Starting P90!

[Guest guest]

After we got up this morning, my DH took pictures of me in my workout clothes both from the front and side and took measurements of my thighs, calves, arms, chest, waist and hips. The good thing is the measurements weren't scary but I'm purposely not weighing myself until my regular weigh in day (Friday) because we had our last family Christmas yesterday and celebrated my step-brother-in-laws 40th so I did eat well! I'm using last Friday's weight as my starting weight. I need to find the last time I had him measure me (for a website that gives you advice about clothes to buy based on your body style, www.missussmartypants.com). That was a few years ago, pre-weight loss and pre-exercise. I hope I kept those.

After that, I went right to sweat: cardio 1-2! This time (2nd time doing it) I knew what to expect and went through the entire power yoga and intense cardio without stopping. I had to do some lower intensity work to stick with it sometimes but most of the time I was doing what Tony and the kids were doing. My heart rate was still up there after the 30 second water break before the kickboxing but the kickboxing is not very intense (even though I really try to put my whole body into it) so it came down a lot during that but I still felt like I was working and burning calories. I didn't use my new HRM because I still need to set it. I finished reading the manual and am going to set my specifications in it tonight and set up the Polar Own Zone training zone tomorrow morning before my workout then use it for that workout.

My DH asked me what my goals were for this rotation, given that I don't need to lose weight and I'm reasonably toned and don't want to build a lot of muscle so I had to think about it before I answered. He especially wondered what I expected to happen with my measurements. I've decided I do want to tone more, especially my thighs and my arms can use more work and I can always stand to flatten my abs a bit more (I don't have a lot of fat there but that's where I gain weight first, there and my hips and butt) and especially strengthen my core. I don't expect the measurements to change significantly (but then again I've never done anything like this so we'll see what happens) but some tightening would still be nice. I don't have a numerical goal though because I'm comfortable with where I am now. Besides looks, I want to increase my overall strength and especially increase my cardio capacity. I loved doing my Sansone videos but I think I've hit a plateau regarding how much farther they can take me in terms of cardio. The Kathy videos I have, especially Peak Fat Burning, The Firm and others are much more challenging for me and I really feel like I've accomplished something when I do those. ('s 3 Mile Walk Slim is a good workout for me because it is a consistent decent intensity that I have to sustain for 35 minutes, the 2 & 4 mile walk slims with the jogging intervals don't work as well for me). When I first started talking about having acquired the P90 videos and about doing them some people suggested the 1-2 videos might be below my level but the cardio, the first half of it anyway, is a big challenge for me right now, to get through it doing all the high impact, high intensity moves at the same pace as Tony. I want to be able to match them (without feeling like I'm going to pass out if I keep trying). When I first started exercising consistently too, toning especially and strength building were most important to me and I really emphasized those without paying a lot of attention to cardio (I did it but didn't work especially hard at improving at it). I definitely can do a lot more in terms of cardio capacity than I could a year ago (I noticed just yesterday that my heartrate isn't even elevated much coming up the basement stairs fast, a year ago I would have been huffing and puffing and my heart beating hard) but I want to make a concerted effort to be increase it more so I can enjoy more advanced cardio workouts. I will see what kind of information I get from my HRM before I set more specific goals but I know I'll have definitely improved when I can comfortably move up to the P90 3-4 cardio video. I have not even previewed the P90 1-2 sculpt video but will be doing that tomorrow so I'll know how that is then. After being caught off guard by P90 cardio I have no expectations about sculpt!

Now we're getting ready for dinner (pizza), then watching the Red Wings and me playing with my HRM. Very quiet New Year's here, it usually is and that is fine with me. I prefer being home with my family than out at a loud party these days. We've also got another big snow storm coming through tonight, they're talking about as much as 12" in my area (our county and one other are expected to get the most this time) by tomorrow afternoon. We'll see what happens I guess. As long as I can get to work Wednesday to greet all those New Year's Eve resolution people joining Weight Watchers I'll be all set! :-)

Happy New Year everyone! I pray 2008 will be full of blessings for all of you and your families!