Did Ab ripper last night and Yoga today. I'm really improving on both. Honestly, it is mostly mental. The more I know about an exercise, the more I can mentally prepare for it and the less I have to watch the DVD. All that adds up to performing better because I am more focused. I did not use the cheat sheet I created, but I know making it a few days ago helped me remember stuff to do today. So it was worth it.
I've also let go of a lot of things...stuff like "I can't pause the DVD" or "I have to quit when it gets hard" or "I MUST be able to do what they are doing on the screen." Once I let go of those things, everything got better. It is also pretty amazing how it seems impossible to continue to do something after 15-20 seconds, but you see you only have 10 seconds left and somehow you are able to continue to push through.
As I suggested, I couldn't do some of the Yoga stuff...specifically some of the later Asanas. But they admit that those are advanced. So I don't beat myself up about it. I mean, it is only the second time I even tried. I don't give up and just watch the screen...I keep trying as they are going through it. I will eventually get it.
No one should poo poo Yoga. I think it is easy to blow it off...you aren't running or lifting anything heavy. But this stuff is awesome. It really trains your fine motor control. And it is HARD. Just wait until you are 15-20 minutes into it.
Today I was actually able to concentrate on breathing through the poses. I didn't have my breathing coordinated as much as they wanted, but I did enough that it made a difference on being able to focus and balance. I still blew off the last 5 minutes (corpse pose...fetal pose). I'm just not into the spiritual stuff.
One thing I learned is that I 'm going to have to get a mat. The first week I did it on our carpet along with the other P90X routines. I learned really quick that I was going to ruin the carpet with my bodily secretions so I got a short pile throw rug. However, when that gets wet I simply can't keep traction. I'll pick up a mat before next time and see how it goes.
Once again, I really have to thank my awesome wife for watching the kids all this morning while I was upstairs. I couldn't do it without her support. I love you (Melanie...not the readers of this blog)!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Day 10 (Arms & Shoulders) SORE!
Sore...as in from day 9. I could tell as yesterday went on there was something wrong with my left knee. I'm pretty sure it is MCL tendinitis. The knee felt unstable and weak and there was occasional pain on the right (inside) side. It must be from all the jumping and turning in the plyometrics. I think I'm going to switch to normal tennis shoes for that workout and see if it improves. If it doesn't, the program gives you the option to switch over to Cardio X instead of Plyometrics, but I would be bummed about that.
I was pretty worried about it through this morning but as I warmed up for today's routine, the pain went away and the leg felt stronger. I pushed myself more today...tried to get enough weight to max out at 8-10 reps. And the secret I learned for today is: press the pause button. If I don't have enough weight, have too much weight or I don't understand the exercise, I should press pause. And I did that and it really paid off. This isn't a cardio work out and there is no reason you can't stop for a moment and figure out exactly how to make the most of what you are doing.
Today I also made some small investments. I purchased a pull up bar that attaches to the ceiling rafters and some push up bars to take the stress off my wrists. The pull up bar will look a little odd in the upstairs loft where I work out, but God bless my wonderful and supportive wife who said that didn't matter to her. The pull up bar I have fits in a narrow doorway. Being 6'3", I have to bend my legs behind me just to get them off the floor as I go down. I think this is making the pull ups way harder than they should be (perhaps explaining the low reps I am getting). It will be interesting to see if that is the case or if I am just a weakling.
OK, off to do the 16 minute Ab routine and then Yoga tomorrow (which I previously thought was today).
Thanks for reading.
I was pretty worried about it through this morning but as I warmed up for today's routine, the pain went away and the leg felt stronger. I pushed myself more today...tried to get enough weight to max out at 8-10 reps. And the secret I learned for today is: press the pause button. If I don't have enough weight, have too much weight or I don't understand the exercise, I should press pause. And I did that and it really paid off. This isn't a cardio work out and there is no reason you can't stop for a moment and figure out exactly how to make the most of what you are doing.
Today I also made some small investments. I purchased a pull up bar that attaches to the ceiling rafters and some push up bars to take the stress off my wrists. The pull up bar will look a little odd in the upstairs loft where I work out, but God bless my wonderful and supportive wife who said that didn't matter to her. The pull up bar I have fits in a narrow doorway. Being 6'3", I have to bend my legs behind me just to get them off the floor as I go down. I think this is making the pull ups way harder than they should be (perhaps explaining the low reps I am getting). It will be interesting to see if that is the case or if I am just a weakling.
OK, off to do the 16 minute Ab routine and then Yoga tomorrow (which I previously thought was today).
Thanks for reading.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Day 9 (plyometrics) Is this harder or am I pushing harder?
The last day should have been day 8, not 7. Day 7 is either stretching or resting...it is optional. Guess which one I did?
Woke up this morning with a sore left knee...not the one I've been having problems with. Was a little worried, but figured I would do as much as I could. Once I started, I didn't notice it.
I'm not sure if this is harder or if I'm pushing harder and that is why it feels so intense. I am getting used to all the exercises and I think that makes me focus on them more. I supposedly burned over 1100 calories in an hour...a little hard to believe but it was still an intense workout. I was able to do all the exercises this time although I didn't get as low or jump as high. I will be doing this for 11 more weeks, so there is no need to push my knees to their limit now.
The secret I am learning is to try NOT to watch the TV. I'm convinced that takes away from my ability to do the exercises. The more I know what I'm doing and the less I watch the TV, the more I can focus on pushing harder and the better I do.
Another example of that working is the Ab workout last night. Used the stick figures and did even better than last time.
Tomorrow is Yoga. I'll try to use the cheat sheet I made.
Woke up this morning with a sore left knee...not the one I've been having problems with. Was a little worried, but figured I would do as much as I could. Once I started, I didn't notice it.
I'm not sure if this is harder or if I'm pushing harder and that is why it feels so intense. I am getting used to all the exercises and I think that makes me focus on them more. I supposedly burned over 1100 calories in an hour...a little hard to believe but it was still an intense workout. I was able to do all the exercises this time although I didn't get as low or jump as high. I will be doing this for 11 more weeks, so there is no need to push my knees to their limit now.
The secret I am learning is to try NOT to watch the TV. I'm convinced that takes away from my ability to do the exercises. The more I know what I'm doing and the less I watch the TV, the more I can focus on pushing harder and the better I do.
Another example of that working is the Ab workout last night. Used the stick figures and did even better than last time.
Tomorrow is Yoga. I'll try to use the cheat sheet I made.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Week 2! Day 7 (Chest and Back)...pushing more
First, thank you to all of you reading the blog. I can see from the stats that a number of people are following and I hope this will help you. I believe you can now leave comments in the blog without registering. Please feel free...I can always use the extra encouragement and/or advice if you have it.
Started second week today which is identical to week one.
Today's workout (Chest and Back) is basically push ups and pull ups with some extra stuff mixed in. I totally did NOT feel like doing this when I woke up. But once you get through the warm up (9 minutes), you feel a lot better. However, it is still hard to do those first few pull ups. By the way, it didn't help that I put in the wrong DVD and went though 9 minutes of the wrong warm up. Oops!
To review, the workout today is 12 exercises and then you repeat them with more intensity. The idea is to pace yourself through the first repetition. Last week, I paced myself too much (made it too easy) the first time around so I pushed my self a little harder this time. Even so, I found I could actually do less pull ups today than I could last week. It may be because those are incorporated into two workouts a week so I've done them twice in the past seven days. Still, it is a little embarrassing to see a 3 or a 4 as the repetitions I write down. But what can I do? That's the best I had this morning. I did a lot better with the push ups.
In the second half, I really tried to get past the psychological block to quit when things got hard. If I had done 15 push ups and I was dying, I pushed myself to do 5 more. That definitely had an effect...I couldn't lift my arms in the shower later on!
One thing I learned today...I need more weights. I did not have enough weight to push myself on the deep pants or the lawnmowers. I would like to shoot to max out at 8-10 reps and I could do way more than that. Today, I used 15 and 20 lb dumbbells. I need to get enough weight to increase those in 5lb increments.
Ab exercises tonight and then plyo tomorrow. I'm actually looking forward to those. I think the pull ups are my Achilles heel.
Started second week today which is identical to week one.
Today's workout (Chest and Back) is basically push ups and pull ups with some extra stuff mixed in. I totally did NOT feel like doing this when I woke up. But once you get through the warm up (9 minutes), you feel a lot better. However, it is still hard to do those first few pull ups. By the way, it didn't help that I put in the wrong DVD and went though 9 minutes of the wrong warm up. Oops!
To review, the workout today is 12 exercises and then you repeat them with more intensity. The idea is to pace yourself through the first repetition. Last week, I paced myself too much (made it too easy) the first time around so I pushed my self a little harder this time. Even so, I found I could actually do less pull ups today than I could last week. It may be because those are incorporated into two workouts a week so I've done them twice in the past seven days. Still, it is a little embarrassing to see a 3 or a 4 as the repetitions I write down. But what can I do? That's the best I had this morning. I did a lot better with the push ups.
In the second half, I really tried to get past the psychological block to quit when things got hard. If I had done 15 push ups and I was dying, I pushed myself to do 5 more. That definitely had an effect...I couldn't lift my arms in the shower later on!
One thing I learned today...I need more weights. I did not have enough weight to push myself on the deep pants or the lawnmowers. I would like to shoot to max out at 8-10 reps and I could do way more than that. Today, I used 15 and 20 lb dumbbells. I need to get enough weight to increase those in 5lb increments.
Ab exercises tonight and then plyo tomorrow. I'm actually looking forward to those. I think the pull ups are my Achilles heel.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Day 6 (Kenpo)...one week done!
Today was Kenpo. It is all punches, blocks and kicks. One move builds on another and there are a bunch of combinations. In between sets is some light running and jumping jacks. It was actually a nice workout...about 45 minutes with warm up and cool down and some stretches. My HR monitor says I burned 860 calories...not sure how accurate that is. I didn't have to take any breaks, but cardio is probably my strength right now.
One thing to note about Kenpo...once again, sometimes it is hard to completely understand what they are doing...which hand are they starting with? Which foot kicks in which direction? I've learned the secret is to make a mental note of which hand/leg is first and which hand/leg is in front before they start. It seemed to work.
One week is done. I am definitely feeling it...sore all over...but it isn't too bad. That tells me that I've actually done something. I'm looking forward to next week which is identical. I know what to expect, I've filled out the sheets and know what weights to use and I know what my current limits are. I think I will get a LOT more out of next week.
One thing I am really happy about is that my knee held up. None of the exercises were too taxing on it. Part of it was because I didn't get too low and I didn't push it (the knee) when I started to feel discomfort.
Thanks for reading. Tomorrow is a break. Next week starts Thursday morning.
Thanks for reading.
One thing to note about Kenpo...once again, sometimes it is hard to completely understand what they are doing...which hand are they starting with? Which foot kicks in which direction? I've learned the secret is to make a mental note of which hand/leg is first and which hand/leg is in front before they start. It seemed to work.
One week is done. I am definitely feeling it...sore all over...but it isn't too bad. That tells me that I've actually done something. I'm looking forward to next week which is identical. I know what to expect, I've filled out the sheets and know what weights to use and I know what my current limits are. I think I will get a LOT more out of next week.
One thing I am really happy about is that my knee held up. None of the exercises were too taxing on it. Part of it was because I didn't get too low and I didn't push it (the knee) when I started to feel discomfort.
Thanks for reading. Tomorrow is a break. Next week starts Thursday morning.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Day 5.5 (Abs)...Stick figures work!
Tonight was a 15 minute Ab routine night. I mentioned before that I was stuck watching TV too much for this, trying to figure out what they were doing. Well, I made a stick figure cheat sheet and it was like day and night. I'd highly encourage it. I could just look down and know exactly what the exercise was and then focus completely on doing 25 reps instead of rushing to try to figure it out. Got a LOT out of the routine.
It makes me think that all the workouts will get better as I get to know them more.
Tomorrow morning...Kenpo. Previewed the disc. It looks way easy. However as I got further into the disc I could see the models were sweating profusely. Maybe it will surprise me.
It makes me think that all the workouts will get better as I get to know them more.
Tomorrow morning...Kenpo. Previewed the disc. It looks way easy. However as I got further into the disc I could see the models were sweating profusely. Maybe it will surprise me.
Yoga Moving Asanas Cheat Sheet
This is what I have from my notes of the ~40 minutes of moving asanas. This isn't perfect...just a startign point to help me prepare for the moves. I may edit this later. Other descriptions are in the P90X book starting on page 53. These aren't descriptions of the poses, but rather what you are made to go through to get to each one.
Remember, except for some of the twists, your forward arm is always the same as your forward leg. For instance, if your right leg is out front and an arm is to be pointed outward, it will be your right arm.
Runners Pose
Right-angle Pose to Extended Right-Angle Pose and Grab
Next...
10 minutes balance postures
18 minutes floor work
7 minutes Yoga belly
5 minutes stretches
5 minutes complete B.S.
Remember, except for some of the twists, your forward arm is always the same as your forward leg. For instance, if your right leg is out front and an arm is to be pointed outward, it will be your right arm.
Runners Pose
- Plank
- Vinyasa
- Upward Dog
- Downward Dog
- Right heel up
- Swing right knee forward (I will call this the forward leg)
- Go back to #1 and repeat with left heel/leg
- Go through Runners Pose for right leg
- Rise to Crescent Pose right
- Revert back to Runners Pose for right leg
- Repeat but with left leg
- Go through Runners Pose for right leg
- Rise to Warrior One right
- Revert back to Runners Pose for right leg
- Repeat but with left leg
- The exact same as Warrior One except right after you pose Warrior One, you switch to the respective (left or right) Warrior Two and then go back to Warrior One and continue.
- The exact same as Warrior Two except right after you pose Warrior Two, you switch to the respective (let or right) Reverse Warrior and then go back to Warrior Two and continue.
- Go through Runners Pose for right leg
- Rise to Warrior One right
- Go to Warrior Two right
- Go to Reverse Warrior right
- Straighten forward leg
- Revert to Reverse Warrior right
- Revert to Warrior Two right
- Straighten forward leg
- Reach forward hand out and down to ground and the rear hand up
- Come back up to previous position (with straight forward leg)
- Revert to Warrior Two right
- Reverse Warrior right
- Warrior 2 right
- Warrior 1 right
- Revert back to Runners Pose for right leg
- Repeat but with left leg
- Go through Runners Pose for right leg
- Rise to Warrior One right
- Go to Warrior Two right
- Straighten forward leg
- Rotate torso to facing forward
- Reverse hands...now back hand (left) is front and goes down instead of the right in Triangle
- Come back up to previous position (with straight forward leg)
- Revert back to Runners Pose for right leg
- Repeat but with left leg
- Plank
- Vinyasa
- Upward Dog
- Downward Dog
- Jump up to hands
- Chair pose (like you are sitting on a chair with hands up)
- Up to tip toes with hands up
- Back down and twist to right
- Up to tip toes with hands up
- Back down and twist to left
- Up to tip toes with hands up
Right-angle Pose to Extended Right-Angle Pose and Grab
- Swan dive down
- Up to flat back
- Down to plank
- Vinyasa
- Upward Dog
- Downward Dog
- Right heel up
- Swing right knee forward but keep foot off the ground
- Runners Pose (right)
- Warrior One (right)
- Warrior Two (right)
- Reverse Warrior (right)
- Warrior Two (right)
- Reach with forward hand (right)
- Forward elbow on forward knee
- Forward hand on floor, back hand up
- Back hand forward
- Back hand up
- Back hand behind back
- Forward hand between legs, grab back hand and clasp
- Unclasp, back hand up, forward hand on ground
- Warrior Two (right)
- Reverse Warrior (right)
- Warrior Two (right)
- Warrior One (right)
- Go gack to #3 (plank) and repeat with left
- Go through Runners Pose right
- Left elbow on forward knee, hands in prayer
- Back to Runners Pose right
- ? Need more notes
- Repeat but with left
- Go through Runner's Pose right
- Crescent Pose right
- Lean forward
- Warrior 3
- Fingers on the floor
- Rotate away from forward leg
- Half moon with rear hand up
- Fingers on the floor
- Rotate into forward leg
- Twisting half moon with forward hand up
- Fingers on the floor
- Revert to Crescent right
- Repeat with left
Next...
10 minutes balance postures
18 minutes floor work
7 minutes Yoga belly
5 minutes stretches
5 minutes complete B.S.
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