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

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?

P90X: Day 21 - Rest

Rest

Today marks the end of week 3 of the P90X program. So far, it has been an interesting ride. You have days where you do not want to push play and do the workout, but you have to find something inside yourself that pushes you onward. You get tired, very tired. Low carb dieting is rough. It zaps the energy from your body. I had to incorporate some more healthy carbs into my diet to make it work. I got into the rut of not eating enough. It is really hard to eat that much protein and such few carbs. One more week of this phase and I move on to Phase 2, I am excited. Starting tomorrow I will be into the rest week consisting of lower impact DVD's.

My thoughts: The first 3 weeks have gone relatively well. My nutrition is pretty good throughout the week. On the weekends is the hard part of the nutrition plan. During the week you bring your lunch and snacks to work which makes it easy to adhere to a strict diet, but on the weekends you have a lot more temptation to go out and grab something really quick. Even when going out and grabbing something, I try to maintain a healthy diet. If I go somewhere that does not have anything healthy, I just eat a smaller portion size than I normally would to try to cut the calorie intake on that meal.

I have noticed that my muscles are starting to show a little bit more. My abs are trying to see light for the first time in 3 years. I look skinnier, but I have not lost any weight. Probably due to putting on muscle whilest losing fat. I have stayed between 175 lb and 179 lb every day since the program began.

Have you ever faltered on a diet or are you hardcore in your resolve to diet?

P90X: Day 20 - Kenpo X

Kenpo X

While I have not had a problem keeping up with workouts, this weekend was an exception. I was supposed to do this workout on Saturday, but got into a serious bout of playing the New Super Mario Brothers on the Wii (we beat the game from world 2). Anyway, I did not do this workout. I skipped it to play video games with friends. I shall continue with the P90X workout program as though I completed this workout. I read that if you miss one workout, you should continue onwards, but if you miss 3 or 4, you need to repeat the week.

My thoughts: Perhaps on the weekends I need workout in the mornings when I get up so I do not run into this scenario. It would be nice to get the workout out of the way so I can enjoy the rest of the day better without the workout 'hanging over my head'. This goes to show you how a slip up of not working out when you have a chance and procrastinating will cause you to accidentally miss your workout.

What do you think about missing a workout? Is it bad or do you sometimes need a break?

P90X: Day 19 - Legs and Back

Legs and Back with Ab Ripper X

What a hard workout. I'll be the first to admit that my legs are not my strongest point on my body, but they manage. Legs and Back is rough for me, very rough. So many lunges, calf raises, and squats that your legs feel like jello half way through. Couple that feeling with having to walk up and down stairs to get to your pull up bar and you have a very unstable situation. The back aspect of Legs and Back went exceedingly well today. All the pull ups I did felt good and there was no use of a chair to assist in my efforts.

Ab Ripper X went well on this day. I did the exercises till a burn engulfed my midsection that was unmistakable. My abs are beginning to show threw ever so slightly. I can feel a six pack, potentially more. All that is required is to lose the body fat to let those glorious muscles show through.

My thoughts: I need to squat lower and stay there longer. I need to do more pull ups. I am beginning to get accustomed to doing pull ups, they are getting easier day by day. The leg exercises were not that difficult, but there is such an abundance of them that you cannot help but falter a little bit.

Have you ever had a 6 pack?

P90X: Day 18 - Yoga X

Yoga X

The third week of Yoga X was more intense than the prior. It seems as though each week I get more comfortable and more flexible. This increase in comfort and flexibility leads me to push myself harder and farther than the previous week. My technique for Yoga X is bordering on perfection. My downward dog has developed into a work of art where my heals are almost on the ground and I can maintain the pose for quite a long time. The main thing you can do whilest in the hardest positions known to man and woman is just remember to breathe. It will burn, it will hurt, but you 'breathe, and breath some more'.

My thoughts: I thought today was excellent in terms of my effort put forth in the Yoga X workout. I did not do the Ohm's at the end of the DVD, so it was cut a few minutes short of an hour and a half. I am getting better at balancing on my hands, my warrior 1, 2, 3, and reverse warrior are beginning to show promise as a strong yoga x pose. My flexibility, almost able to palm the ground with my feet together and my legs straight, is showing through.

Have you ever done downward dog?

P90X: Day 17 - Shoulders and Arms

Shoulders and Arms with Ab Ripper X

I got wild and crazy on this workout. I did the entire shoulders and arms workout with 20lb dumbbells today. I threw in extra exercises while I was waiting for the people on the DVD to finish up. I do not seem to get too exhausted from this workout. I feel the burn, it hurts a ton, it's a struggle, but compared to kenpo X or Plyometrics, it does not seem to be too hardcore. Granted, both of those workout DVD's are cardio intensive and the shoulders and arms is more build muscle intensive.

Ab ripper X was awesome today. I switched up the order of the exercises slightly. Since the v-up exercise has been giving me so much trouble, I put it first and did 12. That wore me out pretty good so that the rest of the workout was a considerable challenge. I have noticed that the workout is getting easier every week so I must be doing something right.

My thoughts: Week 3 Shoulders and Arms with Ab ripper X was intense. I could definitely feel the exercises. I threw in some shrugs, various shoulder exercises, and hammer curls on top of the hour long routine.

Do you like cardio workouts or muscle building workouts more?

P90X: Day 16 - Plyometrics

Plyometrics

Man, what a crazy workout. I had sweat dripping off of me just like I got out of the shower. I jumped around till my legs were on fire and I could barely walk, then I jumped around some more. I was so glad/relieved when this workout was finished for the week. I do not understand how 'Dom' can jump that high for that long, it is insane. This hour long workout is beginning to be the dreaded workout of the week, that's for sure.

My thoughts: You would think that if you do a workout 3 weeks in a row that it would get easier. Not plyometrics, it has only gotten harder as I get more familiar with the exercises. The exercise that gives me the most problems and hurts the most are probably run stance squat thingies or any of the jump turning moves. My knee cannot hand too much jumping while turning, it gets tweaky. I am very surprised that I am not crazy sore from plyometrics.

Have you ever done any type of sports related training?

P90X: Day 15 - Chest and Back

Chest and Back with Ab Ripper X

Welcome to week 3 of the P90X workout program! Chest and Back is the name of the game today. My familiarity with this workout has grown over the past 2 weeks only to realize the sheer amount of push ups and pull ups that are required. Again, I imagine the palmetto bugs below me on the pull ups to my chin above the bar. Sometimes, I accidentally imagine them when doing push ups which leads me to freak out. Kidding, but still you have to find the motivation to achieve your goal.

Ab Ripper X went well today. I tried to do 20 reps of every exercise and 10 reps of the hard ones that I cannot for the life of me achieve namely the V-up ones. I did 7 or 8 reps of the V-up exercise and noticed my back arching so I decided to call it on that one. One of these days that exercise will be easy, until then, I will slugg through it.

My thoughts: I tried 25 reps on push ups for everything. I achieved this goal with the exception of dive bombers and the 2nd round of diamond push ups. The pull ups were assisted by a chair where I did between 10 and 15 reps for each trying to get my body used to copious amounts of pull ups. I upped the weight considerably for heavy pants and lawnmowers. Up to around 50lb each side for those.

How do you find motivation for your goal?

P90X: Day 14 - Rest

Rest

My day of rest was awesome. I am going to do Stretch X every other week so that I actually have a rest day somewhere in there.

My thoughts: Have to love rest days. They bring out the encouragement for the rest of the week by allowing recovery. This is the end of week 2! Tomorrow, I start week 3. What an exciting adventure it has already been and I'm only 2 weeks in. Only 11 more weeks to go. I feel stronger overall, my performance is increasing substantially with every week, and I love the soreness that comes from the P90X workout System.

Do you like rest or do you prefer to workout EVERY day?