P90X+: Round 3: Day 83: Kenpo / Cardio Plus

Great X-citement Plus here today, as this officially completes Round 3. I now head into the next phase of my life, into Round 4, with a recovery week in-between as a buffer. I'm looking forward to a little stretchy time next week to allow my body a chance to mend. Something about micro-tears in the muscles needing healing, I understand.

It's been an interesting journey. I've certainly felt challenged by the P90X+ program, and would not say that I conquered it; rather, it's like the feeling I had upon completing my first round of P90X. I did reasonably well, but did not master it. This week was testament to that: I still found Upper Plus and Total Body Plus quite challenging, even in Week 12. Not as challenging as in Week 1, but difficult nevertheless. I like the way the program continues to challenge you, or perhaps, you challenge the program. As your level of fitness improves, you can achieve more, so you strive for more. It never becomes easy.

I doubt I'd repeat this program as-is. I feel that the program could have benefitted from greater variety, and that doing Upper Plus twice each week became slightly boring and repetitive, although the workout is enjoyable. I'd rather have seen a legs or lower body workout substituted. In that vein, I've been toying with the idea of creating a custom workout schedule for Round 4, consisting of P90X, P90X+ and 1 on 1 with Tony Horton. That should keep the mind sharp and the muscles confused.

Today was Kenpo Cardio Plus and, like yesterday, I didn't get sufficient sleep due to another late baseball game (the Angels beat the hated and despised Red Sox in L.A.) and my wife's all-night coughing (the poor thing). I still felt reasonable energized during the workout and never felt that I was going to crash. Perhaps that is due to my increased water intake yesterday and a new insistence that I eat a good breakfast, in addition to my recovery drink. I really like this workout, especially the high arm block burnout at the end. This workout will definitely make its way into the cardio section of Round 4.

To anyone out there listening, thanks for reading. And if there's no-one out there, writing these almost-daily notes has been a great motivator for me. It's served as an opportunity for me to consider my highs and lows, successes and failures, and to keep my on my personal path to living a healthier life, in all respects.

P90X+: Round 3: Day 82: Upper Plus

My lifelong love affair with all things baseball affected me greatly today. There were 3 games on yesterday, two of which I saw commencing at 6:07PM, and ending around 12:37AM, when, in the 5th inning, my eyes closed from fatigue (and disgust from a hideous throwing error), I headed to bed. At this morning's workout, I paid the price for having stayed up so late. My energy level was down, my endurance was off, and it was really difficult to get my mind right. I managed to persevere, but it was not the kind of workout I would have liked to end this round. In some instances, my numbers were up (I know, I've said repeatedly that it's not about the numbers, but it's still an indication of progress), in some, my numbers were down. I've been finding pumper curls more difficult to pump out recently. Today, those numbers were down because I was more focussed on an isometric hold at the top of the curl. Those additional fractions of seconds add up, resulting in a numerical decrease. The intensity of the exercise, however, was increased. The sweat was flowing.

On the other hand, my lack of endurance caused me to pause the DVD a couple of times to catch my breath. I took some extra time during the breaks to sufficiently recover. I've now done this workout 21 times, and it's still challenging.

On a personal level, I now truly understand the importance of getting sufficient sleep. The lack of sleep, accompanied by a likely lack of hydration, is not conducive to working out. Drink your water people! Today, my glass is beside me and I'm rehydrating. Lesson learned.

P90X+: Round 3: Day 81: Yoga

I missed Yoga last week, as I took a bit of time off to recover from an ailing stomach. As a result, it's been 2 weeks since I last really stretched out.

I was feeling a bit tight this morning, likely from yesterday's Total Body workout. Specifically, my legs and glutes needed a good stretch. It's surprising, and somewhat disturbing, that my body can become so tight within such a short period of time. During my time off, my neck, legs, glutes, shoulders and back all became a bit stiff, and in some cases, somewhat sore. It only serves to reinforce the importance of consistent exercise and consistent stretching.

So, yoga was most welcome today. The routine moved quickly, and I was very focussed on stretching out specific parts of my body. Warrior 1, Warrior 2 and Warrior 3 were terrific. I got a great stretch all along the side of my body during Warrior 3. I've been thinking that during my early rounds of P90X, I didn't think so much about what the particular pose was supposed to accomplish. Now, I'm much more aware of that, and I'm going deep into my poses, concentrating on the stretch, and focussing on breathing through any discomfort. It's all good.

Namaste.

P90X+: Round 3: Day 80: Total Body Plus

Keeping track of the days has been a bit confusing of late, with Week 12 restarting. Yesterday, I felt energetic upon my return home from work, so I decided to attack a round of Plyometrics, doubling up the day's workouts to catch up with the weekly schedule. Hence, I'm logging today as Day 80, as yesterday's workouts comprised both Days 78 and 79.

The Plyometrics workout was tough. I started out strong, but found that my energy soon dissipated, much sooner than during the usual early morning workouts. I found myself starting to watch the clock and was wondering whether I'd be able to complete the workout without having to pause the tape. I never realized how quickly Tony moves from one exercise to the next, until this workout. When your energy's dwindling, the down time between exercises really flies.That's the time when you find what you're made of. Are you going to Bring It? I decided to dig deep, and pushed through the entire workout. There was plenty of knee-grabbing and gasping going on, and it probably wasn't the prettiest Plyometrics workout I've ever done, but it was one of the most satisfying. It's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to succeeding at a task. There is tremendous satisfaction resulting from pushing yourself to what you think are your mental and physical limits. I think that success in exercise is largely mental; the physical surely counts, but your mind controls your body. Think of taking a placebo.

This morning's workout, Total Body Plus, was as tough as ever. It's been two weeks since I last did the workout, and throughout this Round, I've always found this routine to be challenging. I could probably use another round with this workout, because I have yet to master it. It's reminiscent of some of the workouts from the original P90X series, in that it took me more than one round to really feel comfortable. I will likely include this workout in my next, customized round, in some capacity.

Now that I'm back on track, I'm looking forward to returning to one workout per day. I'm especially looking forward to Yoga tomorrow.

P90X+: Round 3: Day 78: Upper Plus

Break's over. I took the last 5 days off to recover, following a very brief bout of stomach unrest. Now, it's time to rewind and restart Week 12 (hence, this post is listed as Day 78 - again). It was a bit of a mental downer, having to restart Week 12, because with the finish line staring you in the face, you really don't want to stop, back up, and recommence; however, that's the nature of the program and the mindset that develops upon engaging in it. Once you start, you never want to stop. If there's a setback, you deal with it and carry on. If you have to go back and do what you've done before, you do it. It's not really about numbers. It's about developing a fitness regimen and an attitude towards your personal health. It's about being honest with yourself. If I had said I'd completed the program, who would care? No-one. Who would I be cheating? Me. This entire program: the workouts and the nutrition, is all about the Honour System. If you're going to do it, be honest with yourself. That's rule no. 1.

I did Upper Plus this morning, hopping back onto the horse, and it was somewhat difficult for me, especially the push-up exercises. My chest and shoulders felt a bit fatigued, after not having worked out for a number of days. It's amazing how working out frequently keeps your energy level high. I find that resting causes my energy level to drop. Logic would have it the other way, but that's my logic for you. I guess the real equation is: use it, or lose it.

Overall, the workout went pretty well, energy level notwithstanding. I didn't pause the tape, and I tried to push myself as hard as possible. There were some moments of huffing and puffing, but I managed to complete the workout in pretty reasonable shape. I did find that my numbers were somewhat down, but only marginally: a rep here and there, basically. In general, things were satisfactory, and I'm looking forward to finishing the week strongly.