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!

"Focus on Your Successes" Insanity: Day 24 of 60

The other night, I went to Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.  I went to see the music group America play live.  The fans were very much in my age range…that is to say, they had their teen years in the Seventies and maybe the Sixties.  As I stood there, I struck up a conversation with a podiatrist who is expanding his practice into retail footwear for the ‘pediatically’ (I made that up) challenged.  He had some very interesting insights on this generation of kids we are bringing up.

He said, “Everything with this generation is now.  Now.  Now.”  All they think about (generally) is, “Where’s my stuff?  When do I get what I know I deserve?”  The real point to his opinion was that this generation feels entitled and that they focus on what they ‘don’t’ have and complain far too much about not having it.  I don’t think that is generational though.  I think it is a cultural thing that we are all experiencing in one way, shape or form.  It’s something I try very hard to NOT do, and I will share why.

You cannot be successful unless you are moving in the direction of your goals.  To do that, you need to have knowledge and skill, which we can all get somewhere if we look hard enough.  The other two critical factors, confidence and motivation, can only come from the journey you are on and the other successful journeys that you have had.  Nothing helps breed success like past successes.  They build on each other.  When you have had a few, you then have the confidence that you can have more.  With that confidence, you find ways to self-motivate to achieve the next goal.

It is so easy to focus on what you do not have.  I could do that with my health and fitness goals.  But where would I be?

When I started this journey, I weighed 285 lbs.  That was four years ago.  It has been a long journey getting here.  The life of health and fitness that I now live had to evolve to where it is right now.  It didn’t change overnight, and the reason it worked is because I knew right from day one that it wouldn’t happen overnight.

I went on the Optifast liquid diet with a group of about twenty people.  The diet itself can be (and was) very successful for many.  But, like every other ‘diet’, it works for that period that you are engaged in it only.  To keep the weight off, it is up to you to make permanent and lasting changes to how you live.  Why?  Because if you go back to your old patterns your old friend “Mr. Fat” will be knocking on your door and in no time at all, will be sitting intimately with you on the couch again.  Why, four years later, am I still thin?  Because I knew it wasn’t an “instant cure” right from day one and my focus was life change, not weight loss.

I now do Beachbody health programs to maintain and improve my health.  In addition to the dietary changes I have made (to include high nutrient density foods), I also use their nutritional products.  I have seen awesome results from these programs and products.  P90X took 90 days…but due to some changes I made, I actually did it for 104 days.  I am on day 24 of Insanity.  That’s one-third of a year.  128 days of commitment and exercise every day.  In addition, I follow my diet, which includes the Beachbody Shakeology drink every day.  It’s a long journey.  How do I (or you) keep it up?

Focus on the successes.

I look in the mirror every day for results.  My body isn’t perfect.  Far from it.  I can tell you candidly that when you are 285 lbs and have had a big fat frame, for the number of years that I had one, that shrinking it to the form of the people you see on the DVD’s is very difficult.  Most people who are reversing a lifetime of perverted eating are going to have the exact same issue.  When you have been that big, and you start to lose the weight, it’s like letting the air out of a balloon that has been inflated for a long time.  The shell of the balloon has accommodated itself to that shape and can’t just shrink and depress.  You have fat cells that have been the containers for the fatty substances you use for energy (or not) for a very long time.  They don’t just disappear.  They empty, but they stick around.  Just in case.  Like suitcases waiting to be packed for the next trip.  Only after you have leaned your body for a while do they finally get the message and dissolve and go away.  It isn’t a pretty sight when you look in the mirror.

There are places on my body where I have accumulations of fat that are very slow to respond.  There is an area that was around my belly but now has become kind of like a tire around my lower back.  It’s shrinking and getting there, but slowly.  It has taken a very long time to reduce this.

My point is this.  I could focus on the fitness things that have not just immediately happened.  I could look at the things I really wanted to ‘be perfect’ and be depressed that they are not.  But there are other areas of my body that have had serious positive results.  My performance has also improved.  My health markers (cholesterol etc.) have improved.  If I chose to focus only on the things I haven’t had happen yet, how would my motivation be affected?  I choose (and you should too) to see the real positive results and ingrain that in my head.  Every success recognized contributes to my track record of wins and gives me the confidence that the next steps are extremely achievable.  This goes for health and fitness, but also is for the other areas of your life.   

That’s why you need to focus on your successes.  You need to put those ‘wins’ away like trophies on a shelf and you need to remember them.  You need to recognize them.  When it comes to health and fitness, nothing plays the role of ‘trophy case’ like a mirror.  In a society that pretends everyone should be humble, there are those who will think you are vain for looking at yourself.  Well, when they earn their trophies, they will change their perspective.  Until then, find some noise killing headphones and bask in your own glory.  Find the things you are happy with.  Use that as the fuel for your next win.

 Cardio Recovery tonight and P90X Chest Shoulders and Triceps!

"Hitting the Wall" Insanity:Days 20-23 of 60

When I was doing P90X, I felt just like I do right now.  Worn out.  Serious adjustments were necessary.  I had to change my diet, I had to add good food.  I have to say though, that I am more tired with Insanity than I was with P90X…I am just running down.

A couple of observations…

Sleep.  I am not getting enough.  Last week, I exercised late almost every day due to things that had to be done after work.  This completely threw me off on my sleep for days.  Then, I had to get up early on both weekend days.  My body is simply not repairing the way it should.  I need to focus on getting my exercise done early enough so I can get a good night’s rest.

Nutrition.  I am getting good nutritional efficiency, I just feel like I am not eating enough.  I am actually starting to feel hunger.  I am going to have to increase my food intake…particularly as I ramp up into Phase II of Insanity.  It goes longer and harder so my fuel will have to be a lot better.

Hydration.  I don’t know if it was the New England change of weather or what, but my body is responding differently.  I think I might need to hydrate better.  I know that my routines are always ‘sweat-drenched’ affairs so I am losing plenty of water.  There are some nights when I feel like it takes me a little too long to warm up.  There are two times of the year in New England when I notice my body change to the weather.  One is around the end of May when the weather gets more humid.  The other is around early October when the weather gets really dry.  I can feel the change this past week.

The routines themselves are actually fine…I can go through them most nights without pressing pause.  I may slow down on some of the exercises.  The Plyometric Circuit is a killer on me.  The second circuit with the basketball jumps, the level one drills, the ski hops and the in/outs still is killing me.  By the time I get to the ski hops and in/outs, I am fried.  I am almost considering reversing Phase I and II just to see if I can get full impact from each circuit.  I feel like the second circuit should be done with fresh legs.  Even Shaun T. doesn’t do them all.

Believe it or not, the Pure Cardio with no breaks is actually easier on me than the Plyo Circuit.  I think that’s because my muscles are pooping out from all the work.  It really surprises me that it’s my legs giving me issues because they are stronger than most people’s.

I’m at a point where the routines are kind of blending together.  I have to keep track from day to day because it seems like when I “push play” I always feel like I just did the routine yesterday.  I swear, yesterday I put on the Plyometric Circuit and I put the Power & Resistance on to review and then went back to Plyo…I couldn’t remember which one I did.  I checked my calendar and was still sure I had done the same one two days in a row.  Finally, I just went with my calendar and did the Plyometric…when in doubt, do the hardest one.

I also should mention that I am doing AbRipperX three mornings a week and that I am doing the Chest, Shoulders and Triceps and the Back and Biceps each week as well.

So I feel like I am hitting a wall and I really need to get sleep, eat a little more, and hydrate.

Listen to your body.  If you are in tune with how you respond to your food, drink and sleep, you will know when you have to make an adjustment.

Stay tuned!  I have Pure Cardio tonight.  “Are any of you afraid as I am about for what’s about to happen?”  (you have to do Insanity to get that joke.)