P90X Day 1: Chest & Back Workout

Today was the first full workout of the P90X program. It doesn't start out easy, the first day consists of a lot of push-ups and pull-ups then the Ab Ripper X workout.

Push-ups and pull-ups aren't easy for me so this was a very hard way to start. The pace of the exercises in addition to the amount makes it very difficult. At one point, I thought I was going to throw up but I kept going.

For a few weeks before I started P90X I tried working on my chest by doing push-ups and chest presses, but I still had a hard time.

I've always hated push-ups and there was only one time in my life where I remember being able to do a lot of them. I knew that going into this, as well as knowing that P90X involves a lot of push-ups so I tried to work my way up before doing the program.

I used the Bayou Adjustable Dumbbells I had to do chest presses and flys. I could only do a couple of push ups before my form got really bad so I would do them mostly on my knees. Whenever I would head up the stairs, I would also do some inclined push-ups on the stair treads. Doing them this way makes them easier. Every few days I would move down one step.

Eventually, I was able to do a bit more than the minimum required in the P90X Fit Test. Doing all the push-ups they do in the video still wasn't possible for me. For a lot of the sets, I started out with regular push-ups, then finished off with push ups on my knees. It didn't take long before I had to just start off the set on my knees, and even then I was having a hard time.

This was really brutal and a bit disheartening. The Dive-bomber push-ups were impossible for me. I tried my best, but kept falling on my chest when doing the move. But I kept trying. I don't think I got one good one in today. Next time I'll try to see if I can figure out how to modify them a bit.

If that wasn't hard enough, Ab Ripper X comes right afterwards. About 30 minutes of tough ab exercises. I was having problems here too but I did the best I could. I'm not sure what's going on, but in a lot of the ab exercises, my quads seemed to tire out more than my abs in a lot of the moves. I need to examine my form and make sure it's right.

Even though I couldn't keep up with the people in the video, I know I put in as much as I could. Even after my arms and chest rested up during the Ab Ripper X workout, I didn't have the strength to lift myself up off the floor. I tried to push myself up but my arms were just shaky and unable to support my weight.

I just laid there on the floor until I could figure out a way to get up. Thank God I'm doing these at home alone because it's a bit embarrassing. Here I was, unable to keep up with half of what they were doing and then not even able to get up off the floor.

Eventually, after I got up, I realized it doesn't matter how much I can keep up with the guys on the DVD that have already completed the program. What's important is that I can push myself to do all that I can do. If I can keep doing that, I'll keep improving.

A long hot shower, a lot of analgesic cream and see what tomorrow is like.