Sunday, January 2, 2011

So it's been 2 years.

Stopped doing P90X 2 years ago; in the 2-3 weeks of doing the program, and ~2 months of following the diet plan, I lost 20 pounds. And then I had to write my thesis... and gained that 20 back, plus some extra.

So, I'm getting married this year and need to seriously lose weight. There have been two things in my life that have worked for losing weight for me; Stacker 2 w/ Ephedrine, which is now illegal and probably horrible, and P90X. So, it's going to be P90X again. Wish me luck!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Day 4-7

So I've been slacking... but only on my blog!

Day 4 - I did Kenpo instead of Yoga, because of time constraints. I believe I'll be making that switch again this week for the same reason. Kenpo was pretty fun, I liked it. It was a little tough trying to do the Kenpo moves instead of the Tae Kwon Do moves, but it wasn't too bad. Definitely a good cardio workout.

Day 5 - Legs and Shoulders - Pretty good workout. I feel like I have to work on my form a little bit to get a better 'burn.' I didn't wake up too sore on Saturday, so I feel like I didn't work hard enough!

Day 6 - Rest. Yes, I took the rest day early, but that's because my fiancee was in town and we went on a date and didn't have much time.

Day 7 - Yoga X. Sucked. I don't really like it, it's really hard to look at the TV while in your poses. Also, I need to get more flexible! I'll keep at it though.

So, now I'm caught up on that. It feels good completing a week of the program, and not being TOO tempted to quit, hehe.

Results Thus Far: Started at 250, weighed in this morning at 246.6, so about 3 pounds so far, which is pretty good! Only did one measurement this weekend on my arms, and my left one increased by 1/2 inch, and right one stayed the same. When I started, my left was 3/4 inch smaller than my right, so hopefully I look a little more proportional now! lol!!!

I'm excited to go back through the week and compare what I'll do this week to how I did last week, especially concerning weight and reps.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Day 3 - Arms and Shoulders

So I did Day 3 of P90X last night, which was arms and shoulders. Basically, it was a lot of curls, flys, and tricep exercises. Of course, there were different takes on them, but as a quick synopsis, that works!

I really liked this exercise, my favorite so far. I could really feel the burn in my biceps and triceps. Also, having the quick change Bowflex Selecttechs made it nice, since I was able to put the weights in the holder, and increase or decrease my weights quickly. After Shoulders and Arms came Ab Ripper X. I did A LOT better this time (I think anyways). My form was better, and I was able to do some reps of the exercises that I couldn't do any reps on before. Also, on some I was able to up my reps. For instance, on the bicycle, I was able to do 5 or so on Monday, but 12 or so last night. I could feel my abs working a lot harder too because of the form I was using.

I'll post sometime tomorrow on what I've been having on my diet so far. It has been a large success up to this point, hope I don't fall off the wagon!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Day 2 - Plyo X, i.e. Devil X

I didn't know that the X in P90X stood for making you feel X-tremely out of shape! Haha! So Plyo-X pretty much kicked my butt. Basically, I did about half the reps overall that they did. Some exercises I was able to do the whole time with decent form, some barely at all.

For those of you who don't know what Plyometrics are (I didn't before doing this workout), it's basically a workout using jumping and squatting. One workout (my favorite) was hopping to one side and striking the 'Heisman Pose,' holding it there for a second, then hopping the other way onto the other leg and striking the pose in the other direction. Sounds complicated in words, but easy to do when it comes to it. Another, more difficult (for me) exercise was to get in a stance like you were about to start running (like cross-country, not sprints), and jumping 180 degrees into the same stance, then jumping back.

Then, I had my recovery drink. I couldn't say if it helped last night or not, because I was pretty sore today. Hopefully my upper body won't be too sore for shoulders and arms tomorrow!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Day 1 DONE!

Wow, so I started P90X today, and it is definitely EXTREME!!! And wow, am I out of shape.

First, my Before Weight/Fat Measurements:
Weight: 250 pounds
Fat %: 37%
That's a BMI of about 36, which qualifies me for Class II Obese. Hopefully, not for much longer!!
I took my other measurements, which I'll post when there's something for comparison.

About 2 hours before I did the workout, I did the fit test, which I don't recommend. Even though it isn't too hardcore, the fit test will still make your arms, legs, and abs burn. My results were:
Resting Heart Rate: ~67 BPM
Pull-Ups: 0, as I knew it would be. I think I've done 1 pullup in my life.
Vertical Leap: 18 inches, which I was somewhat impressed with
Push-ups: 19, which I was also somewhat surprised about.
Toe-Touch: -2 inches
Wall-Squat: 1 minute, ALTHOUGH, I had done it already, but didn't press 'Start' on my stopwatch.... so I have no idea how long the first time was, so my legs were already somewhat dead.
Bicep Curls: 14 with 25 pounds.
In & Outs: 26, but with admittedly poor form.

Then I had some chicken breasts for supper, and a banana (and watched House). Then the real fun started.

Chest & Shoulders sure seemed like a harsh introduction to p90X! Maybe not harsh, but definitely extreme! There were several of the pushups where I couldn't do a single one (diamond being the worst). Wide-Fly pushups I actually enjoyed. The Dive-Bomber ones are difficult to aquire the correct form for, but after that, not too bad. As for pullups and chinups... well, I obviously had to do chair assisted ones, and that is still definitely a workout. I know I have to get better though, because my leg was getting a little tired, lol! And then, Ab Ripper X. Wow, my abs suck. Bad. I couldn't even do some of them, and overall, I probably did 80 reps out of the 349. Next time, hopefully I'll be able to do 100!

After my workout, I mixed up my recovery drink:
Half a scoop of GNC Vanilla Whey Protein
1 teaspoon of Glucamine
8 oz. of OJ
Ice
Blend

Tastes somewhat like an Orange Julias... sorta. It's not bad though, and it's a helluva lot cheaper than the P90X Recovery Mix.

Alright, off to bed to recover. Hopefully I won't be TOO sore tomorrow!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Before the Beginning

Hello all... well, anyone that might stumble upon these ramblings.

This blog (my first, and likely only) will be about my weight-loss journey using the P90X system. My fiancee and I stumbled upon an infomercial one evening, and thought we'd watch it for laughs and giggles. Well, the results they showed were pretty amazing, and thought I'd do some research on it. Amazingly, I could not find any 'negative' reviews, and everyone swears that it works, as long as you stick with it. The only negative comments that I found were that someone could come up with a similar workout/diet on their own, that it was expensive ($140 after shipping), and that it was HARD. For me, I need the motivation to work out, plus the convenience of working out at home when I have time, versus going to the gym.

In this blog I will TRY to post after most workouts (especially after the first time I do them) with my reaction to the workout. I will be taking pre-pictures and measurements this weekend, and will post the pictures once I see results (I don't want to subject anyone to my body for no reason!). The measurements will be posted sometime next week.

The past few nights I have been collecting what is needed to start the program. I bought some Bowflew Selecttech 552 Dumbbells on Amazon due to their high rating, space saving design, and convenience, an Iron Gym Door Pull-Up Bar, and a scale that measures your body fat. I still need to get a heart-rate monitor. I'll be using my fiancee's yoga mat. I'm hoping my DVD's come next Monday, so I can get started. This was all a little spendy, so thank goodness for excess student loans!