Hybrid XI: Phase I Complete

Here's a link to the start of my Hybrid XI workout for those who haven't been following along.

Looking back at the calendar is an embarrassment. I got a little cramped during finals week and skipped every single workout! I wish I could use this as an excuse, instead I will just acknowledge that there are times for all of us when we are going to fall short of our set goals and just have to get over it.

I could reset the clock, fall back, and start again where I left off, but that is not our way. At the end of this 90 day cycle, there will be something else I want to do. It will be different, new, challenging, and fun! I cannot gain ground by falling back. Instead, I move forward with my goals and accept that the results I got were the best I could earn given my circumstances. Serenity now!

Fortunately… or unfortunately… the week I missed was prior to my scheduled recovery week. I consider that I had some recovery a week early, and tried to make up some of my workouts in the week that would have been recovery week! I think that negatively impacted my numbers, but, again, I have to deal with that.

The really cool thing I found is that even though I was snacking and totally disregarding my diet goals, I noticed I was eating really good food for snacks! I credit this to my last 63 day cycle of Insanity where I wrote down everything that I ate. Doing so was habit forming and embedded knowledge about what I was fueling by body with. My snacks were often, but Primal, consisting mostly of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and lean meats. Often people tell me they are eating “mostly healthy” and I chuckle because they usually don’t really know what healthy is. They don’t know portion size or nutrition content, because they haven’t really looked at the numbers ever. Looking at the numbers for a few months changes everything.

My coffee pot, however, was taxed to the point of failure! Rest in peace noble coffee pot! We made it through some tough times together… I know, I know! Coffee is not really good for me either. I am cutting back, but I drank WAY too much of it during finals week.

As a reward for Gena and I making it through my finals (face it: when you have a spouse or significant other living with you, they suffer through all your major challenges too!), we went backpacking from Eagle Creek to Eaton Ridge. Elevation gain for the trip was only a few thousand feet, but our packs started at 40.5lbs and 28.5lbs respectively. They ended at 42.5 and 30.5… water weight. Read about it here. The trip was 30 miles in two days. A walk like that will burn some calories Grok Style.

So here’s my stats:
Pull-ups- max in 2 minutes, breaks allowed.
Feb 28- 23 regular grip
Mar 28- 28 regular grip
Push-ups- max in 2 minutes, chest to floor, breaks allowed.
Feb 28- 68
Mar 28- 78
In&Out Crunches- Max in 2 minutes, rest up or down.
Feb 28- 104
Mar 28- 123
Wall Squats- max time, no breaks.
Feb 28- 2min 40 sec
Mar 28- 3min
Tricep Extensions- 25lb dumbbells, one arm at a time
Feb 28- 13 each arm
Mar 28- 15 each arm
Bicep Curls- 35lb dumbbells, both arms same time
Feb 28- 17
Mar 28- 20 each arm
Shoulder Press- 45lb dumbbells, both arms same time
Feb 28- 12
Mar 28- 12 no gains... :(

Weight-
Feb 28- 161lbs
Waist-
Feb 28- 31"
Mar 28- 31"
Hip-
Feb 28- 31.5"
Mar 28- 31"
Right Arm-
Feb 28- 13"
Mar 28- 13.75"
Left Arm-
Feb 28- 13"
Mar 28- 13.5"
Right Leg-
Feb 28- 22"
Mar 28- 21.75"
Left Leg-
Feb 28- 22"
Mar 28- 21.75"
Body Fat %- Jackson Pollack 3 fold caliper measurement
Feb 28- 11.85%
Mar 28- 11.54%

I thought about including pics, but there isn't much difference right now. Since INSANITY, I am so ripped, it's hard to tell any difference!

I will post the update to my project workbook here.
Now into Phase II!

Hybrid XI Project Plan

P90X gave me so much new muscle, and INSANITY gave me so much cardio stamina while making me so much faster, that I decided to make a hybrid workout consisting of both of them. I call it Hybrid XI: X for P90X or The X, and I for INSANITY.

Here is a Link to the plan.

The foundation of the plan is the resistance workouts from The X on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I will change the first month on this by shifting these to Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday to help line me up with Gena. We love working out together, but she isn't a big fan of weights. There are other ways to get resistance training, by the way.

Phase II I will switch up the regularly scheduled Monday (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps) and Wednesday (Back & Biceps) workouts, placing Back & Biceps on Monday to put some more distance between back workouts... Friday is Legs & Back. I carry that same method into Phase III when Phase I and II workouts alternate weeks.

In between resistance workouts is a mix of P90X, P90X+, and INSANITY cardio/endurance workouts. The fourth week of Phase I and II is a rest week of light workouts and some P90X+.

As with all my little projects, growth will be measured periodically to keep me moving forward and to be able to show people how I did it and what my results were. For this fitness plan, I will measure monthly some performance metrics as well as circumference and caliper measurements.

Checkout the SMARTER methodology for this. Link 1, Link 2.

So let's get started with the metrics:

Pull-ups- max in 2 minutes, breaks allowed.
Feb 28- 23 regular grip
Push-ups- max in 2 minutes, chest to floor, breaks allowed.
Feb 28- 68
In&Out Crunches- Max in 2 minutes, rest up or down.
Feb 28- 104
Wall Squats- max time, no breaks.
Feb 28- 2min 40 sec
Tricep Extensions- 25lb dumbbells, one arm at a time
Feb 28- 13 each arm
Bicep Curls- 35lb dumbbells, both arms same time
Feb 28- 17
Shoulder Press- 45lb dumbbells, both arms same time
Feb 28- 12

Weight-
Feb 28- 161lbs
Waist-
Feb 28- 31"
Hip-
Feb 28- 31.5"
Right Arm-
Feb 28- 13"
Left Arm-
Feb 28- 13"
Right Leg-
Feb 28- 22"
Left Leg-
Feb 28- 22"
Body Fat %- Jackson Pollack 3 fold caliper measurement
Feb 28- 11.85%

I will keep my calorie intake below 2800 calories per day while keeping percent of calories from protein at 30% of consumption.

Supplements will include P90X Peak Performance, P90X Results and Recovery Formula, and Beachbody Joint Support Formula. I will likely have Shakeology about everyday also.

So that should be enough to get me off and running! Wish me luck!

What's your fitness plan?