I’ve had several days off from working out due to a bunch of factors including menstrual cramps, a loaded schedule, and just flat out needing a break. But it’s time to get back on the Power 90X horse and bust some booty. I’ve got less than 4 weeks until my 48th birthday on the 31st and I’d love to see my goal weight of 110 pounds on the scale OR see a drop in body fat percentage by Halloween!
Also, until the 31st – which I intend to take off and celebrate Nevada Day and my birthday with the rest of my state – I plan on implementing a strenuous course of Power 90X with a diet clean up and I will share my adventures and results here. And I’ll call this mini-series of blog entries – wait for it – Riding The Power 90 X Express.
And boy am I off to a roaring fast start. Yesterday I did Power 90X Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps and I feel every muscle between the bottom of my shoulder blades up to the top of the base of my neck. It literally hurts to put a pen to paper, snap shut my address book, or hold my cell phone. It hurts to move period.
I’ve reached the penultimate level of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) because the ultimate level would probably kill me. I’ve never been this sore before. I smoked it and now I’m toast. (Actually I was hurting before I finished the workout!) At least three quarters of the 24 sets I did were to failure. (Definition: Failure - Doing a set until you can't do any more reps on your own. It's always good to have a spotter around and it's good in practice to work out to failure as often as you can. - From Demetri's Bodybuilding Terms).
The Power 90X Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout is roughly an hour long and is as follows:
Light cardio warm-up and stretch including running in place, followed by 24 resistance exercises described below.
I use Body Rev Perfect Push Up Bars for most push ups because they increase the intensity(not for One Arm Push Ups or Clap Plyo Push Ups). These are the exercises in the order they're performed with my reps listed as done yesterday:
Slow-motion 3-In-1 Push Up (36 reps)
In and Out Shoulder Fly (15 pounds, everyone is instructed to do 16 reps )
Chair Dips (27 reps)
Plange Push Up (33 reps)
Pike Press (12 pounds, 13 reps)
Side Tri-Rise (14 on left side, 16 on right)
Floor Fly Push Up (25 reps)
Scarecrow (10 pounds, 14 reps)
Overhead Triceps Extension (10 pounds, 11 reps)
Two Twitch Speed Push Up (4 fast, 3 slow x 36 total)
Y Press (8 pounds, 15 reps)
Lying Triceps Extension (10 pounds per hand, 13 reps)
Side To Side Push Up (36 reps)
Pour Fly (8 pounds, 12 reps)
Side Leaning Triceps Extension (8 pounds, 12 reps left, 15 reps right)
One Arm Push Up (24 reps)
Weighted Circle (8 pounds, everyone does 40 reps)
Throw The Bomb (10 pounds, 12 reps per side)
Clap Plyo Push Up (18 reps)
Slow Mo Throw (10 pounds, 13 reps per side)
Front To Back Triceps Extension (10 pounds, 12 reps per x 2)
One Arm Balance Push Up (14 per side)
Fly Row Press (8 pound per side, 12 reps)
Dumbbell Cross Body Blows (switched to bands – 15 pounds per side, 20 reps)
Cool down
“Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, Ouch.” Crawls away for a protein shake.
THIS IS THE MOST INTENSE WORKOUT! Go ahead, try it.
Sometimes I don't know whether to love or hate Tony Horton.
___________________________________________________________________
To motivate myself I’ve been reading lots of bodybuilding and muscle articles. This always makes me WANT to work out. So I thought I'd share some of them:
Man on a Mission-An interview with Udo Erasmus, the Father of Fats by Nelson Montana
"If dietary fat had a different name than bodyfat, maybe fewer people would be fat "phobic." To the general public, the very word "fat" carries a negative connotation. It's associated with heart disease, cancer, hardening of the arteries, and ugly body flab. Yet, despite the similarity in sound, the two are as different as violins and violence.
Most bodybuilders are aware of this — they know that fats are essential. Fats provide energy. They help the body to burn stored fat. They're also necessary for hormone production (including our favorite, testosterone). But there's more to the slippery stuff than you may realize. That's what Udo Erasmus is out to prove.
Udo is one of the original pioneers in the study of fats. Long before the Atkins diet, the Anabolic diet, and their subsequent descendants, the Zone and the ketogenic diets, Udo was advocating the proper use of fats for optimum health, immunity, and athletic performance."
Dude, Where's Your Calories? by Tony Gentilcore, CSCS, CPT
Excerpt: "I just don't get it. People refuse to accept the fact that in order to build a lean and strong looking physique, you need to eat! Heck, I would go as far to say that even if someone's goal is to shed some unwanted bodyfat, the majority of people still tend to UNDER-eat."
3 Ways to Grow More Muscle -A Stimulating Article by Christian Thibaudeau
Carbohydrate Tolerance: Frontline Fat Loss by Dave Barr
How Much Muscle Can You Really Gain in a Year? (Hmm, sounds vaguely familiar? Like my How Much Body Fat Can You Really Lose In One Week?)
Can I stop typing now? It HURTS!
