Hello everybody...
I just finished today's round of training and I had to jump right onto the laptop as I fear that I will not be able to move later on.
Plyometrics aka the mother of P90. Or as I like to call it, Death!
I'm not kidding, this was awful, tiring, sweaty...nasty and I loved every second of it. Its hard to describe, almost like aerobics on steroids. There was a lot of jumping and definitely the most bad ass cardio workout possible whilst in one room.
Each exercise lasted only 30 seconds with the fourth lasting 1 min. This is then all repeated. The whole circuit lasted one hour. Here's a great link to a number of exercised. This wont be exactly the same but will give you a great idea of what's involved. I recommend that you try get at least 10-12 exercises and then perform them in the 30 second bursts as described above.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp-ldXBE1XA&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=SPBDADCC47E415A878
Today my brother called me and pointed out something about yesterdays posts that I would like to clear up.
Please do not attempt all the exercises in a row, Its not about the number you do, its about how you do them.
Each exercise was conducted in one minute intervals, where I did as many as I can do. After 4 exercises, I would take a minute break. Once going through all 12 exercises, its all repeated!
So take exercise 1 for example, I did not perform 53 in one go. I first did 30 and moved on to exercise two. After the 12, I came back and did another 23. So my dear brother, instead of burning your self out, remember this:
Today I bid superwoman farewell for a short time, she is going to the land of America and I just wanted to add, bonvoyage :)
Sonny
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Friday, 9 December 2011
A quick explanation
For those of you joining me on my p90x journey. It has been pointed out to me that due to the staccato nature of my posts, I should explain exactly what I'm trying to do.
This blog started because I was going to tackle the event of a life time..the Men's Health Survival of the fittest.
A 10 km race with about 16 crazy obstacles to overcome.
I finished the race in 56 minutes and had the time of my life.
As I trained for the event, I felt my life improve. I was more disciplined with my job applications, going to bed early and watching less TV. No energy can also be attributed to not having a gym buddy any more to motivate and support.
Then I got ill and all this went back to zero. For the last month, I have reversed my progress so much and missing an important deadline gave me the kick in the bum that I badly needed.
So I decided I needed to get my discipline back on lock with another challenge...I chose to find out what all the hype was about p90x. This is going to be especially hard because I am going back to the motherland on Monday, a nation filled with awesome nights out and too much drinking. On top of this, it will be December and we all know what xmas brings...cake, and relaxation..So I decided that I will try and make the magic happen.
I hope that this blog proves entertaining for you and would love to hear your comments. I hope that you can use the information here to design your own work outs and also get fighting fit. As a fitness junke, I have learned a lot in the world of health and would love to share my knowledge with you as I learn more from this challenge!
As with any challenge, we need a before and after picture. I can do one better. I will provide a before-before (whilst at my prime), a before, and at the end an after.
1) A picture from a year ago:
2) A current picture:
3)After? well that's for us to find out..please get involved, send in you pics and lets try get in the best shape of our lives together!
This blog started because I was going to tackle the event of a life time..the Men's Health Survival of the fittest.
A 10 km race with about 16 crazy obstacles to overcome.
I finished the race in 56 minutes and had the time of my life.
As I trained for the event, I felt my life improve. I was more disciplined with my job applications, going to bed early and watching less TV. No energy can also be attributed to not having a gym buddy any more to motivate and support.
Then I got ill and all this went back to zero. For the last month, I have reversed my progress so much and missing an important deadline gave me the kick in the bum that I badly needed.
So I decided I needed to get my discipline back on lock with another challenge...I chose to find out what all the hype was about p90x. This is going to be especially hard because I am going back to the motherland on Monday, a nation filled with awesome nights out and too much drinking. On top of this, it will be December and we all know what xmas brings...cake, and relaxation..So I decided that I will try and make the magic happen.
I hope that this blog proves entertaining for you and would love to hear your comments. I hope that you can use the information here to design your own work outs and also get fighting fit. As a fitness junke, I have learned a lot in the world of health and would love to share my knowledge with you as I learn more from this challenge!
As with any challenge, we need a before and after picture. I can do one better. I will provide a before-before (whilst at my prime), a before, and at the end an after.
1) A picture from a year ago:
2) A current picture:
3)After? well that's for us to find out..please get involved, send in you pics and lets try get in the best shape of our lives together!
D-Day (P90X)
Wow! Just completed day 1 of the programme and it hurts so bad! Literally by the end of the warm up I was already breathing heavy. In the middle of the workout, all I could think about was when will this end.
Then it did. Big smile on my face...Instructor says, lets do that all again...smile turns to anguish!
However after finishing day1, I feel great!! only 89 more days to go, this should be interesting. To be honest, during my hour of punishment, I came to understand body extremes a little more. It is so easy to say "Im tired of this one exercise, I'll skip on to the next one." However, setting a target of repetitions per exercise is a great way to motivate you. I don't know why, but when the finish line is in sight, it makes it easier to push harder. At this point I felt so good that I continued doing repetitions to the point that my muscles couldn't take it any more and I collapsed.
So today's exercises and results were as follows:
Chest and Back.
01 Standard Push-Ups 54
02 Wide Front Pull-Ups 33
03 Military Push-Ups 33
04 Reverse Grip Chin-Ups 40
05 Wide Fly Push-Ups 36
06 Closed Grip Overhand Pull-Ups 33
07 Decline Push-Ups 26
08 Heavy Pants 28
09 Diamond Push-Ups 29
10 Lawnmovers 23
11 Dive-Bomber Push-Ups 25
12 Back Flys 25
Yes and this beast of a work out was only Day1. After this we had to do half of ab ripper which involved 150 stomach moves (ill explain this in detail on the dedicated stomach day!)
Massive training comes with a good and strict diet. First you need to look at your lifestyle and decide how many calories you burn in a normal day. In university I was very active however since graduation this has decreased massively. So I am aiming to hit about 1900 -2000 Calories.
Calories are the body's energy currency. Food brings them into your body as you digest and activity burns them. What is not burned is converted into fat and stored in your body. This is why big late dinners are such a bad idea. The trick is to eat little, often!
I am not a fan of dieting, I believe that this is torture and without militant discipline, you will never achieve lasting results. I think its best eat wisely, allowing your self a treat once in a while and timing your meals so that you do not crave anything and your body can perform like a machine. In the end its a simple question. Yes fatty food tastes so good, but will the world end if you slow down on the doughnuts? Start slow, remove 1/4 of your daily intake for a week...go up to half. Before you know it you will only think about them when they are in front of you.
So today's meal:
Breakfast: 09.00 - Oatmeal porridge, sunflower seeds, honey, protein powder
Snack: 11.00 - Banana
Lunch: Spaghetti with corn and noodles
Snack: Apple
Dinner: well I don't know yet, but I'm seeing Superwoman tonight and she has promised me a Lentil stew (Delicious!).
All the best and I'll talk to you tomorrow!
Then it did. Big smile on my face...Instructor says, lets do that all again...smile turns to anguish!
However after finishing day1, I feel great!! only 89 more days to go, this should be interesting. To be honest, during my hour of punishment, I came to understand body extremes a little more. It is so easy to say "Im tired of this one exercise, I'll skip on to the next one." However, setting a target of repetitions per exercise is a great way to motivate you. I don't know why, but when the finish line is in sight, it makes it easier to push harder. At this point I felt so good that I continued doing repetitions to the point that my muscles couldn't take it any more and I collapsed.
So today's exercises and results were as follows:
Chest and Back.
01 Standard Push-Ups 54
02 Wide Front Pull-Ups 33
03 Military Push-Ups 33
04 Reverse Grip Chin-Ups 40
05 Wide Fly Push-Ups 36
06 Closed Grip Overhand Pull-Ups 33
07 Decline Push-Ups 26
08 Heavy Pants 28
09 Diamond Push-Ups 29
10 Lawnmovers 23
11 Dive-Bomber Push-Ups 25
12 Back Flys 25
Yes and this beast of a work out was only Day1. After this we had to do half of ab ripper which involved 150 stomach moves (ill explain this in detail on the dedicated stomach day!)
Massive training comes with a good and strict diet. First you need to look at your lifestyle and decide how many calories you burn in a normal day. In university I was very active however since graduation this has decreased massively. So I am aiming to hit about 1900 -2000 Calories.
Calories are the body's energy currency. Food brings them into your body as you digest and activity burns them. What is not burned is converted into fat and stored in your body. This is why big late dinners are such a bad idea. The trick is to eat little, often!
I am not a fan of dieting, I believe that this is torture and without militant discipline, you will never achieve lasting results. I think its best eat wisely, allowing your self a treat once in a while and timing your meals so that you do not crave anything and your body can perform like a machine. In the end its a simple question. Yes fatty food tastes so good, but will the world end if you slow down on the doughnuts? Start slow, remove 1/4 of your daily intake for a week...go up to half. Before you know it you will only think about them when they are in front of you.
So today's meal:
Breakfast: 09.00 - Oatmeal porridge, sunflower seeds, honey, protein powder
Snack: 11.00 - Banana
Lunch: Spaghetti with corn and noodles
Snack: Apple
Dinner: well I don't know yet, but I'm seeing Superwoman tonight and she has promised me a Lentil stew (Delicious!).
All the best and I'll talk to you tomorrow!
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Been quiet again haven't I!
My last few months have been extremely lethargic. Wake up at 12. Work on an application. Watch Tv. sleep and repeat. I have slowly felt the wonder that is life seep out of me...
With all this slipping, I realised that my problem has been a lack of commitment to train for a goal...after watching Ryan Reynolds with his shirt off, superwoman went 'Hello'...Thank you Ryan! I now have a goal in mind!
So the challenge as it is will be to test P90X and see if it is truly as bad as the world claims it to be.
http://www.beachbody.com/product/p90x.do?t=w231c2
I'm a reasonably active person and as every gym goer will know, once you are on holiday or don't have gym access, it is easy to loose it all. I will be travelling to Kenya next week and I know that gym access will be complicated, so I will combine my drive to get Reynolds fit with the opportunity that is p90x. Wish me luck! 90 days is a massive commitment, especially on the diet side!
I have everything I need to get started so for the next 90 days, please join me on this journey.
Tomorrow it all begins. Spread the blog, join in on the work outs, and feel free to ask anything about the diet....
by the way superwoman, when you realise this, please be aware that in 90 days you will need commissioned to start a Beyonce challenge.
With all this slipping, I realised that my problem has been a lack of commitment to train for a goal...after watching Ryan Reynolds with his shirt off, superwoman went 'Hello'...Thank you Ryan! I now have a goal in mind!
So the challenge as it is will be to test P90X and see if it is truly as bad as the world claims it to be.
http://www.beachbody.com/product/p90x.do?t=w231c2
I'm a reasonably active person and as every gym goer will know, once you are on holiday or don't have gym access, it is easy to loose it all. I will be travelling to Kenya next week and I know that gym access will be complicated, so I will combine my drive to get Reynolds fit with the opportunity that is p90x. Wish me luck! 90 days is a massive commitment, especially on the diet side!
I have everything I need to get started so for the next 90 days, please join me on this journey.
Tomorrow it all begins. Spread the blog, join in on the work outs, and feel free to ask anything about the diet....
by the way superwoman, when you realise this, please be aware that in 90 days you will need commissioned to start a Beyonce challenge.
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