Saturday, September 19, 2009

Kenpo

WOW. WOW. Did I mention, WOW? I just finished the Kenpo P90X workout. According to Wikipedia, Kenpo is the name of several martial arts. It's a Kenpo karate workout. In reality it is a kick your butt maximum calorie burning marvel!

The workout was perfectly balanced! Just when my legs were ready to give out we switched to arms, and then back and then back. It kept my heart rate up in my zone the whole time. This old lady burned 550 calories in just under an hour according to my handy dandy heart monitor.

I am too pooped to write much more! Tomorrow is my rest day and I am really looking forward to it!


Thursday, September 17, 2009

The Yoga is a Killer!

I am starting to feel the good effects of working out again! I have slept like heaven the ast few nights! Thanks to Advil, lots of stretching and the hot tub, I am really not that sore today. That's not to say I don't feel it, but I can move and I am not in pain like I worried I might be.

So, today, my fourth day into P90X Lean, was yoga. OMG. 1 1/2 hours long. I didn't make it. I had to stop. It was physically so challenging! I only burned about 200 calories according to my heart rate monitor, but let me tell ya, I was sweating up a storm! It was amazing!

Tomorrow is legs, back and abs again. I am really excited! My back is very weak and my abs, well, I am sure they are there under thing ring o blubber I seem to have collected the last four months, but I am sure they are there!!!!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

On the Third day of P90X Tony Horton Gave to Me...

On the third day of P90X Tony Horton gave to me...

Arms made of jello...
Shoulders made with noodles...
Triceps made of rubber...
and abs that are, hmmm, well, just sore!

I figured I better write about day three right away because it's hard to type even now and it's going to be worse later. My arms are just limp. I am sure they will be sore tomorrow, so if you don't hear from me for a few days, it's just because I can't type with my nose very well.

In all seriousness, it was an amazing workout. Not too much, not too little, intense, hell yes!!! Again, they show many variations and ways to do everything.

One thing I also like abut each DVD (I can't remember if I already mentioned this, so if I already did, too bad :p) is that you have several options on how to watch it. Normal, with some music in the background and Tony talking. Normal with no music. Music with minimal talking. Music only or silent. Very cool. If you get sick of his voice, which I haven't yet, he's very funny and motivational, you could change it up. I like having options!

So, day three and I can't say I've lost weight yet, but I am feeling really great about this and about the fact that I am doing something to change my condition.

The opening episode of The Biggest Loser really helped get me motivated. If they can do it, so can I. I am already partial to teams pink and green, but we will see where the season goes!

I can't wait to get back below 200. (Yikes, did I mention I'd crept back up there?) Ya. Barf. 9 pounds to get back to Onderland, folks. I need a mini goal. Hmmmm, I think when I get back down there, I will go get my nails done! They are really bad so I hope it doesn't take long :)

Have a great day! Check my blog tomorrow for my review of P90X Yoga!!!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

I Lived Through the Second P90X Workout!

They call it "Cardio-X" I think the X is latin for the 10th stage of hell. WOW! The workout is 43 minutes and 18 seconds long. According to my heart rate monitor, is took me about 50 minutes because I had to keep pausing to remember how to breathe, take water, and pray my heart didn't explode! Man, I am sooooooooooooo out of shape.

Al of that aside, I loved every second of it. I was sweating so bad I had to towel off several times. Tony Horton is AWESOME! He is so real. I know that sounds lame, but he is just so ordinary. He was doing a move, and lost his balance. He laughed and said something like "It happens to everyone, you don't need to look pretty, just keep moving". He does stress proper form, but he also "keeps it real" by not being perfect. I love that! Most fancy videos would totally take it out and redo it when the trainer fell over or screwed up, and this one doesn't, and I like that. It gives me hope that although I am not perfect I will get better.

I also like that along with Tony, there are three other people doing the workout. 3 different from yesterday's, so I am guessing each one has new people. That's good because I would get sick of looking at the same people every single day.

The four people, including Tony Horton, show different angles and modifications. He also says that maybe you won't even be able to do what those four are doing, but stresses to do the best you can, and keep moving.

I really am liking this system so far!!! I am learning to "bring it" in my own way...one day at a time!!!

The Day After....

I did my first P90X workout yesterday.

Enjoyed it? No, I think not. I am enjoying it even less this morning. I ache in places I can't even see. Ugh.

I haven't done a workout for about 4 months, so I am literally starting over. I know the body aches will take a week or so to go away, I just have to make it through them.

A lot of the moves, actually, most of them, I had already done. I knew our boot camp instructor was a P90X fan, but now I know just how much!

There are many different ways you can do P90X. Classic, Doubles (yes, that sounds like what it says) and Lean. I am doing lean. It doesn't mean P90X light, it's for people like me with more fat to burn, and it has a little more cardio than the regular one.

It is a different workout every day for the first three weeks, then you have a change-up/rest week (not rest, rest, just different exercises to rest muscles) , then it changes again for the next 3 weeks, then another rest week, then another 2 week intensity, another 2 week intensity, then week 13 concludes with a recovery week.

What sold me on this system was the whole muscle confusion. When you do the same stuff over and over, your body gets used to it. Especially my body. My body likes it's padding and does not give it up willingly! This routine changes things so much that it confuses your body. I have talked to many people that have actually done this (not just seem them on infomercials) and all had awesome results. I don't mean some had good results, I mean all had glowing testimonies of amazing weight loss and bodies changing. Several people I know from high school did it before our 20 year reunion, and I know a few people in town, and a few people at our YMCA. Everyone agrees it is horrible, hard, grueling, etc. but I am convinced that is the only way to get to what I want to look like. I have finally realized there is no other way!

Here's what's on tap this week:

Yesterday I did this thing called core synergistics. It was 1 hour of evil. Lots of lunges, push-ups, that sort of thing to wake you up and move your large muscles mass chest through thighs.

Today is a cardio session.
Tomorrow is Shoulders and Arms & Abs
Thursday is Yoga! YAY! I love yoga, but this is scary yoga...LOL
Friday is Legs, Back and Abs again
Saturday is Kenpo (it's a karate/self defense type workout with lots of kicking and stuff)
And Sunday, OMG, I can't wait for Sunday...that is the day you can either skip or there is a stretch DVD. I will do the stretch!

I do this for three weeks in a row, then I have a rest/recovery week like this:
Mon:Yoga
Tues:Core
Wed:Kenpo
Thurs:Stretch
Fri:Cardio
Sat:Yoga
Sun:Stretch

Then next 3 weeks it goes:
Mon : Core
Tues: Cardio
Wed: Chest shoulders & triceps & abs
Thurs: Yoga
Fri: Legs & Back & abs
Saturday: Kenpo
Sun: Stretch

I do that for 3 weeks, then do the same "rest" week as above,

Then weeks 9 & 11 I do
Mon:Chest and Back & Abs
Tues:Cardio
Wed:Shoulders & Arms
Thurs:Yoga
Fri:Core
Sat:Kenpo
Sun:Stretch

Weeks 10 & 13 I do:
Mon:Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
Tues:Cardio
Wed:Back & Biceps & abs
Thurs:Yoga
Fri:Core
Sat:Kenpo
Sun Stretch

Then the final week 13 I do the recovery week again.

There are actually a couple more dvd's that you don't even do in lean. If I have good results I am going to go back and do the classic after I am done with this one. I am tired of "wanting to be hot" and with you all as my witnesses, I am GOING TO BE HOT!!!!!

Now if my Advil would kick in, I could go actually do my cardio for today....

Monday, September 14, 2009

Did first P90X Workout

Oh sweet Jesus. That I have the strength left to type is a miracle. I did the fit test earlier today, and you are actually supposed to do that a few days BEFORE you start. However, you get ONE rest day a week, and I want that to be Sunday. Since I didn't want to wait until next Monday to start, I said screw it and did the first work out today.

It was a doozy! It's an amazing 1 hour routine that includes a great warm up and cool down. What's in between the warm up and cool down however, is grueling. I can easily see how this program is going to kill me, er, I mean whip me into shape.

I am sweating like a pig! I really like how the workout goes though. It is short groups of many different exercises, and they show several modifications for your level. I was a little below the lowest level! LOL! But I trucked on and did the best I could.

According to my heart rate monitor, I burned 423 calories, which is of course much more than I normally burn sitting on my butt for an hour playing Bejeweled Blitz. LMAO!

A special thanks to my friend and weight loss partner, Mechelle, for always encouraging me and sharing my triumphs, lows, victories and everything in between. You are an inspiration to me, girlfriend!

I Passed the Fit Test

WOW! The P90X fit test alone is a great workout! I did pretty good for a fat out of shape almost 40 year old!

MY RESULTS:

Pull-ups: Okay, so this one sucked. I've never been able to do a pull up in my whole life, and today was no exception! LOL It says females should be able to do one however, many people can't do any when starting, so I am okay with that!

Vertical leap: Sys minimum of 3 for a female, and I got 6. YAY ME!

Push-ups: Not my favorite for sure, but it said a minimum of 3 real push-ups for a female, and I did 8 Not sissy on my knees either!

Toe-touch: Not really fair as I am freakishly flexible. Basically, you sit down and put your legs straight out and try to bend over and touch your toes. You should be no more than 6 inches away. I was 4.5 inches PAST my toes.

Wall squats: Oh joy! Minimum of one minute. After 1:45 I started to slide so I gave in to the burn and stopped!

Bicep Curls: Minimum of 10 curls with 8lbs for a female. Hmmmm. I did 25 with 10lbs. I rock!

In & Outs: You sit on the floor and pull your knees up to your chest and then straighten them and pull them back without toughing the ground. I did 40 and then my back started to hurt. It says minimum of 25.

Then there was a heart rate maximizer doing 2 minutes of jumping jacks, with the last 30 seconds being totally all out. The plan is if you don't die during the two minutes, you pass! YAY ME! I am alive!!!!

So, I guess I passed the test. Tomorrow will be my first full day of using their nutrition plan and workouts. Until today I was still debating between doing the P90X classic or the P90XLean. I am (no pun intended) leaning towards the lean because I have more fat to lose, and that is a bigger concern for me right now. It is just a more cardio based and less weight intensive program. My first workout tomorrow witll be the Core Synergistics workout. I am starting to get less "blah" about this and more excited. I need to bring it to see results, so I might as well really let myself go crazy with this!!!

Bring it, baby!!

Better Get Moving!

Well crap. I am looking at the calendar. It is September 14th. In less than 7 months I will be 40. My goal was fat to forty to fab! I have the fat part down! UGH! I am almost 40. The fab part is a little harder to come by.

I was doing so well earlier this year, and then broke my foot in May. (Yeah, I know, I already whined about that.) I used that as an excuse for way too long. I made lots of excuses. They all boil down to Jenny = lazy!!!!!!!!!!

So, here I am again, trying to climb my way back out of this pit. I have let myself fall back over the 200 line yet again. *sigh* Every time I go below it, I claim "never again". Why does it have to be so freaking hard?

So, my plan of attack this time is brutal and drastic. P90X.

Yep. The big leagues.

I have cleaned my pantry.

I have taken my pictures.

I have taken my measurements.

I have read the nutrition plan.

And now....

I am off to do the fit test. RHR, pullups, vertical leap, pushups, toe touch, wall squats, becep curls, in and outs and jumping jacks.

Just thinking about doing the test makes me want to gag. I really really really hate exercise. How is a girl that hates exercise supposed to ever get fit and healthy? I guess I just have to do it and think of it as a nasty chore that I hate. And did I mention I really hate exercise? I'd rather do laundry, and I often tell people that laundry is the bane of my existence. LOL!

Okay, off to do the test. If I live through it, I will let you know how it goes :)