P90x2 - DONE!

I finished up my last PAP Upper workout this morning.  I ended up taking a few extra days off this week so I'm a little late.  PAP really wore me out.  The extra days off at the end allowed me to finish much stronger.  I technically still have a recovery week, but that almost always gets skipped by most people.  I might throw a stretch and yoga in just to get something done.

So, what were my overall thoughts?  As with all programs, there are things I like and things I didn't like.  Phase one, focusing on core, was good for me, but I still prefer more of the lifting stuff.
In phase 2, X2 really started to ramp up into the areas I like.  I will say, while I enjoyed much of the lifting, the focus on core and balance didn't allow me to get the reps, or depth of strength, I had from P90x.  Take for instance push ups.  In P90x, I was doing 20-30 push ups for most sets.  In X2, doing them on the med ball, you're only about to get 8-12.  So I feel like I don't have that deep strength to do a million push ups anymore.  Still, the exercises were challenging and I think mixing some of P90x Chest/Back with P90x2 chest/back would result in a great workout.  Base and Back is a fantastic workout....plyo+legs...enough said.

Phase 3....PAP.  The first time I previewed the videos, I thought ho-hum.  Then I did them.  PAP is hard.  It's meant to be.  It pushes you all over the place and then expects you to go looking for more.  I really enjoyed the challenge of it and despite doing each routine twice a week, didn't get bored with it.  That being said, I'd love to see PAP Upper 2 and PAP Lower 2.

So now I'm done.  Time to figure out what's next.  I had finally started to clamp down on my eating during the start of phase 3, and had lost 5 or so pounds, then the 4th of July arrived and I gained it all back.  I'm getting back on the diet track, but I'll definitely need a workout to back it up.  Current contenders include a P90x/X2 hybrid or a MMA style workout put out by TapouT.  I'd love to try the new Beachbody Tai Chi workout as a less pounding option, but I'm not willing to pull the trigger on the cost for something I may or may not like.

X2 - Lower - Last Week

Today started the third week of phase three.  It is likely my last week of phase three.  Beachbody suggest only 3-4 weeks of phase three and since my body is feeling pretty beat up, I'll likely end it after 3 weeks.

Drank way too much beer the past few days, ate way too much crap.  I managed to find the 5 pounds I lost last week.  At least I sweated out one pound of it this morning during Lower.  I do enjoy the PAP workouts.  They move fast and push you hard.

Today's plan, eat protein, drink water.  

The big/hard question is what's next after P90x2?

X2 - PAP Upper

I know I've been lax on putting up entries, but I'm still on target.  Today was my 4th time doing PAP upper.  It continues to be extremely challenging.  The first complex, which I already described is amazingly taxing.  The renegade rows followed by clap push ups pushes me hard and then plank and superman drives every bit of air from my lungs.

Still, feeling pretty tired and beat up.  One or 2 more weeks and I will wrap up X2.  Not sure what's on the horizon.

X2 - PAP Lower

Starting up the second week of phase 3.  There is still some debate as to whether we'll be going 3 or 4 weeks.

It was a real mental challenge to get going this morning.  I spent most of yesterday picking up, delivering, and spreading mulch.  Much to my surprise and delight, the only things that were sore were my hands.  But I was still not in much of a mood to workout.  The house was a little over 80 degrees and a bit muggy.  I soaked through my shirt and towel today.

I reviewed the first half of the workout in my first review.  The second complex consists of the standard 4 moves.  The first one, is tough to describe.  Start with a dumbbell in your right hand, standing on your left foot.  Squat some, then reach across your body with the dumbbell and kick your leg out. 8 times, switch sides.  They show this exercise in the commercials on the website.  From there you jump right into Monster Mary Katharines.  Arms get thrown up as you jump as high as you can.  You only do 6 of these, but my heart is pumping something fierce afterward.

The second half of the complex has the Monster slalom where you just jump back and forth for 30 seconds. Then you wrap up with a move I simply cannot do.  Lie on your side, body straight.  Get up on your elbow and keep the side plank.  Then raise the top leg.  I can do the plank or I can raise the leg, but not both for more than about 1.4 seconds.

Its a great workout, but definitely one you get out what you put into it.

PAP Upper

This is a monster of a workout.  Previewing it, it didn't look all that hard, but neither did Lower.  These workouts are just as much cardio as they are resistance.  The first complex, 4 sets of 4 exercises, is absolutely brutal.  You start off with renegade row push ups.  Plank, with dumbbells in your hands, do a push up.  Right arm row, left row, repeat 10 times.  I think I made 10, 8, 8, and 8.  You immediately dive into 6 clap push ups.  For me that, was simply push ups with getting my hands off the ground.

At this point, you're sucking wind pretty hard, so what does Tony throw at you?  Plank with feet on a medicine ball, for a minute.  As if that isn't hard enough, you finish the complex with superman.  Do this 4 times and it is incredibly hard.  Personally, there is plenty of room for improvement in this complex.

I'll review the second half in my next blog post.  For the record, the first time my brother did this, he texted me part way through and pretty much summed it up in two words..."Holy sh*t!"

X2 - Missing entries

I missed a few blog entries but have been keeping up.  PAP Upper is a MONSTER and I'll review that in an upcoming post.  Missed yoga, but did get PAP Lower in yesterday.  Increasing the size of the step in the first exercise changed the whole dynamic of the workout, it really pushed me.

X2 - PAP Lower

I slacked off a lot during recovery week.  There are supposed to be three yoga workouts during the week.  I did precisely none.  I feel a little guilty about that, but it was also the hottest days of the year so far, so only a little guilty.  My body needed the rest anyway.


Today marks the start of phase 3.  There isn't much to phase three, only 4 workouts.  PAP Lower, PAP Upper, Yoga, and Recovery and Mobility(rest day).  PAP stands for Post Activation Potentiation.  Here is Steve Edwards blog posting about PAP:  http://steve-edwards.blogspot.com/2010/08/post-activation-potentiation.html.  He states, in a nutshell, "In laymen terms, this means that doing heavy lifting prior to explosive activity can actually help you fire higher threshold muscle cell motor units which, even even simpler terms, means that you will jump higher, run faster, or life more weight. "


This is certainly one workout you get out what you put into it.  There are 2 blocks, with a water break between.  Each block is 4 exercises, 4 times each.  At a run time of 62 minutes, there is a new(!) 10 minute warmup.  No stability ball this time around.


The exercises have a fair amount of variety.  The first block starts with Step up convict.  With dumbbells in your hands, just for added weight.  Your right foot steps up on a step.  Left knee comes up high.  Left leg comes down, right leg comes off the step into a step back lunge.  Rinse and repeat 8 times for each side.  This is followed up with a short, explosive exercise.  Plyo skaters, only 8 times.  Think super skater with a jump to the side, changing legs.  


The next exercise, I have trouble with.  Not because I can't do it, but because it kills my knees to do it.  One leg hops, pretty much hot foot from P90x plyo.  Front and back, 5 seconds, side to side five seconds, repeat, and then change legs.  I did it on both feet.  Finally, a strength move, and this one is going to leave my hips sore tomorrow.  Lying on your left side, you raise your right leg, and keeping it straight, touch your toe to the ground in front of you.  Then, lifting it as high as you can, bring it behind you, touching your toe to the ground.  8 times, each side.


I will save the second round description for my next post as I'll be doing this routine 6 times over the next 3 weeks.  You wrap up with another round of NIS(neuro-integrated stretching).  It's the same thing plyocide wraps up with.  I can't say it does much for me, but I tried it this time.


I'm not wiped out.  I definitely held back a little since I was learning the exercises and didn't really know what was ahead.  To anyone doing this, definitely watch it ahead of time, and TRY a couple of the exercises, particularly the ones that use dumbbells as they fairly complex moves.

X2 - Catchup

Wow, it's been almost a week since my last post.  I've stayed on target, completing another grueling week of  phase 2.  Thank god this week is recovery.

So a couple highlights from the week.
V-Sculpt was better than last time.  I'm still not a huge fan since I don't have bands and there are at least 2 or 3 exercises that require them.
I got back to yoga, doing the shorter one on one yoga.  I felt pretty good...afterward.  I'm going to shoot to do yoga at least 2 out of the 3 times I'm supposed to this week.
Base and Back, still the hardest workout for me.  Tony puts it best, "Most people go to the gym, do a set of pull ups, fool around for 3 and a half hours, and do their second set.  We do Plyo!"  Do I really need to say much more than that?

X2 - Not Recovery

Sunday my brother asked me to do another week of the resistance phase.  I can't say I was excited by that request, but I agreed, even though my body didn't approve.

I sucked it up through Chest/Shoulders/Triceps on Monday, seeing minimal gains, but definitely improving my form and technique on the tougher exercises.

Today was plyo, thank goodness.  We had the pizza fire truck come to work for lunch.  Needless to say, there was a remarkable quantity of pizza consumed by me and everyone.  At least I felt a little less guilty courtesy of plyo.

FYI, my body hates me.  Can't wait for rest day tomorrow.

X2 - Base and Back

I decided to hold off on yoga for one more week, so yesterday I had off.  This morning, we had an early soccer game, so my workout didn't get started till around 10:30.  Probably around 70 degrees, but 80% or so humidity.  I pushed hard and definitely felt it.

This workout really beats me up, leaving me tired and a bit sore, already.  My legs and glutes are definitely feeling it, and I dread the next couple days.  On the upside, Recovery Week!

X2 - V-Sculpt

It's been a couple days, but I remain on schedule. Struggled through Plyo, 2 days ago and enjoyed rest yesterday.

This morning was the last new resistance workout, V-Sculpt.  As much as I liked the new Chest/Shoulders/Triceps, I disliked this one.  I can't put my finger on anything exactly, I think I just disliked the combination of exercises.  There are a ton of pull ups, which I'm resigned to doing my best at, and getting 0 with out a spot.  Then there were several band based exercises.  Since when are the bands an equipment requirement?  I did my best to adapt/mimic them, but it's not the same.  Then my least favorite thing, plank with dumbbells, which just wrecks my hands.  I just did these exercises bent over.

There were some interesting/challenging new ones.  Like rows in plank, one hand on a med ball.  There was also a curl from the same position.  A little tough on the wrists, but good exercises.

It's not a bad workout, I just don't care for it.  Everyone has their favorites and their least favorites.  So it goes.

X2 - Chest + Shoulders + Triceps

For our last week of resistance training, we decided to swap in the extra/bonus workouts, to see what they hold and provide some additional muscle confusion.  What a ride!  The workout chimes in around 48 minutes.  With the standard warm up and cool down, that only leaves around 35 minutes to squeeze 22 sets in.  It's actually 11 exercises, repeated.

This is no walk in the park since you're using all the complementary muscles in every exercise.  First up, chattarocker push ups.  I'm still learning the motion of these, but I'm getting there.  Next up, Shoulder Press Strip set(one leg on a chair).  8 reps per set, 3 sets, reduce the weight each time.  I went 35->30->25.  My shoulders were screaming.  Next, you dive into tricep extensions on the stability ball.  Nothing new here, except your shoulders are completely shot.  That is the first group of exercises.

Next up, 3-ball extravaganza.  Push ups on 2 med balls, both feet on a third.  Each rep, one knee comes to your chest.  Similar to the classic prison cell push up.  Real tough to balance.  Follow that up with a callahan press, which Tony doesn't demo, he just dives in.  It's pretty much an Arnold shoulder press, once again, one leg on a chair.  Third exercise in the group, tricep kickback while lying on a stability ball.

Last group of exercises are Tony's favorite side arm balance, with med balls.  Then the X2 Circle fly.  Light weights, I used 10 the first time and went down to 5 the second time.  Lie face down on the stability ball.  Extend your shoulders in a Y and do 15 forward and 15 backward circles.  Finally, 3-ball dips.  One med ball under each arm, and then both feet, or just one on the third med ball.

Then you repeat the whole thing.  This moves remarkably fast.  There is only one water break, after the first set of dips.  Otherwise, you're moving the whole time.  My upper body is a mess, and it feels great.

X2 - Catchup

I've been crazy busy and haven't had time to update the blog for almost a week.

I've kept on target, keeping up with all the workouts.  Plyo was absolutely brutal as I ended up doing it after work in 80+ degree heat, with 90+ % humidity.  I was dripping by the time I picked I put down the stability ball.

I skipped yoga again as my hamstring still doesn't like my leg being straight and me bending.  I did spend a good 10 minutes stretching my hammy's that day, and I think this week I'll get back to yoga....carefully.  I'm still afraid to do groiners during the warmup.

Yesterday was Base and Back.  I hate pull ups, probably because I can't do any, but I try hard in this workout, and when you mix the plyo component in, it is one hell of an ass kicker.

I'm enjoying rest today and next week, the last week of resistance training, we're going to swap out chest/back and shoulders/arms in favor of Chest/Shoulders/Triceps and V-Sculpt.  So look for a review of those 2 videos coming soon.

X2 - Chest + Back + Balance

This is one heck of a workout.  I'm really having a hard time showing significant improvements in it.  I am definitely doing the moves better, but there is no speed, so instead of the 20-30 I would get with regular push ups, it's more like 10-12 reps.

To further complicate matters, my efforts in developing my lats doing pull ups has definitely shown some improvement.  The complicated part is I'm using my triceps to help with the pull ups, so they aren't providing the help they usually do for push ups.  So it goes, at least there is improvement.

X2 - Base and Back

Ok, I have a pulled hamstring and a sore elbow.  So this is probably the worst workout for me to do.  I did it anyway.  I did hold back and go about 80%.  I did skip the groiners stretch and definitely did not go as deep with the lunge press exercise.

It's about 100% humidity and supposed to hit mid 80's today.  I'm happy I got this done now, before it gets really hot.  I did not skip any exercises and did better than expected.  I can almost feel my lats now.

Looking forward to a big shake and a rest day tomorrow.

X2 - Yoga

No yoga for me yesterday.  My hamstring was still hurting and I didn't think I would do well with all the warrior poses.  I did spend some time stretching and foam rolling my hamstring which I think helped.

X2 - Shoulders and Arms

When I previewed this workout a couple weeks ago, I really thought I wouldn't like it.  I was wrong, so wrong.  I really enjoy it.  7 moves, repeat three times, have a nice day....if only it was that easy.

Crazy 8's have got to be the hardest bicep exercise I've ever done.  They make 21s look easy.  The myriad of shoulder flies really packs a punch as well.  Never mind the fact you do almost all of the workout on one leg.

My elbow, which I've been trying to take it easy on, has been holding up well.  It certainly isn't 100%, but it is definitely better.  My leg on the other hand, I'm not sure about.  It is definitely a bit less sore, but every once in a while, I bend over the wrong way, or spring off it and I know there is an injury there.  Not sure about yoga tomorrow as I'm afraid all the poses will not be comfortable.  I'll try it in the morning and see what happens...what else can I do?

X2 - Plyocide

I'm a day late on this post, as I did the workout on the prescribed day.  It was a tough workout as my allergies were acting up and it was muggy as hell.  As I neared the end of the workout, I pulled my hamstring.  Left leg, closer to the knee than hip.  More on the outside.  I wanted to wait a day to see how it felt.  It isn't great.

I've tried stretching it and that hasn't helped at all.  I've tried the foam roller, also no effect.  I'm hoping another couple nights of rest, followed by yoga will help, but I suspect this is going to linger for a while.  Arms and shoulders tomorrow, so little impact there.  If a move is uncomfortable, I'll just modify it.

Being hurt sucks.

X2 Chest + Back + Balance

With rest yesterday, I was surprised to find my triceps and lats a little sore/tight this morning when I got started.     I must have actually worked my back during Base + Back 2 days ago.  Allergies definitely made getting up and started a challenge, but my will to press play, and show some improvement here really got me going.

Did I improve?  Some, but not as much as I would have liked.  My push up form was better in most situations as was my rep count, but no huge or impressive gains.  Still, I was proud to get 14 4 ball push ups and 7 impossible/possible ones.

My elbow is not real happy.  It doesn't hurt like it did, but feels more stiff than anything else.  Hopefully that will work its way out and I'll continue healing.  Plyo tomorrow and rest/mobility the next day will definitely help.

X2 Base + Back

This should be named Plyo/Back.  You alternate a plyo exercise with a pull up exercise.  It is amazingly taxing and I can't even do a pull up.  I can't imagine how hard it is for someone who can do them.

I was commenting to myself how there seems to be a long of rest in this workout, but you need it.  In addition to a bunch of pull up/chin up exercise, you get such wonderful things as chair jump, jack in the box knee tuck, and my personal heart attack, plyo lunge press.  Basically a mary katharine with a dumbbell press in it.  My heart rate was through the roof.

X2 - Yoga

Worked my way through yoga yesterday.  I wasn't in the mood, but I pressed play.
Not much else to talk about.

X2 - Shoulders and Arms

So much to say!  Where do I begin?

I went into this workout, not real excited about it.  It's only 7 exercises, repeated 3 times.  I have to say, I really enjoyed it.  At only 53ish minutes, it goes fast and is hard.  I ended up dragging out every dumbbell I had between 3 and 35lbs.

They should have gotten the guy with one leg from P90x Plyo for this workout, because you spend more time on one leg than 2.  You start with the balance curl followed by arnold press, both on one leg....don't forget to switch legs halfway through.  Follow that up with tricep extensions on the stability ball...this was one of the easier exercises for me.  Then it's the six direction shoulder fly.  I wisely used 10 pound dumbbells and was happy with that choice.

Once you get through there, it's time for the monster in the match.  Crazy 8s! with alternating feet.  Think static arm curls, except 8 reps each, but on one foot.  Changing feet every time you change arms.  I help back and used 25s for this because I know static arm curls contributed to my sore elbow.   By the end, I don't think I could have used larger weights anyway.

Next up, Y-T fly.  Tony suggests using no weights, or 5s.  I only have 10s, so I tried those.  Lets just say, for the next 2 sets, I dug out my wife's 3lbers.  Finally, rocket launcher tricep kickbacks.  Tony seems to like the plyo stand for this, but I felt it more in lunge position.

Great workout, really flew by.

X2 - Plyo

Had to keep the pressure on myself and the other guys to keep with the schedule.  Definitely felt better this morning than I did yesterday.  I made the mistake of opening a window for the cat, which promptly let in some humidity.

The week off set me back a bit...or maybe it's been my lousy eating habits.  Either way, I had to suck it up to get through today.  But like Tony says, keep pressing play.  Without a doubt, I burnt a bunch of calories and feel pretty good right now.

X2 - Chest+Back+Balance

So after a week off, I was a little nervous about jumping back in with Chest and Back, but what choice did I have?  I went from nervous to downright worried when the equipment list did not include any dumbbells.  I feared the worst at that point....100% push ups and pull ups, and I was right.

Tony opens the hour long workout, 20 exercise workout, with pretty much the same warm up.  I think we skipped the scorpion stretch, but otherwise, cookie-cutter.  You then dive right in with X pull ups, followed by plyo stability ball push ups...You do a push up, with your hands on the stability ball, come up high enough for them to leave the ball, clap, come down, and repeat.  It isn't that hard, especially once you realize you can cheat a bit using your butt. Tony even mentions it at the end of the exercise.....this leads me to my second biggest complaint about the workout.  Several times, Tony mentions something key about an exercise, AFTER you've completed it.

On to my biggest complaint...I can't do a pull up.  So 10 different pull up exercises don't do that much for me, even when I use the chair to minimal effect.  I can't imagine how hard this workout is if  you can do pull ups.

There are some great push up exercises in here, from the 4 ball med ball push up(I got 10) to the Impossible/possible push up, they all really work your balance, core, and chest.  For those curious, the impossible/possible push up is feet on the stability ball and hands on one or 2 medicine balls. I opted for 2 balls, Tony for a second one.

One obvious tip here, watch what Tony does...every time he uses the 12lb med balls...Those are great, they're huge for putting your hands on.  They likely offer more range of motion, but definitely make things easier.

All in all, a decent workout.  This was my first time through, so I had to learn the exercises and definitely struggled getting into position on a couple of them.  I don't think I'm as wiped as the first time I did P90x chest/back, but I suspect that next time, I'll definitely work harder.

Were have I been?

With no entries for a week, you might think I gave up on X2.  Not the case.  The tendinitis in my elbow decided to flare up at the end of week three.  With recovery right around the corner, I decided to do the smart thing....I must be getting old...I rested.

So after a week off, it feels better, not great, but well enough to dive back in with phase 2....resistance.

X2 Yoga

"It's all about enjoying the journey."  That's what Tony says a couple times during the workout.  Today I did not get to enjoy the journey.  My lower left back was tight, and didn't really loosen up.  The kids were up 10 minutes into the workout and watched the end of Cars.  I could hardly hear any of the cues from Tony.

I have to say that Yoga is one of the most frustrating workouts for me.  It's very tough to begin with.  All the downward dogs leave my upper body screaming, but the biggest issue is I just show so little improvement from workout to workout.  In P90x, you do yoga 15 times per round.  I've done 5 rounds, so I'm somewhere over 75 workouts into yoga and while I'm certainly better than when I started, I'm just not seeing much improvement.

First recovery week, right around the corner.

X2 - Total Body

So I had my rest day and needed it.  Then yesterday I got up and just could not workout.  Mentally and physically, I just didn't have it.  So I took another rest day.  Do I feel guilty about that....a little, but it's not the end of the world.  I'll probably make up for it during recovery week, just to get on the schedule with the other guys in my group.

Today I was back at it with total body.  I really enjoy this workout.  It gets everything, leaving me a puddle of sweaty goo.  The mule kick burpees really spike my heart rate and leave me gasping for breath.  I'm now at the point where I'm starting to be able to listen to Tony's banter and have it make sense....he is entertaining.  How he does some of the exercises and keeps talking amazes me.

X2 - Plyocide

After a paltry 13 hours of rest since Core, I was back at it with Plyocide.  I also ended up staying up a bit later than I wanted to last night, but much to my surprise, I was up and felt pretty good this morning.

Ran through the warm up and decided I needed to commit to the 8lb medicine ball today, because that's what my brother has, and he can't use heavier weights than me.  That's not allowed.

The workout is still a tough 35 minutes.  Some of the exercises are really how hard you want to push yourself and others are keep count with Tony and the kids.  I still have trouble with the full minute of jumping exercises like the slalom ones.

I definitely think I improved on the final exercise and many of the other ones.  I look forward to seeing how I'm doing with this at the end of round 3.

X2 - Week 3 - Core

After enjoying a rest day on Monday, Tuesday morning was slated to be Core.  I got up, got ready and realized half my equipment was hidden away in bedrooms because of a Sunday party.  In the end, I couldn't get the workout in yesterday morning.

Looking at my evening schedule, I decided my only option was to squeeze it in while my little one was at dance class.  Dance class is 3-5 minutes away and runs an hour.  So I had to make a few cuts to the workout.  In the end, the longer than usual roller segment got cut as did most of cool down stretch.

It was a humid day and the pellet stove was cranking out a bit of heat, so I got a great sweat.  So great, I was still sweating a little when I picked up my daughter.

Like Tony says, just press play.  I'm real happy I squeezed Core in yesterday and didn't fall behind.

Overall, I continue to show slow gains in this workout.  The one legged medicine ball burpees continue to plague me.  I had 7 poor ones.

X2 Balance and Power

I came into today pretty sore.  Not having that rest day between Plyocide and Total Body left me feeling it, even after yoga yesterday.  I did make some good improvements today.  I think more familiarity with the exercises is a big part of it.

No pull ups today, but plenty of full body moves.  Lots of plank and sphinx moves.  One thing that has troubled me in the past was doing push ups on dumbbells.  Today I tried wrapping some thick socks around the handles.  My grip was not as good, but I certainly got a lot more reps.   I will definitely continue this practice.

Rest tomorrow and it couldn't come a day too soon.  My body is looking for it.

X2 Yoga

This post is a day late, but far from a dollar short.  Yesterday was X2 yoga for me.  It was definitely a challenge, particularly how quickly you go through all the warrior one poses.  In the end, I definitely did better than last time.  Can't say I did great as Yoga is a huge challenge for me.  Both my body type and lack of flexibility really make it difficult.

I did have to come out of downward dog several times as it is a tough pose for me to hold long.  Tony mentions during the workout, "downward dog is a rest pose for some people."  I wish I was one of those people, but sadly, I am not.

X2 Total Body and Ab Ripper

I brought it today.  I dug deep, pushed hard, but still only showed moderate improvement.  I suspect I'll do better on improvement with the resistance phase, but right now, my body is feeling it.  I'm starting to get the hang of some of the new exercises.  One thing I don't like is there isn't always extra time to get in a few more reps.  They really push you to up your weights in that regard.

I thought I'd start breaking down the workouts now that I've given them each a basic review.  This workout is 12 exercises, repeated.

First exercise is one arm chest press on the stability ball.  I've done this in the gym on a bench and the difference isn't that great.  It is a very good exercise as it works so much more than just a bench press.

Next up, 4 position pull up.  I've only got a straight bar, so this becomes 3 position for me..wide, narrow, and chin up.  I still suck at them.

Third exercise is the first killer and the one that scares me the most.  Med ball, push up, side arm balance.  Having to balance on a med ball while doing a side arm balance is just scary for me.  I know if I slip or slide off the ball, there is a good chance I'll snap my wrist like a twig.  Use a bigger medicine ball for a slightly easier time.

Following that is the switch lunge press. This puts my heart rate into the stratosphere.  Lunge forward, shoulder press, stand back up, lunge back, Arnold shoulder press.  Stay on the same leg for the whole exercise. Switch legs during the repeat, so your leg is on fire.

Exercise 5, on the same leg as above, Warrior 3 Tricep kickbacks.  Pretty much like the name says, warrior 3, on the same leg as above, and throw in some tricep kickbacks.  Once again, same leg as above, no switch till round 2.

Wrap up the first half of round 1 with Warrior 3 curls.  Luckily you switch legs as your right is a puddle of goo by this point.

I'll comment on the last 6 exercises next time.

You are supposed to wrap up with Ad Ripper.  I had no energy and no time for that today.  There is a slim chance I'll squeak it in tonight.

Plyocide and Rest

As I commented on last post, I had a very late night Tuesday and there was no way I was getting up Wednesday to workout.  So I took Wednesday off(using it as my rest day) and did Plyocide today.

The group of guys I've been working out with all think Plyocide is easier than P90x Plyometrics.  I was thinking about it today as I was busy panting during the workout.  First, the actual working out part is shorter.  There is more warmup and cool down.  I think plyocide has some exercises that are harder, but that P90x Plyometrics in general is harder.

Lets look at a little math.  In Plyocide, you do 5 groups, of 4 exercises.  Each exercise is roughly 1 minute, so that is 20 minutes of high impact exercise.  In plyometrics, you also do blocks of 4 exercises, however, you end up with one extra minute of workout per block based on how the exercises are scheduled.  Additionally, there is one extra block of exercises, so you're looking at almost 10 more minutes of almost equally intensive high intensity exercise.

The last part of the equation is doing p90x chest/back and then plyometrics leaves you much more tired than doing p90x2 core followed by plyocide, so that probably comes into the mix as well.  Anyway, I've rambled enough for now.

Total Body and Ab Ripper tomorrow.

Week 2 - Core

This was my second time diving into this workout.  To be honest, there were very few specifics I remembered going into it.  I was surprised to feel that my upper body was a bit tired from Balance and Power a  couple days earlier.

My numbers did improve for many of the exercises, but not like I had expected.  In the past, doing workouts like chest/back, I would see gains of 20 or more push ups in the total count.  I did not see improvements like that.

The dreya roll still eludes me, even with the medicine ball to assist.  So I went back to the original, where I could use my hands to help push me up.  The last exercise, the medicine ball, one legged, burpee is also still an immense challenge.  Moving up to the 10lb ball helped as I gained a slightly large surface to spread my hands out.  I managed 6.

I had also inflated my stability ball a bit more and that definitely helped.

Tomorrow Plyocide is scheduled.  I will likely swap it with rest on the following day as I have some friends over tonight and will likely be up late.

X2- Rest

Yesterday was day 7, rest or mobility and recovery.  I had hoped to skip this day and do Core, but my body thought otherwise and after oversleeping a bit, was happy to have a day off.

There really isn't much more to write other than it was a nice break before week 2.

X2 - Balance and Power

I can sum this workout up in 5 words...."Plenty of room for improvement."

You once again start with the standard warm up.  It's growing on my, but my stability ball with sand in the bottom sure does warm my shoulders up fast.  Speaking of the stability ball, after the past couple workouts, I think this is the accessory to buy, if you're only going to buy one for X2.  Yes, the foam roller is used every workout, but for making things hard, the stability ball rocks.

There are plenty of interesting, challenging, combo exercises in this routine.  There are several one leg hopping or bending over exercises, that were tough.  I think the worst exercise, for me, was the decline sphinx plank press.  It's basically a sphinx push up with your feet on the ball.  Lots of struggle for me.  This workout, more than any of the other ones definitely highlighted the extra weight in my midsection.

Another highlight of my weight is there are several exercises where you use push up stands or dumbbells as push up stands.  Putting 265ish pounds onto the palm of my hands is not remotely comfortable.  Hopefully I will get back to eating better and drop a few pounds to make this workout a bit easier.

All in all, a good workout, probably the hardest so far.  The addition of the medicine ball to so many exercises really had my core working hard.

As an fyi, I have a scheduling conflict Tuesday night(I'll be up really late), so that makes working out Wednesday very hard.  I may skip rest/mobility and recovery tomorrow and jump right to Core, moving rest to Wednesday.  We'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow, but week one, pretty much done!

X2 Yoga - aka Downward Dog Yoga

Many a P90X'r has been foiled by yoga.  It's hard to stand still, in an uncomfortable position, and relax.  Tony claims it is an integral part of the program, and I certainly agree that there are great benefits from yoga, I just wish I was better at it.

X2 yoga weighs in at 65 minutes, not the 90 from P90X or the 45 from the one on one yoga.  I was looking forward to it.  After doing the one on one for a long time, I missed the balance postures from the 90 minute version, but just couldn't commit to the longer workout.

The workout starts with a deconstruction of a sun salutation.  You spend a long time in downward dog.  I had to come out of it a few times.  After a few more salutations, the speed really picks up to the point I was struggling to keep pace.  My shoulders were screaming from so many push ups(I did them all) and then having to hold downward dog.

You spend a long time performing warrior one.  I think you end up in the pose 6 times, before doing anything else.  Most of those 6 times, you're not in it for very long, but the vinyasas push you hard.  After that, you jump to warrior 3 and all the love that goes with that, culminating with crane...twice. After that, you race through the rest of the poses and move into yoga belly 3, just three ab moves, tough enough.

Then it's onto some more extended stretches, 90 seconds of Frog and pigeon again...that's just too long for me.   Followed up with plow to shoulder stand and then wraps up with my preferred ending of corpse pose and ohms.

For me, the jury is still out on this workout.  I like the 60 minutes, but he moves so fast through some things, and then holds downward dog forever that I really struggled.  Being my first time through the workout, I expected to struggle, I'm just not sure that much.  I do feel good though.

Balance and Power tomorrow.

X2 Total Body and Ab Ripper

I believe this is the longest day of phase one.  Weighing in at 1 hour and twenty minutes, you're spending a fair amount of time with Tony and the kids.

The workout starts with the same standard warm up.  Some of it I like, some of it I don't.  Since I didn't have any sore spots, I skipped the foam roller and did some stretching instead.

This workout continues the core/balance theme of phase one.  First exercise, one arm chest press on the medicine ball and moved on from there.  If you aren't pull up capable, like me, you'll have to modify a couple exercises, but otherwise, a good workout.  There are some tough ones, medicine ball, side arm balance, push ups.  I had to work hard to not slide off the ball and break my wrist.  There are a few exercises done from the warrior 3 position as well, which really works the leg/glute/core.

One thing to be mindful of is switching legs.  Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't.  Since this is a repeat workout, you'll do the right leg only, for a couple exercises, and the left leg only, the second time through.

For those of you that missed the prison cell push up from P90x Core Synergistics, you'll be more than happy with the mule kick burpee as a replacement.

This workout wraps up with our first shot at Ab Ripper X2.  I wasn't a huge fan of Ab ripper in P90X, mainly because of the additional time commitment.  I will say, so far, I like the X2 version a bit better as there is someone demoing a modified/easier version of most exercises.  Not being flexible enough to straighten my legs, really hampers the ability to do some of the exercises.

Overall, a good workout, with plenty of hard moves.  I do miss the focus on certain body parts.  For example, when I did P90X and did chest/back, I was wiped out, I had to dig deep and really work those muscle groups.  We haven't had that deep focus on a body part yet.  I believe we won't see that till phase 2.

X2 Recovery and Mobility

I don't get it. I tried, I did the whole workout, but I just don't get it.  And I really wanted to love it.

Lets start with the fact that I'm not the most limber person.  I wasn't able to touch my tows till P90X.  But  I will say I did enjoy the Stretch routine from P90X, on the rare occasion I did not sleep in and skip it on rest day.

The workout runs around 55 minutes.  You start with a few sun salutations.  The first of which is so long you want to beat Tony with the foam roller you thought you needed to buy.  After that, you jump into a few easy "mobility" exercises that aren't taxing.  You eventually return to these and I think the point is to show you how much better off you are.

After this, it's foam roller time.  For something like 30 minutes, you roll around on the ground with the roller.  I felt like I was cheating on my wife.  To start, Tony doesn't demo.  He wanders around, "coaching" the other people, which is nice, if you have a clue what you're doing.  Finally, after 4 minutes of working the roller on one leg, he sits down and shows you how to do it on the other leg.  I feel nothing but discomfort.  And maybe this is where I don't get it.  As I understand the roller, you're supposed to use it for self massage.  But all he really tells you to do it roll around till you find a sore spot, and then push on it with the roller.  Maybe the fact I'm not sore is the problem.  But the only spots I could find that hurt weren't muscular so massaging them wasn't doing any good.

You wrap this up and do a couple of the exercises you did at the start.  The "kids" all say how much better they feel.  But there's still 12 or 15 minutes left?  Now you get into the really long stretches.  The ones you hold for 90ish seconds.  There are 6 or 7 of them.  Then it's wrap time.

I've read some other reviews online and people love it.  So far, I don't, and I'm disappointed in that, you do this twice a week and I really wanted to feel as great as people say they do when they finish it.  Unfortunately, that was not the case.  I couldn't wait to finish.

I will not give up on it and plan to try it again, the next time it is scheduled.
Please comment if you've done this and what your experience was.  Thanks.

X2 Plyocide...where's my 30 seconds!?!?

Not at all like I expected.
First off, I had little to no soreness from the Core workout.  I was expecting some.  So I had fewer excuses for this 55 minute workout.

The warmup is the same as the day before.  Some more with the stability ball followed by some with the foam roller.  I'm still not sold on the foam roller, but we'll see tomorrow as I guarantee my calves will be screaming.  Then he dives into a few more of the same stretches, inch worm(hate it), scorpion(like it), groiners(eh), and there might be one or 2 more.  I know all you P90x fans will be sad, no lunge sequence.  So it's 10-12 minutes till we are into the workout.

The workout consists of 5 blocks, each with 4 exercises, each lasting a minute.  What happened to,"You can do anything for 30 seconds"?  The first of which is not a plyometric exercise.  So it breaks down to 20 exercises over the 25-30 minutes you are sweating.  He dives right into it with the Killer Katherine Lunge.  It's a Mary Katharine Lunge with a medicine ball that you shift from side to side.  It's a tough starter in my opinion.  A couple exercises later and it's slalom time, jump left to right, moving forward and back in groups of 4, just like a skier.  My calves were dying by this point.  I will definitely try to stretch them next time.

There are several moves you're going to have to concentrate to do.  He does break into the equipment pile again, using the stability ball, foam roller, medicine ball(a 4lb will do), and a plyo box.  I didn't have a plyo box handy so I just used the single step that separates our family room with the room I workout in.  Not as high as Tony has, but high enough.

One thing I did like was there were a couple balance exercises where he said, every time you touch the floor, you owe 2 pushups.  The first exercise, I only had 4 to do.  The second, a whole lot more.  But it was an interesting twist.

The cool down and end stretch, I'm not sold on.  The workout ends with over 10 minutes left on the clock and after a quick cool down, we move into a new stretching philosophy.  I forget what he calls it, but there is pushing and relaxing and you need a towel or a band of something like that.  My towel now looks like I walked on it as well as threw it in the pool.

Overall, a good workout.  Lots of new moves to learn, I did do some watching to get the hang of a few of them.  I am definitely feeling it more than Core.

Tomorrow...Rest day already.  X2 Recovery and Mobility

X2 Core

Core has always been one of my weak areas...probably my weakest area.  This workout showcased that.

The first time I go through a workout, I tend to go about 70-75%.  I'm still learning the moves and don't want to overdue it that much.  I tried to do that today, but there were a couple exercises I really had to work at to get right.

On to the meat of the workout.  It starts simply enough with an interesting warmup.  Have your stability ball handy, and make sure it is fully inflated for later in the workout.  Mine was a little soft for a few exercises.  You then move into a short segment with the foam roller.  I can't say it did much for me, but I don't have any sore spots to workout on the first day.  Maybe next time.

The workout runs for 55 minutes, with a 15(!) minute warmup and around 5 minute cooldown.  In the 35 minutes you're working out, there are 17 exercises and some of them will really test you.  However, Tony said it best, this workout "sneaks up on you".  I can't point at a specific exercise that wiped me out, and I can't say that I am wiped out, but my shirt is soaking wet.

The last exercise is one leg, med ball, burpees.  I think I got a total of 5, poor ones.  The burpee was less of a problem than the med ball push up.

Tomorrow, Plyocide.
Plyometrics + Suicide = Plyocide....I can hardly wait.

Setting Goals

Throughout P90x, Tony Horton talks about setting goals.  In the past, my goals were pretty much get through the workout and improve my performance...more reps, higher weights, etc.

This time, in addition to those goals, I intend to eat much better.  I will keep track of my weight, but I suspect it will not reduce so much as move around and transform from fat to muscle.  I could easily say my plan is to lose 30lbs, and it probably is, but my real goal is to take all those tight pairs of pants, and require a belt to wear them.

I have taken before pictures, but will spare you the sight until I can show my progress\transformation. 

Background

Tomorrow, myself, my brother and 2 of our friends begin dedicating 90 days of our lives to P90X2. This blog will cover my efforts, trials, and tribulations.

I thought I'd give a quick introduction about myself and my plans. I just wrapped up my 5th round of P90x, but not without taking a month+ break, at the end, to deal with some tendonitis in my elbow. As a prep for X2 and to finish this round, I did 1 week of phase 1, 1 week of phase 2, and 1 week of recovery. I am by no means in the shape I want to be in for this.

While I've completed P90x 5 times, I have never followed the diet, so I'm carrying around plenty of extra weight. As part of this, I intend to work much harder on my eating, but that's another post. For the record, I'm 6-3 and around 265, built like an ox.

I prefer to do my workouts first thing in the morning as I like to spend time with the family when I get home from work. I will do my best to post in the mornings, but no promises. I expect my first posts to be reviews of each routine as I do them.

Lastly, outside of the tendonitis, which is pretty minor now, I ruptured my achilles tendon about 5 years ago...it's almost back to normal. Otherwise, my limitations are my own physical and mental issues.

And no, I've never done a pull up, chin up yes, pull up…not even close.