Back and Biceps with Ab Ripper X
Welcome to the 'Gun show' my friends. Back and Biceps is all about the ladies, 'giggity'. This was an extremely difficult workout that I should have used substantially more weight on. My first time doing the Back and Biceps workout led me down the road of exhaustion. This workout consists of curls, curls, more curls, and some back stuff thrown in for a change of pace. The corn cob pullups are just about ridiculous. If I had a piece of corn that was shoulder width apart, I would have a huge piece of corn.
I remember reading somewhere that the biceps only made up 1/3 of your arm with the triceps making up the remaining 2/3's. You would think to have big arms, one would want to work out the triceps more. Oh, how women do love a good, peaked bicep muscle to swing to and fro on, otherwise known as Monkey Bars of Love.
Ab ripper X was ridiculously painful today. I tried to stay with everyone on the Ab Ripper X dvd. I made it through the first 8 exercises with the DVD, then... BAM, V-up exercises only completed 16 out of 25, those things are so hard. After that, I was in some awesomely horrendous abdominal pain.
My thoughts: It was hard. I was unable to do pullups on my own, had to use a chair for most of them. Wore out biceps do not mix well with struggling pullups, that's for sure. I loved the biceps part of the exercises though. I did not overdo it with my 15lb weights for all exercises. I could definitely have used more weight on some of them, but I was not sure what to expect going into Back and Biceps. Regardless, 15lb dumbbells, doing 15 reps every exercise gave me a pump so massive that I could have inflated all 4 tires on my VW at the same time.
Do you like corn on the cob or off the cob?
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
P90X: Day 30 - Plyometrics
Plyometrics
Ah, my long lost friend known as Plyometrics. I have not done this workout in 3 or 4 weeks now. I, strangely, have been missing it like a kid misses a rabid pitbull named 'Buddy' that used to hang around the house. The kid would like for it to come around more often, but he knows that if it does he will be torn up, left with nothing but pain and a disease that will transform his body into a BEAST. I guess I could have used the analogy of a werewolf... but I wasn't that quick on my feet. That one guy in the back, 'Dom', I think he has springs in his shoes. True story.
Plyometrics always makes me think of this joke. "Why do elephants wear springs in their shoes?" See the answer down below.
My thoughts: I'm somewhat back at it today. Did Plyometrics at full intensity. Ran into a problem with my knee torquing a weird way when doing 360 jumps. That's just a prior knee dislocation injury showing it's head though. I broke a really good sweat today. My nutrition has gone downhill like no body's business. I have been eating out, eating fast food, not preparing meals. I have been a bad P90X dieter. The creatine is going good. I have been drinking copious amounts of water lately.
Answer to joke: "So they can jump into trees." Ok, ok, I kind of made that up. Elephants need Plyometrics. Think about it though, you are walking along in Africa and you come across a herd of elephants that take flight into some bushes and trees to escape their predators... Freakin awesome.
Have you ever worn springs on your feet?
Ah, my long lost friend known as Plyometrics. I have not done this workout in 3 or 4 weeks now. I, strangely, have been missing it like a kid misses a rabid pitbull named 'Buddy' that used to hang around the house. The kid would like for it to come around more often, but he knows that if it does he will be torn up, left with nothing but pain and a disease that will transform his body into a BEAST. I guess I could have used the analogy of a werewolf... but I wasn't that quick on my feet. That one guy in the back, 'Dom', I think he has springs in his shoes. True story.
Plyometrics always makes me think of this joke. "Why do elephants wear springs in their shoes?" See the answer down below.
My thoughts: I'm somewhat back at it today. Did Plyometrics at full intensity. Ran into a problem with my knee torquing a weird way when doing 360 jumps. That's just a prior knee dislocation injury showing it's head though. I broke a really good sweat today. My nutrition has gone downhill like no body's business. I have been eating out, eating fast food, not preparing meals. I have been a bad P90X dieter. The creatine is going good. I have been drinking copious amounts of water lately.
Answer to joke: "So they can jump into trees." Ok, ok, I kind of made that up. Elephants need Plyometrics. Think about it though, you are walking along in Africa and you come across a herd of elephants that take flight into some bushes and trees to escape their predators... Freakin awesome.
Have you ever worn springs on your feet?
P90X: Day 29 - Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps
Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps
Welcome back! Lets try Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps again! Beginning of Phase 2 *cue dramatic music here*. My neck is feeling better, but I am still apprehensive about further damaging it. Regardless, I am going to try and workout today. Thankfully, I succeeded at my goal. I took it relatively easy today with the weights. Over the past 2 weeks, I have been recovering from a neck/upper back injury. I did a few short workouts to loosen up the joints around the neck, but nothing serious for 2 weeks.
Ok, Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps is something that only children's book writers could comprehend due to the sheer creativity and volume of absurdity associated with it. The workout is insane. When you aren't doing one armed pushups, you are doing clap pushups, or slow pushups (these are the hardest thing EVER). The first workout I did was Chest and Back, this puts that workout to shame... this is ridiculous. It's like I started the P90X workout program all over.
I swear, I gained 50 pounds of body weight before I did this workout. I felt like a retarded spider man scooting across the floor as if it were the side of a building. They don't show you that in the Spider Man movies. There are a LOT of shoulder exercises in this DVD. Be prepared to hurt.
My thoughts: I took it easy doing the Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout this time. I did a few exercises from the Ab Ripper X because I could tell that my neck was crazy tense. I was getting afraid of working out because I did not want to wake up and have to call ghostbusters to exercise the demons out of my neck. I still got one hell of a pump from this workout though.
How many one armed pushups can you do?
Welcome back! Lets try Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps again! Beginning of Phase 2 *cue dramatic music here*. My neck is feeling better, but I am still apprehensive about further damaging it. Regardless, I am going to try and workout today. Thankfully, I succeeded at my goal. I took it relatively easy today with the weights. Over the past 2 weeks, I have been recovering from a neck/upper back injury. I did a few short workouts to loosen up the joints around the neck, but nothing serious for 2 weeks.
Ok, Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps is something that only children's book writers could comprehend due to the sheer creativity and volume of absurdity associated with it. The workout is insane. When you aren't doing one armed pushups, you are doing clap pushups, or slow pushups (these are the hardest thing EVER). The first workout I did was Chest and Back, this puts that workout to shame... this is ridiculous. It's like I started the P90X workout program all over.
I swear, I gained 50 pounds of body weight before I did this workout. I felt like a retarded spider man scooting across the floor as if it were the side of a building. They don't show you that in the Spider Man movies. There are a LOT of shoulder exercises in this DVD. Be prepared to hurt.
My thoughts: I took it easy doing the Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout this time. I did a few exercises from the Ab Ripper X because I could tell that my neck was crazy tense. I was getting afraid of working out because I did not want to wake up and have to call ghostbusters to exercise the demons out of my neck. I still got one hell of a pump from this workout though.
How many one armed pushups can you do?
P90X: Injury
Injury
(Having troubles with the fonts for some reason... sigh)
Ok, so, I did the Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout on Day 29 as planned. It went very well, nothing bad happened at the time. I was not sore whatsoever when I went to bed that Monday night. When I awoke Tuesday, I realized that I had a horrible pain in my upper back/neck area that prevented me from turning my head. It was a horrible Injury. It was the worst crick in my neck I have ever had. The pain was relentless, like a midget swinging from my nerve ending attached to my spine.
Since that day, I stopped P90X due to Injury. So, what caused this horrible sensation in my neck/upper back? I think it was Scarecrows with too heavy of weight and I was swinging with my back. I only used 8 lb, but I think I was not using proper form and that put pressure throughout my upper back.
Anyway, the injury has gotten better over the past 2 weeks, leading to me workout again. I am picking back up where I left off, redoing the Chest, shoulders, and triceps workout that lead to the P90X injury in the first place.
My thoughts: It hurt so bad, I thought that I slipped a disk. It is better after 2 weeks of rest, ice, pain killers, and a few muscle relaxers from the doctor.
What type of injuries have you had that set you back on your goals of working out?
(Having troubles with the fonts for some reason... sigh)
Ok, so, I did the Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout on Day 29 as planned. It went very well, nothing bad happened at the time. I was not sore whatsoever when I went to bed that Monday night. When I awoke Tuesday, I realized that I had a horrible pain in my upper back/neck area that prevented me from turning my head. It was a horrible Injury. It was the worst crick in my neck I have ever had. The pain was relentless, like a midget swinging from my nerve ending attached to my spine.
Since that day, I stopped P90X due to Injury. So, what caused this horrible sensation in my neck/upper back? I think it was Scarecrows with too heavy of weight and I was swinging with my back. I only used 8 lb, but I think I was not using proper form and that put pressure throughout my upper back.
Anyway, the injury has gotten better over the past 2 weeks, leading to me workout again. I am picking back up where I left off, redoing the Chest, shoulders, and triceps workout that lead to the P90X injury in the first place.
My thoughts: It hurt so bad, I thought that I slipped a disk. It is better after 2 weeks of rest, ice, pain killers, and a few muscle relaxers from the doctor.
What type of injuries have you had that set you back on your goals of working out?
P90X: Day 28 - Rest or Stretch X
Rest
Well today, I looked at myself in the mirror and told myself, "You deserve a rest day, you just completed Phase 1 of the P90X workout program!" While looking in the mirror I was flexing, admiring my new found muscle, wondering if it would ever grow up and turn into real muscle, then I giggled. Seriously though, I used to workout 7 days a week, powerlift, and love all kinds of rage inducing music that would 'pump me up' to get that next max bench press, but doing the P90X program is entirely too much fun. Well, except for Plyometrics and Core Synergistics, those two workouts are freakin hard.
Tomorrow, Day 29, I start Phase 2 of the 3 phase P90X workout program. Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps will beckon me. Until then, I will enjoy my rest. Oh yeah, I promised myself that if I completed a month (phase 1) of the P90X workout program, I would get some creatine to mix into my protein shakes. So, without any hesitation, I went to the local vitamin shoppe and got some creatine. I have taken it in the past and noticed awesome results from it. Also, I took pictures today. I will take them again at 60 days.
My thoughts: I love rest days.
What are your thoughts on Creatine? Is it good, bad, or freaking awesome?
Well today, I looked at myself in the mirror and told myself, "You deserve a rest day, you just completed Phase 1 of the P90X workout program!" While looking in the mirror I was flexing, admiring my new found muscle, wondering if it would ever grow up and turn into real muscle, then I giggled. Seriously though, I used to workout 7 days a week, powerlift, and love all kinds of rage inducing music that would 'pump me up' to get that next max bench press, but doing the P90X program is entirely too much fun. Well, except for Plyometrics and Core Synergistics, those two workouts are freakin hard.
Tomorrow, Day 29, I start Phase 2 of the 3 phase P90X workout program. Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps will beckon me. Until then, I will enjoy my rest. Oh yeah, I promised myself that if I completed a month (phase 1) of the P90X workout program, I would get some creatine to mix into my protein shakes. So, without any hesitation, I went to the local vitamin shoppe and got some creatine. I have taken it in the past and noticed awesome results from it. Also, I took pictures today. I will take them again at 60 days.
My thoughts: I love rest days.
What are your thoughts on Creatine? Is it good, bad, or freaking awesome?
P90X: Day 27 - Yoga X
Yoga X
Shall I chant "Gumby" is a seductive voice to get the message clearly across? If I were as flexible as the individuals on the Yoga X DVD, I would be afraid of puncturing an internal organ or two. I swear I saw the arm of an EMS staff member on the side lines of this video because they realized the danger and liability associated with people dismembering themselves voluntarily. I'm sure these people have given themselves black eyes for falling down to stretch their hamstrings not realizing there is nothing stopping them from smacking themselves in the head with their knee cap.
Ok, ok, enough about how flexible these people can get on Yoga X. Lets move on to a better subject. Alcohol, in conjunction with sports. How does Yoga X play into this scenario? It doesn't, but it does raise awareness for Alcohol related sports injuries by developing a physical routine boring enough to put the drunk to sleep... see 'corpse pose'. Regardless, drunk people should not do Yoga X. True story.
My thoughts: Not Natural, never will be. However, if the program requires that my downward dog be practiced 400 times to be on the cover of 'downward dog weekly', then so be it! I will do your 'downward dog' and see you a tree pose good sir! The workout went fine. I do NOT like the exercises up on your neck. I have opted out of those out of fear of hurting something permanently in my neck. During that time, I generally just stretch other things like my hamstrings or various other ligaments and muscles.
Where and when is it appropriate to be this flexible? Freaky Naughty in the Bedroom, that's where.
Shall I chant "Gumby" is a seductive voice to get the message clearly across? If I were as flexible as the individuals on the Yoga X DVD, I would be afraid of puncturing an internal organ or two. I swear I saw the arm of an EMS staff member on the side lines of this video because they realized the danger and liability associated with people dismembering themselves voluntarily. I'm sure these people have given themselves black eyes for falling down to stretch their hamstrings not realizing there is nothing stopping them from smacking themselves in the head with their knee cap.
Ok, ok, enough about how flexible these people can get on Yoga X. Lets move on to a better subject. Alcohol, in conjunction with sports. How does Yoga X play into this scenario? It doesn't, but it does raise awareness for Alcohol related sports injuries by developing a physical routine boring enough to put the drunk to sleep... see 'corpse pose'. Regardless, drunk people should not do Yoga X. True story.
My thoughts: Not Natural, never will be. However, if the program requires that my downward dog be practiced 400 times to be on the cover of 'downward dog weekly', then so be it! I will do your 'downward dog' and see you a tree pose good sir! The workout went fine. I do NOT like the exercises up on your neck. I have opted out of those out of fear of hurting something permanently in my neck. During that time, I generally just stretch other things like my hamstrings or various other ligaments and muscles.
Where and when is it appropriate to be this flexible? Freaky Naughty in the Bedroom, that's where.
P90X: Day 26 - Core Synergistics
Core Synergistics
My second go at Core Synergistics. This workout is rough. Using all the body muscles on exercises leads to intense sensations, sometimes pleasant like a summer breeze whilest in a meadow, other times they are just torture like someone holding you down while tickling you till you pee yourself, you love it, but you hate it at the same time.... Many people say that Plyometrics puts the X in P90X, but I say that the X in P90X is a combination of Plyometrics and Core Synergistics. Is it bad if I feel violated after doing the rolling around on the ground?
Thoughts: I think I did pretty alright on this workout tonight. Since it is the second time I did Core Synergistics, I knew what to expect. The first time I did this workout, I was struggling the entire way. I need to work on my stability and flexibility more. Plank seemed pretty good, I could hold that one just fine. The Chatur...*passes out* run, otherwise known as running under barbwire, was still a significant challenge.
Has anyone ever held you down and tickled you till you pee'd yourself?
My second go at Core Synergistics. This workout is rough. Using all the body muscles on exercises leads to intense sensations, sometimes pleasant like a summer breeze whilest in a meadow, other times they are just torture like someone holding you down while tickling you till you pee yourself, you love it, but you hate it at the same time.... Many people say that Plyometrics puts the X in P90X, but I say that the X in P90X is a combination of Plyometrics and Core Synergistics. Is it bad if I feel violated after doing the rolling around on the ground?
Thoughts: I think I did pretty alright on this workout tonight. Since it is the second time I did Core Synergistics, I knew what to expect. The first time I did this workout, I was struggling the entire way. I need to work on my stability and flexibility more. Plank seemed pretty good, I could hold that one just fine. The Chatur...*passes out* run, otherwise known as running under barbwire, was still a significant challenge.
Has anyone ever held you down and tickled you till you pee'd yourself?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
P90X: Day 25 – Stretch X
Stretch X
Do you know the definition of Stretching? It is contorting oneself to the point of almost breaking yourself. How do these people not dislocate themselves from… themselves? I watch them stretch as I struggle to touch my toes and my only thought is, that cannot be natural. You know it is a good workout video when you spend more time with your mouth open in amazement watching the DVD than you do stretching yourself, amirite? If only there was some type of ‘stretch pill’ that, if taken, would increase flexibility by 200%, guaranteed. Some side effects may occur.
I love my yoga mat for Stretch X and Yoga X, it is amazing at keeping your tailbone from getting too sore.
My thoughts: Gumby? Who is gumby? Oh yeah, that’s the character on the right side of Tony Horton. What in the World! I said various times, “She dislocated that…” only to see her come out of a pretzel move and ‘shake it out’. My stretching went alright, getting ever increasing flexibility in my hamstrings and hips.
Who is Gumby? Have you heard of Gumby?
P90X: Day 24 – Kenpo X
Kenpo X
Have you ever seen Enter the Dragon starring Bruce Lee?
Ah, the good ol’ martial art routine. I love the Kenpo X DVD, mainly because it brings back memories of Tae Kwon Do. I find this DVD intense at times, but overall relatively not too difficult. I put more ‘umph’ into the kicks and punches than I originally thought I would. I try to show off an exercise’s technique as well. I suppose this comes from years of Tae Kwon Do. The only criticism that I have is that I wish it had some type of jump kicks built into the Kenpo X DVD. It’d be fun to fly through the air into the wall of the house and blame it on the cats having rabies. LOL.
I have read several places, in order to push yourself more with Kenpo X, you need to get some weighted gloves or weighted vest. I agree, this would make the workout exponentially harder. I might have to try that in Phase 3.
My thoughts: While no Core Synergistics or Plyometrics, it is a good cardio martial arts workout. I did a bunch of kicking and punching, some clawing, no yelling, and even more breathing. I felt like Bruce Lee entering the Dragon on some of the moves.
Have you ever seen Enter the Dragon starring Bruce Lee?
P90X: Day 23 – Core Synergistics
Core Synergistics
More like Core Syner *crack* OMG-my-back-just-gave-out-DVD. What devilish creature thought up this workout? It rivals that of last week’s Plyometrics for me. I know it is not a bunch of jumping, but man, I was literally pouring with sweat half way through this one. I thought this was supposed to be a rest week. The Core Synergistics DVD uses all your muscles together to maintain and execute various exercises. You do not need heavy, if any, weights for this DVD; your body weight provides more than enough. Plank to Chaturanga run is the most painful and exhilarating exercise out there. I have never done anything like it. As a matter of fact, I have not attempted many of the exercises on this Core Synergistics DVD.
Haha, I was laying down for some of these exercises looking up at the TV screen wondering how people can do this craziness. At one point, I just started laughing.
My thoughts: Pain. You will struggle with this DVD. You may THINK your core is strong, but wait till you get into this one. I rolled around on the ground like superman on fire doing barrel rolls through the ozone layer, pretended I was a tree that had fallen over a ravine, and thought I was being chased by freaky looking squirrels under barbwire 6 inches from the ground. These exercises are rough… but fun!
Have you ever ran under a barbwire fence… while not hitting the fence and only touching the ground with your hands and feet? I just did… BAM!
P90X: Day 22 – Yoga X
Yoga X
First day of the ‘recovery week’ was not too bad. Yoga X in itself has some challenging positions and moves, but it is nothing compared to last week’s Plyometrics. I have come to love some of the exercises in the Yoga X DVD and I hate some of the others. The exercises that have you lying on your shoulders upside down with your legs up in the air and the Frog position I do not enjoy at all, but I enjoy tree pose and most of the moving Vinyãsa’s (not sure if I spelled that right). I am beginning to grow fond of Downward Dog; of course, this workout program emphasizes that position so much, I hope you like it.
It is hard to go through an hour and a half of Yoga X, that’s for sure. Getting through it to the end is a very good feeling. You feel relaxed, wore out, in pain, but at peace. I do not do the Ohm’s at the end, it just seems too cultish for me at this stage in my life. Plus, what if the fiancée walks in while I am Ohming, what will I tell her? “Hey baby, I’m just Ohming, don’t mind me?” She will go for the butcher knife in the kitchen and the can of pickles out of the fridge. Everyone knows that cultish things hate pickles…
My thoughts: I did not push myself extremely hard today. I just was not feeling like exercising today. It was a struggle just to push play. I am still sore from Legs and Back a few days ago. The Yoga X workout itself was excellent; I got a good pump from the first part of the DVD. My flexibility is getting pretty awesome.
Have you ever heard of Downward Dog or cultish things hating pickles?
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