Day #25 & #26

Day #25, Thursday: X Stretch


If you read my last P90X post (day #24), you know that I've committed to take this program to a new level of commitment both with the workouts and with my eating. I'm pumped to work even harder,  push even more during my workouts, and eat even better... And like I promised myself, I got up early (5:30 AM) for my workout Thursday morning... Thursday was X Stretch. Haha. I was pumped for a Plyometrics/ Legs & Back double session!! But since I'm going to do better to stay on schedule (with the exception of Core Synergistics), I did X Stretch. Tony Horton talks about just how important flexibility is to fitness in general and in preventing injury... To be honest, I'm not completely sold on this particular session of P90X yet (I've never stretched for so long before), but I will keep working at it. I have been, however, very satisfied with the warm ups and cool downs with each of the other workout DVD's, and with the stretching involved. I have especially gained a greater appreciation for the warm ups and how much more I can do during a workout after a good warm up. I was already moderately flexible before beginning P90X almost 4 weeks ago, but I'm happy to report that my flexibility has improved.

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Day #26,  Friday: Core Synergistics


Awww....I LOVE the feeling I get after a challenging, sweat-inducing cardio workout!! I feel like a new person and like my insides are singing Hallelujah!  Today I pushed myself hard and I'd say I got almost as good as of a workout as Plyometrics gives me...and all the while strengthening my core. There are 3 distinct workouts that I especially appreciate because they work me SO good.


Banana- alternating between lying on the back, right side, stomach and left side, while lifting up the arms and legs off the floor (straight out)
Bow to Boat- alternating between being on the stomach while holding onto the legs and keeping them and the chest off the floor, and then to "boat" where you balance on your bottom  while lifting the legs off the floor with the arms straight out above them.

(Boat- I cannot yet get my legs quite as high and straight as this girl,

but this gives you an idea of what it looks like)

Superman Banana- alternating between lying on back and stomach while lifting up the arms and legs off the floor (straight out).


Ah, there are so hard but so good. I really have to breath through these. During each of these 3 workouts Tony has you switch to the alternate position very quickly...It's "X city", as Tony likes to say! :)


One more thing that I want to mention is I'm getting better with push-ups! I challenged myself today to do mostly guy push-ups. I cannot yet go all of the way down and up in this position, but I was going about half way down. And if you know anything about P90X, you know that when they do "push-ups"...there's always an addition to the move incorporated at the same time, like leg raises, or putting one leg on top of the other, etc.. There are no plain ol' traditional crunches, sit ups or push-ups in P90X, at least in the first phase. (There are more traditional push-ups on the "Chest, Shoulders and Triceps" DVD that you start doing in Phase 2.) So I'm excited about the improvement that I'm seeing!

Time to Step It Up!

I have some catching up to do for the last few days...

Day #22, Monday: Kenpo X


Monday was a good day for P90X. I was pumped and ready to go! I went to my computer as I usually do to see what workout I have scheduled and I was surprised to see "Yoga" listed. I didn't realize that I was almost done with Phase 1! So, as much as I *Love* Yoga X ;), I just wasn't feeling that particular workout that day...and since I'd missed Kenpo X on Saturday I decided to switch it up and do Kenpo instead. And as usual, I had a lot of fun! One thing I was happy to find is how much stronger my legs are. Toward the end of the segment Tony has you in "horse stance," which is basically a squat with legs far apart...while doing different arm movements. I made as low of a squat as I possible could and held it for several minutes...and I didn't even get fatigued.


I also really enjoy the "breaks" in Kenpo X... which aren't even breaks. You can towel off and grab water quickly, but they keep moving. This is where they do jumping jacks and X-jumps. I like the X- jumps! And I love that I can keep up and do all 10 during each break.
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Day #23, Tuesday: Core Syngergistics


I had done Core Synergistics once before...it was my first day of P90X, 22 days ago, when initially I stated the "Lean" schedule of P90X (then the next day I switched to Classic.) But doing Core Syngergistics on Tuesday I got a little frustrated because I realized just HOW MUCH I need this workout. I love all of the P90X workouts I've done so far...but I really need Core Synergistics and I wish I had it in my schedule more often. It focuses on the arms and core so well, and those are the areas where I need the most work. I feel like my legs have been getting the biggest workout so far, and that's my strong point. I'm seriously thinking of switching my schedule around a little...which I feel guilty about because it's a strict regimen...but I know that adding more Core is going to help me reach my goals more quickly. I might substitute one of the workouts with Core Synergistics the next few weeks.
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Day #24, Wednesday: Ab Ripper X


One thing you should know about me and about this blog, is that I'm going to do my best not to sugar coat things. We're all human and most of us are not experts with fitness...but we're all working together to become so. That's why I've asked you on this journey with me. Because we all have improvements to make. We all have great days, and we all have rough days. But the key is that on rough days we pick ourselves up and move on, instead of giving up.


Today was a challenging day when it came to getting my workout done. I got way too little sleep the night before... You can take the most amazing supplements (like Shakeology), and have a great diet (which I've been doing by best to have)...but if you don't get good sleep you're not going to be able to BRING IT as well as you could...today was my most sleep deprived day with P90X so far it...and it was rough. I went to turn on Kenpo, which I had scheduled and I was really dragging my feet. And I was upset with myself because I love Kenpo. But I was lacking energy. I decided that I needed to pick something that I would be able to give my all. I thought, 20 minutes is about all I've got today (yes, I got that little sleep)...so I chose Ab Ripper X (and I'll be making up Kenpo later.) Even doing Ab Ripper was super challenging, but I pushed through it. I realized that being sleep deprived, there was this mental block. I just couldn't focus on the task at hand nearly as well.


So...Tomorrow I am determined to take this to a new level and commitment! I feel like I've been getting a little sloppy with this the last few days, and I want that to end... Starting with getting up early everyday, and eating more closely to the P90X diet (I've been doing very well so far. I can't follow the P90X diet perfectly as I am exclusively nursing my daughter and have to take that into consideration...but I do have room for improvement.) I really want to be seeing more results then I already am. I'm going to push myself even harder & eat even better. I want to be truly proud of this journey when the 90 days are up, and know that I gave it everything I could...

Day #1- Core Synergistics

So today I finally began my first round of P90X! I literally woke up at 5 AM this morning and couldn't get back to sleep so I started my workout at 5:30. I was a little worried about how much I'd be able to do, but I feel like I did pretty well with this first segment. Tony Horton (the main man of P90X) explains it as the everyday muscle building segment. It's crucial for building overall durability to avoid injury for everyday activities. He says that it just might be your favorite workout since each of the muscle groups are used during the hour's routine...versus other segments which only work on a particular part of the body.

Core Synergistics focuses on building the muscles of the core...the trunk muscles and around the lumbar spine, as they are the foundation for all the rest of the body. I did lunges, variations of pushups...all kinds of crazy stuff I've never done. I love it! And I'm going to love it even more when I can actually do all the moves properly. I'll admit that I look pretty silly right now, but I just do my best to keep up and work at getting the closest to what the professionals are doing on the screen. As Tony Horton says, "Do your best and forget the rest!" It felt good to be able to keep up with the whole hour, including the "bonus round" at the end.

The hardest move on this DVD, for me, was the "walking push-ups"!! Where you get into plank position, like you're getting ready to go down in a push-up. But instead you walk your hands and feet forward and then backwards...Wow!! That's intense. It's the only workout on this DVD where I fell to the ground after it was done. I have A LOT of work to do on my upper body. I've never been very strong in that area. Right now I can't even do 1 "guy pushup" so I'm looking forward to changing this.

So, since "Core Synergistics" is the first segment of "Lean P90X"...and I switched to "Classic P90X," tomorrow I will do day #2 of Classic, and put day #1 (which would have been Ab Ripper X, and Chest & Back) at the end of the 90 days. That's what I'll be doing for all the days I miss...I'll make them up at the end.

I'm excited to see what "Plyometrics" is all about tomorrow!