P90X3: Day 1 of 90. Post-Workout. READ THIS!!

This is the ONLY time I will post 2 blogs in one day for P90X3.  Why today?  Because today is critical.

You will feel two ways on Day One.  You will be absolutely psyched before...and a conglomeration of emotions and physical feelings when you finish your first workout.

You all saw my photos.  I am not some Beachbody super-soldier.  I am just like you.  I just finished Total Synergistics.  It's been a long time since I felt this way.  Its been 20 minutes now and my heart is still beating quickly.  My arm muscles are shaking...I am actually supporting my forearms as I type this.

I couldn't do the whole workout.  I had to hit pause a few times...okay, many times.  But, I completed the whole thing.  I didn't do it in the 30 or so minutes...more like 40-45.  Overall, I did pretty good given where I am right now physically.  That's the key.  You are NOT supposed to look like the people on the DVD or do what they can do on Day One.  This is not their first day...it's yours.  What you are looking at, is your goal. Remember that.

In terms of the exercises, like I said, pretty much what I expected.  Arm exercises were pathetic, mainly because they have to exert against about 15-20 lbs more than when I was doing P90X at day 90.  Pullups?  Forget about keeping pace. All I want to do is keep going until I can't do anymore.  I am all lower body weight, and it kills my arms.  All the squat exercises?  Easy. Why?  Because my legs support my larger body weight daily and have been doing it my whole fat life.  Adding 20 lbs to a frame that was about 285 lbs for a good portion of my life is not really a chore.

I wrote a lot today, and my arms are tired.  This was what I blogged on Day One in 2012 after my first day:

"i am too tired to use caps.  i did like, half to three quarters of the workouts until I was burnt.  i don't want to accidentally break or rip something and have to stop.  on one exercise, I could barely do it at all...the ice skating side to side leg raise thingy.  i'm dead, never tried anything like this in my life.  now i am getting some water, vitamins and a protein bar.  ughhhhh.  i WILL get there.
incidentally, I now know why people lose weight on this workout...it's difficult to eat if you can't raise your arms.  good thing they ended with a yoga downward dog stretch...I may have to eat from my dog's bowl for a while.
okay...will let you know how things are tomorrow.  somehow it feels like i may be sore...really?  wow.  genius."  

If you remember one thing today, remember this.  Everyone feels this way and next week, on Day 8, when you do this workout again after having done a week of these routines, you will be shocked at how much better you do.  Trust me.

Today is critical. This is the day when you are most vulnerable to saying, "I can't do this."  Listen closely...YES YOU CAN.  Give it one more week and see how Day 8 feels.  Now, go drink your shake and take some protein.  And hydrate!!  And get your sleep tonight, although I think that might come easy.  All the best!

P90X3: Day 1 of 90. Boy, Did I Screw Up

How did I screw up?  I will answer that one in a minute.  Today is Day One.  Think of it this way, if you commit to the next 90 days, this is the worst you will look for the next three months.  That is the only way you will survive doing your Day One metrics, to include the pics.  Just remember, it's all uphill from here.

So, I got up this morning and weighed myself, took my measurements and took my pictures.  Here are the shots to the left.  I know, most of you will keep these private.  Anyone who knows me well, knows that when it comes to this, I have no shame to speak of.  So you can see how I improve from here.

Here is the other reason I post them.  It helps me follow through.  When I motivate myself, I always make my starting point public.  When everyone else knows your stats and your commitment, you feel an added amount of pride in going the distance and a little more trepidation to let that promise go.  It's like a little more glue, holding you to the process.

I went through a very strict, medically supervised weight-loss program in 2008.  I had to do a liquid diet.  Why?  I was dying.  You can read my blog called "The Tipping Point" by clicking on the link above to read the detail.  The point is, I was SO physically unfit that I could not safely exercise rigorously.  It was causing other medical conditions that were shortening my life.  In that program, most of the people never discussed their weight, or their progress.  They kept it secret.  Those people who never discussed it, well, they either quit the program or failed to lose weight over a long period of time.  Doing the measurements and making them public makes you accountable to yourself in a way that you can't just silently slip away and quit.  It does make a difference.

Okay, how did I screw up?  Take a look at the pics to the left.  I am in worse shape now than when I started P90X in 2012.  I knew I was...deep down.  But, now I REALLY know it.  And so do you.

This is the journey for me in the next 90 days.  It's not some pipe dream, I know I can do it.

Screwing up?  I haven't been this heavy or out of shape since I lost my 85 lbs in 2008.  I let things in my life derail a ton of progress that I had made.  When I look at that 90 day picture, I know that I want THAT back.  I also know that I need a plan to NEVER let it get away again.  Over 50 years old, you lose your 'fitness gains' at an incredible speed if you just plain stop.  You need to make the programs a part of your normal life and you need to make it something achievable.  We will all have the moments when life derails us.  It's not the obstacle, it's how fast you get back up.  I didn't get back up.  Now, here I am, facing the big work one more time.

I do have one advantage that many of you don't have.  I know I can do it.  I've climbed this mountain before.  I also know something about you...you can do it too.  If you just follow along, you will make progress and achieve things you didn't know you could do.  Trust me.

Here is my "gym".  Check out the mat.  It's all measured up and waiting for me.  Notice something on it though, I measured it for Novice, Expert, and a spot in between.  I may have to start at Novice.  We'll see.  If I do, it's not failure, it's just Week One.  That last line is my goal by Day 90.  The line is already drawn.  Just like the photos, it's real and looking me in the face every workout.  So are my weights.  There are weights heavy enough that I may not use them...but they are STILL waiting for the day I can...staring at me.

I also did my measurements.



Day 30, 60, and 90 are waiting.  March 31st is not that far away.  90 seems like a lot.  It's not.  Okay, enough typing.  Time to warm up and get to "Total Synergistics."  Follow along and let me know how YOUR journey is going.  I'll be following you all too!  You are not alone.  Don't stop.

“Ab Ripper X: Back in the Saddle Again!” LesMills Combat: Day 11 of 90

Today was my break day.  So very quickly, I did ARX as usual.  It is coming along.  I don’t jump right into the next exercise, I am taking small 20 second breaks between the exercises.  This is allowing me to recover enough to complete the entire circuit without breaking down on an exercise.  Now that I am doing complete exercise sets, I will begin to close the break gap and, voila, BACK IN THE SADDLE!

“Getting Stronger” LesMills Combat: Day 10 of 90

I did Combat 45 and Pump Challenge last night.  Before I did that though, I built a step bench so that, when I do the weights, I can get my elbows lower and get better chest extension.  I could feel the work even more…always a great thing.

Combat 45 is really good and I am getting to a point where, now that I know the routine, I can focus on form and intensity.  I know things are going well when I am sweating and my breathing is at a steady but quick interval.  I can feel it more as I put my entire body into the punch and kick moves.

It’s not enough to just throw the arm out there.  That’s not the way this works.  You have to put the torque of your body as well as the driving of the legs into your kicks and punches.  You will begin to feel the strength increase as you do this.  You will also notice that you more closely conform to what you are seeing the Instructors do on the video.

One criticism.  Seriously, would it be a DicksDiet review without some criticism?  Stretching.  Or the lack thereof.  I think they need to do more stretching prior to the workout.  It’s an area where P90X excels, Insanity is okay, but LesMills Combat is lacking.  I have begun doing my own stretching (thanks Tony Horton) before the workouts to get warm and not pull any muscles.  It really helps before the routines where you have to use your legs.  And there are a lot of them.

One thing I do NOT have a criticism for…yet.  The instructors on the DVD.  All really good, all really giving it their all so far.  No one slouching.  It’s what I like to see.  Nothing worse than working your butt off while someone on the DVD just plays along.

That’s it for today…it’s break day!  So that means Ab Ripper X tonight!

“The Next Day” LesMills Combat: Day 9 of 90

I am starting to get back into the rhythm.  I can feel it.  Friday (Day 7) was my rest day which, as you followers of my blog will note, I am doing Ab Ripper X.  It was not any easier than when I did it last Tuesday.  Maybe tomorrow night (Tuesday again) it will be easier.

Saturday was “Combat 30” and “Pump and Burn.”  All is well as manic Dan and Rach are pushing me.  Sunday was HIIT: Power.  I am happy with my progress but there are times when I have problems finishing routines.  I have to remind myself of a few things.

The first thing is, I’m fifty years old.  It’s not an excuse but the right diet, workout rhythm, and supplements (creatine and protein) are essential to getting stronger again.

The second thing is, these programs are SUPPOSED to be hard.  And they are.  I constantly compare any new programs to P90X.  It’s because it was my first program and the one I had the most physical change in.   

When I finished it, many things were coming much more easily to me.  The thing I keep forgetting is how hard it really was in that first two months.  I mean, it was brutal.  My body literally broke twice and I was seeing a chiropractor to get through those first 8 weeks.  I keep forgetting that.

At one point in P90X, I dropped out of a pullup and tore something in my shoulder.  I had to switch to bands for the workouts and be careful to work that shoulder back up to where it should be.  More than once, I tweaked my back.  The one time I won’t ever forget is when I was in a lunge and stretched and there was a grinding noise in my hip joint like when you twist a turkey leg off the turkey at Thanksgiving.  I wiil tell you, your body is not supposed to make that sound.

My point is, none of this is easy.  The goal is to see the improvement and the starting point is all that counts.  Tonight, I am making a “step bench” so I can do the bench presses and not have my elbows hit the floor.  I need about 6 inches between my back and the floor.  Tonight is Combat 45 and Pump Challenge (I think).

Have a great day!!

“One week down..” LesMills Combat: Day 6 of 90

Finished up the week with Combat 30 and Pump Challenge last night.  I haven’t felt good the last couple of days.  Lots of flu and cold are going around and my body has been aching.  I have been hitting the Vitamin C and taking on excess calories to fight the symptoms.  As I write this on the train, coughing is going on all around me.  It’s like I’m riding in a human petri dish.  Also, the first week of a new program, my body always responds strangely as it accommodates itself to the new stuff.  There is also the diet adjustment.  I was actually going to skip last night and, at the last minute, thought that if I push through and do it, I will accomplish two things.

First, every workout program requires discipline.  As you start out each new program, whatever your program might be, you cannot come off the blocks with excuses.  It’s important to be rigorous when you start in the expectations you have for yourself.  It sets a bar.  Excuses are real easy.  Ask anybody.  They’ll think one up for you because 95% of the population has them to spare.  The first thing I knew I was doing, by pushing through, was setting my personal bar.  It’s important.

The second thing I wanted to do was keep my body in a rhythm.  When you are “setting the bar”, the rhythm is critical.  If you don’t put the pattern in place, life will set one for you.  At that point, you are no longer in control.  Then you can go right back to looking for excuses…because they will grow.  Next thing you know, you are a “resolutionary.”  What is that?  That’s the person that every gym, workout program and diet system is looking for.  The person who has a great intention, seals it with a financial commitment (which is what the big three are really looking for) and then fails to follow through. 

The gyms are the biggest culprits.  There are commercials every two minutes in January.  What were you expecting?  Someone had to buy up all that excess ad time now that the elections are over!!  They KNOW that 90% of the well-intentioned will be crowding annoyances in the gym for about three weeks.  Then, they will disappear, leaving monthly commitments of $10 to $35 in their wake and lots of unused time on the new equipment that was bought.  Perfect.  Collect the money and the equipment doesn’t get used!  It’s just like when YOU bought the exercise machine and then had it become a giant dusty clothes rack.  Except, with the gym membership, you now have more room in your house!

So, I wanted my body to know that I am serious.  I am not a resolutionary.  It isn’t easy.  It’s not supposed to be.

The first week of Combat was pretty good.  I am enjoying it.  What am I feeling?  First, I am sore in some new places.  My thighs and hip flexors are especially tender.  The workout is heavier on the legs than most.  They do not really stretch before the programs, which is something I may have to integrate.  It’s hard to get the most out of the kicking routines without a good warmup…especially if you are stiff from the last one.

The oblique muscles around my ribcage are also sore.  There is a lot of punching that, if you are doing the forms right, involve a good deal of body rotation as you are doing your uppercuts and hooks.  Those two types of punches, compared to the jabs, use a ton of your oblique muscles, and I am feeling it.

The HIIT routines are tough.  Good workouts with plenty of pushup and weight add-ins.  The Power and Plyo were tough but doable.  I did not finish every set of each one, but I was very close.  I will be there this week.

I am also doing the Pump Weight Workouts as well.  I am not doing the side routines…just the Pump Challenge, Burn, Shred, etc.  I am using them to augment Combat.

Then, of course, there is Ab Ripper X, which needs a lot of improvement.  I will say this, though.  Doing them on sore obliques is a challenge.  I will get there.

 
So, week one is in the books.  Feels great to be back.  I like Dan and Rach (short for Rachel) better than I liked Shaun T.  I also like all the supporting castmates.  Different body types and no shleppers.  Week two is coming up starting tomorrow and today is my off-day.  That means a 17 minute ARX and then I am done.  17 minutes?  God.  You can do anything in 17 minutes…right?  Over and out!