GCLvball's P90x challenge

T

TheDude

Well-known member
I have read the blogs on here about P90x and read all the success that they have had regarding this program. So, i went out and purchased the P90x CD's and all the necessary workout gear to go along with it.. The plan, start this up and await results.

Just a little background on myself before, so that you know who exactly you are reading about. I am a 20 year old student at the University of Cincinnati and I am a volleyball player for the UC team. We are not a varsity team, but we are the highest team at UC so we take the season pretty seriously. I have been playing competitive volleyball since I was a tike and continue to play. Recently, i lost my starting spot due to me being out of town during a tournament. The guy I lost my spot to is very consistent and has a roll shot to die for. I honestly believe that I have a better blocking game and with work can develop the offensive portion to exceed his. Not bringing him down at all, he is a great player. But i want my spot back!!

So, my thinking is that I will do this program along with eat better and become a force behind the net. I have never been really 'in shape' per say, but I would not call myself overweight or anything, but I do not have the strength that I want at this point in time. Senior year, I had many reoccurring injuries including ankle sprains , a seriously inflammed rotator cuff, and the development of arthritis in my knees. I take a supplement called glucosamine chondroitin which is very helpful for my joints and I cannot start a volleyball match without taking ibuprofen before hand. I am hoping that the P90x program will help strengthen these muscles up a bit and make myself a bit more injury prone. Also, I will be lifting with one of my coaches two days a week along with the P90x. I have not figured out how exactly I will spread out the work load with the both, but I will figure it out!! I guess I will just have to to workouts twice on some days.

All in all, I really hope that I get the results I am looking for. I am not looking to lose weight really.. I am more looking to tone up my body and become stronger. That might mean that I lose weight, that might mean that I gain weight. It does not matter to me what my weight is, I just want to be stronger. Currently I am 6'4'' 200 lbs. I do not have the body fat detector, but lets just go with the fat is is the abdomen area mostly. Lets see how it goes!


First work out is tomorrow at 630AM with the coach! Here goes nothing! :D
 
 
Day 1 workout:
Just finished the first workout with my coach. It was pretty standard for him. Bench press, leg press, bi, tri, step ups, calf raises and abs. (oh and before i start, if someone reads this and has a question PM me and I can answer that. Thanks!). I tried not to kill it, being my first workout in a while, but i really focused on reps. I wanted each rep to be sound and do work. Overall it was a good first workout and I feel energized for the day.. The only question is... do I do P90x day 1 today too?? Hmm....... I dont know yet, but we will see how the day goes.

Breakfast today was a Granny Smith apple and a Special K cereal bar

Also, I am enjoying a protein shake while writing this! Looking for a good day to come! The toughest part is starting up the workout so hoping to get over the hump without any problem!
 
Day 2:

It is the first day for the actual P90x workouts. I have come to think that the toughest thing about this program will be finding the time to do the workouts. With classes, work, studying and everything else, it is going to be a challenge to keep the workouts going. I have also decided to do P90x on the days that I am not working out with my coach. There is just too much going on to fit that in too. So i am going to do the program on the off days.

Well after classes today, I am starting the first workout for P90x. Should be interesting because I am unfortunately sore from the first workout with my coach. Set to begin around dinner time tonight!
 
Today was Chest & Back plus AB Ripper. For all who do not know about the program, there are 12 different CD's with different workouts ranging from chest and back to ab ripper. I will, for the first few weeks, provide names and such to let you know what exactly it entails.

Chest and Back should basically be called push ups and pull ups. Basically every type of push up (standard, military, wide fly, decline, diamond, dive bomber) and pull/chin up (wide front pull, reverse grip chin, close grip overhand pull,) are involved in this workout.

Starting off, I used a chair to support myself during the pull/chin ups. It makes the pull/chin ups a bit easier and allows you to get the form down pat (also, i can only do like 4 chin ups normally ;) ). It felt good to get all the the push ups and chin ups in, but OMG when a little thing called diamond push ups came up.... Man that was killer. I got through a few, but eventually I had to resort to doing those from my knees. Also, divebombers.... Real s hitty. Those things are awful. For those who are saying "what the heck are dive bombers?" Here is a link to youtube showing how to do them. Man they are very difficult.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YidzZW74T2M

I was unable to do many of those, so I did a variation which was more comfortable on the back and a bit easier so that I could do more reps. I have found a video on this as well and come to find that they are called Hindu push ups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ndOPrcoUt8


After the Chest and Back, it was time for AB Ripper. And they did not disappoint. Most of these I have done before in the past, but there was no breaks, making it difficult. 15 minutes straight of ABs. Overall, a great workout and I can already feel my muscles getting sore.. Hopefully it doesnt set in too badly because I got another workout with the coach in the early morning!

Oh and I did not know my official weight, so I weighed myself to get correct results at the end. 6'4'' 204 lbs is the starting dimensions! And as always, if anyone has any questions, feel free to send me a private message
 
Day 3 workout:

This morning was another workout with the coach. Another typical workout with weights. Dumbbell bench, bi, tri, squats, calf raises and ABs. The killer this workout was the calf raises. I have usually been good with those but today I felt the burn. Instead of using a machine, I threw on a weight belt and put on two 45 lb plates to intensify the workout. Also, I did not just the regular parallel up and down like any ordinary calf raise, but also, we did set of them while pigeon toed (feet pointing inward) and with the toes pointing outward. And let me tell you, if you are trying to get your calf muscles a good workout, do a set or two with your toes pointed outward. Those really work the muscles.

The abs were pretty tough as well (thats the soft spot for me). We did some bicycles, toe touches, and ball busters (basically a crunch but with your feet touching together and your knees flared out. When you do the crunch, your elbow touch your knees). Good core workout.

I also have been eating great and it has been a miracle that I have not given into the temptation of eating at BK on campus! Of course that is the only thing open in the summer quarter too. But Subway is down yonder so when I am tempted, its off for a five dollar foot long. The next workout is set for tomorrow, P90x day 2. It is cardio, my bread and butter! So it should not be too bad *fingers crossed*
 
Day 4: P90x Plyometrics

aka Jump training. With my background in volleyball, I have done jump training for years. I enjoy doing it and like it. At my best, I had a vertical of 30" but it definitely felt higher because i just seemed to float. Definitely should give a lot of credit to the jump training programs that I went through. P90x jump training seemed very familiar and easy to begin with. Dont get me wrong, it is a tough thing to do, but since I have so much background on it, it was a bit easier for me (like a hockey player saying skating on ice is easy... its not). There were still a bit of pain involved in this workout. I think that my right ankle may be either, still recovering from my most recent ankle sprain, or developing arthritis from the many sprains.. I hope its the first one because i was walking around campus today and every step gave a sharp pain through my ankle. I will most likely over look that for now :D

But the workout was tough. There were some squats that were really working the leg muscles. And just letting people know if they are doing these workouts. Dont be afraid to do the modification. It is usually less wear and tear on the joints and if done right, it still gives a great workout. Best exercise in this one was Hot Foot!! And the worst one (toughest for me) was Run Squat 180 Jump Switches.. It definitely didnt help that it was one of the later exercises in the workout. I found a video of them..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0NSTJUokCE

The guy in the video is doing them wrong though. He keeps his upper body in the same position the whole time. But you are supposed to have your whole body do a 180, touching the ground in the beginning, then jumping, doing a 180 and touching the ground on the backside.... if that makes sense (he was doing it right in the beginning but I guess since he had the mirror, he needed to do it incorrectly to show the video).

Next workout tomorrow. Just keep pressing play
 
Day 5 (day 3 for P90x): Shoulders and arms

Yesterday was a really busy day... I knew there would be some days like this and that I would not be able to fit a workout in. But I have to keep my priorities in line during this phase. A missed workout is not going to be the end of the world. It will just have to wait till the next day...

Today was a pretty difficult workout. I found myself not feeling too great during the workout and feeling a bit light headed during it as well.. It was probably from the lack of sleep I got last night along with working 8 hours on my feet today too. It just seemed like the workout drug. Dont get me wrong, I did not just dog it just to be done with it, I actually kicked butt. I just did not feel up to par doing it. The workouts were in 5 phases and there were 3 exercises in each. A shoulder, bicep, and tricep. After all 3 were done, they were repeated, then it was on to the next set. It is nice this way, knowing that if your weight was too much or not enough, you can change it right away in the second round, instead of waiting to go through all the exercises like in the Chest and Back workout. I liked the phases a lot. I can tell I am going to be sore tomorrow because I can already feel the blood pumping through my arms and shoulders...

Just keep pressing play
 
Day 6 (P90x day 4): Yoga X

I was pumped knowing I had a sort of day off with the Yoga, but boy was I wrong. I was sweating a crap load from the first half stretches. It was like pylo but without jumping. Just a lot of being in the squat position. It was really tough and definitely not a push over. The first half was the tough part, and the second half was more of the stretches people do a lot. It was definitely more relaxing at the 45 minute mark (yeah yoga is an hour and a half long...). It felt really good to stretch out all the leg muscles and to just take deep breaths and clear your mind. I greatly enjoyed the second half.

There were some pretty difficult poses in the whole 90 minute workout. The top three toughest for me (keep in mind, i am a pretty tall dude) were Crane (could only do it for a few seconds), Royal Dancer, and Standing leg extensions. My balance is not the greatest, am I really hope that it improves throughout the routine. I was falling all over the place during the standing leg extensions...

I couldnt find a true video of the standing leg extensions but here is one that is very similar. The Yoga X version, however, does not involve weight, all that is done is the knee to the chest and then extend the leg outward. Balancing. For about 30 seconds or so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QME_MnmLHoA

Here is the Crane. Impossible for me at this point in time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gaZx_6YchE

And here is Royal Dancer, but it does not start until 1:50 into the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmqYWc99RJ0

Those three got me. Tomorrow is back to the weights. Coach is on vacation, so its straight P90x this week. Just need to remember to just keep pressing play.
 
Day 7 (P90x day 5): Legs and Back

This workout was supposed to be yesterday but it ended up being today because of the damn schedule I have. There was way too much going on yesterday and I keep my priorities in check. Therefore, the workout got moved to today. I knew this would happen sometimes.. But you got to do what you got to do.

Today was Legs and Back. A good mix of squats and chin/pull ups. It was a great burn to say the least. All the squats were a great feeling and there were some great new exercises that I have never done before. The best one that i think really hit the spot was

Sneaky Lunges - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMnfqJdWVWM
It was 2 up and 2 back. The being on the toes was really tough with the balance, and it kept your legs burning.

Ab ripper x was supposed to happen today, but there is a lot on my plate. I am planning on getting up early tomorrow and doing the Kenpo X and the ab ripper!

Until tomorrow. Just keep pressing play
 
Today was yet another crazy busy day... I cant believe summer classes have already started up so quickly. Usually its more gradual but all the teachers are gong ho. Tomorrow is a short day for me, so Kenpo and Abs are definitely going to happen.

Falling asleep late and waking up early are not helping with this routine. Something has to give. The one thing that will help more than anything is my Coach coming back from vaca next week so I can start back up with him on Tues and Thurs mornings. Those two days are my busiest days of the week so getting that workout in for the day and continuing the program will be a lot easier when he is back. I am hoping that all will fall into place and work out for the best. Like I said earlier... Priorities.
 
Day 8 (P90x day 6): Kenpo X and Ab ripper X

Today I got in the Kenpo X workout, and since I did not get the ab ripper workout in during the legs and back workout, I decided to do it after Kenpo. For everyone who does not know what Kenpo is, it is basically like a Tae Bo type deal. I lot of kicks, punches, and blocks. It is a sort of cardio that gets you going and gets the calories burned. I did not really like Kenpo all that much, because I felt like it didnt do much.. Maybe that is because I am still feeling pretty sore from the last workout, or maybe I was not doing it totally correct. I do not know, but it is in the program, so I gotta do it.

Ab ripper x on the other hand.... Never gets any easier.. I do not think it will ever get any easier either because all the moves have variations, so once you are comfortable with one, there is a tougher variation to it! :dang:

Overall a good workout between the two and ready for X stretch tomorrow. Just have to remember to just keep pressing play
 
Day 9 (P90x day 7): X Stretch

X Stretch today. It was a good switch of pace and good to take care of the muscles. It was nice to work on the flexibility and have a day off of the workouts. Nothing huge today and I was just fine with that.

Week 2 will start hopefully tomorrow. Just hoping that work does not get into the way. If not, its chest and back tomorrow.
 
Day 10 (P90x day 8): Chest and Back

This was the beginning of week two in the program. It was good to have all the info that I had from the first week's workout so that I could work off of that and see what I did last time. This week, I wanted to up all the weight/reps and see how it went. I did 5 more pushups in every category and 2 more chin/pull ups. It was definitely tougher, but it was good because they give you a good amount of time to get all the reps in. The only one that I did not get more reps in on was the decline pushups. Those, were just really hard for me today and being at the end of the workout, it was tough to build up the strength to get a lot of reps in.

I definitely feel myself getting stronger. At least I feel that way. I just hope it stays that way. I will be back tomorrow with the Pylometrics. :D my favorite.

Everyone be safe out there if your going to be around fireworks! Have a fun night!
 
Day 11 (P90x day 9): Plyometrics

Today was the pylometrics week two. And I do not think I have ever sweated as much as I did during that workout since high school practices. I went through two shirts, completely drenched and I am pretty sure I could have went through a third :laugh: It definitely felt good. I felt a bit tired during the workout though, and I think it has to do with my eating habits during this weekend. I dont think all these cookouts are helping me out with the program. But I probably burnt off a lot of that food in that workout.

Looking forward to the Coach getting back into town and working out with him tomorrow morning. Just keep pressing play and I will be ok
 
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Day 12 (P90x day 10): Shoulders and Arms


Tuesday I was set up to lift with the coach, but as I was on my way to the weight room I received a call from him saying that he cannot do the lift. So, I did not get a workout in on Tues. But today I got back into the P90x with the shoulders and arms lift. I really like this workout because it is quick and effective. I tended to either raise the weight or the reps in all of the exercises on this workout and it felt good. I really feel myself becoming stronger from these workouts from the additional weight and it is still early. It is uplifting.

Tomorrow I am on schedule for a lift in the morning with the Coach which is good because Thursday's are ridiculously busy. So hopefully this one goes through as planned.
 
Day 13

This morning was lifting with the coach.. WOW is all I have to say. Yesterday was Shoulders and arms with P90x and this morning my coach decided to do..... Bi Tri bench and shoulders.. :laugh: all i could do is laugh at him and say 'this oughta be good.' He also wanted to try a new workout with me to see if it would work with the high school guys. So we did a bench/tri ladder combo. Starting at 10 reps then lowering in increments of 1. So we would do 10 reps of bench, then straight to 10 reps of tri. Then the other person would do their ten of each. Then it would be 9 reps, and so on until you get down to 1 (keep in mind that I did all bi tri and shoulder yesterday haha). Then it was straight to Bi ladder. For this one we started with one rep, went all the way up to 10 and back down to 1. My arms were on fire!! We also did manual resistance 3-way lateral raises. This works awesome if you do not have dumbbells or bands at your house. You can just use a partner and use their resistance as the workout. I found a video of the manual resistance workout. These are the three different shoulder workouts we did. It really works well too. (it switches at 1:30 and 2:50)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKlxG5bFZxE

Overall a great workout and definitely was feeling it afterward. Back to P90x tomorrow... Hopefully
 
Day 14 (P90x day 11): Yoga X

Boy I have forgotten to update my progress! This past weekend has been pretty crazy with school and work and everything in between, so I only managed to get one work out in the weekend. Even though I had a lot of outside work with I can see being a workout in itself, but I only got Yoga in. Boy this stuff does not get any easier.. All the moves are crazy and I find myself not being able to stay as balanced as I would hope. But I am sure that I will be able to get that balance back eventually. I really like the second half of the Yoga workout. The first half is a -----, but the second half where it is mostly stretching, I really enjoy. Maybe I should just do the second half from now on :laugh: but in all seriousness, it sucks!

Day 15

Today I got a lift in with my coach. He never seizes to amaze me with his ridiculously intense workouts. Today we did incline bench and dumbbell push up with hammer curls at the top. Those.... well they sucked and I was glad to get that over with. Then we went to bi tri and more bench. This was first, 21 reps of bicep curls. 7 from the bottom to half way, 7 from halfway to the top, and 7 full curls. Then straight into bench/triceps. This was 7 reps of biceps with lightweight straight into 7 reps of triceps with the same bar (all bi tri and bench in this portion was used with the same bar of weight). Here is the tricep workout that we did. Instead of using dumbbells like he is, we just used a curling bar and did both arms at the same time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MVVeHr_LQU
After that, we went into leg press and shrugs. 3 set of each of those and it was off to the abs. Leg chops and opposite elbow to knee curls. Overall damn good workout. Ready for tomorrow back to P90x
 
Day 16

Lifting with the coach again this morning. Now I thought that I was going to be missing a few days because of school and work and overall just being busy, but I did not think that it was going to be like this. There are so many days that I have not been able to lift. I am thankful that I have that lifting every Tues and Thurs with my coach, or I would be in serious trouble with my workouts! But this morning was a good workout. Not as hard as some of the previous ones but still enough to make me sweat my --- off. Today consisted of incline dumbbell bench, squat, leg curl, leg extension, row, upright row, and calf raises. There was a lot going on. I started with the dumbbell incline bench and on the third set, something was not right. Of course I just thought it was because it was getting tough, so my adrenaline came through and did not effect my workout. But after, driving home, I really felt something in my left shoulder... I really am hoping that I did not re aggravate my rotator cuff..... I had gone a good amount of time without that injury lingering over my head and this morning I feel like I re aggravated it. Of course the only fix to that is ibuprofen and ice. Hoping that the pain subsides and is not a problem for the future. Tomorrow... well there is no telling what will happen tomorrow, because of the bi-polar attitude my teachers have. Depends on the workload and how much I have. Hoping for a workout though.
 
Day 17 (P90x day 12): Legs and Back with Ab ripper

Today was a mix of Legs and back again. Great workout but I was not feeling all too great when I was about halfway in. I think it was because I had some food and drank a lot of water before my workout. Definitely not a good idea. I could hear the water in my stomach sloshing around during my squats :laugh:

But in the middle of the workout, I went down for a squat and Felt a sharp pain in my left knee.. I immediately stopped the workout and made sure I was ok to continue. So with the remaining workout, I did as much as I could without pain going through my knee. It did limit me a bit, but no all too much. I was more worried that I would injure it more than just a little tweak. All in all it was good though. Then it was ab ripper. That never gets any easier. ab ripper sucks. that is all I can say, but it feels so good.

Just an update on my progress. I have lost 5 lbs so far (even though I am not looking to lose weight) and I really feel like I have uped not only my strength, but also my flexibility and stamina.

I have raised 20 lbs in my bench press from the beginning and I am trying to rasie up 5-10 lbs each time to build more and more (I do not bench all that much to begin with so I am trying to build it up more)

Initially, I had a vert of 30" and I am almost positive that I have added some to that. I have not been able to check it, but I really feel light on the feet.

Tomorrow will come, just keep pressing play
 
Day 18

Forgot to mention the workout I had with the coach the other day. It was another typical workout, but this time, I was full of energy and looking to get my bench up in weight. I have tried to increase my bench more and more like I mentioned earlier. We did a 3x8 set and I started off with my typical weight I use. It is usually tough near the last set. But this time after every set I up ed the weight 10 lbs. I was experimenting to see how I could hold up and I did fairly well. No assistance was needed and I felt no pain. It may have been due to the techniques that I read in BR1986FB's blog (post#466). Those really seemed to help with my form and I will definitely be using that for the rest of my benching career. Along with bench, we did calf raises and leg press (gotta get my jumping back), and row, bi and tri. And of course the abs. I did a type of oblique workout that really kicks my butt. They are called side plank raises. Here is a video of them. Boy after a few sets of 15 on each side, I was really starting to feel it. I highly recommend them for an oblique exercise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l3jr5bDxJ0

Later today, I plan to get another P90x workout in. It has been a while since I have done a P90x workout.. It is sad, but school work obtains about 4-8 hours a day on top of classes. So I am truly doing my best to balance everything. Also, tomorrow will be another workout with the coach.
 
Day 19

Lifting with the coach this morning. Today was another good feeling day. Really feel myself pushing and becoming stronger. Hoping it stays that way.

My ultimate goal is to add 65 lbs to the bench press. That is going to be tough, but that is the ultimate goal
 
Day 20

Man, all I can say is.... School sucks right now. I have been limited to the Tues and Thurs morning lifts with the coach for the week in these past few weeks. I lifted yesterday morning with him and am heading back in the morning for another lift. I think it is imperative to continue to lift with him, so that when I restart up the p90x, I can stay somewhat on track. This is my hope anyway.
 
Ok here is the deal... As you all can see, it has been a while since i blogged on this. So here is whats going to happen. Because of the intense school schedule, I have discontinued the P90x until September. BUT, i am still doing the Tues and Thurs morning lifts with my Coach. I am just glad that I am able to continue something. Sooooo..... I will be back in september updating you guys on my progress!

Thanks for reading! God bless and I will be back in Sept :cool:
 
WOW... So umm September came and went. Now its April. And you know what? I finally decided to get my back into gear. The past few months have been ultimately crazy with classes, coaching, and playing. The vball season for is over (for me anyway, still have some coaching to do) so it is time to start this program back up.

Yesterday was my first day back to P90x since last August, and boy it is clear that it has been that long. Chest and Back kicked my butt. I am definitely feeling it this morning, but I am excited to finally get back into the swing of things. Pylometrics are today (my favorite) so lets get back in it!!

Just keep pressing play!
 
Day 2 was yesterday. It has been great to finally get back into the sway of things. I have been waiting a while now to start this back up and I am finally able to get it going! Yesterday was a great workout. Really a fat burner. If you are looking for an exercise to burn calories, definitely look at doing the Pylo X workout.

My muscles are hating me right now, but they are just going to have to suck it up! I was looking at my previous posts and I saw that back then, I was listed at 6'4'' 200 lbs. Hmm.....

Current dimensions, 6'4'' 195 lbs

I do not know really what I am looking for yet. Whether it is just burn off all the fat, or to gain muscle. I am leaning (no pun intended) toward just burning off the fat and just getting more toned rather than beefing up. Knowing this, it will be more of a rep game rather than a heavy lifting game!

Today is another day and am excited for my next workout! :cool:

Any questions or comments, feel free to PM me!

Just do your best and forget the rest!
 
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