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.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
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.
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.
So after a week off, it feels better, not great, but well enough to dive back in with phase 2....resistance.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
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.
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.
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.
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