And so it begins...
I posted the schedule for this 90 day Hybrid on my April 6th entry, along with some general thoughts and concerns.
GOALS FOR THIS 90 DAYS:
1) Eat better.
2) Eat better.
3) Eat better.
4) Get rid of the belly and maybe start to show some beginning of a six-pack.
5) Lean out. I really leaned out when I did P90X2 early last year, and I think that was the best I ever felt.
6) Enjoy the process. There's been many days in the past where I just don't want to work out (but I always do anyways). Hopefully, with the variety of the workouts, I'll have less of those days.
Starting Weight: 178.9 lbs; Body Fat: 23.0%
MONDAY - APRIL 15, 2013 - P90X Chest and Back
Aside from one set of 40 pushups I did a few days ago, I've done no working out in three weeks. As I stated before, my body needed a rest, and my mind needed a rest. About 10 days ago I committed to today as my startup day for this Hybrid I set up for myself. Of all the workouts I have in my library, Chest & Back is the one I dread the most. I'm weak on upper body strength, and this one is all upper body, but I knew I had to get it done. I wasn't sure going in if my strength would be there after the three week layoff, and it wasn't. I started out OK, but by the time I got to the half way point I knew I was in trouble. My arms were numb. I started the second half of the workout by being able to do only one Wide Grip Pullup, and I continued that struggle until the end. The strength just wasn't there. My arms were trembling during some of the pushups, and I simply couldn't do a lot of pullups. I was OK on the weighted back exercises, using 40lbs on Heavy Pants, 45's on Lawnmowers, and 35's on the Back Flys. The last time I did this workout was January 21, 2013. Back then I did 233 pushups. Today I did 192. In January I did 32 pullups. Today I did 26. Big decreases, but understandable, and maybe a bit predictable. With that said, it feels good to be back at it.
Time: 53 minutes; Calories Burned: 554; Avg Heart Rate: 129; Max Heart Rate: 156.
TUESDAY - APRIL 16, 2013 - P90X Plyometrics
I got through this OK. There were times where I was really winded, and I noticed my heart rate in the 160's, but that's not out of the ordinary for me on this workout. No pauses or breaks. I'm typing this about 3 hours after finishing, and my knees are aching. My shoulders, triceps, and core are still sore from yesterday's Chest and Back.
Time: 58 minutes; Calories Burned: 646; Avg Heart Rate: 135; Max Heart Rate: 164.
WEDNESDAY - APRIL 17, 2013 - P90X Shoulders and Arms
The last time I did this workout, in late January, I was using heavier weights, trying to max out at 8 to 10 reps. I looked at my worksheets from that workout and tried to duplicate the weights. For the most part I was successful. There were a few times where my reps were down a bit, and a few times where I went to a lighter weight on the second round, but that was because I was just trying to be smart by not taking a chance on hurting myself because of bad form. I used 35lbs on most of the bicep moves. My entire body is still sore, but it's a "good" sore.
Time: 60 minutes; Calories Burned: 655; Avg Heart Rate: 134; Max Heart Rate: 163.
THURSDAY - APRIL 18, 2013 - P90X Yoga X
Sometimes the first half of this workout seems unbearably long. Today was one of those days. The vinyasas half seemed to go on and on without end. I was really starting to tire during the last two sets, and had a hard time even getting into Warrior 3. My Half Moons and Balance Postures were bad, and I only held Crane for a few seconds because I was so exhausted. Bad day, but I move on.
Time: 92 minutes; Calories Burned: 702; Avg Heart Rate: 111; Max Heart Rate: 189.
FRIDAY - APRIL 19, 2013 - P90X Legs and Back
I did OK on the leg exercises, but struggled a bit on the pullups. The last time I did this workout, in late January, I did 84 pullups. Today I was only able to do 58. There was a noticeable drop off on the second go around. I've noticed when I go a while without doing pushups or pullups, my numbers drop quickly.
Time: 59 minutes; Calories Burned: 578; Avg Heart Rate: 123; Max Heart Rate: 211.
SATURDAY - APRIL 20, 2013 - P90X Kenpo X
I was looking forward to this one because it doesn't beat my body up as much as the other workouts. However, I always work up a good sweat, and did so again today.
Time: 59 minutes; Calories Burned: 547; Avg Heart Rate: 121; Max Heart Rate: 148.
SUNDAY - APRIL 21, 2013 - P90X Ab Ripper X and Weigh-In
Ab Ripper X
I was strong on this workout today. Sometimes I get too quick on it, but today I felt more controlled and think I got a lot out of it. The only negative was that I stopped at 50 Mason Twists simply because I didn't feel like doing the extras. There's times I can do over 70.
Time: 20 minutes; Calories Burned: 146; Avg Heart Rate: 106; Max Heart Rate: 134.
Weigh-In
Weight: 178.9; Body Fat: 23.0% - No change in either number from last week. A bit disappointing because I ate as clean this week as I have in years. I feel better and think I look better than last week, so that's what I'm looking for.
Now, the scale issue. I've been using the same digital Weight Watchers scale since I started these workouts 5 years ago. That scale frustrates me because I can get one weight, step off the scale, get back on it, and have a 10lb difference. It almost seemed it was more dependent on where you placed your feet on the scale than what you weighed. To get my weekly weight, I've been getting 21 readings, throwing out the top three and bottom three, then taking an average of the remaining 15 numbers. I kept doing it because that's what I'd been doing all these years, and the process was consistently the same each week. It's ridiculous that I have to go through all that, but I figured I had to be consistent in order to come up with something that wasn't a random one time figure. Therefore, this week I decided to buy a new scale. I checked out the multitude of scales at Amazon and purchased one from FitSmart that had a great rating with over 1800 reviews. Most said you could step on and off the scale and keep getting the same reading. I was excited to get it. Today I used the old scale as always and calculated my weight at 178.9 lbs and my body fat at 23.0%. I then calibrated and set up the new scale, stepped on it, and got a weight of 188.8 lbs (10 lbs more than the other scale) with a body fat of only 19.9% (3% lower than the other scale). I got off and on a few times and got the same readings. These are big differences and I don't know which one to trust at this point. I'll play with the new one some more and re read the instructions to see if I'm doing something wrong. As they say, it's not what you weigh, it's how you feel, and whether your clothes are fitting better. That's true, but my weekly weigh-ins are a numeric gauge of where I am, and a source of motivation for me. I'm very frustrated.
OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THE WEEK
Aside from the scale thing, I'm very happy with the way things went. It was good to get back to work. My numbers were a bit down from the last time I did some of these workouts, but I know a lot of that is because I haven't trained a lot of those muscles directly for the last few months. The last time I did those workouts I had been working those muscles for a few months, so the drop off wasn't totally unexpected. I was sore as hell most of the week, which means something was working. I'm also very happy that I finally put together a week of good eating. I wasn't even craving junk. Let's hope that continues. I'm looking forward to next week, which is the first phase of P90X2. I haven't done most of those workouts since January 2012.
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