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!