Postponed

After the first 2 days of exercise, I have become super hungry and tired.  I actually slept through my alarm clock today.  I also had a college admission interview this afternoon.  Therefore, I have made the decision to put off restarting the routine until November 28.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Equipment switches

Now that I have had a chance to shop Amazon, I have decided to make a few equipment switches for my routine.

I am going to return the stability ball I bought from Sports Authority.  It was $24.  Target is selling the same size ball for only $14.  I hesitate to do this because this is where I got the System6® routine from.

I am going to return the resistance bands bought from Target.  They cost $20.  I will need to find longer bands, or maybe I can just get some dumbbells for the shoulder press.  Whichever turns out to be cheaper is how I will go.
UPDATE:  I just had a thought.  What if the bands are capable of doing the shoulder press but I am just using too much resistance to get them high enough.  Removed some of the bands from the handles.  Sure enough, I was able to perform the shoulder press.  I will have to figure out which band is which strength and set them up accordingly.  I shouldn't have to exchange these bands after all.

I am going to order from Amazon a pull-up bar that should fit my doorway.  It is going to cost $27.50.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Week 1, Day 2

Got through the second day, but not without problems.  I bought a resistance band to do the shoulder press exercise, but I did not buy a band long enough to perform the exercise as illustrated.  These bands from Target barely got shoulder high.  A shoulder press is from shoulder height to above one's head, so instead of standing on the band, I sat on the band on a chair.  There was still a problem getting my arms extended fully for the exercise.  I will have to return these bands and get some the proper length.

I also had a problem with the pull-ups.  I was hoping I could use the band and simulate a pull-up by doing a lat pull-down.  Well, I got up to 200 pull-downs using the bands.  Therefore, I believe they are also not strong enough for me.  I don't like the idea of using the car an extra time this week, but I really have no choice if I want to replace the equipment.^nbsp; Since I don't want to spend $45 on a door-mounted chin-up bar, I have decided to (at least for a time) replace the pull-ups with an exercise called the Let Me In.  In this exercise, one uses a doorknob as the pull-up bar.  I posted a couple pictures below so you can see what I am talking about.  I got it from a book called You Are Your Own Gym.

Just decided to check pull-up bar prices on Amazon.  Catch you later.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Week 1, Day 1

Well, just got through the first conditioning circuit.  I didn't realize how far out of shape I was.  The first 30 seconds of jump roping nearly killed me, and the jumping jacks hurt my back.  However, I made it through the first 10-minute routine . . . well, most of it.  I kind of petered out on the second round of squat jumps.  Hopefully it will not be as grueling the next time, on Tuesdsy.  Tomorrow, though, it is the strength circuit, which includes push-ups to failure.  Oh, boy!

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Pre-Workout Pictures

You may wish to avert your eyes, but here are a couple of pictures of my body before starting the System6® workouts.

Not the most disgusting body in the world, but not one to be proud of, either.  So, now that this is all out there, perhaps I will get of my procrastinating butt and actually do this workout.

I forgot to weigh myself before performing the first two days of exercise.  On 18 November 2013 after exercising and showering, my weight was 175 pounds.  This way, I can keep track of weekly photos and weights.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Discovery of System6®

While out shopping for backpacks, I came across a sale on stability balls at Sports Authority.  I had been wanting to do those myotatic crunches from the 4-Hour Body book I had bought, but Bosu balls cost over $100.  The small stability ball was only $24.  After much discussion with salesman Clancey, I made the purchase.

Upon opening the package, there was a workout routine poster, which Sports Authority had named System6®.  I supposed because it is a 6-week plan in which exercise increases each week.  One starts with 10- and 20-minute workouts of mostly body weight exercises and works up to 45-minute routines.  It alternates between what are called the strength circuit and the conditioning circuit.  Here is how they advertise it:

“System 6 is a rapid body transformation program that integrates the latest fitness techniques into one home-based workout.  Created by top personal trainers, System 6 brings strength and interval training together to create short, intense exercise sessions designed to quickly build muscle and burn fat.  Six Workouts.  Six Days a Week.&nbps; Six Weeks.”

The most needed equipment are the stability ball (which, as it turns out, the routine uses for myotatic crunches), a resistance band, and a jump rope.  Other equipment is recommended for accelerated results, and eventually, a pull-up bar should be added.  However, these investments are down the road.

Because there is no copyright statement on the printed material, I have scanned the two routines and provide them below.  Because of need to zoom in to read the small print, I have scanned them at 300 dpi.  Therefore, they are in the size range of 4.5mb, just in case you were thinking of downloading them.  I'm sure you can tell which is which from the pictures.

Anywho, it seems quite simple.  I am hoping to start the routines later this morning.  I woke up early, so I thought I wouldn't waste any time and get these posts published.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.