Kenpo x. Wow. I was hoping for a great routine, and it met and exceeded all that I had hoped for.
Kenpo x is like crossing karate with boxing, kickboxing with kunfu, Bruce Lee with Jazzercise. And it was awesome!
First things first, let me confess that I did not do so well last night with my diet. We went to happy hour, so I enjoyed a few black and tans (BOGO) and WAY TOO MUCH BREAD. Serioz bread with marinara sauce is just too difficult to say no to. Jade and I ate two loafs before Kat even joined us.
I felt a bit bloated, but then we went to the Avs game, i didn't have to eat a thing or drink a thing. The game was great, btw. 4th row, almost on the glass. Anyways, the post game skate was intense. I was dripping with sweat in no time. Still, after all the work out, i weighed in at 187lbs. this a.m. :-(
So, this morning I had my first Kenpo experience. Did I tell you it was awesome?? I felt like it was an hour long martial art practice. I was dripping sweat, and loving it. We do punch, double, tripple, and quadruple punch routines. We kicked. one, two, and three directional kicks. we did blocking, and cardio, and all sorts of offensive and defensive moves.
The good news is after an hour of workout, I was back down to the 185.5lb mark. Recouped with a gaterade and lots of water. lunch will be leftovers, and dinner is macaroni grill. I'll do better tonight with my self-control. :-)
So, one week is done. It's all good. 12 weeks to go. I feel accomplished in sticking to the program for a week. Thanks for cheering me on!!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Day 5 - Legs and Back and Abs
Ah, another day done. Today wasn't easy, but it was the EASIEST workout for me thus far. I do feel that my legs are the strongest muscles in my body due to the high quantity of ice skating that I do. While the routines were intense, I managed to keep up pretty well. Again, I'm not using much weight, because I feel that my legs are about as lean and big as I would ever want them to grow (don't want to have to start wearing spandex shorts!) But there's nothing wrong with developing these muscles more, and ideally gaining great flexibility in them.
This morning I was 186lbs. Now, after my workout (1.5hrs.) I'm sitting at a comfortable 184lbs. I'm pretty tired, my body is feeling the strain of 5 days of exercise. Plus I had a pretty intense hockey game to ref last night. And I have been invited to the Pepsi Center tonight to ref their last post-skate game of the season...so I'll be getting plenty of workout today. Tomorrow is the Kempo (if I can fit it in), and Sunday is my day of rest, although we'll probably bike into Lowry (2 mi. each way) for a bagel and joe.
I haven't eaten much today. Ironically, my brain is proving WAY MORE POWERFUL than I could have ever hoped. I'm running thru my usual lunch places, and my brain is rejecting them all: McD's? No! Chick-Fill-A? NO! Qdoba? No! Wendy's? No! Subway? No! Nothing sounds good right now. What I'd really like is some soup. So I think I'll go make a double batch of Ramen and enjoy the salty-soup recovery with an egg or two added for protein. Maybe even make a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches for Kim and I.
The Ab Ripper X was better for me this time. I completed most of the reps. As far as the Legs and Back, I conked out after about 24 pullups. I'll need to increase these reps in the weeks to come...hopefully it will be easier once I shed some more excess weight!
Thanks for checking in! Have a great weekend....look for Jade and I on the glass tonight at the Av's game, if it's even televised :-)
** UPDATE **
The muscles that connect my back to the butt are very, very sore. This would be the hip flexers, right? The muscles at the waist line. All that stupid stretching yesterday ;-)
p.s. I've been meaning to show you all this pic. One of my favorites, taken on a private island in the Bahama's about 7 years ago. This is where I want to get back to...and maybe even improve upon!
This morning I was 186lbs. Now, after my workout (1.5hrs.) I'm sitting at a comfortable 184lbs. I'm pretty tired, my body is feeling the strain of 5 days of exercise. Plus I had a pretty intense hockey game to ref last night. And I have been invited to the Pepsi Center tonight to ref their last post-skate game of the season...so I'll be getting plenty of workout today. Tomorrow is the Kempo (if I can fit it in), and Sunday is my day of rest, although we'll probably bike into Lowry (2 mi. each way) for a bagel and joe.
I haven't eaten much today. Ironically, my brain is proving WAY MORE POWERFUL than I could have ever hoped. I'm running thru my usual lunch places, and my brain is rejecting them all: McD's? No! Chick-Fill-A? NO! Qdoba? No! Wendy's? No! Subway? No! Nothing sounds good right now. What I'd really like is some soup. So I think I'll go make a double batch of Ramen and enjoy the salty-soup recovery with an egg or two added for protein. Maybe even make a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches for Kim and I.
The Ab Ripper X was better for me this time. I completed most of the reps. As far as the Legs and Back, I conked out after about 24 pullups. I'll need to increase these reps in the weeks to come...hopefully it will be easier once I shed some more excess weight!
Thanks for checking in! Have a great weekend....look for Jade and I on the glass tonight at the Av's game, if it's even televised :-)
** UPDATE **
The muscles that connect my back to the butt are very, very sore. This would be the hip flexers, right? The muscles at the waist line. All that stupid stretching yesterday ;-)
p.s. I've been meaning to show you all this pic. One of my favorites, taken on a private island in the Bahama's about 7 years ago. This is where I want to get back to...and maybe even improve upon!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Day 4 - Yoga X
First things first, Happy B-day to my favorite 4-yr. old! If you haven't seen Kimmee in a while, she sure has changed throughout the past year. She is so full of life and attitude (mostly good). She's grown quite a bit taller this past year, and her hair is getting quite long, especially the bangs, since I told grandma to QUIT CUTTING THEM last August! She is a sweet girl with some sassy moments, and often expresses her love to her mom and dad and best friend: Gwen (the dog).
Happy Birthday, Kim-o!
Now, about the P90X stuff:
Okay, I haven't done today's stuff yet. Truth is, I'm trying to figure out when I can squeeze this in. Here's a sample picture of the Zimmer life: Soccer (2 practices) from 4:45-6:15; then we have Chucky Cheese from 6:45-8:15 (Happy B-day Kimmee!); then I got to ref from 8:45-10pm (it's an early game); Yoga for an hour from 10:30-11:30??
Yesterday I snuck home during the lunch hour to squeeze in my routine. That worked well, but Kathy says I can't do this everyday :-).
Ideally, I would want to do the Yoga BEFORE reffing. But I guess this week it will have to be after I'm done.
** UPDATE **
First things first, I have never ever done yoga before. Sure, I've done the 10-min. stretch routine, but for an hour, or an hour and a half -- nope. Nada.
Until today.
As I was warned by a good friend of mine, the P90X Yoga is 1.5hrs. long. PHEW! Honestly, I thought it was going to be all stretching. But by the first half hour, I was DRIPPING SWEAT. And it felt great. I've never been very flexible, but I do know that I have a pretty strong core. I'm learning a lot more about myself, even after only enduring 4 days. I've learned that my legs are pretty strong, but very tight. I've learned that my core is pretty strong, even as I stare at the extra 2" of fat covering the abs. I've learned that I can endure a lot, but not as much as I had hoped (I have to take frequent breaks during the routines, but I've finished every single one). And I've learned that I have a GREAT more discipline than I ever gave myself credit for. I've given up pop. I've given up eating 2nd and 3rd helpings. I've given up bad snacks and a great deal of sugar. But I'm not having to sacrifice the food I love.
Today's meals were as such:
Breakfast: Coffee, black. And Kim's leftover fruitloops (small bowl with two glasses of milk)
Mid-morning snack: Almonds. NO CINN. BEARS!! Can you believe it? I actually DID NOT crave them today.
Lunch: Thai Peanut Salad with roasted chicken. And I only ate half of it! Kathy get's the other half tomorrow for her lunch. BTW - I ordered the dressing on the side, a habit that Kat turned me onto many many years ago. And I think I used about 1/3 of the dressing. I ate the salad nice and slow, drinking a bunch of tea, so that I would fill up sooner and not need to finish the whole thing.
Mid-day snack: sugar free gum.
Dinner: Chuck E Cheese. I ate 2 very small pieces of pizza, probably equiv. to one normal slice. And no crust. I had 3 helpings at the salad bar. Lots of veggies, not much dressing, 3 servings of red beets and cottage cheese.
Dessert: I had a small piece of lemon cake, and two healthy bites of the best carrot cake ever! (from Target).
Really, with that kind of line up, can you complain? We had an office lunch today at Choppers, a great sports bar in Cherry Creek. I usually order the Jalapeno Burger or a Black and Blue Bacon Burger, cooked medium with a side salad and a small order of sweet potato fries. And a diet soda. But as I've mentioned before, I love a good salad. Especially if it has some sort of meat on it. Today, I waffled between the Thai and Cobb salad. And it worked for me. BTW - talking about salads: the best salad in town, IMO, is the Slouvaki (sp?) topped Greek salad at Pete's Gyro Shop (not Pete's Kitchen) on Colfax. It's the best of both worlds, for me.
So wanna know my weight? Well, after completing the 1.5 hr. yoga video (okay, truth is I only finished 70 minutes of it because the family called and told me I had to get ready for Chuck E Cheese, cutting my routine short by about 15 or 20 minutes. BUT -- I reffed an intense game tonight, lot's of sweating and skating, so I think I made up for it). ANYWAYS -- after my workout, while I was dashing to get out the door in time, I quickly weighed myself.
184lbs.
:-)
So if you've been following my blog, you'll know that this is 1 lb. off of my target weight. Also, I'd like to note that I think this pissed off both Kathy and our friend Flo (who joined us for Kim's b-day dinner) tonight that I've managed to lose 6lbs. in just 4 days.
Sorry.
:-)
But I've been working very hard. I've given up most of my guilty pleasures, and have really been limiting my meal size, as I'm trying to shrink the overall size of my stomach so that my appetite will shrink as well. Even now as I sit here typing this blog, my stomach is rumbling. It's hungry. But I've got a glass of water next to me to make it think that it's full. I'm not turning health nut by any means. I'm still enjoying the food that I want to eat. Honestly, my hardest sacrifice is Diet Dr. Pepper.
I go to bed hungry, but full of water. Because I've increased the amount of salad intake, I'm naturally purging my body of a bunch of stored up toxins. And I feel better than ever.
I was really afraid that I may have eaten too much at dinner tonight, with the 3 trips to the salad bar. Granted, my portions were small, but still -- 3 trips. So a few minutes ago I weighed myself again. 185.5lbs. Not too bad! Tomorrow morning, after my body expels the leftover tea and water, I bet I'll be back down to the 184 mark.
The bottom line is this: I'm making great strides in my journey, and it's only been 4 days. My belly fat is still there, but I know I'm adding muscle mass because I can feel it. Build the muscles, control the eating, melt the fat, and I'll have my desired look by my b-day (July 4th, BTW, big party at my house!)
If you're reading my words, thank you. I appreciate your audience. I'm not writing this for you, necessarily, but mostly for me. This is my diary, my journal, my pensieve. It allows me to clear my thoughts so that I can rest better at night without battling all of the ideas bouncing around in my head, keeping me awake. But since I'm not a very private person, I always enjoy sharing my stories with others. And this allows you to anonymously peek into my life. And I know that you're cheering for me. :-)
Good night, friends.
a.Z.
Happy Birthday, Kim-o!
Now, about the P90X stuff:
Okay, I haven't done today's stuff yet. Truth is, I'm trying to figure out when I can squeeze this in. Here's a sample picture of the Zimmer life: Soccer (2 practices) from 4:45-6:15; then we have Chucky Cheese from 6:45-8:15 (Happy B-day Kimmee!); then I got to ref from 8:45-10pm (it's an early game); Yoga for an hour from 10:30-11:30??
Yesterday I snuck home during the lunch hour to squeeze in my routine. That worked well, but Kathy says I can't do this everyday :-).
Ideally, I would want to do the Yoga BEFORE reffing. But I guess this week it will have to be after I'm done.
** UPDATE **
First things first, I have never ever done yoga before. Sure, I've done the 10-min. stretch routine, but for an hour, or an hour and a half -- nope. Nada.
Until today.
As I was warned by a good friend of mine, the P90X Yoga is 1.5hrs. long. PHEW! Honestly, I thought it was going to be all stretching. But by the first half hour, I was DRIPPING SWEAT. And it felt great. I've never been very flexible, but I do know that I have a pretty strong core. I'm learning a lot more about myself, even after only enduring 4 days. I've learned that my legs are pretty strong, but very tight. I've learned that my core is pretty strong, even as I stare at the extra 2" of fat covering the abs. I've learned that I can endure a lot, but not as much as I had hoped (I have to take frequent breaks during the routines, but I've finished every single one). And I've learned that I have a GREAT more discipline than I ever gave myself credit for. I've given up pop. I've given up eating 2nd and 3rd helpings. I've given up bad snacks and a great deal of sugar. But I'm not having to sacrifice the food I love.
Today's meals were as such:
Breakfast: Coffee, black. And Kim's leftover fruitloops (small bowl with two glasses of milk)
Mid-morning snack: Almonds. NO CINN. BEARS!! Can you believe it? I actually DID NOT crave them today.
Lunch: Thai Peanut Salad with roasted chicken. And I only ate half of it! Kathy get's the other half tomorrow for her lunch. BTW - I ordered the dressing on the side, a habit that Kat turned me onto many many years ago. And I think I used about 1/3 of the dressing. I ate the salad nice and slow, drinking a bunch of tea, so that I would fill up sooner and not need to finish the whole thing.
Mid-day snack: sugar free gum.
Dinner: Chuck E Cheese. I ate 2 very small pieces of pizza, probably equiv. to one normal slice. And no crust. I had 3 helpings at the salad bar. Lots of veggies, not much dressing, 3 servings of red beets and cottage cheese.
Dessert: I had a small piece of lemon cake, and two healthy bites of the best carrot cake ever! (from Target).
Really, with that kind of line up, can you complain? We had an office lunch today at Choppers, a great sports bar in Cherry Creek. I usually order the Jalapeno Burger or a Black and Blue Bacon Burger, cooked medium with a side salad and a small order of sweet potato fries. And a diet soda. But as I've mentioned before, I love a good salad. Especially if it has some sort of meat on it. Today, I waffled between the Thai and Cobb salad. And it worked for me. BTW - talking about salads: the best salad in town, IMO, is the Slouvaki (sp?) topped Greek salad at Pete's Gyro Shop (not Pete's Kitchen) on Colfax. It's the best of both worlds, for me.
So wanna know my weight? Well, after completing the 1.5 hr. yoga video (okay, truth is I only finished 70 minutes of it because the family called and told me I had to get ready for Chuck E Cheese, cutting my routine short by about 15 or 20 minutes. BUT -- I reffed an intense game tonight, lot's of sweating and skating, so I think I made up for it). ANYWAYS -- after my workout, while I was dashing to get out the door in time, I quickly weighed myself.
184lbs.
:-)
So if you've been following my blog, you'll know that this is 1 lb. off of my target weight. Also, I'd like to note that I think this pissed off both Kathy and our friend Flo (who joined us for Kim's b-day dinner) tonight that I've managed to lose 6lbs. in just 4 days.
Sorry.
:-)
But I've been working very hard. I've given up most of my guilty pleasures, and have really been limiting my meal size, as I'm trying to shrink the overall size of my stomach so that my appetite will shrink as well. Even now as I sit here typing this blog, my stomach is rumbling. It's hungry. But I've got a glass of water next to me to make it think that it's full. I'm not turning health nut by any means. I'm still enjoying the food that I want to eat. Honestly, my hardest sacrifice is Diet Dr. Pepper.
I go to bed hungry, but full of water. Because I've increased the amount of salad intake, I'm naturally purging my body of a bunch of stored up toxins. And I feel better than ever.
I was really afraid that I may have eaten too much at dinner tonight, with the 3 trips to the salad bar. Granted, my portions were small, but still -- 3 trips. So a few minutes ago I weighed myself again. 185.5lbs. Not too bad! Tomorrow morning, after my body expels the leftover tea and water, I bet I'll be back down to the 184 mark.
The bottom line is this: I'm making great strides in my journey, and it's only been 4 days. My belly fat is still there, but I know I'm adding muscle mass because I can feel it. Build the muscles, control the eating, melt the fat, and I'll have my desired look by my b-day (July 4th, BTW, big party at my house!)
If you're reading my words, thank you. I appreciate your audience. I'm not writing this for you, necessarily, but mostly for me. This is my diary, my journal, my pensieve. It allows me to clear my thoughts so that I can rest better at night without battling all of the ideas bouncing around in my head, keeping me awake. But since I'm not a very private person, I always enjoy sharing my stories with others. And this allows you to anonymously peek into my life. And I know that you're cheering for me. :-)
Good night, friends.
a.Z.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Day 3 - Arms, Shoulders, and Abs
Today was great! I haven't had a good, hard, weight-lifting workout since H.S. This is true! Sure, I've lifted weights and such, but nothing like this.
Because our Wednesdays are so hectic, I decided to sneak home during the lunch hour and squeeze in part 1 of 2 workouts (I will do the 14-min. Ab routine after work). The shoulder/biceps/triceps workout was intense, but it felt great to be working the much needed upper body muscles.
I have two numbers that are key: 10 and 16. 10lbs for 16 reps. I don't want to bulk up. I don't like the beefcake physique. I just want good, toned, lean arms and chest. So for all of the routines, I pumped my little 10lbs barbells for 16+ reps. And it felt great, it really did.
I'm glad I'm happy with this program. It's not really a burden yet. It helps that Kathy is on board with this and has given me the freedom to spend an hour a day doing this. That was a big hesitation for me, initially. But now I'm rolling...half way through my first week of exercising. Yeah!
Also, I'm down to 186lbs. That's pretty cool. Last night I had a late snack, a fruit Popsicle, but it was only 80 calories, so I didn't feel to bad about it.
My meal for today:
Breakfast: Coffee, black.
Mid-morning snack: handful of cinn. bears, handful of almonds
Lunch: subway turkey sub, loaded with veggies, a bit of oil, lots of vinegar, and swiss cheese (I can't imagine skipping the cheese!!!)
Afternoon snack: sugar free gum
Dinner: Corned beef and cabbage (yum, one of my fav. meals!!) I will go light with the butter on the potatoes, and make sure as much fat is trimmed off of the meat as possible.
** UPDATE **
So I did the ABS X program for the first time last night. YIKES! That was I-N-T-E-N-S-E! We did 350 reps, all centered around the mid section. Very, very tough. But I plowed thru it. Sometimes I took a break for the #16-20 reps. I think the "Crunchy Frogs" were the worst! I know I have a pretty good core, because of the amount of ice skating that I do. But unfortunately it's all hidden by about 2" of fat! I'll keep plugging away, sticking to the program and watching what I eat.
Last night I had two snacks: 3 graham crackers with lite icing; and another strawberry frozen popsicle (80 cals).
This morning I weighed in at a solid 86lbs. Woo hoo! I pretty excited about all of this, plus I think I'm entering the better half of the workout week (legs/back, yoga, and kempo).
Keep on keepin' on!
Because our Wednesdays are so hectic, I decided to sneak home during the lunch hour and squeeze in part 1 of 2 workouts (I will do the 14-min. Ab routine after work). The shoulder/biceps/triceps workout was intense, but it felt great to be working the much needed upper body muscles.
I have two numbers that are key: 10 and 16. 10lbs for 16 reps. I don't want to bulk up. I don't like the beefcake physique. I just want good, toned, lean arms and chest. So for all of the routines, I pumped my little 10lbs barbells for 16+ reps. And it felt great, it really did.
I'm glad I'm happy with this program. It's not really a burden yet. It helps that Kathy is on board with this and has given me the freedom to spend an hour a day doing this. That was a big hesitation for me, initially. But now I'm rolling...half way through my first week of exercising. Yeah!
Also, I'm down to 186lbs. That's pretty cool. Last night I had a late snack, a fruit Popsicle, but it was only 80 calories, so I didn't feel to bad about it.
My meal for today:
Breakfast: Coffee, black.
Mid-morning snack: handful of cinn. bears, handful of almonds
Lunch: subway turkey sub, loaded with veggies, a bit of oil, lots of vinegar, and swiss cheese (I can't imagine skipping the cheese!!!)
Afternoon snack: sugar free gum
Dinner: Corned beef and cabbage (yum, one of my fav. meals!!) I will go light with the butter on the potatoes, and make sure as much fat is trimmed off of the meat as possible.
** UPDATE **
So I did the ABS X program for the first time last night. YIKES! That was I-N-T-E-N-S-E! We did 350 reps, all centered around the mid section. Very, very tough. But I plowed thru it. Sometimes I took a break for the #16-20 reps. I think the "Crunchy Frogs" were the worst! I know I have a pretty good core, because of the amount of ice skating that I do. But unfortunately it's all hidden by about 2" of fat! I'll keep plugging away, sticking to the program and watching what I eat.
Last night I had two snacks: 3 graham crackers with lite icing; and another strawberry frozen popsicle (80 cals).
This morning I weighed in at a solid 86lbs. Woo hoo! I pretty excited about all of this, plus I think I'm entering the better half of the workout week (legs/back, yoga, and kempo).
Keep on keepin' on!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Day 2 - Cardio X
I began the day at 187lbs. No lie. I was pretty stoked! I worked out last night from 10-11, and spent the rest of the time with a shower (rinse off) and blogging. By midnight, when I went to bed, I could feel the heat pouring out of me. It was great...my body was still burning calories!
Today I came home early, and thought about working out. But then I decided no. But then I saw the picture next to my TV about Discipline VS. Regret, and I said, "Alright, Let's Do IT!"
I've never really been one to enjoy cardio stuff. I mean think about this: we own a Jazzercise, and I think I've been to two classes. I just don't like the static workout. I'd rather go jogging, get out and see some landscape.
Another thing I haven't really participated in is Yoga. But then a friend of mine gave me a 10-min. P90X Yoga routine specifically designed to stretch you before an activity. I try to do this before I have to go and ref multiple hockey games (2+). I find it's a great way to get my muscles ready for the workout.
Well, today was CARDIO X, and it had Yoga and Kick-Boxing and regular boxing and basketball moves and jumping jacks and a whole bunch of fun, fun cardio stuff. I was sweating pretty good, but enjoying the workout. I was especially exciting thinking about how I was saving myself from having to do this at 10pm tonight!
My muscles feel better (recovered from yesterday's pushups), and it felt great to get my towel wet with sweat. Really.
Today's diet consisted of:
Breakfast: Banana and Coffee (black, of course)
Snack: several servings of cinn. bears (my fav!!)
Lunch: Chicken Mole (thank you Kat!) and rice, plus a Powerade drink
snack: greek yogurt (yum!)
WATER!
Dinner: steak (8oz.), pototo (half), lots of salad (oil/vin. dressing), and some freshly baked french bread (YUM!) served with oil/vin/pepper.
Oh, and after my workout I had a few servings of almonds, non-salted from Cosco.
So that's where I am. I'll weigh myself in the morning and update the post. Also, I'll download my before (fat) pictures and post them. CAUTION - very, very white skin and a Magnum-PI style chest (minus the suntan). :-)
I'm feeling good about my committment...let's keep it going!
Alright, time to check out. Biggest Loser is ready to start -- woo hoo!!
Today I came home early, and thought about working out. But then I decided no. But then I saw the picture next to my TV about Discipline VS. Regret, and I said, "Alright, Let's Do IT!"
I've never really been one to enjoy cardio stuff. I mean think about this: we own a Jazzercise, and I think I've been to two classes. I just don't like the static workout. I'd rather go jogging, get out and see some landscape.
Another thing I haven't really participated in is Yoga. But then a friend of mine gave me a 10-min. P90X Yoga routine specifically designed to stretch you before an activity. I try to do this before I have to go and ref multiple hockey games (2+). I find it's a great way to get my muscles ready for the workout.
Well, today was CARDIO X, and it had Yoga and Kick-Boxing and regular boxing and basketball moves and jumping jacks and a whole bunch of fun, fun cardio stuff. I was sweating pretty good, but enjoying the workout. I was especially exciting thinking about how I was saving myself from having to do this at 10pm tonight!
My muscles feel better (recovered from yesterday's pushups), and it felt great to get my towel wet with sweat. Really.
Today's diet consisted of:
Breakfast: Banana and Coffee (black, of course)
Snack: several servings of cinn. bears (my fav!!)
Lunch: Chicken Mole (thank you Kat!) and rice, plus a Powerade drink
snack: greek yogurt (yum!)
WATER!
Dinner: steak (8oz.), pototo (half), lots of salad (oil/vin. dressing), and some freshly baked french bread (YUM!) served with oil/vin/pepper.
Oh, and after my workout I had a few servings of almonds, non-salted from Cosco.
So that's where I am. I'll weigh myself in the morning and update the post. Also, I'll download my before (fat) pictures and post them. CAUTION - very, very white skin and a Magnum-PI style chest (minus the suntan). :-)
I'm feeling good about my committment...let's keep it going!
Alright, time to check out. Biggest Loser is ready to start -- woo hoo!!
Monday, April 4, 2011
P90X - Day 1
So I always said that I would continue to live my life as I wish, until my body told me otherwise. Well, lately I've been a little disappointed with the scale. You see, my ideal weight is 183lbs. Anything less, and it means I'm not enjoying enough beer and nachos. Anything more...well, that's where I currently am.
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...
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...
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Day 0
CAUTION: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC PHOTOS BELOW! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
Okay, this is not my thing. Well, maybe it is. I don't know. But part of what the P90X system is about is showing the change. And they tell you to take various pictures of you at the Day 1, Day 30, Day 60, and Day 90 stages. So, here it is, for all of you to "enjoy". Now listen, I don't want to see any of these images uploaded to the internet with a bunch of photoshop tweaks, okay? Well, unless they are really, really funny...than that's ok!
First Shot: Little Girl in the way First Shot: Retake :-)
Yeah, I've got some love handles going on there! Not much upper body definition. :-(
Going to have to work on that!
Here's a few cute shots of my cheerleader :-)
Okay, this is not my thing. Well, maybe it is. I don't know. But part of what the P90X system is about is showing the change. And they tell you to take various pictures of you at the Day 1, Day 30, Day 60, and Day 90 stages. So, here it is, for all of you to "enjoy". Now listen, I don't want to see any of these images uploaded to the internet with a bunch of photoshop tweaks, okay? Well, unless they are really, really funny...than that's ok!
First Shot: Little Girl in the way First Shot: Retake :-)
Yeah, I've got some love handles going on there! Not much upper body definition. :-(
Going to have to work on that!
Here's a few cute shots of my cheerleader :-)
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