Posts Tagged ‘exercise’
Happy Wednesday!
I’ve been a bad blogger (cue the boo-ing), as I didn’t give a proper re-cap to P90X- Week 3.
The structure of the week was identical to Week 1 and Week 2. But while it was the same, it was very, very different. At this point, I’m going to tell you that if you can make it past week 3, you have a real shot at completing this thing.
Why, you ask? Because the hype has worn off at this point. The workouts are no longer new and Tony Horton is beginning to grate on your nerves. You think “Would it really make a difference if I just skipped a day of this?”
The answer is yes, yes it would. Not that I would know anything about that. (In all seriousness, I DID NOT take a day off, just strongly considered it 
)
In my heart of hearts, I believe week 3 was designed to weed out all the people who just aren’t committed, aren’t serious enough. Like the first semester of Law School! Or so I hear…
Week 3 is more of a mental challenge than a physical one. In fact, the workouts are getting easier! And if you are keeping track of your reps and weights, like a good lil P90Xer, you’re probably noticing that you are getting progressively stronger each week. And that, my friends, makes all of this craziness worth it. I promise.
So keep waking up early, keep pressing “play” and keep bringing it. If I can do it, so can you.
Consider this your “pat on the back.” KEEP GOING!
In other fitness news (these are some GREAT reads this week!):
4 Ways To Do More Pull Ups
Working out with your kids
MizFit training: biceps, triceps & shoulders.
How Water Can Affect Body Fat Readings
Top 3 Wii Workout Games
ENJOY!
What is YOUR fitness news? Concentrating on anything new this week? Trying any new workouts?
Did you miss my experience with Week 1? Make sure you catch up!
I’m so glad that so many of you enjoyed and appreciated my honest review! But I realized (actually, the Mister kindly pointed out) that I didn’t really tell you much about the actual workouts/DVDs. Well excuuuuuuuuse me. He’s right, though. There I go again trying to make it all about ME and my opinions
Top 5 things you should know before starting P90X
1.) It’s OK if you can’t keep up. These people on the television screen are experts at this workout! believe it or not, they’ve done it before. It’s OK if you are a little slower or need to take breaks.
2.) You’ll need resistance bands or a pull-up bar and hand weights. This is not optional. Not having these items simply will not give you the same workout (or results!) – in fact, you won’t be able to complete many of the exercises on the resistance exercise days (M/W/F), so invest in one or the other. The Mister and I bought a pull up bar that we hang over the door. It was relatively inexpensive. I hate it. Mainly because I can’t do a pull-up. I swear, I hear it laughing at me. It’s OK though because one day I’m going to dominate it. Until then, I use a chair for assistance. You can use the resistance bands as a substitute for both the pull-up bar (you’ll need a door kit for the bands, or a bar on the ceiling) and the hand weights.
p.s you also need a mat (I suppose the mat is optional if your arms and spine are made of steel – read: NOT OPTIONAL).
3.) Make sure you have some good recipes for an awesome recovery smoothie – you’ll thank me later!
4.) DO NOT try and save time by skip the cool down or stretching on the DVD. Classic rookie mistake. Not that I would know anything about this…
5.) Keep at it! It’s easy to get discouraged, but I promise you’ll start to see progress. Even though you might not SEE progress in your body right away, you’ll notice you are able to lift more wight, do more reps. etc. This brings me to my next point of: WRITE IT DOWN! Make sure you write down your weight/reps so you can see (on paper!) all your progress. Sometimes it’s all you need to keep going.
I can’t believe the Mister and I are already on week 3. This thing will be over before we know it! At least that’s the delusion I’m telling myself
Anything else you guys are curious about? I’ll be sure to include it in my Week 3 recap!
Recall the controversial TIME article that hit newsstands this past year. It was only a matter of time before the inter-tubes lit up with blog posts, tweets and articles refuting the content. It was like the “healthy living” industry’s hot topic — if we had an US Weekly in the healthy living world, it would have made the front cover. Everyone had an opinion.
Turns out that the article was a bit pre-mature. Turns out they may have benefited from some additional research.
A recent study has been published by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University and proves that reducing caloric intake alone is not enough to promote significant weight loss. Say what?! But didn’t TIME just convince everyone of the exact opposite?
This finding appears to be due to a natural mechanism that reduces a person’s physical activity in response to a reduction in calories.
“In the midst of America’s obesity epidemic, physicians frequently advise their patients to reduce the number of calories they are consuming on a daily basis. This research shows that simply dieting will not likely cause substantial weight loss. Instead, diet and exercise must be combined to achieve this goal,” said Judy Cameron Ph.D., a senior scientist at OHSU’s Oregon National Primate Research Center, and a professor of behavioral neuroscience and obstetrics & gynecology in the OHSU School of Medicine, as well as a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh.
“This study demonstrates that there is a natural body mechanism which conserves energy in response to a reduction in calories. Food is not always plentiful for humans and animals and the body seems to have developed a strategy for responding to these fluctuations,” explained Cameron. “These findings will assist medical professionals in advising their patients. It may also impact the development of community interventions to battle the childhood obesity epidemic and lead to programs that emphasize both diet and exercise.”
For more details on the study, check out the recent article on Science Daily.
diet and exercise prove to be equally important
What are your thoughts? DISCUSS!
In other fitness news:
The Best Workout for Your Body Type – From Women’s Health Magazine
Sports Injuries: When to Tough It Out
The price of fashion – Women risk snapped ligaments for shoe fashion. Is it worth it?!
For the men: How To Build Muscular Body Like Taylor Lautner
The Art Of Finding Motivation For Lifelong Fitness
