Round 4: Day 23: Core Synergistics

Why is it that Recovery Week is so tough? Because workouts like Core Synergistics are included. I'm always slightly self-delusional about how easy Recovery Week is going to be because the week starts out with Yoga (which wasn't so easy yesterday), but immediately becomes more challenging the following two days with core and cardio work. I'll chalk it up to muscle confusion. The muscles used for resistance training get a break, but others are employed in the meantime. I'll trust the program and assume that the rest is necessary for the repair of micro-tears in muscle tissue related to resistance training, but there's no mercy for other muscle groups. So far, it seems to have worked, so I won't complain. I'd like to, but I won't.

Core Synergistics is still difficult. I worked through the entire workout today without needing to pause the tape, but there were times when I felt that a pause would have been beneficial. This workout moves at a fairly rapid pace, and the design of the order of the moves is rather unrelenting. My usual rant about having Plank to Chataranga Run followed immediately by Walking Push-ups still holds here. During Walking Push-ups, I kept reminding myself that you can do anything for 30 seconds. Unfortunately, the exercise lasts 60 seconds so, I had to convince myself twice. This combination of moves is still the most difficult I've encountered in any disc of P90X, P90X+ or One on One. I did manage to soldier through it, completing all of the Chataranga Runs, a move which I find particularly tough.

As usual, I skipped the Dreya Rolls, as I'm always a bit nervous that the move will injure my neck and I don't feel that's worth the trouble, so I fast-forward to the final three moves. Overall, still a great and challenging workout.

Round 4: Day 22: Yoga

Yesterday was beautiful: sunny and 14°. I figured that it would be the last time I'd get an opportunity to play some tennis this year, so I cajoled my son into dusting off our equipment and we headed over to the local public court to hit it around. I employed some of the P90X stretching techniques prior to starting our match, but my left hip flexor felt a little stiff. I believed that after some gentle warm-up, my leg and hip would come around, but they never really did. I played stiffly for about 45 minutes before retiring. What a let-down. I was so enthusiastic heading into the match, but my Plyometrics training didn't come through for me. Of course, my son was particularly jubilant, having beaten the old man into submission. Me? Well, it was one of those tail between the legs days; one of those days where I just didn't have it. Hopefully those days will be few and far between.

This morning, I was up bright and early (no extra points in my house for that) to commence Day 1 of Recovery Week. I slipped in the yoga disc (Fountain of Youth), and still felt sore and energy-depleted from yesterday. Perhaps my diet is a bit off, or perhaps I wasn't sufficiently hydrated. I felt like I was fighting with my body and with the workout the whole time. There was definite stiffness still in my left hip. This eased somewhat over the course of the workout, but I can still feel it now, as I write. I'm sure that this will pass over the next few days. I guess it's a good thing this is Recovery Week.

Round 4: Day 20: Kenpo Cardio Plus

I got plenty of rest last night and was really ready to Bring It this morning. Initially, upon completing Bun Shaper yesterday, I wasn't sure whether I would be in a suitable condition to do this workout, but following a good evening of rest, I felt I was ready to attack this workout.

Usually, Fridays aren't great for me. I usually find that my butt cheeks are really sore, my hamstrings are tight, and my hip flexors just don't want to flex. Perhaps that's due to the intensity of the Legs and Back workout. I felt that Bun Shaper was a sufficiently difficult workout which would tax my buns and legs. There are three possibilities for the way I felt this morning:

1. I didn't work as hard during Bun Shaper as I should have.

2. Bun Shaper isn't as difficult or as taxing as I thought it was.

3. I'm in better shape than I think.

My ego is going to opt for item 3.

I breezed through this workout today (working up a fabulous sweat in the process). I don't recall the workout ever being quite this easy before. Perhaps it was all the side kicks and back kicks that I did yesterday, perhaps it was some pent-up frustration from the office being expelled. I'm not really sure, but I felt focusses and really coordinated. My balance was better on back kicks than in recent memory and, although side kicks are not my specialty, I almost managed to keep up with the kids, falling only 1 kick short in the rapid-fire side kick sequences. Now I'm starting to think that I should be increasing the intensity of my cardio workouts. I feel that my body has hit a bit of a plateau: my shape doesn't really seem to be changing and my weight has been steady, only fluctuating up and down a few pounds here and there. Following this morning's workout, I was actually pondering purchasing Insanity, and working those workouts into my hybrid schedule on cardio days. Today, when I felt energetic, that seems like a good idea; we'll see whether I'm still so enthusiastic on a cold Monday morning in deep, dark December.

This is the end of Week 3. Time for a Recovery Week.

Round 4: Day 19: Bun Shaper / Ab Ripper X

Bun Shaper

Bun Shaper is from the One on One series. I previewed the DVD yesterday to determine what props or equipment I would need, and found the workout somewhat intimidating. I usually get that feeling prior to doing a workout for the first time. This workout consists of a series of 9 moves, repeated for two rounds. Some of the individual exercises are found elsewhere in the P90X or P90X+ series; others are new to me. Some of the moves are Plyo-like, some Kenpo-like, some Yoga-like, but they are reasonably varied and sufficiently well-paced to keep the workout interesting and challenging.

The warm-up is insufficient. We find Tony at the start of the DVD completing 5 minutes of skipping rope out on his porch. He stops his skipping, hangs up the rope on a purpose-made peg, enters the workout studio and does a very short series of limited stretches. This is one of the few DVDs where I felt that the warmup stretch wasn't enough for me. Having previewed the tape, I was prepared in advance to do my own stretching, so I did so for about 6 minutes (running in place, jacks, lunges, bent-over stretches, hamstring stretches, etc.). Then, on to the individual exercises.

The first exercise, a side-to-side squat, was challenging, as my legs weren't quite warm enough to really get into the squat. Note to self to lunge more during the warm-up. The exercises moved a bit slowly, which I liked, because it offered an opportunity to watch for form and to ensure that the buttocks are being effectively targeted. The repeat round moved much faster, due to the time consumed during the first round and Tony was in danger of running out the clock. This made the second round even more challenging, as a fair amount of energy was expended during the first round. There are some leg extensions done when bracing against a chair, which drained my energy and zapped my glutes. That hit the spot.

Overall, I enjoyed this workout and, as I'm writing this, don't feel immobilized due to gluteal pain; however, we'll see what tomorrow brings. My initial reaction following the workout was that I was rubber-legged. That brought thoughts of not doing Kenpo Cardio tomorrow, but substituting Medicine Ball Core Cardio instead. I'll see how I feel tomorrow morning. I am pleased to have this workout in my collection, and look forward to doing it again.

Ab Ripper X

Again, I did this workout to my own musical selections. The workout didn't go as well today as it did yesterday; perhaps due to some fatigue because I had done the workout two days in a row. In the future, I'll be more conscious of doing this workout on schedule, so I have the necessary day's rest between ab days. I managed to survive the workout, and actually had a pretty strong showing throughout the exercises, but flagged during Mason Twists. Funny thing, though, I noticed that The Four Seasons' "Rag Doll" has almost the perfect beat for doing Mason Twists, nearly matching Tony's moves.

Round 4: Day 18: Yoga / Ab Ripper X

Yoga

A brief aside before getting into yoga: I had the opportunity to attend a real, live yoga class on Monday evening. My daughter attends a weekly class and had to skip a week and was unable to attend a make-up class; I was fortunate to be considered a stand-in for her. The instructor grilled me over the phone for about 10 minutes, inquiring into my yoga background, concerned that I had insufficient training to participate in the advanced class and might suffer an injury or hold up the class, or both. I advised her that I've been doing yoga for about 10 months, and reluctantly revealed to her that I've been practising using P90X. She had heard of it! When I advised her that I could complete the entire 90 minutes of Yoga X, she told me that I would have no problem with her class.

I really enjoyed the yoga class. The practise is Iyengar yoga, which is markedly different from the Astanga yoga demonstrated in Yoga X. Iyengar focuses more on holding a pose and breathing through it, rather than the constant flow of vinyasas. It was a really pleasant change for me, and I found it was much easier to clear my mind and maintain focus, because there was no constant changing of positions. Just you, with your leg in some strange position, and your mind. Some of the poses were initially difficult, but suddenly balance would come and I felt a strange sense of inner peace. No shaking, no movement, just perfect balance of the body and a clear mind. What a wonderful moment. I was also introduced to the yoga belt, which was employed on a number of moves to get a greater stretch. By the end of the class, I was really relaxed and mellow.

The other participants in the class were not in very good shape, and I was surprised how relatively inflexible they were, considering the class was advanced. Yoga X was very reasonable preparation for this class. I might consider taking the class in the future. I enjoyed the lengthy relaxation prior to the start of the class, lying with a bolster under my spine to open my chest, followed by ohms in a seated meditation pose. It was the mind trip that I enjoyed the most.

Yoga this morning was a bit of a contrast. I found Tony to be unusually chatty (more than normal!). The moves were quick, and I found myself thinking that perhaps a live yoga class would be better. On the other hand, I was able to focus more on my form, having received some tips from the class instructor this week, and was able to Bring It more effectively. The session flew by, and I realized in retrospect that I did actually manage to clear my mind. It's all positive.

Namaste.

Ab Ripper X

Well, another day of ARX. Today, I tried something new: I made an ARX playlist and played tunes at random from iTunes (yes, I'm a Mac fanboy). Nice variations, from Baba O'Reily to Tammy Wynette. I was starting to get a bit tired of listening to Tony count and the music drone on. I've done this workout over 60 times and have pretty much memorized every single nuance there could possibly be. Time for a change.

The music worked. I was pleasantly distracted while I cranked out the exercises, didn't miss Tony counting, didn't miss the canned muzac, didn't miss the joking, and occasionally watched the TV to make sure I was in sync on the key exercises, such as Fifer Scissors. I actually felt as though I had more energy than usual, especially in Mason Twists, which were rendered to a heartfelt Phil Collins tune (You'll Be In My Heart, the theme song from the animated movie, Tarzan). The workout was so successful, I may just have to do this again.

Round 4: Day 17: Back and Biceps

I made a pleasant discovery today: I was able to exceed my best numbers so far on this workout. I've come to the point where I think that dumbbells are the only way for me to improve on this workout, unless I pause the disc to complete more repetitions. Curls are easier for me now after having done so many during P90X+. For the last while, I've been complaining on this blog that P90X+ doesn't do enough for the arms and, due to a general decrease in resistance training, one might lose a bit of muscle. That actually may have happened, but my ability to do curls has definitely improved, likely due to the lean-back curls and the pumper curls in Upper Plus (even though those were done with a lighter weight resistance band). I will no longer put down P90X+, as it has clearly helped me in many areas of my personal fitness.

Almost every resistance exercise today was done with the blue resistance band. Most of my numbers increased. I'd now like to get a set of dumbbells so I can take this workout to the next level: heavy up the weights, decrease the number of repetitions, and build a little more bulk. I'm not crazy about running out of time, still being able to do more reps with such a heavy resistance band. Time for a change.

Don't get me wrong: I really enjoy this workout (although I do find Katie to be slightly annoying). I think there's still lots of room for improvement, but there likely has to be an equipment adjustment to facilitate that.

Round 4: Day 16: Interval X Plus

This is, for me, the most difficult of all the cardio discs I own. I don't have difficulty with any particular move (although 3-way Carlito push-ups are my nemesis), but it is the lack of rest between exercises which I find exerting. Obviously, that is by design. I'm able to complete the first round of moves, but need to pause the disc for a slightly extended break before commencing the second round. I've never been able to push through the workout without pausing the disc.

The problem for me is the 3-way Carlito push-ups. I'm able to do them, just not (yet) back-to-back with a 1:05 break between. I'm just too gassed from the final 20 seconds of top speed, complete with jumps. My daughter looked at me this morning as I wheezed my way through them, and probably thought that a call to the Emergency Room was indicated. I ended up grabbing my knees and sucking wind for awhile, and managed to recover. It's moves like this which make me feel that I'll never be able to do Shaun T's Insanity. Or at least, not for some time. Major leg shake always results from this disc, especially noticeable when brushing my teeth after breakfast, valiantly attempting not to fall over and using the sink as a prop. Literally.

That's why this disc is particularly nasty on a Monday morning. I do like the challenge, however. In fact, I'm seriously considering leaving Cardio Intervals by the wayside and substituting this disc. This week, I'll be evaluating the program so far, and making adjustments, with the goal of trying to increase the intensity. This disc should play a role.