P90X, Day 3: Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X

WOW, k, very sore. Arms, back, chest, abs, quads. Worked out this morning, a couple of hours has passed and I am thoroughly sore. I can't even straighten my arms out tall the way because my biceps hurt. Definitely underestimated the plyometrics from yesterday because my quads are sore. I'm not nearly as sore as I was when I started doing Insanity (here I go comparing again), but when I did Insanity I was more out of shape. Issue is I thought that I was way more in shape now so I wasn't expecting to be sore at all. I guess a two-week hiatus (even if interrupted by 3 days of boarding) really does contribute to muscle loss huh!?

Anyway, back to this morning. Shoulders & Arms has no pull-ups; only uses weights/resistance bands. I have resistance bands just to try them out (...and because they're cheaper than weights). Problems with resistance bands include:

• chafing on my forearms and wrists during most moves
• smaller range of motion
• inconsistency because I can't always remember how big I made my loop
• Indian skin burns under my bare foot as the resistance bands contract
• the feeling that resistance bands aren't as good as weights because on the way down I have to do very little work as the bands retract on their own

Since this was my first time doing Shoulders & Arms and first time using resistance bands ever this was kind of a trial. You want to cap out at 8-10 reps of heavier weights if you wanna build size or 12-15 reps of lighter weights if you wanna get lean. I didn't know exactly what my strength is on all the different exercises so I found myself switching bands a lot. It was annoying but necessary, and I didn't really see any other way around it. I made sure to record all my progress and take notes on the bands.

The only pros of resistance bands are that they are great for travel, take up very little room, and are cheap. The cons listed above outweigh the pros for me. Now I want weights, but they are so darn expensive. I have chafe marks on my arms which is not cool... and will eventually start to get raw and hurt. Guess I gotta save up huh?

Ab Ripper X was good. I was able to do more of the exercises despite how sore I was. Haha, I guess Ab Ripper X isn't MUCH worse than Insanity if I was still sore yeah? haha.

P90X, Day 2: Plyometrics

I heard that P90X's Plyo is NOTHING compared to Insanity's Plyo. And word on the street is consistent with mine. In this Plyo you do everything for 30 seconds but it's way easier than Insanity's Plyo. (If you remember, Insanity's Max Plyo was the one I skipped because I hated it that much.) That's not to say that it was a breeze for me. It was still work and I didn't last through all of them. But the basics are there: variations of squats and different kinds of jumps, including these weird squat jumping jack things. I started to sweat near the end of the warm-up but that's NOTHING compared to not even being able to go through the entire warm-up of Insanity at first. I should really stop comparing!!!

P90X, Day 1: Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X

Finally! Time to start P90X. Wanna get ripped. Starting off with:

119.2 lbs
26" waist
19% body fat

My main goals are to gain strength (especially in my upper body), define my abdominal muscles, and lose fat in my stomach and thighs. Specifically I would like to do an unassisted pull-up, a real push up (5 if I can), and get at least a solid 4-pack (right now it's only if I haven't eaten and if I stand in a certain light).

I heard Tony Horton gets annoying, but I didn't understand why ...at first. He is a little bit weird. He is constantly talking throughout the exercises, which is fine and encouraging but sometimes he touches the "annoying" line. Just, meh, some of the stuff he says that would sound weird and out of context on a blog. I started to miss Shaun T REALLY badly. But thankfully either I got used to it or it's not too big of a deal.

Chest and back is mostly alternating versions of push ups and pull-ups. You do everything for either 30 seconds or a minute or so. I used the pull-up bar for the first time today. Had to use the chair of course, and I can't even get my chin over the bar. For push ups, I used a mix between the pull-up bar on the ground and using my hands on the ground. I don't like using my hands on the ground because it hurts my wrist, but not sure if using the bar is better, either. And the issue of not being able to go deep enough on the ground the regular way is a non-issue for me. If anything, doing push ups on the bar is easier because I'm higher off the ground.

Ab Ripper X is not too bad. Insanity helped... and I think I like Insanity's more. Insanity's is tougher in that the moves are harder but you don't do any crunches or sit-up-like moves. In P90X you definitely have moves where you are sitting and you are reaching for your legs which always puts strain on my neck. I don't get how other people do it more comfortably. There is one move that is IMPOSSIBLE for me to do, and that's the one where you lie on your side and bring your knees to your chest to work your obliques. I would seriously rather do power jumps!!! I can't get there, and when I'm close to lifting off the ground my hip bone hurts.

Anyway, that's it for Day 1. 69 more to go!

last night & this morn

So I re-did my weight and stuff.

Last night:
56.1% TBW
19.1% body fat

This morn:
119.4 lbs
26" waist

So I still gained a couple of pounds..and... a couple of percentage points of body fat since before Insanity. Ok. I think my scale is off. Or, I hope so! That's annoying.

Insanity, Day 67: Fit Test and IT'S OVER!!

Ok, Day 66 was supposed to be Plyo, but I pussied out and didn't do it because I hate it. Armando said he was going to keep P90X from me if I didn't do Plyo, but I told him then I won't do plyo and I won't do P90X and he's the one who has to look at me, so.. he surrendered. :) I feel kind of bad for not doing Plyo, but yes, I hated it that much.

Let's look at results, shall we!

Date	1/27	2/10			3/30
Move	Fit Test 1	Fit Test 2			Fit Test 5
Switch Kicks	52	90			103
Power Jacks	43	57			57
Power Knees	77	80-90			110
Power Jumps	38	35			38
Globe Jumps	9	13			13
Suicide Jumps	14	20			21
Push-Up Jacks	20	22			25-26
Low Plank Oblique	23	55			65
Measurements
Weight	117.4	118.8			120
BMI	20.79421	21.04218			21.25472
Body Fat %	19.7	17			20.1
Neck	12	11.75			12
Waist	26.25	26			26
Hips	36.5	36.5			36.5
Right Thigh	20.5	20.75			20.75
Left Thigh	20.5	20.75			20.75
Right Calf
Left Calf
Right Bicep	10 1/8				10.25
Left Bicep	10 1/8				10.25
Right Forearm	9				8.75
Left Forearm	8.75				8.5

So for the first half of the chart, I see that my fitness level increased significantly between weeks 1 and 3 and then kinda stagnated or got a little better for most of the exercises between week 3's and today's. I'm slightly surprised I was able to get that many more switch kicks in, and a little disappointed that I couldn't get more power jumps, but then again, whenever we do power jumps I usually opt not to push myself on those... so... I guess it makes sense. Globe jumps, I dunno if I am going up all the way, but I still made it to 13! I had to take a rest after that one, and a rest after all the ones after that. Like I said before, this is not for the faint of heart! The push-up jacks... oigh. Totally not going down all the way. And then the low-plank obliques after that! I think that could have been better planned -- like, not having to use your shoulders and arms twice in a row. Just like I think power jumps and globe jumps should have been spaced out. Lots of thigh muscle work going on. And I didn't feel nauseated this time! Well.. until the end. After the low-plank obliques. Had to lie down and keep my food from last night down. I did notice though, that even though some of my numbers up there aren't much higher (or at all higher) than in the 2nd fit test, I lasted longer and was stronger and was able to make it with fewer breaks.

Measurement-wise.. nothing changed too much. It looks like I gained a couple of pounds and.. either I gained body fat or there is something wrong with my scale. Not sure. But I do know that I feel stronger and much more fit. My lower abdomen significantly shrunk with Insanity, and a little bit of definition has started to show through. My thighs didn't shrink like I thought they would... although they are a bit more shapely, I'll admit that.

Overall, glad I did it! Onto P90X and get those abs :) Starting.. next week, after I go to Mammoth.

Insanity, Days 64 and 65: Max Interval Sports Training and Max Cardio & Max Abs

I went out of order because I didn't feel like doing Plyometrics and I had more time on the weekend to do Abs. I think the worst sport in Sports Training is basketball. It's a lot of sprinting and jump squats. Max Cardio was okay -- I pushed myself really hard on this one! The portion in the abs that's still super hard for me is the one where you get in a low plank and then lift the same side hand and leg. And the one where you're in a high plank and you have to make your knee reach your alternate and then same elbow is way harder than it looks! In order to make your knee touch you have to squeeze super hard.

I think I'm going to forget the Plyometrics. I'm dreading it. I didn't do it this morning. That's the worst one. It's a debate between finishing and not doing it because I hate it... Thoughts? Am I a pussy? I have the Fit Test left. I took measurements this morning, and the only things that have changed are my waist (quarter of an inch smaller), forearm (a little smaller), thighs (a little bigger), and my weight (gained 2.6 lbs). Abs, shoulders are more defined. I feel a lot stronger, and I'm sure my heart is stronger too. The distance between me and cardiovascular disease is growing!

Insanity, Day 63: Max Interval Circuit

Deep breath. I made it through. I better freaking have -- I didn't work out yesterday! Ugh. Anyway, the Max Interval Circuit exercises aren't hard to do. It's just.. you have to do a lot of them in a short period of time! The full body drills were the worst: get down, run it out, walking push ups, wide runs. Well there were also the get down, run it out, jack push ups, in/out abs, oblique push ups. Those were hard too. Also hard are the suicide push up things. If I wasn't afraid of hitting something it miiiight be a tiny bit easier, but not by much. Boy, I pushed myself today. I am getting some flab back, and once again I'm steadily over 120lbs! How did that happen? Did I gain more than 5 lbs of muscle?? I don't think so. If so, wow. (Is that a lot? It sounds like a lot.) I need to kill off those ice cream sandwiches and watch the carb intake. I think that's the only only only way I can get rid of this gut and inner thigh flab.