Tonight I am starting a fitness regimen called P90X. Should I be doing so? I'm not entirely sure but I do know that the only way I ever really get into shape is by diving in head first and giving it my all and that is what P90X supposedly demands of me. To start with I have to take a fitness test to see how I stand (and to make sure I'm ready for the program). I know I probably am not ready but that is what the whole head first thing is all about.
Toward the end of fitness and transparency into the program and my results I am going to log my results here. Many of the readers of this blog may really not want to read these posts so you will know when it is a P90X post because every post about it will start with the prefix of P90X: just like this one is.
The fitness test has one part I can't do because I don't own any kind of dumbbells at the moment; I also don't have a pull-up bar so I tried to do some on a wooden thing that hangs in my garage and that is covered with some plywood - it tore up my hands but I did what I could (perhaps I should have worn gloves). I am doing the rest so here are my initial "day 1" results:
I'm sorry this table is so ugly: I'll make it look nicer as soon as I can.
| Event | Results |
|---|---|
| Resting Heart Rate | 74 bpm |
| Pull Ups | 1.5 |
| sad isn't it? | |
| Vertical Leap | 21 inches |
| I'm surprised it is that high | |
| Push Ups | 22 |
| A far cry from the 60+ I did in the Army in 2 minutes | |
| Toe Touch | -3 inches |
| That means I'm 3" short of touching my toes without bending my knees | |
| Wall Squat | 2 minutes 5 seconds |
| Wow, that was much harder than I remember it being | |
| Bicep Curl | 27 |
| 1 Gallon cans of latex paint (apx 11 pounds each). Very awkward, should borrow some dumbbells | |
| In and Outs | 27 |
| Ouch, that really burns my lower back! | |
| Heart Rate Maximizer: Immediate | 148 bpm |
| Heart Rate Maximizer: 1 min | 124 bpm |
| Heart Rate Maximizer: 2 min | 116 bpm |
| Heart Rate Maximizer: 3 min | 112 bpm |
| Heart Rate Maximizer: 4 min | 102 bpm |
Overall my impression is one of being pretty out of shape. But, with the exception of the pull-ups I did the minimum for P90X readiness so that is a good basis to start from. I'm in bad shape but not horrendous!
Tomorrow I start the first days exercise: Chest and Back with AB Ripper X. Sounds fun! If you are really interested I will put up 2 photos at the start of each week so we can see if there is any physical change in me over the course of the 90 days. [My P90X Photos]