First day of P90x

Intro (or "Why I got into P90x, lol")

After a two week binge of fun and sun in Hawaii with virtually zero physical activity, I got tired of looking at my deliciously tan, yet sadly soft belly and chest, and decided to embark on the quest promoted by infomercials that have been the scourge of late-night televison: P90x. Having maintained an average to above-average level of physical fitness in the past made me wonder if P90x was something I should bother with, especially when such trendy fitness "fads" are frowned upon by the message board crew and serious BBers. Obviously their scorn had me concerned, but upon digging a little deeper I found out that those who poo-pooed it were the same ones who had no idea what kind of a physical demand it required of it's participants.

I found out that behind the meatheads, there were those who promoted an ideal state of overall fitness and agreed wholeheartedly with P90x and it's merits, as well as it's ability to help the participant continue on staying healthy AFTER they've finished their 90 days. Being healthier, to me, is definitely more attractive than just being "huge" and eating everything in sight to maintain that size. The heaviest I ever got to was just over 180 lbs, and after a couple months with a knee injury and the inability to do squats or deads I was back down to below 170. It was a serious morale-killer to see all my hard-earned weight disappear, and it became a struggle just to get back into the gym knowing that it'd take a LOT more work to get back to where I was, nevermind what it'd take to stay at that size.

With P90x, I'm convinced that it's going to take me to a physical state of being where I can be comfortable with my self image as well as allow me to continue to enjoy and excel at the high-octane activities I enjoy, like hockey, football, ultimate and crokinole. I find that I work out better with a bit of motivation and guidance, and following the DVD format of the exercises is a method that allows me to bear down on the task at hand and not let anything else distract me from what I'm trying to accomplish.

DAY 1 (including Fitness Test)

My fitness test (required by P90x before you start, to gauge your level of physical fitness) was uneventful, besides the fact that there aren't any ceilings high enough in my house for me to test my vertical, forcing me to go outside and awkwardly jump against the brick exterior of my place while people stopped and watched.

At the time, I was pleased with my 30 pushups and 12 pullups considering the length of time I'd gone without doing any significant chest or back workouts, but knowing what I know now I realize I'm going to be a pullup machine if I can get through 90 days of this.

The heart rate test went ok, and although I suppose my heartrate may have been a little high for a simple 2 minute jumping jack exercise (P90x'ers know what I'm talking about) I still managed to crank off the last "sprint" 30 seconds with a ton of intensity.

I managed 10 curls with 35 pounds and might have tried a little harder with 40's and probably could have hit 10 reps but I'm pretty sure my form would have sucked. My 35 lb curls were textbook.


First EVER P90x workout...Chest and Back.


Downstairs I go with my laptop and water bottle (light protein and carb meal from an hour ago sitting lightly in my belly) and my mood at a relative high. I plug in the Shoulders and Arms workout video, mash play and go to work, carefully following the examples delivered by the overly-jolly group of instructors on my screen.

It wasn't until about 8 exercises in that I realized I might be in trouble, as not only had I pretty much expended my pull-up power to the point where I was hanging limply off the bar like a retard, but I had also finished my water and developed a light sheen of sweat which I could do nothing about as I had neglected to bring a towel downstairs. The situation continued to worsen and soon the shirt was off and being used as a makeshift sweat-sponge, while the rest of my body continued to scream "HEY DOUGH-HEAD, STOP! WHAT'RE YOU DOING? OWWWWWW". I have to admit, I was not prepared for the wringer it put me through and it was all I could do to keep up with the four hambones on my computer screen.

After clearing away my dumbbells and rearranging the basement a little (as well as skipping upstairs for some more water and a towel) I tentatively began to attempt the scheduled Ab-Ripper X routine. S-word..... I didn't last long, because soon after the Crunchy Frogs (about the 4th movement in) I was hitting the pause button every few reps or so due to the screaming mass of molten flesh and tissue that was left of my stomach. I found that not only were the motions hard, but it was difficult to get the balance right on a few of the moves (With the bicycles, I kept switching up my legs involuntarily...) and I often would fall to my side or onto my back since the muscles that were supposed to hold me up were long gone. With this exercise video I found that I really had to focus my mind on my abdominal muscles, or else the rest of my body would start to kick in in and as a result my hip flexors, etc would to play a lot into the movements.




Anyway, I've downed a shake now and am relaxing on my couch writing this. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's pre-made meals (Look who's gung-ho...) and am excited to continue down the P90x road. Feel free to leave comments as you see fit. I'm not sure who all is going to read this but I'd like to have this on record to look back on while I'm mincing around the beach in a Speedo this summer, looking fantastic.