So, its Sunday and I got back from our sales meeting this week semi-successful. Of the four days out, I was able to exercise 2 days: Tuesday and Thursday. Wednesday was our sales dinner and our meetings went long, so I did not get an opportunity to do anything, and on Friday, I traveled back home and while I did have some time to exercise in the evening, I was plum-tired.
On the food front, I think I did pretty good (except for alcohol, which was prevalent). I have tried to stick with high protein foods and have tried to limit my carbs. Overall, I think I did pretty well on this front, but I also think the alcohol consumption probably undid all the good I did with meals.
I have picked up the training on Saturday and today, Sunday. Here are a couple of things I have noticed. I have three weak areas that I need to work on: cardio stamina, push-ups, and the 100 crunches I'm supposed to be doing.
I am doing better in the cardio stamina front, as I have on Saturday for the first time, been able to go through the program without hitting the pause button. I have to keep working on that however. I am getting stronger in doing push-ups, but still have trouble doing their last 21 ( 7 with wide arms, 7 narrow, and 7 normal). By the time I'm at the last 7, I can only do about 4. Also, I am still doing push-ups with knees on the floor. I expect I will move to full push-ups when I have been able to complete the 21 push-ups on a regular basis.
My third weak area is ab crunches (this program has you do 10 different crunches in 10 reps). This is very difficult to do, but I did better on Saturday when I completed them. My ab muscles are very sore today (especially my lower abs), so I imagine its because I'm doing the crunches much better.
One final note today, I have not felt that my pants are any looser than when I started. I'm hoping that will come with time, but I am starting to feel stronger so I do feel good about that. Oh, by the way, on the weight exercise front I am going to start using 20 lb weights instead of 15. I am also going to start using hand weights when we do the boxing steps in the program (I don't feel like I am getting a lot from the boxing movements, so I will try to add weights to see if that makes a difference - it should).
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Day 4 Weights 1-2
So I just completed Day 4 which was Phase 1-2 weights. This routine includes various weight training exercises as well as lots of push ups. I've never been able to do push ups and this routine makes you do 7 initial push ups, then weight training, then 7 wide push ups (hands are farther than shoulder width), more weigh training, then 21 push ups (7 wide, 7 narrow, 7 regular).
I found out after my first weight training day (Day2) that I could not do all the push ups the normal way, so I am starting out with knees on the floor. Today I did that and almost, yes almost, got through the entire routine (those last few are killer). Anyway, I know that once I am able to do them completely, I will have accomplished something. Then I can start doing them without the knees on the floor. We'll see what happens.
Overall I felt better with the program today. I'm getting used to the moves and did them all in better form, I think. I actually had beads of sweat today. I didn't have that my first day. I am currently using 15 lb weights, and will stay there for about 7 or so training days (which will be at about day 14), then I will see if I will switch to 20 lb weights.
On the diet side I did OK had an omelet for breakfast, protein drink snack, 1/2 bagel with turkey tomato, lettuce and bacon (probably should not have had the bacon). For dinner, homemade chili with ground beef, chili beans and tomatoes (pretty healthy, right). Also watched portion sizes (ie had a small bowl of chili and only 1/2 the bagel.
New challenges starting tomorrow as I am on my way to Jacksonville for our sales kickoff. This will be 4 days where I will be doing these exercises in my room. I am bringing resistance bands (came with the product), and I burned the Phase 1-2 DVD to my IPhone (my small laptop does not have a built in DVD player. I consider this my first real test, as it will be so easy to just not do the program during kickoff (and by the way, I took a peek at the agenda and we will be doing things all evening, so I will have to get up early every morning to do these exercises which is new to me as well because I normally do my routine in the evening). OK, wish me luck.
Oh, by the way, from time to time I will be adding any reflections I am having as I move though this path so watch out for those. I will probably just title those: Reflections.
I found out after my first weight training day (Day2) that I could not do all the push ups the normal way, so I am starting out with knees on the floor. Today I did that and almost, yes almost, got through the entire routine (those last few are killer). Anyway, I know that once I am able to do them completely, I will have accomplished something. Then I can start doing them without the knees on the floor. We'll see what happens.
Overall I felt better with the program today. I'm getting used to the moves and did them all in better form, I think. I actually had beads of sweat today. I didn't have that my first day. I am currently using 15 lb weights, and will stay there for about 7 or so training days (which will be at about day 14), then I will see if I will switch to 20 lb weights.
On the diet side I did OK had an omelet for breakfast, protein drink snack, 1/2 bagel with turkey tomato, lettuce and bacon (probably should not have had the bacon). For dinner, homemade chili with ground beef, chili beans and tomatoes (pretty healthy, right). Also watched portion sizes (ie had a small bowl of chili and only 1/2 the bagel.
New challenges starting tomorrow as I am on my way to Jacksonville for our sales kickoff. This will be 4 days where I will be doing these exercises in my room. I am bringing resistance bands (came with the product), and I burned the Phase 1-2 DVD to my IPhone (my small laptop does not have a built in DVD player. I consider this my first real test, as it will be so easy to just not do the program during kickoff (and by the way, I took a peek at the agenda and we will be doing things all evening, so I will have to get up early every morning to do these exercises which is new to me as well because I normally do my routine in the evening). OK, wish me luck.
Oh, by the way, from time to time I will be adding any reflections I am having as I move though this path so watch out for those. I will probably just title those: Reflections.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
P90 and My Pursuit of Fitness
I started the P90 program a few days ago and decided to start logging my journey. A blog was the first thing that came to mind and since I have a gmail account, creating the blog is basically a no-brainer. As I write this I have completed my third day of the P90 program, so before I talk about how I feel about it at this point, lets do some background first.
First a little about me: I am a 47 year old male in the Chicago-land area (home of Barack Obama, and at the other end of the spectrum, Rod Balgojevich - a study in dichotomies if I ever saw one). I have a wife and 2 teen-age daughters (16 and 13) and thanks to my wife, are probably not as wacky as typical 16 and 13 years olds, but some days they do almost get there. Mom might say different.
I have an office job at a Fortune 1000 company, which means that unless I make it a priority, I don't get a lot of exercise. In the past, it was more a priority, as I was involved with running, racquetball, biking, etc. As of this writing however, I have increased in weight and now sit at about 250 pound (I say "about" because I am too ashamed of myself to even weigh myself). I have always struggled with weigh and was a fat kid growing up (I think this is a typical story of children of immigrant parents. I think our parents that come from other countries - mine from Mexico - try to overcompensate by using food as the item of choice that can be given to their kids to show them they are loved, probably due to the fact that most immigrant parents are poor and usually can't afford to give them much else - but that's another blog entry).
Anyway, so here I sat, at age 47, ballooning in weight, and health issues beginning to show up (headaches - probably hypertension, knees hurt, back hurts). This went on for awhile until I decided to do something about it. I looked on line and bought Tony Horton's P90 program (not to be confused with Tony's newer program - the PX90). I actually was looking at the PX90 program first, as I saw one of his infomercials on in, but after doing some research thought the P90 would be better for me to start. If I get to the point that I feel I can handle the PX90 program, I will consider that a win for me.
So, what is the P90 program? Its 90 days (actually 6 days a week with one day off per week for 90 days) of alternating 40 minute programs of weigh training (dumbbells only, or you can use the power bands that came with the product) and aerobic workouts. The product is from a company called Beach Body (my family got a kick out of the name). I'm sure if you google it, you will find lots of info on it. I chose this program because it was a combination weight training and aerobic program, so it felt like it was more complete (side note: my little brother - OK not so little anymore, hes 45, but he will always be my little brother), just lost lots of weight (40+ pounds probably) on a weight training program, so I thought weights with cardio was a good combo, and it would take longer for me to get bored with it. To be clear, I certainly don't expect a "beach body" at the end of this. My goal is better health, the ability to run 4-5 miles, 3-4 days per week in the summer time without getting so damn winded, and some inches lost around my middle ( I am a pretend 38 waist - I say pretend, because they have gotten so tight, I'm probably really a 40 at this point). Which reminds me of the scene in Stripes, with Bill Murray, when he joins the army and they issue him his green garb with a 36 waist, and Bill goes, "36? These are 34s (pointing at his own pants), and uh, their loose". If you haven't see the movie, go rent it. Its pretty funny, although probably a bit dated at this point.
OK back to the show. So that's why I decided to buy the P90. The P90 program comes with two DVDs for Phases 1-2 and 3-4. You start with 1-2 which I think, are easier aerobics and weight training, and then at about day 30 - 40, you switch to the second DVD and the exercises get harder.
Another note, I am a notorious yo-yo dieter, and my weight has fluctuated back and forth all my life. The Atkins diet worked wonders for me, but I can't seem to stay on it. It so hard when you love bread, pasta, all the bad carbs. However, it has shown me how to eat more protein and watch my carbs, so from that perspective, I think it was helpful. Also, I do take vitamin supplements from a company called Extend-Life in New Zealand. I take their Men's Health, Omega 3's, and Apha-lipoic acid (an anti oxidant), some COQ10 as well.
OK that's enough background. As I said this is day 3 so I will now try to remember how Day 1 and 2 went and describe them here.
Day1: I was excited about starting. I actually got the P90 package in the mail a day before and put the DVD in to review what I was going to do. As I reviewed it, I remember thinking "boy, I can do this". Well, I reconfirmed a piece of knowledge I already had: watching and doing are two different things. I did the aerobic piece first and that includes doing 10 crunches in up to 10 different positions (that 100 crunches for you math whizzes), and they are killer. Prior to doing the crunches however, Tony Horton guides you though an aerobic workout, which was tough enough for me that I had to pause it for a while to catch my breath (so, note to self -one new goal is to be able to do the aerobics eventually, without pausing - that will be a sign of progress).
After I was done with Day 1, Aerobics, I did feel good that I had done this for myself, and was looking forward to keeping on some sort of diet to watch my carb intake and keep my protein up.
Day2: Weights. I am starting with only 15-lb weight dumbbells for the exercise program, because Tony Horton is telling me to take it easy, and that you don't have to go full guns right out of the gate; that the purpose of phase 1-2 is to learn the moves and start to get better at them; and that the time will come when we can use more weight. The weight program used, or at least it felt like it did, all the muscles in your body ( I remember thinking: Great! this is exactly the type of program I was looking for). While I was not in too much pain then, the next day I was sore all over, and felt I probably could not do anything on the third day. In addition we had 8 inches of snow fall throughout the evening, and I ended up having to shovel twice in one day , which was a good workout in themselves- so I did not feel so guilty not doing the program (besides - you get one day off per week anyway so that was my day off). Anyway even though I did not officially work out, I still watched what I ate and thought I did a pretty good job with that too. I realize that if this is going to work for me, I am going to have to change both my eating habits and my exercise habits. the P90 program comes with a recipe booklet with something like 10 breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. They look good and I may try some of the recipes, but suffice to say stick with common sense eating habits and in general, you should be OK.
OK so today I did Day3, aerobics, and I do have to say, I think I did better today than day1. Not sure if it was because I had already been exposed to the moves back in Day1, or if I was trying harder ( I was trying, but not harder than Day1), or maybe the program was already beginning to show results. Regardless of why, I did feel I did better. I still had to pause in the middle of aerobics, but I felt I did the exercises better, and I was able to do many (not all) of the crunches (another side note - get to the point of doing all the crunches, and you will show progress).
Alright, sorry for the long first blog post, but I had to lay foundation and was already behind 2 days. I will try to blog regularly to keep you up to date. I will also try to explain how I am feeling so you understand what I am going through. This week will be my first challenge, as I am travelling for our sales kickoff beginning Tuesday through Friday. I am going to burn the DVD to my IPhone and take the resistance bands with me. We will see how that comes out. OK see you later.
First a little about me: I am a 47 year old male in the Chicago-land area (home of Barack Obama, and at the other end of the spectrum, Rod Balgojevich - a study in dichotomies if I ever saw one). I have a wife and 2 teen-age daughters (16 and 13) and thanks to my wife, are probably not as wacky as typical 16 and 13 years olds, but some days they do almost get there. Mom might say different.
I have an office job at a Fortune 1000 company, which means that unless I make it a priority, I don't get a lot of exercise. In the past, it was more a priority, as I was involved with running, racquetball, biking, etc. As of this writing however, I have increased in weight and now sit at about 250 pound (I say "about" because I am too ashamed of myself to even weigh myself). I have always struggled with weigh and was a fat kid growing up (I think this is a typical story of children of immigrant parents. I think our parents that come from other countries - mine from Mexico - try to overcompensate by using food as the item of choice that can be given to their kids to show them they are loved, probably due to the fact that most immigrant parents are poor and usually can't afford to give them much else - but that's another blog entry).
Anyway, so here I sat, at age 47, ballooning in weight, and health issues beginning to show up (headaches - probably hypertension, knees hurt, back hurts). This went on for awhile until I decided to do something about it. I looked on line and bought Tony Horton's P90 program (not to be confused with Tony's newer program - the PX90). I actually was looking at the PX90 program first, as I saw one of his infomercials on in, but after doing some research thought the P90 would be better for me to start. If I get to the point that I feel I can handle the PX90 program, I will consider that a win for me.
So, what is the P90 program? Its 90 days (actually 6 days a week with one day off per week for 90 days) of alternating 40 minute programs of weigh training (dumbbells only, or you can use the power bands that came with the product) and aerobic workouts. The product is from a company called Beach Body (my family got a kick out of the name). I'm sure if you google it, you will find lots of info on it. I chose this program because it was a combination weight training and aerobic program, so it felt like it was more complete (side note: my little brother - OK not so little anymore, hes 45, but he will always be my little brother), just lost lots of weight (40+ pounds probably) on a weight training program, so I thought weights with cardio was a good combo, and it would take longer for me to get bored with it. To be clear, I certainly don't expect a "beach body" at the end of this. My goal is better health, the ability to run 4-5 miles, 3-4 days per week in the summer time without getting so damn winded, and some inches lost around my middle ( I am a pretend 38 waist - I say pretend, because they have gotten so tight, I'm probably really a 40 at this point). Which reminds me of the scene in Stripes, with Bill Murray, when he joins the army and they issue him his green garb with a 36 waist, and Bill goes, "36? These are 34s (pointing at his own pants), and uh, their loose". If you haven't see the movie, go rent it. Its pretty funny, although probably a bit dated at this point.
OK back to the show. So that's why I decided to buy the P90. The P90 program comes with two DVDs for Phases 1-2 and 3-4. You start with 1-2 which I think, are easier aerobics and weight training, and then at about day 30 - 40, you switch to the second DVD and the exercises get harder.
Another note, I am a notorious yo-yo dieter, and my weight has fluctuated back and forth all my life. The Atkins diet worked wonders for me, but I can't seem to stay on it. It so hard when you love bread, pasta, all the bad carbs. However, it has shown me how to eat more protein and watch my carbs, so from that perspective, I think it was helpful. Also, I do take vitamin supplements from a company called Extend-Life in New Zealand. I take their Men's Health, Omega 3's, and Apha-lipoic acid (an anti oxidant), some COQ10 as well.
OK that's enough background. As I said this is day 3 so I will now try to remember how Day 1 and 2 went and describe them here.
Day1: I was excited about starting. I actually got the P90 package in the mail a day before and put the DVD in to review what I was going to do. As I reviewed it, I remember thinking "boy, I can do this". Well, I reconfirmed a piece of knowledge I already had: watching and doing are two different things. I did the aerobic piece first and that includes doing 10 crunches in up to 10 different positions (that 100 crunches for you math whizzes), and they are killer. Prior to doing the crunches however, Tony Horton guides you though an aerobic workout, which was tough enough for me that I had to pause it for a while to catch my breath (so, note to self -one new goal is to be able to do the aerobics eventually, without pausing - that will be a sign of progress).
After I was done with Day 1, Aerobics, I did feel good that I had done this for myself, and was looking forward to keeping on some sort of diet to watch my carb intake and keep my protein up.
Day2: Weights. I am starting with only 15-lb weight dumbbells for the exercise program, because Tony Horton is telling me to take it easy, and that you don't have to go full guns right out of the gate; that the purpose of phase 1-2 is to learn the moves and start to get better at them; and that the time will come when we can use more weight. The weight program used, or at least it felt like it did, all the muscles in your body ( I remember thinking: Great! this is exactly the type of program I was looking for). While I was not in too much pain then, the next day I was sore all over, and felt I probably could not do anything on the third day. In addition we had 8 inches of snow fall throughout the evening, and I ended up having to shovel twice in one day , which was a good workout in themselves- so I did not feel so guilty not doing the program (besides - you get one day off per week anyway so that was my day off). Anyway even though I did not officially work out, I still watched what I ate and thought I did a pretty good job with that too. I realize that if this is going to work for me, I am going to have to change both my eating habits and my exercise habits. the P90 program comes with a recipe booklet with something like 10 breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. They look good and I may try some of the recipes, but suffice to say stick with common sense eating habits and in general, you should be OK.
OK so today I did Day3, aerobics, and I do have to say, I think I did better today than day1. Not sure if it was because I had already been exposed to the moves back in Day1, or if I was trying harder ( I was trying, but not harder than Day1), or maybe the program was already beginning to show results. Regardless of why, I did feel I did better. I still had to pause in the middle of aerobics, but I felt I did the exercises better, and I was able to do many (not all) of the crunches (another side note - get to the point of doing all the crunches, and you will show progress).
Alright, sorry for the long first blog post, but I had to lay foundation and was already behind 2 days. I will try to blog regularly to keep you up to date. I will also try to explain how I am feeling so you understand what I am going through. This week will be my first challenge, as I am travelling for our sales kickoff beginning Tuesday through Friday. I am going to burn the DVD to my IPhone and take the resistance bands with me. We will see how that comes out. OK see you later.
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