Initial thoughts on P90X2: Continued...

As my first week of P90X2 comes to a close, I want to share my thoughts.

Specific Workouts:

- Core is weird. It's hard, and then at the end I don't feel like I did a lot. I will continue to run on the days I do this, or else I'll feel like I took it easy.

- Plyocide sounded real scary, but in reality, wasn't at all. The warm up was long, then the workout was short, then a lot of really long stretching. Now, I love stretching, but not as part of a workout whose title ends with "cide". Since I feel like I'm not getting enough leg work (and I miss the heavy leg work), I think I will sub that for this workout.

- Recovery and Mobility: I love this. I could see myself doing it all the time. I am having a love affair with my foam roller.

- Total Body. Holy moly. There were moves in this I just couldn't even do. "Crunchy lever pullup"- You do a pullup, bring your knees into your chest, and then rock back and forth. It looks really cool and fun, but I had to just work on my (assisted) pullups. Also "Mule Kick Burpee". I'm just going to leave it at that. Good lord. And a bunch of crazy things in Warrior 3. Really? Now, I'm not saying I didn't like this workout. I think it will be great

- Yoga: I love how it's NOT 90 minutes long. It's just about 66 minutes, but honestly, I have to admit: I always skip the ab section. And frog. So that cuts it down a little. I get to practice crow/crane (I learned it as crow or bakasana- he calls it crane. Whatever. That's what it is.)

- Balance and Power: OMG. This was particularly hard. I could barely do most of the stability ball moves. There is a modifier for people who don't have a ball... um, but even though I have one, I followed him most of the time anyway. Also, Tony's sister is in this workout. The banter is funny. He sings a little during the stretch and mentions that people will make fun of him on Youtube. Like here.



General

- This first phase is weird to me after the heavy lifting I was doing. I am dying to go to the gym and throw around some HEAVY weights. That almost seems easier than some of this intricate core work. But I know I need it. I *really* need it. The core is the most important, and with a strong core, I know I'll do better at everything else. So I'm going to hang in there (but I still will probably do some barbell FULL squats and things in place of Plyocide.)

- Dang there is a Warrior III in just about every workout.
Warrior III Row/Press, Warrior III Preacher Curl... let's just say if you don't like Warrior III, or are bad at it, it will be hard (at least at first). Personally I'm looking forward to getting better.

- I've seen negative and positive reviews. I understand some of the negatives- warmups are too long (too much foam rolling, some people say), not enough leg work (that was me that sad that one), but I think, at least for me, they can be worked around. (They are all well-chaptered, so you can easily skip, like I do with FROG.)

I would love to hear your thoughts as well if you've started already. I am curious how other people are doing with it.



Oh, and I'm running 3 times a week. Because I need it. It's not in the program. But I'm doing it anyway (don't tell Tony).

Initial thoughts on P90X2

Well, I decided to go ahead and start P90X2 TODAY!!! Y'all had to know I wouldn't be able to wait, right?

Happiness in a box.

 I've been doing a little reading, planning and previewing of the program, and wanted to share some of my initial thoughts. Keep in mind, I have only done 3 workouts: Recovery + Mobility, Core, and Yoga.

The three phases of the program are Foundation, Strength and Performance. Each phase is designed to be used 3 to 6 weeks.

There is an optional Recovery week which consists of the Recovery + Mobility and Yoga alternating. There is no *scheduled* recovery week in the program- it's just there for you to do whenever you need it. I like this. I'm not always ready to recover when I'm supposed to be ready...

I've previewed the workouts used in Phase 1, since that's what I'll be doing. I wanted to be ready since I'll be traveling during part of it, and make sure I had all the equipment I would need. (One member in each workout shows the "hotel room" variation, where you don't use fancy equipment... just bands and a towel.)

Phase 1 is called the Foundation because it works on strengthening the core. The workouts are very "Functional" fitness oriented. (Do they still use that buzzword? It was big when I was teaching). I'm excited about this because I've been having some back pain, which I think is due to tight hip flexors, and possibly not having a strong enough core (I'm starting to think- 15 months after childbirth- that I may have had some mild diastasis recti. I can still feel a little space in between.. ).

I did Day 1's workout, X2 Core, Monday morning, and it was a challenge. There were a lot of moves I couldn't do. I *still* can't do Dreya rolls (how do you get back up without using your hands?), and several of the plank based moves had to be just "planks". But, I know I have a lot of room to grow, and that's good.

Also, I'm planning on adding 3 days of running to this plan. I don't think it will be too much. I am only running 2-3 miles at a time, which is just perfect for me.....

So let's keep BRINGING IT.

Have a great Monday, folks!

(P.S. Even though it's too late to get it by Christmas, you can still order P90X2 if you're interested. Go HERE to order!)

To X(2) or not to X(2)? At least in December...

The end of semester madness is approaching, and then holiday madness will follow... or will occur simultaneously. I'm going into December with a plan... sort of...

No, not *that* kind of Madness. (Source)

Work will be crazy the next few weeks, and I may not be able to consistently get away during my lunch hour to go to the gym. So, I'm planning workouts I can do in the morning. Since it's dark in the morning when I workout, this means I can't run (I'll be trying to fit in short runs later in the day). But, the main focus of my program will be strength training.

Erin Stern makes me want to eat right and lift more.

On another note, I think I can honestly say that I have been waiting for the sequel to P90X since early 2007- that's around the time I finished my first round (and got pregnant, which may or may not have been related...). I had everything Tony said memorized, and I've come back to P90X through the years when I needed something effective. Well, P90X2 is shipping THIS WEEK. This may change my plans.

Remember. Tony Horton is my BFF.

I had planned to start P90X2 with a bunch of other people after New Year's. It's always a great time to start a new program, and I wanted to have that to look forward to after the Holidays died down. But it's coming THIS WEEK. I have a history of not being able to wait for things...

You better believe I found out the MOMENT it was possible....

So I recently REfound this book (and many others):

Let me explain how exciting this is. When I was pregnant with my now 15 month old daughter, we moved twice. That was a special kind of challenge. But, since the first move, there have been several books that I couldn't find.... including this one. I have missed this book, and even considered buying it again I wanted to use it so badly. 

This weekend, my husband found a box with ALL the missing books. Hooray!

So I decided to pick up with the program outlined in the book, but then I remembered about P90X2. I then remembered my inability to wait, especially once a brand new workout system I've waited for FOR YEARS is in my little hands...

So I'm debating.

In the meantime, I asked my husband to get me some peanut butter yesterday, and he brought me this:

It actually turned into kind of a fun family project. We all shelled the peanuts, and then I blended them in the Cuisinart. I added a tiny bit of olive oil (because we didn't have peanut oil). It was quite good. It didn't make much, but I was proud. I felt like quite the homemaker.

There will be more on my P90X2 Inner Debate, but for now, just remember the peanuts. Oh, and have a great Monday!