P90X Round 2, Day 31: Back and Biceps

Well, my muscles are certainly confused. I was still sore yesterday and this morning from Sunday's Chest, Shoulders and Triceps workout. Today, I had to work the opposite groups of muscles.

I enjoy this workout (except for Katy's whiny voice). I like the organization of the sequences: a pull-up routine, then three bicep/back moves, then a pull up routine, etc. I also enjoy the workouts where we run straight through a set of 24 exercises (the same with Chest, Shoulders and Triceps) instead of repeating the exercises as we did during Phase 1. I like the different look. It prevents the program from becoming stale for me.

This workout moves a bit too quickly for me. Because I am using the bands, I am able to do a greater number of repetitions, so I find myself still exercising after the clock has run down to zero. Then, with writing the information down, I fall behind. As a result, I find myself pausing the DVD more frequently than in other workouts, not to take longer breaks, but just to get in my reps and log my information.

I'm using the black resistance band with a door attachment for all the pull-up/chin-up exercises and have pretty much maxed out at 24 reps on most of them. I'm about as far back from the door as space permits in my tiny, low-ceiling basement room. I'd love to get a bigger stretch on the bands, but have yet to devise a way of doing so. At any rate, by the time I hit the maximum rep pull-up exercise near the end of the workout, I'm pretty toasty.

For the bicep exercises, I mostly use the blue resistance band. Occasionally, I'll use the green and red band (strip set curls), but I'm trying to use the blue as often as possible for greater resistance. By the end of the workout, I can barely lift my arms to wash my face.

It was a good workout today. I matched, and in some cases, exceeded the numbers from week 12 of Round 1. I'm looking forward to improving on today's numbers. Perhaps I'll switch to the black band for some exercises next week.

Later: Ab Ripper X

Favourite move today: didn't really have one. Perhaps One Arm Cross Body Curls.

Toughest move today: Hammer Curls. I find these really challenging, particularly since they come so late in the workout. Had to use the green band.

Tony line of the day: "These were invented by E. Cohen. He was a crouching, curling kinda guy" (Crouching Cohen Curls)

P90X Round 2, Day 30: Plyometrics

My workouts always have Plyometrics scheduled for Monday mornings, and waking up at 6:15AM on a Monday is not exactly my idea of fun. The consolation is that this workout moves quickly and, thankfully, is over in pretty short order.

I've been feeling pretty strong lately. Last Friday, I rode my bicycle to the office (all downhill, the story of my life) and back again at the end of the day (all uphill, the story of my life). I felt great on the ride home, energetic and not really tired, which has never happened during my first ride of the season. When I arrived in the driveway, I started coughing (which I attributed to air pollution - I hope). After a few glasses of water, the coughing subsided. About an hour later, I played tennis with my son and daughter for an hour. Even tennis was a breeze. I was getting to balls I would never have reached a year ago (returning them is another story - as my son says, I can get there, but don't have the stroke control to return!) I could never have done this without P90X. Again, no serious fatigue. Life is good.

Back to Plyo. I have a love / hate relationship with certain moves in this workout. Some moves I know are going to kick my butt, but I look forward to the challenge anyway. In retrospect, there are a lot of individual exercises in P90X which fall into this category. Today, things moved fairly well during the first two groups of exercises. I flagged a bit around the 36 minute mark, when I caught myself watching the overall countdown clock and thought that it was going to be a rough day; however, I was able to pick things up during the third group, starting with jump-knee-tucks (the mother!) and finished strongly. Sweaty, but strong. After the workout, I couldn't believe how red my face was. Scary red, like a really bad sunburn. I guess I was more intense today than I had thought.

Favourite move today: Jump-Knee-Tuck. Really aimed high with the knees, and felt controlled and strong.

Toughest move today: Mary Katherine Lunges (2nd round): really hard to get low into the lunge, especially left leg forward, and still keep up with Tony during the double time lunges. Ouch.

Tony line of the day: "I've got my hands on my knees...I'm hitting my own personal pause button...I'm back." (gap jumps)

P90X Round 2, Day 29: Chest, Shoulders,Triceps/Ab Ripper X

Commence Phase 2. My son took the traditional photographic poses marking the end of Phase 1 and the start of Phase 2. I usually take the photos between phases, rather than waiting precisely for days 30 and 60; I just like the break between phases better. Personal preference, I suppose.

Chest, Shoulders and Triceps

This workout killed me every time in Round 1. I'd say it's probably the toughest workout for me, Plyometrics notwithstanding. At least in Plyo I can DO all the exercises; in CST I find it difficult to do some of the exercises, especially the ones near the end of the workout. I was curious to see whether I'd improved in my fitness since the last attempt. Time to Bring It.

It started with the slow motion pushups. Previously (in Round 1) I found this really fatiguing and was not able to do additional pushups during the bonus round. Today, not only did I crank out the slow pushups, but also squeezed out an additional 10 as a bonus. The entire workout didn't go as brilliantly as that, but I did feel strong and was less intimidated during the exercises than previously. Overall, a good start to Phase 2.

Favourite move today: plange pushups. Really strong, and could keep going, even after the timer ran out.

Toughest move today: slide-fly pushups. This exhausts my core, shoulders, chest, you name it. I conked out with 25 seconds still left on the timer. I wouldn't exactly call that Bringing It.

Tony line of the day: "What's your shoulder saying? P90X rocks!"

Ab Ripper X

Completed all the repetitions today. Still working on improving form and focussing on engaging the core. That stubborn 6-pack will emerge someday.

Favourite move today: Heels to Heaven. Straight legs, flexed feet.

Toughest move today: Forward bicycles. I heard a disturbing clicking sound in my right hip flexor. No pain, but a strange sound effect. I'll monitor this one. No sound on the reverse bicycles, or any other move.

Tony line of the day: "I think I'll finish up with the kids."

P90X Round 2, Day 27: Yoga X

Where did Phase 1 go? With the completion of Yoga today, Phase 1 is now in the books. That went extremely quickly. Now, I'm getting mentally (and physically) prepared to move on to Phase 2. I find this phase to be more difficult on days 1 and 3, and I'm really looking forward to challenging myself. I'm looking for improvements over Round 1.

I digress. I woke up early today (5:45am), perhaps in anticipation of completing Yoga prior to heading out for an early appointment today. Not exactly the best way to start, stressing out over the timing of the workout. Nevertheless, I managed to focus on the Tip of the Day (stay in the present moment) and the time passed quickly, pleasantly and productively. My body felt a bit tight in some places (hamstrings and calves) but the workout stretched everything out nicely. I saw a video the other day on YouTube where Tony was at some convention and had an audience member demonstrating some yoga moves. His downward dog looked terrific. I felt that I should concentrate more on what my body was doing during upward dog and downward dog. This resulted in a nicer stretch which I hadn't really noticed when doing yoga previously. My lesson: don't just do it, really think about what you're doing. Make sure the moves are meaningful and working parts of the body. (I'm turning into a Yoga fanboy).

Favourite move today: Crane. Only one toe tap, right near the beginning of assuming the pose. Then, really strong balance for the rest of the entire minute. Very satisfying.

Toughest move today: Prayer Twist(s). For some reason, I lost my balance on this move, on both sides. That's never happened before. I have no idea what's going on, but I now have incentive to focus more and improve. It always seems that some move is bedeviling me.

Tony line of the day: "Working in a small, little space, and everyone's sweating like hell. What does that tell you?" Indeed.

The weather here has turned nice, and I've decided to start riding my bike into work. Today was day 1 of cycling. Usually, that results in a lot of huffing and puffing and a really exhausted body; today: nothing. I am in mid-season form, thanks to P90X. The real test will be the ride home--all uphill. I intend to Bring It.

Next: Phase 2.

P90X Round 2, Day 24: Kenpo X

I take back everything I said about Wesley Idol in my last Kenpo post. I recently saw a series of really interesting videos about the making of P90X on YouTube and saw Wesley in his studio showing some moves to Tony. Wesley Idol is a pro. No wonder he's smirking during the Kenpo workout; he probably barely breaks a sweat doing it. Next time, I'll keep my opinions to myself. But then, I suppose, what's a blog for?

I love seeing how things are made, especially films. P90X is no exception. I find it really interesting seeing the story behind the story, the personalities, the stresses and pressures, the marketing decisions, the exercises that didn't make it into the final product, and the difficulties people had following the diet. Watching this series really made me appreciate how difficult it is to design a fitness program that works. Here's the link to the first video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b91m0S5adBc

Once you're there, the others in the series will pop up. I think there are 24 altogether. Well worth watching.

Back to Kenpo. Having seen those videos the other day, I was really intent on making this the best workout ever, so I became Johnny Intense. I still have difficulty on some of the side and back kicks because I don't have the greatest flexibility in my hips (although I am really trying to open up my hips during the warmup). Just do your best and forget the rest. Over time, I hope that my kicks improve.

Favourite move today: elbow sequence.

Toughest move today: side kicks with right leg extended.

Tony line of the day: "Wesley, he's Mr. Flex-and-Breathe." (warmup)

[Sorry, no more posts until Friday.]

P90X Round 2, Day 23: Core Synergistics

I've always felt that Recovery Week should be easier than regular weeks, and perhaps technically that's true, but it didn't feel easy doing Core Synergistics today. This workout always gives me a kick in the rear and I usually end up sweating like a dog afterwards. Today was no exception.

I've improved slightly in this workout since Round 1; however, it is still a very challenging set of exercises and there's not much time between exercises for break and recovery. I spent my time today really focussing on the Tip of the Day (engage) and tried to really push my core as hard as possible. I gave the Dreya Rolls another try (I've been avoiding them since Round 1, when I thought they would injure my neck) and managed to complete several of them, so there was another (minor) victory in my progress through the program.

Favourite move today: staggered hand push-ups. All day long.

Toughest move today: walking push-ups. These come fairly late in the program, by which time my core has been pretty much worn out. I only walked for 40 seconds. There's room for improvement.

Tony line of the day: "When I say 'Engage', I don't mean go out and get engaged" (warmup)

P90X Round 2, Day 22: Yoga X

Sorry for the missed posts, but I've been away from the computer for a few days. During the roaring silence, I managed to complete Legs & Back and Kenpo X.

Yoga was the start of the Phase 1 Recovery Week. I really look forward to Yoga because it always seems to come at a time when my body could most use it. The start of Recovery Week is no exception, following the pounding I've been taking during weeks 1-3.

I've noticed some changes in my flexibility over the past few Yoga sessions. I'm able to hold poses longer and have been really focussing on form, balance and breathing. This time, I was able to touch my knee to my head with both my right and left knees prior to the right-angle pose with grab. Being able to make contact with my right knee was a first; previously, I was only able to make contact with my left knee (and that was only last week). Baby steps, but personally significant nevertheless.

Favourite move today: right angle post with grab

Toughest move today: half-moon on left leg

Tony line of the day: "I recommend using the blocks here...if you don't have them, use your cat or dog."