It's happened already! I missed a day working out yesterday. I could say I have good excuses, but I also know that no matter what you can make the time.
I had my day all planned out ... dentist, leaf blower at Home Depot, Costco, home to work out and clean house. But this is the day I got ... dentist, visit with friend to finalize Burning Man money, home to baby sit, clean house and Costco. By the time I got back from the store it was 6:30p and I had dinner to make! On top of all this I'm trying to scan 100s of photos of our son for Christmas books for our parents which takes a lot of "babysitting" of the scanner.
So yesterday I just didn't get to it (and didn't get my leaf blower either!). I'm going to try to do two workouts today ... one in the morning and one in the afternoon before I pick up Tony at the airport. But the morning one is legs and back, and the afternoon one will be something like kick boxing. I don't know if I have it in me to do both, but I will try.
So it's 5 days down, but still 86 to go!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Yoga -- Day 4
First, I have to admit that I'm not much for instructions or directions. So today as I was looking through the booklet that came with the discs I realized that I'm not doing this entirely correctly. Generally I had it right, but there is a week-by-week routine order. Like Weeks 1-3 you do these discs (some days you do two discs!) then Week 4 you do a different set of discs, then Weeks 5-7 you do a different set of discs, and so on. I'd have probably survived doing it my way, but I'm glad I figured this out because it actually has a day of rest built into each week!. As well, I found out I didn't have to make my own worksheets ... they are downloadable from the website. Oh well ... I like mine better anyways.
So today was Yoga. I have been looking forward to this for two days. I LOVE yoga ... at least the stretching part. I'm not so good at the balancing part, which became painfully clear today.
This workout was a lot longer than the others. I had originally tried to fit it in in the morning, but when I realized it was a full hour-and-a- half I knew I wouldn't have time, so had to do it this evening. The first 45 mins were very difficult and I know I'm going to feel them tomorrow. As usual, I tried to keep up with the trainers on some of the more difficult moves. So I got really tired in this section.
The second 45 minutes started with balance poses and had me tipping and falling all over the place ... but I made it through. These poses were made a little harder because I am working out on a padded/carpeted floor. I finally got smart and used the balance board from my Wii Fit, which did help a bit ... I just need more practice.
I've had some Stott pilates training so one thing I'm struggling with is keeping my body aligned while doing the poses. Until I get more flexible I think this is going to continue to be an issue for me. I don't want "untrain" by body what I spent so long training it to do right. It's not to say the yoga poses are wrong, it's just when you're not fully flexible they don't give you a lot of other options to make sure you keep good form.
I feel like once I've made it through the all the discs once I'll have a better handle on how to pace myself. Tomorrow is Legs & Back ... and Ab Ripper X. The only problem with this is I loaned this disc to a friend (thinking it was the last one I'd use in the set). So next week I'll do all this 100% "by the book" ... and we'll call this week a trial run.
Day 4 down ... 86 to go!
So today was Yoga. I have been looking forward to this for two days. I LOVE yoga ... at least the stretching part. I'm not so good at the balancing part, which became painfully clear today.
This workout was a lot longer than the others. I had originally tried to fit it in in the morning, but when I realized it was a full hour-and-a- half I knew I wouldn't have time, so had to do it this evening. The first 45 mins were very difficult and I know I'm going to feel them tomorrow. As usual, I tried to keep up with the trainers on some of the more difficult moves. So I got really tired in this section.
The second 45 minutes started with balance poses and had me tipping and falling all over the place ... but I made it through. These poses were made a little harder because I am working out on a padded/carpeted floor. I finally got smart and used the balance board from my Wii Fit, which did help a bit ... I just need more practice.
I've had some Stott pilates training so one thing I'm struggling with is keeping my body aligned while doing the poses. Until I get more flexible I think this is going to continue to be an issue for me. I don't want "untrain" by body what I spent so long training it to do right. It's not to say the yoga poses are wrong, it's just when you're not fully flexible they don't give you a lot of other options to make sure you keep good form.
I feel like once I've made it through the all the discs once I'll have a better handle on how to pace myself. Tomorrow is Legs & Back ... and Ab Ripper X. The only problem with this is I loaned this disc to a friend (thinking it was the last one I'd use in the set). So next week I'll do all this 100% "by the book" ... and we'll call this week a trial run.
Day 4 down ... 86 to go!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Shoulders and Arms -- Day 3
I am SO PROUD of myself!
Although I worked this morning, met with a girlfriend for coffee, am babysitting this afternoon and working this evening, I made the time to work out. My typical self would be to take what little "down" time I had to putz around the house. But I sucked it up today and got 'er done!
I am also proud because I'm learning ... rather than jump right in with the weights I'd like to think I can lift, I went with something lighter to pace myself; and it worked! I was able to complete all the exercises and all the groupings and all the reps/times without stopping. For some exercises the weight was just right, but for some I made a note that next time around I need something heavier.
I really liked this workout. The warm-up included stretches that loosened up the muscles that were still a little tight from my first workout and prepared me well for what was ahead. Although all workouts are an hour long, this one seemed to go by really quickly.
I have to say that's one thing I really like so far. The running commentary by Tony Horton isn't so insanely cheezey that it drives you crazy ... yet.
So it's Day 3 down, 87 to go. Tomorrow, yoga!
Although I worked this morning, met with a girlfriend for coffee, am babysitting this afternoon and working this evening, I made the time to work out. My typical self would be to take what little "down" time I had to putz around the house. But I sucked it up today and got 'er done!
I am also proud because I'm learning ... rather than jump right in with the weights I'd like to think I can lift, I went with something lighter to pace myself; and it worked! I was able to complete all the exercises and all the groupings and all the reps/times without stopping. For some exercises the weight was just right, but for some I made a note that next time around I need something heavier.
I really liked this workout. The warm-up included stretches that loosened up the muscles that were still a little tight from my first workout and prepared me well for what was ahead. Although all workouts are an hour long, this one seemed to go by really quickly.
I have to say that's one thing I really like so far. The running commentary by Tony Horton isn't so insanely cheezey that it drives you crazy ... yet.
So it's Day 3 down, 87 to go. Tomorrow, yoga!
What Is High Maintenance?
I often hear people talk about being or knowing someone that is high maintenance. But how do you define that?
Is it someone that is emotionally demanding? Or someone that is financially expensive to maintain? Or is it someone that generally has to have things their way?
When we were at Burning Man a woman was looking at an "art" display of women's breasts and commented that you don't see many "fake" boobs at BM because those women are too high maintenance. I took a personal offense to that. I don't see myself as high maintenance (although Tony may disagree).
Without making judgement, I think of women that need regular spa manicures/pedicures or that spend a lot of money on cosmetic treatments as high maintenance. But maybe that's how their men like them and therefore the men don't see that as an issue. For that matter, is being high maintance an issue in a relationship?
What are your thoughts? Have you ever had a relationship with someone who's "needs" were just too demanding or expensive? If yes, what were the issues and how did you resolve them? Can men be high maintenance?
Is it someone that is emotionally demanding? Or someone that is financially expensive to maintain? Or is it someone that generally has to have things their way?
When we were at Burning Man a woman was looking at an "art" display of women's breasts and commented that you don't see many "fake" boobs at BM because those women are too high maintenance. I took a personal offense to that. I don't see myself as high maintenance (although Tony may disagree).
Without making judgement, I think of women that need regular spa manicures/pedicures or that spend a lot of money on cosmetic treatments as high maintenance. But maybe that's how their men like them and therefore the men don't see that as an issue. For that matter, is being high maintance an issue in a relationship?
What are your thoughts? Have you ever had a relationship with someone who's "needs" were just too demanding or expensive? If yes, what were the issues and how did you resolve them? Can men be high maintenance?
Working Out -- Day 2, Part II
I finally completed the 2nd disc yesterday. The second half was just as difficult as the first, but now I was doing the exercises on tired/sore legs; so I'm not sure it was worth stopping half-way through.
It's interesting what you learn about your body with the Plyometrics exercises. Some of the ones they said were "killers" I didn't have much trouble with ... and others that would appear to be fairly simple I found to be most difficult. There's so much jumping (something I'm not good at) and leg-lift moves that my legs feel like they've just done the Grand Canyon again ... although not quite as bad.
To be honest, the only way I made it through the last-half of the workout was to take my competitor hat off and be realistic about what I could do. For some exercises, rather than try to keep up with the pace they set, I worked on keeping good form and going slower. This often meant that while they may have done 20+ exercises in the 30 seconds, I generally completed 10. This also was a good pace that allowed me to do the same number of reps for the repeat.
By the end of the day I was pretty tired and achy all over (in a good way). I'm glad the Yoga Disc is only two days away!
So now I can officially say 2 days down, 88 to go!
It's interesting what you learn about your body with the Plyometrics exercises. Some of the ones they said were "killers" I didn't have much trouble with ... and others that would appear to be fairly simple I found to be most difficult. There's so much jumping (something I'm not good at) and leg-lift moves that my legs feel like they've just done the Grand Canyon again ... although not quite as bad.
To be honest, the only way I made it through the last-half of the workout was to take my competitor hat off and be realistic about what I could do. For some exercises, rather than try to keep up with the pace they set, I worked on keeping good form and going slower. This often meant that while they may have done 20+ exercises in the 30 seconds, I generally completed 10. This also was a good pace that allowed me to do the same number of reps for the repeat.
By the end of the day I was pretty tired and achy all over (in a good way). I'm glad the Yoga Disc is only two days away!
So now I can officially say 2 days down, 88 to go!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Plyometrics -- Day 2
We'll start with how I feel after Day 1. Generally, I felt good ... as long as I didn't try to do too much with my arms! Right now, they feel like they weigh 20 lbs each! So I started out the morning (after my 4:30a wake-up call to take Tony to the airport) with some good, slow, long stretches. And I've kept doing them throughout the day. The stretches are definitely helping, but my arms can certainly tell they did something yesterday.
This afternoon I loaded up Disc 2 (Plyometrics) and got ready for Day 2. Right from the start you're told this is the "Mother Of All P90X Workouts." Great. They had to make this Disc 2. No letting you get stronger before killing you ... they just jump right into it. And I used the word "jump" on purpose, because that's what this workout is all about. Jumping and landing soft; with a lot of work in between. I warmed up with the disc (I LOVE that they have the warm-up built right in) and started in on the exercises. I won't say that any one exercise is difficult, but added together they are killer. For this program they put together groups of 4 exercises that you rotate through twice before moving on. Each one is based on time vs. reps (something I like). I was able to keep up with the workout crew wrt reps for most of the exercises ... even through the second set. But truth be told I only made it through two sets of the first two groups of exercises before I was done. And believe me, I tried and tried to push myself harder.
My one BIG weakness is aerobic. I've never been much for things like running and jumping rope that increase your aerobic ability ... and it sure showed in this workout. It probably took me a good 5 mins. until my breathing returned to somewhere near normal.
It's late in the day and I probaby won't tackle the second half of this workout tonight; so I'll save it for tomorrow. I'll re-do the warm-up and pick-up where I left off. I do hate that I'm stopping half way through, but the moto of the program is to Do Your Best and Forget The Rest ... and for today I did my best.
So it's day 1.5 down, 88.5 to go.
This afternoon I loaded up Disc 2 (Plyometrics) and got ready for Day 2. Right from the start you're told this is the "Mother Of All P90X Workouts." Great. They had to make this Disc 2. No letting you get stronger before killing you ... they just jump right into it. And I used the word "jump" on purpose, because that's what this workout is all about. Jumping and landing soft; with a lot of work in between. I warmed up with the disc (I LOVE that they have the warm-up built right in) and started in on the exercises. I won't say that any one exercise is difficult, but added together they are killer. For this program they put together groups of 4 exercises that you rotate through twice before moving on. Each one is based on time vs. reps (something I like). I was able to keep up with the workout crew wrt reps for most of the exercises ... even through the second set. But truth be told I only made it through two sets of the first two groups of exercises before I was done. And believe me, I tried and tried to push myself harder.
My one BIG weakness is aerobic. I've never been much for things like running and jumping rope that increase your aerobic ability ... and it sure showed in this workout. It probably took me a good 5 mins. until my breathing returned to somewhere near normal.
It's late in the day and I probaby won't tackle the second half of this workout tonight; so I'll save it for tomorrow. I'll re-do the warm-up and pick-up where I left off. I do hate that I'm stopping half way through, but the moto of the program is to Do Your Best and Forget The Rest ... and for today I did my best.
So it's day 1.5 down, 88.5 to go.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Chest and Back -- Day 1
Well, despite still being sore, I loaded up the DVD and began my P90X workout today.
If I had read through the materials correctly, I could have done all the prep work yesterday. There's a lot more than just doing the workouts. First, I didn't have a sheet to document my progress. I'll have to make sure I get one made before tomorrow. Second, the program comes with a nutritional book that I need to spend some time reviewing. I could/should have done that yesterday. And third, like all programs, they push their own supplementals. Because it came with the starter package, I got the post-workout drink, but nothing else. As I progress through the program I'll determine if I want/need these things and let you know.
The first thing I noticed about the workouts is that they build in time for you to write down how many reps you did and what weight you used. The second thing I like is that before an exercise begins they ask you to set a goal. So you're not trying to keep up with them, you're trying to reach or break the goal you set for yourself within the timeframe of the exercise (each exercise last about 2 minutes with a clock running on the screen so you can pace yourself).
This particular routine is going to be a challenge for me because it includes A LOT of push-ups ... something I am not very good at. A bad shoulder break when I was a kid has left one shoulder extremely weak. But the way this is set-up, I didn't feel like a failure for only getting in 5 reps. Again, it's about setting the goal. This is where the documentation of reps, etc. comes in; it's all so you see progress.
They go through the set of exercises twice in one workout. But the difference with this program is the order of the exercises is different the second time around; keeping the focus on the workout on muscle confusion.
I also like that they cool-down and stretch with you at the end. That is one thing my trainer at the gym never did and an element I always thought was missing.
Despite the fact that I didn't keep up with their rep numbers, I feel like I got a very good workout. My arms are very tired and I'm sure I'm going to feel it tomorrow.
Day one down ... 89 to go!
If I had read through the materials correctly, I could have done all the prep work yesterday. There's a lot more than just doing the workouts. First, I didn't have a sheet to document my progress. I'll have to make sure I get one made before tomorrow. Second, the program comes with a nutritional book that I need to spend some time reviewing. I could/should have done that yesterday. And third, like all programs, they push their own supplementals. Because it came with the starter package, I got the post-workout drink, but nothing else. As I progress through the program I'll determine if I want/need these things and let you know.
The first thing I noticed about the workouts is that they build in time for you to write down how many reps you did and what weight you used. The second thing I like is that before an exercise begins they ask you to set a goal. So you're not trying to keep up with them, you're trying to reach or break the goal you set for yourself within the timeframe of the exercise (each exercise last about 2 minutes with a clock running on the screen so you can pace yourself).
This particular routine is going to be a challenge for me because it includes A LOT of push-ups ... something I am not very good at. A bad shoulder break when I was a kid has left one shoulder extremely weak. But the way this is set-up, I didn't feel like a failure for only getting in 5 reps. Again, it's about setting the goal. This is where the documentation of reps, etc. comes in; it's all so you see progress.
They go through the set of exercises twice in one workout. But the difference with this program is the order of the exercises is different the second time around; keeping the focus on the workout on muscle confusion.
I also like that they cool-down and stretch with you at the end. That is one thing my trainer at the gym never did and an element I always thought was missing.
Despite the fact that I didn't keep up with their rep numbers, I feel like I got a very good workout. My arms are very tired and I'm sure I'm going to feel it tomorrow.
Day one down ... 89 to go!
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