Tuesday (1/26/10) Day off – Well, seems I’ve been pushing a little too hard.  I didn’t get any sleep last night as every time I moved the pain in my elbow would wake me up.  Looks like I’m going to have to lay off the weights for a bit and stick to cardio.  I can try some of the Insanity or RevAbs workouts while I rest my arm.  When I  get back to the P90X program I’m going to go for less weight and more reps, I’m not sure how to do that with push-ups and pull-ups though.  Typing with a wrist brace on isn’t the most comfortable thing to do….

Wednesday (1/27/10) Cardio X – I thought I’d give this workout a try as I wanted to take it easy on my arms for a few days and I hadn’t done this one yet.  It was easy compared to the other workouts in P90X and was more like a Master Series one.  It was only 45 minutes with elements of Yoga, Kenpo,  Plyo and Core.  I was easily able to do the whole thing which was nice, it showed me just how far I’d come.  Sometimes it isn’t that obvious when your struggling to do some of the P90X stuff you forgot how you struggled with the original Power 90 workouts in the beginning that are now a cakewalk. A nice moral booster.

Thursday (1/28/10) Cardio X – Yup, Cardio X twice in a row.  My wife didn’t go to the gym after work so we did this one together.  It’s always more fun to work out with someone else!  I still wanted to do something without weights and thought this one would give her a little taste of what the other workouts have.  She has done Plyo with me before, but not Kenpo yet.  She has also does Yoga classes at the gym but I think she’s in for a surprise when she does Yoga X with me.  Maybe I’ll suggest it over the weekend.

Friday (1/29/10) RevAbs  Abcentrics™ and How to Capoeira – Just to try something different I did the introductory disk to RevAbs in which Brett teaches the basic moves (and how to pronounce them) along with a little history of this form a martial arts.  He then puts them all together into a short routine.

Saturday (1/30/10) Yoga X -  My wife joined me for another workout today.  It’s always more fun to work out with someone else.  Except when they make you laugh when your already on the edge of falling over doing Yoga X…  She has done a few Yoga classes at a local gym but always says she doesn’t see how they are much of a workout.  Anyway, I made it through another one, still trying a few of the harder positions before hanging out in child pose.  Even though I didn’t think I stressed my elbow much I had to ice it down when I was done, it seems to be getting worse.  I hate to stop working out entirely but might not have much of a choice.  I really don’t want to go through another surgery for this.

Sunday (1/31/10)  Rest Day – Kathy did comment that her upper arms were a little sore after yesterdays Yoga session even though she didn’t think she was working that hard at the time.  Just shows how some of the workouts can sneak up on you.

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Workout Routines for 1-25-10 to 1-31-10

She also mentions that the program takes a certain amount of commitment.  That is right in line with the Beachbody motto, “Decide, Commit, Succeed”.  Once you Decide you want to live a healthier lifestyle and get in the best shape of your life you Commit to a workout program and a healthier diet you can’t help but Succeed with the support of others doing the same.   The support comes in the form of your Coach (like me) and the other members of the Beachbody community through the user forums and workout buddies in the online supergym.  The support system is an often overlooked but vital part of the success equation.  There are usually lots of people around you telling you how hard it looks, how your getting too thin, not eating well, all because they can’t commit to changing their lifestyle and don’t want to get left behind.  It helps to have people to talk to who have gone through the same transformation you are undertaking and understands what it takes to help you along.

Sorry to get a little sidetracked, the video segment and write up can be found at the ABC News website.

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Good Morning America Reviews P90X

I’ve completed one round of Power 90 and one round of Power 90 Master Series and am on my second week of P90X (but I started the first week about a month ago).

Saturday (1/16/10) Chest and Back – After a little break it was harder getting through the entire routine with the same weights and reps I had been up to, got about 3/4 of the way through before hitting a wall. Hope next week I can push through and be back on track.

Sunday (1/17/10) Plyometrics (Plyo X) – I had recorded the new P90X infomercial and sat down to watch it with my wife who blew off the gym today. A little more than half way through she said “Let’s go work out”. The workout room has the baseboard radiators closed off so it’s usually cold with the sub 30 degree (F) New England temps and she thought it was freezing and too cold to work out. Once the warm-up was done I asked if I should open the window as it felt pretty hot and we were starting to sweat… She made it about half way through before getting nauseous and calling it a night. I wasn’t far behind her.

Monday (1/18/10) Shoulders and Arms – I made it a little more than half way through (to the first round of Two-Angle Shoulder Flyes) when my elbow started to hurt. I’ve had surgery for persistent Lateral Epicondylitis, or tennis elbow and still get pain when I push it. I don’t want to go through another surgery and months of recovery so I tend to be more cautions now.

Tuesday (1/19/10) Yoga X – This goes way beyond the Power 90 yoga that was mixed in with the workout routines! This is the first time I’ve made it through the whole hour and a half yoga workout. More or less. I didn’t do the Crane or Wheel pose and had some trouble with some of the others but definitely saw an improvement.

Wednesday (1/20/10) Well, what was supposed to be Legs and Back day turned into a day off. What started out as a mild headache in the morning turned into a full on migraine by the end of the work day. Took a Treximet (sumatriptan and naproxen sodium) when I got home and was asleep by 6:00pm.

Thursday (1/21/10) Legs and Back – My legs were still a little sore from doing Yoga X two days ago but nothing too bad. I didn’t finish the whole thing but made it further than last time. I track everything with an OpenOffice.org spreadsheet (I’m a big fan of open source software) and made it up to the Sneaky Lunges.

Friday (1/22/10) Kenpo X – Glutes are really sore from the previous few days. Pushed through it anyway and finished Kenpo X without a problem.  This is one of the easier workouts for me.

Saturday (1/23/10)  Day off – Well if you consider a day off to be tearing a dishwasher apart, re-assembling, re-installing to find it still doesn’t work, remove, disassemble, trouble shoot (found the broken magnet in  the motor time) search for (discontinued) parts on line……..

Sunday (1/24/10) Day off – Target shooting (airgun field target) in 35 degree weather.

Post from: Build a New You

Workout Routines for 1-16-10 to 1-24-10

“The issue is already front and center at schools like Wayzata, where computers track fitness, and a new approach to physical education includes yoga, dance, ultimate Frisbee and even P90X — the training system you might have seen on TV.

“They’re encouraged by the newest technology,” said Wayzata Health and Physical Education teacher Kris Jones, “and some of those kinds of things that push them in another way. And P90X, in terms of the ab workout routine, is something that’s really caught on and grabbed their attention, so they’re willing to do it.”

The entire article can be found here.

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Schools Embrace P90X to Help Teach Fitness

You are given a coach office website that is full of everything you need to run your own business, marketing tools, product training videos, the works! If you sign up under me as part of my team I’m also there to help you, either on the phone or through email. Since your part of my team it’s in my best interest to help you succeed. That involves following a proven method and repeating what I have done, and my upline has done, and all the other coaches, and so on….
Just like buying into a major franchise chain. They don’t make all that money because they sell the best food, its a system you buy into. Follow it and you can get the same success as all the other franchise owners.

It all starts with contacting me and letting me know your interested. I’ll answer your questions (or get you the answers if I don’t have them) and we can discuss this great opportunity.

Do something you’re passionate about. And make money doing it. Become a Team Beachbody Coach. Inspire others to achieve their goals and enjoy a healthy, fulfilling life. It’s easy. We give you the sales tools, support, training—everything you need to get started. And succeed.

Financial Fitness Begins Here

* 25% off all products
* Part-time or full-time
* Be your own boss
* No commute
* Low start-up cost
* No inventory
* Set your own hours
* Potential tax benefits
* Your personalized Web site

A Proven Success Formula

* A proven business system
* Sell sought-after national brands backed by over $100 million in advertising
* Targeted training and support
* Lucrative compensation plan—no limit on earning potential
* One of few fitness companies making a true difference in people’s health

We Set You Up for Success from Day 1

* Supportive upline team to guarantee success right out of the gate
* Comprehensive Business Starter Kit
* Easy-to-follow business system

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You are invited to be a fitness coach!

Insanity uses interval training to beat the “stress adaptation response” which normally causes your body to get used to exercise and stop improving.  Interval workouts use sets where you perform at maximum effort then one of lower intensity, then repeat the cycle to achieve a cumulative effect.  Adding high intensity exercise with your heart rate at 80% of maximum forces your body to use fast-twich muscle fibers that are not normaly used in cardio workouts.  These muscle fibers will continue burning fuel even during lower intensity exercise.  With Insanity you will likely be working out at 85% of maximum and as a result you could be burning as much as 1,000 calories per hour!

While Shaun T’s earlier DVD programs Hip Hop Abs and Rockin’ Body were dance based, Insanity uses sports science and high level conditioning techniques to create its body composition changes.

While programs such as P90X and ChaLEAN Extreme focus on weight training to build muscle and burn fat, Insanity uses only the resistance of your own body to crank up your cardio, lower you body fat percentage and sculpt your muscles.  The only gear you need are water, a towel, and you own commitment.

Insanity is geared towards people in top physical shape, extreme athletes, graduates of other Beachbody programs, cardio workout lovers and former scholastic athletes.  It is not recomended for beginners, pregnant woman, obese people, people who aren’t willing to work hard or people who don’t consistently do high-impact exercise.  There are other Beachbody programs that can help to get us ready for Insanity.

Insanity by Shaun T, Beachbody's newest, most extreme DVD workout!

Insanity includes:

10 Insane workouts!

1: Dig Deeper
& Fit Test

To start, Shaun will put your body to the test and see what you’re made of.

2: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Burn fat with intervals of intense lower-body plyo and sweat-inducing cardio.

3: Cardio Power & Resistance

Build lean muscle and upper-body definition with strength-training and power moves.

4: Cardio Recovery

Shaun goes easier on you once a week so you’re ready for the next round.

5: Pure Cardio
& Abs

Skip the intervals—this nonstop cardio workout is all extreme.

6: Cardio Abs

Do explosive intervals of cardio and core moves for rock-hard abs.

7: Core Cardio
& Balance

Take a break after month 1 and gear up for month 2 with this workout.

8: Max Interval Circuit

The interval circuit that’s more intense than anything you’ve ever done before.

9: Max Interval Plyo

Push your legs ’til they beg for mercy with power and plyo, all at your MAX.

10: Max Cardio Conditioning & Abs

Get pushed to your limit with this extreme cardio workout.

Insanity can be purchased here for $119.85 the Deluxe package can be purchased here for $164.70 and the Deluxe Results and Recovery package can be purchased here for $239.70

If you join the Team Beachbody Club you can save 10% on all Beachbody products.

Or sign up to be a Team Beachbody Coach and save 25% on Insanity as well as all Beaqchbody purchases and 50% on all shipping, all while potentially earning money just for getting fit!

You can see a longer video with behind the scenes filming action on my Videos page.

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Beachbody releases Insanity!

What made me think of this conversation was a recent article on over training over at T-Nation. I’m not going to repeat everyting in the article but they talk about seeing muscle gain by doing a set to failure (while keeping good form), possiblly two or three sets max, then moving on.

It’s always nice to have another source back up the theory of what your doing.

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You do HOW many sets?

Anthony (Tony) Horton, the certified fitness instructor and developer of the Power 90, Power 90 Master Series, 10 Minute Trainer, P90X, P90X Plus and One on One with Tony Horton workout system was born 1958 in Westley, Rhode Island. After graduation from the University of Rhode Island he moved to LA where he started his own personal transformation working out at the famous Golds Gym. He pursued the lean, toned muscular look instead of going for the bulky body builder shape and came up with routines to further that goal. His training style, personality and results made him a highly sought after personal trainer in the LA area. You can see some of his work on the cast of “The 13th Warrior” (no, the actors didn’t look that cut before working out with Tony for the film). The next big break (for us using his videos) came when he teamed up with Beachbody to develop DVD video workouts that can be done in a home setting with a minimum of equipment, much of which, such as resistance bands, are included with the workout programs. His videos run the gamut from just starting out down the road to fitness by getting active and loosing weight (like I need) to extreme “getting ripped” workouts for people who are already in great physical condition (which I will work up to).
Tony currently resides in Santa Monica, California and will, hopefully, continue to come out with great, fun, DVD workout programs for us mere mortals to use.

Now that I have that out of the way I can gather my thought on the Power 90.

Post from: Build a New You

Tony Who?

Like many Americans I’ve been putting on a few pounds a year since my mid thirties, so has my wife.  Spring rolls around, beachcat sailing season starts up and everyone jokes about how our wetsuits shrunk over the winter.  We’d chalk it up to getting older and get on with our lives.

Then one day everything changed.  My wife joined a gym….  Well, there was no way she was going to be loosing weight and not me, but I’m not really the gym type.  Then I remembered seeing the P90X infomercial.  I’m usually skeptical of anything advertised on infomercials.  I’ve also been online since 300baud modems and bulletin boards and am fairly good at researching things on the net.  After a few days of looking into P90X I came to two conclusions, I works and it’s not for me.  When you have guys on on bodybuilder forums talking about how intense the workouts are and you have me that got winded walking up a flight of stairs I thought it best to start out with the basics.

It turn out the same company, Beachbody, that puts out P90X also has other workout programs with the same trainer, Tony Horton.  The one I chose was Power 90.  I believe that this was the right path for me to take.  Yesterday finished my seventh week of working out.  I’m down 12 pounds, a total of 15 inches (3 around my waist alone) and went from struggling through 3 pushups to doing 51 yesterday morning.  I’m now confident that once I am through with Power 90 I can take on P90X!

Another good choice for a workout plan leading up to P90X is  Slim in 6.

Don’t wait, pick a plan and start to Buid a New You.

Post from: Build a New You

Why not P90X?