P90x Week 12: Day 4 - Yoga

It isn't good to miss yoga days - I missed last Thursday's and think that was the reason I felt really stiff today. I think I said it before, if I could find more time, I think x-stretch would be beneficial for me. I am more flexible than I was at the beginning of P90x, but I could stand to improve a lot more.

Here we are again, stretching and breathing for the last yoga routine of this round of P90x:

P90x Week 11: Day 4 - Yoga x

No video today - I was tied up doing some emergency work and Shilleen did Yoga x by herself. It's too bad, we were hoping to have a video of every workout . I suppose, if you really want to see us workout, you can have a look at last Thursday's video - it should be the same (minus any improvements we would have made in the past week).

We still have to plan how we are going to celebrate Easter and still do our workouts. We should be able to work it in our schedule even though we are going to be away for a couple days... stay tuned.

Comments from Shilleen: Didn't feel like doing yoga today....I woke up with a massive headache so bad it was extra hard to open the eyelids today.....Interestingly, enough when I was done Yoga...I thought to myself...wow! I actually feel considerly better, I may just be able to get through the day.

P90x Week 10: Day 4 - Yoga x

Our fat calipers and our body tape measurer finally arrived today! We expected to take a bit longer than usual to arrive up here in the Great White North - Amazon was only a week off in their estimate:) So, we will be able to do some measurements soon and post some results.

Yoga felt good today. It seems to go by faster now since we have almost memorized all the moves. I still struggle with the last move of the moving options, but all the others seem to be coming along fine. I didn't feel like I sweat as much as last time, although as my son was climbing my back during the exercises he mentioned that it was wet...

P90x Week 9: Day 4 - Yoga x

We decided to give in today and let the kids watch a video while we worked out - we don't usually do that, but it is so much easier doing yoga not having an extra 50lbs on your back or a monkey swinging from your neck. Our son did return for vocal oms at then end - he loves that part.

I not sure why today's workout made us sweat so bad - I remember this being a bit easier last week... my triceps were pretty sore for the first 20min or so; must have been from the other exercises this week.

P90x Week 8 Day 1 - Yoga x

Sweet recovery week! We are all a bit sick with colds, but recovering. Yoga felt good today.

P90x Week 7 Day 4 - Yoga

I felt pretty sore today after yesterday's workout. Yoga is exactly what I needed to get loosened up. Shilleen is back in action today too.

P90x Week 6 Day 4 - Yoga X

This workout seems to be getting easier... either that or I am slacking it :) I didn't sweat as much today as I remember in the past. This doesn't mean that I didn't sweat, and I was able to do all the exercises; I still struggle with the last exercise of the moving option.

The kids were rowdy today, so we gave in a put a movie on for them partway through the workout... maybe that's why it was easier for me today...

P90x Yoga X - Week 5: Day 4

Feeling it today - ugh! We are both pretty sore from previous workouts this week. It was good to get a good stretch though. Shilleen was a trooper today - she came down with a head-cold last night, but decided to do the workout anyways; Good job SHILLEEN!!

P90x Yoga X - Week 4: Day 6 - Sugar crack for kids!

We made a mistake this morning - after the kids had breakfast, they found the Valentine's Day sugar cookies... the ones we are (of course) going to give away. They both got away with eating one each. The youngest also got into the chocolates... big mistake. As you can see in the video, they were bouncing off the walls during Yoga. I think I missed a good 10 min of the workout trying to settle them down and mitigating damage.

We made it through week 4 - 1/3 down, 2/3 to go. We were hoping for some good results; we will do the measurements and progress pics on Monday.



We started to watch the Vancouver 2010 Olympics - if you're looking for inspiration of how to keep going and breaking through the obstacles of success, watch the Olympics! Most Olympic athletes have a great story to tell of the adversity they had to face to make it.

Speaking of the Olympics, we were shocked to watch the accident footage of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the slider from Borjomi, Georgia - what a difficult start to the Olympics. He was only 21. It is sad to see how much effort is put into getting to the Olympics only to have it end in a practice run.

P90x Week 04: Day 01 - Yoga X - What happened to Shilleen?

I wish I had a better story to tell about why Shilleen didn't do Yoga X with me today; she actually had a legit excuse. She went to look after her grandma who lives about an hour away from us. Family needs will always come before any workout or goal. She'll be back with a vengeance on Wednesday.

What's it like without a workout buddy?
Is it harder to work out without Shilleen doing the exercises with me? I would imagine that 80-90% of people that do this workout do it solo, so my one day experience is probably lacking. Here's what I noticed:
- I had to consciously decide if I was going to workout today. I had to do all the setup, and push "play", Shilleen usually does all of that for me so I don't have to take time out of my work to do it
- once I started, I had to work at keeping discouraging thoughts out; like knowing that she probably isn't doing the exercises today, so why should I have to go all out?
- it was also a bit easier to slack off on some of the moves because she wasn't there to encourage me (aka watch me like a hawk so I cheat)

So what's my preference?
Do I prefer working out alone? Definitely not! Those of you that have to workout alone and stick to it, you are a better person than me. If you can find someone to workout with, I highly recommend it... so far :) I'll give an update in the end.

Here I am going solo for the first time:

Week 3: Day 4 - P90X Yoga X -Shrinking yoga block?

A few people I know who have tried yoga x complain that at about the 30-40 min mark they have had enough pain for one day and shut the operation down. I must admit I felt the same way when we first did this.

The reason for the impulse to quit is how the moving options build up to advanced moves, which I have yet to make it through; these moves involve balancing on one leg while touching your toe with one hand and the other straight up over your head... sound complicated? Trust me, it doesn't look any better in the video below (you'd better buy the videos yourself if you want to see how it's supposed to be done). If you can't touch your toes with two legs on the floor (like myself), the last moves are very hard. A yoga block is needed, although even with a yoga block I have difficulty. The block seems much smaller at the end of the moving options. I wish they made them taller... much taller... like waist-height!

If you are just starting out, I'll let you in on a little secret: you should know that the moving options only last for the first half of Yoga X (about 45min) - the rest is stretching and some balance postures which aren't as intense as the moving options. So, if you can struggle through the first half, the second half is more bearable.

Here is our best effort for today:

P90x Week 2: Day 04 Yoga x - Clear Your Mind...

Tony's tip of the day was to "clear your mind" of any stresses or concerns and focus on the exercises and movements... that is a good suggestion, but when there are two toddlers running around, it is easier said than done.

So why don't we do something about it? We could lock them in a room, or maybe get a babysitter? Here's our rationale: we both feel that we would like to have our children get into a habit of exercising daily. We don't know of a better time to instill that practice (or any good practice) than while they are young. Wouldn't it be great if they grew up thinking everyone exercised daily and it was a part of normal daily life? To make this goal a reality, we hope that we will be able to put up with a bit more distractions than what most experience - it is a price we are willing to pay for the team.

I must admit, their participation in the exercises has been sporadic, and they are limited in their coordination to do most of the exercises, but they often will attempt the exercises with encouragement from us and even on their own. We aren't out to create the next "Little Hercules", just active healthy kids that will grow up to be active healthy adults.

I was surprised while reviewing the latest video (below) to see our youngest attempting several of the exercises on her own. The exercise both kids like best from yoga x is the last exercise: yoga oms (a vocal hum/chant to "massage the central nervous system") - a little hokey, but the kids never miss it and hum right along.

Week 1: Day 04 Speed YogaX

Here it is, 1.5 hours of yoga-x in under 10 min - looks more like cardio!



Good thing you can't hear the sound - there was a lot of painful moans and grunts. As you can see, even in fast forward, we have a ways to go before mastering this workout... ouch!

PS - this video contains an unrehearsed sword fight... Viewer discretion is advised.