Today was a very nice day for me. I didn't have to work, which was fantastic, and I had my first interview with the Lincoln Fire department. It's the third time I've tried going through their process and it seems to get easier every time. I wasn't nervous till about 10 minutes prior and even then, it was more of an anticipatory nervousness rather than the dreadful type. My interview was at 12:30 PM so I had to choose whether I wanted to do my workout before or after.
I choose before so I could go into the interview with a sharp mind and a sharp body, ready to go and answer questions with quick and concise responses. I always feel that if I'm just a little bit fasted (still in calorie defecit) and had a nice workout that really gets the blood flowing that I will be at my very best. Today was that day.
6-15-11 Shoulders & Arms + Ab Ripper X
Alternating Shoulder Presses:
Round 1: 10x45 lbs Round 2: 10x45lbs
In and Out Bicep Curls:
Round 1: 16x35 Round 2: 16x35lbs
Two Arms Tricep Kickbacks:
Round1: 12x15lbs Round 2: 12x15lbs
Deep Swimmer's Press:
Round 1: 10x35lbs Round 2: 10x35lbs
Full Supination Concentration Curls:
Round 1: 9x35lbs Round 2: 9x35lbs
Chair Dips:
Round 1: 20 reps Round 2: 21 reps
Upright Rows:
Round 1: 10x35lbs Round 2: 10x35lbs
Static Arm Curls:
Round 1: 16x25lbs Round2: 16x35lbs
Flip-Grip Tricep Kickbacks:
Round 1: 10x15lbs Round 2: 10x5lbs
Two Angle Shoulder Flys
Round 1: 16x25lbs Round 2: 16x15lbs
Crouching Cohen Curls:
Round 1: 12x25lbs Round 2: 12x25lbs
Lying-Down Tricep Extension:
Round 1: 10x35 Round 2: 8x35
BONUS ROUND
In/Out Shoulder Flies:
Round 1: 15x10lbs Round 2: 15x10lbs
Congdon Curls:
Round 1: 8x35lbs Round 2: 8x35lbs
Side Tri-Rise
Round 1: 18 reps Round 2: 18 reps
Ab Ripper X immediately thereafter.
THE RESULT
Today was a nice change of pace from the first two days. None of the exercises done are "big" exercises; that is, they are not compound exercises like a lot of pushing and pulling stuff from Monday and what I assume will be more of the same on Friday. It's a bit of a "glamour" workout in the fact that it's number one purpose is to grow and strengthen/sculpt the smaller muscles that encompass the arms (biceps, triceps, forearms, brachialis) and the shoulder (anterior, medial, and posterior deltoid) as well as working in secondarily with some upper back (traps) and always needing to engage the core. It's a fun day but that doesn't mean I didn't sweat my ass off in the process. I swear to god, I lose 5 lbs of water weight each time I do one of these workouts. Maybe that will stem itself as we progress forward with the work.
I think the most frustrating thing about this workout is the CONSTANT changing of the weights. It's the biggest pain the ass EVER if you're using plate-loaded dumbbells, which I am. I wish I could afford a couple of the 590 Bowflex dumbbells or even all of the dumbells from 5-90 lbs but these will have to do for now. You could get a KILLER workout if you could instantly summon the weight you needed and never needed to press pause because changing the weight takes fucking forever. I fell like this will be the only one that is a problem in this realm so I'm still not terribly irked. Monday's workout was light on the dumbbells and I assume Friday will be too since you can't do GREAT leg work without BIG weights that no one has access to in the average home. I am getting better at changing the weights more quickly but I fear there is a limit to how fast I can do it and it will NEVER be as fast as the video. Oh well, maybe if I come across some money someday and feel like hitting a second round OR when MC2 comes out, I may invest in some new weights.
Ap Ripper was a pain in the ass again. I swear, THIS is the toughest workout of the entire p90x lineup, NOT Plyometrics. I was able to keep up with plyo at about 80-85% of the time on the first try. Now two times into Ab Ripper and I still struggle to get about 50% of it done with the people on the tape. I'm thinking about just stopping it at each exercise and trying to just bang out each set of 25 without trying to keep up with the participants but that would be extremely timely and could turn a 12 minute jam into something that lasts 30 minutes or more. Still, I am thinking that I might do this in week 3, depending on how well I'm doing with this tape by then. When week 3 starts, I'll already have 6 run-throughs with this workout and if I don't show decent improvement, I will take the time to actually destroy my abs and hope to god that I kick it's ass, over time. We shall see.
Next up is Yoga X. I am a flexible guy but Yoga isn't just about flexibility and I have a feeling that my extreme amount of soreness will adversely effect me to the point that I do a shitty job with the workout. Plus, I don't have a yoga mat OR yoga blocks yet so I think this workout will be the weakpoint this week. In the future I'll kick this one's ass; for now, I will submit to its will.
See you next time.
Also, I feel I did well in the firefighter interview so I hope that goes well. What better way to test out a fully-functional p90x body than to get a career in firefighting?
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
6-14-11 Plyometrics and Puddles of Sweat
Starting weight this morning: 253 lbs.
Firstly, I did NOT just lose 4 pounds from my first workout. I weighed myself yesterday BEFORE the first workout but I decided that I need to weigh myself first thing in the morning to get an accurate and consistent reading. I was 253 lbs after I pissed this morning. There you go.
I was a bit nervous before this one because I've heard that it's ridiculously difficult and as someone who has been in 10 minute dogfight Judo matches, that shit sucks and it literally feels like death every second you have trouble catching your breath. Feeling your heartbeat in your throat is a strange sensation and I haven't felt like that in a long time.
Despite me just getting home from work and wanting to sit down and relax, I decided that I couldn't be a lazy fuck this early on in the program. I think the most difficult part of doing something like p90x, or any workout program in particular, is finding the mental fortitude to keep coming back for more. "Keep pressing play" Tony Horton says to me and millions of other people and it's exactly what you have to do if you want to see the results you desire. You can never prepare to feel like Ali fighting Foreman and getting pounded and ropeadoped for round after round until you actually make the leap and get into whatever workout program you've decided to execute. After thinking all of that, I threw the DVD in and just hit play and said "Fuck it, I'm just going to do this, get this shit done, and I can relax afterward." And so I did.
6-14-11 DAY 2 - PLYOMETRICS
I shouldn't have been as scared of this section as I initially was. The primal conditioning mechanism came alive in me and I had flashbacks of my Judo days, jumping and sweating and pushing and feeling like I couldn't do another rep. It was FANTASTIC.
I don't watch the videos much before I actually do them so I'm never quite sure what to expect. I suppose this feeling will pass as I do the workouts more and more but for a first time, I feel like I kicked ass. I only started to truly "dog it" around the the second to last sequence. Sure, I didn't do every single rep like the participants in the video but I feel that for a 250 pound guy in mediocre shape, I kept up pretty well. I can think of smaller people that couldn't do what I did for an hour this afternoon. And believe me, my body was and still is paying for it. My hips are absolutely cooked as well as the psoas muscle in the front of the groin going up into the abdomen. I'm going to get up early tomorrow and hit up some good stuff from http://www.mobilitywod.com on stretching out the psoas and getting my grody joints in check. This isn't the highest impact workout, but it DOES have impact and as you become more and more fatigued it becomes easier and easier to let your form slip and that's when you hips and spine and ankles and knees really start to howl.
If I could offer any advice to other first time plyo players: Try and be as intense as you can be WITHIN the realm of good form and proper mechanics. If you're flailing around just because you want to try to keep up with Tony and crew, STOP that shit immediately. You're going to hurt yourself or break something in your house and you're going to feel like a god damn idiot when you're 2 days into p90x and get hurt. Stretch, hydrate, stay loose, and USE GOOD FORM. You can get a very good workout from this session even if you don't do everything exactly as prescribed at first. That's why this is p90x, not p2x or p3x...you don't become a great athlete overnight and you can't expect to kick ass the first or second or third time you do something this intense. And if you can, then you fucking slacked and you need to step your game up. If you're someone who doesn't find the prescribed work that hard then you, of all people, know that you need to push yourself to improve and that you need to take it to the next level and get it done.
RESULT
Overall, I'm extremely pleased with myself after this workout. My back and triceps are extremely sore from yesterday's workout and my hips, as I mentioned before, are sore as hell and it was a task to do some of the exercises today. Despite all of these distractions and seeming hardships, I did well and kept up better than I could have expected, especially on my first run-through. We'll see how long that holds up as I become more and more sore and get into the real grind of things. However, I am VERY encouraged.
Oh, and my compression shorts were soaked through so thoroughly that I think I accidentally fell in the pool and then did plyo. Holy shit.
Tomorrow is Shoulders and Arms. Seems like I would be an easy day but I test ran this one earlier and it's definitely no walk in the park. I'm using adjustable dumbells (plate loaded) and the biggest hassle is being able to change weights quickly enough to keep up with the exercisers. I will do my best, though, and I plan on bringing it HARD.
See you then.
Firstly, I did NOT just lose 4 pounds from my first workout. I weighed myself yesterday BEFORE the first workout but I decided that I need to weigh myself first thing in the morning to get an accurate and consistent reading. I was 253 lbs after I pissed this morning. There you go.
I was a bit nervous before this one because I've heard that it's ridiculously difficult and as someone who has been in 10 minute dogfight Judo matches, that shit sucks and it literally feels like death every second you have trouble catching your breath. Feeling your heartbeat in your throat is a strange sensation and I haven't felt like that in a long time.
Despite me just getting home from work and wanting to sit down and relax, I decided that I couldn't be a lazy fuck this early on in the program. I think the most difficult part of doing something like p90x, or any workout program in particular, is finding the mental fortitude to keep coming back for more. "Keep pressing play" Tony Horton says to me and millions of other people and it's exactly what you have to do if you want to see the results you desire. You can never prepare to feel like Ali fighting Foreman and getting pounded and ropeadoped for round after round until you actually make the leap and get into whatever workout program you've decided to execute. After thinking all of that, I threw the DVD in and just hit play and said "Fuck it, I'm just going to do this, get this shit done, and I can relax afterward." And so I did.
6-14-11 DAY 2 - PLYOMETRICS
I shouldn't have been as scared of this section as I initially was. The primal conditioning mechanism came alive in me and I had flashbacks of my Judo days, jumping and sweating and pushing and feeling like I couldn't do another rep. It was FANTASTIC.
I don't watch the videos much before I actually do them so I'm never quite sure what to expect. I suppose this feeling will pass as I do the workouts more and more but for a first time, I feel like I kicked ass. I only started to truly "dog it" around the the second to last sequence. Sure, I didn't do every single rep like the participants in the video but I feel that for a 250 pound guy in mediocre shape, I kept up pretty well. I can think of smaller people that couldn't do what I did for an hour this afternoon. And believe me, my body was and still is paying for it. My hips are absolutely cooked as well as the psoas muscle in the front of the groin going up into the abdomen. I'm going to get up early tomorrow and hit up some good stuff from http://www.mobilitywod.com on stretching out the psoas and getting my grody joints in check. This isn't the highest impact workout, but it DOES have impact and as you become more and more fatigued it becomes easier and easier to let your form slip and that's when you hips and spine and ankles and knees really start to howl.
If I could offer any advice to other first time plyo players: Try and be as intense as you can be WITHIN the realm of good form and proper mechanics. If you're flailing around just because you want to try to keep up with Tony and crew, STOP that shit immediately. You're going to hurt yourself or break something in your house and you're going to feel like a god damn idiot when you're 2 days into p90x and get hurt. Stretch, hydrate, stay loose, and USE GOOD FORM. You can get a very good workout from this session even if you don't do everything exactly as prescribed at first. That's why this is p90x, not p2x or p3x...you don't become a great athlete overnight and you can't expect to kick ass the first or second or third time you do something this intense. And if you can, then you fucking slacked and you need to step your game up. If you're someone who doesn't find the prescribed work that hard then you, of all people, know that you need to push yourself to improve and that you need to take it to the next level and get it done.
RESULT
Overall, I'm extremely pleased with myself after this workout. My back and triceps are extremely sore from yesterday's workout and my hips, as I mentioned before, are sore as hell and it was a task to do some of the exercises today. Despite all of these distractions and seeming hardships, I did well and kept up better than I could have expected, especially on my first run-through. We'll see how long that holds up as I become more and more sore and get into the real grind of things. However, I am VERY encouraged.
Oh, and my compression shorts were soaked through so thoroughly that I think I accidentally fell in the pool and then did plyo. Holy shit.
Tomorrow is Shoulders and Arms. Seems like I would be an easy day but I test ran this one earlier and it's definitely no walk in the park. I'm using adjustable dumbells (plate loaded) and the biggest hassle is being able to change weights quickly enough to keep up with the exercisers. I will do my best, though, and I plan on bringing it HARD.
See you then.
Monday, June 13, 2011
6-13-11 Starting off on both the right AND the wrong foot
First things first, before we go any further, I need to address some things that I forgot to address in yesterday's post.
First and foremost, I haven't taken any pictures of my body yet for the Day 1, 30, 60, 90 shots. I don't have an actual camera at this time and my phone camera is both crappy and difficult to maneuver into a good position for a shot. My girlfriend has a camera but I may not use that just yet. My plan is to take some crappy pictures on my phone for the original and see what I can conjure for the 30 day and henceforth. Also, while I'm not extremely embarrassed with my body, I am still somewhat self-conscious and I'm not that keen on revealing myself to the world just yet. In time, though.
Also, I didn't mention any of my vital stats before I started. As of today, I am 6 feet tall, wearing a 38 inch waist and weighing 257lbs. I'm a white dude with brown hair and blue eyes. Some would call me a bit stocky but I never really felt that way, especially after losing weight from my all-time high of 305 lbs. I'd say it's more linebacker/fullback type now which may be giving me a bit too much credit. Hopefully that's enough of a visual for now. If you want to see me in my native habitat, I'll include my facebook address at the end of the column for your enjoyment.
Anyway, that's a lot of writing without saying a whole hell of a lot. Let's get to the meat and potatoes, shall we?
P90X DAY 1 - Chest and Back
I will list the exercise, the round and the number of reps. If weight is involved, I will list that as well.
Standard Pushups - R1: 25 reps R2: 20 reps
Wide Grip Pull Ups - R1: 3+11 R2: 2+10
Military Pushups - R1: 15 reps R2: 12 reps
Reverse Grip Chin Ups - R1: 3+8 R2: 1+10
Wide Fly Pushups - R1: 13 reps R2: 9 reps
Overhand Pull Ups - R1: 2+10 R2: 0+10
Decline Pushups - R1: 10 reps R2: 9 reps
Heavy Pants - R1: 10x45lbs R2: 10x45lbs
Diamond Pushups - R1: 10 reps R2: 7+2 reps
Lawnmowers - R1: 10x45lbs R2: 10x45lbs
Dive-Bomber Pushups - R1: 12 reps R2: 8 reps
Back Flys - R1: 10x35lbs R2: 10x35lbs
Ab Ripper X
This is a quick way to throw these numbers together. I may modify this at a later time and finally find a universal way to get this done in a more aesthetic way. Remember, I'm doing this on the fly.
HOW I DID
So first workout...I can definitely feel it. I didn't really take Tony's advice at the beginning of the video and I burned myself out rather quickly. You can see the steep downward trend in my pushup and pullup numbers from the very beginning. You can also see that I am a complete pussy when it comes to pullups as I am quite heavy and despite being strong enough to pull myself up a few times, pullup endurance has never been my strongpoint. At my peak, I was probably able to bust out 6 or 7 pullups on a good day. I was not nearly as athletic on this day.
Overall, the workout felt great. The pacing and the burn is different from traditional bodybuilding work and it's definitely something I'm going to have to get used to. I'm happy to see that I'm going to get some nice conditioning work from the weight days and TONS of conditioning work from the cardio days. These first few weeks are going to push me to the breaking point every time and I'm hoping it doesn't get to me too badly as I progress forward in the program.
I'm feeling good at this point but I'm not sure how great I'll be feeling tomorrow morning. I've got Plyometrics coming up (which is the hardest, I hear) and I've got a LONG day of work as well. God help me.
Anyway, that's all for this day. It's all starting well and for not being able to do pullups and sucking balls doing pushups, I feel like I did pretty well for a fat guy looking to be less of a fat guy. Tomorrow's post probably won't be quite as long so look forward to that.
Oh, and this is my facebook address: http://www.facebook.com/kylesteinhauser
Later
First and foremost, I haven't taken any pictures of my body yet for the Day 1, 30, 60, 90 shots. I don't have an actual camera at this time and my phone camera is both crappy and difficult to maneuver into a good position for a shot. My girlfriend has a camera but I may not use that just yet. My plan is to take some crappy pictures on my phone for the original and see what I can conjure for the 30 day and henceforth. Also, while I'm not extremely embarrassed with my body, I am still somewhat self-conscious and I'm not that keen on revealing myself to the world just yet. In time, though.
Also, I didn't mention any of my vital stats before I started. As of today, I am 6 feet tall, wearing a 38 inch waist and weighing 257lbs. I'm a white dude with brown hair and blue eyes. Some would call me a bit stocky but I never really felt that way, especially after losing weight from my all-time high of 305 lbs. I'd say it's more linebacker/fullback type now which may be giving me a bit too much credit. Hopefully that's enough of a visual for now. If you want to see me in my native habitat, I'll include my facebook address at the end of the column for your enjoyment.
Anyway, that's a lot of writing without saying a whole hell of a lot. Let's get to the meat and potatoes, shall we?
P90X DAY 1 - Chest and Back
I will list the exercise, the round and the number of reps. If weight is involved, I will list that as well.
Standard Pushups - R1: 25 reps R2: 20 reps
Wide Grip Pull Ups - R1: 3+11 R2: 2+10
Military Pushups - R1: 15 reps R2: 12 reps
Reverse Grip Chin Ups - R1: 3+8 R2: 1+10
Wide Fly Pushups - R1: 13 reps R2: 9 reps
Overhand Pull Ups - R1: 2+10 R2: 0+10
Decline Pushups - R1: 10 reps R2: 9 reps
Heavy Pants - R1: 10x45lbs R2: 10x45lbs
Diamond Pushups - R1: 10 reps R2: 7+2 reps
Lawnmowers - R1: 10x45lbs R2: 10x45lbs
Dive-Bomber Pushups - R1: 12 reps R2: 8 reps
Back Flys - R1: 10x35lbs R2: 10x35lbs
Ab Ripper X
This is a quick way to throw these numbers together. I may modify this at a later time and finally find a universal way to get this done in a more aesthetic way. Remember, I'm doing this on the fly.
HOW I DID
So first workout...I can definitely feel it. I didn't really take Tony's advice at the beginning of the video and I burned myself out rather quickly. You can see the steep downward trend in my pushup and pullup numbers from the very beginning. You can also see that I am a complete pussy when it comes to pullups as I am quite heavy and despite being strong enough to pull myself up a few times, pullup endurance has never been my strongpoint. At my peak, I was probably able to bust out 6 or 7 pullups on a good day. I was not nearly as athletic on this day.
Overall, the workout felt great. The pacing and the burn is different from traditional bodybuilding work and it's definitely something I'm going to have to get used to. I'm happy to see that I'm going to get some nice conditioning work from the weight days and TONS of conditioning work from the cardio days. These first few weeks are going to push me to the breaking point every time and I'm hoping it doesn't get to me too badly as I progress forward in the program.
I'm feeling good at this point but I'm not sure how great I'll be feeling tomorrow morning. I've got Plyometrics coming up (which is the hardest, I hear) and I've got a LONG day of work as well. God help me.
Anyway, that's all for this day. It's all starting well and for not being able to do pullups and sucking balls doing pushups, I feel like I did pretty well for a fat guy looking to be less of a fat guy. Tomorrow's post probably won't be quite as long so look forward to that.
Oh, and this is my facebook address: http://www.facebook.com/kylesteinhauser
Later
Sunday, June 12, 2011
First post among many. For that, we can only hope.
THE INTRO
Alright, this is the first of what hopefully becomes MANY posts in this blog. I highly doubt this blog will ever be seen by more than the random passerby in cyberspace but I hope that whomever that person is, they are at least semi-entertained if they decide to read.
I plan on this blog being the main source of my first journey down the road of p90x and it will be chronicled here on a daily basis. I will fill everyone in on how I'm doing, which workout I did, what weights and reps I managed to do, and everything in general concerning the activity. I have never kept a workout journal in my life for any athletic or fitness endeavor and I have been going at it pretty well since the early 2000s. I never felt like I needed to keep one since my memory and my passion for the even was always enough to keep me going, which may explain why I almost always fell off the wagon even if I had been going strong for months straight. If there is no mechanism for accountability then, as someone who likes to workout alone, I would inevitably quit or take a sabbatical for whatever reason.
Not this time. This time, I'm going to actually keep a record of what I do and I'm going to destroy this thing. I'm calling my shot right now, and all 3 people who end up reading this blog over the course of the next 3 months will bear witness.
THE PLAN
So here's how this is going to go down. I'm going to start p90x in the "Classic" mold tomorrow (June 13, 2011) and Chest and Back is first up on the docket. In addition to the p90x programming, I will be mixing in some of my own programming. Not at the expense of any of the p90x sessions (which I will be doing 6 days a week without reprieve), I will also be adding 1 dedicated strength day on Sundays or Wednesdays, depending on the week, as well as at least a couple days of running during the week.
My main background is in traditional bodybuilding work as well as an intermediate skill level in strength and power training as well as some sports conditioning. I have also ran and completed 3 half-marathons which has instilled, at the very least, a love/hate relationship with running. Since I do not want to totally forsake these things in favor of p90x and because I don't want my gym membership to lapse while I do p90x, I am going to add a couple of elements of my traditional fitness life and keep them around to help me build my fitness in an even more well-rounded way.
Since I have Wednesdays and every other weekend off, I will be using these free days to engage in my extracurricular activities. These Wednesdays will very likely be my two-a-day type workouts with a morning run and an afternoon bout with p90x and Sundays will be the day I hit the gym to do a 5-rep schemed strength program that features squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, and power cleans. I am thinking about throwing some rows and stuff in there but with all the back work done during the p90x workouts, I probably won't need it. I will be closely monitoring myself for signs of overtraining throughout the process as I feel like my plan is extremely ambitious and I would only rate my overall fitness at this point as mediocre.
The point of all this is that I'm really excited about the next 3+ months and it's gonna be a blast even if all I do is talk to myself.
THE REST
In addition to this being about my fitness journey, I may throw in some tidbits about my life in general or any random musings I have floating around the ole' noggin here. I don't want to be a "hardcore" blogger as I have a lot to do besides this but if I feel like it's worth posting, I sure as hell will. Also, my language may get a little more "blue," so to speak, in the near future so if you hate seeing the words "fuck" or "shit" or hate seeing the lords name taken in vain, then I am truly sorry. But not really.
Enjoy the show random readers, I know I will.
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