I was not optimistic about today’s workout, to be honest. I went to bed late, woke up an hour early and didn’t really get back to sleep before the alarm clock beeped. I got busy with some things before getting started, as the clock ticked away. So I rushed into P.A.P. Upper with barely enough time left to fit in the whole workout.
I’m happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised with today’s results. I put in a good effort for all four rounds of the two complexes, and improved my performance on a couple of exercises. Here are some highlights:
Complex 1
- Renegade Row: I started with the heavier weight from last week, and stayed with it for all four rounds!
- Plyo Push Up: I did plyo push ups for the first round, regular ones for the second, and for the third and fourth rounds I did plyo push ups on my knees. I’m not too proud for that. Just keep moving!
- Plank on Med Ball: I actually had a medicine ball this time! I tried putting my feet on it for the first round, but decided to go back to the chair for the rest. It’s still not easy!
- Superman: I had my arms and legs off the floor the whole time, for all four rounds, pushing as hard as I could.
- Towel Pull Ups: I increased my resistance bands this week! This was really easy using the Bodylastics bands. I am currently using a combination of several bands, attached by a clip on each end to the handles. Each band has a weight stamped on the clips, so I swapped out one band for another in order to be pulling a heavier total weight.
- Med Ball Pike: I used one of the new medicine balls, which is heavier than the little one I had before.
- Step Up Hammer Press: I used the heavier weight until the fourth round. Round 3 was shaky, so I stepped down for safety and good form.
- Roller Angel: My wrists are pretty close to the wall
In other P.A.P. news, imagine my surprise today when I was listening to the Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast (one of my favorites), and I heard Ben discuss a question he received about P.A.P. and how it might benefit the training of an endurance athlete. You can listen to the podcast episode, or read a transcript (when available) for all the details. The discussion can be found at the 41 minute mark of the podcast, for about nine minutes. I left a comment to thank Ben for discussing this topic.
P90X2 Tip of the Day: Look for more information about the topics mentioned in the P90X2 workouts, such as P.A.P., P3, and neuro-integrated stretching.
