SO…. I began my P90X routine again this morning. I won’t bore everyone with the details of each move, but I got through the entire routine with very little problem. Of course, I also reduced reps to a beginning level and made sure I paid attention to the body’s cues.

Cranked up the Flobots on my computer’s iTunes,  and away I went. Feels good!

I want to thank those who have kept in touch with positive messages and good thoughts. Really appreciated, and you can all count on the same in return.

Oh, by the way…one benefit of having surgery is the body will cannibalize itself some to heal the trauma. I lost five pounds without even trying. I wouldn’t recommend that as a weight loss technique, though. Hah!

Now I’m off to go about the rest of my day in this BRUTAL Texas heat. We broke 105 couple of days back, yesterday topped out at 103, and we’re looking at more of the same today. I’m goin’ to the lake to eat BBQ.

More later.

With the ability to sleep in due to the holiday, I was up late last night working on photographs. Got my regulation nine hours (I awoke at my regular ‘get yourself ready for work’ time but smiled and rolled back over), and then debated whether the workout should happen immediately or later in the afternoon. The dialogue went something like this:

ProcrastinatorDavid, stretching: “I have ALL DAY  to do this.”

PlannerDavid: “Not really. Lot’s on the plate today. Want to see Star Wars today; that’s 3 hours. Plus there’re more photos to work, and that’s at least another hour, maybe two. Don’t forget there are errands to run, cleanup here and prep for the workweek…plus we’re out of town next weekend.’

ProcrastinatorDavid: “I hate you, you know that? You have no sense of spontaneity AT ALL.”

PlannerDavid: “If by spontaneity you mean laying on the couch like a slug watching the NCIS marathon all day, then no, I have none. Let’s take a look at those ‘before’ pictures again, shall we?”

ProcrastinatorDavid, lacing up the shoes and loading up the DVD: “You are a brutal, heartless aspect of our collective personality.”

PlannerDavid:”Perhaps, but because of me we get to places on time and get things done. Complain to me when we’re a ripped mofo and unashamed  to take our shirt off in public.”

ProcrastinatorDavid, fading and defeated: “Just push the button already, smartass.”

It was plyometrics today, jump training. Fairly high intensity, but P90X illustrates modified moves for different fitness levels, and I took advantage of that. Also took advantage of the miracle of modern technology known as the ‘pause button,’ a wondrous thing. We muddled through.

I’ll not detail every move, but the workout’s broken out into segments containing four high intensity moves each, with three lasting 30 seconds and the fourth lasting a minute. Two rounds of each, with a 30 second water break every two rounds. I don’t own a heart monitor, but I was feeling it, folks. Glad that one’s over.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to the folks who’ve left comments. Please feel free to add me to buddy lists and such.

Happy Memorial Day!

The workout today  focused on chest and back, using pushups, pullups, and some free weight exercises. It’s basically a circuit training routine with two rounds of each exercise, alternating chest and back. Started off with pushups alternating with pullups, using different pushup widths and pullup grips. It added back flys, back rows, and alternating one-arm back rows. Here’s the routine and my reps:

Standard pushups-12

Wide front pullups-10

Militiary pushups (close width)-12

Reverse grip pullups-10

Wide fly pushups-12

Closed grip overhand pullups-10

Decline pushups (feet elevated on a chair)-12

Standing back rows-12 using 20 pound weights

Diamond pushups (wide feet stance, hands close at chest level)-10

Alternating one-arm rows-12 using 20 pound weights

Dive-bomber pushups (I hate these damn things! A wide legged stance, rump up in the air, then gliding the chest down and back up)-10

Seated back flys-12 using 20 pound weights

The workout is two rounds of this series; as strength improves the reps and weight increase.  Takes about an hour; I’ve done this particular series so much I didn’t even use the DVD.

Resistance days also add a 15-minute ab workout. I’ll do that this afternoon.

Comments and thoughts are welcomed; I appreciate people who’ve checked out my blog so far. Also…how does one post before/after pictures?

Thanks for reading.

This is my first blog, so it’ll be interesting to see how it grows and goes and evolves. As a writer, there’s always a bit of trepidation about the work one produces: who (if anyone) will see it, what kind of response will it garner,  that sort of thing. These questions are a part of the writing life, but they never get any easier to handle.

I’m here because I had a doctor’s appointment on Thursday in prep for some minor surgery I’ll be having in June. (Nothing serious, but a bit more intense than something routine. I’ll definitely be better for it.) During the recordkeeping hullabaloo, I had to do the dreaded weigh-in—and I’m tipping the scales at 188. That’s too heavy for my frame, and with histories of hypertension and heart disease on both sides of my family, a health risk at my age.

What aggravates me is that I know HOW to stay healthy and fit—I’ve done it before, with great success. I seem to be in a yoyo cycle, and right now I’m in a definite valley where that’s concerned. I’m hoping I can join this community of like-minded folk and both get and provide the kind of support needed to achieve my health/fitness goals.

Who will read this and respond? I have no clue. I hope someone does. I’ll be posting weight/exercise goals and an exercise tracker in future posts, and I’d greatly dig being in touch with people who need the encouragement I’m looking for, ’cause I’d be happy to provide it. There is no greater gift than support, I believe, and I’ve heard training in groups (physical or virtual) is of great benefit. For lifestyle reasons, I’m a solitary trainer: I have a full-time job with a two-hour commute each day, I’m in college again, and the demands of those two elements alone  eat up a lot of time.

Not quite sure how this blogging business works, but I’m trying to do things differently re: this aspect of my life, so this seems like a good start. Hope it works out. At any rate, I’m game for the adventure of it all.

Thanks for reading.