Working Out

I'm not a gym rat, but I do like working out.  My biggest problem is motivation.  I can ALWAYS find something better to do and my promises to myself to work out "in 15 minutes" never seem to happen.   My second problem is know what do to when I get there. 


Last year I committed the time and money to work out with a trainer 3 days a week and what a difference that made!  He kept the workouts interesting and allowed me to work all parts of my body without having to put too much thought into it.  But who can afford to keep that up?


For my birthday I requested and got the Wii Fit program.  It's great for testing your balance, core strength, tracking your progress, etc.  But it doesn't give me the level of intensity I'm used to.  And the trainers are a bit corny.


So this year at Fantasy Fest I saw four friends I hadn't seen since last year that looked absolutely FANTASTIC!  When asked what their secret was I was surprised to find out they were all doing the P90X workout.


For those of you that don't know what this is, it's a set of 12 DVDs by Tony Horton (http://www.beachbody.com/) that are based on keeping your muscles "confused."  Each of these people said it was very difficult, but "fun" because it was always something new ... and their results were undeniable. 


So I ordered the discs.  I was surprised at how inexpensive they were compared to a personal trainer.  For the price of all the DVDs I could only get about 3 training sessions, so right there I'm ahead of the game.


Well, the discs arrived today.  And with all the anticipation of Christmas I dove right into the boxes.  First up was assembling the chin-up bar.  Right there I got my work-out.  I'm pretty handy and am used to assembling things, but this was a real challenge.  The stay-tight screws were very difficult to get tightened and 45 mins and a lot of tools later I had it completed.


Now came the fun part ... mounting it on the doorway.  It's not a permanent mount, but you do have to install brakets that hold it in place while you're using it.  So to my office door I went (best place to mount it).  I got the screws, anchors, hammer, etc.  But with my hands that full I didn't wasn't able to carry a ladder as well ... and who wants to make two trips!  Luckily (or unluckily) I have a desk chair in my office that I thought would work perfectly.


Dear readers ... please DO NOT try this at home!  I rolled my bar stool-height chair to the door and began my measurements.  Oh dang!  The chair kept turning.  So I thought it would be "smart" to steady myself by putting one foot on a shelf inside the door while I began marking the screw holes.  Bad idea!  The minute the chair began turning and I put weight on my "support" foot the shelf gave way and me, my tools, the shelf and everything on it went crashing to the floor!

I'll let you contemplate that visual for a moment ...


I am now sporting a severly banged up thumb and a scratch/bruise on my hip that is going to leave a lovely mark for a few weeks.  Still trying to decide if I need a Dr. or not.


Once I get the status of my thumb and am able, I'm going to start a daily blog on my workouts.  You, my reading audience, are going to be my motivation ... and I'll review the product for you as I go.  When I work out, I'll tell you and let you know what I thought of it.  The days after, I'll let you know how bad I hurt or how good I feel.  If I don't work out, I'll tell you that as well, but I expect you to hold me to only GOOD excuses.  No "I was just too lazy" posts will be allowed.

For today,  I think I've had enough of a work out.