P90X Day 6 is the Kenpo workout. Since I had been doing some kickboxing at the gym, this one wasn't as bad as I thought it could be.
Kenpo X is a cardio workout that’s fun because it’s based on moves from the martial art called Kenpo. No, you’re not going to learn Kenpo or how to defend yourself by doing this workout, but let’s face it – if you’re going to be moving around to try to get your heart rate up, it’s still more fun to be punching and kicking your way to cardio health than doing something else.
I especially enjoy the fact that the instructor tells you how to do things the 'right' way so you won't hurt yourself. Form is better than quantity.
Gotta tell you, I am looking forward to day 7 to rest! My body aches, but I already feel and see changes. Doing something is better than nothing!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
P90X Day 5
Day 5 was tough, now that I think about it, I guess all of the days have been tough. For some reason though, I felt more tired than normal. Maybe it is because every part of my body aches? I did get up the courage to go in and do the legs and back routine, with the Ab Ripper X at the end. It’s a tough class, my thighs felt like they were burning many times. I probably won't be able to walk by tomorrow. I actually enjoyed doing the pull-ups as a break to doing the leg workout...can you imagine?
The leg workout is pretty thorough. We worked almost every angle imaginable on the legs. This is completely different from the normal squat, extension, leg curl routine done in the gym. Therefore, this workout seemed more thorough and well rounded, really liked it.
So, overall, the day was normal. Meaning, a tough workout and I made it. I guess internally, I’m starting to adjust to the workouts and this new schedule. So, not bad for almost a week. I definitely think I can continue.
The leg workout is pretty thorough. We worked almost every angle imaginable on the legs. This is completely different from the normal squat, extension, leg curl routine done in the gym. Therefore, this workout seemed more thorough and well rounded, really liked it.
So, overall, the day was normal. Meaning, a tough workout and I made it. I guess internally, I’m starting to adjust to the workouts and this new schedule. So, not bad for almost a week. I definitely think I can continue.
Day 4 P90X Yoga
OK, for all of you people who think that yoga is for wimps, I challenge you to try the P90X version – Yoga X! Not only is it incredibly challenging, but rather than just perverting yoga into some mindlessly intense workout, Yoga X actually flows in a manner that is both extremely effective, as well as executed in a manner that is true to the yoga lifestyle and philosophies.
Yoga X is based on Hatha Yoga, and as Tony Horton talks about in the video, the benefits of yoga apply to average people who simply want to be more healthy and more flexible, and they also apply to professional level athletes and sports participants – and, of course, everyone in between.
The level of muscular control, mental focus, and overall body coordination that yoga requires are enough to make even the most in-shape person question their level of overall fitness. Believe me, I used to be the person waiting outside the yoga class so they would leave and I could do the biking class thinking the hold time...what are you doing in there, sleeping??? Well...let me tell you, Yoga is TOUGH! There were some yoga poses that pushed my muscles to the extreme, and also produced a massive amount of body-cleansing sweat.
Yoga may look easy, but when done in the Yoga X manner, it is both challenging, and extremely rewarding as well, not to mention the strength, core stabilization, mental focus, and flexibility benefits that come from doing it on a regular basis.
There are far too many individual movements in the Yoga X program to give a review of each pose, so I will instead just touch on the major sections that this workout is divided into: Moving Asanas, Balance Postures, Floor Work, Yoga Belly, More Floor Work/Cool-down.
NOTE: Give yourself plenty of room to do this workout. You’ll need a length on the floor as long as your body is with your arms extended fully overhead and your toes pointed out, and you’ll need that same vertical distance in order to stand up on your toes and reach for the sky. You’ll need the width around you equal to the width of your body with both arms extended out fully to your sides.
Moving Asanas
This is the most physically challenging part of Yoga X from a strength and endurance perspective. Keep a towel close by because after 10 minutes or so (or less!) you will be sweating profusely. Perspiration is great for cleansing toxins out of the body, so don’t combat it by making it cooler in your house. In fact, if you keep it warm, it will increase the physical benefits of sweating, plus the overall feeling of being cleansed by the end of the workout.
The Moving Asanas part of Yoga X includes plenty of repeat movements, which is great because – especially if you’re a beginner – the repetition really helps you to get the hang of the movements, and to increase your ability to do them effectively.
Some of the movements in this section include the Runner’s Pose, Warrior One, Two, and Three, Reverse Warrior, Twisting Triangle, Prayer Twist, and the Half Moon. As with all yoga movements, concentrate on your breathing, and Tony will remind you of that several times during the DVD.
The Moving Asanas part of this workout lasts for quite awhile, and constitutes a large portion of the “extreme (X)” part of Yoga X. After this part of the workout, several parts of your body will be very fatigued, making the movements for the rest of the workout challenging, even though they are not as physically hard from a muscular strength standpoint as some of the earlier poses.
Balance Postures
This portion of Yoga X is not very long, but it is still challenging, and it makes for a perfect transition from the intensity of the Moving Asanas to the less intense Floor Work that follows.
One of the challenges in this portion of the workout is that you are standing on either one leg or the other during the poses, and your legs are very tired at this point from the earlier movements. One thing to consider when you are standing on one leg is whether or not to lock your knee in place. If you do, then it is harder to balance, but the strain is taken off of the front of your thighs. If you don’t lock your knees, then your quadriceps (front of your thigh) are strained because they are already tired, but it is easier to balance that way.
Movements in this section include Tree, Royal Dancer, and Standing Leg Extension, and they are all challenging in their own right.
Floor Work
The intensity is not nearly as high by this portion of Yoga X, but that is not to say that it isn’t still very challenging. As with most yoga movements, the length of the stretches can be modified in various ways in order to make it more intense or to increase your flexibility as you become more flexible and build up your strength levels.
Movements in this section such as the Cat Stretch and the Frog will be welcome opportunities to really stretch out and be grateful, while movements like the Bridge, the Wheel, and the Table can really challenge muscle groups that have already gotten plenty of work during the session.
Yoga Belly
For anyone in the beginning of their P90X journey, you will at first be appalled by more abdominal exercises after having just done Ab Ripper X on Day 1 and Day 3 but the addition of these yoga ab movements will increase the speed of your progress in the abdominal area, as well as give your body new challenges that are not covered in Ab Ripper X.
Also, unlike other abdominal exercises, the Yoga Belly movements are static movements for the most part. You get into a pose, and then hold it there. This allows you to really make that “mind-muscle” connection (neuromuscular coordination) while at the same time strengthening your front and side abdominal muscles, as well as the muscles in your lower back.
Exercises in this section include Touch The Sky, Boat, Half Boat, Scissor, and Torso Twist & Hold.
More Floor Work/Cool-down
By this point in the workout over an hour has transpired, and you are pretty well spent. Even the people that Tony Horton has in the video with him – all of whom are in incredible condition – have been really challenged by Yoga X. The stretching and cool-down exercises in this portion are a welcome wrap up to a very challenging exercise session.
Movements such as Happy Baby, and Child’s Pose are relaxation and stretching that are more than just welcome at this point, and Corpse Pose and Fetal Pose are aptly named yoga exercises, because that’s about how you feel by the end of Yoga X!
Tony wraps it all up with the Meditation Pose including some surprisingly relaxing heart-felt “ohms” that he encourages you to do as well. Although I’ll admit to not actually vocalizing the ohms myself, I did get a real sense of peace and accomplishment listening to Tony’s all-encompassing audio finale’, and that was a great way to gratefully close out an incredible workout session.
Yoga X is based on Hatha Yoga, and as Tony Horton talks about in the video, the benefits of yoga apply to average people who simply want to be more healthy and more flexible, and they also apply to professional level athletes and sports participants – and, of course, everyone in between.
The level of muscular control, mental focus, and overall body coordination that yoga requires are enough to make even the most in-shape person question their level of overall fitness. Believe me, I used to be the person waiting outside the yoga class so they would leave and I could do the biking class thinking the hold time...what are you doing in there, sleeping??? Well...let me tell you, Yoga is TOUGH! There were some yoga poses that pushed my muscles to the extreme, and also produced a massive amount of body-cleansing sweat.
Yoga may look easy, but when done in the Yoga X manner, it is both challenging, and extremely rewarding as well, not to mention the strength, core stabilization, mental focus, and flexibility benefits that come from doing it on a regular basis.
There are far too many individual movements in the Yoga X program to give a review of each pose, so I will instead just touch on the major sections that this workout is divided into: Moving Asanas, Balance Postures, Floor Work, Yoga Belly, More Floor Work/Cool-down.
NOTE: Give yourself plenty of room to do this workout. You’ll need a length on the floor as long as your body is with your arms extended fully overhead and your toes pointed out, and you’ll need that same vertical distance in order to stand up on your toes and reach for the sky. You’ll need the width around you equal to the width of your body with both arms extended out fully to your sides.
Moving Asanas
This is the most physically challenging part of Yoga X from a strength and endurance perspective. Keep a towel close by because after 10 minutes or so (or less!) you will be sweating profusely. Perspiration is great for cleansing toxins out of the body, so don’t combat it by making it cooler in your house. In fact, if you keep it warm, it will increase the physical benefits of sweating, plus the overall feeling of being cleansed by the end of the workout.
The Moving Asanas part of Yoga X includes plenty of repeat movements, which is great because – especially if you’re a beginner – the repetition really helps you to get the hang of the movements, and to increase your ability to do them effectively.
Some of the movements in this section include the Runner’s Pose, Warrior One, Two, and Three, Reverse Warrior, Twisting Triangle, Prayer Twist, and the Half Moon. As with all yoga movements, concentrate on your breathing, and Tony will remind you of that several times during the DVD.
The Moving Asanas part of this workout lasts for quite awhile, and constitutes a large portion of the “extreme (X)” part of Yoga X. After this part of the workout, several parts of your body will be very fatigued, making the movements for the rest of the workout challenging, even though they are not as physically hard from a muscular strength standpoint as some of the earlier poses.
Balance Postures
This portion of Yoga X is not very long, but it is still challenging, and it makes for a perfect transition from the intensity of the Moving Asanas to the less intense Floor Work that follows.
One of the challenges in this portion of the workout is that you are standing on either one leg or the other during the poses, and your legs are very tired at this point from the earlier movements. One thing to consider when you are standing on one leg is whether or not to lock your knee in place. If you do, then it is harder to balance, but the strain is taken off of the front of your thighs. If you don’t lock your knees, then your quadriceps (front of your thigh) are strained because they are already tired, but it is easier to balance that way.
Movements in this section include Tree, Royal Dancer, and Standing Leg Extension, and they are all challenging in their own right.
Floor Work
The intensity is not nearly as high by this portion of Yoga X, but that is not to say that it isn’t still very challenging. As with most yoga movements, the length of the stretches can be modified in various ways in order to make it more intense or to increase your flexibility as you become more flexible and build up your strength levels.
Movements in this section such as the Cat Stretch and the Frog will be welcome opportunities to really stretch out and be grateful, while movements like the Bridge, the Wheel, and the Table can really challenge muscle groups that have already gotten plenty of work during the session.
Yoga Belly
For anyone in the beginning of their P90X journey, you will at first be appalled by more abdominal exercises after having just done Ab Ripper X on Day 1 and Day 3 but the addition of these yoga ab movements will increase the speed of your progress in the abdominal area, as well as give your body new challenges that are not covered in Ab Ripper X.
Also, unlike other abdominal exercises, the Yoga Belly movements are static movements for the most part. You get into a pose, and then hold it there. This allows you to really make that “mind-muscle” connection (neuromuscular coordination) while at the same time strengthening your front and side abdominal muscles, as well as the muscles in your lower back.
Exercises in this section include Touch The Sky, Boat, Half Boat, Scissor, and Torso Twist & Hold.
More Floor Work/Cool-down
By this point in the workout over an hour has transpired, and you are pretty well spent. Even the people that Tony Horton has in the video with him – all of whom are in incredible condition – have been really challenged by Yoga X. The stretching and cool-down exercises in this portion are a welcome wrap up to a very challenging exercise session.
Movements such as Happy Baby, and Child’s Pose are relaxation and stretching that are more than just welcome at this point, and Corpse Pose and Fetal Pose are aptly named yoga exercises, because that’s about how you feel by the end of Yoga X!
Tony wraps it all up with the Meditation Pose including some surprisingly relaxing heart-felt “ohms” that he encourages you to do as well. Although I’ll admit to not actually vocalizing the ohms myself, I did get a real sense of peace and accomplishment listening to Tony’s all-encompassing audio finale’, and that was a great way to gratefully close out an incredible workout session.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Look what I just bought - A pull up bar!
I just bought the pull up bar that hooks to my door frame. I have been using the elastic exercise resistance bands which are working great, but thought I'd try to see how I do with a pull up bar also. I will still use the resistance bands for when I travel.
Day 3 P90X Classic Plan
Day 3 is here. Shoulders & Arms and the Ab Ripper X. This was my first time doing the Ab Ripper as I stupidly had not read the directions the first day.
Shoulders and Arms...wow! I really enjoyed this work out but already, just one hour later, the inside of my thighs hurt! I think it was from that one exercise on the dvd where you do biceps with your elbows between your knees. I know...sounds strange. You should try it though.
My arms are going to be ripped! On my 3rd day toward my beachbody goal.
Shoulders and Arms...wow! I really enjoyed this work out but already, just one hour later, the inside of my thighs hurt! I think it was from that one exercise on the dvd where you do biceps with your elbows between your knees. I know...sounds strange. You should try it though.
My arms are going to be ripped! On my 3rd day toward my beachbody goal.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Day 2 P90X Exercise Plan
Ok...I survived Day one - Chest and Shoulders - and I have to tell you, I hurt! My chest and armpits are so sore! But, I am moving on to day 2.
Today is Plyometrics - I like to call it Pyro. This is one of the three cardio days. I finally decided to read the book a little bit to see if I was actually following the routine well enough.
I found that I was supposed to be doing the ab ripper DVD along with the non-cardio days, so I guess I missed that yesterday.
What is Plyometrics? Here is a link for you to read about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plyometrics
According to the guy on the video it is the mother of all workouts. I thought, yea, sure, bring it on. However, I do think he was right! It is touch and had me sweating within 5 minutes. There was lots of jumping and with my bad back, I wasn't able to do all the moves in the air. The nice thing is they always show someone doing an alternate low impact move.
As for my diet, well...I drank wine last night but didn't follow the diet plan very well. I'm converting fat to muscle though, right?
Today is Plyometrics - I like to call it Pyro. This is one of the three cardio days. I finally decided to read the book a little bit to see if I was actually following the routine well enough.
I found that I was supposed to be doing the ab ripper DVD along with the non-cardio days, so I guess I missed that yesterday.
What is Plyometrics? Here is a link for you to read about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plyometrics
According to the guy on the video it is the mother of all workouts. I thought, yea, sure, bring it on. However, I do think he was right! It is touch and had me sweating within 5 minutes. There was lots of jumping and with my bad back, I wasn't able to do all the moves in the air. The nice thing is they always show someone doing an alternate low impact move.
As for my diet, well...I drank wine last night but didn't follow the diet plan very well. I'm converting fat to muscle though, right?
Saturday, January 16, 2010
P90X Day one
Not sure how many of you have heard of the P90X workout routine? My daughter introduced it to me by bringing the DVD's and books into the house.
I am a 48 (almost 49) year old woman who is not totally out of shape, but definitely in need of super tone up job and probably to shed a few pounds in the process.
I was working out at the gym 3-5 times a week, but kind of stagnant and board with the whole routine. I have been someone that has exercised my entire life, so fairly familiar with what it takes. I decided to try this 90 day challenge and am also going to try the diet plan with it.
I'm supposed to eat 1800 calories per day, most of which is protein. I think the diet will be my biggest challenge, though, as I sure enjoy my wine at night!
I did my own fat test by doing body measurements using this web link:
How do I find out what my body fat is?
I weigh 153 lbs, am 5' 7.5" and it said I was 25% body fat. Honestly, I think that is probably not true...I think I have to be fatter than that. I will post my Day 1 picture for you (without my head as I'm too embarrassed).
So, today I started Day 1 of the 90 day P90X workout. Day 1 exercise is chest and shoulders. I could barely do 10 pushups of each different set and I know my form was terrible. I did as many as I could the guy way and then went on my knees and did as many as I could the girl way.
I have 10 lb, 12 lb, 3 lb hand weights and for the shoulder workout I use the 10 lb and 3 lb. I think I need to invest in some 5 lb and 8 lb barbells.
I am a 48 (almost 49) year old woman who is not totally out of shape, but definitely in need of super tone up job and probably to shed a few pounds in the process.
I was working out at the gym 3-5 times a week, but kind of stagnant and board with the whole routine. I have been someone that has exercised my entire life, so fairly familiar with what it takes. I decided to try this 90 day challenge and am also going to try the diet plan with it.
I'm supposed to eat 1800 calories per day, most of which is protein. I think the diet will be my biggest challenge, though, as I sure enjoy my wine at night!
I did my own fat test by doing body measurements using this web link:
How do I find out what my body fat is?
I weigh 153 lbs, am 5' 7.5" and it said I was 25% body fat. Honestly, I think that is probably not true...I think I have to be fatter than that. I will post my Day 1 picture for you (without my head as I'm too embarrassed).
So, today I started Day 1 of the 90 day P90X workout. Day 1 exercise is chest and shoulders. I could barely do 10 pushups of each different set and I know my form was terrible. I did as many as I could the guy way and then went on my knees and did as many as I could the girl way.
I have 10 lb, 12 lb, 3 lb hand weights and for the shoulder workout I use the 10 lb and 3 lb. I think I need to invest in some 5 lb and 8 lb barbells.
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