P90X - Week 1 - (Day 1 to 7)

I started P90X on July 9, 2009. I weigh in at 174 lbs. Here are my pictures. My goal is to reach 160 lbs after 90 days. I wake up early in the morning. Sometimes as early as 5:30. So I really need time and dedication to finish this journey. Imagine punishing yourself at 5:30 am (lol) and seeing your wife quietly sleeping on the bed.

For the first 3 days (Day 1-3) I didn't pushed myself to the limit. I don't want to happen again my experience on my first encounter with P90X. I now know my limitation, but for the last three days, I see that my strength and conditioning are going better and better.

I followed every step and moves in the first six days except for two in YOGA X (Crane and Plough to shoulder stand). I believe I can't do those moves for now. I'm afraid of getting injured. Maybe I can do it before the first month ends.

I can't say which is the hardest, but they say that it's Yoga X. Maybe. My sweat is not stopping after doing the first 30 minutes of it. Easiest they say is Kenpo X (day 6). Which is like Karate (sort of) with punching and kicking, and punching and kicking. I followed the video from start to finish without hitting the pause button. So, maybe they're right or maybe my conditioning is getting better.

Tomorrow is my rest day or I can do Stretch X. I'm not decided yet. But it's good to see that I got this far after hearing some discouragement. I know I can do it. 84 days to go.

Where to get a Pull Up / Chin Up Bar in the Philippines

Patience is a virtue. I believe in that quote.

After trying out Power 90 for several days, I decided that it is not for me. Yes, it will help to achieve my goal in losing weight and becoming fit, but in my opinion, it is too easy unlike P90X workout. Although Power 90 helped me to increase my stamina to become ready in P90X I am getting bored in doing it.

So, I decided to give P90X another try. I told myself that I will just hit the pause button (just like what Tony Horton always say in the video) if I feel a little tired. I will not pushed myself to limit unlike the first time I tried.

Once again, I tried searching for a chin up bar in the internet. I literary search every possible fitness website/forums in the Philippines to gain knowledge where to buy it locally. I searched every known internet marketplace / buy and sell website in the Philippines to no avail. In short, I failed.

I was contemplating on ordering it from Amazon.com. But it means shelling out $40-$50 for the pull up bar itself and then having it shipped here in the Philippines for another $40 or more. I was about to do that, then I notice that Amazon do not use the word pull-up bar or chin-up bar for the item. The most popular chin up bar in Amazon is called Iron Gym Total Upper body Workout Bar.

A light bulb glow into my head and I search Philippine websites for Iron Gym Total Upper body Workout Bar instead of the keyword I was using (chin up bar, pull up bar) and BAM! There it is. Toby's Sports have it. It is not the extreme edition, just the regular one but it will suffice. It costs P980 (about $20) so it's a big saving for me than ordering it in amazon.

Here's the picture of the Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout bar:

P90 X here I come!

Trying out Power 90

After the ass kicking I got from P90X and because I don't have a pull up bar yet, I decided to give Power 90 a try.

Some forum members says that it can be use as a preparation for P90X. It is a lighter version of P90x. The exercises last for 30 minutes approximately unlike P90X that has a duration of 1 hour for the majority of the exercises (yoga x is the longest having 1 hour and 30 minutes). Just like P90X, you do weight lifting and push ups every other day (3 days) and cardio exercises in between. The exercises are fairly easy for me except for the push-ups. But I'm sweating heavy every workout.

So if you took the P90X fitness test and you don't pass, you can try first Power 90 to build your strength and get you ready for P90X.

P90X kicked my butt

I cannot start my regular P90X workout yet because of the problem with the chin up bar, so I decided to skip day 1 and run a test drive for day 2. Day 2 is Plyometrics. It's jumping and jumping and jumping some more. They say that P90x is not an easy workout and boy they are right.

After following the video for 15 minutes straight, I decided to hit pause because I feel that I am a little bit tired, drink some water and I felt a little nausea, and then I threw up! lol. That's what you get for doing intense workout after having 5 years of no exercise.

My wife was concerned and told me that I need to stop this P90X thing for now, until I'm ready. Obviously, I don't have a choice so I heed her advice.

Now, back to the drawing board.