Today I did the CVX workout. Basically aerobics with a weight in your hand. I had been worried that the shoulders were not going to be taxed in this series. I am glad to inform you that is not the case. Today my shoulders felt all of that.
Most moves were a familiar move, with the small caveat of holding a small weight or say basketball in your hands. A good portion of the exercises you don't just hold, but you move the weight over your head and around your head, so you get that shoulder workout in as well. All in all I like this workout.
We all had temptations over the holidays and some we overcome and some we succumb to. What matters is that we are able to recognize our shortcomings and failures and turn them into successes. If you didn't eat clean for part or all of the holidays, remember that it is only one, two or maybe three days worth of eating. In the grand scheme it is only a very short time. We do not gain 30, 50 or 100 lbs overnight nor do we lose it over night. Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off. Move forward.
I am seeing the scale move the direction I like. This is day 15 into the rest of my life and I have seen the scale move downward nearly 8 lbs. This is only a start and I do not expect to lose 16 pounds a month or 5 lbs a week. Weight is number just like age is a number. You can lose 15 lbs of fat and gain 6 pounds of muscle at the same time. Your total weight loss is only 9 lbs, but your gain is much more than that. Replacing fat weight with in whole or partially of lean muscle makes the body a more efficient, stronger and resilient machine. Which in turn makes your a healthier person. That is the true goal.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Day 14
Today was The Challenge. Yes it was!!! The Challenge is the push/pull high intensity workout that P90X was famous for. It was a challenge not only to keep up with you own number each time, but after the workout is done there is a burnout section for almost 3 minutes where you go back and forth nonstop between 1 pullup (choose your type) and 3 pushups (again, choose your type). You just keep going back and forth until the timer is done.
You choose your number at the beginning. This number is how many pushups and how many pullups you will do each time. The phrase, "choose wisely" is said more than once and it is the best advice. Choose the number you think you can do each time every time. 4 different types of pushups and pullups twice, so 8 total alternating between the two and breaks after you do 2 of each type. The break is 1 min each time, so there is more than enough down time to catch your breath.
My personal numbers were 15 and 5. I was using the bands so 15 reps with the bands instead of pullups and 5 pushups. Most of my pushups were modified, but I did between 7 and 10. My resistance band work I did 15, but I did hold at the bottom end to increase the intensity. I think I will up that to 20 next time. I definitely felt the workout and appreciated not doing core work a 4th day in a row. One thing for sure is to write down both your goal number and what you do. I suggest printing the workout sheets, but you can just as easily use a binder, legal pad or notebook you already have.
I have yet to post my before pics, but I do have them done. I also did them on a good camera to get that 300dpi image resolution for the beachbody challenge. Just make sure that you record from where you start so 90, 180 or 300 days down the road you can see where you started and what you looked like and you will remember how you felt. When you look at what you have accomplished, if you stick with it, you will see dramatic results that you never thought you would.
You choose your number at the beginning. This number is how many pushups and how many pullups you will do each time. The phrase, "choose wisely" is said more than once and it is the best advice. Choose the number you think you can do each time every time. 4 different types of pushups and pullups twice, so 8 total alternating between the two and breaks after you do 2 of each type. The break is 1 min each time, so there is more than enough down time to catch your breath.
My personal numbers were 15 and 5. I was using the bands so 15 reps with the bands instead of pullups and 5 pushups. Most of my pushups were modified, but I did between 7 and 10. My resistance band work I did 15, but I did hold at the bottom end to increase the intensity. I think I will up that to 20 next time. I definitely felt the workout and appreciated not doing core work a 4th day in a row. One thing for sure is to write down both your goal number and what you do. I suggest printing the workout sheets, but you can just as easily use a binder, legal pad or notebook you already have.
I have yet to post my before pics, but I do have them done. I also did them on a good camera to get that 300dpi image resolution for the beachbody challenge. Just make sure that you record from where you start so 90, 180 or 300 days down the road you can see where you started and what you looked like and you will remember how you felt. When you look at what you have accomplished, if you stick with it, you will see dramatic results that you never thought you would.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Day 13
Today is Christmas. While kids were getting up and running to the tree and grabbing their stockings all filled with goodies, I turned on the TV and plugged in X3 Yoga and went to work. There were no presents under the tree here or stockings to be emptied. There was only me and the TV with Tony telling me to get in downward dog. Yoga, how I hate it and I love it at the same time.
X3 Yoga is shorter obviously so there is less yoga, less balance poses and less stretching. I felt it and did sweat like always, so I know that the intensity is there. I find it to be a nice change from the 90 minute yoga from X. I do think some will find it too short or incomplete if they expect it to be the same as the Yoga X. It is nice to get your sweat on, stretch and twist and balance in 30 minutes.
With today being Christmas and X3 Yoga is done, I guess the only thing to do now is get the food right for today. After last night, I need to do better today. Last night we went to a church service and then after the decision was made to grab something to eat. I had a baconator. So I ended up with around 2500 cal where I had been hovering around 1900. That isn't a huge deal as that was my only real downfall for the day. I am not really on a low carb diet, so taking in the bread while not the best choice doesn't kill what I am trying to accomplish.
Turkey in the slow cooker and ham in the oven. The pumpkin pie was baked yesterday. All that is left are the potatoes which are boiling now and then the green veggies, which will take only minutes to steam. Lunch will be the big meal and leftovers for a day or so. Eat what you want and don't feel remorse. Remember that tomorrow is a new day and you can always start fresh. Enjoy your holiday and remember that anything in moderation is ok to have.
X3 Yoga is shorter obviously so there is less yoga, less balance poses and less stretching. I felt it and did sweat like always, so I know that the intensity is there. I find it to be a nice change from the 90 minute yoga from X. I do think some will find it too short or incomplete if they expect it to be the same as the Yoga X. It is nice to get your sweat on, stretch and twist and balance in 30 minutes.
With today being Christmas and X3 Yoga is done, I guess the only thing to do now is get the food right for today. After last night, I need to do better today. Last night we went to a church service and then after the decision was made to grab something to eat. I had a baconator. So I ended up with around 2500 cal where I had been hovering around 1900. That isn't a huge deal as that was my only real downfall for the day. I am not really on a low carb diet, so taking in the bread while not the best choice doesn't kill what I am trying to accomplish.
Turkey in the slow cooker and ham in the oven. The pumpkin pie was baked yesterday. All that is left are the potatoes which are boiling now and then the green veggies, which will take only minutes to steam. Lunch will be the big meal and leftovers for a day or so. Eat what you want and don't feel remorse. Remember that tomorrow is a new day and you can always start fresh. Enjoy your holiday and remember that anything in moderation is ok to have.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Day 12
Week 1 Day 2 Agility X. My legs were like jello after about 10 minutes. There are a lot of lunges and jumping, both of which I have difficulty with. I can do lunges, but with my left knee being weaker, I do better on the right side than left. Hopefully, as with P90X, my knee will strengthen over time and be less of an issue.
Jumping, however, is out for me. I do have a great modification for jumping. I do the pre jump movement then go up into the jump without bringing my feet off the ground and really focus on getting the calves involved in the non jumping action. If it requires to jump with high knees, I do the same thing except I lift one leg off the ground and do a high knee with that leg, then repeat with the other leg. It does double the activity, but I think that is a fair tradeoff for the lack of the actual jump. My goal is to get the feel and effort of a jump without causing the high impact on my back.
Agility X is not an easy workout and for me modification is essential at least for now. Some will find it difficult and some will not. I think that for what it does it is a great workout. Mostly legs with a couple of pushup moves near the end. This workout again incorporates the use of balance and explosive power causing more muscle groups to be involved rather than the tired old "leg routine" but with the desired results. Lunges, my least favorite leg exercise, are the core of the workout along with some running and jumping moves to blast your legs into submission.
Intensity level is easy to scale up or back which makes it good for all levels of fitness. I have to do things a certain way to protect my weak knee and back, but I strive hard to get the highest level of intensity I can. I stop at times and restart when I catch my breath or my muscles say ok. I hope to be at a constant level in a couple of weeks where I can continue to do all I can without stopping.
For now, I am happy with the first 2 workouts. I feel like I have been pushed hard and I remember how I felt after the first 2 workouts with P90X and it feels so similar. Tomorrow is X3 Yoga and looking forward to how it is different from Yoga X.
Remember that today and tomorrow bring so many temptations with nonclean food. Do your best to eat as good as you can and when the holidays are over get back to clean eating. Don't beat yourself up if you eat something you shouldn't, just go back to eating clean after. It's that simple.
Jumping, however, is out for me. I do have a great modification for jumping. I do the pre jump movement then go up into the jump without bringing my feet off the ground and really focus on getting the calves involved in the non jumping action. If it requires to jump with high knees, I do the same thing except I lift one leg off the ground and do a high knee with that leg, then repeat with the other leg. It does double the activity, but I think that is a fair tradeoff for the lack of the actual jump. My goal is to get the feel and effort of a jump without causing the high impact on my back.
Agility X is not an easy workout and for me modification is essential at least for now. Some will find it difficult and some will not. I think that for what it does it is a great workout. Mostly legs with a couple of pushup moves near the end. This workout again incorporates the use of balance and explosive power causing more muscle groups to be involved rather than the tired old "leg routine" but with the desired results. Lunges, my least favorite leg exercise, are the core of the workout along with some running and jumping moves to blast your legs into submission.
Intensity level is easy to scale up or back which makes it good for all levels of fitness. I have to do things a certain way to protect my weak knee and back, but I strive hard to get the highest level of intensity I can. I stop at times and restart when I catch my breath or my muscles say ok. I hope to be at a constant level in a couple of weeks where I can continue to do all I can without stopping.
For now, I am happy with the first 2 workouts. I feel like I have been pushed hard and I remember how I felt after the first 2 workouts with P90X and it feels so similar. Tomorrow is X3 Yoga and looking forward to how it is different from Yoga X.
Remember that today and tomorrow bring so many temptations with nonclean food. Do your best to eat as good as you can and when the holidays are over get back to clean eating. Don't beat yourself up if you eat something you shouldn't, just go back to eating clean after. It's that simple.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Day 11
Today was the day! I started the P90X3 classic program. The first disc you start with is Total Synergistics. After watching it and then doing it, I can honestly say it looks much easier than it is. People say (well some have on the Team Beachbody message board) that this is not as intense or physically demanding as the original P90X. I think they are wrong.
I could dissect each move for what I feel is good and bad for me, but that is pointless. The reason I say that as with all things in life, we have our own perspective. We add our own likes and dislikes into dissertations on to what we are talking about. Yeah, the insight as to each moves intricacies could be beneficial, but it's not necessary for my opinions to be conveyed here.
P90X3 is different from P90X. One of the most glaring differences is that the workout time is reduced from about an hour to around 30 minutes. There is a cold start, which I did not do today, for people who really need or want that extended warm up. It lasts about 12 minutes. There is a small stretching session lasting I would say maybe 3 minutes, but it is not timed and it was done at the end of the workout. The start of the workout begins with a warm up but it is included in that 30 minute timer. If you add the cold start to the regular exercise and the minor bit of stretching then you get the time range of around 45 minutes. That is about 10 to 12 minutes shy of P90X in time. If you feel you need more, you can get it.
Day 1 with P90X is Chest and Back. You just do pushups and pullups. You do about 12 exercises for each muscle group one time through then you repeat it in reverse if I remember correctly. There is no core work, it is strictly a push and pull workout under time without stopping except for a couple of 40 second water breaks. Then you do Ab Ripper X after for another 15 minutes, which is pure core work. P90X3 is as I have previously stated Total Synergistics and that can be interpreted as resistance with core involvement. It combines push/pull exercises with balance moves and other I would call core/ab moves. While you are doing your resistance work you are incorporating ab/core work and it definitely raises the intensity level.
What did this all mean for me? I have no core, so it was like hell for me. I can absolutely do some of the moves and absolutely can not do some of the moves. You just do what you can, modify as it becomes more difficult and you don't give up. You can't do the pushup, you go to your knees and do the pushup that way. You lose your balance when doing one of the many one-legged moves, you regain balance stick that leg out and keep going or touch your toe on the ground to assist your balance while doing the resistance part.
I had been walking at a 4 mph pace trying to get my body used to exercising some prior to doing this. Don't take this the wrong way, I only started walking about 10 days prior to today. I was never short of breath. My heart rate did get elevated and I did notice the all day affect of working out (endorphin affect). Today, however, I was short of breath almost the whole time. My heart rate was up there. I can't say to what level as I don't have a heart rate monitor, but YOU know when your heart rate is up from exercising or vigorous activity. I have soreness in my muscles and its about 6 hours since the workout. I was feeling that fatigue and weakness you feel right after a hard workout. Most is in my arms and abs, but there is some feeling of activity in the legs as well.
I am personally not disappointed with the workout. I don't feel like it was not intense enough and I don't feel like it lacked anything. I need to finish the week to see how my whole body feels and then maybe I can more accurately compare it to what I remember as my first week of P90X. All I know is 1 day down and 89 more to go.
I could dissect each move for what I feel is good and bad for me, but that is pointless. The reason I say that as with all things in life, we have our own perspective. We add our own likes and dislikes into dissertations on to what we are talking about. Yeah, the insight as to each moves intricacies could be beneficial, but it's not necessary for my opinions to be conveyed here.
P90X3 is different from P90X. One of the most glaring differences is that the workout time is reduced from about an hour to around 30 minutes. There is a cold start, which I did not do today, for people who really need or want that extended warm up. It lasts about 12 minutes. There is a small stretching session lasting I would say maybe 3 minutes, but it is not timed and it was done at the end of the workout. The start of the workout begins with a warm up but it is included in that 30 minute timer. If you add the cold start to the regular exercise and the minor bit of stretching then you get the time range of around 45 minutes. That is about 10 to 12 minutes shy of P90X in time. If you feel you need more, you can get it.
Day 1 with P90X is Chest and Back. You just do pushups and pullups. You do about 12 exercises for each muscle group one time through then you repeat it in reverse if I remember correctly. There is no core work, it is strictly a push and pull workout under time without stopping except for a couple of 40 second water breaks. Then you do Ab Ripper X after for another 15 minutes, which is pure core work. P90X3 is as I have previously stated Total Synergistics and that can be interpreted as resistance with core involvement. It combines push/pull exercises with balance moves and other I would call core/ab moves. While you are doing your resistance work you are incorporating ab/core work and it definitely raises the intensity level.
What did this all mean for me? I have no core, so it was like hell for me. I can absolutely do some of the moves and absolutely can not do some of the moves. You just do what you can, modify as it becomes more difficult and you don't give up. You can't do the pushup, you go to your knees and do the pushup that way. You lose your balance when doing one of the many one-legged moves, you regain balance stick that leg out and keep going or touch your toe on the ground to assist your balance while doing the resistance part.
I had been walking at a 4 mph pace trying to get my body used to exercising some prior to doing this. Don't take this the wrong way, I only started walking about 10 days prior to today. I was never short of breath. My heart rate did get elevated and I did notice the all day affect of working out (endorphin affect). Today, however, I was short of breath almost the whole time. My heart rate was up there. I can't say to what level as I don't have a heart rate monitor, but YOU know when your heart rate is up from exercising or vigorous activity. I have soreness in my muscles and its about 6 hours since the workout. I was feeling that fatigue and weakness you feel right after a hard workout. Most is in my arms and abs, but there is some feeling of activity in the legs as well.
I am personally not disappointed with the workout. I don't feel like it was not intense enough and I don't feel like it lacked anything. I need to finish the week to see how my whole body feels and then maybe I can more accurately compare it to what I remember as my first week of P90X. All I know is 1 day down and 89 more to go.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Day 10
Well, today is the day before. I actually start what I call my program to lose weight. I have already started eating clean, and I did this before. I started almost 2 weeks before eating better or cleaner prior to starting P90X. I started that on Friday the 13th, weird day to start, and it has been going pretty well.
The idea here is start to form the practice or routine before the workout as it will be tough enough on its own, why add the extra stress of changing your eating habits at the same time. It's been said that it takes 21 days to form a habit, but that is only a supposition by a surgeon who saw amputees getting used to the loss of a limb after 21 days. Another study suggested that the average of people to drink a glass of water routinely within a set of parameters was 66 days, but could happen as quick as 18 days and as much as 256. So, what does it all mean? NOTHING!! We are all different so how long it will take is something that is most likely unique to us, however, we all need the same things to form a habit.
Forming a habit is broken into 3 phases. First, there's a cue, or trigger, that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and let a behavior unfold. Then there's the routine, which is the behavior itself, and finally there is the reward which is something the brain likes that helps it remember the "habit loop" and thus forming a habit which we will do without even realizing it. My personal one is opening the fridge and looking in it. Guess that is why I am over 300 lbs.
Ten days ago I started to form a new "habit loop" by cutting out certain foods and introducing others. Now we all have done this from time to time. "I'm gonna eat better or I'm gonna go on a diet" are all things we have said over the years. As young as 14 or 15 years old this has been said by some of us, but once we get over 30 our metabolism starts on a downward spiral whether we know it or not. We gain weight it is just how it is. One of my favorite lines from Grosse Pointe Blank is from Joan Cusack when asked if she went to her 10 year class reunion. "Yes, I did. It was just as if everyone had swelled." And that my friends is just what happens if we let it. I did.
Hopefully the new forming habit loop (tired of the ""), will stick and so far so good. I really love food, but have found that the better you eat, the more you can eat. The better you eat the more full and less hungry you are. Ever wonder why or how that could be possible? That is your glycemic index at work.
I think that instead of balling this into one post, I will put that into another post.
Good luck to all who are trying to change the bad habits for the good.
The idea here is start to form the practice or routine before the workout as it will be tough enough on its own, why add the extra stress of changing your eating habits at the same time. It's been said that it takes 21 days to form a habit, but that is only a supposition by a surgeon who saw amputees getting used to the loss of a limb after 21 days. Another study suggested that the average of people to drink a glass of water routinely within a set of parameters was 66 days, but could happen as quick as 18 days and as much as 256. So, what does it all mean? NOTHING!! We are all different so how long it will take is something that is most likely unique to us, however, we all need the same things to form a habit.
Forming a habit is broken into 3 phases. First, there's a cue, or trigger, that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and let a behavior unfold. Then there's the routine, which is the behavior itself, and finally there is the reward which is something the brain likes that helps it remember the "habit loop" and thus forming a habit which we will do without even realizing it. My personal one is opening the fridge and looking in it. Guess that is why I am over 300 lbs.
Ten days ago I started to form a new "habit loop" by cutting out certain foods and introducing others. Now we all have done this from time to time. "I'm gonna eat better or I'm gonna go on a diet" are all things we have said over the years. As young as 14 or 15 years old this has been said by some of us, but once we get over 30 our metabolism starts on a downward spiral whether we know it or not. We gain weight it is just how it is. One of my favorite lines from Grosse Pointe Blank is from Joan Cusack when asked if she went to her 10 year class reunion. "Yes, I did. It was just as if everyone had swelled." And that my friends is just what happens if we let it. I did.
Hopefully the new forming habit loop (tired of the ""), will stick and so far so good. I really love food, but have found that the better you eat, the more you can eat. The better you eat the more full and less hungry you are. Ever wonder why or how that could be possible? That is your glycemic index at work.
I think that instead of balling this into one post, I will put that into another post.
Good luck to all who are trying to change the bad habits for the good.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Day 8
Ok, so today I have changed my eating and been working out for 8 days. I haven't started P90X3 yet, but that will be on Monday. I have most everything in place for my start. I have my resistance bands. I have gone through (sort of) the food in the house and replaced bad for good. I think I am ready. Oh, wait... I need to post my before pics and measurements. Sunday!!
The P90X3 nutrition guide suggests that I take in 3000 calories. I was going by memory and what myfitnesspal.com had me set at from my P90X days at 2400 calories. Now with my weight at what I estimated at 350 lbs (which after weighing I was pretty close) and my maintenance calories were around 3400. I have not been taking in that much. My calorie counts in order starting Friday 13th are as follows: 2867, 2576, 2764, 2645, 2623, 2198, 2227 and today 1816. I know that for my first week it looks good, and it is only my first week. The counts for each day are pretty accurate, but there may be a discrepancy here and there, mostly on amount more based on an estimate vs what is real.
Although there may be some difference from reality to what actually took place, I am pretty confident that my measurements were very close. The catch here is that the better I eat, the more I eat and the fewer bad calories I get. I am eating as much as the first day, but not as bad. When you clean up your intake, you find you can eat a ton more food, lose cravings for junk food and increase your energy level. The main difference in my eating today was my breakfast. I try to do my workout prior to eating so instead of a traditional breakfast, I had a Shakeology shake with skim milk and frozen strawberries in it. That breakfast netted me 290 total calories with 41g of carbs, 2g of fat and 25g of proteins. Now the breakfast from the day before was 522 calories and it was a cereal with milk, a banana and 5 hard boiled egg whites.
The total of what I consumed with both breakfasts was almost identical. Infact, I almost couldn't finish the shake as I was getting full. I have noticed too, that with eliminating the late night snacking and abundant eating, I have also reduced the amount I can consume at one setting. This is another benefit of eating clean. Diet is crucial to how your body reacts to what it takes in. That statement is not some sort of illusive epiphany. I believe that is one of those "no shit" statements. Even so, it seems that most of us ignore it and actually assume they can eat how they want because "their metabolism" will deal with it or they could do this when they were a fit 18 year old and now as a moderately obese or just over weight 50 year old they think it will be just like then. I'm sorry to say this is not the case. Yes, some people have the ability to eat whatever they want and I hate them. Ectomorphs!
I really began to appreciate diet during my first round of P90X and I was vigilant and very strict on myself. During my second round of X, I slacked off a bit, allowing less clean food more so as I rationalized it as a test to see what will and will not work for me. I still lost weight and I did get below 300 lbs, however I could have done better and lost more and maybe kept up on at least my diet. I know what I have to do. I have the tools to make it happen and I have the support system allowing me to succeed instead of fail. Now it is up to me to do it. I hope I can keep up what I have started this week and more over do as well as I start the workouts of X3.
Good luck to us all!!!
and...
Bring it!!!!
The P90X3 nutrition guide suggests that I take in 3000 calories. I was going by memory and what myfitnesspal.com had me set at from my P90X days at 2400 calories. Now with my weight at what I estimated at 350 lbs (which after weighing I was pretty close) and my maintenance calories were around 3400. I have not been taking in that much. My calorie counts in order starting Friday 13th are as follows: 2867, 2576, 2764, 2645, 2623, 2198, 2227 and today 1816. I know that for my first week it looks good, and it is only my first week. The counts for each day are pretty accurate, but there may be a discrepancy here and there, mostly on amount more based on an estimate vs what is real.
Although there may be some difference from reality to what actually took place, I am pretty confident that my measurements were very close. The catch here is that the better I eat, the more I eat and the fewer bad calories I get. I am eating as much as the first day, but not as bad. When you clean up your intake, you find you can eat a ton more food, lose cravings for junk food and increase your energy level. The main difference in my eating today was my breakfast. I try to do my workout prior to eating so instead of a traditional breakfast, I had a Shakeology shake with skim milk and frozen strawberries in it. That breakfast netted me 290 total calories with 41g of carbs, 2g of fat and 25g of proteins. Now the breakfast from the day before was 522 calories and it was a cereal with milk, a banana and 5 hard boiled egg whites.
The total of what I consumed with both breakfasts was almost identical. Infact, I almost couldn't finish the shake as I was getting full. I have noticed too, that with eliminating the late night snacking and abundant eating, I have also reduced the amount I can consume at one setting. This is another benefit of eating clean. Diet is crucial to how your body reacts to what it takes in. That statement is not some sort of illusive epiphany. I believe that is one of those "no shit" statements. Even so, it seems that most of us ignore it and actually assume they can eat how they want because "their metabolism" will deal with it or they could do this when they were a fit 18 year old and now as a moderately obese or just over weight 50 year old they think it will be just like then. I'm sorry to say this is not the case. Yes, some people have the ability to eat whatever they want and I hate them. Ectomorphs!
I really began to appreciate diet during my first round of P90X and I was vigilant and very strict on myself. During my second round of X, I slacked off a bit, allowing less clean food more so as I rationalized it as a test to see what will and will not work for me. I still lost weight and I did get below 300 lbs, however I could have done better and lost more and maybe kept up on at least my diet. I know what I have to do. I have the tools to make it happen and I have the support system allowing me to succeed instead of fail. Now it is up to me to do it. I hope I can keep up what I have started this week and more over do as well as I start the workouts of X3.
Good luck to us all!!!
and...
Bring it!!!!
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