Day 8, Core Synergistics (P90X Lean)

Technically, yesterday (Sunday) was day 8, but we had a very full day and I never got around to working out. So, today on Monday is what I am calling day 8. I'm not sure this is the right way to count the days, or if I should include all the days off I take during the 90 calendar days. My take on it though is that I am only really chronicling the workouts that I do and will try to note any days off that I take. I'm sure there is some detriment in missing days, but at this point in my workout life, it's minor (just doing anything is better than what I was doing before).

So, today was my repetition of Day 1's workout, Core Synergistics. I remember thinking this workout was insanely tough, and while the start of it seemed a little easier to me today, it still crushed me and I couldn't possibly keep up with the video. I also ran out of time once again and had to skip some of the later moves to get to the cool down. In all honesty though, I was so frickin' wiped at this point that I REALLY don't think I could have lasted on the later moves. I need to remember to simplify the moves for me so that I can get more of the workout and more reps in. Often times I am doing the full movement they are on the video, so I think this gets me tired out MUCH faster. For instance, with the pushups... I was doing the full pushups they were, which were not even regular old pushups, but more advanced staggered arms stacked feet pushups, then you even switch it up... like an idiot I was doing these instead of remembering that my body is not ready for this and instead trying staggered arm pushups from my knees just to build up those muscles to GET me ready for this stuff on my next 90 days stint. Trying to remember this is always difficult because I still don't realize how out of shape I am, and I'm just following along with the video. I think getting up earlier and giveing myself more time will help in this because I can then watch what they are doing, pause/rewind and modify it to something that will work better for me.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I tried adding a resistance band to the moves that I could (some of the moves you can really only use a dumbell, and I didn't have any within easy reach). The resistance band didn't seem to tire me out any more than without, so maybe I need to up the resistance. However, what I learned about the resistance bands my wife bought me (sorry, I couldn't find a photo of the exact kit I have, but it is named the same as the one in this photo and looks to have the same components) is that they are not the "normal" resistance bands that most people talk about or use. They are like bungee cords in the sense that they have a nylon fabric weave surrounding the elastic/rubber center, as opposed to fully rubber colored ones that you see so often. If you are looking to buy resistance bands, do yourself a favor and make sure you get the fully rubber ones... I'll explain: With the ones I have, the bands will get to a certain point and NOT go any further because the nylon fabric weave is at its limit. So some of the moves are impossible to get full extension, and I can't imagine that is good. The fully rubber ones should not have this same issue and continue to stretch to the point of breaking. I seriously doubt I will get to THAT point, at least for a while, so I should be able to get full range of motion out of the fully rubber ones. Also, the kit that my wife originally bought me did not have a door anchor attachment, and I will most certainly need that when travelling so I can simulate pull-ups with out a pull-up bar. Heck, I may even use resistance bands in place of pull-ups at home too, until I build up enough muscle to actually do a single set of 10 or something.

My wife is on her way back from the sporting goods store where she apparently bought the GoFit Ultimate ProGym. A couple nice things about it that made her choose this kit over others, it has a travel bag so it will be easy for me to take on business trips, it has not only the door anchor, but also ankle straps so I could work on leg resistance excercises.

I will give a MUCH more detailed review of this specific kit once I get to play with it. The one thing I worry about is the clasps to attach the handles. I worry that they may not be strong enough to go to the limit of the resistance band and could snap or break... I will report my thoughts after getting them in hand.

There are other kits available that may be a lot better in quality, but this will hopefully be a good starting set for me. I could see buying individual bands of a certain level as I get in better shape and need to ramp things up. SPRI bands seem to get a lot of publicity and good reviews.