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…
January 25, 2011
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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