The Mental Aspects of P90X

Each P90X DVD starts with an on-screen message: Bring It!

This has been, for me, the foundation of my mental approach to the program. I try, each time I put in a disc, to make that the best workout I've ever done. I am tremendously competitive with myself. I push, each workout, to improve on the previous, either by increasing repetitions, increasing weight, improving form, or some combination of the three. Factored into all of this is keeping to the diet, listening to my body and getting enough rest. Completing the daily workout sheets (when applicable) is a tremendous motivator for me. The sheets form a library of information about my progress and help inform me in deciding how to next perform an exercise. There are always ways of increasing the intensity level.

I've found that my mind quits before my body actually gives out. I've been working harder at pushing my mind to tell my body that I can do more. That will be one of my primary goals of Round 2.

Enough of these preliminary musings. Time to Bring It.

Sunday: P90X, Round 2, Day 1: Chest & Back

Yoga

For me, the most foreign disc of the P90X series was Yoga. Never having taken any yoga before, I was a bit apprehensive about what to expect.

The disc is 1h 32m long, about 1/2 h longer than the other discs. The first half involves moving options; the second half consists of balancing, stretching and some abdominal exercises. The moving options really caused me to break a sweat; even though there's no cardio (other than focussed breathing), attaining a position and holding it can be really challenging. For the first few weeks, there were some positions (twisting half-moon) that I couldn't achieve. Eventually, with patience and practice, I was able to follow all moves during the program.

This program turned out to be one of my favourites, in spite of the additional 1/2h of time involved. It really helped to clear my mind and focus on my body. The timing of the program, falling on day 4, was ideal; it was a good time to allow other muscle groups to rest, to stretch out arms and legs and to change pace. It really is a great opportunity for calming the mind, listening to the body and to dissipate the stresses of daily life.

Yoga has enhanced all my other P90X workouts. I consider it indispensable.

Three days until Round 2 commences.

Next: the mental aspects of P90X

Aches and Pains

The first week of P90X was tough to endure. My body wasn't used to the rigours of an intense daily workout and there was little time for it to recover. By the end of the first week, I was really wiped.

As the weeks went by, feelings of exhaustion were replaced by heightened alertness, improved energy, and enthusiasm. Occasionally, a workout would result in some minor soreness of a joint, but the design of the program would allow that soreness to dissipate prior to working the affected joint again.

An exception: Legs and Back, followed by Kenpo. I loved the legs and back DVD, but it always resulted in painful glutes afterwards. The next day, I always had trouble stretching out for Kenpo; however, after about 10 minutes into the Kenpo exercises, everything seemed to fall into place and I could kick to the best of my ability without being bothered by the constraints of sore glutes. The rest day following Kenpo, I always had trouble walking.

I noticed over the course of Round 1 that aches and pains I had experienced for years were minimized or disappeared completely. I had a stiffness in my left knee which prevented me from squatting fully. That is now gone, likely due to Plyometrics, Legs and Back and Kenpo. Picking something from the bottom drawer of the refrigerator now brings a sense of satisfaction. It's the little things in life that count.

Four days left until Round 2 commences.

Next: Yoga

Plyometrics

Plyometrics is, for me, the most difficult of the P90X series. I found this not because of the difficulty of any single exercise, but the sum is definitely greater than the individual parts. The program consists of 3 exercises, each lasting 30 seconds, followed by a 1 minute exercise, after which the sequence is repeated. Then, a short break for hydration and mopping up with a towel. For me, the killer is the break. It wasn't long enough. It took me to about week 9 before I was able to do Plyometrics without hitting the pause button to take an extended break.

Try to keep up with the group. Tony Horton advises that there's no excuse for not doing Plyo: after all, Eric is doing it with a prosthetic right leg(!) and he can do it. Ouch. Dominic ascends to heights I couldn't reach with a trampoline.

Completing a Plyometrics workout is the most satisfying feeling I got from P90X. The most challenging, but the most rewarding workout there is.

Next: Aches and Pains

Bring It!

Round 1, Day 1: Intense feelings of trepidation, worse than the first day of school. There is nothing like the personal humiliation of confronting one's physical limitations and P90X allows plenty of opportunity for that. Such as your arms collapsing during pushups and landing with a pronounced "OOMPH" on your chest. And not being able to lift your arms up to wash your face following the workout. And the soreness in your arms, chest and back for two days following the exercises.

Of course, all of this is good. It meant that there was work to be done. If you start at the bottom, there's only one way to go. I wasn't going to get any worse, only better.

Next: Plyometrics

P90X: Round 1: the DVDs

The P90X DVDs arrived in mid-December, 2008. I viewed each one, running through them quickly on fast-forward, trying to gauge how intense the exercises would be. I recalled reading on the net that Plyometrics was a killer, so I spent some time following the exercises and visualizing doing them.

Some of the exercises do require some time for familiarization, particularly (for me, at least) Yoga X and Kenpo X. I had never taken any yoga or kickboxing before, so every move was foreign to me. Also, there are a couple of moves on the Core Synergistics disc that require a bit of repetition before habit kicks in; Tony Horton even mentions sometimes that it would be beneficial to watch, prior to engaging.

Just having the DVDs was exciting; I could hardly wait to start the program. The program runs 7 days a week, with day 7 designated for Rest or X Stretch. I chose Rest. I decided to make Sunday Day 1. This worked out well for my schedule.

My equipment was fairly minimal; I decided to use resistance bands for everything. Later, I added one set of 10 lb. hex dumbbells, but that was all. I purchased B-Line bands from Beachbody.com and one set of handles for each band. I have maroon, red, green, blue and black. I purchased (locally) a door attachment for the bands. My wife bought me a yoga mat for Yoga X and Ab Ripper X. I decided not to purchase a special mat for Plyometrics, as I could do those exercises in a carpeted space.

I had a few days left before Sunday, the dreaded and anticipated Day 1. I had trouble sleeping at night, wondering whether I would be physically able to endure the program. Although I had passed the Fit Test (available on-line), I was still concerned that my level of fitness did not truly meet the minimum requirements. I was about to find out.

Next: Bring It!