DAY 1: Fit test #1

Wow. Ok. They’re for real. If the Fit Test is anything to go by… this program is NOT for a newbie to the workout world or someone who is faint at heart. Thankfully enough, I’m neither of those! The Fit Test is about 30 minutes long, and they walk you through 8 common exercises from the program that you have to do your max amount of reps within the time limit. (My ego wants to say that each one was two minutes… but I think it was only really 1 minute – but yes, the longest single minute ever…!) 1. Switch kicks - 137 - kick one leg up, and then the other leg up while holding your arms bent into your chest (your hands would be at your shoulders). I did well here… I got a lot more than both the woman and man who were there demonstrating. (Although, I am thinking every rep would be a kick with each leg… and I was counting them as single counts… mostly because I felt like I was pretty much keeping in time with Tonya and Chris…) 2. Power jacks - 40 - a jumping jack, but you’re going into a wide-leg squat at the bottom. I knew my hips were tight, but overall, did a great job... I did more reps than Tonya and Chris (and no worries about counting single vs double reps this time!) 3. Power knees - 85 - When Shaun T was going over this one, I was like "Cake walk!" - this is common in most exercise routines... (pull knee up to the corner or the room, raise arms to the corner then down beside your knees when raised) however... following the other two and going hard, I was beginning to feel it. I had to pause the video for a minute when I finished. I was ahead of Tonya and Chris again (yay me!). And I gotta tell you, at this point, when I was ahead of them again, I was kind of wondering if I was going to surpass them with every exercise… But in actuality… I should have been pacing myself… Lesson learned. 4. Power jumps – 21 - Ok. You got me. Hello light-headed feeling! Another low, reach high jumping exercise... my heart and brain were both feeling taxed. I had to pause - and sit with my head low for a minute or so and then pace the room. Tonya and Chris, they can have this one. 5. Globe jumps - 7 - This is one I will probably improve on... you jump 4 times - once to the right, then back, then to the left, then forward. It was a good thing I'd taken a break... 6. Suicide jumps - 10 - these are the ones that had intimidated me the most when I heard about them. However, at the end of the day, they’re just burpees. And if they’d been the first item – I would have done WAY better… But holy goodness. It was tough to get out the number I did! 7. Push-up jacks - 30 - do a push-up, jack your legs out, go down again. These are also featured in P90X, so it was easier once I found my rhythm back. I’m finding that sometimes my right shoulder isn’t as strong as I want it to be (depending on the angles) – so hopefully some extra push-ups in my world will help it gain some lost strength. 8. Low oblique twists - 50 - in a plank position, pull your knee up towards your elbow. Similar to the suicide jumps, if I had more momentum left, I would have done much better! That being said… this is an exercise that I have gone WAY better at over the past two years! So, even today, I was recognizing the improvement. Did I swear?? YES! Did I feel like a superhero? Well, maybe one coming out of retirement... It will be interesting to see how the next fit test goes at the start of week 3. Not only will I know how to pace myself out – I’ll have numbers I want to beat… And more experience with these “common” exercises. Also, this morning, I kept with my usual lemon juice in warm water and an apple, as my pre-workout snack… And I think I’m going to have to return to my Vega pre-workout energizing drink. My body definitely needed more calories to operate near the end of this workout! I’ll give it one more morning with just the lemon/apple to see if my body was just shocked by the fit test. And I’ll also see if I can build in more time for absorption before I start moving… Let's see how a "real" class goes tomorrow morning! Especially after I go to a rock concert tonight... :)