P90X Chest & Back Phase 1

P90X Chest & Back Phase 1 is in the books!  Below are my stats for the first three weeks:

Standard Pushups Max

Week 1: 25

Week 2: 45

Week 3: 60

Wide Front Pull-Ups Max

Week 1: 15

Week 2: 20

Week 3: 30

Military Pushups Max

Week 1: 25

Week 2: 30

Week 3: 40

Reverse Grip Chin-Ups Max

Week 1: 15

Week 2: 17

Week 3: 23

Wide Fly Pushups Max

Week 1: 20

Week 2: 25

Week 3: 40

Closed Grip Overhand Pull-Ups Max

Week 1: 10

Week 2: 14

Week 3: 20

Decline Pushups Max

Week 1: 10

Week 2: 20

Week 3: 25

Heavy Pants Max

Week 1: 8 w/ 40lb Weights

Week 2: 10 w/ 45lb Weights

Week 3: 12 w/ 50lb Weights

Diamond Pushups Max

Week 1: 15

Week 2: 25

Week 3: 35

Lawnmowers Max

Week 1: 10 w/ 40lb weights

Week 2: 10 w/ 50lb weights

Week 3: 8 w/ 60lb weights

Dive-Bomber Pushups Max

Week 1: 10

Week 2: 14

Week 3: 20

Back Flys Max

Week 1: 0

Week 2: 10 w/ 30lb weights

Week 3: 12 w/ 35lb weights

How did YOU do??

P90X Update

Today marks day 15 of 90 of the P90X transformation program. In other words, week three, BRING IT! This week is a pretty crucial week for me because it is the last week of strength workouts for phase 1 so I need to make sure I maximize all my workouts! This week will be one that will show how much progress I’ve made in two weeks and get me conditioned for phase 2.

A few highlights from the last two weeks:

• Noticeable increase in strength and endurance
• Certain muscle groups are getting tighter and growing
• Increased energy
• Better sleep at night

A few drawbacks:

• Lower back pain has returned (Solution: will be seeing a chiropractor this week to get adjusted)
• No noticeable weight loss (Solution: I need to work on my eating habits and tighten them up more to ensure I’m eating more veggies and organic foods)
• Time: I’m working out very late at night so I need to find a way to get myself to wake up at 6am instead!

The drawbacks aren’t deal breakers to me. It just means I need to push myself a little harder and work on tweaking some parts in my overall fitness regimen. I plan on working pretty hard this week and using my recovery week to shed off some of this weight.

Changes for the week:

I’m incorporating a couple of weight lifting sessions at the gym this week in order to really push the blood into the muscles. Recovery week does not offer any weight lifting, so I want to make sure I have enough stored in there so the muscles recover nicely yet still grow. In addition, I’m looking to create a new menu for myself so I’ll be reaching out to some of you cooks and organic gurus for some tips.

Upcoming workout: Chest & Back

Hope everyone has a great week and is successful in anything you are putting your mind to!

-Jorge

P90X Day Three & Four: Arms/Yoga

P90X Day Three & Four: Arms & Shoulders / Yoga X

Arms: On Wednesday, I worked out my arms and shoulders and I LOVED IT. This by far is one of my favorite workouts as my favorite muscle to work is my biceps and triceps. I really noticed a lot of burn in my shoulders as well and since that is a connector muscle, I want to make sure I focus on that area as much as possible during these first three weeks.

The workout was not as tough as the first two, but I did notice that my triceps were still pretty sore from the Chest workouts from Monday. However, I pulled through and made sure I used a lighter dumbbell on my tricep extensions. One thing I will advise (as conceited as this may sound) it's always good to do shoulder and arm workouts in front of a mirror. You get to see the muscle fibers reacting to the exercise which in turn gives you motivation!

Overall, the workout was a success with very little set back.

Yoga: Today was Yoga day. For someone like me who is usually very active and likes to be challenged, Yoga can prove to be a challenge. Not only is it an hour and a half, but it also is a very calm, smooth workout. But don't let it fool you, you will be sweating bullets mid way and everything will be hurting.

Personally, I found some of the balance routines a bit difficult. However, as soon as I grabbed my Power Balance necklace, it made all the workouts much easier. Yoga X will really push you to the limits, but afterwards it feels SO good and your whole body feels relaxed. Another plus was that it really helped me stretch my quads which were still pretty sore from Plyometrics.

Overall, GREAT Yoga workout.

How is your week going?

P90X Day Two: Plyometrics

P90X Day Two: Plyometrics

If someone were to chase my right now to try and take my money, they would win.  WOW what a workout!  Day two of P90X proved to be just as tough as Day one, but this time I murdered my lower body.  However, I must say that the workout itself was easier to get through.  I hadn't worked on my legs in over 2 months, so this is quite a surprise!

I did notice that my stamina is a little low which means I may have to incorporate some cardio during the week so that I can keep my heart rate up and not get fatigued too quickly.  I should be good by next Tuesday during week two.  One thing I will say is that this workout will definitely have your legs hurting, but in a great way.  One look at the guy lead trainer and you will see that this workout is effective.  It combines a detailed leg workout with intense cardio and allows you to work on your foundation from toe to lower back.

Without strong legs, it is impossible to build a good upper body! So never neglect the legs!

I'm looking forward to my evening workout which will be a PowerBlock chest press both decline, incline and straight.  This will allow me to get the soreness out of my chest from yesterdays workouts and give me the flexibility I need for tomorrow Arm workout.

Overall, the program today was a success and I look forward to Day 3!!

How was your second day?

P90X Day One: Chest & Back

P90X Day One – Chest & Back

Equipment used: P90X Disc 1, Iron Gym Pull-Up Bar, PerfectPushups handles, PowerBlock Dumbbells, Chair.

P90X Day One is in the books!  Man I am tired but I feel GREAT!  However, after not working out for two complete weeks, I have to admit that this workout was the hardest I’ve endured in a very long time.  It’s amazing how your body can eat its muscles and fibers when you aren’t feeding it the right way.  I noticed that my strength was not where it was three weeks ago so it made it tougher to start big.  I had to start like a beginner which is not bad because I get to really start from scratch.

Areas I struggled in:  Wide Front Pull-ups, Decline Pushups and Dive bomber pushups.

Wide Front Pull-ups: I felt a twitch in my lats which told me I need to work that muscle out more in order to have more strength on my pull-ups.  Perhaps later I will incorporate some gym time to build up this muscle. 

Decline Pushups:  proved to be harder because of the stress you put on your outer pectoral muscles.  For me, this was possibly due to my chest muscle fibers not being stretched and loose as they used to be when I was doing Bench Presses.  Quick fix will be to do some additional chest workouts and get that body part conditioned again which I’m incorporating into my work out tomorrow. 

Dive bomber Pushups:  Since I was 16, I’ve had a nagging baseball lower back injury that comes and goes.  Over the last month, I noticed that I’ve been very sore on that region and it’s been hurting for a good 3 weeks.  Doing these pushups puts a lot of strain on the lower back so I was only able to do about 10 with good form and 5 on my knees. I am making an appointment with a Chiropractor soon to get adjusted.

Overall, the workout was a great one.  I do have a lot of work to do, but I hope by next Monday, I can surpass some of my initial reps for each exercise and get my body conditioned to kill the next 3 months! 

Notes:

• I was not able to complete Ab Ripper X after the workout (because I was exhausted!) but I will move it to my evening workout so I can complete all the reps with good form and stamina.
• Also, it depends on your style, but I noticed I don’t like to hear this guy talk anymore.  Hearing him count off on his pushups or talk to others can sometimes ruin your rhythm and make you try to catch up with him instead of working on your form.  
• Next workout, I’m going to use the “Cues only, no music no talking” option.

Sore areas: Arms!!

I finished with a 52g protein shake!


How was YOUR first day??

P90X Challenge

It's X TIME!  Spring is here and in full swing which means Summer is around the corner.  Not only is Summer near by, but I'm turning 30 in 5 months.  They say that 30 is the "over the hill" milestone and it is a fact that your body starts to change and "slow down" after that.  With THAT in mind, I'm going to make a valiant effort to get into the best shape of my life by that date.

I will be 30 on August 26th so that gives me a little under 6 months to complete this goal. Whether or not I attain the goal I'm mentally setting for myself remains to be seen, however based on my 30 day experience with P90X last Summer, I'd say it is very realistic.  Which is why starting tomorrow, April 5th, 2010, I am starting once again my P90X program.  This program will push me to the limit every day for the next 90 days and will be a great way to attain my fitness goals.  The following will be my weekly workout regimen for the next 3 weeks (phase 1).  You will see that I've added a 2nd daily workout as a way to push myself a little more and keep all my muscles warm day in and day out:

P90X SCHEDULE (Phase 1)

Monday AM: Chest & Back w/ Ab Ripper X

              PM:  Interval Training

Tuesday AM: Plyometrics
              PM: 30 Min. Chest workout with PowerBlocks

Wednesday AM: Interval Training
                   PM: Arms Workout w/ Ab Ripper X

Thursday AM: Bicep Workout with PowerBlocks
               PM: Yoga X

Friday AM: Interval Training
           PM: Legs & Back w/ Ab Ripper X

Saturday AM: P90X Kempo
               PM: PerfectPushup workout

Sunday AM: Stretch & Rest

As I've said before, these goals are always easier with support so I'm reaching out to all of you to do this with me if you have P90X at home or use whatever workout plans you have!  The objective is to be active throughout this Spring and Summer!  Let's make this the best year of your life and feel great!  Who is with me????

~J