Exercise

[Jason]

I used to use a mixed grip years ago when I lifting heavy. Now, I am almost considering only going as high as a double overhand grip would allow -- I figure anything heavier will snap by body -- LOL.

I will give it some thought. I don't like to one rep max often, but it was exciting to get back up above 300!

[John]

Switch Kicks: 42 -> 120
Power Jacks: 40 -> 50
Power Knees: 63 -> 114
Power Jumps: 20 -> 65
Globe Jumps: 6 -> 10
Suicide Jumps: 11 -> 17
Push-Up Jacks: 24 -> 33
Low Plank Obliques: 68 -> 90

Growth trumps numbers. Fitness is a competition against yourself and yourself alone. From that perspective, you kicked it, Frank. To realize a threefold gain in switch kicks in just two months is beyond excellent. Simply being able to complete 10 globe jumps is an accomplishment to be proud of (try looking up videos of people doing globe jumps and see how many fall to gasping within five jumps). Low plank oblique twists are a great core exercise. This is outstanding growth, Frank!

[Cole]

I used to use a mixed grip years ago when I liften heavy. Now, I am almost considering only going as high as a double overhand grip would allow -- I figure anything heavier will snap by body -- LOL.

I will give it some thought. I don't like to one rep max often, but it was exciting to get back up above 300!

Well as long as you keep good form you won't head to snap city just by going higher, but keeping with double overhand is OK too... The bigger risk is not snapping your body with deadlifting, but actually tearing a bicep using mixed grip is the more likely injury.

At any rate, if you are just looking to improve grip strength, yes farmer's walks would be good, or heavy dumbbell holds, or as I said, use chalk, that will help.

[Mike Dunn]

Well... I did it! 63 days of Insanity are now complete.

Congratulations Frank . You should be proud.

I've finished Week 2 of P90X3 and am very glad I'm doing in it. I already have lost five pounds and my upper body feels tighter and toned already. I can tell my lat and shoulder muscles are more pronounced. These 30-min. routines are perfect for my schedule (though I do warm up and cool down before and after, then shower, so its about an hour in all).

Only 11 more weeks to go before I look like Tony Horton!

That's Tony, not me (yet)

[Mike Dunn]

I'm done!

I just finished 90 days of P90X3. I loved it. Today was Day 91, when I did the "after" test to compare how I improved.

Weight lost: 12 pounds (150 to 138)
Vertical leap: can jump about three inches higher than Day 0.
Standard Push-ups until you collapse: 30 on Day 0, 35 today (not much improvement)
Flexibility test: gained 6.5 inches in flexibility, sitting on floor, legs outstretched, touching beyond toes.
Wall Squat: lean against wall in a 'chair' position, quads parallel to floor, hold it until you collapse. 1:20 minutes on Day 0, 2:30 on Day 91. Good improvement in quad strength.
Curls: simultaneous curls with 25 lb dumbbells in each hand, no rocking: 12 on Day 0, 18 on Day 91 (moderate improvement)
In and Out (no, not what you think -- sitting on your butt, legs in the air, bring knees to chest then extend your legs without touching floor, until you can't do anymore): 27 on Day 0, 45 on Day 91.

Mostly my improvement was in flexibility and agility, the two areas that I was poorest in. Least improvement in strength, but I'd been weightlifting for a long time before this so I probably just don't have as much room to grow there.

I will do this again, probably after Labor Day. There are variations on the standard program. But all in all this works great for me, and I particularly enjoy the variety of workouts and variety of exercises within each workout.

[John]

That's seriously impressive gains on the flexibility, wall squats, and core strength, and that's saying nothing about the 12 lb. weight drop. This routine seems to be working for you. Outstanding work, Mike! Think you might give us a snapshot of your new Day 91 physique?

[Mike Dunn]

Think you might give us a snapshot of your new Day 91 physique?

In a world of googled images, that's a negative.

[Lions]

Tremendous job, Mike! 12 pounds was 8% of your weight. That's quite a bit, and you're stronger to boot.

I nearly made it through Insanity a second time before having some travel getting in the way. I can tell that I've been able to "dig deeper" more frequently, getting through more reps of things before needing to take a rest. I can nearly do the ab routine without taking any breaks, whereas I could hardly do any of the individual exercises when I started.

[roncollins]

Impressive results all around.

[Jason]

Excellent work! 12 lbs on a 150 lbs frame to start is no joke!

I have gone the OTHER direction; put on about 12 lbs of fat since I can't get my foot freaking fixed. I suppose that's an excuse -- I COULD simply control my eating better. That said, two cortisone injections and no improvement. Surgery in the fall is probably imminent.

On the bright side: Deadlifted 335 lbs a couple weeks ago. I felt like a beast.

[Cole]

On the bright side: Deadlifted 335 lbs a couple weeks ago. I felt like a beast.

Awesome Jason.

I haven't deadlifted heavy in a while.. While I'm in season (baseball) I generally try to just do submaximal weight lifts. Most of my PR's will be coming up in the winter, baseball offseason (albeit flag football in-season!)

That being said, my previous barbell squat PR had been 285 pounds, set last winter... It likely was higher than that at the time, as I was repping 250 pounds for reps at that point.

I had never tried 300 pounds, but I did the other day and was able to squat 300 for the first time. Definitely not posting the video, it was *not* pretty ... The depth was good and the descent was good, but the ascent was a bit choppy. I'll definitely clean that up in the offseason. Felt good to knock that one off my list though.

There's a powerlifting meet in my area at the end of November, and part of me is thinking about maybe taking part in it .. I don't fancy myself a powerlifter and definitely wouldn't win, but I imagine it would be great for my lifting "career" to go to an event like that and get some tips and be around a bunch of stupidly strong people.

I will probably see by around October if I plan to go for that. I hope to get my bench to around 240 or 250 (current my max 215), my squat to 350 (current max 300) and my deadlift to 475 to 500 (current max 400) if I wanted to go ahead and participate in that. I'd be shooting for a 1,000 pound total as a first goal.

I'd also like to possibly get down to 181 pounds if I were to do that ... Since that's a weight class I'd probably be more competitive at than lifting with 205 pounders.. I'm at 192-ish now... The old dropping a few pounds hasn't been going so well.

And congrats Mike on your progress! You are doing well and glad to see you've found something that works for you.