May 31, 2010. The First Day of the Rest of My Life
Well, I decided today was the day and that “I am to fat” to do the exercises was just an excuse my mind was making so that it can maintain the norm. I don’t want the norm so I went in at 8:30 tonight and I pressed play on the Chest and Back Workout. It kicked my ass, and I was not able to do abs for fear of vomiting, but I finished the workout and I will be getting up at 5am every morning and pressing play. I will just have to add things in as I can (Ab Ripper X). Anyway, I am on my way.
I did not bother changing my pics, I weigh exactly the same and nothing has changed.
Jason, hi! — I’m completely in your corner, man!
I, too, see the Power 90 programs as being ‘the way to go’ — I’m 56, currently 230 lbs. I read your posts about your ‘false starts’ and I sense and understand your frustration!
A word of supportive advice: start with P90 (cheaper, too), not P90X…! That’s what I’m doing and I’m taking it all at my own pace and not being tyrannized by feeling as though I have to become a ripped middle-aged stud-muffin overnight (I told my wife she’ll just have to wait for a year…). I am in absolutely NO CONDITION to start with P90X, no matter what we might like to believe after watching the infomercials (which are very inspiring, of course).
I started P90 back in March, made it through the first three weeks (see below) and was continuing to make great progress when I sliced my foot wide open on some glass and had to stay off it for a LONG time… — I gained back the 8 lbs I’d lost, got depressed — you know the drill, I’m sure…. It took me a while to get my head around starting up again, but I’ve started up recently, and I’m surprised how much my body remembers what it learned in those first three weeks, and how eager it is to move ahead.
So, in a very real sense, I’m starting over again, just like you are, but with a program better suited, I believe, for those of us who should start out a bit more slowly. P90X really is a program for people who already are in decent cardio/muscular shape. So you and I are in the same corner, just with different programs.
P90 is one helluva workout, believe me — but it’s far less extreme than P90X, and much more immediately ‘doable’ for those of us who need to start slower. The first week, I could barely move after the initial sessions — then things fell into place, gradually and organically. When I started, I couldn’t even do 1 lousy push-up from my knees, much less a ‘real’ pushup (and I won’t bother to talk about the abs—HA!). After three weeks, I was getting through ALL the pushups (there’s one exercise where you do 3 sets of 7 pushups), still from the knees, but that’s fine with me — at some point, I’ll try a REAL pushup, but I’m still getting a great workout (and my wife notices a change already, which is nice).
The body responds best when you do things GRADUALLY. I started out using 2.5 and 5 lb dumbells, and for the first two weeks my arms felt like overcooked noodles halfway into the sculpt portion of the program. Then things gradually shifted, and now I’m using 10 lbs and finishing all the exercises and feeling STRONG. I never strain myself, and I ALWAYS pause whenever I feel the real need to.
So take heart, my man — and I encourage you to check out P90 as a first step in what for both of us should be a lifelong shift in how we take care of ourselves ( http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/power90.do ). I’m planning to stick with P90 for P180! — in other words, 6 months instead of three. And you know what I’m looking fwd to most? I’m looking fwd to finishing P90 and graduating into P90X! I’ll be the judge of when that happens — but I know it will happen.
Feel free to write me directly at my email address, if you like. Nice to meet you, Jason, and GOOD LUCK! I hope you look into P90. But believe me, it’s no stroll in the park! It’s a challenging, powerful workout by all standards!
A the Very Rev Tony Horton says, “Do your best, then leave the rest.” It’s true. Just do what you can do, and know that in time, you’ll be able to do more.
Cheers,
Jim
Toronto, ON
(and Siesta Key, FL in the winter)
Jim,
Sorry it took so long to reply. I have P90 and have done it. The problem is that it is not challenging enough for me. I am an all or nothing type of guy. I love to really work hard and see results really quickly, that is my reasoning for P90X.
It sound sounds to me like you are having great success with what you are doing. I hope you will come back and keep me posted on your progress, it is stories like yours that keep me going and keep me getting up in the morning. Do you have a blog or a beachbody page?
Jason
Hey, Jason! I just checked this page today for the first time since sending you my note of June 1 — good to hear from you! I hope your P90X program is going well.
I’m on yet another sabbatical from P90, though not in any way depressed about it — I’ve been eating well, getting outside, etc. I’ve been moving around a lot in the last month and NOW am in one place for the next 12 weeks so plan to fire up the DVDs in the next day or so. Once I get back in the groove, I’m sure I’ll be better able to take it on the road with me…. I let too many distractions get in the way!
I do not have a blog, though I do have a BeachBody page (http://teambeachbody.com/member/sn/jamesbo) — I haven’t posted anything on it since a post I made on my “progress” on Day 3, March 30 of this year — but it might make for an interesting read.
Hey, I just found you on BB.com as Palespyder and will hit the Buddy button! Look fwd to checking out your page and story — I’ll upload a few pics onto mine at some point as well.
Cheers from Canada — the G8 met only a few kilometres from where my wife and I spend the summers, near Huntsville, Ontario. What a wild scene that was —
Talk with you later,
Jim