p90x Week 1
Well, the first week is over and let me be the first to say that this is not an ordinary home workout. It is tough. Here is the run down.
Day 1: Chest and Back, Ab Ripper X
I learned a lot about how weak my upper body is. It probably doesn't help that I'm carrying around too much weight, or that I have a semi- bum shoulder. I was unable to do the push ups in normal form so I dropped to the knees and did them girly style. I made sure to push myself though because I felt like a loser on my knees.
The pull ups weren't as bad as I had imagined. Using the chair (of course) made it easier, but I thought it would have been more stress on my shoulder. Surprisingly I was able to do more than I thought. I'm hoping over the next few weeks to use the chair less and less. My goal is to be able to do 5 pull ups by the end of the 90 days.
Ab Ripper X was killer! 349 movements (If I do 25 of everything). I know I have a weak core, I also know that this will help big time. I'm trying not to take the easy way out on everything. Most of the exercises I am doing the moderate work out form, some I'm still doing easy. I made it through about 10-12 of every exercise. This needs to increase big time.
Day 2: Plyometrics
Fun workout! I've always been a fan of plyo's so I might be a little biased going in to this one. Lots of jumping, turning, up and down, etc. One exercise got me a little dizzy, I'll have to find a way to modify it. Looking forward to doing this workout again.
I was sore as hell the next morning. It was beautiful.
Day 3: Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X
At the beginning this workout seemed WAY too easy after finishing plyo's on Tuesday. Until the 2nd half, that is... it wore me out! I managed to stay in the 12-15 range using 10's for all of the exercises which is exciting because my shoulders are so weak. Hopefully I'll be able to throw the 10's out and graduate to 15's soon.
Ab Ripper X was still killer. I managed to get through 12 of everything and finished all 25 reps on some. I'll be happy on the day I'm able to do 25 of everything though.
Random note: there is a guy in this video that looks EXACTLY like Tony. It's creepy.
Day 4: Yoga X
Yoga is interesting. I do have to admit that we got bored, cheated, and did X stretch instead (and then cheated on that some too). Ryan doesn't really like yoga, so I might start doing it before he gets home from work. I'd really like to see my flexibility improve. NO MORE CHEATING ON YOGA... at least thats what I'm going to tell myself for now.
Day 5: Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
For the first time all week I was exhausted. I think it all caught up to me on Friday. Legs and back is a great workout though. I'm looking forward to doing it when I have a little more energy. We skipped Ab Ripper X because we were already late to go to my Grandmas for a family thing. We said we would get to it on Sunday, but it didn't happen.
Day 6: Kempo X
Eh, what to say about Kempo. It's supposed to be a cardio workout, but I got more cardio from some of the other DVDs. Maybe it's because I didn't do everything fast enough? You have to watch your form big time on this because I can see where it would be easy to throw something out. A few of the movements were complicated and I had to watch for a second before I figured out exactly what to do. I also feel funny punching the air. The kicks aren't too bad, but I feel like I need something to punch. This one might get better once I figure everything out.
Day 7: Optional Rest day
We planned on doing X Stretch and Ab Ripper X but it was Easter and we were running all over this great state. When we got back to Ryan's house we were both exhausted. So, we took the option to rest.
Diet:
The diet is actually not too bad. I think the hardest part is that I am supposed to constantly eat and I'm not used to that. The recipes in the book aren't bad either. The roasted red bell pepper soup might stick around for longer than 90 days, it was good! Ryan cooked swordfish that turned out awesome, we did some salmon that was alright, and also did some beef and broccoli that would have been great had I started everything at the right time. Another thing that I don't know if I'll be able to get used to is breakfast. I don't like eating breakfast every morning and this thing calls for 6 egg whites, moving up to 10 in phase 2. I'm having trouble eating 6.. I don't think I'll ever be able to eat 10 egg whites. Friday Ryan made us some english muffin with eggs and cheese. It was pretty good, that might have to be our Friday treat.
It's hard constantly turning people down for lunch, dinner, etc. "No, sorry, I'm on a diet" is a really hard thing to say.
Other points to mention:
- In my weights class for school I noticed that the abs workout at the end was easier than it's ever been. It's a laughing joke compared to Ab Ripper X. I'm not going to tell the teacher that though.
- Some of the exercises are complicated and it'll take me at least another look to understand them fully. Maybe a few weeks to be able to do them.
- I do feel like I have more energy and it's good to be moving again. I'm playing in a beach tournament this weekend and next and hopefully this will put me in a little better shape for that.
Disappointment # 1- weigh in after the first week. I lost nothing, nadda, zilch, zero. I felt like I'd been working hard and getting good workouts, but no real results. It's not that big of a deal because I know it's only the first week but it would have been nice to see some kind of change.
Goal for week 2: BRING IT. I want to push myself harder than last week. I think I was a bit timid because I didn't fully know what to expect. But now, I know what is coming so I'm going to kick ass. I'm going to push for more reps and try the harder form. With push ups, I want to do at least a few real ones before wussing out, pull ups I'm going to push the chair further out and use my left leg to balance, I'm going to do all of the workouts full speed the whole time, and with Ab Ripper X I want to do at least 15 of every exercise.
More next week!
Day 1: Chest and Back, Ab Ripper X
I learned a lot about how weak my upper body is. It probably doesn't help that I'm carrying around too much weight, or that I have a semi- bum shoulder. I was unable to do the push ups in normal form so I dropped to the knees and did them girly style. I made sure to push myself though because I felt like a loser on my knees.
The pull ups weren't as bad as I had imagined. Using the chair (of course) made it easier, but I thought it would have been more stress on my shoulder. Surprisingly I was able to do more than I thought. I'm hoping over the next few weeks to use the chair less and less. My goal is to be able to do 5 pull ups by the end of the 90 days.
Ab Ripper X was killer! 349 movements (If I do 25 of everything). I know I have a weak core, I also know that this will help big time. I'm trying not to take the easy way out on everything. Most of the exercises I am doing the moderate work out form, some I'm still doing easy. I made it through about 10-12 of every exercise. This needs to increase big time.
Day 2: Plyometrics
Fun workout! I've always been a fan of plyo's so I might be a little biased going in to this one. Lots of jumping, turning, up and down, etc. One exercise got me a little dizzy, I'll have to find a way to modify it. Looking forward to doing this workout again.
I was sore as hell the next morning. It was beautiful.
Day 3: Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X
At the beginning this workout seemed WAY too easy after finishing plyo's on Tuesday. Until the 2nd half, that is... it wore me out! I managed to stay in the 12-15 range using 10's for all of the exercises which is exciting because my shoulders are so weak. Hopefully I'll be able to throw the 10's out and graduate to 15's soon.
Ab Ripper X was still killer. I managed to get through 12 of everything and finished all 25 reps on some. I'll be happy on the day I'm able to do 25 of everything though.
Random note: there is a guy in this video that looks EXACTLY like Tony. It's creepy.
Day 4: Yoga X
Yoga is interesting. I do have to admit that we got bored, cheated, and did X stretch instead (and then cheated on that some too). Ryan doesn't really like yoga, so I might start doing it before he gets home from work. I'd really like to see my flexibility improve. NO MORE CHEATING ON YOGA... at least thats what I'm going to tell myself for now.
Day 5: Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X
For the first time all week I was exhausted. I think it all caught up to me on Friday. Legs and back is a great workout though. I'm looking forward to doing it when I have a little more energy. We skipped Ab Ripper X because we were already late to go to my Grandmas for a family thing. We said we would get to it on Sunday, but it didn't happen.
Day 6: Kempo X
Eh, what to say about Kempo. It's supposed to be a cardio workout, but I got more cardio from some of the other DVDs. Maybe it's because I didn't do everything fast enough? You have to watch your form big time on this because I can see where it would be easy to throw something out. A few of the movements were complicated and I had to watch for a second before I figured out exactly what to do. I also feel funny punching the air. The kicks aren't too bad, but I feel like I need something to punch. This one might get better once I figure everything out.
Day 7: Optional Rest day
We planned on doing X Stretch and Ab Ripper X but it was Easter and we were running all over this great state. When we got back to Ryan's house we were both exhausted. So, we took the option to rest.
Diet:
The diet is actually not too bad. I think the hardest part is that I am supposed to constantly eat and I'm not used to that. The recipes in the book aren't bad either. The roasted red bell pepper soup might stick around for longer than 90 days, it was good! Ryan cooked swordfish that turned out awesome, we did some salmon that was alright, and also did some beef and broccoli that would have been great had I started everything at the right time. Another thing that I don't know if I'll be able to get used to is breakfast. I don't like eating breakfast every morning and this thing calls for 6 egg whites, moving up to 10 in phase 2. I'm having trouble eating 6.. I don't think I'll ever be able to eat 10 egg whites. Friday Ryan made us some english muffin with eggs and cheese. It was pretty good, that might have to be our Friday treat.
It's hard constantly turning people down for lunch, dinner, etc. "No, sorry, I'm on a diet" is a really hard thing to say.
Other points to mention:
- In my weights class for school I noticed that the abs workout at the end was easier than it's ever been. It's a laughing joke compared to Ab Ripper X. I'm not going to tell the teacher that though.
- Some of the exercises are complicated and it'll take me at least another look to understand them fully. Maybe a few weeks to be able to do them.
- I do feel like I have more energy and it's good to be moving again. I'm playing in a beach tournament this weekend and next and hopefully this will put me in a little better shape for that.
Disappointment # 1- weigh in after the first week. I lost nothing, nadda, zilch, zero. I felt like I'd been working hard and getting good workouts, but no real results. It's not that big of a deal because I know it's only the first week but it would have been nice to see some kind of change.
Goal for week 2: BRING IT. I want to push myself harder than last week. I think I was a bit timid because I didn't fully know what to expect. But now, I know what is coming so I'm going to kick ass. I'm going to push for more reps and try the harder form. With push ups, I want to do at least a few real ones before wussing out, pull ups I'm going to push the chair further out and use my left leg to balance, I'm going to do all of the workouts full speed the whole time, and with Ab Ripper X I want to do at least 15 of every exercise.
More next week!