Phoenyx's p90x diary

[Phoenyx]

I've just finished the first week of p90x and loved it! So I thought it was time I started a diary to record my progress and make me more accountable over the next 90 (well, 84) days.

Start weight: 12.8.8
Body fat: 38.8%
Waist: 37 inches

Fit test results:
Resting heart rate: has to be taken in bed before you get up and I still haven't got round to this yet!
Pull ups: none!
Vertical leap 6 inches (touch wall, then jump and see how much higher your jump is than your first touch)
Full push ups 7
Toe touch 3.5 inches (sit down with legs out straight and see how far beyond toes you can reach)
Wall squat 1 min 30s (sit against wall, knees at 90 degrees)
Bicep curls (8 kilo weight) 10 each side
Ins & outs 40 (abs - feet off floor, bend knees and draw feet in, then stretch legs out, repeat)
Recovery heart rate - not done yet

 

[Phoenyx]

Day 1

AM: P90x fit test, p90x plyometrics DVD
PM: 40 min run
Cals eaten: 1550

Plyo workout was hard work but nowhere near as intense as insanity (which was a relief, I only made it to day 4 of insanity!!) My glutes ached nicely for the next couple of days! Managed to run fine in the afternoon though.
The p90x nutrition plan is about 20% carbs, 20% fat and 60% protein on the first 4 weeks, but I'm a little higher on the carbs and fat. The guide recommends 2400 cals for me for weightless, which I reckon is a little high, even with all the exercise so I'm going to stick to 2000 ish.


Day 2

AM P90x chest and back (60 mins)
PM ab ripper x (16 mins)
Cals eaten 1955

The chest and back was loads and loads of alternating press up and pull up exercises (you do a set of four exercises, repeat, then have a little cardio "break". I loved this DVD, except for the fact that I can't do a single pull up, so I was climbing up on a chair to my pull up bar then lowering myself down. I may use resistance bands instead next time. The warm up and stretching section on all of these DVDs is great, and time went by v quickly.

 

[Phoenyx]

Day 3 yoga x (90 mins)
Cals eaten 1806

This was long and difficult! I'm more of a cardio than a yoga fan, and because this DVD was so long I had to switch it to a weekend - I already have to get up at 5.40am to fit the workouts in before work on weekdays! I was also aching from the previous workouts, although not as much as I expected to be.

The yoga is divided into power moves, balance moves and core moves. The power moves were tough but doable, I couldn't do any of the balance moves!! And the core moves were holds and were tough. I know I need to keep this one up, for strength, flexibility and balance, but time did drag!


Day 4 AM arms and shoulders (60 mins)
PM ab ripper x (16 mins)
Cals eaten 1300

Lots of bicep and tricep moves in this DVD, again 4 moves repeated, then a cardio "break". This DVD whizzed by, and although I struggled to find the right weight for each exercise (I need to order some heavier dumbells), 2 days later my arms are still aching gently, which is good!

Ab ripper is another excellent DVD - one ill keep up long after I finish p90x. It consists of different core moves each repeated 25 times (except for the one at the end which you do 50 times). It's a killer, you end up doing over 300 ab moves. I can do most of them 25 times, but have to take breaks in some - the backwards cycling, the scissor moves and the one at the end. I'm dreadful the side v moves and I can only do the basic moves throughout - plenty of advanced variations to build up to!


Day 5 AM kenpo x (60 mins)
PM 30 min run
Cals eaten 1850

This is a kickboxing type DVD and is supposed to be a cardio workout but I struggled to get my heart rate up high enough for it to be truly effective. My heart rate was generally between 110-130 bpm, whereas when I run it hovers between 140-160 bpm. I like some of the moves but think I'll replace this with an insanity cardio DVD to get a more effective workout. Least favourite so far. HRM read just 350 cals burned run burned another 330 though.


Day 6 AM legs and back (60 mins) ab ripper x
Cals eaten 2020

Legs and back was another great DVD, and although it involved lots of pull ups which I can't do, the leg stuff was v good and I know I'll ache a bit tomorrow. I was particularly pleased with my wall sits - I kept up with the crew, and got lots of lunges in I was worried before doing this one because my legs felt tired, but it wasn't too bad as there's such a good warm up. Heart rate monitor read 450 cals burned for both workouts (more resistance than cardio though)

 

[Phoenyx]

Day 7 rest day

My first p90x rest day! Slept in an extra hour - bliss. My glutes and arms / shoulders are aching today, and I'm feeling v tired, not physically so much, just like I need a good long sleep.

First weigh in tomorrow - I definitely feel slimmer even though it's only been a week, and my work trousers are looser. So I'm looking forward to the waist measurement but not sure what the scales will read after all the intense exercise - sometimes I retain water if I've been working out a lot.

 

[Phoenyx]

Day 8 AM plyometrics
PM 50 min run
Cals eaten 2200

Week 1 results:
Weight 12.2.4 (down 6.4 lbs, fab )
Bodyfat - 37.0%, down 1.8%
Great results for just one week!

Plyo was good - you do three exercises for 30s, then one for a minute, then repeat, short break and on to the next round. It took a while for me to warm up but then I worked hard and kept my hr in the 140s-150s. Definitely a good workout. Hrm said I burned 500 cals.

After school I went for a 50 min run. Didn't mean to go so far, and I felt dodgy for the first 30 minutes!!! But by the end I felt good. Hr between 150-165. Burned 500 cals.

I was correspondingly hungry today and dived nose first into a bag of almonds (could have been worse!!!)

 

[Phoenyx]

Had a munchy weekend with no exercise but that's fine coz I'm going to restart week 2 and that'll put my rest days in the right order!

So day 8 again! But a slightly different one...

AM p90x shoulders & arms (60 mins), ab ripper x (16 mins)
PM 35 min run with 5 x 30s sprints and 3 x 50s hills

Food: going back to primal eating, it's served me well. I'll up the carbs by having more fruit if I need.

One of my favourite DVDs today, I actually really enjoyed it, despite not getting to sleep til 1am then getting up at 5.30am to exercise!

 

[Phoenyx]

Day 9: AM plyometrics DVD

My heart wasn't in it today and I was slightly fatigued from yesterday, but I was proud of myself for getting up and doing it anyway. Not sure if I'll get a workout in tomorrow as I'll have to get up at 4.45 to fit it in, but I'll see how I feel.