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P90X2 Day 11: Balance and Power

Let’s start at the very beginning… As Tony is describing the exercise sets, which are sets of 6, he says “Brutal/brutal/brutal/brutal/brutal” (5 times, not 6). I find that funny for some reason.

Some exercise notes:

  • Going from sphinx position to a plyo pushup is hard on my shoulders. I have to modify to stay in the game, as Tony says.
  • When I did the 4-direction, 1-leg squat hop, it was stumble city!
  • I have to work on keeping my hips lower for the Glute Bridge Roll Out using the stability ball

Today I tried using the stability ball (without weights) for the Crawly Crab Press, and did pretty well. It’s a difficult move, rolling on my back from one shoulder to the other, then lifting a shoulder off the ball.

I’m glad I decided to modify the schedule. I can get through this workout in a reasonable amount of time compared to the Total Body and Ab Ripper marathon session (or so it seems).

P90X2 Tip of the Day: I like to split up the main workout and the Ab Ripper. I first read this suggestion on the Beachbody P90X message board, and I’m thankful someone suggested it.

January 5th, 2012 | Category: Balance and Power, P90X2, shoulder pain, stability ball, tips, Tony Horton | Comments are closed

P90X2 Day 10: Recovery and Mobility

I put my foam roller substitute to the test today. I am getting better with the soda bottle, for sure, but I need to make my foam roller, which would at least be the right length (3 feet). I’m still not sure what the “hotel alternatives” are, but they are explained better than I thought the first time.

There is still a problem with the length of this recovery session, compared to stretching. This will take longer if I pause to work on different areas. Tony Horton suggests perfecting the foam rolling technique, then using it in front of the TV. I guess it’s multitasking for your health, or making good use of TV watching time.

A cast note: Is that Kristi Yamaguchi? I don’t think so, but it’s strange that the others get a name and description, whereas she only has a name (and Tony mentions in passing that she lives in Hawaii). Maybe it’s more about her privacy than to assume she is actually a celebrity. Obviously I haven’t seen Kristi Yamaguchi very often, or I would know right away.

P90X2 Tip of the Day: The foam rolling sessions in all the P90X2 workouts are for demonstration purposes only. Your foam rolling time and requirements may vary.

January 4th, 2012 | Category: Exercise recovery, foam roller, Kristi Yamaguchi, P90X, P90X2, stretching, tips | Comments are closed

P90X2 Day 9: Plyocide

This is my second official week. In addition, I previewed this workout once or twice. I still find myself wondering, “Why are they pretending to arrive at the gym again? Isn’t this an at-home workout?” I laughed at the beginning of some of the P90X workouts, too, where they were in a pre-game huddle or whatever. I do enjoy the intro clips before the workout, though. That can be a good way to get psyched.

This is almost the same warmup as the other workouts use. They demonstrate the foam roller for the legs only, since the arms are not really involved in Plyocide. I have noticed that the foam roller portion of the warmup is only a short demonstration, which means the total warmup time might be longer by 5 or 10 minutes.

Some exercise-related notes:

  • The Fast Feet Chair Jump starts in the yoga chair position, and adds a football drill in which you move your feet quickly up and down, staying close to the ground. It looks a little silly, but it is very difficult.
  • The Think Drill is another football-inspired exercise, which also uses the “Fast Feet.” At one point, we put our hands out in front of our chest to imitate a rabbit. Really? A rabbit? Oh, why not…
  • The Super Skater Kick is a modified version of the exercise used in P90X Legs and Back. With the new emphasis on one-legged exercises, keeping the raised foot off the ground, I am more conscious of the toe-tapping.
  • The Depth Charge uses a chair or plyo box. Step on the chair/box, step down, and jump, then turn around and repeat. The challenge for me here is a low ceiling.
  • Today I did 9 Frog Burpee Hops! I can’t quite jump back as smoothly as Tony Horton does, but I am getting better at the burpee move.
  • The Launcher Lunge is the P90X Core Synergistics “Box on a Shelf” exercise with a lunge at the end.
  • The Flying Fighter Kick reminds me of the Kenpo workout. I am happy to say that I can follow along a little better.
  • The last exercise is a “Simon Says” game in which Tony calls out Set (football crouch stance), Sprint (run in place), Plyo (pushup), Plank, or Jump. This time around, I kept up the pace pretty well, for 60 seconds.

I didn’t do the neuro-integrated stretching, because I was short on time, and the section is over 11 minutes. I substituted the P90X Plyometrics stretches instead. I was wondering why the Plyocide stretches do not include a cat stretch, but they do a yoga bow position (lying on stomach, grab your feet behind you).

I noticed that I had a higher calorie burn than last week. Either I worked harder this week because I was more familiar with the exercises, or my heart rate monitor was working a little better.

A cast-related question: Is Mark Briggs the same person who created the “Briggs Ram” exercise for the “Bring It!” book? I suspect he is…

P90X2 Tip of the Day: Tony doesn’t mention a heart rate monitor at all in P90X2, but remember that it’s a useful tool to measure your exercise intensity and your calorie burn.

January 3rd, 2012 | Category: Bring It, Bring It book, foam roller, Mark Briggs, P90X, P90X2, Plyocide, plyometrics, tips, Tony Horton | Comments are closed

P90X2 Day 8: X2 Core

During the warm up for today’s X2 Core, I tried using my homemade substitute for a foam roller, the 2-liter soda bottle full of water. I guess it works OK in a pinch. I understand the benefits, but I am still skeptical that it’s the best time to do it.

Today I started using my own brand-new stability ball. Previously, I was using my son’s heavy-duty “bouncy ball” with a handle on it. Don’t laugh; it’s rated to hold over 200 pounds! Despite the addition of the ball, I don’t know if I am ready to use it for all the relevant exercises. It’s nice to have it available, especially for the warm up.

As far as the workout itself goes, I did better on several exercises compared to last week. During the Warrior 3 Cross Crunch, I did fewer toe taps, and kept my ankles together. Is it cheating to press my legs together too? I did more 3-Speed Med Ball Pushups. For me they were plyo pushups, without the medicine ball. I did more Slo-Mo Balance Climbers (feet on chair, forearms on floor). Note that I did not use the optional stability ball. I did most reps of the X2 Diver (bend forward to a pushup and stand back up). Last week, I was pooped by the time that came around! I did more one-leg burpees (again without a medicine ball).

I still paused and/or repeated the instructions several times, either to watch the moves more closely or to catch my breath. One modification I made on my own was using one hand to get up for Med Ball Dreya Roll, with a small medicine ball in the other hand. I don’t feel like I need the 8 lb medicine balls for the more challenging modifications right now.

I have one cast-related comment today… One of the exercises is called the Roller Boat, which is the Pilates “roll back” on the mat, ending with legs and arms forward in a yoga “boat” position. Barbie does her Roller Boat with a smirk and flourish of the hands, which is a little cheesy. I guess with Tony Horton in charge, “cheesy” is relative? Of course, we love it!

Do you use the stability ball more than I do right now? Do you substitute some of the “hotel” modifications?

P90X2 Tip of the Day: Don’t worry if you don’t have all the optional equipment right away. A lot of these exercises are hard enough without the balls to keep you off balance!

January 2nd, 2012 | Category: Barbie Decker, P90X, P90X2, stability ball, tips, Tony Horton, warrior 3, X2 Core | Comments are closed

P90X2 Day 7: Rest and Recovery

I dealt with some self-inflicted computer problems all day today. It was a good day for a rest, and that’s what I did. More P90X2 tomorrow, for sure!

January 1st, 2012 | Category: overeating, P90X2, sleep | Comments are closed
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