P90X Results and Analysis

I completed the program on 7/10/10. I did not miss a single workout. Here are the results.

Measurement	Unit of Measure	Day 1	Day 90	Difference	% Change
Body Fat %	n/a	22.00	21.00	(1.00)	-5%
Weight	lbs	184.00	192.00	8.00	4%
Chest	in	41.50	41.00	(0.50)	-1%
Waist	in	38.50	38.50	-	0%
Hips	in	37.00	38.00	1.00	3%
Right Thigh	in	18.00	18.00	-	0%
Left Thigh	in	18.00	18.00	-	0%
Right Arm	in	12.00	13.00	1.00	8%
Left Arm	in	11.75	12.75	1.00	9%
Resting Heart Rate	beats per minute	78.00	68.00	(10.00)	-13%
Pull Ups	reps	0.50	0.88	0.38	75%
Vertical Leap	in	15.00	15.50	0.50	3%
Push Ups	reps	21.00	30.00	9.00	43%
Toe touch	in	-	1.00	1.00	n/a
Wall Squat	seconds	64.00	66.00	2.00	3%
Bicep Curls	reps	15.00	21.00	6.00	40%
In & Outs	reps	27.00	40.00	13.00	48%
Heart Rate (no rest)	beats per minute	157.00	159.00	2.00	1%
Heart Rate (1min)	beats per minute	123.00	124.00	1.00	1%
Heart Rate (2min)	beats per minute	112.00	110.00	(2.00)	-2%
Heart Rate (3min)	beats per minute	108.00	105.00	(3.00)	-3%
Heart Rate (4min)	beats per minute	106.00	103.00	(3.00)	-3%

Any sort of physique transformation can be described as an EPIC FAIL. I look almost exactly as I did 3 months ago.

Regarding overall fitness, for certain movements my capabilities have definitely improved. While I still cannot perform a full pull up, I am literally 1 inch away from doing so. When I started, I could barely make it half way. Also, my max number of push ups and curls have gone up dramatically.

Lower body fitness has not substantially improved. This does not surprise me, as the format of the workout does not allow for heavy weight, only reps, when performing lower body moves.

Flexibility is difficult for me to measure quantitatively, but anecdotally I feel MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT. The results of the toe touch in the fit test does not properly convey the improvement. I can perform yoga moves and stretches now that I couldn’t perform before the program began.

My weight went up by almost the same percentage that my body fat went down. Therefore, I assume that some fat to muscle conversion has occurred.

NEXT STEPS

I’m taking the next week off as a recovery week and to finish up some volunteer work that is due at the end of July. I will then embark on another 90 days of P90X.

Preparation is as important as Action

“The four stages of the self-discipline process are:

1. Decision to act
2. Preparation
3. Action
4. Completion/Maintenance

“Most people wrongfully start the self-discipline process at the Action Stage, when in fact they are psychologically at the Decision [or] Preparation Stage.“

This is a quote from Self Discipline in 10 Days by Theodore Bryant. I think it ties in nicely with Getting Things Done by David Allen.

Goals worth achieving are intimidating. I find that I have often overcome this intimidation by Action. This is better than remaining paralyzed by fear, but often leads to mediocre results.

Preparation is important. Preparing too long is a sign of fear of Action. Not preparing at all is a sign of a lack of self-confidence, because you fear that if you prepare, you’ll never overcome the fear of Action or that if you truly prepared, you would have to admit personal failure, rather than blame your failure on an “external” factor, like not enough time to prepare.

Awesome Fitness

I’m reading Body Mind Mastery by @pwDan. One of the ideas he puts forth is effort without effort. Athletic activity should require no more concentration than walking down the street or passing the salt. The very effort of trying disrupts the rhythm and impedes progress.

I tried this concept this morning while weight training.

As I reached my maximum weight for each exercise, rather than huff and puff while scrunching my face and groaning, I concentrated on my breath, put a smile on my face, and moved through the exercise with no fear of failure and no desire for achievement. The results were fantastic. I hit new highs and felt a surge of energy after the workout.

I’m excited to read more of this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Body-Mind-Mastery-Creating-Success/dp/1577310942/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270064458&sr=8-1

A shift in business computing

This speech by Geoffrey Moore sums up my thoughts on the importance of #mobile computing platforms to the enterprise far more effectively than I ever have. Some gems…

• All the value that can be extracted from #ERP, already has been.
• #ERP is mission critical, but it does not differentiate. Therefore, it should be outsourced (@PlexSystems).
• 85% of what ERP can do has been done. Only 10% of what mobile can do has been done.
• #Cloud is what makes mobile possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM4oDJ0slAQ&feature=youtu.be

Release me from my desk!!!

I work at an #ERP company and it dawned on me a couple of weeks ago that the very tool that is supposed to “empower” its users actually enslaves them. To do most of their jobs, they have to be sitting at their desks.

Why is it that through the power of your #iPhone you can find out almost any fact about any thing in the world, yet you can’t find out what is going on within your own company?

#ERP should be like this!

I’m on a mission…

The new (old) +10!

A friend of mine asked me, “So, was yesterday the best day of your life?”

I said, “No. Why do you ask?”

He said, “Well, your facebook status said, ‘+10!’ so I assumed that you must have had the best day of your life.”

He was right to ask.

The +10! philosophy is really taking hold. So much so that when I meet friends, or even acquaintances, I am greeted with an enthusiastic “+10!” By espousing this philosophy so strongly, I have actually diluted it. I am now returning to its roots.

I have stopped asking myself, “How can I make this +10?” The state of +10 is so mind-blowing, that it is very difficult to go from a state of +7 to +10 let alone from a +1 to a +10 with a single plan of action.

I am now making a point to consciously choose my score (right now is a +2, by the way) and then ask myself, “How can I increase this by an increment of 1?” (+3 in this case). I then perform this exercise several times a day.

Doing so has led to higher overall happiness (scores) on a consistent basis.

What is PLUS 10?

Over the thanksgiving weekend, Captain Awesome and I were sitting at a local watering hole when someone asked:

“What is this ‘PLUS TEN’ you keep talking about?”

Captain Awesome then proceeded to explain Plus 10 in a way that was concise and easy to explain:

1. Think about the WORST time of your life – GIVE THAT A RATING OF -10

2. Think about the BEST time of your life – GIVE THAT A RATING OF +10

3. Think about how you feel RIGHT NOW – GIVE THAT A RATING BETWEEN -10 and +10

4. How would you make RIGHT NOW +10 ?

What would it take (food, people, place, activity) to take you from where you are to +10 ?

APPLY THIS SIMPLE TECHNIQUE TO EVERY DAY / HOUR / MINUTE of your life!

That is PLUS TEN!

Awesome gift

Unexpected +10 Role Models

Last night I went out Salsa dancing. I really enjoy Salsa dancing. I’m not a natural dancer, but I practice a few nights a week and I’ve really improved. I consider Salsa dancing one of my personal +10 activities, because it really makes me happy.

As the music started playing, there was the usual awkward “8th grade moment” where the people separate into three groups.

1. People who are definitely going to dance.
2. People who might dance if asked.
3. Those who are just there to watch.

Since I am out to make my night +10, I am in the first group. I start scanning the room for a woman in “group 1″. I find her. We dance. She was not bad, but was not good either. She was better than most, but couldn’t keep a beat. If you’ve ever partner danced before, you know that this situation can’t be sustained all night. So, after a couple of songs, I politely moved on to look for another partner. All the “group 1″ women were taken so I started looking for some “group 2″ women (women who might dance if asked).

My eye catches a very attractive woman who is smiling while watching the others dance. She’s tapping her toe and you can see her hips swaying virtually imperceptibly to the music. This is defintely a “group 2″ woman. She wants to dance. She’s just not going to make the first move. I walk over and introduce myself and she is DELIGHTED to dance.

So, we start dancing. Within 5 seconds I can already tell that this woman is WAY BETTER AT SALSA than me. We’re having a good time and we start chatting. She’s a doctor. WHA?

Now, don’t misinterpret my statement and infer that I don’t think doctors can dance. That’s not the point. My point is that the doctors I have encountered work very long hours, do not take care of themselves, are always tired, and certainly don’t have time to go dancing on a Wednesday night. Let me review the attributes of this woman…

• SMART – She’s a doctor!
• Beautiful – you had to be there, but believe me, she was.
• Fit – You could bounce a quarter off of this woman’s abs.
• Happy – Happy eyes, happy smile, happy everything.
• Graceful – An unbelievable dancer.
• Gracious – I was so not-in-her league (dancing-wise) but she never showed any sign of discontent. She just enjoyed dancing with me at the level I was at.
• Married – just in case you’re wondering if I asked her out. No, I didn’t

After a few dances we switched partners. She went on to a man who I have seen dance before and I knew was very good. When these two started dancing, it was like an atom bomb went off. I have never seen such an awesome display of skill and grace, not even in a movie. It was fantastic.

 What am I driving at?

Some days, I look in the mirror and I feel like I’m doing pretty well for myself. That’s great, but if you look at yourself like that for too many days in a row, you start to lose your edge. That’s what has been happening to me over the last couple of weeks. Meeting this woman last night was a great reminder that you can always do something to be closer to +10. If a doctor, who likely works 60 hours a week, can make time to eat right, exercise, and learn to dance like Ginger Rogers (oh, and I think she’s probably 5 years younger than me), all while maintaining a genuine smile on her face, then what excuse do I have to not work just a little bit harder at being all that I can be? Pretty much none…

Goddamn, I love striving for +10!

Today is not +10 and it is my own damn fault!

Yesterday, I was sitting in Comet Burger, a great burger and shake joint in my home town. Some of the fixtures behind the counter are straight out of the 1950s, good old-fashioned soda jerk fixtures, if you know what I mean. For whatever reason, I was fixated on one particular tap when the waitress walked over, pulled it, and filled a glass with water. At that moment, I was instantly transported to another level of consciousness.

No, I was not on drugs…

At that exact moment, a dozen swirling thoughts came together simultaneously and converted a logical conclusion that I have understood intellectually for years into a moment of satori (instant enlightenment) where that very same thought was internalized throughout my entire being.  Here’s the thought…

“If I don’t like my life, it is my own damn fault.”

Living in the western world, I have or have had many advantages. I had schools to teach me, doctors to heal me, a stable banking system to hold my money, an economy that delivers all the necessities (and many of the desires) of life to me. Really, is there any excuse not to do exactly what I want, when I want, how I want? Nothing short of an outright injustice (murder, rape, etc.) could happen to me that I couldn’t in some way recover from. If I send a bad steak back, the world will not end. If I get fired, I will not die. If I express an opinion on something, the government does not show up at my door and haul me to prison.

Why then did I (and does most of the western world still do) believe that I can’t do exactly what I want, when I want, how I want? I believe it is because we have confused the ideas of “doing” with “achieving”.

For example, you might say, “I want to go to Disneyland.” That is not doing. That is achievement.

You might say, “I want to drive a sports car.” That is not doing. That is achievement.

You might say, “I want to make love to a beautiful women.” That is not doing. That is achievement.

What is doing then?

Doing is living your life in such a way that when you work you think about work and when you play you think about play.

Doing is keeping your current car clean and beautiful. Doing is enjoying the act of driving.

Doing is being in love with yourself and with your own life.

To try to achieve before trying to do, you sentence yourself to neverending misery. Your achievements are rarely met and, when they are met, rarely live up to expectations. To do first, without the thought of achievement, is to achieve bliss in each moment and increases the likelihood and frequency of achievement as a co-product of your actions.

Think of this the next time you pour water from an open tap.