Plyometrics
‘Twas the first day of work
And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
Except for the crazy broad who woke up at 4:30 am to squeeze Plyometrics in before her hour commute to a fun-filled day of teacher meetings
Yep. That was the start of my day. I learned some valuable lessons: Plyo is really hard to finish strong on 3 hours of sleep. It really takes 75 minutes to finish a 60 minute workout when your brain is tired and you keep forgetting things (like one of your shoes). It feels awesome to burn 650 calories before 6 am. It’s far better to pack food items the night before than to stand in the kitchen hurriedly trying to remember what carrots look like, let alone taste like. Finally, that on a teacher training day (by which I mean “let’s get adults in a room, completely waste 6 hours of their life but have a captive audience because we are paying them”), after Plyometrics at 4:30 am it’s all downhill.
The workout really was great; my guess is by the end of this program it will be my favorite. I just love all the moving and grooving. The jumps are a little hard on my knees, especially when I decide I want to kick it up a notch and jump as high as I can. I have to take my time and slow down an exercise or two. By the end of the workout I always dog it on the “catch/shoot” basketball portion; I’m pretty sure my 3 year old nephew would be able to guard me just fine. And every week I can jump higher, last longer, and make the moves prettier.
Well, as pretty as jumping up and down flinging sweat outward in a 5 foot radius can be.
Good stuff. Last week I lost another pound, so overall I’m down 7 from the start of this program. I’m predicting that this week I’ll be stable or lose a pound at most, but then during the recovery week I’ll lose several. That’s what happened last phase, anyway. Regardless I’m still seeing the results and getting more fit, so win for me!
Now off to forget I’m a teacher until Monday.
Day 42: X Stretch
After last week’s debacle of skipping the stretch and going for rest, I will never ever allow that to happen again. I felt tight and bunchy all week long rather than stretchy and strong. So on Wednesday I did the stretch and loved every single minute of it. I really was tighter than I have been; I lost a little flexibility in some of the moves but stayed a little longer, pushed a little, and breathed A LOT through the discomfort and pretty much got back to where I have been.
One note: Back Hero is getting easier. My butt actually touched the floor. Miracles do happen.
Day 43: Core Synergistics
I continue to mostly dislike this workout, but I still see the point of it and the usefulness. I worked hard to push myself to do more of each type of pushup, and it mostly worked. Until I got to the Prison Cell Pushups, and I hit 6 and thought I was going to pass out. So I called it early. (Last time I got to 10.) But I increased reps and weight on everything else, so maybe it’s a wash.
One note: I got FIVE DREYA ROLLS without the retarded crossed feet! Haha. This is a significant achievement, my friends.
I lied. One more note. By the end of the workout I was covered in a nice sheen of sweat. Not the nice bikini photo shoot sheen, but a DNA-removal sheen that seriously compromised my grip on the mat. During the cool down one of the stretches is Downward Dog. I literally fell on my head because my hands slipped off the mat.
It would’ve been really funny if it hadn’t been so humiliating. Such is my life.
Kenpo X
This workout continues to be my favorite, followed closely by Plyometrics. I love feeling like I could walk out and beat someone up. Sorry about the violence, I blame it on growing up around all boys.
Anyway, today I worked out later in the day and hadn’t eaten much beforehand (it’s scary how often I say that) so I was crashing pretty hard. I found it difficult to keep up with their speed on the DVD, so I did reps a little slower. I realized I wasn’t turning my body into my punches like I usually do. I was definitely a little off my game today, and it sucked. I hate feeling weak like that. But I got through it! By the end of the video I was exhausted, which was actually good since I haven’t been sleeping great lately. It seems like the more I work out, the less I sleep. Weird.
I can’t believe it but I’m basically halfway done with Phase 2! Rest/Stretch tomorrow. After skipping the stretch last week I know better than to do the same this week. So I will be stretching and getting all gumby-ish. My favorite part.
Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Today was a good workout day. My legs felt strong through the whole workout. I added 5 lb dumbbells to every exercise that required weight, and could actually do all reps of every move with good form. For the back exercises I use bands, but I may have to reevaluate this soon. I combine all three of the highest resistance bands I have, kneel down 3 feet from the door, and can still do more than 20 reps for every exercise. It’s actually a little creepy…and I’m a little afraid of breaking the door. (It bends every time I pull.) I’m thinking about getting a pull up bar and using a chair like they show in the DVD. Regardless of how strong I’m getting I know I still have no prayer of lifting my own weight using only my arms and back, so I’m conflicted.
After Legs & Back I paused the DVD and did Ab Ripper X at my own speed (by which I mean lots of breaks between moves) and did the full reps of every move except for the V Up/Roll Up. Still modifying a lot, but I am definitely getting stronger! Yay for turning muscles from PlayDough into the slightly firmer Silly Putty. Hopefully by the end of Classic (in 130 days) they will have turned into steel and eaten the layer of fat currently laying on top of them.
Also, I got my first non-family compliment today. I was out with a friend I hadn’t seen in a few months. He started P90X a little before I did but has since quit. He asked if I was still doing P90X. When I responded that I was, he said “Well. It’s working.”
Excellent motivation. :)
Yoga X
Amazingly, this workout is becoming a lot of fun for me. The first half is not at all relaxing; I can easily picture this workout being an integral part of one of the levels of hell. But the second half is glorious, what with all the balancing and stretching and general yumminess.
Good notes: I forced myself to get low in all my lunges today, and was able to do it consistently! I guess plyo is paying off haha. Also I can still do the right angle grab when my left leg is forward, and I’m only a few centimeters from doing it when the right leg is forward. During the half moon poses I actually kept one foot off the ground at all times without my leg collapsing. I held Crane for a good 10 seconds, and had one toe on the ground most of the time. Gymnastics when I was younger has meant I’ve always been able to do Wheel (the backbend), but today I held it the entire time and added the leg extensions. Last week by the time I got to the balance poses my legs were so tired my balance was terrible; today I only lost my balance once during Royal Dancer and once during the Leg Extensions (my hands were sweaty and I lost grip on my toe…oops).
All in all, great workout. I skipped the Ohms this time; I don’t really see the point, and the extra 2 minutes seemed endless at that point. But I totally rocked the Corpse Pose.
Chest, Shoulders & Triceps and Ab Ripper X
I never knew washing my hair would be such a difficult task.
This was the second week fo this workout, and knowing what to expect as well as establishing baseline goals really help me to improve from week to week. And by “improve” I really mean “snap every muscle in my upper body.”
I improved on every single move, either with more reps (push ups) or more weight (everything else). For some of them I surprised myself with how much I could do; on the one armed push ups I went from 2 to 8. I still only lowered myself about 4”, but hey I lowered myself 6 more times! Haha.
I really enjoy the workout. By focusing so much on my upper body it really tears up the muscle, and I love that feeling. This time I really did go to failure on the push ups and let me tell you, I could feel it later. I jumped in the shower afterward and literally had a difficult time raising my arms to wash my hair. It was crazy!
Ab Ripper X really is getting easier! I still modify a lot of the moves, but I’m able to do the full 25 reps on every exercise except the V Up/Roll Up. 6 weeks ago I couldn’t even do half of them, and now I can do all of them! Now it’s time to work on getting rid of the modifications so it continues to challenge me and I keep making progress. Whew!
Today over the entire workout I again burned about 50 fewer calories than I did with the same workout last week, so I’m thinking that’s about right for the difference in weight. Regardless, it was a great workout and an awesome way to start the day. Whether or not I can raise my arms during Yoga X tomorrow is a completely different proposition.
Plyometrics
First, let me just say that I cannot believe it’s already Day 37. I realize I still have an awfully long way to go, but this has been so much fun! I start work again next week; I’m a little nervous about it because I have a long commute and will have to get up at about 4 a.m. every day in order to get my workout in. (I’ve learned from years of observation that if I put it off until after the school day I will NOT do it.)
Whew. That aside, I LOVE PLYO. I also hate it. A lot. While I’m in the middle of it and my heart is racing and my legs are burning I can’t decide if I want to die on the spot to circumvent the torture or if I never ever want it to end. I love it. I think it reminds me of all the best sports practices I’ve ever been a part of. It’s like I can feel my body getting more athletically prepared each time. And no, I don’t look pretty doing it. Yes, I have to elongate my water breaks in order to calm my breathing and heart. Yes, sometimes I have to go a little slower than the Iron Men on the DVD. But I do it. And actually, I do pretty close to 100% of what they do. This workout makes me feel like I’m making real gains and getting ever closer to being able to actually be athletic again (without dying halfway through a play). It’s a great feeling.
That said, I even noticed some improvements. My jumps got a little higher today and I put a lot more into it than last week. I think knowing what to expect helps. I ate a decent breakfast at about 9 a.m. and then no more food before my workout at 4 (I got delayed by a panicked call from my department chair), so I was a little bit on empty. I think if I had eaten a real lunch I could’ve amazed myself during this workout.
More than I already did, anyway.
As I said yesterday I adjusted my HRM to reflect my slightly slimmer self, and as I suspected, my caloric burn was a little lower. But only by about 50 calories, so that’s awesome. It means that this week I really have been burning calories like crazy. I’m not sure how that works exactly; maybe my bigger muscles are burning more fuel? But I thought that as your resting HR went down your calories burned would also? Anyone that has an answer (or even a wild guess), I would love to hear it!
Awesome workout. I kind of want to go to bed now, but I have to find dinner first. I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Core Synergistics
I never, ever get used to this workout. It is also not growing on me. Haha. But since I’m all about finding the shiny bright spot in life, I’ll go ahead and list the good things about this workout (both in general and today’s in particular).
Positives:
- I love how it jacks up my heart rate and makes me sweat
- I like the mix of strength and cardio exercises
- I enjoy feeling my core getting stronger. I wasn’t sure it was possible.
- I found 3 lb. dumbells and added them to the lunges today, and I can actually feel my arms and back afterward. LOVE it. (Please snicker about the baby dumbells more quietly. You’re disturbing my concentration.)
- I got to 8 prison cell push ups (on my knees for the push ups) and 11 Dreya Rolls (with ankles crossed to get back up)!
- One day very soon I hope to really be able to do the Plank/Chaturanga Run. Right now I hold plank then go to chaturanga, going to my knees at about the 30-40 second mark.
- I also hope to be able to do the walking push ups. Now I do one pass, then sit out. Do another, sit out. I want to be able to do the whole thing.
That’s pretty much it. When I was warming up my body felt so cold and tense; I could definitely feel the lack of X Stretch from yesterday. I will probably do the stretch before Plyo tomorrow, or maybe later on tonight. I really miss the stretchy feeling before starting more strength training.
Also, I think I mentioned a few days ago that I was curious at how my resting heart rate dropped and yet this week I’ve really been burning calories according to my heart rate monitor. Today during Core Syn I had a revelation:
I had never changed my weight on my monitor.
While 6 pounds doesn’t seem lik a huge dent in the 40-ish I would like to lose, I’m fairly sure it will change the equation used to calculate caloric burn. So after the workout I changed my data to reflect the slightly slimmer me. I’ll see how it impacts the burn for tomorrow during plyo. Last week it said I burned about 770 calories; tomorrow I expect it to be less, perhaps significantly.
Anyway, good start to the day! I didn’t lose any weight this week, but that happened last month with strength training also. I know it’s doing good things for my body, so as long as I lose inches I’ll be happy.
Rest/X Stretch
This was the first day I didn’t do X Stretch. I gotta say, I missed it a lot. I’ve found that over the course of the week my muscles feel like they get increasingly bunched up and tense. When I do the X Stretch at the end of the week, this gives them a chance to relax and return to normal. I simply ran out of time, but I assure you this will not happen again.
End of Week 5!
Kenpo X
I still can’t believe I’ve made it to Day 34. This is seriously the longest I’ve ever stuck with a workout routine. I chalk it up to my incredible dedication to feeling better coupled with the sense that P90X accomplishes something real. It increases athleticism rather than just being a fun way to get sweating. Whatever it is, I love it.
As I said yesterday, I consumed about 50 grams less of protein than I’ve been accustomed to, and boy can I feel it. My legs haven’t been this sore since the first week of the program! Today as I warmed up for Kenpo my legs immediately started to burn. I actually had a hard time with the Crescent performed as a warm up!
I haven’t felt like such a whimp in a while.
Anyway I pushed through it (and stood up out of it, barely catching myself from toppling over onto my coffee table during the Lunging Prayer Twists) and got to the meat of the workout. I say this often, but it bears repeating: I love Kenpo. I adore the fighting aspect. And whenever I start to feel myself phoning in punches or kicks, I just renew the mental image of fighting an actual opponent. This helps me dial up the intensity immediately. This is especially helpful for my kicks; it’s easy to just flip up my leg and not concentrate much on what’s happening. As soon as I envision an assailant, however, I immediately begin to add height and power to my kicks. It’s great.
A few things were off about today’s workout: I ate a decent breakfast at about 9 a.m. and didn’t eat again (but drank a lot of water) until after my workout, and I worked out later than I like. I think I began the DVD at about 5 p.m. This meant my stomach was empty for the cardio (bonus) but my body was pretty well depleted of ready energy for the workout (drawback). This also meant the bulk of my calories for the day came at about 7 pm, which is also later than I would like. Finally, this week my calories burned for every workout have been much higher than they were at the end of Phase 1. I’m not sure why this is, since my resting heart rate has dropped so much. They are still easy and my heart rate is under control and in (or close to) the zone for the most part, but wow the calories are going up in flames! It’s an interesting phenomenon, regardless.
So today was good! Tomorrow is X Stretch, which is always a glorious day. It also means I’m done with Week 5 of a 13 week program. I still can’t believe how far I’ve come in 5 weeks; I can’t wait to see where I end up! I can’t even imagine what my body will be able to do at the end of P90X Classic in December. It boggles my mind.
Though my mind is easily boggled.
