Sunday, January 12, 2014

Week 1 P90X3 Completed

Yesterday completed my first week of P90X3! My sisters and I are doing the 90 day program with their husbands and some other friends.  Since we all live in different spots we have a virtual group to support each other.  Here are a few of my week 1 observations...

The Workouts - There has been a lot more variety than I expected.  I don't know why I expected the workouts to be all pull-ups but surprisingly we have had a lot of variety.  Agility X is probably the workout that left me the sorest of them all this week.  My tush hurt after that one and even swimming which normally soothes my aching muscle didn't provide any relief.

The Pull-ups - The Challenge is a workout where you select a number at the beginning of the workout for two exercises - push-ups and pull-ups. The workout alternates between these two exercises for the entire 30 minutes.  Intimidating! I completed the workout using the modification of band pull downs for all of the pull-up exercises.   I have a pull-up bar and pull-up assist band but even with it felt like I couldn't do anything more than shrug my shoulders.  Fast forward to the following day and my sister kindly explained how to use my pull-up assist band.  I had the foot hold near mid-calf height and she explained that until I build up my strength I should put the foot hold at the highest spot possible.  I made the change and was very surprised at the result.

The Bed Time - For this program, I made the personal commitment to do the workouts before work.  I know that evening workouts are hard for me to remain committed to as I get home from work and just want to relax.  I try to leave for work by 6:45 AM so that has meant getting my workouts started by 5:15 AM.  To maintain this rhythm I am trying to force myself to bed around 9:00 PM.

The Gear - After the Agility X workout on Tuesday I made the decision to invest in a high impact flooring mat.  The jumping around on my tile floor wasn't very kind to my legs and feet.  The mat made a huge difference and I'm very happy with my purchase.  For other gear, I have dumbbells in a range of weights from 3-15 lbs.  I haven't worked my way up to the 15 lbs quite yet but I'm sure that will come.  I also have the pull-up bar and pull-up assist band as well as a variety of resistance bands.

For week 2, we will repeat the same workout schedule.  I'm looking forward to trying each workout again as the cues aren't always clear in some of the sequences.  I have already made veggie snack packs and am laying out my lunch and work snack plan so that I can make healthier eating choices during the week.

2 comments:

  1. That P90X3 business sounds intense. I go to bed early, but I can't seem to ever workout first thing in the morning. I've been doing yoga on my non-running days. It is super relaxing, but I have also realized I am not flexible AT ALL!!!

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  2. I've always wanted to try P90X or Insanity. I have friends who have seen really great results! Good luck!

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