Here is a list of additional gear and tools I use to help me with my workouts:
- My Polar RS100 Heart Rate Monitor to check improvement in the cardio area and to make sure I am safe during intense workouts
- Yoga Mat (any Yoga Mat will do and can be used for Yoga and any kind of floor exercise)
- Push-up bars which I initially bought because I had problems with my wrists when I first started doing push-ups
- Yoga Block (to either help you with increasing (stretches) or decreasing (yoga opening poses) in range of motion
- Dumbbells depending on your strength
- Ankle Weights for some of my knee exercises
- Weighted Gloves to add resistance to my Kenpo or any kind of punching routine
- Resistance Bands
- Pull-up Bar (if the ones you can hang on top and between your doorway won’t fit you can always go for a vertical one which can be adjusted in width easier.
Additionally here are a few iPhone Applications I find quite useful:
- Sleep Cycle
- Joggy Coach
- Tap&Track (which is a bit on the costly side but worth it if you want to track your eating habits)
Dear Natascha!
First of all I’d like to really thank you for sharing your vibration enthusiasm and positive attitude!
Congratulations on taking control and shifting your view away from being a patient with a chronical illness to manifesting your potential and towards all that you could achieve.
I do admire your determination, and your results show how much it was worth it.
You actually got me looking into p90x, and I have been spending the last few days researching and contemplating whether to give it a try.
I’ve been living with daily stomach pains, light to severe ones, for years now, and nothing I’ve tried truly helped (and I have and continue to try a lot of things, from nutrition to medicine to supplements, probiotic etc pp ;o) ). I got it all medically checked out, to be left with IBS and the advice to live with it.
After nothing has helped so far, I decided not to focus on it anymore and just adjust as best as I could. I am currently working in hospital, training to be a doctor (hopefully next year) and what really really decreases life quality, apart from the pain, is being constantly tired and lacking energy, only to be sleepless at night, This not only makes it hard to get through the day in the clinic, but also makes studying afterward impossible.
So hearing of your boosted energy level (and yeah, your tummy, too *g*) is what really got me.
I’ve just ordered the dvd set and am now looking into the equipment I would need. I was wondering if you could give me some advice to start out with…
Originally I wanted to get the TO Bodylastics resistance tubes, but due to legal issues they don’t ship to Germany
( So now I guess I’ll stuck with having to get weights and a push up bar for in between the door frame. Do you have any recommendation on what kind of weights I’d need to start out with? I am female, 28 and close to your physique I guess…
Also I read your post about nutrition with interest and was wondering how you spread your meals throughout the day, since the nutriotion plan I followed for a while said you were supposed to have at least 5 hours in between each meal, with 3 meals a day – and that approach did not help my concentration at all
)
Sorry for this huge post, I am usually a complete lurker ;o) But I’d love to hear your advice, and wanted to tell you that you do inspire with your attitude and all the information given.
Huge thanks for that and lots of strength and joy on the path you are on
)
Daniela
Hi Daniela
First of all I am really sorry to hear that you have to deal with IBS. It’s one of those conditions that really can hinder your quality of life and secondly I know EXACTLY where you are coming from when you are talking about problems with Energy levels.
Third, you pretty much already did the biggest step to decide to do something about your situation and I am really happy for you that you did
There should be tons of stores with resistance tubes in Germany too. Inter Sport, where I got most of my equipment, has a great variety of options to chose from. I do have resistance bands but I do prefer to use the dumbbells. But it’s mostly the fear that the bands could end up on my face..about as unjustified as a fear as my fear of balloons
I started really light with 1.5kg and 2kg weights. You might be able to go higher. Right now I am working with 3kg and will have to buy heavier ones for my next round of P90X. I am sure they won’t mind if you try to do some curls in the store if you end up deciding you want to buy some. You should feel burning around the 8th to 10th repetition. That means they are good for you. Depending on the exercises you will have to switch eventually since some are easier and some are harder.
When it comes to eating, I eat breakfast between 7 and 8 (it’s good to eat within an hour of getting up to jump-start your system), then mid-morning snack around 10, lunch around 12/1, mid-afternoon snack around 3 to 4 and then dinner at 1900ish/2000ish. It depends a bit on your own schedule obviously but I try to not eat after 2100 of possible. Or at least 3 hours before going to bed.
And don’t apologize, I love to hear from others. I’ll be sending you an email so we can discuss this further
I need an artwork from you..I get this site from CGsociety..but cannot get your email… just let me know so we can further discuss..thanks…
Leo