(This post lifted from my entry today in the Beachbody message boards, because I just ran out of time...)
Day 5: Legs and Back; Ab Ripper X
My day was kind of screwy. I lost my real job (videographer, corporate) last year in April, and since September I've been driving a taxi to tread water while my industry (I hope!) recovers from the recession. My current schedule, of my own making, is Mon-Wed. split days (4:00am to 9:00am; 3:00pm to 10pm), and Thu night-Sat night, overnights (usually around 7:00pm-10:00am.) I nap in the car whenever possible, usually not while driving!
I have a shoot gig next week (Sun-Tue) with my former employer, and today I had to go to their office and pack video gear to take with me to Omaha. I worked overnight last night, got home around 9:30, ate breakfast, and then goofed around too long on Facebook and Beachbody.com. I lay down around 11:00am for a nap, was up at 1:00am and was off to the office to pack. Since I left there, the shoot gear has been strewn to the four corners of the globe. One of my former coworkers did his best to corral it all into one room, but there was still a fair amount of hunting to do, so the visit took longer than I had hoped. By the time I got home it was 5:30. I was hungry, but I hadn't worked out yet. I was poorly hydrated, so I drank a glass of water,then killed some time online again. I started the Legs and Back workout a little after 6:00.
Sleep deprived, undernourished, and underhydrated make for a difficult workout, let me tell you! I didn't quit, but I did push 'pause' a lot. A LOT!! But at the end I felt totally wiped.
Oh, did I mention? I totally forgot about Ab Ripper X ... again! When that segment started I really wanted to cry! In the previous two visits to Ab Ripper X, I made it through about 1/3 to 1/2 of each routine. Today I fought really hard to make it to half the reps of each routine they do in the video. And I thought I was wiped before? JEESH!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Day 4: Yoga X
I've never been a big fan of yoga, so I've eyed this workout from afar with some disrespect. It's not that I think it's easy; I know how difficult it can be. I just have never cared for it. But I'm not letting that stop me from trying it. Nay, from doing it!
Yoga X is a 90-minute workout. Ninety minutes! That exceeds my attention span by about 87 minutes! And when I ... OOH! Hey! I found a nickel under my chair!
Oops... Where was I? Oh, yeah. Yoga X.
As with everything in this program, I knew the yoga would be extreme. I had little hope I would complete the 90 minutes. Fortunately, Tony Horton structures it (though he doesn't mention this) from easiest to hardest, or, for lack of better — or actual — terms, from beginnerest to advancedest. I think he works it that way so that beginners like me can get to a certain point and they can say, "Nope! Not gonna do that!" ...like I did! I kept up at about 3/4 the pace, maybe not doing the same number of stretches they were doing on screen, but keeping up by doing the same positions and holding them for as long as I could. I paused the DVD for a couple of Tony breaks, but I got to a certain point in the workout where I realized my breathing — such an important part of yoga, which must be kept calm and even at all times — had turned to panting! Sweat literally ran from my head to the yoga mat! I knew I was toast, so I called it quits. I was about 5 minutes shy of the halfway point. It was a good, wise thing for me to do it then, because the next position Horton did was a leaned-over, balanced-on-one-foot pose. I never would have accomplished that one! I was indeed wiped!
I jumped to the last ten minutes of the workout and rejoined Horton and gang as they left the advanced moves and went into cool-down stretches. I figured it best to work out the kinks in my muscles before I went on with my day.
So, I'm a little disappointed with myself, but I know I did the right thing by calling it quits on the yoga workout. I didn't want to snap a femur or something worse, like get a bruise.
Early this morning I joined a support group — at Team Beach Body — consisting of a few other people who started their P90X journeys on Monday, July 5th. We haven't agreed on a team name yet, so I call them the July Fifthers. (Hey you Fifthers, if you happened to pop in! Welcome to my blog!) Everybody's sore. Nobody has dropped out. I don't want to use the word "yet." I hope no one drops out...especially me!
Onward. Just Press Play!
Yoga X is a 90-minute workout. Ninety minutes! That exceeds my attention span by about 87 minutes! And when I ... OOH! Hey! I found a nickel under my chair!
Oops... Where was I? Oh, yeah. Yoga X.
As with everything in this program, I knew the yoga would be extreme. I had little hope I would complete the 90 minutes. Fortunately, Tony Horton structures it (though he doesn't mention this) from easiest to hardest, or, for lack of better — or actual — terms, from beginnerest to advancedest. I think he works it that way so that beginners like me can get to a certain point and they can say, "Nope! Not gonna do that!" ...like I did! I kept up at about 3/4 the pace, maybe not doing the same number of stretches they were doing on screen, but keeping up by doing the same positions and holding them for as long as I could. I paused the DVD for a couple of Tony breaks, but I got to a certain point in the workout where I realized my breathing — such an important part of yoga, which must be kept calm and even at all times — had turned to panting! Sweat literally ran from my head to the yoga mat! I knew I was toast, so I called it quits. I was about 5 minutes shy of the halfway point. It was a good, wise thing for me to do it then, because the next position Horton did was a leaned-over, balanced-on-one-foot pose. I never would have accomplished that one! I was indeed wiped!
I jumped to the last ten minutes of the workout and rejoined Horton and gang as they left the advanced moves and went into cool-down stretches. I figured it best to work out the kinks in my muscles before I went on with my day.
So, I'm a little disappointed with myself, but I know I did the right thing by calling it quits on the yoga workout. I didn't want to snap a femur or something worse, like get a bruise.
Early this morning I joined a support group — at Team Beach Body — consisting of a few other people who started their P90X journeys on Monday, July 5th. We haven't agreed on a team name yet, so I call them the July Fifthers. (Hey you Fifthers, if you happened to pop in! Welcome to my blog!) Everybody's sore. Nobody has dropped out. I don't want to use the word "yet." I hope no one drops out...especially me!
Onward. Just Press Play!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Day 3: Arms and Shoulders
My legs are incredibly sore form the Plyometrics workout on Tuesday, so moving is slow, and getting up from or down into a chair is actually somewhat comical!
Today was Arms and Shoulders, plus another dose of Ab Ripper X.
The Arms and Shoulders workout was pretty good, but I'm really having trouble with getting the moves right with the resistance bands. There's always one person on the screen using bands to show how those exercises are done, but sometimes the lowest resistance band is still too much resistance for my noodle arms. I was able to create my own modification for one of the triceps exercises, but it took a while to figure out.
So, while I sweated pretty good, I don't feel I got the maximum out of what I was willing to put in.
The Ab Ripper X, on the other hand was a little bit easier for me today, mainly because this time I knew what I was in for, and I paced myself a little better. I still fell out of most of the exercises, but I made it, I do believe, a little farther into them this time. My form sucks, especially on keeping my legs straight up in the air for the crunch-type moves, but I got a little farther into them all.
Best of all, when I got up from the Ab Ripper X workout, I felt GREAT! Of course, my legs had gotten good and loose, but once out of the shower I was hobbling like an old man again.
Oh, well! Only 87 more days to go!
Today was Arms and Shoulders, plus another dose of Ab Ripper X.
The Arms and Shoulders workout was pretty good, but I'm really having trouble with getting the moves right with the resistance bands. There's always one person on the screen using bands to show how those exercises are done, but sometimes the lowest resistance band is still too much resistance for my noodle arms. I was able to create my own modification for one of the triceps exercises, but it took a while to figure out.
So, while I sweated pretty good, I don't feel I got the maximum out of what I was willing to put in.
The Ab Ripper X, on the other hand was a little bit easier for me today, mainly because this time I knew what I was in for, and I paced myself a little better. I still fell out of most of the exercises, but I made it, I do believe, a little farther into them this time. My form sucks, especially on keeping my legs straight up in the air for the crunch-type moves, but I got a little farther into them all.
Best of all, when I got up from the Ab Ripper X workout, I felt GREAT! Of course, my legs had gotten good and loose, but once out of the shower I was hobbling like an old man again.
Oh, well! Only 87 more days to go!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Day 2: Plyometrics... Oh My Effing God!
Plyometrics is a cardio workout. A one-hour, practically non-stop, heart-driving sweat-fest. Tony Horton, the P90X guru, also calls it jump-training. Yes, there's a lot of jumping. I can only imagine what my downstairs neighbors were thinking!
I won't go into all the routines, as there are many, which Tony Horton breaks down into fours or fives, runs through them twice in approximate 10-minute blocks, with 30-second water breaks in between each block, and then he does a 5-minute cool-down.
As I expected, I was unable to keep pace with them what was on the tee vee, but I fell out already in the very first block! I kept at it, though, doing as much as I could and then breaking off to catch my breath, or pausing the DVD, as Horton recommends, so I could at least keep up with the same exercises they were doing.
I think it's safe to say that I have never... NEVER sweated so much in one hour as I did today. My t-shirt was completely soaked, from the neck hole, across the shoulders to the arm holes, and all the way down to the body hole, front and back. And I won't mention my underwear.
Oops. I guess I just did. JEESH!
In the shower afterward, I could barely lift my legs to wash my feet!
With my order of the P90X materials came a huge jar of Recovery Formula, an orange-flavored powder drink mix that they recommend I drink after every workout. It's mixed with cold water and... well, it's growing on me already. Yesterday I drank it immediately after I finished the workout, and I thought I was going to throw up. But I realized that it wasn't the drink mix, but that I drank too much of it too soon. They recommend I drink it within one hour of completing the workout, so I put it off until I was out of the shower. Mmm-sorta-mmm.
I said it yesterday... somewhere ...but I'm going to be sore tomorrow!
I won't go into all the routines, as there are many, which Tony Horton breaks down into fours or fives, runs through them twice in approximate 10-minute blocks, with 30-second water breaks in between each block, and then he does a 5-minute cool-down.
As I expected, I was unable to keep pace with them what was on the tee vee, but I fell out already in the very first block! I kept at it, though, doing as much as I could and then breaking off to catch my breath, or pausing the DVD, as Horton recommends, so I could at least keep up with the same exercises they were doing.
I think it's safe to say that I have never... NEVER sweated so much in one hour as I did today. My t-shirt was completely soaked, from the neck hole, across the shoulders to the arm holes, and all the way down to the body hole, front and back. And I won't mention my underwear.
Oops. I guess I just did. JEESH!
In the shower afterward, I could barely lift my legs to wash my feet!
With my order of the P90X materials came a huge jar of Recovery Formula, an orange-flavored powder drink mix that they recommend I drink after every workout. It's mixed with cold water and... well, it's growing on me already. Yesterday I drank it immediately after I finished the workout, and I thought I was going to throw up. But I realized that it wasn't the drink mix, but that I drank too much of it too soon. They recommend I drink it within one hour of completing the workout, so I put it off until I was out of the shower. Mmm-sorta-mmm.
I said it yesterday... somewhere ...but I'm going to be sore tomorrow!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Day 1...UGH!
I finally started P90X Extreme Home Fitness today. I can't explain the trepidation I felt, the intimidation, going into this thing. I heard so many people tell me how intense it is. One of my longest-term friends commented upon my Facebook mention, "Get your old ass some ibuprofen and Ben-Gay!" And he is an extremely fit body-builder, two-time cancer survivor, muscle-head dude! If it was tough for him, then I'm really in for it! So I planned to start Saturday. Then I planned to start Sunday. Finally I sat myself down and gave myself a talking-to, got my head out of my ass and made myself promise myself that Monday I would, as the P90X workout trainer and all the literature stress, just push play.
It was a weird sensation as the DVD started. During the warm-up I felt this unexpected emotional surge, and I was almost in tears as I started to move! I don't know if it was just a dose of personal pride, or a sense of accomplishment (I finally pushed play!), or maybe the same sensation as on the first day of Air Force basic training: "What the hell have I gotten myself into?!" But I felt blubbery. ...Emotionally.
The first workout is chest and back. Naturally. The first day, and I would be running back and forth between the TV and the bathroom to do the chin-up bar exercises!
Along with the workout DVDs, I ordered resistance bands. They're used in place of dumbbells, since a full set of dumbbells costs as much as you would think a full set of dumbbells would cost. A couple of the chest and back exercises use the resistance bands where you stand on the band and adjust the stretch length between your foot/feet and hand(s) to maximize the workout. Thus far, with only one workout under my belt, the resistance bands are proving cumbersome, and they slow everything down...not like my fat carcass wasn't already slowing things down. I pressed pause so many times I think my remote felt like it was getting a workout!
And yes, the workout is intense. Tony Horton, the trainer on camera, instructs and directs, and he gives tips and breaks to those who, he realizes, aren't as fit as the people on the set with him. "If you need a break, take one!" "Proper form over number of reps!" Meaning, he'd rather you keep your body in the right, safe position or range of motion for the exercise and achieve a low number of repetitions than for you to try to reach the number of reps you set as your goal and risk injuring yourself. Of course, it's a little discouraging when the people on the set bark out their goal reps at "20!" or "30!" and I manage to grunt out seven.
Horton gives an out on the pull-ups by suggesting the use of a chair. With the chair a foot or two in front of you, and with one foot on the seat or the back of the chair, you can assist yourself in the pull-ups. It's a "legal" cheat, and it allowed me to complete several sets of the various pull-ups (wide set palms forward, close set palms forward, and close set palms rearward). But today, push-ups were my bane. He does six different types of those: standard, military-style, wide set, "diamond heart" (index fingertips and thumbs of either hand touching, to form a diamond- or heart-shape), decline (with feet on a chair), and "dive-bomber." The last is a wide hand and feet stance push-up, but, from the up position, you angle your body downward, nose-first, lower your chest to the floor, and rock forward, raising your head and chest while your pelvis lowers to the floor. It seems very sexual. He called out "under the fence!" as he did them the first time.
Yes. The first time.
There were about 12 different exercises (maybe more!) that he rocked through in 30 minutes. The workout is one hour long. So he goes through them again, in a different order! Important here is that he frequently tells the video viewer not to beat him- or herself up if unable to match the video exercisers' achievements, or even if unable to reach their own goals. He says that it comes with time and persistence. He added that the first month is brutal, and encourages the viewer to stick with it, and the improvements will come.
I got all choky again.
Finally the chest and back workout was over. He ends it with a brief cool-down and then a yoga-like breathing exercise on all fours. I crawled slowly over to the workout guide and looked at Day 1 and read, "Chest and Back; Ab Ripper X."
WTF?!
Sure enough, Ab Ripper X started a few seconds after the Chest and Back video ended. Sure enough, the Day 1 workout is both Chest and Back, AND Ab Ripper X.
I am so glad there was no camera on me today as I flopped and flailed trying to duplicate the exercises these people were doing on my TV. Already zapped from the Chest and Back workout, I could barely lift my legs or do a sit-up to even half the pace of the chiseled chunks on the video set! But I did feel the burn...or rather the muscle failure. In some cases it felt like I don't even have muscles in the places where I need them for the exercises! But I'm sure I'll feel them tomorrow!
By the end, the extent of my abdominal exercise was lying on my back and breathing heavily in a pool of sweat on my yoga mat. Getting up was optional after the workout ended.
But get up I did, and as I rolled up the mat, and Tony Horton was encouraging me to stick with it, I felt that lump in my throat again, and this time I almost lost it! WTF?!
I think it's just that I feel purchasing P90X was the right decision. The exercises are close to what George, my personal trainer last year, had me doing. There are no gimmicks beyond the occasional entreaty to use their dietary supplements, there are no fancy gadgets or machinery required to purchase in order to make the workouts work. It's just your own determination to "bring it" to your own home workout space, and your own dedication to see yourself through to the body and/or the level of fitness you want to achieve.
It was a weird sensation as the DVD started. During the warm-up I felt this unexpected emotional surge, and I was almost in tears as I started to move! I don't know if it was just a dose of personal pride, or a sense of accomplishment (I finally pushed play!), or maybe the same sensation as on the first day of Air Force basic training: "What the hell have I gotten myself into?!" But I felt blubbery. ...Emotionally.
The first workout is chest and back. Naturally. The first day, and I would be running back and forth between the TV and the bathroom to do the chin-up bar exercises!
Along with the workout DVDs, I ordered resistance bands. They're used in place of dumbbells, since a full set of dumbbells costs as much as you would think a full set of dumbbells would cost. A couple of the chest and back exercises use the resistance bands where you stand on the band and adjust the stretch length between your foot/feet and hand(s) to maximize the workout. Thus far, with only one workout under my belt, the resistance bands are proving cumbersome, and they slow everything down...not like my fat carcass wasn't already slowing things down. I pressed pause so many times I think my remote felt like it was getting a workout!
And yes, the workout is intense. Tony Horton, the trainer on camera, instructs and directs, and he gives tips and breaks to those who, he realizes, aren't as fit as the people on the set with him. "If you need a break, take one!" "Proper form over number of reps!" Meaning, he'd rather you keep your body in the right, safe position or range of motion for the exercise and achieve a low number of repetitions than for you to try to reach the number of reps you set as your goal and risk injuring yourself. Of course, it's a little discouraging when the people on the set bark out their goal reps at "20!" or "30!" and I manage to grunt out seven.
Horton gives an out on the pull-ups by suggesting the use of a chair. With the chair a foot or two in front of you, and with one foot on the seat or the back of the chair, you can assist yourself in the pull-ups. It's a "legal" cheat, and it allowed me to complete several sets of the various pull-ups (wide set palms forward, close set palms forward, and close set palms rearward). But today, push-ups were my bane. He does six different types of those: standard, military-style, wide set, "diamond heart" (index fingertips and thumbs of either hand touching, to form a diamond- or heart-shape), decline (with feet on a chair), and "dive-bomber." The last is a wide hand and feet stance push-up, but, from the up position, you angle your body downward, nose-first, lower your chest to the floor, and rock forward, raising your head and chest while your pelvis lowers to the floor. It seems very sexual. He called out "under the fence!" as he did them the first time.
Yes. The first time.
There were about 12 different exercises (maybe more!) that he rocked through in 30 minutes. The workout is one hour long. So he goes through them again, in a different order! Important here is that he frequently tells the video viewer not to beat him- or herself up if unable to match the video exercisers' achievements, or even if unable to reach their own goals. He says that it comes with time and persistence. He added that the first month is brutal, and encourages the viewer to stick with it, and the improvements will come.
I got all choky again.
Finally the chest and back workout was over. He ends it with a brief cool-down and then a yoga-like breathing exercise on all fours. I crawled slowly over to the workout guide and looked at Day 1 and read, "Chest and Back; Ab Ripper X."
WTF?!
Sure enough, Ab Ripper X started a few seconds after the Chest and Back video ended. Sure enough, the Day 1 workout is both Chest and Back, AND Ab Ripper X.
I am so glad there was no camera on me today as I flopped and flailed trying to duplicate the exercises these people were doing on my TV. Already zapped from the Chest and Back workout, I could barely lift my legs or do a sit-up to even half the pace of the chiseled chunks on the video set! But I did feel the burn...or rather the muscle failure. In some cases it felt like I don't even have muscles in the places where I need them for the exercises! But I'm sure I'll feel them tomorrow!
By the end, the extent of my abdominal exercise was lying on my back and breathing heavily in a pool of sweat on my yoga mat. Getting up was optional after the workout ended.
But get up I did, and as I rolled up the mat, and Tony Horton was encouraging me to stick with it, I felt that lump in my throat again, and this time I almost lost it! WTF?!
I think it's just that I feel purchasing P90X was the right decision. The exercises are close to what George, my personal trainer last year, had me doing. There are no gimmicks beyond the occasional entreaty to use their dietary supplements, there are no fancy gadgets or machinery required to purchase in order to make the workouts work. It's just your own determination to "bring it" to your own home workout space, and your own dedication to see yourself through to the body and/or the level of fitness you want to achieve.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Eating Plan
I have always been one to dismiss calorie counting as a waste of time, believing — when I focused on my eating habits — that portion size and balancing the food groups were the issue.
P90X places huge importance on proper diet (if it didn't, I guess I wouldn't have bought it), but it also structures food plans based on your level of fitness; as your fitness increases, your diet must change. Based on calculations using my body fat percentage and my current weight, the P90X plan helped me determine my resting metabolic rate, and from there determines which nutrition level I'm at according to their guidelines.
I am at level II, which calls for a an intake of 2,400 to 2,999 calories per day, factoring in the daily workouts for a 600 calorie burn.
And now I am counting calories.
Next was the food approach based on lifestyle and cooking ability. As I am not a confident cook, and my available time is so restricted, I chose the "portion" approach, which outlines basic foods and the food groups they belong to, and how many calories per portion. P90X also plots out how many servings of each portion I can have in a day to add up to 2,400 calories, my daily minimum which they recommend I shoot for, and can adjust if my energy levels cannot compete with the rigors of the P90X Extreme Fitness workouts.
Phase 1 is the Fat Shredder, so it's lower in carbs and higher in proteins. I can extend or shorten this diet phase depending on how my body responds to the exercise.
Phase 2 is the Energy Booster. It cuts back a little on the proteins and ups the carbs in order to provide the body with the energy it demands as fitness improves.
Phase 3 is the Endurance Maximizer. Carb intake outweighs the protein intake, as the body is now metabolizing everything much more quickly, and needs the energy.
So I spent a good portion of my Independence Day Sunday holiday reading the P90X Nutrition Plan, roughing together a generic daily eating plan, and trying to decide whether to start today or tomorrow...
And so I begin the Fat Shredder phase at Nutrition Level II in P90X Extreme Fitness!
P90X places huge importance on proper diet (if it didn't, I guess I wouldn't have bought it), but it also structures food plans based on your level of fitness; as your fitness increases, your diet must change. Based on calculations using my body fat percentage and my current weight, the P90X plan helped me determine my resting metabolic rate, and from there determines which nutrition level I'm at according to their guidelines.
I am at level II, which calls for a an intake of 2,400 to 2,999 calories per day, factoring in the daily workouts for a 600 calorie burn.
And now I am counting calories.
Next was the food approach based on lifestyle and cooking ability. As I am not a confident cook, and my available time is so restricted, I chose the "portion" approach, which outlines basic foods and the food groups they belong to, and how many calories per portion. P90X also plots out how many servings of each portion I can have in a day to add up to 2,400 calories, my daily minimum which they recommend I shoot for, and can adjust if my energy levels cannot compete with the rigors of the P90X Extreme Fitness workouts.
Phase 1 is the Fat Shredder, so it's lower in carbs and higher in proteins. I can extend or shorten this diet phase depending on how my body responds to the exercise.
Phase 2 is the Energy Booster. It cuts back a little on the proteins and ups the carbs in order to provide the body with the energy it demands as fitness improves.
Phase 3 is the Endurance Maximizer. Carb intake outweighs the protein intake, as the body is now metabolizing everything much more quickly, and needs the energy.
So I spent a good portion of my Independence Day Sunday holiday reading the P90X Nutrition Plan, roughing together a generic daily eating plan, and trying to decide whether to start today or tomorrow...
And so I begin the Fat Shredder phase at Nutrition Level II in P90X Extreme Fitness!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Fit Test ... UGH!
I just completed the Fit Test. It's a series of strength and/or endurance moves, first to determine against recommended minimums if the user is fit enough to even begin P90X, and, second to establish the user's baseline for future growth and improvement. It's just a measuring tool, but CRAPPO! It felt like a workout all the same! I'll be sore tomorrow. That must be why they recommend to do the Fit Test a couple of days prior to beginning P90X.
According to my home scale, this afternoon I weighed 178 pounds, with a body fat percentage of 26%.
Measurements:
Chest: 42"
Waist (at navel): 39"
Hips: 38
Thighs, r.: 21.5"; l.: 21"
Biceps, r.: 13"; l.: 13"
Resting Heart Rate: 59
Pull-ups to failure (minimum 3): 0 (though they count 1/4 to 3/4 of a pull-up as one!) so, 3!
Vertical leap (minimum 5"): 8"
Push-ups to failure (minimum 15): 19
Toe touch (seated on floor, no bend in knees) (minimum 6" from touching, or a -6): 0 (I touched!)
Wall squat (back against wall, legs at 90° angle, thighs horizontal) (minimum 1 minute): 1:05 (this one is harder than you might imagine. At least it was for me!)
Bicep curls (minimum 10 curls with 20lbs): 23 curls with the red (I think) band. I'm not sure what this means...
In & Outs (seated on floor, hands at sides, feet off floor and bring knees to chest without touching floor with feet) (minimum 25): 30
Heart rate maximizer (jumping jacks at quick and steady pace for 2 minutes, with final 30 seconds at "sprint") (minimum: be able to complete the 2 minutes of jjacks): completed 2 minutes of jjacks with a maximum heart rate of 168, down to 95 within 4 minutes.
I was able to beat all the minimums (minima?) with the exception of the pull-ups. I think I psyched myself out of that because, without thinking about it the day I assembled the chin-up bar, I knocked out a pull-up with seemingly no effort. Today? Bupkis. So, I figure 7 outa 8 ain't bad.
I will press onward with P90X.
According to my home scale, this afternoon I weighed 178 pounds, with a body fat percentage of 26%.
Measurements:
Chest: 42"
Waist (at navel): 39"
Hips: 38
Thighs, r.: 21.5"; l.: 21"
Biceps, r.: 13"; l.: 13"
Resting Heart Rate: 59
Pull-ups to failure (minimum 3): 0 (though they count 1/4 to 3/4 of a pull-up as one!) so, 3!
Vertical leap (minimum 5"): 8"
Push-ups to failure (minimum 15): 19
Toe touch (seated on floor, no bend in knees) (minimum 6" from touching, or a -6): 0 (I touched!)
Wall squat (back against wall, legs at 90° angle, thighs horizontal) (minimum 1 minute): 1:05 (this one is harder than you might imagine. At least it was for me!)
Bicep curls (minimum 10 curls with 20lbs): 23 curls with the red (I think) band. I'm not sure what this means...
In & Outs (seated on floor, hands at sides, feet off floor and bring knees to chest without touching floor with feet) (minimum 25): 30
Heart rate maximizer (jumping jacks at quick and steady pace for 2 minutes, with final 30 seconds at "sprint") (minimum: be able to complete the 2 minutes of jjacks): completed 2 minutes of jjacks with a maximum heart rate of 168, down to 95 within 4 minutes.
I was able to beat all the minimums (minima?) with the exception of the pull-ups. I think I psyched myself out of that because, without thinking about it the day I assembled the chin-up bar, I knocked out a pull-up with seemingly no effort. Today? Bupkis. So, I figure 7 outa 8 ain't bad.
I will press onward with P90X.
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