Naked times

Thought for the moment: Apparently the body part that people are most comfortable with is their face. It makes sense: we see our face in mirrors all the time. Thus we (hopefully) stop whacking ourselves with criticisms about it. Or even if we do, unless we never check our own teeth for spinach in our teeth, we have to deal with our own self-critique.

So, in order to get comfortable with the rest of your body – speckles, scars, scrawniness and/or flabbiness, et al – I propose that everyone spend as much time naked as possible. Preferably in front of a mirror. Company is optional.

Really, your body is great. Just the way it is. It’ll be with you forever – literally through thick and thin. Embrace it. Enjoy it for how it looks and what it can do. Use activity and a healthy attitude toward food to show respect to it and yourself, maybe help all of your person get and stay a bit healthier.

But still, your body rocks! Get nekkid!

Runs & Guns

Alright, it’s early early Monday morning when I'm writing this. I just finished a 10K run – set a new personal best with 55 minutes & change. Whoo-hoo! Came back and did Ab Ripper X and Shoulders and Arms.

I’ve got some tailbone issues with ARX. Bleh. I’m having trouble with the first 3 exercises that have me sitting up on my butt. Ouch! I keep having to sit at weird angles.

Shoulders and Arms went well. I’m baking some French fries in celebration of being done. And I just had 3 blondie brownies so I’m sure I’ve overcome any calorie burn I might have achieved just now ;) But the workouts went well, other than the tail issue. Although during the last side-tri-rise I kept staring at the massive dustbunnies under my couch. Ah, the joys of having a really furry dog.

Plyo X baby!

I meant to do this the other night, but the former roommate came over and treated me to ice cream ;)

So, I got up early to do this: 4:30 AM – aarrgh! Plyo and Yoga are 2 of my biggest dread factor workouts. With Yoga it’s probably the running time. 1.5 hours is a looong time for me to stay focused. But now with my re-start date being a Thursday I’ve got Yoga X on Sundays which is a bit less rushed for me. Plyo just hurts – in a good way. If you can’t tell from this picture, I’m soaked with sweat after today’s Plyo workout.

(The pic is coming. I had some technical issues. But trust me, I was sweaty. It was not glamourous at all.)

But it’s done. I was able to keep up with Pam. Whoo-hoo! Go me! Starting the day with a workout victory!

Also, every time I do this workout, I remember how much I respect the way Beachbody puts folks in their videos. There’s a mix of races and ages and abilities and body types. In P90X they have some women doing pull-ups and some men using the bands. In the original Turbo Jams there is George, who is a bit more mature doing some of the high impact stuff. And in Plyo X I’m getting shown up by a guy with one leg. ;) So, yeah, for workout and workouters diversity!

Inspiration

"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda

Day 1 Done!

Whoo-hoo!

I always forget how much I like working out when I stop doing it for too long. Sweat is good for the soul.

Did Chest & Back around 10 PM last night. Oh, my upper body is so puny. I'm probably stronger than many females, but not nearly as strong as I could be. And I pushed myself like crazy on all the push-ups and pull-ups.

I just keep reminding myself: I'm one day closer to doing an unassisted, non-chair pull-up. Which makes me one day closer to 35 pull-ups by the time I turn 35. Ideally, I'll do 31 when I turn 31, too!

Day 0 Pictures

P6040007
Originally uploaded by crazyfaith

Ah, there I am, in a lot of my glory.

The rest of the cheesecake shots are at my Flickr.

I'm really hoping that belly issue will be gone by Christmas or soon after. Or at least not winking so much ;)

Downside, Upside

On the downside, I realized that I'd be in a world of pain if I tried to make up 3 or 4 P90X workouts to keep on my Tuesday, Sept. 22 start.

On the upside, I decided Thursday, Sept 24 would be my start and I did Ab Ripper X this morning.

On another upside - I was able to keep up with all the exercises. I did 25-26 of all of them, some pretty modified, but I did them. And I did all 50 Mason Twists at the end! Whoo-hoo! I am getting stronger!

Chest & Back will be tonight.

100 days left? Whatchu gonna do?

Thanks to a link someone emailed me, I realized that as of today, September 23, 2009 there are 100 days left in 2009.

It's Fall and it's back to school time. I love to use this time of year to reevaluate my yearly goals. Usually by now my New Year's Resolutions are either a distant memory, or I'm recommitting to them, or I'm committing myself to brand new goals.

So - 100 days left before 2010. You can do a lot between now and then. Whether you completely change your world or do abso-frickin'-nothing 100 days are gonna pass.

Here's your chance to take 2009 by the neck and make of it what you will.

Background & Numerical Proof!

Here’s my fit test results from around July 27, 2009

Prior to Day 01

1. Physical Condition

Pull-Ups 0.125 Reps

Vertical Leap 9 Inches

Push-Ups 21 Reps

Toe Touch 4.5 Inch

Wall Squat 295 Seconds

Bicep Curls 23 Reps with 12.5 lbs Weight

In & Outs 53 reps

2. Cardiac Condition

Resting Heart Rate 76 Bpm

Heart Rate Maximizer: (Do jumping jacks for 2 minutes at a quick & steady pace. During final 30 seconds go as fast as possible to maximize heart rate. Then measure heart rate over next 4 minutes.)

Immediately 160 Bpm

After 1 minute 124 Bpm

After 2 minutes 124 Bpm

After 3 minutes 108 Bpm

After 4 minutes 88 Bpm

And measurements from September 21, 2009

All in inches, taken on the right side of my body, at the widest point

Neck - 12.75

• 13 in July

Shoulder - 40.5

Chest - 35

Waist (2' above navel) - 28.5

Abdomen (narrowest point – at navel) - 28.5

• 31.5 in July

Hips - 37.25

• 40 in July

Thigh (90 degrees) – 22

• 23 in July

• Oh my thighs. I love you, but we could get rid of those inverse saddlebags, I’d be a happier woman. Instead of saddlebags on the outside of my thighs, I carry them on the inside. So weird!

Knee - 13.75

Calf - 13

Ankle - 8.5

Bicep (90 degrees) - 11.25

• 12 in July (I’ll assume this is mostly lost fat and not only lost muscle mass)

Forearm - 10

Wrist - 6.5

Waist-Hip Ratio - 0.7651

Just for reference, most of the visible flab that I can only laugh at in the mirror runs from about 2 inches above my navel to about 1/2 of the way down my thigh. Ah well. Let’s see what dedicating myself to P90X can do about that.

If you're still reading (why are you still reading?)

Basic info: I’m Lisa P, born in South Carolina on May 28, 1979 – yeah for turning 30! I’ve lived in Chicago since 2001.

I’m 5’8” tall, somewhat medium framed. Learning to like running. Or actually, I like listening to my iPod, so I run while doing it. I like lifting weights – more than cardio usually. So I’m a bit mystified by my new love of running and resistance to my resistance workouts. I tend to build muscle somewhat quickly and lose fat somewhat slowly. I want to do 35 pull-ups for my 35th birthday. I can almost do a quarter of one now. (Oh me.)

I love to cook and bake, so I brown bag the bulk of my meals. My eating philosophy tends to be: I eat a lot of meatless meals, but I like my steaks medium rare. Ideally, if when I eat junk food, it’s not just a burger from a chain restaurant because I’m busy. But if the mood strikes, I’ll eat a spectacular gut-buster burger from a locally-owned place when I’m really in a mood for one of their specific burgers.

I have a pretty wide ranging palate. Other than fried organ meats (bleh) and lima or butter beans (double bleh) there’s not much I won’t eat. I’m a big fan of most fruits and veggies.

I can make an awesome deep-fried Twinkie, or deep-fried Oreo (hey, I’m a Southerner) but I couldn’t get the batter to stick to the deep-fried Snickers bar. I’ll get it someday. Deep down, I kinda like something I read in a public health article “Eat anything you want, as long as you make it yourself.” Seems pretty reasonable to me for basic health.

So let’s do this! Whoo-hoo!

For inspiration

“The only thing I have to release to get what I want, is my story about why I can’t have it.” – Anonymous

Been a long time, shouldn’ta left you…”

…without a dope beat to step to.” – Timbaland in the intro Aaliyah’s music video “Try Again.”

Anyway, I’m baaaack! I’ve (yet again) decided to reboot my P90X journey. Someday, somehow I’ll get through 90 days of P90X. I’ve rebooted at least 10 times never made it past day 35. This time in 3 months I got through 3 weeks worth of workouts. But every time I start, it means the previous sputter-out wasn’t a complete stop; it was just a pause.

So, today, Tuesday, September 22, 2009 is my new Day 1. I’ve got new pictures to prove it! They’ll go up as soon as I figure out the best way to do that. According to my nifty Excel spreadsheet (thank you Beachbody!) my planned completion date will be Monday, December 21, 2009. Just in time for the end of the year.

When I started 2009, I’d hoped to do 3 rounds of P90X. More true to my form, I’m praying I can get through one round by January 1, 2010. As long as I keep failing forward, I’m happy.

I’m keeping my old Fit Test results from the end of July, even though I’ve lost some upper body strength. Urgh. But I’ve got the pictures this time. Haven’t done those with a reboot in a while. I’ve also got new measurements. I’ll make a separate post with all that jazz.

Why am I doing this? To get fit. To paraphrase comic & commentator Elon James White “I hate running. What’s chasing me? Oh yeah, that family history of Type II Diabetes and Heart Disease.”

Why am I doing this online? To keep me honest. I want as many people watching this blog as possible. I know that it will pain me to my soul to publically admit to the masses that, “Yeah I had time and ability to do that workout, I just punked out.”

Plus, I’m hoping to (learn to swim!) then race in a short triathlon within the next two years. Since I honestly do have to learn to swim (not a big learned skill for Black girls from the South) I’m giving myself 2 years to hit that goal. At some point, I also want to take my half-marathon into a full 26.2 – yikes! Doing those without literally killing myself will take some discipline. And yeah, discipline comes from within, but I can look without for some encouragement.

Also, I’m unemployed at the moment and actively looking for work.

(Anyone need a financial analyst, also getting certified in project management?)

Working out helps me stay focused on the job search. Even if a day of applying and interviewing feels like a bust, at least I broke out a good sweat. Discipline in my workout program generally translates to more discipline in my life in general. More discipline is generally a good thing.

For now, I’ll focus on chronicling my workouts. Eventually I’ll add my food intake. (Oh gracious. That’ll be interesting.)

Thursday Morning Inspiration

"Some people create with words, or with music, or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, "I've never seen anyone run like that before." It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative." - Bill Rodgers

(Sorry the updates are so scattershot. My internet access is shaky at the moment. I'll get back on schedule ASAP!)