First Double Training Day

Monday was our first double training day, meaning a run in the morning and P90X after work. Bring it!

Early Morning Run
My alarm went off at 5am and with a heavy head, I hit snooze.  Jeremy and I got up pretty quickly after that, but it was dark and cold and I was quickly fantasizing about being back in bed.  I was excited to get running, though, so we quickly bundled up and headed outdoors.  We began running at 5:40am and did a 4 mile route.  MapMyRun is an easy tool to plan running routes.  Since neither of us have a GPS watch, we mapped out four miles and noted our start and finish times to calculate our pace.  We are supposed to be doing “easy runs” right now to build our base, so we shouldn’t really be focusing on pace anyway.  The main way to know if you’re running an “easy” pace is if you can hold a conversation while you’re running.  Otherwise, it should be about 60-70% of your maximum heart rate.

How to Quickly Calculate your Maximum Heart Rate:
You can quickly calculate your maximum heart rate by taking 230 and subtracting your age: 230 – age = Max HR.  My maximum heart rate, for example, is 230 – 27 = 203.

Our first run was comfortable.  I just wish we had some sunshine!  It was dark the entire time we were out, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.  We saw about 5 runners while we were out, many of them old men shuffling along.  Our mid-week runs will be around 4-5 miles each day for a while.  Once they increase to 6-8 miles at a time, I’ll re-evaluate to see if we should keep all the doubles workouts, or if we need to cut back…I’m guessing we’ll cut back.

P90X Day 1: Chest and Back
I was ready for day one but a little nervous as well.  When I started P90X for the first time in August 2010, I couldn’t do any pull-ups or chin-ups.  That’s when you put 1 leg on a chair for assistance.  By the time I finished the program in November, I could do up to 6 pull-ups or chin-ups at a time!  HUGE improvement!  I took most of December and January off, even though I incorporated an occasional P90X DVD here and there, so I wasn’t sure how many pull-ups I’d be able to do without assistance.  I found out that, yes, I can still do some without the chair for help!  My wide grip pull-ups were by far the hardest, and I struggled to do any without assistance, but a couple regular pull-ups and chin-ups each round were still happening for me.  I did OK on the push-ups too, but I was nowhere near the strength I had when I completed the program.  Sometimes I had to incorporate my knees, like on the diamond push-ups to get more depth, but otherwise, I do them like a man!

Chest and Back includes two rounds of each exercise:

• Standard Push-Ups
• Wide Front Pull-Ups
• Military Push-Ups
• Reverse Grip Chin-Ups
• Wide Fly Push-Ups
• Closed Grip Overhand Pull-Ups
• Decline Push-Ups
• Heavy Pants
• Diamond Push-Ups
• Lawnmower
• Dive Bomber Push-Ups
• Back Flys

Doesn’t that look like a lot?  It is.  You do each exercise as “maximum reps,” until your muscles won’t work anymore.  I knew I’d lose some muscle after the program if I didn’t focus on maintaining, but it was scary to see how quickly that happens!  I actually lost some weight after P90X because of losing muscle.  Maintaining my weight during this program is my goal.  I hope to lose some fat while regaining muscle and getting even stronger.  I’m happy that I’m at a solid starting point to make that happen.

By the time day one was over, I was exhausted.  Sunday night we were up way too late grocery shopping and preparing our meals for the week, so we didn’t get enough sleep before our first day.  I don’t recommend working out on 4-5 hours of sleep, but you can push through it if you need to!  Overall, it was a successful start to our training, and I’m really excited to watch myself progress again.  As Tony would say, “Keep pushing play!”