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?
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
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.
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