Form Check and Workout Review – April 15, 2013

This is the workout performed in the video:

  • Bench Squat – 210 lbs. (5 sets, 5 reps)
  • Bench Press – 135 lbs. (5 sets, 5 reps)
  • Barbell Row – 130 lbs. (5 sets, 5 reps)

Form Check

Squats: Bench squats are new for me and I need to work on positioning. I don’t like my hip hinge in this video and I think the bench might be too close. I was especially disappointed in the very last rep of the last set because I dropped down onto the bench with all of my weight instead leaning back and slowly coming down.

Bench Press: I paid much closer attention to where I was lifting the bar this time, because they last time I did bench I caught myself raising the weight close to my head instead of chest.

Barbell Row: I also paid more attention to how far up I was pulling the weight. I tried to pull as close to my body as I could and hold the weight for a second or so to make sure it wasn’t all momentum.

If you have any thoughts on my form or workout, please share. I’m always open to learning more.

Additional Notes

I switched up my routine to do some bench squats instead regular squats for a week, possibly more. I just want to change things up a bit. I wish I had a shorter box to squat to, but the bench is all I have at the moment.

I had a much longer workout planned, but I wasn’t able to finish it because a large gash opened up on my hand right after my last set of barbell rows. I got the cut earlier in the day when a glass desk shattered in my hands while carrying it. I actually did one set of Incline DB press, but I got blood everywhere. I cut that part out of the video 😉

Below are the additional exercices that I had planned to do. I probably should have done some alternate exercises, now that I think about it. I could have done no-weight calf raises for high reps, leg raises on my Captain’s Chair, and crunches in place of the other ab exercises.

  • Incline DB Press
  • Dips
  • Calf Raises
  • Hanging Leg Raise
  • DB Ab Twist
  • Plank

I’m not sure yet if I’ll post all of my videos on my website, but I do post them all on my YouTube channel, if you wanna check ’em out there 😉

Preparing for P90X

I’ve been doing the P90X Extreme Home Fitness routine now for a month and my biggest regret is starting it without being prepared. Being prepared for this program is extremely important and you’ll realize this all too late if you just jump right in, which is what I did since I was so excited to get started.

First off, I didn’t have the appropriate dumbbells or resistance bands during my first week, but I did have some adjustable dumbbells, so it wasn’t too bad. It was frustrating changing the weights on ’em for all the various exercises and it felt like I wasting way too much time doing that, when I should’ve been working out.

I did buy a full dumbbell set the next week, but they were fairly expensive, so if you don’t have the cash, I’d definitely recommend the resistance bands. I paid about $250 for a used dumbbell set from Craigslist and then bought a few more dumbbells to complete the set from Play It Again Sports, which sells them for about .50 per pound.

I also had to build my own pull up bars in the basement, since the basement is unfinished and doesn’t have any doorways to install a regular pull-up bar. They came out good, but I barely got them done the night before starting the program. By the way, if you want to build your own, I got the idea from The Fitness Journey of FitGirl-ATX.

You also need a fairly good amount of room to workout in. I had to take my table out of the room in order to workout in the same room as my projector, because I like to have it on the big screen, and it’s still kinda hard. I work out with my girlfriend though, so if it were just me it would be more than enough space. I also put some gym flooring down, which I picked up at Dicks Sporting Goods. It’s a huge improvement from the rugs I had previously.

So those few things were a slight bother, but the biggest issue I had in terms of being unprepared was for the nutrition plan. Everywhere I read a P90x review or really just anything about P90X, people talk about how important the nutrition plan for the program is. I didn’t set aside the time to put it together for myself though and now I’m a month behind. I don’t eat unhealthy anyway, but I realize now that I’ve definitely been overeating and not eating proportionately. This really is a huge part of toning the body in this program too. See my poorly stocked fridge below?

So this weekend I finally decided to go through the P90X nutrition guide and now I’m realizing that I might not be able to afford everything on the list. I just went shopping last week and I didn’t buy anything on the P90X Market List so there’s a ton of stuff I need and I’m not sure if my budget can take the hit. I’m gonna go to the store tomorrow though, and try to pick up everything I can possibly afford. The way I see it is, that it’s better than nothing.

So if you are considering starting the P90X program make sure you have a few things in order. Here’s the quick list;

  1. An Budget Set Aside Specifically for P90X
  2. A Pull-Up Bar Installed
  3. Appropriate Sized Resistance Bands or Dumbbells
  4. Push-Up Grips
  5. A Sizeable Area to Work Out In
  6. The Food Required for the Nutrition Plan

So I hope that this article helps you prepare to tackle the P90X program yourself. It’s a hard-as-hell program that really kicks your ass, and the least you can do for yourself is to be ready for it.

Update: I’ve found that the portion plan is much easier for me to manage my diet instead of using the meal plan. If you don’t have time to cook, check out my post about the P90X portion plan and download the printable document.

What is Mixed Fitness About?

Hey there, I’m Alex and this is my first post here, of what I hope to be many on my brand spankin’ new fitness website. We’ll be writing articles about everything we come across in the fitness world that can help you be as fit as possible, so you should definitely stick around and see if there’s something that can help you.

Michelle (my girlfriend) and I actually just started P90X three weeks ago too, so you’ll definitely be getting our input on the extreme fitness regimen throughout the process. I’ll be putting up photos along the way as well, so you can get a real idea of how our training goes. I have to admit though, that Michelle works out much harder than I do, and she really knows her stuff when it comes to nutrition.

I, on the other hand, have mostly done heavy weight training for the last year and a half. I haven’t put any effort into cardio until just recently, so I actually look a little fat still. I’m down to around 16% body fat though, and considering what I was a year ago, I’m really proud of the work I’ve put in. I think it’s from all the beer I drink on the weekends though, since mostly all of the fat is on my belly. 🙂

Anyway, stick around and join us during our learning process. I’m sure we can all teach each other something new. Michelle and I aren’t professionals, but we have a lot of experience in the last couple of years, so we’ll try our best.