I'm finally back to full strength for working out after a bad mountain bike wreck (bruised the hell out of my midsection and around my kidneys). I haven't been able to do anything where I bounce or impact my legs, so I've had to stick to stretching, riding the road bike, etc.

Wednesday I did some of the crusher pack 1 on 1 workouts, yesterday some plyo, and today "Just Arms" from 1 on 1. This has been a rough year for injuries and shit, hoping to stay healthy now.

Tonight, we knocked out P90X2 - Base, Back, and Ab Ripper X2, and then headed out and mowed the yard. Was a "cool" 98 degrees with about 85% humidity.

Dan.

Insanity Day 21, Plyo Cardio Circuit, DONE!

Almost made it all the way through the whole thing without adding a break. I only added one 30 second break right before the very last round. Woot!

Well done.

Question from a noob regarding Insanity (just finished day 12: Cardio Power & Resistance):

I've noticed that some of you pause the DVD to take an unscheduled break. I usually just become a puddle on the floor, since I am too busy trying to breathe to worry about those fine motor skills that involve the pause button.

What is the "right" way to do this? I feel totally gassed at the end of the workouts, but after I recover and shower, I feel guilty like I'm cheating when taking these unscheduled breaks and not doing all the reps. It's hard to gauge your performance when you don't have anyone else for comparison.

Some stats on me:

Age 30
Height 6' 1"
Weight 225

(I've only read through the past 10 or so pages over the past few days, so I apologize if this was discussed on page 3 or something )

Rob

Completed Day 13 of Insanity (Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs)

I took the advice of someone earlier and did the ab workout first, and I think that helps. They had mentioned that the water belly from Pure Cardio wouldn't be pleasant... I have to agree.

I think I am starting to gain the strength in my hip flexors in order to finally start pushing my abs (before, I wouldn't be able to keep my legs up for some of the in and out moves because my legs would get tired).

Tomorrow is technically a day off with the fit re-test on Monday, but I am going to do a timed 2-mile to see if I have improved from a cardio standpoint. I have a pretty important timed 2-mile coming up, and want to see how I'm coming along. I started Insanity because I was running and putting a lot of stress on my knees and shins, and I couldn't get out 4-5x a week like I wanted to without a lot of pain. I also wanted to trim down my body fat percentage, and hopefully, I'm getting somewhere on that too. The scale isn't moving too much, so I just tell myself I'm replacing fat with muscle. Whether that is actually true is anyone's guess.

Rob

Friday's workout. I had to take a few breaks between the Basketball, Level 1, Ski-abs, etc. sets. I'm starting to think it's a horrible workout to do the day after Cardio abs / Chest and Back.

P90X/Insanity Hybrid
Insanity plyometric Cardio Circuit

Max heart rate: 189 bpm
Target Zone: 65%-90%


Total Workout Time: 54:01
Calories burned: 843
AVG HR: 80%
Max HR: 95%
Time in Zone: 41:44

I had some Pizza Hut for lunch yesterday. My body rejected it like a bad kidney and only got halfway through Kenpo X last night.

My dad passed away unexpectedly Saturday morning 14-JUL-12. Stress/sorrow is a hell of a diuretic. Not quite the way I wanted to shed weight though. I am down 6lbs since Friday. He was a great man and will be sorely missed.

We still got our workout in yesterday and today. P90X2 Chest, Back, and Balance yesterday and Plyocide today. Neither workout was really 100% due to the circumstances, not sleeping well, and certainly not eating right. We'll get back in it full tilt soon enough - I hope!

Dan.

Broad questions often get broad answers, and that's cool. I'm not looking for a specific answer, just a ballpark range to work with here.

What range of dumbells would you think a semi-but not really fit, not really strong, tall, skinny guy would need to do P90X with some room for growth?

Or anyone for that matter, what weights do you use? 1-15 pounds? 5-25 pounds? 5-50 pounds?

I'm contemplating buying a dumbbell set or maybe just buying a few individually depending on how the math works out. I'm doing SS and planning to bulk till Jan 1st, then planning on doing this, just trying to get prepared ahead of time.

Thanks.

I just bought a set of 5-40lb. hex dumbells from Craigslist for $125. That's a pretty good deal. I have been watching every day for about a month. I would definitely try to buy used if you can. Anything under $0.50 per pound is a decent deal. I would also recommend either a whole set of dumbbells, Selectechs, or Powerblocks. I have been using this kind and I bet I will save a half an hour by not having to unscrew the ends to change weight. I'll know exactly how much time I save on Wed.



That 5-40 set is going to cover 90% of what I do. I need 60s for Heavy pants and Lawnmowers (both back exercises), and 50s for calf raises. At 6'1" 230 I'm probably bigger than you, so you might get by with the 40s as your heaviest weight.

ETA: Just to be clear these are what I bought off of Craigslist and the best option if you can't afford Powerblocks.

I've got the screw-on plate kinds. It does add a bit of time, but I don't mind as I can catch my breath for the short breaks. I started with curling 20's, tricep extensions with 15's, and legs with 20's. I'm up to curling with 40's, triceps with 30's, legs with 40's and lawnmowers with 60's.

Sorry for your loss man. It's a tough deal. Make sure you're getting the rest you need. It will keep you mentally strong.