Heading out of town where there is no internet...

P3X and P4X updates on Sunday... with a P5X update as well!!!!

P2X - Learning the Plyometric System

See, I went into this having never heard the word "Plyometrics" before and (*sigh* - I know I'm about to waste my best joke of the day right here...) I grew up on the PlyoEnglish measurement system, so I knew it would take some time to adjust.

Cuz it's metric.

And I live in America.

Where we don't believe in things like "base-10 measurements"

.....

(crickets...crickets...)

Really? That was my BEST joke of the day?

ANYWHO...

Plyometrics... otherwise known as 1 hour of jumping and squatting and lifting your leg.

Heheh. There's a joke in there too... squatting and lifting your leg...

Seriously, it was a fantastic aerobic workout as well because of the concentration on proper breathing. I'm a little upset that my workout mat is slippery-backed, making it impractical for a "jumping" based set of exercises, and my carpeting is just too thin to provide a cushioned cat-like landing. My knees are in good shape, so they can handle it for now, but I'll want to do something about that sooner than later. I'm thinking either a better mat, or perhaps putting velcro on the bottom to keep it in place. I'd use magnets because I have a pre-disposition to believing that magnets can fix anything. In fact, if MacGyver had discovered magnets, he'd have thrown away both his Swiss Army Knife AND his roll of Duct Tape - I kid you not. Magnets are like natures glue... or... anti-glue... all at the same time. SO AWESOME.

What was I talking about?

Lets see.... anti-glue...glue...magnets...MacGyver... velcro...AH! Workout mat.

This is technically still a workout blog.

So - I got to do (an obnoxious number of times) a Heisman pose. It felt natural... like I was born to win the trophy... ok maybe not... perhaps my body semi-resembling a toothpick with a nose in High School and College prevented that from happening, but hey, that's why I'm BRINGING IT with P90X now!!!! So I can go back to High School and join the football team en route to winning the Heisman in college! Wait... that's not right either.

MAN - I am off my comedic game today.

Better quit while I'm ahead.

Plyometrics. Very cool. Learned two important things.

1) I look absolutely silly trying to do a baseball style pitch lefthanded. I almost fell over 10 out of 8 times. You read that right.

2) My basement ceiling is WAAAAAYYY too short for jumping style exercises. Good thing it'll be a couple weeks before I'm consistently bashing my knuckles and head into it :)

Tomorrow is P3X - AND the return of the Ab Ripper X and those Mason Twists... Oh... those Mason Twists... I won't have nice things to say about that tomorrow either....

GOOD NIGHT!!!!!!

P1X - Chest and Back and a Little Ab Ripper X OH MY!!!!

(Note - this posting is dedicated to everyone's first day with P90X. If you haven't done it, then please understand that 84.7% of the jokes may not resonate...)

Well, hello there Tony... you're so energetic, and you really want me to succeed, and I appreciate that. As my P90X guide for the next 3 months and beyond, it's great to have a high-energy, kinda funny fella as my personal TV trainer....

So chest and back you say? Pushing and pulling? Push ups and Pull ups?

Alrighty then! I'm warmed up (OH!!! Look what you did on those arm circles, you made me THINK you were going into rotation #4, but really you were REVERSING the arm circles!!!! YOU!!!!!!)

So now you've warned me multiple times to "pace myself" on the first go-round cuz we're gonna do this all a second time.

**Authors Note: Having never done exercises in a gym before where I had to deal with "sets" this can be a bit daunting to figure out what "pace yourself because another set is coming" means....

(Fast Forward to 12 Chest/Back exercises later....)

SUNUVA...HOLYCRAP...JELLO-FOR-ARMS... wait.... WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE'RE ONLY HALF DONE??!?! YOU SHOULDA WARNED ME TO...oh.... well then....

So... Set #2 and boy have the reps gone dooooowwwwnnnnn.....

But you know what... fuhgeddaboutit... I did those 12 killer exercises... though quite a few less reps.... the second time too... cuz that's how I **BRING IT**

Consider it BROUGHTEN!!!!!

YEAH!!!! I MADE THAT CHEST AND BACK DISC MY B... what??? Ab Ripper X starts RIGHT NOW??? I'm gonna hate it but love it? What, like Wasabi on my Sushi? Like cloves in my ham? Like pleasuring myself with a cheese grater? (OK, now, to be fair, I ONLY put that last bit in there because Dan's going to read this and I was hoping he'd be drinking something while he read it and did a spit-take all over his laptop. So... here's hoping...)

Ok Ab Ripper X... let's see what you go- OH MY WORD!!!! What... what are these froggy clappy things, and why do I keep falling over when I do them? Has anyone realized that NONE of these exercises are normal movements found in nature? By any animal, vegetable or mineral?

AND WHO THE CRAP IS MASON??? AND WHY DOES HE TWIST LIKE THAT????

ARRRGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

:)

THAT

WAS

...

...

...

AWESOME!!!!!!

So, a protein recovery drink and some time later, I only KINDA feel like I'm going to barf, but I'm sure that'll go away in the next year or so... so that's good.

Tomorrow.. Plyometrics... I'll Bring It... oh yes... (and for the record, I'm quite certain Plyometrics will bring it as well)....

PS

The food in the nutrition plan looks amazingly delicious!!!

PPS

I'm taking pictures daily, but I'll only post them every 10 days (after every 10th workout).

Because nobody should be subjected to seeing me topless EVERY DAY.... :)

P-0-X.... Tomorrow is Day 1 (Warning, some material may be disturbing to the weak-stomached...)

Today is my last day of not "Bringing It" (as the tagline would go)....

So, from 1/5/11 and for the 89 days following, I will be building my musculars as best as possible...

There's really only one thing left to do at this point, and that's to post the "before" pictures...

I assume there'll be much snickering, but hey, isn't that the point? To go from "skinny little git" to something a little better.

Here's to skinny dudes everywhere!!! Hopefully I can inspire some other skinny gits as well ;)

Here we go, in true self-deprecating fashion:

PICTURE ONE!!! The Frontal Shot!!!!!

Ok, so we see here, that yes... I'm skinny, with a "tuft" of chest hair and an apparent love for the Milwaukee Brewers. I'm not that guy with da-beer-belly looking to lose it, just the guy who wants to actually DO SOMETHING about his physique before my metabolism realizes I'm not a teenager anymore. (PS - note to self, take P90X Nutrition Plan seriously...)

On to picture 2, the side shot... or as I like to call it... SCOLIOSIS?

As you can see clearly, I have no clue if there's anyway to properly straighten my spine. Maybe if I add "hanging upside down at night" to my list of exercises... you may also notice my chest is roughly as flat as Taylor Swift singing live (ZING!!!!!!!!!).... Looking to address that in the next 90 days, of course... I'd also like to thank my dog Sammy for her undying support...or...nosiness during the photography... Don't go away, the funny pictures are coming....

Picture 3, the back, or as I call it "MY GOOD SIDE!"

Ok, first and foremost, I didn't have a "wedgie" (not even a leftover from High School)... it's the unfortunate stitching on the Milwaukee Brewers shorts. The only thing to note here really is that I only went through three or four razors man-scaping my back. I kid. Or... do I....???? No, I do. Do I? Hmmm...

Now for the picture you've all been waiting for...

THE GUNS!!!!!! (Well, maybe at this point, the Warhammer-Miniature-Pistole's would be more appropriate)

What can I say...

Yep... really... what can I say....?

:)

New posts will be fast and furious moving forward. Similar pictures will be taken daily. Hoping to make a flipbook when done. And of course, my "before and after" photos should slightly resemble the following when done:

NUTS!!!! Oh well, it's justa couple days...

So, P-0-X was SUPPOSED to be today, I have the pull up bar, the resistance bands, the push up grips, and all sorts of "wicking" clothing...

But no DVD's.

D'OH!!!!

So, we're at P (-2) X today, with plans for a good run, a Rose Bowl victory for the Wisconsin Badgers, and a slight wait until the DVD's arrive..

Stay tuned....

Printf(“…and a very optimistic Christmas to YOU sir!!”)

So Christmas is upon us here in 2010, and one of the rarest gifts that can be given or received right now is optimism. Contrasted to 2008 after Obama was elected (but the economy was still in the crapper), optimism reigned supreme. Today, team Elephant is pompous and arrogant and team Donkey is whiney… and well, arrogant, both run the country in their own selfish interest and neither has made anything better for anyone. Meanwhile people are still out of work (whether by choice or by circumstance), innovation is hard to come by, self-motivation seems lacking and charity and goodwill are both minimal and taken advantage of.

Merry Christmas.

That’s not where the story does or should end…thank God.

We’re in a weird technically wired world where at my last family Christmas gathering, I watched 7 people sit around a living room as a TV lazily droned on some football game and the setting was ripe for some interpersonal communication and plain old quality family time. Well, instead, all seven were playing on their smartphones, Intendo’s, iPhones, FacetubeGoogleDroids and none of them even seemed to realize (much less acknowledge) others were in the room. That’s not, by the way, an indictment on any of the people specifically, but more on the wired culture. Granted, I’ve been known to fling those Angry Birds at those stupid pigs from time to time, and on occasion, I demand my following to read my blogs, but at no point could I possibly handle that being my lifestyle… it’s just an activity.

I know some who prioritize BookSpaceTubeFace as a can’t miss part of their day to the point where it causes emotional angst if it doesn’t happen. I know some who can’t set down their phone, ever, because there’s a chance someone may possibly be Texting/Interwebbing/GoogleDroiding to the point where conversations in person are set aside for a MORE instant form (apparently) of communication. MORE INSTANT THAN IN PERSON!!! Imagine that! People make specific plans to spend time with each other, only to have those plans disrupted and interrupted by a PHONE. Unreal.

Technology and the proliferation of access to the internet has made the world “smaller” and “connected” people virtually as never before… At the teeny tiny cost of connecting people physically.

Now, I’m not the Unabomber type who thinks this is just awful and that technology is dooming us to a zombie-like existence…

I am the type who would challenge those who heavily use / rely on technology to better utilize it as a way of enhancing interpersonal relationships instead of interrupting them. Maybe it’s a growing pain and tech isn’t there yet, but the virtual world is actually a great way to expand your personal network of connections, and the physical world is actually a great way to expand your personal connections. How do we bring the two together? When Facebook becomes a distraction from connections instead of a way to enhance them, we could start by admitting and recognizing it. Then maybe getting back to that innovation and try to find a way to combine the positive aspects of it.

Take this little blog for example… I use it to fart my opinions onto the internet, but in the process, I accidentally re-found a friend of mine on the interwebs that I enjoy talking to and winning trivia contests where I re-donate the prize to his firstborn. There are a couple readers here I’ve not met in person, and one specific reader who, between the two of us, decided that we can be frank and honest with each other BECAUSE we’ve only met online! That’s a pretty cool dynamic, and it kind of made me realize that the inter-social paradigm can, has, and will continue to change with technology. In the mean time, I have my family and friends that I prefer to see more often than I do, but in the meanwhile, the technology can help me keep up with them. It augments the relationship, but it’s all about the balance.

There’s really no point to this posting today other than the aforementioned internet-brain-fart… so… there ya go.

As a final note – in 10 days, we’ll be at “P0X” beginning the long, rough ride to “P90X”. Once I get the pictures uploaded for the 90 days, if someone creative wants to make a “flip book” for me, let me know! That could be fun.. J

Cheers!!

And remember Zeno’s Paradox. You can’t get all the way until you get half way first.

Just like prom night…

WHAT??!?!?! Update of the Musings....

Where the heck have I been lately???!??!

Well, I'll tell ya... new things goin' on...

New job, new company, new laptop, new button-down shirts....

Went deer hunting... saw a porcupine. That was neat. Then I saw another porcupine. Man, the DNR underestimated the porcupine herd this year.... That's 2 more porcupine's than I *EVER* saw in all my years hunting. I'm surprised the DNR isn't ramping up on porcupine hunting licenses to appease the car insurance companies so they don't have to constantly pay out for porcupine accidents.

Been running... as much as possible. Did the Make-a-Wish, did the Brigg's and Al's Run, doing the Berbee Derby on Thanksgiving and targeting the Madison half-marathon next year.

So my cardiovascular is getting into shape, and I'm feeling good about my health. I think I'm in better shape now than I've been in my life.

BUT

I'm still a "Skinny Little Git" (right Dan?)....

So I've been looking around for strength and toning programs. It's going to take commitment, it's going to make me hurt and tired (if I do it right), and it's all going to be worth it. I'm not young enough to pretend I'm a kid anymore - I've grown older (but trust me, I'm not growing up)...

So, it's the P90X system... yeah, I know... looks like a fad, sounds like a fad, blahblahblah... but the one thing I appreciate about the system is that it's not trying to say it's a "magic bullet" for fitness and strength training. It's part of a huge deal of WORK that I will have to commit to.

So I'm committing. And congratulations to you the readers... you get to witness the 90 day log!

My start date will be just after Christmas, and my workout time will be morning before the work and stress of a day has a chance to wear on me.

So, fair warning, there will be photos... so I apologize to those who don't want to see that, but.. TOUGH! (Don't worry, nothing lewd, my name's not Favre!)

That's my announcement. So there. Wish me luck... looks like I got 90 days of work waiting for me in 2011!!!!