Doubles

Not really P90X doubles, but I did do a double-workout today. I did plyometrics in the morning so that I could go play open soccer tonight! Felt nice starting the day with the workout done!

Tomorrow also I need to do Back & Biceps early, as I'm driving pizzas Thursday night.

Weight at the start of week 6 was 192.

P90X Day 31 - Back & Biceps - With Pictures

I did the Back & Biceps workout today, lots of pull-ups and curls. My heaviest dumbells are 20 lbs which is not quite heavy enough for some of the curl exercises.

I took some pictures last night, here are my day 0 - day 30 comparisons. The lighing seems a little better in the 2nd set (red shorts).

But regardless of the lighting, you can see in this side picture that my gut is disappearing in just 30 days!

P90X Day 21 - Rest

I did much better at the Kenpo (boxing and kicking) last night. These are new moves for me so I'm finally getting a little coordination. Last night was the most I've sweat in anything besides plyometrics.

Today is my rest day so I'm 3 weeks in.
Week 0 weight 205
Week 1 weight 200
Week 2 weight 196
Week 3 weight 193

P90X Day 19 - Legs & Back

Luke did alot of the leg stuff with me tonight. I'm still rolling along. Need to sleep!

P90X Day 13 - Kenpo

Haven't posted in a while so here is the update:

Day 9 - Plyometrics
Day 10 - Arms & Abs (with Nick)
Day 11 - Yoga (with Victoria)
Day 12 - Chest & Back & Abs
Day 13 - Kenpo

I was down 5 lbs (200) at the end of week 1. I'm down 2 more lbs (198) after week 2.

Nutrition plan still going mostly well. Did have a small piece of birthday cake for Brooke this week, a soft pretzel that George stopped eating at Emma's concert on Saturday. Today I had my carbs in pasta form (spaghetti) for the first time in 2 weeks!

P90X Day 8

Day 4 - Yoga (90 minutes, I was dripping with sweat half-way through)
Day 5 - Legs & Back (lunges, squats, pull-ups) + Ab-Ripper X
Day 6 - Kenpo (boxing & kicking)
Day 7 - Rest

Day 8 - Chest & Back + Ab-Ripper X again

I have pretty much stuck to my nutrition plan, other than Saturday at the Indians game I ate an extra bun (carbs) and some french fries. I have added EAS Protein Drink to my diet also.

P90X Day 2 - Plyometrics

Stretching, then 4 or 5 sets of 4 different jumping exercises. I'm posting this the morning after and I am definitely sore!

Protein bar & milk for breakfast.

Turkey sandwich & apple for lunch.

Chicken, green beans, & milk for dinner.

P90X Fitness Test

I took my picture today and did the fitness test in preparation of starting the P90X Extreme Home Fitness Program.

Here are my stats:

Weight 205.8 lbs
Pulse 60
Pull-Ups = 2
Vertical Leap = 17 inches
Push-Ups = 26
Toe-Reach (flexibilitiy) = 1/2 inch past toes
Wall Squat = 1:40
Curls (20 lbs) = 24
In & Out (abs) = 39

Gold's Gym Long Tube Workout

Taking most of last week off from work got me out of my routine. I was finally able to get my tube workout in again tonight.

Gold's Gym Long Tube Workout - Abs

The final exercise portion of this workout is abs, and we basically did 3 exercises, each with the legs partially supported by the tubes.

First, single leg lowering. Lying on my back, with one leg down flat, lower (and then raise) the other leg. Alternate and do this on both legs.

Next, leg circles (both legs at the same time, both directions) still lying on my back.

And finally, a pilates exercise called the hundred, lying on my back, feet and head elevated, make 100 downward motions with my arms. I'm not sure the arm motions are for anything other than to keep my mind off the fact that I'm holing my legs and head in the air for 100 count.

Gold's Gym Long Tube Workout - Back

First of all I figured out how to recenter my cord protectors, the canvas sleeves that cover the stretchy tubes. Some were becoming off-center and when I tried to recenter them the sleeves would start to turn inside out on themselves and bunch up and they would not move.

I simply snipped the end of the sleeve to make it wider so that I could keep it open while I pulled and now I can move the sleeves where I need them.

Anyhow I'm back to my morning workout routine today, the next workout I haven't described is the back. We did 2 exercises for the back, bent-over row and shrugs. Shrugs are always pretty easy for me.

Next planned workout is a run with Brooke on Friday and another tube workout on Saturday.

Gold's Gym Long Tube Workout - at night

I missed last Friday and Monday both. I did the workout tonight and will go again on Thursday AM and Saturday and I will be back on schedule for next Monday.

Nathan also did the workout tonight. He is going to Florida for a week to visit his grandparents but hopefully when he returns he will stick with the workout at least a couple nights each week.

In other news I was able to get a copy of the P90X system (dvd's, workout book, and nutrition book) second-hand, very lightly used (if at all). My plan is to continue the Golds Gym Long Tube workout through April and then start the P90X in May!

Gold's Gym Long Tube Workout - Biceps

Just a quick post today as the biceps section of the video only has 1 exercise - biceps curls.

Well actually we did switch from both arms to 1 arm (alternating) about halfway through. I counted and I got about 20 with both arms and 15 each with 1 arm.

Gold's Gym Long Tube Workout - Triceps

In case it's not clear, I am doing the entire Gold's Gym Long Tube Workout 3 times each week. I'm not doing just the Triceps portion.

However, each time I workout I am writing about the next section that we do. And today we are up to the triceps.

We start with single-arm triceps kick-backs. Standing on the cord, bent forward with the elbow arm raised, bend just at the elbow to extend the triceps back. Of course we then repeat for the opposite arm.

Next is the single-arm triceps pull-down. Holding the cord above our heads, we extend the triceps down. Sometimes this seems like more work for my arm that is held up over my head.

The final triceps excercise is triceps raises (behind the head). Standing on the cord, this is done with both arms together.

For people who don't work out at all, triceps are often among the most neglected muscle groups so it is good to work on them specifically.

Gold's Gym Long Tube Workout - Shoulders

After the chest exercises and a cardio interval of lateral hops, the DVD (and I) progress to shoulders. The first shoulder exercise is very similar to the chest exercises, it is a shoulder press from the squat position.

Next we did something that Mia on the tape called offering but I would call front raises. Standing with the back foot the band, palms up, lift your arms forward.

The final shoulder exercise was lateral raises, or bringing the arms up to the sides. This is always an exercise where I feel weak, so I'm sure working on it 3 days / week will help.

Gold's Gym Long Tube Workout - Chest

After some stretching, this workout starts with the chest (or shoulders?). The first exercise is a chest fly, standing with your back leg on the cord and bringing your arms up and together at the top.

The second exercise is very similar, a press, still standing with the back leg on the cord but this time bringing the arms straight up over your head.

Admittedly I have done almost nothing since my hernia last spring, but I am really feeling like this is a decent workout for me.

Early Morning Long Tube Workout

I got up this morning and did the Golds Gym long tube workout with the Mia Finnegan video. I did an array of stuff, chest, biceps, triceps, legs, abs, with some cardio interspersed. In future days I'll try to blog about the exact exercises that the video uses, in order.

It was a pretty decent workout. My goal for now is to do it consistently for several weeks to justify the purchase of the P90 and then P90X videos.

Pain, Blood, P90X, Running, Bands

Well as you can tell I can't come up with a title for today's post.

My groin pain is still nagging. I'm up to taking the pain medicine 3x/day and will start the nerve medicine next week. The pain medicine seems to have no effect.

I gave blood this week on Wednesday. I'm a pretty regular donor now at 5-6 times / year. This time I got a coupon for a free Frosty at Wendy's.

I've heard a couple people talking about this extreme workout video called P90X. I thought maybe I would give it a try. My groin pain isn't disabling, it just makes me cautious about running far from home in case the pain increases and I have to walk back. So I thought a workout video would be good.

Well I did some research and found that I would need a pull-up bar and a set of stretch bands / tubes to do this workout. I also found out that P90X is pretty advanced and there is a lower level workout called P90, which maybe I should start with.

So anyhow I went to WalMart on Thursday night and got the Perfect Pullup bar and mounted it in the doorway to the utility room in the basement, and also a set of Gold's Gym Long Tubes (something like this but not exactly.) The tubes came with a workout video so I made the decision to make sure I would do the workout video consistently (maybe 3x / week for 2 weeks) before I spend the money on either the P90 or P90X.

Brooke's U11 soccer coach is requiring her to run 25 minutes at least twice weekly (outside of practice). So she and I got up and went for an easy run this morning (well easy for me). We did just over 2 miles on an out-and-back course. To be precise, we went 4 telephone poles past the 1-mile turn around. She did really well, only stopping once to tie her shoes.

After I got back I thought Luke and I could do the long tube workout video but even though we have 3 tubes, we only have 1 set of handles so really only one person can do the workout at a time.

Still, the bottom line is that I did run AND work out (chest, biceps, back, triceps, abs, and a little cardio mixed in).

Never More Than 2 Days

By Jon Benson

Here's a simple rule to follow: Never go more than two days without some form of planned physical activity.

Housework does not count. I'm talking about activity that can be measured so you can track your progress over time.

Seven to 14 minutes of resistance training and 30-40 minutes of brisk walking is best. That's it.
Just don't skip more than two days between workouts. After that you quickly lose cardiovascular condition. You will keep your muscle, but you will begin to lose the neurological connection to the muscle - the "mind/muscle connection."

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Thursday Easy 3.5 Miles

I ran with Peter & Milica today. It was very hot out. We ran the homeless route but I cut out at about 3.5 miles and went up the stairs by the Justice Center. I decided I'd rather try to run tomorrow than totally wear myself out today. Peter & Milica continued onward, good for them.

Weight = 184 lbs.

I found a cool link today, it's to the '300 Workout' as reported in Men's Health Magazine. Basically this is a workout performed by some of the stars of the movie '300'. It looks pretty brutal.