In the last six months or so my good friends, Karen and Arleen have been making an effort to get together for girls night's once or twice each month, which has been really great. Our conversation seemed to often turn to weight loss and getting in shape and being healthier. We talked about doing P90X, and after putting it off for a few months, Arleen and I decided to give it a try. I was going to start the week before holidays, and did 2 or 3 of the workouts then got busy with work and getting ready to go on holidays (or maybe those are just excuses....). While I was on holidays, Arleen started her first week and I texted her each day to see how the workouts were going. I was very lazy and ate WAY too much on holidays, so decided that I need to come home and get down to business!
I am proud to say that I worked out 6 times last week! The only things I sort of slacked on was only doing about 40 minutes of Yoga X (it's 90 minutes long!) and I skipped out on my Friday Ab Ripper because I needed to get supper on the go. I should say on top of all of that I treated 14 clients last week!
This morning I did my Chest and Back and Ab Ripper. I was pleased that the pushups are getting easier. I felt like when I first did Chest and Back after not having done it for months that the pushups almost made it feel like I was straining my pecs in a way that felt almost like an injury. But now it just feels like normal fatigue when I do them. And the next couple of days I am sore, but it is not that 'ow it hurts to take my shirt off over my head' for a week sort of pain. Week 2 and I can already feel myself getting stronger! That is what I love about this program. It doesn't get easier, you just get stronger, then you can do a little more each time.
My goal for this round is to lose some inches of my waist/hips/thighs. I have noticed in the last couple of months that my pants have been getting snugger and I don't like that. I have also noticed my weight creeping up a little bit, which I also don't like. I think it would be cool if I needed to buy some 20lb dumbbells for doing back exercises, and maybe get to the point where I can do bicep curls with the 15lb weights. I am hoping with Arleen to spur me on (and vice versa) that we will kick some butt and get into great shape :)
Showing posts with label P90X. Show all posts
Showing posts with label P90X. Show all posts
Monday, July 16, 2012
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Choices
I have felt super uninspired to work out lately. Maybe it's lack of motivation....I don't know what it is. All I know is that I haven't worked out since last Wednesday. Well I guess I did go for a run Friday evening. Okay, I guess that counts. But each morning I wake up and just have a hard time dragging my butt out of bed. It's not even that I am so tired. I am finding it easier to wake up when my alarm goes off. I don't find myself waking up to my alarm going and look at the clock and realizing that I have slept through the alarm for twenty minutes so much anymore. It's just that I would rather crawl back into bed after I get up and use the washroom, than throw on my workout clothes and go downstairs.
I don't think it's just the motivation to work out. I think I am getting a little bit bored with my work out options. I do like P90X and I definitely think that it is a program that you can continue with and still see plenty of results, I think I am just getting tired of listening to the same old DVDs over and over again. I do enjoy lifting weights, and I have tried to just use the work out sheets and do the exercises as listed, rather than watching the DVDs, but I find it really boring. I give kudos to the people that I read about on Facebook that are in their 10th round of P90X. I just don't think I could do it over and over and over again for years straight. I don't regret buying it, and I think I will come back to it sometimes, but I don't think it will be the only work out program I use for the rest of my life.
I have been thinking of a few options for other workouts. Some days I wish I had a workout buddy. I just don't think it's realistic. I don't know that I have any friends that are interested in joining me, and my schedule can be pretty erratic and hard to have a set time to work out.
I have toyed with the idea of a City of Saskatoon leisure pass. I like the idea of it because it is probably the most affordable gym option in the city. It allows access to all of the leisure centres which includes pools, weight rooms, group fitness classes and the track at the Field House AND you don't have to sign a contract. In fact, it gets cheaper each month the more months you sign up for. And you can sign up for one month to try it out and if you want to renew the membership before the end of the month you get the cheaper rate you would have gotten if you signed up for 2 months right off the bat. And it goes on like that. I think if you were to buy a full year's membership it would work out to something like $30-40/month. The only drawback I can think of, is that there are no leisure centres really close to our house. I think that I would be much more likely to take full advantage of a membership if there was a facility down the street from us.
I have also thought about investing in another workout program similar to P90X. The company that made it, Beachbody, has a number of other home work out programs that set out a 5 or 6 day/week workout plan with DVDs the way P90X does. I thought maybe if I switched it up a little that I might not feel so bored. I do like working out in the privacy of my own home, with bed head and morning breath and no one to judge me. I have been looking at a program called Brazil Butt Lift, which targets your abs, hips and butt, which I feel are my 'problem areas'. But I have also looked a little at Turbo Fire and Insanity as well. Those two are intense interval cardio based programs. I do think, though, that a person is more likely to push themselves harder when you work out with or in front of other people. When I am doing P90X Plyo and stop doing the exercise with 3 or 4 seconds left in the 30 second interval, there is no one there to judge me. Not that exercising in public is done for show, but I really do think that you are more likely to give it your all when there are other people around, possibly watching you.
The other option I have toyed with is joining a typical gym, probably the World Gym down the street from us. I think that the location would be ideal to run over there in the morning to do a work out, or to stop on the way home from work without having to go out of my way. I don't think the overall cost would be too much more than the city leisure pass, but when you sign up you have to sign a one or two year contract that you can't get out of. You are committed to paying them, whether you use the membership or not. I heard somewhere a while back that gyms make a huge percentage of their yearly income from people who don't use their memberships. I don't want to be one of those people. I think I have proven to myself that I am able to commit to working out. I have just never worked out at a gym. I think it might be neat to have a couple of sessions with a personal trainer to get a program set up, or I could probably pick my sister's brain about what would be a good program for me, since she seems pretty knowledgeable.
Not sure which direction to take, and not going to jump into anything without a good amount of thought first.
I don't think it's just the motivation to work out. I think I am getting a little bit bored with my work out options. I do like P90X and I definitely think that it is a program that you can continue with and still see plenty of results, I think I am just getting tired of listening to the same old DVDs over and over again. I do enjoy lifting weights, and I have tried to just use the work out sheets and do the exercises as listed, rather than watching the DVDs, but I find it really boring. I give kudos to the people that I read about on Facebook that are in their 10th round of P90X. I just don't think I could do it over and over and over again for years straight. I don't regret buying it, and I think I will come back to it sometimes, but I don't think it will be the only work out program I use for the rest of my life.
I have been thinking of a few options for other workouts. Some days I wish I had a workout buddy. I just don't think it's realistic. I don't know that I have any friends that are interested in joining me, and my schedule can be pretty erratic and hard to have a set time to work out.
I have toyed with the idea of a City of Saskatoon leisure pass. I like the idea of it because it is probably the most affordable gym option in the city. It allows access to all of the leisure centres which includes pools, weight rooms, group fitness classes and the track at the Field House AND you don't have to sign a contract. In fact, it gets cheaper each month the more months you sign up for. And you can sign up for one month to try it out and if you want to renew the membership before the end of the month you get the cheaper rate you would have gotten if you signed up for 2 months right off the bat. And it goes on like that. I think if you were to buy a full year's membership it would work out to something like $30-40/month. The only drawback I can think of, is that there are no leisure centres really close to our house. I think that I would be much more likely to take full advantage of a membership if there was a facility down the street from us.
I have also thought about investing in another workout program similar to P90X. The company that made it, Beachbody, has a number of other home work out programs that set out a 5 or 6 day/week workout plan with DVDs the way P90X does. I thought maybe if I switched it up a little that I might not feel so bored. I do like working out in the privacy of my own home, with bed head and morning breath and no one to judge me. I have been looking at a program called Brazil Butt Lift, which targets your abs, hips and butt, which I feel are my 'problem areas'. But I have also looked a little at Turbo Fire and Insanity as well. Those two are intense interval cardio based programs. I do think, though, that a person is more likely to push themselves harder when you work out with or in front of other people. When I am doing P90X Plyo and stop doing the exercise with 3 or 4 seconds left in the 30 second interval, there is no one there to judge me. Not that exercising in public is done for show, but I really do think that you are more likely to give it your all when there are other people around, possibly watching you.
The other option I have toyed with is joining a typical gym, probably the World Gym down the street from us. I think that the location would be ideal to run over there in the morning to do a work out, or to stop on the way home from work without having to go out of my way. I don't think the overall cost would be too much more than the city leisure pass, but when you sign up you have to sign a one or two year contract that you can't get out of. You are committed to paying them, whether you use the membership or not. I heard somewhere a while back that gyms make a huge percentage of their yearly income from people who don't use their memberships. I don't want to be one of those people. I think I have proven to myself that I am able to commit to working out. I have just never worked out at a gym. I think it might be neat to have a couple of sessions with a personal trainer to get a program set up, or I could probably pick my sister's brain about what would be a good program for me, since she seems pretty knowledgeable.
Not sure which direction to take, and not going to jump into anything without a good amount of thought first.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
January 1, 2010 vs July 17, 2010
Just for a little more perspective I thought I would share a few of my pictures from January 1st this year alternated with pictures from July 17th (day 90 of P90X). Pretty significant change. I like my new muscles :)
P90X - Grad Pictures and Final Thoughts
These pictures come a week late as we just got back from a week away in Edmonton and Jasper (stay tuned for that blog coming soon!).
I finished up my 90 day journey last Saturday with an attempt to do a 10k run. I got a terrible cramp after about 3k and had to walk back. That is only the second time that has happened to me. Usually if I get a cramp in my side it is minor and I can push through it. But this and the one other time I would stop running and as soon as I ran three or four steps I had the intense pain right back. So I was a little disappointed that my day 90 was a bit of a lighter work out, but I finished it!
I can't believe how quickly 90 days went by! I got Jason to take my final pictures last weekend as we were getting ready to head out on holidays and he kindly did the compilation photos for me so I could show you the final results.
Ta Da!
My final stats looked like this:
Weight 135lb (down 5lbs)
Body fat percentage 21% (down 8%)
Measurements:
Bust 31 3/4" (down 1 1/4")
Waist 28" (down 3")
Hips 38 1/4" (down 3/4")
Right Thigh 22" (down 1/2")
Left Thigh 21 3/4" (down 1/2")
Right Bicep 11" (up 3/4")
Left Bicep 11 1/4" (down 1/4")
That makes a total of 5lbs and 6 inches lost! I am very pleased with the results. I am fitting into pants that were snug a few months ago and I can indeed do a few push ups from my toes. I still can't get my heels on the ground when doing downward dog and am still working towards holding crane for more than 2 seconds during yoga but I am a lot more physically fit and flexible than I was before I started.
I remember before I started the program looking at snippets of the different work outs online and feeling that I could never do it. I definitely did a lot of modifying during my 90 days but I did it! It is an intense program, but I really do think that anyone who is at any level of fitness can do it. If you are a complete exercise newbie you will be more sore than you have ever been. But after a couple of weeks your body will start to adapt and get stronger and as that happens you will not be as sore. You will still be sore, but it gets to be more manageable. As Tony Horton says throughout most of the videos, do your best and forget the rest. If you give it all you are able to give you will get stronger and be able to do more next time.
My next plan involves starting another round of P90X once I am done holidays. I am thinking this time I will replace the cardio days with running to help prepare for the 10k I have coming up on August 15th. After that I may do some running and do some of the P90X cardio as well. I think having gone through the entire program once that next time I may not be as anal about it. I would like to keep up with working out five to six days per week, but if I do the work outs in a different order, or replace some with some Jillian Michaels or other work out videos I won't be too concerned.
I finished up my 90 day journey last Saturday with an attempt to do a 10k run. I got a terrible cramp after about 3k and had to walk back. That is only the second time that has happened to me. Usually if I get a cramp in my side it is minor and I can push through it. But this and the one other time I would stop running and as soon as I ran three or four steps I had the intense pain right back. So I was a little disappointed that my day 90 was a bit of a lighter work out, but I finished it!
I can't believe how quickly 90 days went by! I got Jason to take my final pictures last weekend as we were getting ready to head out on holidays and he kindly did the compilation photos for me so I could show you the final results.
Ta Da!
My final stats looked like this:
Weight 135lb (down 5lbs)
Body fat percentage 21% (down 8%)
Measurements:
Bust 31 3/4" (down 1 1/4")
Waist 28" (down 3")
Hips 38 1/4" (down 3/4")
Right Thigh 22" (down 1/2")
Left Thigh 21 3/4" (down 1/2")
Right Bicep 11" (up 3/4")
Left Bicep 11 1/4" (down 1/4")
That makes a total of 5lbs and 6 inches lost! I am very pleased with the results. I am fitting into pants that were snug a few months ago and I can indeed do a few push ups from my toes. I still can't get my heels on the ground when doing downward dog and am still working towards holding crane for more than 2 seconds during yoga but I am a lot more physically fit and flexible than I was before I started.
I remember before I started the program looking at snippets of the different work outs online and feeling that I could never do it. I definitely did a lot of modifying during my 90 days but I did it! It is an intense program, but I really do think that anyone who is at any level of fitness can do it. If you are a complete exercise newbie you will be more sore than you have ever been. But after a couple of weeks your body will start to adapt and get stronger and as that happens you will not be as sore. You will still be sore, but it gets to be more manageable. As Tony Horton says throughout most of the videos, do your best and forget the rest. If you give it all you are able to give you will get stronger and be able to do more next time.
My next plan involves starting another round of P90X once I am done holidays. I am thinking this time I will replace the cardio days with running to help prepare for the 10k I have coming up on August 15th. After that I may do some running and do some of the P90X cardio as well. I think having gone through the entire program once that next time I may not be as anal about it. I would like to keep up with working out five to six days per week, but if I do the work outs in a different order, or replace some with some Jillian Michaels or other work out videos I won't be too concerned.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
P90X - Day 60 results
Thursday was day 60! I can't believe how quickly the last two months have gone by. I had Jason take pictures of me on Thursday and one first glance I really didn't see any changes from day 30. However, once I got him to put them side by side I could see how much narrower my waist looks. It may not be as visible in the light of these pictures, but I also feel like I have a fair bit more shape in my shoulders, chest, back and arms. I feel so much stronger!
At one point, I believe it was before I started P90X, I said on Twitter that one of my goals in working out was to be in the best physical shape of my life. I honestly think I am there now. Not that I am in stellar shape (I still have a long ways to go), I think I am stronger and have more cardio vascular endurance than I did in high school phys ed (when I was 14 or 15 years old)! I went for a 6km run last night to help prepare for our relay next Saturday and I ran 6k (from the Broadway Bridge to the train bridge and back) in 38 minutes. That included two short (about 1 minute) walks. I would say that in my run yesterday that I felt pretty good until about 18 minutes (3km) in. Then I took my first walk and after that I started to feel a little fatigued. I ran for another 5 minutes then walked a minute and then I told myself that I HAD to run the rest and I did! I have to say that it is going to feel strange next Saturday to run without Kiwi. She has been a good running partner for me.
At one point, I believe it was before I started P90X, I said on Twitter that one of my goals in working out was to be in the best physical shape of my life. I honestly think I am there now. Not that I am in stellar shape (I still have a long ways to go), I think I am stronger and have more cardio vascular endurance than I did in high school phys ed (when I was 14 or 15 years old)! I went for a 6km run last night to help prepare for our relay next Saturday and I ran 6k (from the Broadway Bridge to the train bridge and back) in 38 minutes. That included two short (about 1 minute) walks. I would say that in my run yesterday that I felt pretty good until about 18 minutes (3km) in. Then I took my first walk and after that I started to feel a little fatigued. I ran for another 5 minutes then walked a minute and then I told myself that I HAD to run the rest and I did! I have to say that it is going to feel strange next Saturday to run without Kiwi. She has been a good running partner for me.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Blah
A mixture of various things in my life right now are making me feel really blah. I don't think I would quite say I am depressed I just feel sort of gloomy and low. This weather could really take a hike. I think the sun would do oodles of good for my state of mind right now. And not just one little sunny day....I am talking about a week solid of +20C and sun. I am finding my motivation to work out is even kind of dwindling. I haven't given up on it, but it's not like I hop out of bed and jump into my work out clothes. It's like "ooookay, I guess I'll do it".
I am still enjoying it, and I was really impressed when I attempted the 30 Day Shred last night after not having done it since I started P90X that I am so much stronger. I did a number of push ups from my toes, and the cardio that just about killed me a few months ago wasn't nearly as challenging. But I sure was soaked by the time I was done.
I am thinking this weekend of attempting to do a 6km run on the route that I will run for the Mogathon in a couple of weeks. I would possibly get Jay to drop me off at River Landing and either he could hang out there for a while, or go do some stuff for an hour, then come pick me up at Ravine Drive. I just think it wouldn't be a bad idea to do a full practice run. See how I am able to handle it. At this point I am hoping to be able to run it in 45 minutes or less. Not sure how realistic that is, but at this point I seem to be able to run about 3kms in 20 minutes, so I think it's a realistic goal.
I am still enjoying it, and I was really impressed when I attempted the 30 Day Shred last night after not having done it since I started P90X that I am so much stronger. I did a number of push ups from my toes, and the cardio that just about killed me a few months ago wasn't nearly as challenging. But I sure was soaked by the time I was done.
I am thinking this weekend of attempting to do a 6km run on the route that I will run for the Mogathon in a couple of weeks. I would possibly get Jay to drop me off at River Landing and either he could hang out there for a while, or go do some stuff for an hour, then come pick me up at Ravine Drive. I just think it wouldn't be a bad idea to do a full practice run. See how I am able to handle it. At this point I am hoping to be able to run it in 45 minutes or less. Not sure how realistic that is, but at this point I seem to be able to run about 3kms in 20 minutes, so I think it's a realistic goal.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Half Way There!
Tomorrow is day 45 in my 90 day P90X journey. I can't believe it's been six and a half weeks already. I haven't missed a single day. I have subbed out different work outs a couple of times for Kenpo X, but I have worked out six days/week for the last six weeks. I have to say in general I feel really good. My energy level is much better than it used to be and I have greater endurance with doing physically strenuous activities. That is what I was looking for at the start of the year when I started exercising. I wasn't ever looking to lose much weight or get all ripped and muscly, but was looking to be healthier, stronger, more flexible and able to do some push ups from my toes. So far so good :)
I also finished up week five of my Couch to 5K running plan. Today's run included a five minute warm up walk, then twenty minutes of running, then a cool down walk. It went quite well. I was definitely getting fatigued by the end of the 20 minutes. But I wouldn't say it felt like a struggle. I used Google Maps Pedometer site to figure out that I actually ran 3km in the 20 minutes. I say that's not too bad. If I can run 6kms on June 26th in 40 minutes I think that will make me happy. Next week in the C25K program is the last week that includes walking intervals. Week seven has three twenty five minute runs, week eight three twenty eight minute runs and week nine three thirty minute runs. And theoretically by the time you can run for thirty minutes you should be able to run about 5km. I figure adding an extra kilometer shouldn't be too bad. In the next few weeks I hope to go down and do some running by the river so I actually get some hills which we don't have in our area.
I also finished up week five of my Couch to 5K running plan. Today's run included a five minute warm up walk, then twenty minutes of running, then a cool down walk. It went quite well. I was definitely getting fatigued by the end of the 20 minutes. But I wouldn't say it felt like a struggle. I used Google Maps Pedometer site to figure out that I actually ran 3km in the 20 minutes. I say that's not too bad. If I can run 6kms on June 26th in 40 minutes I think that will make me happy. Next week in the C25K program is the last week that includes walking intervals. Week seven has three twenty five minute runs, week eight three twenty eight minute runs and week nine three thirty minute runs. And theoretically by the time you can run for thirty minutes you should be able to run about 5km. I figure adding an extra kilometer shouldn't be too bad. In the next few weeks I hope to go down and do some running by the river so I actually get some hills which we don't have in our area.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Top 10 Reasons You Know You Are Obsessed with P90X
1. On Thursday your child asks you what day it is and you say “Yoga”
2. You go to a Mexican restaurant and order a “chaturanga”
3. You say “BRING IT” in any motivational setting you find yourself in.
4. You tell yourself to “get sexy with it” when trying to wiggle into the frog
5. When you put on your resume that you have a degree in “PLYOMETRICS”
6. After 30 minutes or more of sexual activity you have a recovery drink
7. Before starting anything, you have to do at least 5 min of static/ballistic stretching
8. When Tony says “Superman” your 2 year old replies with … “banana”
9. You REALLY expect (and anticipate) Tony Horton to come to your house if you do 26 side tri-rises or MORE!
10. You tell your dog to “Namaste”
Monday, May 24, 2010
Long Weekend and Stuff
Even though the weather was ridiculously terrible this weekend, I feel like I had a good productive few days. Friday after work I got our front and back lawns mowed, did some weeding and some pruning of our shrubs. I was hoping to get up at a reasonable hour on Saturday to get some planting done since it wasn't supposed to start raining until around noon. I did actually get all my planting done and even got our front lawn fertilized before it started raining in the afternoon. I got my work out in, showered then it was time to cook some supper (home made chicken nuggets, potato wedges and broccoli, yum!). Saturday evening was spent relaxing because all the fresh air tuckered me out.
Sunday we went to church, came home, napped, rested, stretched, baked muffins and stayed in from the cold, windy, rainy, ickyness. I was so glad to wake up to sunshine this morning. My plan was to do my P90X work out (Chest, Shoulders and Triceps and Ab Ripper) then take Kiwi and go for a jog down by the river. My sister called this morning and asked if I would want to go for a jog with her and then go for lunch so that's what we did instead. We jogged/walked for a good 6-7kms and I am definitely feeling it this evening. Might need to have a soak in the tub. I then came home, showered and quickly went over to my sister's friend's house to exchange some Arbonne that I had ordered that I wasn't liking so much. I stopped at Superstore to pick up some fresh veggies for supper and while I was there I found two tops and a pair of yoga shorts for $50 (I flat out refuse to shop at Lululemon, or other expensive stores. I would have probably spent over $200 for what I got today at one of those other stores!
I started week six of P90X this morning. I have to say I am proud of myself for working out six days/week for the last five weeks. And all but one of the Sundays I have done my stretching video. So I have done some form of exercise for the last 5 weeks, every day! I am happy with my progress so far. The running seems to be coming along well too. I did day one of my 4th week in the couch to 5k program and it went quite well. It involved running for 3 minutes, then a walk, then running 5 minutes and walk then repeat. Today I did a lot more running than that, and it wasn't too bad, so I am feeling confident that in the next five weeks I should be able to train myself to run for 6k!
Speaking of C25K, I had downloaded some free podcasts with Christian music to use while I run to tell me when to run and when to walk. I have to say that I was excited to see that there was a Christian option. Just because the other option I found on the one website was just generic boring techno type music. But after listening to two of the podcasts I was incredibly disappointed with the music. It makes me want to sleep more than run........ I found a link to a different site tonight and downloaded some much more upbeat podcasts that have modern funky upbeat music that will keep me wanting to run, especially once I get to the point where it is just a 5 minute warm up walk and then you run for 20 or 25 minutes. No lame Christian music for me! :P
Sunday we went to church, came home, napped, rested, stretched, baked muffins and stayed in from the cold, windy, rainy, ickyness. I was so glad to wake up to sunshine this morning. My plan was to do my P90X work out (Chest, Shoulders and Triceps and Ab Ripper) then take Kiwi and go for a jog down by the river. My sister called this morning and asked if I would want to go for a jog with her and then go for lunch so that's what we did instead. We jogged/walked for a good 6-7kms and I am definitely feeling it this evening. Might need to have a soak in the tub. I then came home, showered and quickly went over to my sister's friend's house to exchange some Arbonne that I had ordered that I wasn't liking so much. I stopped at Superstore to pick up some fresh veggies for supper and while I was there I found two tops and a pair of yoga shorts for $50 (I flat out refuse to shop at Lululemon, or other expensive stores. I would have probably spent over $200 for what I got today at one of those other stores!
I started week six of P90X this morning. I have to say I am proud of myself for working out six days/week for the last five weeks. And all but one of the Sundays I have done my stretching video. So I have done some form of exercise for the last 5 weeks, every day! I am happy with my progress so far. The running seems to be coming along well too. I did day one of my 4th week in the couch to 5k program and it went quite well. It involved running for 3 minutes, then a walk, then running 5 minutes and walk then repeat. Today I did a lot more running than that, and it wasn't too bad, so I am feeling confident that in the next five weeks I should be able to train myself to run for 6k!
Speaking of C25K, I had downloaded some free podcasts with Christian music to use while I run to tell me when to run and when to walk. I have to say that I was excited to see that there was a Christian option. Just because the other option I found on the one website was just generic boring techno type music. But after listening to two of the podcasts I was incredibly disappointed with the music. It makes me want to sleep more than run........ I found a link to a different site tonight and downloaded some much more upbeat podcasts that have modern funky upbeat music that will keep me wanting to run, especially once I get to the point where it is just a 5 minute warm up walk and then you run for 20 or 25 minutes. No lame Christian music for me! :P
Monday, May 17, 2010
P90X - 30 Day results
I started my first day of phase 2 today. Let me just say that if you thought Chest and Back was tough, just wait until you get to Chest, Shoulders and Triceps. OUCH! It is a rough one. It includes such wonderful things as one arm push ups, clapping push ups (I managed 7 from my knees!), tons of tricep exercises and lots of shoulder exercises. I think you do a total of 24 different exercises over the hour. I also got back to doing Ab Ripper this week after a week off last week (though the Yoga belly portion of the Yoga X and the Core Synergistics definitely kept my abs working last week!). Ab Ripper still felt challenging and I did what I could. For some reason I started to feel some heartburn during the mason twists at the end so I just quit after about 20 of them but felt like I gave a good overall effort so I am not concerned. I even got up this morning and did my 2nd couch to 5K run (week 3) and it went pretty well.
As promised here are my pictures from my first 30 days. I didn't do side by side pictures this time because the changes are very subtle in the pictures. My tummy is a little flatter, my arms definitely have more definition and my biceps are finally about the same size. In the numbers I was down 2lb to 138lb. I lost an inch off my bust, one and a half inches off my waist, half an inch of my hips and a quarter inch off each thigh. I actually gained some size in my left bicep and my right bicep, which was an inch smaller than my left a month ago is now about the same size as the left. According to the body fat calculator on teambeachbody.com I am down to 24% body fat from 29%. I don't know how accurate it is because it only looks at your age, weight and waist circumference but it at least lets me know that there is more going on than just 2lbs lost. Have definitely gained some muscle and burned some fat.
As promised here are my pictures from my first 30 days. I didn't do side by side pictures this time because the changes are very subtle in the pictures. My tummy is a little flatter, my arms definitely have more definition and my biceps are finally about the same size. In the numbers I was down 2lb to 138lb. I lost an inch off my bust, one and a half inches off my waist, half an inch of my hips and a quarter inch off each thigh. I actually gained some size in my left bicep and my right bicep, which was an inch smaller than my left a month ago is now about the same size as the left. According to the body fat calculator on teambeachbody.com I am down to 24% body fat from 29%. I don't know how accurate it is because it only looks at your age, weight and waist circumference but it at least lets me know that there is more going on than just 2lbs lost. Have definitely gained some muscle and burned some fat.
Friday, May 14, 2010
An interesting development
Yesterday I got an email from our friend Stacey asking of I or anyone I know would be interested in participating in the Mogathon 30km relay in June. After reading up on it and being assured that I wouldn't have to run more than 6km I agreed that I would be interested, as long as Stacey didn't expect us to win, haha. I also asked my sister and she is also going to participate. The 30km course is broken up into five 6km segments. You need to have a team of 3-5 members and each member can run one or two segments of the course.
I have never run that far in my life. I am not a runner. But I decided that with my new found bit of physical fitness that I should be able to train myself to be able to run that distance in a reasonable amount of time. I have decided to do the Couch to 5K program starting in week three. I figure that I am not starting out as a couch potato so this way I should be able to finish the program by the end of June in time for the Mogathon. On the website for the Couch to 5K there are a series of podcasts with music that are timed to tell you when to run and when to walk. The way the C25K program works is that you start out running for a minute then walking for a minute and do that for about 20 minutes. Then each week you increase the amount of time you run and take shorter breaks. With this program you run three days/week. By the end of the 9 weeks you should be able to run 5km without stopping. I am just hoping to be able to do it without hurting myself. The muscles next to my shins (tibialis anterior) are pretty stiff today after going for a 5km jog/walk with Kiwi yesterday morning.
I think tomorrow I will try to go for another jog and I need to do the final work out in my P90X recovery week, Yoga X. I have to say it was....I can't quite call it easier.....maybe less challenging....this week than the previous weeks. There were things I was able to do that I haven't been able to up to this point. I am getting better at chaturanga as my triceps get stronger. My balance is a lot better, though still not anywhere near perfect. And I have to brag for a moment about my flexibility. When I spend a bit of time stretching I can almost put my hands flat on the ground with my legs straight when I bend over. Woohoo!
Sunday will bring my Phase 1 of P90X to a close and I will start into Phase 2. From what I read and have seen the bulk of a person's results seem to show up in phase 2 and phase 3, so I am excited to see what the next 60 days will bring. Stay tuned for my 30 day progress pictures coming soon!
I have never run that far in my life. I am not a runner. But I decided that with my new found bit of physical fitness that I should be able to train myself to be able to run that distance in a reasonable amount of time. I have decided to do the Couch to 5K program starting in week three. I figure that I am not starting out as a couch potato so this way I should be able to finish the program by the end of June in time for the Mogathon. On the website for the Couch to 5K there are a series of podcasts with music that are timed to tell you when to run and when to walk. The way the C25K program works is that you start out running for a minute then walking for a minute and do that for about 20 minutes. Then each week you increase the amount of time you run and take shorter breaks. With this program you run three days/week. By the end of the 9 weeks you should be able to run 5km without stopping. I am just hoping to be able to do it without hurting myself. The muscles next to my shins (tibialis anterior) are pretty stiff today after going for a 5km jog/walk with Kiwi yesterday morning.
I think tomorrow I will try to go for another jog and I need to do the final work out in my P90X recovery week, Yoga X. I have to say it was....I can't quite call it easier.....maybe less challenging....this week than the previous weeks. There were things I was able to do that I haven't been able to up to this point. I am getting better at chaturanga as my triceps get stronger. My balance is a lot better, though still not anywhere near perfect. And I have to brag for a moment about my flexibility. When I spend a bit of time stretching I can almost put my hands flat on the ground with my legs straight when I bend over. Woohoo!
Sunday will bring my Phase 1 of P90X to a close and I will start into Phase 2. From what I read and have seen the bulk of a person's results seem to show up in phase 2 and phase 3, so I am excited to see what the next 60 days will bring. Stay tuned for my 30 day progress pictures coming soon!
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Recovery week here I come!
Today was the end of my third week of P90X. It is going really well so far and I am really enjoying it. I like the variety this program offers, and I haven't gotten bored with it yet. The big selling point for this program, and why it apparently works in a period of 90 days is a concept called 'muscle confusion'. It keeps changing things up throughout the 90 days so that just as you might start to plateau you mix it up and do something different for a while.
This next week is my first 'recovery week'. For the first 3 weeks I did the same schedule of work outs and this week I do something completely different. In recovery week there are no days of resistance training. You focus more on stretching, yoga and cardio work outs. Tomorrow I will tackle Yoga in all it's 90 minute long goodness :P (I think 60 minutes would have been sufficient!). Then the next day is a work out called Core Synergistics which I have never tried. It focuses a lot on your core strength and looks like a pretty tough work out from what I have seen. The rest of the week will include a session of Kenpo (not Kempo like so many people on the Facebook P90X page like to call it :P), a session of X Stretch, and another yoga and another core synergistics.
From what I have read after switching it up for a week, then starting back into strength training the next week it feels like you are starting all over again because you took a break from it (though you still work hard during recovery week, it's not rest week like some people seem to think). The week after recovery week will incorporate a couple of new work outs. Instead of 'Chest and Back' and 'Shoulders and Arms' I will be doing 'Chest, Shoulders and Triceps' and 'Back and Biceps'. I have heard through the grapevine that 'Chest, Shoulders and Triceps' includes one arm and clapping/plyometric push ups. That ought to be fun. We will call that day "Watch Angie Fall on Her Face Day". Well I guess Chest and Back could already be that day since I have come close to falling on my face doing decline and dive bomber push ups.
I am definitely feeling firmer overall and I am starting to see more definition in my arm muscles. I am really curious to see what day 90 will look like for me :) I will get Jay to take some phase one/30 day photos of me next week so I can see if there is a visible improvement. There is no doubt that I do feel stronger and firmer though!
This next week is my first 'recovery week'. For the first 3 weeks I did the same schedule of work outs and this week I do something completely different. In recovery week there are no days of resistance training. You focus more on stretching, yoga and cardio work outs. Tomorrow I will tackle Yoga in all it's 90 minute long goodness :P (I think 60 minutes would have been sufficient!). Then the next day is a work out called Core Synergistics which I have never tried. It focuses a lot on your core strength and looks like a pretty tough work out from what I have seen. The rest of the week will include a session of Kenpo (not Kempo like so many people on the Facebook P90X page like to call it :P), a session of X Stretch, and another yoga and another core synergistics.
From what I have read after switching it up for a week, then starting back into strength training the next week it feels like you are starting all over again because you took a break from it (though you still work hard during recovery week, it's not rest week like some people seem to think). The week after recovery week will incorporate a couple of new work outs. Instead of 'Chest and Back' and 'Shoulders and Arms' I will be doing 'Chest, Shoulders and Triceps' and 'Back and Biceps'. I have heard through the grapevine that 'Chest, Shoulders and Triceps' includes one arm and clapping/plyometric push ups. That ought to be fun. We will call that day "Watch Angie Fall on Her Face Day". Well I guess Chest and Back could already be that day since I have come close to falling on my face doing decline and dive bomber push ups.
I am definitely feeling firmer overall and I am starting to see more definition in my arm muscles. I am really curious to see what day 90 will look like for me :) I will get Jay to take some phase one/30 day photos of me next week so I can see if there is a visible improvement. There is no doubt that I do feel stronger and firmer though!
Monday, May 03, 2010
Achieving Goals
On Saturday I did a push up from my toes for the first time in my life. I tried to do another one and couldn't get back up. I had Jason watch me, to let me know if my form was good and he said it looked pretty good! Today was my Chest and Back work out and I did a ton of push ups (69 to be precise!), but after doing just one from my toes again I had to go to my knees for the rest. I really feel the burn doing push ups from my knees so I feel no shame in doing them that way. In the last month or so, once or twice a week I would try to do a push up from my toes. Just to see if I had that strength yet, and I would go down and strain and strain and not get back up. Saturday I tried, and I was able to get back up! Push ups from my toes was one of my goals I was hoping to achieve with P90X. Today was day 15. If that's the case hopefully by the end of 90 days I will be pounding out standard push ups like they are nothing!
Another goal I am pretty proud of is the improving flexibility in my hamstrings. I can now touch the ground when I bend over with straight knees. Definitely could not do that on January 1st of this year. I could also barely touch my toes when sitting with my legs straight out in front of me. Even with one leg bent and one straight....now I can get a good grasp on my toes. Still have a long way to go, but I might just get flexible yet!
Another goal I am pretty proud of is the improving flexibility in my hamstrings. I can now touch the ground when I bend over with straight knees. Definitely could not do that on January 1st of this year. I could also barely touch my toes when sitting with my legs straight out in front of me. Even with one leg bent and one straight....now I can get a good grasp on my toes. Still have a long way to go, but I might just get flexible yet!
Friday, April 23, 2010
More P90X
Are you sick of it yet? I promise I will have other blog posts that aren't P90X related in the next three months. But for now, here is how my week has been going.
Today was day 5 - Legs and Back and Ab Ripper X. I have done Legs and Back a couple of times before I started and I have to say it is probably one of my favorites. I like working my legs. I like the variety of squats, lunges, etc. and I like the burn. Wall squats are crazy. There is quite the burn with those. Especially when you have to lift up one of your legs and do a single leg wall squat. Amazing how long ten seconds can feel when one of your legs is holding up most of your weight in a squatting position! I found that I struggled with getting my raised leg up to even level with my other leg. I know that my hamstrings are tight, and that makes it tough, but I was feeling it mainly in my hip flexors. I am sure it'll get easier with time. I have noticed that Legs and Back is one of the workouts that you do once a week throughout the whole 90 days. The other resistance workouts change up after 30 days.
The last couple of days included Shoulders and Arms on Wednesday and Yoga X yesterday. Shoulders and Arms was good. I picked up some 10LB dumbbells as I found the 7LB ones weren't quite enough for my biceps. Definitely felt the burn with the 10LBs. At the end there is an exercise called 'side-tri-rise' which is quite challenging. I found that I felt it more in my pecs and obliques than in my triceps. Almost felt like my pecs were going to cramp on me. I am sure as I get stronger they will get easier.
Yoga X was a crazy marathon workout. It is 90 minutes long! The first half of it involves what I believe is called flow yoga. It involves moving through postures in time with your breathing. It also involves a lot of vinyasas. Still struggle with that chaturanga and my downward dog still needs some work. After the first 45 minutes you move into more balance postures and stretching. I don't mind some of them, but some are really hard! I attempted crane (which I totally could do as a kid!) and managed to hold it for a couple of seconds with my big toes on the ground. I also attempted wheel (which I could also do as a kid!) and got stuck with my head on the floor. There is this one (can't remember the name of it) where you are in a lunge and somehow you reach your hand down between your legs and grab your other hand behind your back. I reached and reached and could not make contact with my other hand. Maybe someday I will find it.....haha. My balance pretty much sucks, so I am hoping it will improve as I do yoga once a week for the next three months.
Tomorrow is Kenpo X. If you didn't know Kenpo is a form of karate. I have done Kenpo X a couple of times but always feel awkward because there is a certain amount of choreography with it. Making sure you put your whole body into the kicks and punches, not just going through the motions. I definitely work up a sweat, but have seen a number of people on the Facebook P90X group that suggest using ankle weights or weighted gloves to kick it up a notch. We will see if I need that at some point. Then Sunday is either my rest or X Stretch day. I like the stretch routine so I might give it a go.
In all honesty I don't feel as sore as I thought I might this week. I can't quite imagine having started this program in January after NEVER having worked out regularly. I was super sore after doing the 30 Day Shred for the first few days. But my body adapted and I felt less sore with time. I have heard that the big factor that makes P90X so effective is the concept of muscle confusion. I have heard people say that once they hit week 5 and the workouts change that you feel like you are starting all over again and you are sore again. I am interested to see how I make out in the next 12 weeks :)
Today was day 5 - Legs and Back and Ab Ripper X. I have done Legs and Back a couple of times before I started and I have to say it is probably one of my favorites. I like working my legs. I like the variety of squats, lunges, etc. and I like the burn. Wall squats are crazy. There is quite the burn with those. Especially when you have to lift up one of your legs and do a single leg wall squat. Amazing how long ten seconds can feel when one of your legs is holding up most of your weight in a squatting position! I found that I struggled with getting my raised leg up to even level with my other leg. I know that my hamstrings are tight, and that makes it tough, but I was feeling it mainly in my hip flexors. I am sure it'll get easier with time. I have noticed that Legs and Back is one of the workouts that you do once a week throughout the whole 90 days. The other resistance workouts change up after 30 days.
The last couple of days included Shoulders and Arms on Wednesday and Yoga X yesterday. Shoulders and Arms was good. I picked up some 10LB dumbbells as I found the 7LB ones weren't quite enough for my biceps. Definitely felt the burn with the 10LBs. At the end there is an exercise called 'side-tri-rise' which is quite challenging. I found that I felt it more in my pecs and obliques than in my triceps. Almost felt like my pecs were going to cramp on me. I am sure as I get stronger they will get easier.
Yoga X was a crazy marathon workout. It is 90 minutes long! The first half of it involves what I believe is called flow yoga. It involves moving through postures in time with your breathing. It also involves a lot of vinyasas. Still struggle with that chaturanga and my downward dog still needs some work. After the first 45 minutes you move into more balance postures and stretching. I don't mind some of them, but some are really hard! I attempted crane (which I totally could do as a kid!) and managed to hold it for a couple of seconds with my big toes on the ground. I also attempted wheel (which I could also do as a kid!) and got stuck with my head on the floor. There is this one (can't remember the name of it) where you are in a lunge and somehow you reach your hand down between your legs and grab your other hand behind your back. I reached and reached and could not make contact with my other hand. Maybe someday I will find it.....haha. My balance pretty much sucks, so I am hoping it will improve as I do yoga once a week for the next three months.
Tomorrow is Kenpo X. If you didn't know Kenpo is a form of karate. I have done Kenpo X a couple of times but always feel awkward because there is a certain amount of choreography with it. Making sure you put your whole body into the kicks and punches, not just going through the motions. I definitely work up a sweat, but have seen a number of people on the Facebook P90X group that suggest using ankle weights or weighted gloves to kick it up a notch. We will see if I need that at some point. Then Sunday is either my rest or X Stretch day. I like the stretch routine so I might give it a go.
In all honesty I don't feel as sore as I thought I might this week. I can't quite imagine having started this program in January after NEVER having worked out regularly. I was super sore after doing the 30 Day Shred for the first few days. But my body adapted and I felt less sore with time. I have heard that the big factor that makes P90X so effective is the concept of muscle confusion. I have heard people say that once they hit week 5 and the workouts change that you feel like you are starting all over again and you are sore again. I am interested to see how I make out in the next 12 weeks :)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Plyometrics
I survived it this morning. The last time I tried to do it a couple of weeks ago I actually ran out of steam about 3/4 of the way through and had to fast forward to the cool down. Today I made it (with some modifications of course)! This is a tough work out. Tony's lesson of the day (he usually has some lesson for each work out) for plyometrics is to think like a cat. Which basically means make sure you are landing softly when you jump. I was doing my best, but Jay did come out at one point to see why the house was shaking :P Angie's cat = elephant, haha!
I was thinking today about the nutrition plan that comes with P90X. I am not following it, but I was thinking today what it might be like. I think it would be interesting to see the changes in my body if I did follow it. I am sure my body fat percentage would decrease and my muscles might look more defined. But I feel that I just like food too much to restrict myself so much. I do like vegetables and fruits and whole grains and egg whites and chicken and I have even come to terms with fish fairly recently (I even tried a couple of varieties of sashimi aka raw fish at Nagoya for supper last night). But I also enjoy beef and farmer sausage and ketchup and bbq sauce. Not that those foods are bad, but I know that if I did want to go for a very lean/toned look that I would be wise to follow the P90X nutrition plan.
I think as long as I am taking in enough calories to have the energy to do the workouts I will be happy with my results. I know to not be hung up on the number on the scale. I am more concerned about how my clothes fit me, and my ability to go up and down the stairs a few times without being winded. I am embarking on this 90 day work out plan to get stronger and more fit. I am not going to go on the P90X Facebook group and whine that I am not getting the results I hoped for, because I know if I don't follow the diet that I am not going to look like the people on the P90X infomercial. However, depending how things go maybe if I do another round of P90X at some point I will strive to follow the nutrition plan just to maximize the benefits of the program.
I was thinking today about the nutrition plan that comes with P90X. I am not following it, but I was thinking today what it might be like. I think it would be interesting to see the changes in my body if I did follow it. I am sure my body fat percentage would decrease and my muscles might look more defined. But I feel that I just like food too much to restrict myself so much. I do like vegetables and fruits and whole grains and egg whites and chicken and I have even come to terms with fish fairly recently (I even tried a couple of varieties of sashimi aka raw fish at Nagoya for supper last night). But I also enjoy beef and farmer sausage and ketchup and bbq sauce. Not that those foods are bad, but I know that if I did want to go for a very lean/toned look that I would be wise to follow the P90X nutrition plan.
I think as long as I am taking in enough calories to have the energy to do the workouts I will be happy with my results. I know to not be hung up on the number on the scale. I am more concerned about how my clothes fit me, and my ability to go up and down the stairs a few times without being winded. I am embarking on this 90 day work out plan to get stronger and more fit. I am not going to go on the P90X Facebook group and whine that I am not getting the results I hoped for, because I know if I don't follow the diet that I am not going to look like the people on the P90X infomercial. However, depending how things go maybe if I do another round of P90X at some point I will strive to follow the nutrition plan just to maximize the benefits of the program.
Monday, April 19, 2010
P90X - Day 1 - Chest and Back and Ab Ripper X
Today was the big day! I started my 90 day journey. My goals for the end of my 90 days are to be able to do some push ups from my toes, have a pretty looking downward dog (ie gain flexibility) and be more physically fit overall.
I am going to share my starting stats and hopefully as I progress through my 90 days there will be a positive change in these numbers. Here goes:
Weight - 140lbs
Height - 5ft 7inches
Body Fat Percentage - 29% (according to teambeachbody.com's body fat percentage calculator)
I decided to do another set of photos to mark day one of P90X. I will plan to take pictures at the 30, 60 and 90 day marks to see how I have progressed. I don't necessarily expect to achieve a HUGE change in my appearance as I do not plan to follow the nutrition plan that came with P90X. I plan to eat smarter, eat more protein, less refined sugar and white carbs. I want to up my fruit and veggie intake as well as increase my water intake.
Bust - 33"
Waist - 31" (at belly button)
Hips - 39"
Right Thigh - 22.5"
Left Thigh - 22.25"
Right Bicep - 10.25"
Left Bicep - 11.5"
I have to say that I am surprised by the discrepancy between my right and left biceps. I have noticed before that my left bicep pops up more when I flex it, but didn't give it much thought. You can definitely see the difference in the pictures. I hope that working out doing P90X will help to even them out.
There, now that that is out there, I will talk about my experiences with day one. I still feel jittery, so it must have been a good workout! Tony Horton (the creator of P90X) says at the beginning of the workout that Chest and Back is all about pushing and pulling and so it was. I still don't have a chin up bar, but we purchased a decent resistance band that I use for the back exercises. For the chest most of the exercises involve a variety of different push ups. I am keeping track of the numbers of each exercise I do so that I can track my progress and stay motivated by watching my improvements. I would like to brag for a minute and tell you that I did 51 push ups today! They varied from standard, military, wide fly, and diamond push ups. I must admit that I could not do any decline or dive bomber push ups, but those are pretty advanced moves. I feel no shame! As for the pull downs with the bands I did 91! My lats feel pretty jello-y, so I think I did a good job!
The last part of the work out today was Ab Ripper X. It is a 15 minute long workout for the abs that consists of eleven moves that are each done for twenty five reps. I of course could not do all of the reps for all of the exercises, but I did what I could and in the end I did 214 ab exercises out of a possible 349. Woohoo!
Tomorrow's workout is Plyometrics. They call it "the mother of all P90X workouts". I have tried it a couple of times already and it is tough. It is all about jumping. Jump squats, jump lunges, jump knee tuck, jump, jump, jump. One thing I find interesting is one of the people who is on that DVD doing the workout with Tony Horton has a lower leg prosthetic. I say, if he can do it, I have NO excuse! I have read online that some people end up vomiting during Plyo. I think I would stop and rest before getting to that point. I am looking forward to the challenge tomorrow :)
I am going to share my starting stats and hopefully as I progress through my 90 days there will be a positive change in these numbers. Here goes:
Weight - 140lbs
Height - 5ft 7inches
Body Fat Percentage - 29% (according to teambeachbody.com's body fat percentage calculator)
I decided to do another set of photos to mark day one of P90X. I will plan to take pictures at the 30, 60 and 90 day marks to see how I have progressed. I don't necessarily expect to achieve a HUGE change in my appearance as I do not plan to follow the nutrition plan that came with P90X. I plan to eat smarter, eat more protein, less refined sugar and white carbs. I want to up my fruit and veggie intake as well as increase my water intake.
Bust - 33"
Waist - 31" (at belly button)
Hips - 39"
Right Thigh - 22.5"
Left Thigh - 22.25"
Right Bicep - 10.25"
Left Bicep - 11.5"
I have to say that I am surprised by the discrepancy between my right and left biceps. I have noticed before that my left bicep pops up more when I flex it, but didn't give it much thought. You can definitely see the difference in the pictures. I hope that working out doing P90X will help to even them out.
There, now that that is out there, I will talk about my experiences with day one. I still feel jittery, so it must have been a good workout! Tony Horton (the creator of P90X) says at the beginning of the workout that Chest and Back is all about pushing and pulling and so it was. I still don't have a chin up bar, but we purchased a decent resistance band that I use for the back exercises. For the chest most of the exercises involve a variety of different push ups. I am keeping track of the numbers of each exercise I do so that I can track my progress and stay motivated by watching my improvements. I would like to brag for a minute and tell you that I did 51 push ups today! They varied from standard, military, wide fly, and diamond push ups. I must admit that I could not do any decline or dive bomber push ups, but those are pretty advanced moves. I feel no shame! As for the pull downs with the bands I did 91! My lats feel pretty jello-y, so I think I did a good job!
The last part of the work out today was Ab Ripper X. It is a 15 minute long workout for the abs that consists of eleven moves that are each done for twenty five reps. I of course could not do all of the reps for all of the exercises, but I did what I could and in the end I did 214 ab exercises out of a possible 349. Woohoo!
Tomorrow's workout is Plyometrics. They call it "the mother of all P90X workouts". I have tried it a couple of times already and it is tough. It is all about jumping. Jump squats, jump lunges, jump knee tuck, jump, jump, jump. One thing I find interesting is one of the people who is on that DVD doing the workout with Tony Horton has a lower leg prosthetic. I say, if he can do it, I have NO excuse! I have read online that some people end up vomiting during Plyo. I think I would stop and rest before getting to that point. I am looking forward to the challenge tomorrow :)
Saturday, April 10, 2010
The countdown is on
I am hoping to start P90X in about a week. I bought it earlier this week from Walmart. I did pay full price for it, but at least I know it is a quality copy and not a pirated version for half price from Ebay or Kijiji. I also bought some heavier hand weights and today we bought a resistance band. I think I am ready to get started with it.
I was thinking all week that I would start with it this Sunday. I came down with a cold on Thursday so between that and knowing I will be away next weekend (going to Regina for a continuing education course), I decided that NEXT week will be my start. Since it is a 6 day/week program I figure if I start on a Sunday that Saturday will be my rest/stretch day which I like. I have been aiming to take Saturdays off in the last month or so since I have been trying to work out 6 days/week.
Since I bought P90X earlier this week I have sampled a few of the workouts. Today I tried Shoulders and Arms. I was pleased to realize that I will likely need to invest in a set of 10lb dumbbells and at some point might even need 15lbs! I guess I am just used to doing Jillian Michaels videos where it is all about a low weight (3 or 5lbs) but doing really high reps. P90X is more about doing 8-10 reps (if you want to gain mass) or 12-15 reps (to make more lean muscles) and you should be struggling to do the last 2 or 3 reps.
I also sampled Plyometrics this week. Wow! That is one intense workout. I think I realize why they call it the 'mother of all P90X workouts'. Phew. Tons of squats, lunges, jumping, jumping squats, jumping lunges, etc. Sweating buckets after that one. I only did about 3/4 of the workout and I ran out of steam and had to go to the cool down and call it a day.
I am planning to follow the Classic program which is intended for those who aren't looking to lose a ton of weight but just want to tone and get leaner. It incorporates three days of resistance training, two days of cardio (plyometrics and Kenpo karate) and a day of yoga. I am not intending to follow the nutrition plan to a tee. But I will definitely take the basic outline into account. I know I will need a good number of quality calories (lots of protein and complex carbohydrates) so I will aim to eat better than I do now. I am going to really cut down on or entirely eliminate diet pop from my life. I don't care to drink regular pop anymore, and I know that aspartame is pretty bad for you. I have also been trying to drink more water (aim for 2L/day).
A couple of weeks ago I saw this video and found it quite inspirational!
I was thinking all week that I would start with it this Sunday. I came down with a cold on Thursday so between that and knowing I will be away next weekend (going to Regina for a continuing education course), I decided that NEXT week will be my start. Since it is a 6 day/week program I figure if I start on a Sunday that Saturday will be my rest/stretch day which I like. I have been aiming to take Saturdays off in the last month or so since I have been trying to work out 6 days/week.
Since I bought P90X earlier this week I have sampled a few of the workouts. Today I tried Shoulders and Arms. I was pleased to realize that I will likely need to invest in a set of 10lb dumbbells and at some point might even need 15lbs! I guess I am just used to doing Jillian Michaels videos where it is all about a low weight (3 or 5lbs) but doing really high reps. P90X is more about doing 8-10 reps (if you want to gain mass) or 12-15 reps (to make more lean muscles) and you should be struggling to do the last 2 or 3 reps.
I also sampled Plyometrics this week. Wow! That is one intense workout. I think I realize why they call it the 'mother of all P90X workouts'. Phew. Tons of squats, lunges, jumping, jumping squats, jumping lunges, etc. Sweating buckets after that one. I only did about 3/4 of the workout and I ran out of steam and had to go to the cool down and call it a day.
I am planning to follow the Classic program which is intended for those who aren't looking to lose a ton of weight but just want to tone and get leaner. It incorporates three days of resistance training, two days of cardio (plyometrics and Kenpo karate) and a day of yoga. I am not intending to follow the nutrition plan to a tee. But I will definitely take the basic outline into account. I know I will need a good number of quality calories (lots of protein and complex carbohydrates) so I will aim to eat better than I do now. I am going to really cut down on or entirely eliminate diet pop from my life. I don't care to drink regular pop anymore, and I know that aspartame is pretty bad for you. I have also been trying to drink more water (aim for 2L/day).
A couple of weeks ago I saw this video and found it quite inspirational!