I've been stuck at 190lbs. Actually, I've been tipping the 190 mark for the first time in my life (keep in mind, I've been thru 3 pregnancies!) Days became weeks, and weeks became months. I found I could not get myself back down to a comfortable 185lbs (2 lbs over my ideal, but who's to know?!)
Enough is enough. As my good friend Andy Dufrain would say, "Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'". I came across a motivational poster last week. It's got an athletic guy stuck inside of a fat guy suit, straining to get out. It reads, "Suffer the pain of DISCIPLINE or suffer the pain of REGRET". That really sums it up for me. I'm an athletic guy, always have been. And keeping my ideal weight has been pretty easy. Until now, on the eve of my 37th b-day. Actually, my b-day is 90 days away from today. How ironic? I didn't realize this when I set out to begin my journey, but Kathy pointed it out to me. She thought I was doing this on purpose. Truth is, I was done planning, done preparing, I had no real reason to keep myself from beginning. Every journey begins with one step...and I just took my first one!
Core Synergetics -
Let's see if I can adequately describe this workout for you: begin with some nice stretching, got your towel?, great, now stretch those hamstrings, got water? (you're gonna need it), great, loosen up those arms, nice, now let's do some jogging in place, great. How do you fee? Ready to go? OK - getonthefloorandgiveme100pushups, nowsitups,nowsidelunges,bananarolls,didIsayyoucouldstop?givemesomemorepushups, 100more,okayjumpingjacks,faster,faster,longer, great, care for a water break? nowdosomemorepushups,thistimewithyourhungariansisteronyourback,more,faster,harder, don'tbreaknow,keepgoing, nice, grab a towel and wipe of the sweat. You may want to grab another towel to mop up the blood! okay,nowdropandgivemesomemorereallyreally hardpushups. dontstop!!!!! nowjumpinplace,thendownonthefloor,jumpagain,nowlets do thisabackwards,faster,longer,harder. Isn't this great?
My favorite part of the 1-hr video was at the 10-min mark when he told the camera that we could skip to the cool down unless we wanted to join him on the extra bonus round of exercising. Yeah!! Cool down.
Okay, so we did a lot of pushups. I have a pretty strong upper body, but truth is I want it to get stronger. But man, I could not finish the pushups. My elbows were SHAKING -- literally! The rest of the core exercises were fine, and I could handle the banana boat thingys, and I really like the inverted dreyas, but I learned a few valuable lessons.
1. I'm not in shape. I thought I was, but I'm not. But I'm excited about getting there, and the results from the journey.
2. Pushups suck. I thought I could do a bunch, and I was proud to hit 20. But I've got a ton more to improve on to keep up with the video.
3. Mountainclimbers suck! I don't think I'll be doing those anytime soon.
4. I'm one day closer to my goal. Yeah! 50-mins wasn't too bad. Keep in mind, I already reffed one hockey game tonight. This was my post-skate workout!
5. I've got a great deal more to learn, and grow. And I'm excited about the journey. I'll be strutting my bikini briefs by mid-Summer fo sure!
I'll post my Day 1 pics at tomorrow's posting. CAUTION - some images may be too graphic for toddlers and geriatrics and any of my friends coveting the willpower to begin the journey I have begun. It sucks getting old....but I'd rather let my inner athlete get the glory, than the lazy couch-potato dad of three.
p.s. My family is beginning to play tennis with me. Care to challenge any/all of us to a game of doubles? Give me a time and a date -- and we'll be there!
a.Z.
**UPDATE** So I began my journey (last night) weighing in at a SOLID 190lbs. This morning? 187lbs. OH YEAH!! Burn the fat, baby, BURN THAT FAT!
In all seriousness, I realize that I probably lost 2.9lbs of water. But that's okay. Like I said earlier, I've been stuck at 190lbs for too long.
I'm doing the P90X LEAN program (vs. the Classic). Truth is, I don't really want to bulk up. I'm not into the big muscles, I just want good tone and a slimmer waist line. I have committed to doing the training from 10-11 at night (those are my free hours). Last night when I went to be at midnight, I could feel my body kicking out the heat. I smiled, knowing that it was still burning calories!
This morning I wasn't as sore as expected. I can feel it mostly in my pecks-to-arms connection, my shoulders, and in my biceps/triceps. That's the real sore area (stupid pushups!) It makes sense, actually. My legs are in great shape from all of the ice skating I do (reffing 5-8 games per week).
My goals for the P90X system:
1. Get down to 183lbs. - steady.
2. Acquire better muscle tone/strength in my upper body.
3. Gain more flexibility (overall).
4. Get my waist size back down to a comfortable 33/34.
I know that diet is equally important for this. I don't think that I'm too bad, overall. I enjoy red meat, but don't eat too much of it. I love eating a salad or subway sandwich for lunch (no condiments, just oil and vinegar). I think the two things I need to work on are: portion and snacking. I'm committed on the portion thing, because I know that if I shrink my stomach, my appetite will also decrease. And as far as snacking goes, I've cleaned out my pantry (except for jelly beans and cinn. bears) and have committed to not drinking pop (good bye, Diet Dr. Pepper. You will be missed!)
However, since I am not a total health nut, I will allow myself to enjoy a guilt-free meal on Sat. night. That's usually when we eat out, after church, with friends. After all, what good is life if you don't enjoy it now and then?
Keep watching for the updates...
1 comment:
Get used to that pace. It's the norm.
How are you changing your diet? The food you put in your body makes a huge difference. It is at least 60% diet and 40% workout, maybe even 70/30. But if your goal is to just lose 5 or 10 lbs in 90 days, you'll probably make it w/o too much diet change. If you want to get lean, a diet change is essential, depending on what you normally eat.
It looks like you are doing the lean. I've only done the classic. I think the calorie burn is pretty similar in both, the lean has less lifting and more straight cardio. I might try that next time.
Enjoy the soreness!
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