Day 61 (Core) Mixing up the schedule and fading magic

Today was my first experiment in improving the P90X schedule.  Kenpo is done weekly, but I find it way too easy of a cardio workout and although there is some balance work through the minimal amount of kicking during the routine, the benefits are really limited.  I am committed to the program so I would continue to do it, but I saw an opportunity to tweak the schedule and replace it with something that adds more value.

Core is an excellent workout that focuses obviously on your core muscles while performing other exercises.  For the Classic schedule of P90X, Core is only performed six times during the entire 90 days.  Core is also pretty non-stop and therefore very cardio-like.  I've measured and it burns just as many calories as Kenpo so I don't lose any cardio by switching them out.  Essentially, what I lose in some balance and coordination, I get back in core work.  Mind you, I'm not losing all the balance work.  Yoga is practically all balance and the Legs/Back routine incorporates a lot of balance. 

Another thing...I'm not going soft here.  Core is WAY HARDER than Kenpo.  I am actually making the program HARDER by putting it in.  There is NOTHING in the Kenpo plan that I cannot do very easily.  However, there are a lot of exercises in Core that I won't be able to do for a long time.

The real issue to swapping out Kenpo with Core is how to schedule it.  I've found that the P90X schedule is actually made very nicely to allow for recovery and prevent over training.  Kenpo is on a Tuesday.  However Core is actually pretty chest heavy with a lot of push up like exercises.  Thursdays are always full of chest exercises and those two days don't feel like enough time to rest.  From the advice of Stephanie Osborne, I've decided to put Core on Monday and move Legs/Back from Monday to Tuesday.  The only problem with this is that there is quite a bit of lunge and squat stuff in Core too...hopefully not enough to put me off Legs/Back the next day.  We'll see.

Core went pretty well today.  It can really be an exhausting routine.  Most exercises don't use weight but those that do require very light weights because of the high number of repetitions.  I use only ten pound dumbbells for these.  Some of the more challenging exercises included are Sphinx push ups, Plank/Chaturanga runs and Plank/Chaturanga isos.  Each of these I can actually do by themselves on any given day.  But when you put them in the middle of the workout, they become exponentially harder...or almost impossible. 

P90X has really start to lose the magic for me.  The reason why is that it isn't really magical to begin with.  It is marketed and talked about as if it is some type of supernatural force.  But after 60 days of doing this, I am realizing that it is just a workout routine...three days of cardio and three days of weights.  It is well regimented and put together, but it isn't anything super special.  And after doing it for a while, I begin to realize that it isn't as hard as everyone says.  People actually scare you when they talk about it.  But once you get in the groove, although it is definitely challenging, it isn't impossible.  It isn't walking on water...it is just working out.

Day 60 (Yoga)

Completed Yoga X yesterday to wrap up 60 days.  Nothing really new to report except that I tried using a "Yoga block" (actually the case my dumbbell set came in) during half moon and twisting half moon.  Without the block, I was using my finger tips on the floor as I turned.  This would result in me not being able to turn very far without tipping over.  With the "block," I am able to put my palm all the way down and turn a little farther without the fear of tumbling.  It is still very rough.  However, I have been able for a while now to keep my back leg up through the entire routine.  Prior to that, I am able to get a few seconds of Warrior 3 before I have to come down into standing splits.

Other than that, nothing new.  Still trying to go lower in the second round of the leg twists.  Still trying to go lower in the Chaturangas.  I have never done the extra push ups by the way.  Once again, I felt really groovy after it was all over with.  The routine really does that for me.

With 60 days up, I really don't see much of a difference in my body as far as it looks.  I have a little more Ab definition.  My wife says my chest, shoulders and arms have gotten bigger but I don't see it.  We'll see what happens over the next 30 days.  I am not expecting anything dramatic.

The really cool thing is how good my knees feel.  And just overall, I feel...I don't know...just more spry.  Before P90X, I felt kind of like an old man whenever I would get up or down, especially from the floor.  I don't feel that drag anymore.  I think my body is now just used to jumping, squatting and lunging.

Day 59 (Shoulders/Arms) Increasing weight...

Finished shoulders and arms.  I was able to increase my weight by 5 pounds on almost every exercise since the last time I did this.  That shows I am making an improvement.  However, I did experience a little bit of "two steps forward/one step back" as I progressed.  After pushing myself more than normal for the first half of the workout, my triceps starting to give out a little in the end so some of my reps decreased.

Also, I pushed myself a little too far in some of the initial exercises where the weights are above your head.  I might have slightly tweaked my back.  It isn't too bad...not really an injury...probably because of all the core work I've done over the past two months.  Just a little tight.  Yoga tomorrow will probably help it out.

I've never really done dumbbells before P90X before.  One thing I notice is that I'll pick up weights for an exercise thinking "man, these are way too heavy for what I'm trying to do" while they are still down by my sides.  But I find that once I start the exercise that feeling goes away.  By making just one attempt to see if I can do it, I avoid just setting the weights down and trying something lighter.  I am also noticing that a lot of weightlifting is mental.  You really have to mentally push yourself past the point of discomfort.  Horton says it in one of the videos...something about how people tend to stop WAY too early.  He's right.  We aren't used to pushing ourselves like this during our day-to-day activities.  It really takes a different mindset to push yourself to absolute exhaustion.

Another mental part is taking the energy out of your face.  I find myself straining my face during some exercises as I am really pushing lifting a weight.  Once I realize I am face-straining, I will relax my face and focus on the muscles I am working.  At that point, I find a calm and I'm able to really improve my performance.  I mean, I'm not working out my face here!

Day 58 (Plyo) The best I've ever done

Finished Plyo and did the best I've ever done.  It might have something to do with the fact that I got 8 hours of sleep last night plus a 90 minute nap today.  In addition, because of the P90X schedule, I haven't done this for two weeks.  We'll see if this high lasts the next time I do this next week.

When I say I did good, I mean that I didn't take extra breaks and I got lower and jumped higher than ever before.  I was able to touch the floor through both rounds of Squat Reach Jump and through most of the first round of Run-Stance Squat Switch Pickup (which is right after Squat Reach Jump).  After the middle of the first round, I had to go to the middle of my calf.  I was able to also go lower in Leapfrog Squat and Lateral Leapfrog Squat.  Usually those two are pseudo breaks for me, but this time I was able to go low enough that I really felt the burn in the thighs.  I am usually fried by Run Squat 180 Jump Switch, but this time I was able to get down to the top of my shoes.  I'm not going to be getting to the floor on those for a while.

Another thing...Tony doesn't stress the important things about Squat Jacks until the second round when it is almost too late.  They go WAY too fast in the first round and don't focus on going low (and slow) until Tony mentions it in the second round.  This time I did both rounds at my own pace and low.  My knees didn't complain this time so I must be improving.

One thing that is helping me a lot through this workout is that I wrote out the exercises on a paper and broke them down into their respective five rounds.  At any moment, I can see where I am and what is coming up next.  This helps the workout from feeling never ending.

Day 57 (Chest/Back) Now into the final phase...

Finished Chest/Back and then Ab Ripper later.  Because of the P90X schedule, I haven't done this workout in 5 weeks although I've done a lot of other chest and back exercises.  I didn't expect this workout to be so hard.  I'm not sure if it is truly the 5 weeks or the fact that I'm using push up bars now.  I was struggling.  I couldn't do the same number of reps (as far as push ups) when I last did this routine.  I also felt a lot of effort in my forearms.  I also performed pull ups with a chair after I max'd out without the chair (which was pretty quickly...after 8 pull ups in the first round).  I was able to increase my weight significantly for the heavy pants, lawn mowers and back flys.

Overall, I feel pretty good about the workout.  I pushed myself until my muscles wouldn't work anymore and I was very tight...I could barely lift my arm to wash the back of my neck in the shower afterward.

Ab Ripper also was somewhat of a challenge but not too bad.

Day 55 (Yoga) I need a recovery from recovery

Finished Yoga yesterday.  I was sore...SORE...from doing Core.  I think the past week of sitting in a car for 12 hours followed by Kenpo, followed by mowing grass, followed by Core has had an effect.

Yoga seemed a little harder.  Getting in the bottom of the Chaturanga was more difficult...probably from all the Core push-up stuff.  Still, I was able to achieve my normal goal...get all the way through right angle twist grab without tumbling.  For some reason, I couldn't keep my balance in the prayer twists this time.  And as usual, I couldn't hold Warrior 3.  However, I was able to keep my back leg up all the way through the Warrior 3/Half Moon/Twisting Half Moon routine (except for one brief tumble).  That may have been the first time I've ever done that.  My knee was on FIRE.  I still can't seem to get half moon...it is very awkward to hold...although twisting half moon is easier.

Strangely enough, I was better on the balance moves (tree, royal dancer, standing leg extensions).  Not sure why.  By the way, I'm still starting off standing on the right leg instead of the left as they do on the DVD.  The purpose for this is that your left leg is fried from just finishing the Warrior 3 routine on it.  I can do crane for several seconds, but I'm not pushing it as it is putting a lot of strain on my wrists.  I'll go in and out of it a few times during the minute, but not too many times or as long as they do.

Everything else went well.  I tried to go much lower in the second round of leg twists during Yoga Belly.  Throughout the Chaturangas, I tried to go much lower.

Just realized that I just finished 8 weeks and only missed the X-stretch during recovery week.  Thursday starts the next round of resistance which goes 4 full weeks.  I am actually looking forward to it.

Day 54 (Core) and replacing Kenpo with Core

Finished Core yesterday.  I worked harder on Core than I ever have before, partly because I am getting used to it.  Core is only done four times during the entire P90X schedule and I think you have to do a workout at least 2-3 times before you really know it enough to be able to push yourself.

During the Core workout, Horton tells you to focus on your core while during exercises.  But yesterday is probably the first time I have done that.  Before, I was just focusing on being able to do an exercise or just making it through the hour.

I was actually able to complete all exercises in the workout for the entire allotted time except for the Plank/Chaturunga Iso's at the end.  By focusing on my core muscles, I think I took the focus on how much I wanted to die during the hour so I was able to complete more.

Throughout P90X, one of the things that really motivates me is not being able to do something.  If there is an exercise that I can't even modify to complete, it really pushes me to work harder.  I at least want to be able to do the modified (easier) move.  But with only 6X during the 90 days, there isn't enough time to work on the Core workout in order to be able to improve.

I've brought this up before...swapping out Kenpo with Core.  I think about what I'm missing by not doing the Core more and what I'd be missing by taking the Kenpo out.  The cardio part of Kenpo is easily replaced by Core...they both burn about the same number of calories (700-800).  Without Kenpo, the only significant thing I lose is the coordination and balance of the kicking routines...nothing else in the program covers that.  But without Core, I lose a huge amount of core muscle exercises that I think are really beneficial.

The main hurdle of replacing Kenpo with Core is figuring out how to get enough recovery time.  Core is very arm/chest heavy...specifically with plank/push-up exercises.  It really needs to be separated from the other chest work.  Since Kenpo is on day 6 and most chest stuff is on day 1, there is only 48 hours recovery.  So I've decided to move Yoga to day 6 from day 4 and put Core at day 4.

We'll see how it goes.  This essentially means that the Abs lose a day of rest because Ab X is on days 1, 3 and 5 and also get subjected to Yoga Belly on day 6 and Core on day 4.