P90X Round 2, Day 37: Plyometrics

Last night I was tired. I did Ab Ripper X much later than usual, around 9:30PM and, although the workout went well, I was pretty bagged by the time I went to bed. I slept like a rock. This is unusual for me; it seems that since I started P90X last mid-December, I haven't really slept that well. I usually wake up once or twice a night, grab some water, and go back to sleep. Last night was an exception. From the time my head hit the pillow to the time I woke up, I was out like a light. Even so, when I woke up this morning, I still felt tired. I'm going to have a closer look at my diet to see why I'm crashing a bit now. I'm likely a bit short on calorie intake. I purchased some whey protein powder yesterday and will concoct my own recovery drink: 35g whey protein (31 g protein) in a glass of skim chocolate milk. We'll see how it goes.

So, getting up and pressing play for Plyometrics was a bit of a challenge. I actually found myself towelling off with Domenic after the warm-up. Not a great way to start. The first two rounds of exercises were a bit tiring. I was concerned about making it through the whole workout. That feeling hasn't happened in Plyo for quite some time. By the time the jump knee tucks were done, however, I had my second (first?) wind. The rest of the workout went really well. I was jumping higher, farther and with more energy than in recent memory. Even my daughter, who amusedly hears me grunting and groaning through the exercises as she calmly eats breakfast, remarked that I seemed to be in better form than she could recall. Love the praise from the Peanut Gallery.

Overall, the workout went really well, after picking it up following the first two rounds of exercises. I consumed my self-prescribed recovery drink (the whey gave the thin chocolate milk a milkshake-like consistency). I felt so good that I decided to ride my bike down to the office. Great ride in. As always, the real test will be returning home: all uphill. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Favourite move today: jump knee tucks. This was the turn-around exercise for me today. Got my knees up really high, and felt really energetic. I wouldn't say that I was exactly landing like a cat, but hey...doing my best and...you know.

Toughest move today: 2nd round of rock star hops. Double time will kick the wind out of you.

Tony line of the day: "Two words: RECOVERY DRINK!"

P90X: Round 2: Day 36: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps / Ab Ripper

Chest, Shoulders and Triceps

I find this to be the most difficult of all the workouts, including Plyometrics. I still find some exercises very difficult in this workout. I can do them all (except for the insanely difficult clapping pushups, where I can crank out perhaps 3, but choose to do wide hands and feet pushups instead); it's just that some of the moves are really challenging. I pause this workout more than any other, hydrate more frequently, and take longer breaks. This makes a 1h workout last about 1.25h.

Today, I didn't even feel like working out. This feeling hasn't happened too frequently during P90X, but occasionally, I feel that way. The thought of skipping a workout due to lack of motivation never crosses my mind. I always start up the disk and bravely soldier on, usually with satisfactory results. Today was no exception. I was able to improve my numbers in some small, but meaningful ways. Most of the numbers remained static from last week; however, there were some minor victories, such as in one-arm balance push-ups and pike presses. Nice improvements in those two.

Favourite move today: side-to-side pushups. I managed 15, the same as last week, but I really felt that the last 3 burned.

Toughest move today: weighted circles. Only one set in each direction, using 10lb weights, before my arms sagged and I lost all sense of form. This is a really difficult exercise for me, especially since it's near the end of the workout.

Tony line of the day: "I don't like it when Phil is funnier than me." (cool down)

Ab Ripper X

I didn't get around to working abs until around 9:30 PM, well past suppertime. I don't like working out this late, because I'm usually pretty fatigued, but with other commitments today, I wasn't able to scratch together 16 minutes in a row for myself. Too much assistance with homework, shopping, looking after household requirements. All the joys of fatherhood and married life. Then, when all has become quiet, burn those abs.

My wife suggested that I skip ARX today. WHAT?! That's the time when you have to show up and push play. I advised her that she should never suggest skipping a workout to a dedicated Xer.

The workout went pretty well, in spite of general fatigue. I still felt my meal partway up my abdomen (not a good feeling, especially during heels to heaven) but I managed to complete the entire set, matching moves with Tony and the kids.

Favourite move today: Heels to heaven. Felt strong today.

Toughest move today: VF Rollups. Form suffered a bit on the roll-up.

Tony line of the day: "Let's climb our legs."

P90X Round 2, Day 34: Kenpo X

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: doing Kenpo the day after Legs and Back is a glute killer for me. On top of it all, I decided to ride my bike down to the office. Ouch. Riding home uphill should make for an interesting end to the day.

I know I'm in for a tough day of Kenpo when I do downward dog to stretch out my calves and they are incredibly tight. I thought I had done a reasonable job stretching them out following the Legs and Back workout, but I guess I was Johnny Intense during the calf raises yesterday and really hit the muscles' sweet spot during the last ten burners. Stretching out this morning during the Saunders Cycle warmup resulted in a lot of groaning, popping, clicking and breathing. I thought the warmup would kill me.

At least I was able to pursue the workout in reasonably good form. I had extra concentration on the punching sequences, making sure to rotate my body, pivot on my heels, and taking care not to bang or hyperextend my joints. I think my heart rate was more elevated during this sequence than before, due to the extra attention given to the quality of the exercises.

Still, the leg kicks kicked my butt. Those sore glutes from yesterday prevented me from getting any serious height out of my side and back kicks, at least for the first few in the sequences. Eventually, my legs stretched out, becoming used to the kicking motion, and I managed to get in a few respectable repetitions. Overall, I had a good workout and worked up a fabulous sweat.

I am still the undisputed owner of the Klutz of the Day award with my form on Star Blocks. No matter how hard I try this, I cannot seem to coordinate my arm motions properly. I probably look hilarious trying to do this move. It's a good thing I'm alone in my tiny basement, away from prying eyes. My wife did drop in on me once (fortunately, I was doing side kicks at the time) and I thought I glimpsed her eyes rolling, but at least she didn't catch the Star Block circus: arms flailing...you get the idea. Neither pretty, nor impressive.

Favourite move today: the opening punching sequences.

Toughest move today: front knee kick, followed by back kick. Pulling in the knee really stretched out my glutes. Ouch.

Tony line of the day: "Real sweat. Real people."

P90X Round 2, Day 33: Ab Ripper X

I rarely look forward to the ARX workout, even though it is, by far, the most frequently occurring event on the P90X calendar and for quite awhile, now, I have been able to keep up with Tony and the kids on every move.

Still, it is a necessary part of the program and, like most dedicated Xers, I am pretty much fanatical about not skipping or missing a workout.

All went well today. I'm still working hard to close the gap between my legs and chest during Fifer Scissors, and to keep my legs perfectly straight while so doing. I find that particularly difficult, because my legs just aren't that flexible. I have, however, noticed improvement as I concentrate more on form and keep pushing play and doing the exercises. Like always, small steps will get me there (I trust).

Favourite move today: VF Rollups. On most of the pulse-ups, I was actually able to touch my toes. My back is really getting off the mat. Very exciting (obviously, I lead a sheltered life).

Toughest move today: Bicycles. Big burn in the thighs, especially in the reverse bicycles.

Tony line of the day: "There's no Part 1 and Part 2. There's Part 2." (crunchy frog)

P90X Round 2, Day 33: Legs and Back

I have always found this workout to be tough, starting from the first exercise. After doing 10 balance lunges with the left leg forward, my mind is pretty much ready to quit. I'm holding 10 lb weights in each hand, going as deep as I can, top of foot flat on the chair behind me. By the time I reach 25 and try to stand up, my glutes are killing me. And that's just the first exercise!

I've always had pretty strong legs, so I do enjoy this workout. Completing each exercise and keeping up with Tony and the kids are not really issues for me anymore, so I concentrate more on form and breathing, keeping the legs straight in lunges, arms and chest high in chair pose, deep squat in Groucho Walk, deep knee bend in skater. On the other side of the workout, the pull-ups, I've pretty much maxed out my reps using the black resistance band. I'm getting the maximum stretch I can achieve in my tiny basement space and am doing 24 reps each time for each type of pull-up. It's a time like this when I wish I had a higher ceiling (it's about 6'-3") and had a suitable doorway to install a chin-up bar (I don't). Do your best, and forget the rest.

By the time the workout was over, I was a sweaty pig. It's as though I had been standing outside in a rainstorm. It felt great. I had a terrific leg shake going. I was really pumped to ride my bike into the office and changed into my cycling gear, but upon opening the door and feeling the blast of a 4°C, 15km/h wind in my face, I did an about face, and changed into a winter sweater, put on my winter coat and donned gloves and toque. Cycling will have to wait for more amenable weather.

Favourite move today: Calf raises. Love the burners.

Toughest move today: single leg wall squats. Major leg shake.

Tony line of the day: "The P90X recovery drink. It's the only reason I do the workouts."

Later: Ab Ripper X

P90X Round 2, Day 32: Yoga X

Yoga is fast becoming one of my favourite workouts. I love the stretch, the breathing, the focus, and the sweating. I'm up at 6:00AM and can't believe how quickly 7:32 comes around.

Today, I decided to concentrate more on my breathing. I read somewhere on the P90X Facebook group site that by the time you strike a pose, you should have completely inhaled or exhaled. Then, hold and breathe. I found that increased my focus on what my body was supposed to be doing and the time just flew by.

There were a couple more (minor) milestones achieved today: on some of the moves, I am now able to place my entire palm on the floor, whereas before, I would have only my fingertips contacting the floor. My body is becoming more flexible as time goes on.

Favourite move today: right-angle pose with hand grab, right leg forward. I'm now grabbing my entire hand, not just interlocking the fingertips. Also, I'm getting a really good stretch, opening up my chest and twisting to look upwards at the ceiling. This is a tough, but really satisfying move.

Toughest move today: 3-part touch the sky (last 20 seconds). I really pushed for maximum height. My abs were really sore after that.

Tony line of the day: "Drop down there in Warrior 2 Mr. Haas! This is Yoga X, my brother!"

P90X Round 2, Day 31: Ab Ripper X

I got around to ARX following supper. Not the greatest time to do it, with my meal still resting (undigested) in my gut; however, one must press on.

Aside from occasional laboured breathing (due to expanded stomach competing with lung space, no doubt) the workout was great. My charming and talented wife, checking email at the computer while I exercised, barely noticed my presence. Either I wasn't grunting to distraction or my marriage is in trouble. I prefer to believe the former.

All moves were really strong today. Just a great workout. No cracking of the right hip flexor at all today.

I saw some "Making of P90X" videos on YouTube the other day. Some of the moves in ARX are named after participants in the test group: Fifer Scissors (Scott Fifer) and Mason Twists (after the director, named Mason). I found that to be quite interesting.

Favourite move today: Mason Twists. Bring it.

Toughest move today: None come to mind (a first!)

Tony line of the day: "We're halfway done...the party's almost over...what a bummer!"