This week, I decided to pull out the P90X week 1 workouts, with a couple of variations. On resistance workout days, I did the warm up and stretch with Tony and the gang, then I let the DVD run (muted) while I proceeded as quickly as possible. If I needed instructions, I referred to the workout guide, and took a glance at the DVD at the appropriate point. In a previous post, I mentioned a review of P90X that accused Tony of being too talkative, and wasting time during the workouts. When I did P90X for three rounds (almost four) last year, I used Tony’s instructions as recovery time before the next exercise. Unfortunately, when I did my reps for a lot of the exercises, I was not as quick as the DVD, so I needed to skip back, and many times this added 10 minutes or more to my workouts.
My second variation was to change the days of my workouts from the Monday-Saturday schedule. It’s always been harder to psych myself up for a Monday morning resistance workout. I found out with Tony’s book that I liked Monday aerobic workouts better, so why not stick to that? So I am starting the work week with the P90X “Day 6” aerobic workout. For me, it might be the Striver’s Aerobic workout, or extra treadmill time. Then I move on to P90X Day 1-5 as usual, with a rest day on Sunday (between Legs and Back, and aerobic).
If I intend to do the full 90 days again, it can’t be a 90-minute session every day. A friend of mine who was new to P90X described it as her “new part-time job,” and it can become that, I suppose. I want to see how much I can squeeze into an hour, even if it means missing some time on Ab Ripper or skipping a second circuit in a workout.
Here’s an interesting note: I don’t like the updated P90X worksheets on the beachbody.com website. They are designed to be smaller and more portable than the original full-page ones, I guess, but they are harder to write on, and the Legs and Back one has mistakes on it, so you can’t accurately record your reps and weight as they occur in the workout. I’m glad I found the full-page workout sheets mentioned in an old user forum post.
Workouts
Monday: I did the Striver’s Aerobic level 2 workout instead of Kenpo, in keeping with my modified schedule, then 15 minutes on the treadmill.
Tuesday: I finished Chest and Back eight minutes early, a full two exercises ahead of the DVD. That’s not to say I did it as intensely as Tony and company, of course, but I did my best. I was happy to be back to the P90X routine. No Ab Ripper today, due to time constraints.
Wednesday: Plyometrics is difficult to do by myself, or at least it’s helpful to follow along with Tony for this workout. The only time savings I had (and I usually do this anyway) is from skipping certain exercises: Circle Run, and the “Sports Bonus.” I usually add treadmill time at the end, but not too much today.
Thursday: Shoulders and Arms, and the other “glamor muscle” workouts, are the most time-consuming for me. If there are weight changes, or I fall behind during an exercise, then I have to back up the DVD, it adds to the one hour countdown on the DVD. Today I skipped the bonus round, and Ab Ripper, again to save time. I did sneak in some exercises from the “Bring It!” resistance workout: Plyo Squats and Bicycle Crunches.
Friday: According to the modified schedule, today was supposed to be Yoga X, so I did… yoga! What a shock, if you’ve been reading my previous posts! I shortened it by taking out the parts I don’t like so much anyway, to be honest. I did the first 30 minutes, then skipped past the last 15 minutes of moving asanas, and the balance postures, right to the stretches. I went all the way to the end, including Yoga Belly Seven. That took pretty close to 60 minutes, which was my goal. Maybe we’ll see you again next week, Tony! Oh, and I used the “no music” audio track. It occurred to me that the funky music might be adding to my displeasure with the workout, and I was right. Much better this way.
Saturday: My Legs and Back session turned into a “Lean”-style half-session, because I had to get going. Who knew Saturdays could be so busy? I still enjoyed playing with the real pull-up bar, although one of my “issues” is that my door frame is not high enough for me to hang. When I come down, my feet are on the floor. It’s still a challenge. Bonus round: I did take the kids to the park for a while, at least.
Sunday: No workout today, and no X Stretch either. As I’ve said before, I need to do that more often.
Nutrition
Monday The week is starting well, at -161 calories.
Tuesday Another good day! -298 calories. I had a favorite for lunch: Stir fry vegetables with tempeh (cooked in the microwave with chicken broth, not actually fried).
Wednesday Closer to breakeven today at -47 calories. Gotta love that night out with friends!
Thursday I was slightly below breakeven again. Larger than usual snacks and dinner worked against the calories I burned in my workout.
Friday +149 calories today. My meals and snacks weren’t so bad, but my activity was yoga, which is not a big calorie-burner.
Saturday Whoa Nellie! +569 calories! We met some friends for lunch, which wasn’t too bad, but then for dinner I had a Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pizza, which apparently is not intended for one person. I knew better. Then I washed it down with some cake. Total denial of reality! Tomorrow will be better, right?
Sunday Uh oh, this isn’t much better… +438 calories. Besides the mid-morning coffee time, my wife requested KFC for lunch, which I kept at a moderate 600 calories, and then we had leftover pizza for dinner. Not a very healthy day.
Health and well-being
Monday: As I said in the Workout section, it seems easier somehow to start the week with an aerobic workout. I might be able to hang in there, even on a tough Monday morning.
Tuesday: I did a good workout on a short night’s sleep, but I don’t want to make it a habit. That’s the main reason my previous round of P90X fell apart.
Wednesday: Tonight at our weekly meeting I didn’t totally pig out, so I was actually negative on my calories! On the other hand, I looked so tired that my wife offered to drive home, and I let her. Not an encouraging sign.
Thursday I like doing Shoulders and Arms better than Yoga X in general, but it’s easier for me mentally after a late night/short night’s sleep. Adding a few cardio moves in between sets helps me feel like I working harder, too.
Friday I used to like Friday Legs and Back sessions. I am OK with Friday Yoga X, at least the shortened version. I am getting some of the benefits without getting up even earlier to fit in the whole thing.
Saturday I felt better about today’s workout than last Saturday’s, but I would like for one day of the week (at least) to be the “long workout” day. Maybe next time? Today’s outing with the kids was a nice surprise, on a day when I thought I was just going to be running errands again.
Sunday After church, I spent a while going to the health food store, along with some other errands, and trying a recipe for a homemade protein bar. More about that later!
