Technology ramblings from a dilettante of all things digital

I skipped stretch today with all the Easter activities and I only did half of Saturday’s and Monday’s workout.  My diet during the week was good but over the weekend it took a downhill slide with all the holiday food.  Nowhere to go but up, back on the wagon.  I got my body pretty sore this week.  I’ve been watching the Insanity Asylum videos while I run.  I love what I see so far, but I also know I am not ready for that yet.  The vertical plyo workout looks like a killer.  I guess I need to learn how to use a jump rope.

So the weight is staying around 220.0.  I’m still struggling to get up at 6am, but I am getting my full workout in.  I found myself having so much energy at the end of the workday, that I want to do another workout when I get home.  I’m finding Insanity Fast and Furious is great for that.  Only 21 minutes long, minus the stupid disclaimer at the beginning and the intro piece.  There’s something about things being up to 20 minutes long, that its almost like its within the “impulse buy” range with your time.  30 minutes is eh.  45 to an hour is more like, “whoa, that’s another full workout and I need to get stuff done tonight.”  I may also go for a short run outside, especially with the weather getting so nice.  Today’s workout was a jump training routine.  I’m not completely satisfied with P90X or Insanity Plyo, so I’m trying to come up with my own.  My best reference source is right is something I bought online called The Jump Manual.  My standing vertical right now is 16 inches.  In the short term, I’d like to get it back up to where it used to be, 22.  Eventually I’d like to see 30 and more.  It may take a little while, but I know I can get there.  If anyone has any suggestions, please contact me.

On a whim, I cheated on my schedule and did the new Insanity workouts that came in the mail, fast and furious and max sports …something or other.

Fast and Furious is 20 minutes long, as advertised.  I’m pretty sure even the FBI warning was shorter.  There’s still a stretch and cooldown, so you’re not pushing at your max for 1200 seconds.  It was just Shaun, Anna and the dude who always gets excited when he marks his workout on the calendar. 

Then I walked at an incline for 30 minutes.  Incline walking is a good lower back workout.

Day 1 is done.  I was running late, so I missed my run.  I’ve also got a bit of a cough, and wheezing while exercising isn’t cute or useful.

Checkout what came in the mail!!!  I’m gonna start watching it during my running, but I’ll wait til after this round to incorporate it into my workouts.

I am restarting my workout program (again)!  I’ve recently had two obvious, but important rules sink in.

1. For goals, time and tasks to have value, you must measure and track them.  I was not tracking my fitness, and I’ve been halfa**ing my workouts and diet for a while.  I know I’ve been getting mediocre results, but without actual numbers to see the progress or lack thereof, all I have is the mirror and a feeling of how I’ve been progressing.  I’ve been doing P90X and Insanity on and off again for the past 15 months and I’ve not been getting anywhere close to the results I want.  So I am restarting my program.  Monday is day 1.  I will be tracking many different things and posting all of them on here.  They include
   P90X Fit Test
   Insanity Fit Test
   Blood Pressure
   Cholesterol
   Weight
   Fat Percentage
   Receding Hairline
2. You absolutely must, must, must get into a routine and follow a schedule.  Workout at the same time every day (with a few possible bends or exceptions to that rule).  Know your body and be realistic.  For my body, it wants exactly 8 hours.  I could be sleep deprived going into a weekend and finally have the chance to sleep in, but my body wakes me up after 8 hours.  So 8 hours is perfection, 7 hours is pulling teeth, 6 hours is pulling ALL my teeth and for 5 or less, the house better be on fire to get me going (or a volleyball tournament that day).  In college I could get by on less, but not anymore.  If I try to cheat and only get 6 hours and still get up at 6am for the gym, my half awake stupor often manages to take up to 2 hours for me to be functional.  So now I make myself get in bed at 10pm, one-sie, stocking cap and all.  If I have to stay up late, I push my wakeup alarm back and plan to workout in the evening.  When its 9:45pm, its sooooooo tempting to say just a little bit later, just one more game of Call Of Duty, 10 more minutes of tv or cleaning, but trust me, its not worth it.  It has finally sunk in that the sandman is more unwavering than the IRS and he will collect, so I have to stick to my payment plan, 10pm-6am.  Weekends, I let myself stay up later of course, but I still get 8 hours and I still workout first thing when I get up in the morning.  It has taken a very long time for this lesson to truly sink in, or at least for me to be able to pretend like it has.   

Current State of Affairs:

Height:  5’11”
weight:  222

P90X Fit Test

Test	Day 1
0. Resting Heart Rate	82 bpm
1. Pull Ups	0 (used to be 4)
2. Veritical Leap (Earth gravity)	16 inches (used to be 22)
3. Push Ups (max til failure)	35
4. Toe Touch	+3.5 inches (that’s right, I can touch my toes!)
5. Wall Squat	179 seconds (aka 2:59)
6. Bicep Curls (max til failure, no time)	20 reps, 25 lbs
7. In & Outs (ab exercise, max til failure)	35
8. Heart Rate Maximizer	0 min: 163 bpm 1 min: 124 bpm 2 min: 109 bpm 3 min:  96 bpm 4 min:  97 bpm

Insanity Fit Test

Test	Day 1
1. Switch Kicks	125
2. Power Jacks	46
3. Power Knees	96
4. Power Jumps	18
5. Globe Jumps	10
6. Suicide Jumps	12
7. Push-up Jacks	37
8. Low Plank Oblique	60

Blood Pressure: I need to call my doctor’s office to get this.
Cholesterol: I’m waiting for the results from the lab.
Weight: 222.2
Fat Percentage: 23%
Measurements

Upper Arms	13 1/16 inches
Belly (measured at belly button	41 15/16 inches
Wait (measured at hips)	39 inches
Calves (measured at widest point)	17 inches

Favorite Color: clear

Plan

Exercise:  I will be following a P90X/Insanity/Running hybrid program.  You can check out my exact calendar schedule here.  Day 1 will be Monday, April 18th.  Day 90 will be July 16th.  Once completed, I will re-measure everything and take after pictures and post them all on here.  Then after a recovery week, I will begin Insanity: The Asylum on Monday, July 25th. 

Diet:  I will be starting out with a modified version of the P90X Phase 1 diet, which is similar to Atkins.  I may switch to the P90X phase 2 diet by phase 2, depending on how I feel and how my weight loss is progressing.

Coaching

I should also note that I have fully embraced the Beachbody experience and have become a Team Beachbody Coach.  I found myself talking about these products and encouraging others to get fit and healthy all the time anyway, so I thought it made sense for to see if I could make some money at the same time and start doing more to help others get in shape.  It also provides me with more resources to help others get in shape.  If you’re curious, check this out

If you’re interested in P90X, Insanity or other Beachbody programs, or are simply interested in getting healthier, please checkout my site for information and to buy Beachbody Products and contact me and let me help you get in shape along with me.  I hope to launch a new site soon, that will better tie these areas together. If you’re interested in becoming a coach with me, please contact me here.

I will posting on here at least twice a week.  In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter and check my Youtube posts.

Okay, so that’s it for now.  Day 1 starts tomorrow!  July 16th here I come.  Who wants to join me?