P90x Week 6 Day 6 - Kenpo x

Done for the week, and half-way to completing P90x workout program (for this round anyway)!! We are both feeling a bit more use to the exercises which helps in the workout's effectiveness (we're feeling it). Here is our latest:

Stiff Neck from Pull-ups

Yesterday during the legs and back exercises, I could feel my neck starting to get tense; this morning it felt worse. I think it was caused by two reasons: poor warm up, and I was trying to squeeze in a couple more pull-up reps. I didn't get a good warm-up because I was tending to my daughter, who seems to need a diaper change every time we start exercising. Squeezing in a couple extra reps caused my form to suffer and put the tension in my neck instead of my back. I did some looking around to see what I could do better, and found some good advice and demos.

For now, I am going to enjoy my recovery day tomorrow and use a few basic techniques for relieving neck pain, such as soaking in a hot bath and getting a massage.

P90x Week 6 Day 5 - Legs and Back

It's static and ballistic... it's Stablatic!!
This workout felt pretty good - we had to cut out a few times to help the kids, but we prevailed again! Feels good to be almost done another week.

Here's today's work:

Download P90x Workout for Free!

I have a friend that is trying out the P90x program, but he doesn't have the videos. He has somehow picked up the text version of the program and is reading that as a guide through the program. If you want to save $130, this is the way to do it, but I don't think it is worth it.

Here are some of the reasons for purchasing a program:

Timing of exercises
One of the reasons why this program is so good, is because it's fast paced. You don't have to watch the stopwatch to know how long to work out and how long to rest... it is done for you. I barely have enough time to record what I did and get ready for the next exercise - I can't imagine having to read it!

Complexity of moves
Some of these workouts are not for those who lack in coordination... like myself. It takes a few times watching and trying to look somewhat like the demos, and we are still trying to master them. Yoga and Kenpo especially are difficult to follow and master; I couldn't imagine trying to figure out those moves from written text.

Investment helps commitment
What do you think is easier: quitting a program you didn't pay for or one you did pay for? The more you invest in something (time and money), the hard it is to ditch it. Do you remember when your mom put you in piano lessons and you said you were going to quit? She made you finish because she had already paid didn't she? No one likes to waste money. You will be more likely to see the program to the end if you make a financial investment. If you take the time to study the program and see the testimonials from others, chances of program completion increase even more.

Ease conscious
I don't know where my friend got the text version of the program, it may very well be legit. I do know there are pirated copies of this program out there that are readily downloaded. So let me ask this, if you do get a pirate version and have great results, who are you going to tell? What if they ask you where you got your program? I may be a bit anal about this since I work in the software industry, but I don't think $130 is worth the cost to someone's integrity.

Make the investment!
So decide to do the program and make the investment; go pickup bottles/cans and cash them in - the exercise you do in the process may even help you get ready for the program!

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 Week 6 Day 3 - Back and Biceps

It was pointed out on the YouTube posting that I seem to be slacking off on the Mason Twist part of the Ab Ripper X workout. Just to explain, this exercise seems to injure my lower back. I can feel it during the workout and it usually take a few days to feel better. I feel the same pain when I do those frog exercises - basically any of the ab exercises where I sit on the floor with legs off the ground and no support for the back. I don't know why it does that, but I haven't been able to get past it. Anyway, I will try again when it feels better, but this has happened several times now... any suggestions?

Here's the latest:

p90x Week 6 Day 2 - Plyometrics

Ahhhhhhhh... sweet cardio. You know what I like best about cardio days? No Ab Ripper X!! Out of all the cardio routeins, this one is the best. It changes up every 1 min or so; you don't get bored!

Here we are acting like frogs and doing our best Airborne Heismans:

P90x Week 5 Day 6 Kenpo and Week 6 Day 1 - Chest Shoulders Triceps

I've been a bit delinquent on my posts, but don't worry, no workouts were missed (I know you were worried). So here are two new videos: Kenpo x from Saturday, and Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps from today. Shilleem missed Saturday's workout due to illness. Luckily I was sick on Sunday which allowed to recover enough for Monday's workout.

P90x Legs and Back - Week 5: Day 5

Have you ever noticed that the back stretches take an unusually long time - I thought it was because Tony gets side-tracked in introducing Sophia; talking about her "chicklet" teeth. If you watch Sophia's arms, you will notice that the video has been edited. At first she has her arms behind, then in-front for the close-up and then behind again. It is just a little quirk we noticed doing these workouts over and over - not a big deal, just something interesting... to me anyway :)

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 Back and Biceps - Week 5: Day 3 - Corncob Pullups

Once again, it seems like we haven't done pullups for a long time, but felt good to do a few. Those "Corncob Pullups" though are tough! As for biceps, I thought I was doing ok until the strip set... those are killer! I think I will be feeling this tomorrow.

P90x Plyometrics - Week 5: Day 2

Feels like we haven't done this one for awhile... actually, it's been a couple weeks! Once again, I think this is part of the "muscle confusion" strategy. Needless to say, it felt more difficult than I remember it. We muscled through it and survived.



As far as meals go, we are off the Fat Shredder phase now, but we haven't had time to do our measurements yet; we may need to go back on it. This past week has been a difficult week to keep to the diet plan. With Shilleen going away for a couple days and Valentine's Day festivities... we slacked off.. a lot! Hopefully we will get back into it.

P90x Chest, Shoulders, Triceps - Week 5: Day 1

Did Tony say there was some trick to the "One Arm Pushup"... cuz I think I missed it if he did. Those are very hard. I was able to do some on my knees, but I think it will take some time to get up to proper form.

Feels good to be back to doing some weights. I think I'm going to feel it tomorrow due to the recovery week. I think that is the idea though - don't let the muscles get into a routine; it will stunt their growth.

My old friend "Ab Ripper" is back too... I didn't miss him much; he's still a pain in the side...

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.

Week 04: Day 05 - Core Synergistics - Engaged!

This is the second time we are doing this workout this week, but it is one of my favorites. Not that I can do everything perfectly, but it really works you with rapid intense exercises. It's true, if my mind isn't in it I can slack off and not get the core workout that is intended... stick to the tip of the day: "ENGAGE".

Week 04: Day 04 - X Stretch - Making Gumby look like the Tin Man

This is something that I really need to do more often. It's too bad X Stretch is usually on the 7th day... the day we usually take off. A lot of the stretches are the same as what is done is the 2nd half of Yoga x, but you don't have to go through all the pain of the first part of Yoga X :)

Shilleen is much more flexible than me... I wonder if in general woman are more flexible than men? Although when you watch the p90x X Stretch video and others too, the men do really well... freaks of nature.

Week 04: Day 03 - Kenpo x - She's baaak...

After two days off, I am happy to report Shilleen has rejoined the workout recordings. Actually, she only missed Monday's workout since she was able to borrow the core synergisitics DVD while away. But did she actually "bring it"?? We'll never know since we don't have the video proof and there were no witnesses :)

Here is the latest video:

Week 04: Day 02: Core Synergistics... Ouch!

I guess I don't have much of a core... yet. That was pretty painful and exhausting. I especially felt it in the shoulders; they were burning! Maybe I'm doing something wrong. I like the routine though - it works everything!

Shilleen will be back tomorrow, so we can get back to our regular schedule of workout and diet... the diet has been less-effective for the past 3 days.

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 5 - P90X Kenpo x - Starring Mr. Grump

Saturdays are a bit different from the rest of the week. We tend to stay up a bit later on Friday night and sleep in on Saturday morning. Getting a late start doesn't always allow for a proper breakfast before working out, so for the last couple weeks we have been doing Kenpo x before we eat anything... is this a good thing to do? I have read some that say yes, and some that say no; here's what I have noticed:

I am starving!
During this "fat shredder" phase I notice when I wake up, I am ready to eat, immediately! If I ignore the hunger pains, shortly after I start working out the hunger pains seem to go away.

Where's the energy?
I don't know if it is because it is the last workout of the week, or if it is because I miss breakfast, but I seem to have less energy and feel a bit more fatigued during Kenpo. I don't even have it in me to do the "CHEEA!" yells... that's pretty weak.

Who's the grump?
From the time I wake up in the morning to when we are ready to workout, I am pretty irritable (if you don't believe it, just ask my family... they will tell you in great detail). I seem to have this issue when I'm hungry. You'd think because I recognize the problem I would realize when I'm in that situation and remedy it quickly with a snack... but I don't. I don't want to let my hunger win, so I make everyone else pay for it! Isn't it good for my body to go through a bit of starvation to get some results, or do I need therapy?

Conclusions
For the sake of my family having to be around Mr.Grump on Saturday mornings - I am going to eat before I workout, even if I have to get up a couple hours earlier to eat breakfast and then go back to bed. I suspect I will have more energy too... I'll let you know how it goes.

ENJOY THE STINKIN VIDEO!!! (sorry, I'd better eat something):

Week 3: Day 5 - P90X Legs and Back - Oops, I think I ripped my pants!

Another solid P90x workout - Legs and Back, and of course the old favorite: Ab Ripper X! The exercises seem to get tougher at the end of the week, but we made it through despite an abnormal amount of distractions from the kids.

One thing I wish I had done before starting these exercise is to modify the Legs and Back workout sheet found in the back of the p90x Fitness Guide. It only has spots to record how many pull-ups/chin-ups; nothing for recording how much weight you did for legs or a spot to record what you thought of that exercise to help for next time. When I get some time I will modify it in an excel spreadsheet and post it here for everyone to use.

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:

Week 3: Day 3 - P90x Shoulders and Arms - Doin it like a Teradactyl

First, I should probably explain the title... there's an amusing part in this workout during reverse arm-circle warm-up, where Tony compares the movement to a Teradactyl backing out of trouble - good for a laugh the first couple times you hear it and diverts your mind off the burning shoulders... Thanks Tony! (Now that we are in week three we are on a first-name basis)

About the workout - mid-week and feeling pretty good. We did some measurements this morning that were encouaging... not a ton of progress, but there was some and it was measureable. I think measuring progress helps to keep going - that is probably true for any goal.

Today, I actually did all the ab ripper exercises too - not in perfect form, but I was trying/struggling the whole time - no breaks! This is a huge for a guy that detests that workout! I'm taming the beast...

Enjoy:

Week 3: Day 2 - p90x Plyometrics - The MOTHER of all P90x Workouts!

I assuming what Tony means by the Mother of all P90x workouts is that this one is the hardest... personally, I would rather do this one over yoga and ab-ripper. Yoga x is slow torture for 1.5 hours, and Ab-Ripper is extreme torture for 16 minutes... at least Plyo x is a reasonable length of time although it keeps you hoppin. Having said that, I may sing a different tune in a few weeks time - if I can just get through those seemingly impossible exercises.

Here's today's work:

Week 3: Day 1: Fat Shredder: Portion Approach

Breakfast: P90X protein shake

Lunch: Leftover Steak...with salad and for Mike, he added some cottage cheese and pecans.



Supper: Oven baked Potatoes, scrambled egg whites with green pepper, green onion, garlic and tomato, and turkey bacon.

P90x Chest and Back 03/01 - German Potato Soup??

Shilleen and I have noticed there are some interesting/funny one-liners in these videos. Some of them are cheesy, but they give us something to talk about and take our mind off the pain. We will try to post a daily workout quote for the rest of the workouts

As for the workout - feeling a bit stronger and am able to do a couple more reps on the exercises (ok, not all the exercises and maybe just one more rep... but that is progress!). Here's the proof: