Friday, December 31, 2010

Day 5 - Legs & Back + Ab Ripper X


Legs & back was a good workout as well.  My legs burned during the wall exercises which is good. Something that came out during the video and something I can relate to is that Tony shattered his left knee when he was a kid so he has to be careful during leg exercises. Just like him, I injured my knee when I was in college while playing cricket so I can't get too crazy with leg exercises. It was good to know that cuz I was thinking about modifying some of the leg exercises. Now I don't have to anymore.

Something I should probably mention here is the fact that I do use a chair for pull ups [as shown in the video]. I use the back of the chair with the middle of my feet slightly resting against it. I use my arms to pull up the rest of the body and sometimes I do raise the other leg into the air just so I can make it harder for myself [also shown in video]. But I do PULL the entire body. You will know you're not abusing the use of the chair when your arms burn especially your biceps & triceps. I use a home-use pull-up bar that you can just lock on to your door. Its easily available at any good sports store like Sports Authority or Academy Sports. For my peeps in The Good Land of Complete Peace & Prosperity, I'm sure you'll be able to find one of these  pull-up bars at the sports stores. If you don't, you might have to pay an iron-smith to build you one and install it in your balcony. I think the balcony is a great place to install one.

I also use padded workout gloves to reduce the amount of blisters on my palms. I think you should too. Also, if dumbbells are hard to find, you can do the same and pay an iron-smith to build you one. But I hung out at some of the popular sports stores in Dhaka last summer and they seemed to be very well-equipped! So I'm sure you'll find everything you need there but it will be expensive. Be warned! But if you are investing in your body, its probably the best investment you will ever make so its totally worth it.

The Ab Ripper X workout seemed more doable today. It still killed my stomach but it was a good burn & I felt it!

Oh and HAPPY NEW YEAR by the way!

Here are my stats for the Legs & Back session for Day 5 (the LAST DAY of the year) - Dec 31, 2010:

R = Reps . W = Weight

01. Balance Lunges - R 16 ea . W 0
02. Calf Raise Squats - R 20 . W 15
03. Reverse Grip Chin-Up [Mod] - R 15
04. Super Skater - R 22 ea
05. Wall Squat
06. Wide Front Pull-Up [Mod] - R 15
07. Step Back Lunge - R 15 . W 15
08. Alternating Side Lunge - R 15 . W 0
09. Closed Grip Overhead Pull-Up - R 10
10. Single Leg Wall Squat - 4 @ 10 sec
11  Dead Lift Squat - 15 ea
12  Switch Grip Pull-Ups [Mod] - R 16 | R 16 
13. Three-Way Lunges - R 15
14  Sneaky Lunges - R 15
15  Reverse Grip Chin-Ups [Mod] - R 15
16. Toe-Roll Iso Lunge - R 11 . W 0
17. Wide Front Pull-Ups [Mod] - R 10
18. Groucho Walk - 
19. Calf Raises R 40 . W 15
20. 80-20 Siebers Speed Squats - R 10



Thursday, December 30, 2010

Day 4 - Yoga X

Okay if some of you have always believed that Yoga's for sissies - you are DEAD wrong. It aint Yoga when Tony Horton does it. Its Yoga X! And believe you me Yoga X is tough!

I thought today would be a walk in the park since it was yoga day. Boy was I wrong! The other blogger was right about Tony, he's not human - and I agree.  Tony Horton is an evil cyborg from HELL who knows his yoga! If he can make yoga seem so damn difficult... he can't be human! By the way the 'Plough to Shoulder Stand' position is for folks who wish to break their necks! And don't be so naive as to follow whatever Tony says because he aint human!

Jokes apart some of the major pluses of Yoga X was that it made me sweat profusely which I hadn't considered. Some of the easier positions targeted the abs area which were great cuz I felt a strong burn in my abs which I would not normally feel even after 40 sit-ups! So I have to admit I like Yoga X. On the negative side I felt that Tony moved way too fast for a beginner like me. I know that you got the remote and you can hit pause whenever you feel like it. But its not the same when you have half your body facing away from the rest of your body and a leg above your head with both of your hands clasping your groin from OPPOSITE sides and you realize that Tony ran off on different moves which would mean for you to break away from your current position, hit the pause button, rewind and play from the point where he just described how to grab you groin from opposite sides. He doesn't move as fast in the other videos!

I got me a pair of 15 lb dumbbells and a resistance band today (for exercises that require me to put up a dumbbell over my head). So I'm really excited. I tried doing some of Tony's dumbbell exercises at Sports Authority today with 20 lb weights and I seemed not to be able to complete the desired reps. So I got me 15 lb instead cuz they seemed challenging enough for me AND I could complete the reps with them.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Day 3 - Shoulders & Arms + Ab Ripper x

Great workout. Period. Funny how today's session ACTUALLY felt GOOD. I wasn't as tired as I was after Plyometrics or Day 1! I don't know if this is because of my mindset about my upper body. Perhaps I am so very focused on building my upper body that the usual punishment from P90X does not feel like enough. This video is definitely good for your arms, especially your triceps.

I made a huge mistake though. I began the session with my brother-in-law's 25 lb monster dumbbells. And that was why my reps suffered MAJORLY. I was only able to put out 2-3 reps where I could've done atleast 10-12 with my usual 20 lb weights. This sucks.

Here are my stats for Day 3, Dec 29 2010:

R : REPS . W : WEIGHT . MOD : MODIFIED . B : BAND .

01. Alternating Shoulder Presses -  R 0 , W 25 | R 14 , W B
02. In & Out Bicep Curls -  R 3 , W 25 | R 3 , W 25
03. Two-Arm Tricep Kickbacks - R 12 , W 25 | R13 , W 25
04. Deep Swimmer’s Presses - R 3 , W 25 | R 3 , W 25
05. Full Supination Concentration Curl - R 4 , W 25 | R 4 , W 25
06. Chair Dip -  R 15 | R 15
07. Upright Rows - R 10 . W 25 | R 6 . W 25
08. Static Arm Curls - R 2 . W 25 | R2 . W 25
09. Flip-Grip Twist Tricep Kickback - R 4 . W 25 | R 5 . W B
10. Two-Angle Shoulder Flys - R 4 . W 25 | R 5. W 25
11. Crouching Cohen Curls - R 8 . W 25 | R 10 . W 25
12. Lying-Down Tricep Extensions (MOD) - R 12 . W 25 | R 8 . W 25

--------------------------------------------------

BONUS ROUND

01. In & Out Straight-Arm Shoulder Flys - R 10 . W 25 | R 10 . W 25
02. Congdon Curls - R 2 . W 25 | R 2 . W 25
03. Side Tri-Rises -  R 15 ea side

-------------------------------------------------

The exercises that required me to raise the monster 25 lb dumbbell over my head with my left hand were pretty scary. So I modified them with a band.  Since my balance issues have not been rooted out completely as yet, I have no intention of conking myself on the head with a 25 lb monster dumbbell. Let's admit it - THAT would be DUMB. & the ONLY weights available in the house were the 25 lb weights. I had NO OTHER CHOICE! I'm going to get me my 20 lbs soon so I can atleast do some honorable 10-12 reps!

I'm just posting this photograph because I feel like it. It has nothing whatsoever to do with P90X but I took it! I took it in Dhaka, Bangladesh during the scorching summer of 2010.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Day 2 - Plyometrics

Plyometrics (also known as "plyos") is a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the functions of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of improving performance in sports. Plyometric movements, in which a muscle is loaded and then contracted in rapid sequence, use the strength, elasticity and innervation of muscle and surrounding tissues to jump higher, run faster, throw farther, or hit harder, depending on the desired training goal. Plyometrics is used to increase the speed or force of muscular contractions, providing explosiveness for a variety of sport-specific activities. Plyometrics are useful for several sports - notably soccer, rugby, basketball, track and field athletics, racket sports, parkour, martial arts, skateboarding among others. - Wikipedia


Day 2 took me out. I was K.O.ed but I still managed to last the entire hour! What I realized today is that Plyometrics is great for my balance (confirmed by Dr. Shirin) since my balance is still a bit off.


Something I certainly like about P90X is that Tony Horton really lets you workout at YOUR OWN PACE while letting you modify the exercises as per your ability. Having torn a knee ligament earlier in college I was always a bit uncomfortable with Plyo since playing volleyball gives my knees a lot of trouble so you can certainly imagine how uneasy I'd be with jumping around like a madman!


Tony Horton is FIFTY YEARS OLD but he looks 30. I'm almost 32 but I look 45ish. Something's not right here. Hope Tony can help me! 
Tony Horton


Here's what another blogger said about Tony Horton:


"Look at the smugness oozing from that damned demon cyborg. I say “demon cyborg” because I am convinced, without a doubt, that Tony Horton is not a human. No, no. There’s no way possible that a real human being could even come up with something like P90X. Tony has been sent from some tiny star planet on the outer fringe of our galaxy to ruin my life or at the very least, my body. And after just the second day of P90X, I have a feeling he’s going to succeed." - By TJ Johnson (http://www.mamapop.com/2010/07/tony-horton-p90x-dead.html).

I have pain allover my body from yesterday's workout. But I'm already looking forward to tomorrow's workout. Word of advice- warm up as much as possible before Plyo. I do some extra stretch exercises before beginning my Plyo routine because one can easily injure their knee, ankle or tendons in the thighs or calves. I did start sipping on Gatorade during the grueling workout routines. But I find myself drinking more clear water than Gatorade. One main reason is because clear water tastes a hell lot better & there aren't any additives or food color that can give you cancer a few years later. Now I know that my peeps in Bangladesh can't get hold of Gatorade. But there has to be some form of water soluble drink out there that can get you essential nutrients that you lose during exercise.


I have also begun taking some multi-vitamins and vitamin-E. But I would have done that regardless of P90X.


Monday, December 27, 2010

Day 1 - Chest, Back & Ab Ripper x

Its one of those things that just hit you square in the head one fine morning. I woke up as a normal person would on the morning of 27th December 2010 and purely out of the blue decided that I'd follow the P90X Classic schedule for a strict body building regiment. It was a Monday and so I began with the Chest, Back & Abs routine as was mentioned on the sheet of paper.


Now don't get me wrong the P90X 90 Day Challenge didn't just happen out of thin air. The motivation, decision to persevere & follow a strict regiment happened on the 27th December 2010. Most people make New Year's Resolutions that begin on the 1st of January of every year which die out on the 13th of January each year. Some people quit smoking or others quit being an absolute a-hole. I had a Year END Resolution which began on the 27th of December 2010.


The person who'd switched me on to P90X was my brother in law (an IronMan challenger himself), Dr. Niaz. He gave me access to his collection of the P90X video series way back in April 2010. And ofcourse not to mention THE REASON why I'd ever tried any of those videos was my wife Dr. Shirin's constant motivation. I was still recuperating from my brain hemorrhage at the time & was not myself completely. I never followed any routine even though he had given me the P90x Classic, Double & Lean schedules. I didn't even know what to do with them for I personally lacked the motivation and the conviction necessary for a strict workout regiment. I picked workouts at random but liked P90X! I'd gotten excessively FAT lying on a hospital bed for a month and then doing nothing thereafter for the next 6 months! I think I picked out P90X workout videos at random over a period of 3 weeks. And I might have done it for only 10-12 days in total within that time-frame but the results were amazing! In ONLY 10-12 days too! My triceps were beginning to take shape. I seemed to have formed a new muscle group that I never knew existed at the top of my chest directly beneath my collar bones. This was great because I always wanted a flat chest and I think it was finally beginning to take shape!


Now I want to be completely honest with you folks. My brother in law was training at the time for the IronMan 70.3 New Orleans triathlon (which he did take part in and received a medal for it). And he used to take me swimming & biking with him. I wasn't much of a swimmer but I did bike for almost 20 miles (32.19 KM) one day. I also ran for a half mile and went to the gym everyday. Okay I know that this information really threw you guys off but I'm telling you that NONE of this got me results AS FAST as P90X did! They HELPED ofcourse, can't deny it! But they didn't revolutionize anything. I'm not going to say "DON'T DO" any running, biking or swimming because biking is really fun and swimming/running works countless muscle groups all at the same time! But I will say this - if DEFINITION is what you want on your body then P90X is the way to go along with everything else! If you want more details on the IronMan 70.3 then go to Wikipedia or otherwise read the excerpt from there below:


"An Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of middle-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run. Each distance of the swim, bike, and run segments are half the distances of those segments found in an Ironman triathlon. The Ironman 70.3 series culminates each year with a World Championship competition, of which competitors qualify for during the 70.3 series in the 12 months prior to the championship race. In addition to the World Championship race, Ironman 70.3 championship competitions are also held for the European and the Asia-Pacific regions." - Wikipedia




P90X Classic

Day 1 - Monday, Dec 27, 2010




Chest & Back:

01. SPU - Standard Push-Ups -  15 | 10 
02. WFrPU - Wide Front Pull-Ups - 15 | 10 
03. MPU - Military Push-Ups - 15 | 10
04. RGCU - Reverse Grip Chin Ups - 15 | 10 
05. WFPU - Wide Fly Push-Ups - 15 | 10
06. CGOHPU - Closed Grip Overhand Pull-Ups - 10 | 10
07. DPU -  Decline Push-Ups - 10 | 10
08. HP - Heavy Pants - 15 | 10 
09. DiPU - Diamond Push-Ups - 10 | 10
10. LM - Lawnmowers - 15 ea | 15 ea
11. DBPU - Dive-Bomber Push-Ups - 15 | 10

12. BF - Back Flys - 5 | 5


Ab Ripper X

01. In and Outs - 15

02. Bicycles - 20 Front | 5 Back
03. Crunchy Frog - 6
04. Cross Leg/ Wide Leg Sit-Ups - 10 
05. Fifer Scissors - 10
06. Hip Rock And Raise - 15 
07. Pulse Ups (Heels to the Heavens) - 11
08. V-Up/Roll Up - 6
09. Oblique V-Ups - 10 ea side | 10 ea side 
10. Leg Climbs - 5 ea leg | 5 ea leg
11. Mason Twist (with legs flat on ground) - 30