun atmosphere, good food, and a place that we knew we wanted to hit all along. After dinner we finally found the shop that my girlfriend had seen our first night there but forgot what/where it was - Grand Slam. It was there that we got our shirts, picture frames, shot glasses, etc.
4. After shopping around a bit, we went off to the Empire State Building to see New York City from up top, but this time at night. There was lots of security and so many hoops to jump through to get to the top, but it is all understandable, and they had the process down pat. Once we got to the top, though, it was SO PACKED! We preferred the Top of the Rock much more than the Empire State Building's observatory deck mostly because of the crowd and awkward fence around the edge of the deck. It was still fun seeing the city from up top at night, though! We went to Times Square one last time that night, and then headed back to the hotel.
Sunday
1. We had to check out of our hotel by noon Sunday, so we didn't want to do anything downtown beforehand and rick not getting back in time. So we checked out and drove over to Pier 83 next to the Intrepid and rode a Circle Line Cruise boat called The Beast, which goes 40+ mph from the pier down the skyline of Manhattan, to the Statue of Liberty, and back! It was lots of fun flying through the bay and a nice way to end the trip, seeing the entire length and width of the city in just over a half hour.
2. We ended up leaving for home at 1:45pm and arrived back at 9:58pm, including a stop for gas and a stop for dinner at Perkins.
All in all, we had a GREAT time! Our feet and ankles were the most sore they've ever been, but the fun and experiences we shared were well worth it! We can't wait to go back again, this time with my parents, who have expressed interest to go again, and want us to go since we did such a good job (with YOUR help) planning and executing the trip with such aggressive and realistic goals/plans. I can't stress enough how much we appreciate the help we received from those on JJHuddle and OhioChatter regarding our trip.
My favorite part of the trip was either our first time in Times Square at night (or Friday night when it was packed!), and being at the Top of the Rock and seeing the city from up above. Everything was great, though. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed the summary!
May 4, 2011
February 17, 2011
P90X: Day 21 - Week 3 Complete (workouts postponed)
Date: 02/11/2011
Day 21 - Week 3 Complete
I completed week 3 of P90X successfully. I couldn’t be happier with my results so far. After going through the workouts for the third time, I continue to not only increase my reps in just about every exercise, but I’m also improving my form and increasing the weights on exercises with weight resistance. On top of that, I’m not getting nearly as exhausted after each workout. Sure, I am spent and sweating a ton after just about every workout, especially those with Ab Ripper X on the end, but I have not had the feeling like I was going to puke since the first one or two days of the program.
I have had a number of free meals at work this week, so the nutrition plan was a little harder to follow. However, I made up for it during breakfast, dinner, and in my snacks. I’m trying my best to follow the nutrition plan, so that’s all I can ask of myself. I must say, though, that it’s been fun trying to cook new things, especially fried eggs (yes, I know… I had never cooked eggs before!) and other things.
With all that said, I am sad to report that I will have to postpone my P90X workouts for probably a month or two because of heavily-increasing time constraints. The basketball season has been tough to get through, especially on the week days; and with the district tournaments coming up of which my dad and I attend and do stats for every game, most of those games are week days (two games per night), so it’s was going to be tough to get all those workouts in after those late nights four nights a week or more. On top of that, my work schedule has increased dramatically, averaging over an hour and a half later arrival at home than I am used to which has definitely cut into my time for workouts and other things at home. On top of both those, my weekends are always busy with my girlfriend. She has been very supportive of me and my working out, so it is not her fault. It’s just hard to try to coordinate our already busy schedules so we can see each other (mainly on the weekends) and still get my workouts in, some of which are impossible at her apartment because of the lack of room, pull-up bar, and other hindrances.
I feel bad having to postpone the program for now, but do not worry – I will be starting back up again at some point!
Day 21 - Week 3 Complete
I completed week 3 of P90X successfully. I couldn’t be happier with my results so far. After going through the workouts for the third time, I continue to not only increase my reps in just about every exercise, but I’m also improving my form and increasing the weights on exercises with weight resistance. On top of that, I’m not getting nearly as exhausted after each workout. Sure, I am spent and sweating a ton after just about every workout, especially those with Ab Ripper X on the end, but I have not had the feeling like I was going to puke since the first one or two days of the program.
I have had a number of free meals at work this week, so the nutrition plan was a little harder to follow. However, I made up for it during breakfast, dinner, and in my snacks. I’m trying my best to follow the nutrition plan, so that’s all I can ask of myself. I must say, though, that it’s been fun trying to cook new things, especially fried eggs (yes, I know… I had never cooked eggs before!) and other things.
With all that said, I am sad to report that I will have to postpone my P90X workouts for probably a month or two because of heavily-increasing time constraints. The basketball season has been tough to get through, especially on the week days; and with the district tournaments coming up of which my dad and I attend and do stats for every game, most of those games are week days (two games per night), so it’s was going to be tough to get all those workouts in after those late nights four nights a week or more. On top of that, my work schedule has increased dramatically, averaging over an hour and a half later arrival at home than I am used to which has definitely cut into my time for workouts and other things at home. On top of both those, my weekends are always busy with my girlfriend. She has been very supportive of me and my working out, so it is not her fault. It’s just hard to try to coordinate our already busy schedules so we can see each other (mainly on the weekends) and still get my workouts in, some of which are impossible at her apartment because of the lack of room, pull-up bar, and other hindrances.
I feel bad having to postpone the program for now, but do not worry – I will be starting back up again at some point!
February 6, 2011
P90X: Day 14 - Week 2 Complete
Date: 02/04/2011
Day 14 - Week 2 Complete
Well, it’s been a week since my last update; and as promised, I’ll be posting an entry at least once a week. My second time through the workouts went very well. The main thing I noticed in the second week was my increased reps and improved form in the Ab Ripper X workouts. Each time I seemed to get further and further into the routine before I needed to take a break. Ever since Day 1 when I learned my lesson to pace myself, I’ve done a much better job at that and have seen the results of being able to push myself a little more when my body is hurting as opposed to getting very few, non-helpful reps later in the workouts.
So far, I’ve done the Plyometrics workout at Jennifer’s apartment (and fitness room) both times because of the high ceiling and room to move around. I am not sure what I’m going to do when the time comes when I have to do this at my house since I have low ceilings and a shaky house in the living room (when I land on the floor). I could always go to the Triway High School weight room, but then I’d have to take my laptop with me to play the DVD and probably get some weird looks if there is anyone else there. The good thing, though, is that my Plyometrics day is Sunday which makes that less likely.
I see that after week 3 I change my workout schedule a bit to include some new workouts and stop doing others, so I’ll be working hard this week to get maximum reps the 2nd time through the workouts so I know what weights & reps to do when I pick back up on the particular workouts. As for now, though, the workouts are going well. I feel good during the day, my reps and weights are increasing, and I’m having fun. Sure, it’s kind of funny at times to listen to the instructor and his weird phrases, but at other times it’s exciting to be working out “with” someone who cares so much about it.
My diet is going pretty well, but I’ve had a few lapses in the last week with free meals at work and being invited by my parents to eat out a time or two. However, whenever we have those meals, I am still trying to consider portion size and types of food groups, even though the food itself might not be as healthy as some of the stuff I buy at the grocery store. That being said, all in all I feel good about the nutrition plan. This coming weekend I’ll be going to the grocery store to stock up for another two weeks. This time Jennifer will be with me, so maybe that will help get a little more variety in my diet since, when I went shopping for myself, I was heavy on ham and chicken, since they’re two of my favorite foods! Variety sounds really good right now since a few foods (and healthy, allowed snacks) are getting old.
With week 3 coming up, the main thing I’m going to need to focus on is sticking with it. The later into the program I get while still sticking with the workouts and diet, the harder it gets to stop doing so while getting closer and closer to the end goal. Also, in a few weeks I re-measure myself and take updated photographs, so I’m excited for those as well and to see how I’ve progressed thus far.
Day 14 - Week 2 Complete
Well, it’s been a week since my last update; and as promised, I’ll be posting an entry at least once a week. My second time through the workouts went very well. The main thing I noticed in the second week was my increased reps and improved form in the Ab Ripper X workouts. Each time I seemed to get further and further into the routine before I needed to take a break. Ever since Day 1 when I learned my lesson to pace myself, I’ve done a much better job at that and have seen the results of being able to push myself a little more when my body is hurting as opposed to getting very few, non-helpful reps later in the workouts.
So far, I’ve done the Plyometrics workout at Jennifer’s apartment (and fitness room) both times because of the high ceiling and room to move around. I am not sure what I’m going to do when the time comes when I have to do this at my house since I have low ceilings and a shaky house in the living room (when I land on the floor). I could always go to the Triway High School weight room, but then I’d have to take my laptop with me to play the DVD and probably get some weird looks if there is anyone else there. The good thing, though, is that my Plyometrics day is Sunday which makes that less likely.
I see that after week 3 I change my workout schedule a bit to include some new workouts and stop doing others, so I’ll be working hard this week to get maximum reps the 2nd time through the workouts so I know what weights & reps to do when I pick back up on the particular workouts. As for now, though, the workouts are going well. I feel good during the day, my reps and weights are increasing, and I’m having fun. Sure, it’s kind of funny at times to listen to the instructor and his weird phrases, but at other times it’s exciting to be working out “with” someone who cares so much about it.
My diet is going pretty well, but I’ve had a few lapses in the last week with free meals at work and being invited by my parents to eat out a time or two. However, whenever we have those meals, I am still trying to consider portion size and types of food groups, even though the food itself might not be as healthy as some of the stuff I buy at the grocery store. That being said, all in all I feel good about the nutrition plan. This coming weekend I’ll be going to the grocery store to stock up for another two weeks. This time Jennifer will be with me, so maybe that will help get a little more variety in my diet since, when I went shopping for myself, I was heavy on ham and chicken, since they’re two of my favorite foods! Variety sounds really good right now since a few foods (and healthy, allowed snacks) are getting old.
With week 3 coming up, the main thing I’m going to need to focus on is sticking with it. The later into the program I get while still sticking with the workouts and diet, the harder it gets to stop doing so while getting closer and closer to the end goal. Also, in a few weeks I re-measure myself and take updated photographs, so I’m excited for those as well and to see how I’ve progressed thus far.
January 29, 2011
P90X: Day 7 - X Stretch
Date: 01/28/2011
Workout: X Stretch
Day 7
This stretching routing was just what I needed late on a Friday after a physically and emotionally taxing week of intense workouts, long work days, and tough sports losses. Right now I feel as loose as ever and quite rejuvenated for it being 12:15 AM Saturday morning. My diet was more in line today, which I am glad to report. Tomorrow I start week 2 of P90X. I think I am going to start writing blogs once a week from now on since I’ve already gone through each workout once. In a few weeks I will start my second phase when the workout schedule changes and a few new routines are introduced. At that time I’ll get back to a daily blog entry until all the workouts and the new program has been covered. As for now, I feel great after the first week. I am not very sore any more other than a little bit in my upper calf. Other than that, I’m ready to attack my second week and see if I can improve my form, reps, and overall performance in P90X. I’m only 7 days through a 90 day journey, but I feel great so far!
Workout: X Stretch
Day 7
This stretching routing was just what I needed late on a Friday after a physically and emotionally taxing week of intense workouts, long work days, and tough sports losses. Right now I feel as loose as ever and quite rejuvenated for it being 12:15 AM Saturday morning. My diet was more in line today, which I am glad to report. Tomorrow I start week 2 of P90X. I think I am going to start writing blogs once a week from now on since I’ve already gone through each workout once. In a few weeks I will start my second phase when the workout schedule changes and a few new routines are introduced. At that time I’ll get back to a daily blog entry until all the workouts and the new program has been covered. As for now, I feel great after the first week. I am not very sore any more other than a little bit in my upper calf. Other than that, I’m ready to attack my second week and see if I can improve my form, reps, and overall performance in P90X. I’m only 7 days through a 90 day journey, but I feel great so far!
January 27, 2011
P90X: Day 6 - Kenpo X
Date: 01/27/2011
Workout: Kenpo X
Day 6
If there was any day I needed strictly cardio to burn some calories, this was it. I’ve been doing great with my diet this week, but we at work had a team dinner tonight at a nice Italian restaurant, which was tough to resist. I did well for a while as I refrained from eating as much of the good bread as I normally would and limited myself to only two pieces of appetizers. Then I went for the pork chop with green beans and mashed potatoes instead of my staple – chicken parmesan with pasta. However, I felt like I had already broken some rules, so I ordered dessert: a piece of rich chocolate cake with fudge in the middle and ice cream on top, sprinkled with cocoa. It was all very, very good food and a very good time, but my body was probably kicking me for doing that to it after the (good) food I’ve been eating all week.
Either way, the food didn’t affect my workout tonight other than some oddly tasting breath that came up during parts of it. (I hope that didn’t gross you out.) For the most part, the Kenpo X workout was loaded with technical moves and coordination of more than one body part at a time. For instance, I had trouble at first making sure the correct hand was throwing the punch while the correct heel was twisting and my hips were opening up the correct way. After about a third of the reps for each exercise, I finally got the hang of them. The next time around I think I’ll be 200% better than I was tonight. I think I finally have the moves down. Also, the earlier combination moves/punches will be a little easer having gone through them.
I worked out downstairs in my basement because it’s a harder floor so I didn’t mess up my carpet upstairs while wearing shoes, since I knew I’d want to wear shoes for this one. In the end, I’m not totally convinced that shoes are a necessity. However, they did help a lot with some of the balance kicks and so on, especially if I start doing them the hard way without letting my feet touch the ground in between reps. I think that’s a ways down the road, but I can definitely see myself doing that at some point.
Tomorrow is the X Stretch, which I am excited to have reached. We have a basketball game tomorrow night, so I’ll be doing this when I get home, then showering and heading to bed. It will be a nice way to start the weekend. All in all after my first week of P90X has almost been completed, I’m very, very confident that I’ll be able to fit this in my schedule, complete the workouts, follow my diet, and see some real results!
Workout: Kenpo X
Day 6
If there was any day I needed strictly cardio to burn some calories, this was it. I’ve been doing great with my diet this week, but we at work had a team dinner tonight at a nice Italian restaurant, which was tough to resist. I did well for a while as I refrained from eating as much of the good bread as I normally would and limited myself to only two pieces of appetizers. Then I went for the pork chop with green beans and mashed potatoes instead of my staple – chicken parmesan with pasta. However, I felt like I had already broken some rules, so I ordered dessert: a piece of rich chocolate cake with fudge in the middle and ice cream on top, sprinkled with cocoa. It was all very, very good food and a very good time, but my body was probably kicking me for doing that to it after the (good) food I’ve been eating all week.
Either way, the food didn’t affect my workout tonight other than some oddly tasting breath that came up during parts of it. (I hope that didn’t gross you out.) For the most part, the Kenpo X workout was loaded with technical moves and coordination of more than one body part at a time. For instance, I had trouble at first making sure the correct hand was throwing the punch while the correct heel was twisting and my hips were opening up the correct way. After about a third of the reps for each exercise, I finally got the hang of them. The next time around I think I’ll be 200% better than I was tonight. I think I finally have the moves down. Also, the earlier combination moves/punches will be a little easer having gone through them.
I worked out downstairs in my basement because it’s a harder floor so I didn’t mess up my carpet upstairs while wearing shoes, since I knew I’d want to wear shoes for this one. In the end, I’m not totally convinced that shoes are a necessity. However, they did help a lot with some of the balance kicks and so on, especially if I start doing them the hard way without letting my feet touch the ground in between reps. I think that’s a ways down the road, but I can definitely see myself doing that at some point.
Tomorrow is the X Stretch, which I am excited to have reached. We have a basketball game tomorrow night, so I’ll be doing this when I get home, then showering and heading to bed. It will be a nice way to start the weekend. All in all after my first week of P90X has almost been completed, I’m very, very confident that I’ll be able to fit this in my schedule, complete the workouts, follow my diet, and see some real results!
January 26, 2011
P90X: Day 5 - Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Date: 01/26/2011
Workout: Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 5
Today was not nearly as frustrating or demoralizing as yesterday’s Yoga X workout, but it was still angrily tough. The wall sits in the middle of the workout (both double-leg and single-leg) were killers in between everything else. However, it was nice to have a few of the pull-up/chin-up routines to split up the leg exercises, as well. I still am not doing very well with the pull-ups – anywhere between 1 and 3 reps each set before I have to use the chair to get 3-4 more. If I were to just do one set of pull-ups, I could do 6, 7, or even 8 or 9. However, when it’s put in the middle of a workout, my performance isn’t nearly what I’d want it to be. How these people in the videos are doing 15-25 pull-ups for each set is beyond me! I can keep up with them for the most part on most the workouts, but there is absolutely no chance in other parts.
I was worried going into the leg workout that I’d have to bring up some of my heavier weights (35-50 lbs) from the basement depending on the exercise; but after skimming through the video beforehand, that thought quickly was nullified with all the 5-20 lb. recommendations. I was very surprised and very pleased with the level of intensity all the exercises brought to my legs and back despite the low weight. If I had to pick one exercise that hurt the most other than the wall sits, it has to have been the calf raises at the end. I picked 15 lbs which worked out very well and allowed me to get all the reps in with good form, but each rep through the last two sets brought cramp-like sensations to my calf muscles.
Oh – I am getting better and better at Ab Ripper X… I think. The first 2-3 exercises are going more smoothly, and I’m almost able to complete all of them without any breaks. Of course, this extra effort early on is affecting my performance later in the workout, but I’m still managing pretty well. I am excited to see this improvement, and we’ll see where it goes.
My diet took a little dive today as I had two chocolate chunk cookies at work. The rest of my diet has been doing very well with lots of ham, chicken, and vegetables as well as healthy snacks throughout the day to make sure I keep my metabolism going. However, after a long 10 ½ hour day at work, I was really craving something delicious (other than the chicken, ham, and turkey salad I had for lunch). I apologize to the diet police, but I just had to. Don’t tell anybody! I’ll be back on track tomorrow. To be honest, though, I’ve been doing a very good job at abiding by my nutrition plan, if I do say so myself. There have been many times I’ve respectfully rejected delicious and enticing foods which I normally would gobble right up, and I normally replace it with something along the lines of an apple, carrots, or a low-fat yogurt. Another key I’m trying to stress is portion control. I still feel full after every meal, which is great, and I do not see any weight gain. I actually weighed myself when I got home from work tonight (after having breakfast, snack, lunch, and snack at work), and I am still down 3+ pounds from where I was this point last week. I am going to keep at it.
It looks like I have Kenpo X tomorrows, so I’ll be working out in my basement for the first time. I’ve been doing all my workouts upstairs in my living room on the carpet, which is not preferred. However, it’s the only place with easy access to the pull-up bar. I may start doing all workouts downstairs that don’t require the pull-up bar so that I don’t get my carpet any dirtier than it is right now. (Don’t get me wrong. My carpet is not really bad or anything. But I don’t want to make it a habit of doing everything up here.) Anyway, where I do my workout in my house is irrelevant. I just need to make sure I do my workout, no matter where, and I’ll be fine. I am loving this program so far!
Workout: Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 5
Today was not nearly as frustrating or demoralizing as yesterday’s Yoga X workout, but it was still angrily tough. The wall sits in the middle of the workout (both double-leg and single-leg) were killers in between everything else. However, it was nice to have a few of the pull-up/chin-up routines to split up the leg exercises, as well. I still am not doing very well with the pull-ups – anywhere between 1 and 3 reps each set before I have to use the chair to get 3-4 more. If I were to just do one set of pull-ups, I could do 6, 7, or even 8 or 9. However, when it’s put in the middle of a workout, my performance isn’t nearly what I’d want it to be. How these people in the videos are doing 15-25 pull-ups for each set is beyond me! I can keep up with them for the most part on most the workouts, but there is absolutely no chance in other parts.
I was worried going into the leg workout that I’d have to bring up some of my heavier weights (35-50 lbs) from the basement depending on the exercise; but after skimming through the video beforehand, that thought quickly was nullified with all the 5-20 lb. recommendations. I was very surprised and very pleased with the level of intensity all the exercises brought to my legs and back despite the low weight. If I had to pick one exercise that hurt the most other than the wall sits, it has to have been the calf raises at the end. I picked 15 lbs which worked out very well and allowed me to get all the reps in with good form, but each rep through the last two sets brought cramp-like sensations to my calf muscles.
Oh – I am getting better and better at Ab Ripper X… I think. The first 2-3 exercises are going more smoothly, and I’m almost able to complete all of them without any breaks. Of course, this extra effort early on is affecting my performance later in the workout, but I’m still managing pretty well. I am excited to see this improvement, and we’ll see where it goes.
My diet took a little dive today as I had two chocolate chunk cookies at work. The rest of my diet has been doing very well with lots of ham, chicken, and vegetables as well as healthy snacks throughout the day to make sure I keep my metabolism going. However, after a long 10 ½ hour day at work, I was really craving something delicious (other than the chicken, ham, and turkey salad I had for lunch). I apologize to the diet police, but I just had to. Don’t tell anybody! I’ll be back on track tomorrow. To be honest, though, I’ve been doing a very good job at abiding by my nutrition plan, if I do say so myself. There have been many times I’ve respectfully rejected delicious and enticing foods which I normally would gobble right up, and I normally replace it with something along the lines of an apple, carrots, or a low-fat yogurt. Another key I’m trying to stress is portion control. I still feel full after every meal, which is great, and I do not see any weight gain. I actually weighed myself when I got home from work tonight (after having breakfast, snack, lunch, and snack at work), and I am still down 3+ pounds from where I was this point last week. I am going to keep at it.
It looks like I have Kenpo X tomorrows, so I’ll be working out in my basement for the first time. I’ve been doing all my workouts upstairs in my living room on the carpet, which is not preferred. However, it’s the only place with easy access to the pull-up bar. I may start doing all workouts downstairs that don’t require the pull-up bar so that I don’t get my carpet any dirtier than it is right now. (Don’t get me wrong. My carpet is not really bad or anything. But I don’t want to make it a habit of doing everything up here.) Anyway, where I do my workout in my house is irrelevant. I just need to make sure I do my workout, no matter where, and I’ll be fine. I am loving this program so far!
January 25, 2011
P90X: Day 4 - Yoga X
Date: 01/25/2011
Workout: Yoga X
Day 4
Oh. My. Goodness. The first 40 minutes of the 1 hour 30 minute workout was ridiculously hard! I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy workout since nothing in this program is. However, I was hoping it’d be a little more on the lighter side. The first half of the workout was just the opposite. I found myself only completing about half of the reps they were doing or skipping certain parts that I knew I wouldn’t be albe to do and then jumping back in when they started a new exercise or formation. Don’t get me wrong – I still tried every formation and got each one at least once or twice, but I was not getting the extension or extreme angles of those in the video, which I guess is kind of impossible.
The first 40 minutes went by so slowly I was contemplating stopping the DVD and calling it night especially since I didn’t get home until 9:15 PM and started the DVD around 9:45 PM. However, I’m glad I stuck it out through the hardest part. I was thrilled to hear about halfway through that the “hard” stuff was over and that the rest was simply balance-related. Even though they were just for balance, they were still tough, especially some of the twisting ones. My left hip is much, much less flexible than my right hip. I was thinking I was doing something wrong at first, but then later I heard Tony Horton say the same thing that his left hip was not as flexible as his right. Some of those twists really hurt and killed my left hip, but I think it’s something I can improve.
I can definitely see myself improving my flexibility in these exercises over the next 90 days, but I’m going to have to make sure I do the exercises as they are meant, such as flexing the feet instead of pointing them. It definitely puts an extra, uncomfortable strain on them, but it’s worth it. I had some issues with a few others when it came to making sure my legs were straight and not angled; but again, that will come with time, I hope.
All in all, I feel a lot better now, and I know what to expect the next time I do Yoga X. As for me being sore the last few days, today was not nearly as bad. I had a few spots that were a little sluggish, but I was not in any pain and had no uncomfortable feelings all day long. Hopefully I don’t experience any more pain like I did the last two days. Anyway, it is 11:50 PM, and I need to head to bed. I have Legs & Back tomorrow. Good night. Zzz…
Workout: Yoga X
Day 4
Oh. My. Goodness. The first 40 minutes of the 1 hour 30 minute workout was ridiculously hard! I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy workout since nothing in this program is. However, I was hoping it’d be a little more on the lighter side. The first half of the workout was just the opposite. I found myself only completing about half of the reps they were doing or skipping certain parts that I knew I wouldn’t be albe to do and then jumping back in when they started a new exercise or formation. Don’t get me wrong – I still tried every formation and got each one at least once or twice, but I was not getting the extension or extreme angles of those in the video, which I guess is kind of impossible.
The first 40 minutes went by so slowly I was contemplating stopping the DVD and calling it night especially since I didn’t get home until 9:15 PM and started the DVD around 9:45 PM. However, I’m glad I stuck it out through the hardest part. I was thrilled to hear about halfway through that the “hard” stuff was over and that the rest was simply balance-related. Even though they were just for balance, they were still tough, especially some of the twisting ones. My left hip is much, much less flexible than my right hip. I was thinking I was doing something wrong at first, but then later I heard Tony Horton say the same thing that his left hip was not as flexible as his right. Some of those twists really hurt and killed my left hip, but I think it’s something I can improve.
I can definitely see myself improving my flexibility in these exercises over the next 90 days, but I’m going to have to make sure I do the exercises as they are meant, such as flexing the feet instead of pointing them. It definitely puts an extra, uncomfortable strain on them, but it’s worth it. I had some issues with a few others when it came to making sure my legs were straight and not angled; but again, that will come with time, I hope.
All in all, I feel a lot better now, and I know what to expect the next time I do Yoga X. As for me being sore the last few days, today was not nearly as bad. I had a few spots that were a little sluggish, but I was not in any pain and had no uncomfortable feelings all day long. Hopefully I don’t experience any more pain like I did the last two days. Anyway, it is 11:50 PM, and I need to head to bed. I have Legs & Back tomorrow. Good night. Zzz…
January 24, 2011
P90X: Day 3 - Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
Date: 01/24/2011
Workout: Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
Day 3
All day today and most of last night I was ludicrously sore! Normally feeling sore in the muscles and having a slightly hard time moving fluidly is not a problem. However, this time I was in actual pain almost all day long after not being able to fall asleep or stay asleep overnight. My neck hurt the most and gave me the most trouble throughout the day, and I could not get it stretched or loosened up enough. My triceps hurt even though I hadn’t worked them yet. My ribs hurt. I was sore and hurting all over.
However, as soon as I started my workout tonight after getting home from work, my body loosened up, and my exercises went as planned. As listed above, I had Shoulders & Arms tonight. This was a more traditional workout that I’m used to doing in the gym, but some of the moves were very creative and challenging. The first time through it was tough picking the right dumbbell weight for each exercise, so it was great receiving tips on which exercises to lighten up on since I had never heard of some of them before and thus didn’t know where to begin. All in all, I think my beginning weights were very appropriate except for the laying down tricep extensions, which I underestimated the first time around.
Some of the tips they gave on the exercises like twisting the wrist at the top of a curl were things I had heard a little about before, and it was nice to hear it reinforced here and seeing everyone in the video doing it. This was by far the easiest of the three workouts so far, but I think that’s mainly because of the body part being exercised and how common it is in most weight lifting routines people do. With that said, I’ll say again that it was challenging and creative and definitely well worth it! I know it’s a good workout when I can’t get my elbow above my head to stretch when I’m done; and if I do happen to get my elbow way up there, it feels as if I’m going to snap my arm off!
As a whole tonight, I’m very pleased and happy with this workout. I think it’s complete, well put together, creative, challenging, and has a good pace. Of course it wasn’t fun having Ab Ripper X at the end, but I think that workout is wearing on me, too. I was able to do a few more reps in each of the exercises this time, and I definitely had better form than when I completed the workout two days ago. It’s amazing what just going through the DVD one time can do.
As for my diet, I am eating the right amount of foods in all the food groups (piling up on protein, getting a fair share of veggies, a little dairy, a fruit, and very few carbs). However, I’m pleased to say that I’m still getting full when I eat. I was worried going in that I was going to starve myself, but that isn’t happening yet. I’m going to start taking my foods down just slightly to see if I can shoot for slightly better results, but we’ll see what I end up doing when the time comes. (I ate some gummy bears today. Oh no!)
Tomorrow I have Yoga X, which I hear is the longest workout. However, I have an away basketball game right after work. After the game I’m going to try to come home as soon as possible and get right into the workout, because I don’t want to miss a day this early in the program. It’s going to be tough to stay motivated and on track, but I am committed!
Workout: Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
Day 3
All day today and most of last night I was ludicrously sore! Normally feeling sore in the muscles and having a slightly hard time moving fluidly is not a problem. However, this time I was in actual pain almost all day long after not being able to fall asleep or stay asleep overnight. My neck hurt the most and gave me the most trouble throughout the day, and I could not get it stretched or loosened up enough. My triceps hurt even though I hadn’t worked them yet. My ribs hurt. I was sore and hurting all over.
However, as soon as I started my workout tonight after getting home from work, my body loosened up, and my exercises went as planned. As listed above, I had Shoulders & Arms tonight. This was a more traditional workout that I’m used to doing in the gym, but some of the moves were very creative and challenging. The first time through it was tough picking the right dumbbell weight for each exercise, so it was great receiving tips on which exercises to lighten up on since I had never heard of some of them before and thus didn’t know where to begin. All in all, I think my beginning weights were very appropriate except for the laying down tricep extensions, which I underestimated the first time around.
Some of the tips they gave on the exercises like twisting the wrist at the top of a curl were things I had heard a little about before, and it was nice to hear it reinforced here and seeing everyone in the video doing it. This was by far the easiest of the three workouts so far, but I think that’s mainly because of the body part being exercised and how common it is in most weight lifting routines people do. With that said, I’ll say again that it was challenging and creative and definitely well worth it! I know it’s a good workout when I can’t get my elbow above my head to stretch when I’m done; and if I do happen to get my elbow way up there, it feels as if I’m going to snap my arm off!
As a whole tonight, I’m very pleased and happy with this workout. I think it’s complete, well put together, creative, challenging, and has a good pace. Of course it wasn’t fun having Ab Ripper X at the end, but I think that workout is wearing on me, too. I was able to do a few more reps in each of the exercises this time, and I definitely had better form than when I completed the workout two days ago. It’s amazing what just going through the DVD one time can do.
As for my diet, I am eating the right amount of foods in all the food groups (piling up on protein, getting a fair share of veggies, a little dairy, a fruit, and very few carbs). However, I’m pleased to say that I’m still getting full when I eat. I was worried going in that I was going to starve myself, but that isn’t happening yet. I’m going to start taking my foods down just slightly to see if I can shoot for slightly better results, but we’ll see what I end up doing when the time comes. (I ate some gummy bears today. Oh no!)
Tomorrow I have Yoga X, which I hear is the longest workout. However, I have an away basketball game right after work. After the game I’m going to try to come home as soon as possible and get right into the workout, because I don’t want to miss a day this early in the program. It’s going to be tough to stay motivated and on track, but I am committed!
January 23, 2011
P90X: Day 2 - Plyometrics
Date: 01/23/2011
Workout: Plyometrics
Day 2
Going into this Plyometrics workout, I had heard many say that this was by far the toughest, most challenging, and most intense workout there is in P90X. Well, one thing is for sure – it is 56+ minutes of non-stop movement in ways I wasn’t used to moving. However, it wasn’t as tough as I thought it’d be. I think that may have been partly due to the fact that I was doing it in a close-confines apartment with people living below that I didn’t want to disturb. I was still able to do all the workouts as directed but maybe not as exaggerated as I might have if I was on a basement floor.
My girlfriend and I started our “get fit” programs, however alike or different they may be, together earlier this week, so we’re trying to do as many workouts together as possible so we can motivate each other not only to start the workouts but also to do our best during them. We both had been driving for about an hour when we met at her apartment. Then we both changed and jumped right into the workout without wasting much time. Plus we wanted to be able to watch as much football today as possible, so that was another reason we jumped right in.
As the workout started, the warm-up sequence was definitely one that brought sweat to my brow along with some heavy breathing. However, I think it was definitely worth it to get ready for the “real” exercises in the workout. We both struggled for the first 20-25 minutes of the workout for some reason. We were doing all the exercises as described, and we were getting our butts beat! However, we were doing everything right the 2nd half of the workout, but for some reason the 2nd half was much easier than the first half. I don’t know. Maybe it was just me. But, like I alluded to earlier, some of it may have been our slight limitations inside the apartment wearing socks on carpet and having people below us we didn’t want to disturb (which made us focus on landing on our toes as softly as possible as is recommended in the video).
Either way, it was definitely a tough workout and one that I repeatedly commented that I wouldn’t mind putting my baseball players through during conditioning. I’m sure I’ll bring this up to Coach Carmichael in the next week or so as he prepares for open gyms. I hope the kids enjoy this one!
Workout: Plyometrics
Day 2
Going into this Plyometrics workout, I had heard many say that this was by far the toughest, most challenging, and most intense workout there is in P90X. Well, one thing is for sure – it is 56+ minutes of non-stop movement in ways I wasn’t used to moving. However, it wasn’t as tough as I thought it’d be. I think that may have been partly due to the fact that I was doing it in a close-confines apartment with people living below that I didn’t want to disturb. I was still able to do all the workouts as directed but maybe not as exaggerated as I might have if I was on a basement floor.
My girlfriend and I started our “get fit” programs, however alike or different they may be, together earlier this week, so we’re trying to do as many workouts together as possible so we can motivate each other not only to start the workouts but also to do our best during them. We both had been driving for about an hour when we met at her apartment. Then we both changed and jumped right into the workout without wasting much time. Plus we wanted to be able to watch as much football today as possible, so that was another reason we jumped right in.
As the workout started, the warm-up sequence was definitely one that brought sweat to my brow along with some heavy breathing. However, I think it was definitely worth it to get ready for the “real” exercises in the workout. We both struggled for the first 20-25 minutes of the workout for some reason. We were doing all the exercises as described, and we were getting our butts beat! However, we were doing everything right the 2nd half of the workout, but for some reason the 2nd half was much easier than the first half. I don’t know. Maybe it was just me. But, like I alluded to earlier, some of it may have been our slight limitations inside the apartment wearing socks on carpet and having people below us we didn’t want to disturb (which made us focus on landing on our toes as softly as possible as is recommended in the video).
Either way, it was definitely a tough workout and one that I repeatedly commented that I wouldn’t mind putting my baseball players through during conditioning. I’m sure I’ll bring this up to Coach Carmichael in the next week or so as he prepares for open gyms. I hope the kids enjoy this one!
January 22, 2011
P90X: Day 1 - Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
Date: 01/22/2011
Workout: Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 1
My goodness! Ab Ripper X is one heckuva workout! I thought I’d always been good with abdominal exercises, but this one set me straight. Not so good. However, after about 45 minutes of cooling down, showering, and eating lunch, I’m starting to feel a little better; but don’t get me wrong – my midsection was burning! As for the Chest & Back workout, it was definitely tough as I expected. However, it seemed to go by quickly. It’s definitely beneficial having the countdown timer on the bottom of the screen to serve as some encouragement as the workout goes on.
One of the main lessons I learned, and I learned it early on, was that I need to pace myself. I had watched the video yesterday and also today, and I had heard them preach pacing yourself. However, I wanted to make sure early on that I was getting the most out of my workout, and I found myself going to failure instead of getting an amount of reps that caused a burn but not exhaustion (yet). My numbers the second half of the workout definitely decreased, especially the pull-ups. However, I still made sure I worked on them and used the chair as much as possible, when needed.
I was pretty nervous leading up to the workout. I wanted to get new pictures taken since the ones I took before my Fit Test didn’t come out very well (poor lighting, bad focus, etc.), so my parents came over on their way home from the store and helped take the photos. I was very pleased with those. My parents stayed over for a bit, and my dad and I watched Ohio State’s basketball team beat Illinois. I put off the workout until I was done watching the basketball game on TV, and once my parents left it took me a few more minutes to finally say “Alright, it’s time to get started.” However, I’m glad that I did it. Now that I know what I’m getting into, it may be somewhat difficult to get the DVD going every day. However, I can guarantee that the burn and intensity of the workout has me 100% convinced that the results you see on the television and on the internet are REAL and can definitely be achieved through this program as long as it is followed correctly. I have worked out enough in my life to know what a good, effective workout feels like, and P90X absolutely fits that title.
Going forward the hardest thing will be finding time to get my workout in every day when 1) I have a basketball game on a week night or 2) I am staying at my girlfriend’s apartment on the weekend. However, I think as long as I don’t need a pull-up bar, I’ll be able to move weights in my car to wherever I’ll be to make sure I can perform the exercises. Right now I am filling up with a banana and some approved protein foods to refill my body within my diet as set forth in the nutrition guide. I am not going with the P90X supplements since I’ve never been high on any supplements in my life. I’ve always wanted to be “all natural” and get the best “all natural” results as possible without any abnormal assistance.
We’ll see how tomorrow goes, but I’m feeling good about this!
Workout: Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
Day 1
My goodness! Ab Ripper X is one heckuva workout! I thought I’d always been good with abdominal exercises, but this one set me straight. Not so good. However, after about 45 minutes of cooling down, showering, and eating lunch, I’m starting to feel a little better; but don’t get me wrong – my midsection was burning! As for the Chest & Back workout, it was definitely tough as I expected. However, it seemed to go by quickly. It’s definitely beneficial having the countdown timer on the bottom of the screen to serve as some encouragement as the workout goes on.
One of the main lessons I learned, and I learned it early on, was that I need to pace myself. I had watched the video yesterday and also today, and I had heard them preach pacing yourself. However, I wanted to make sure early on that I was getting the most out of my workout, and I found myself going to failure instead of getting an amount of reps that caused a burn but not exhaustion (yet). My numbers the second half of the workout definitely decreased, especially the pull-ups. However, I still made sure I worked on them and used the chair as much as possible, when needed.
I was pretty nervous leading up to the workout. I wanted to get new pictures taken since the ones I took before my Fit Test didn’t come out very well (poor lighting, bad focus, etc.), so my parents came over on their way home from the store and helped take the photos. I was very pleased with those. My parents stayed over for a bit, and my dad and I watched Ohio State’s basketball team beat Illinois. I put off the workout until I was done watching the basketball game on TV, and once my parents left it took me a few more minutes to finally say “Alright, it’s time to get started.” However, I’m glad that I did it. Now that I know what I’m getting into, it may be somewhat difficult to get the DVD going every day. However, I can guarantee that the burn and intensity of the workout has me 100% convinced that the results you see on the television and on the internet are REAL and can definitely be achieved through this program as long as it is followed correctly. I have worked out enough in my life to know what a good, effective workout feels like, and P90X absolutely fits that title.
Going forward the hardest thing will be finding time to get my workout in every day when 1) I have a basketball game on a week night or 2) I am staying at my girlfriend’s apartment on the weekend. However, I think as long as I don’t need a pull-up bar, I’ll be able to move weights in my car to wherever I’ll be to make sure I can perform the exercises. Right now I am filling up with a banana and some approved protein foods to refill my body within my diet as set forth in the nutrition guide. I am not going with the P90X supplements since I’ve never been high on any supplements in my life. I’ve always wanted to be “all natural” and get the best “all natural” results as possible without any abnormal assistance.
We’ll see how tomorrow goes, but I’m feeling good about this!
P90X: Fit Test
Date: 01/18/2011
Workout: Fit Test
Today I started my P90X journey. For the last 1 ½-2 years I’ve been putting it off since I didn’t have my own dumbbells or the time. However, I finally got my dumbbells, so I knew it was time to get the ball rolling. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do about the nutrition plan – I think I’m going to follow the types and portions of foods but not exactly the recipes at this point. It’s just too expensive and too time-consuming for my lifestyle. However, if I can get into a rhythm with this and get more comfortable with the time requirements, I may look into following it a little more closely. But I haven’t even started, yet, so there’s so much left to find out about the whole system.
When I first started the Fit Test, I was halfway through my warm-ups when I realized I forgot to take my “before” pictures. So I stopped, took some pictures by myself (had to set up the timer on my camera, which didn’t work very well). I was not impressed with the photos because of poor lighting and positioning in the photos, so I think I’ll get some new photos this weekend before I start Day 1 of P90X.
Once I got started, I felt good. I got 9 ¾ pull-ups, which I was happy with. A week or two ago, I think I got around 10 or 11, but I’m sure there were other factors both then and now. Then I went outside to the South brick wall of my house to record my vertical jump since the ceilings in my house were too low. I used black electrical tape to mark the different spots and left them there since it was cold and rainy, and I was in my shorts. The end result was a 22” vertical – I was pumped! I came back inside and proceeded to complete 33 push-ups. At this point I was starting to enjoy the 4-minute break suggested in between exercises.
Next was the toe touch, which I’ve never been good at. I finished with a -4”, which means I was 4” short of touching my toes. I’m sure that will go down as I get further into this program and exercise more regularly. After a short 3-4 minute break (4 minutes was recommended), I started my wall sits. It started out rough for the first 15 seconds which seemed to take forever, but I think it’s because I haven’t worked my quads in forever. The next minute flew by, however, and I finally bottomed out at 1 minute 44 seconds. Bicep curls were next. I had a few weights on my kitchen floor that I had brought in from the car, and luckily the 25 lb weights were there, since I knew that’s what I wanted to use. I pumped out 17 reps with them; and both arms felt pretty equal, which I was happy about.
The toughest part of the workout, I thought, was the “in & outs” abdominal exercise. After completing 40 reps, I felt like I had to throw up during my 4-minute break. This was the low point of the workout where I didn’t know if I was going to be able to complete the last exercise – jumping jacks for 2 minutes. I did, though, and recorded my heart rate at the recommended times: 156 beats per minute (bpm) immediately after the exercise, 122 bpm after 1 minute, 120 bpm after 2 minutes, 116 bpm after 3 minutes, and 114 bpm after 4 minutes. My heart rate didn’t seem to decrease much from 1 minute to 4 minutes, but my body was definitely feeling better and relaxing during this time. Thankfully I texted my girlfriend my results, and she reminded me to stretch afterwards, or else I would have forgotten… and that’s always been something I’ve stressed – stretching after working out. I was surprised it was not part of the Fit Test instructions.
Now that my Fit Test has been completed, all that’s left is to get my grocery list in order, buy the groceries, read up on the first week’s worth of exercises, maybe watch a video or two to get acclimated to what I’ll be doing, then jumping in and doing the work. It’s just about time to BRING IT!
I am excited to embark on this journey, but it won’t happen without a lot of discipline and motivation from others, especially my girlfriend who is starting a fitness regimen of her own at the same time. I can’t wait to see where this goes. I just hope I can consistently do it. I’m still a little worried I won’t give it (P90X) the time it deserves, but I’m going to try my best!
Workout: Fit Test
Today I started my P90X journey. For the last 1 ½-2 years I’ve been putting it off since I didn’t have my own dumbbells or the time. However, I finally got my dumbbells, so I knew it was time to get the ball rolling. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do about the nutrition plan – I think I’m going to follow the types and portions of foods but not exactly the recipes at this point. It’s just too expensive and too time-consuming for my lifestyle. However, if I can get into a rhythm with this and get more comfortable with the time requirements, I may look into following it a little more closely. But I haven’t even started, yet, so there’s so much left to find out about the whole system.
When I first started the Fit Test, I was halfway through my warm-ups when I realized I forgot to take my “before” pictures. So I stopped, took some pictures by myself (had to set up the timer on my camera, which didn’t work very well). I was not impressed with the photos because of poor lighting and positioning in the photos, so I think I’ll get some new photos this weekend before I start Day 1 of P90X.
Once I got started, I felt good. I got 9 ¾ pull-ups, which I was happy with. A week or two ago, I think I got around 10 or 11, but I’m sure there were other factors both then and now. Then I went outside to the South brick wall of my house to record my vertical jump since the ceilings in my house were too low. I used black electrical tape to mark the different spots and left them there since it was cold and rainy, and I was in my shorts. The end result was a 22” vertical – I was pumped! I came back inside and proceeded to complete 33 push-ups. At this point I was starting to enjoy the 4-minute break suggested in between exercises.
Next was the toe touch, which I’ve never been good at. I finished with a -4”, which means I was 4” short of touching my toes. I’m sure that will go down as I get further into this program and exercise more regularly. After a short 3-4 minute break (4 minutes was recommended), I started my wall sits. It started out rough for the first 15 seconds which seemed to take forever, but I think it’s because I haven’t worked my quads in forever. The next minute flew by, however, and I finally bottomed out at 1 minute 44 seconds. Bicep curls were next. I had a few weights on my kitchen floor that I had brought in from the car, and luckily the 25 lb weights were there, since I knew that’s what I wanted to use. I pumped out 17 reps with them; and both arms felt pretty equal, which I was happy about.
The toughest part of the workout, I thought, was the “in & outs” abdominal exercise. After completing 40 reps, I felt like I had to throw up during my 4-minute break. This was the low point of the workout where I didn’t know if I was going to be able to complete the last exercise – jumping jacks for 2 minutes. I did, though, and recorded my heart rate at the recommended times: 156 beats per minute (bpm) immediately after the exercise, 122 bpm after 1 minute, 120 bpm after 2 minutes, 116 bpm after 3 minutes, and 114 bpm after 4 minutes. My heart rate didn’t seem to decrease much from 1 minute to 4 minutes, but my body was definitely feeling better and relaxing during this time. Thankfully I texted my girlfriend my results, and she reminded me to stretch afterwards, or else I would have forgotten… and that’s always been something I’ve stressed – stretching after working out. I was surprised it was not part of the Fit Test instructions.
Now that my Fit Test has been completed, all that’s left is to get my grocery list in order, buy the groceries, read up on the first week’s worth of exercises, maybe watch a video or two to get acclimated to what I’ll be doing, then jumping in and doing the work. It’s just about time to BRING IT!
I am excited to embark on this journey, but it won’t happen without a lot of discipline and motivation from others, especially my girlfriend who is starting a fitness regimen of her own at the same time. I can’t wait to see where this goes. I just hope I can consistently do it. I’m still a little worried I won’t give it (P90X) the time it deserves, but I’m going to try my best!
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