May 27, P90X3, Week 3, Day 3- X3 Yoga + Mark Laurn's Novice: Ladder.

May 27, P90X3, Week 3, Day 3- X3 Yoga + Mark Laurn's Novice: Ladder.

Yeah, I did it again. Just to do it. Added a little to the workout. Felt really good to do a little extra. And it is really, just a little. About a fifteen minute workout with a 12 minute warm up, cool down. Also did the Cold Start before the Yoga. So close to 80 minutes for just under 500kcals burned.
I'm quite used to the X3 Yoga routine but one move still just kills me. I just can't do it at all. Move 21. Extended Leg with Toe Bind. When I grab my toe, my leg just can't extend. It's like at a 90 degree angle and I can't keep my balance. That is just the worst move for me at this point.

My most improved move is move 10. Bound Side Angle Pose. The wrap was actually easier than usual to make and my chest was more open than it has ever been before with that move spanning back to X2 Yoga which is the first time I ever tried that wrap move.

Quick question about Child's Pose. Am I supposed to stretch out as far as I can with my arms straight, elbows in the air with hands on the ground, or can\should I put my elbows on the ground?
Breathing was noticeably easier during the twist moves, such as Twisted Moon, and Twisted Triangle. Usually, when I take a deep breath, my form collapses but today, I was able to hold the poses.

Fish is a really tough move for me still. I keep thinking that my arms are shorter than the average person because leaning back that far is not humanly possible. Hehe. No, actually my back is naturally overly arched so for some reason hyper extending my lower back's arch is really difficult especially since two of my lumbar discs have been deflated to almost nothing. It is just painful to arch back farther than the natural arch.

I'm very happy to be seeing progress with my Yoga and flexibility.

Mark Lauren's Novice: Ladder is a nice little workout that builds the number of reps of two moves twice up and down the ladder 1 rep to 4 reps, twice. And that cycle is done twice with two sets of two different moves each. It was the first time for me to do this workout. Nice with the static holds. Not really a cardio workout. Added an extra 175+/- kcal burn to today. Gave me some back strengthening moves which I always need.

May 26, P90X3, Week 3, Day 2- Agility X

May 26, P90X3, Week 3, Day 2- Agility X.

Third time going through this workout, one would think that I should remember the moves, but for some reason, I don't. I still had to watch them do it first, then rewind the DVD and then start. I'm getting the Cold Start down pretty well, but the individual workouts are still tough to remember.
Again, I really tried to push as far as my body would let me and keep my form all good. Something I'm starting to realize is that my posture is somewhat off. I mean, when I check the angle of my back leg on lunges, it is not straight. So when I try to straighten my position, my knee starts to tweek. I don't want to be crooked, but I don't want to hurt my knee at the same time.

The moves have been pretty easy to do, per se, but doing them for an extended period of time is killer. Case in point. Scissor Kick Jumps, Plyo V Lunge. Having to turn in mid-air to get the cross is really challenging. Jump Knee Jump. Killer. And for some reason, after doing the Long Jump Sprint, I was so winded, I had to take a minute to catch my breath before doing the last move. And on the last move, I couldn't hang. Had to stop several times and go on my knees.

Some of the more intense moves, like Toe Tap Skater, and Triangle Lunges. I have to really struggle to keep form, especially when going forward on the TTSkater, and when transferring from the side lunge to the back lunge in the Tri-lunge. Again, trying to adjust and find just the perfect position to keep balance is an intense process.

Great workout out. I'm averaging 500kcals now per workout. Plus whatever I burn in Cold Start and my own cool down. I won't see this workout again until BLOCK 3. Sad, but It will be interesting to see if I'll be able to hang the next time I do it. BRING IT!!!

May 25, P90X3, Week 3, Day 1- Total Synergistics.

May 25, P90X3, Week 3, Day 1- Total Synergistics.

Looking at my schedule, this is the final week of the raw Block 1 because next week looks like a recovery week.  So, I decided to really push it hard from the get go. But instead of increasing my weights, I figured I'd just go for speed and a higher level of intensity concentrating on form. From the first move, I really tried to make my form as perfect as I could with as much range of motion as I could. As in move 2. Crescent Chair, I tried to keep my chair a 90 degrees and then my back leg as straight as possible, with chest up, elbows locked. I think I did pretty well for a novice.

I tried to go as low as possible on the Plie squats (6), That was painful. Legs straight on all the "Boat" moves. Everything was going very well. I felt really good, so I decided to go ahead and up my weights from 10kgs to 12kgs. Not so much, but it made a big difference. On the (11) Glamor Hammer, I barely got 12 reps on the right and barely 10 on the left. Last week with 10kgs, I got 12 on both sides with some struggle.

I should have gone up in weight on the (13) Flying Warrior. I'll admit, 5kgs in each hand was too easy, but my form was good. I think my balance moves were a lot better this week. Then the last three moves. (14) Squat Rockers up to 12kgs. OUCH! Dropped to 8 reps from 14. I really tried to get low on the chair move. I had to come out of it a few times. (15) Side rise Punch, I broke the rule, I caught myself holding my breath on the last couple reps on both sides.

On the final move, (16) Warrior Squat Moon. I was determined to have perfect form, straight back leg, strong reach up, and out. I went from 7 to 8 reps. My butt was in major pain on both sides by the 8th rep. Maybe a little too much pain. I didn't cramp up or anything, but I will admit that I got a touch of dizziness right after the move. Maybe pushed it a little to far. Took my cool down a little slower and longer today.

Yes, I will be careful tomorrow. But WEEK 3 is off and running!  BRING IT!!!

May 24, P90X3- Rest Day

May 24, P90X3- Rest Day.

I didn't do anything strenuous today. Really rested today. However, I did Foam Roll for 35 minutes in the evening while watching "Whose Line is it Anyway?". When I would laugh while rolling a hot spot... OUCH!!! Calves especially had several hot spots. Along with my lats and Tris.

Vanilla Shakeology for Dinner. That flavor is fast becoming my favorite. Not because of the vanilla taste, but rather because the way the vanilla enhances the tastes of the various fruits I add to the Shakeology. Delicious!

May 23, P90X3, Week 2, Day 6- The Warrior

May 23, P90X3, Week 2, Day 6- The Warrior.
Today was rather different from last week. First off, I knew today was going to be a double day so I made a concerted effort to get to bed a little earlier than usual. But before going to bed, I put the Cold Start and The Warrior onto my iPad because I don't have a DVD player at the gym. I got up early and went to the gym and did the Cold Start and The Warrior. I was able to hang until the Super Burpees.killed me. I pushed it hard, but only lasted 30 seconds before I had to take a breather. The other moves were great. I think this is one of my favorite workouts because it doesn't repeat the moves, and I love the variety of the moves. The combo of upper body, cardio, and core is a great systematic approach to the routine. It forces us to push when we can push and then raise the intensity when we can, namely, the core moves.

In the next moment I played a tough match of tennis. At first, my legs were like rubber. Warming up was tough. I just couldn't get my legs under me. But as I was getting into it, my energy started coming back. Great match, with some great games and rallies. I mean, so major knock down bang up hitting all out rallies. So much fun, and those awesome rallies just energized me more. Final score, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. There were 5 games that I fell behind 15-40, but I came back to win in 4 of those games. Good scrappy play. Tons of fun!

Total calorie burn 1600+kcals in over 2 hours of P90X3 and Tennis! Totally great way to end the week!

May 22, P90X3, Week 2, Day 5

CVX.

Pushed it hard today.

I kept the weights in my hands the whole time. Last week I had to drop the weights from 4kgs to 2kgs for one move. My shoulders were dying with the March and Reach.

This is such a great workout. Last week I burned 494kcals, but I burned close to 650kcals.

No more holding back.

May 21, P90X3, Week 2, Day 4

The Challenge.

In one word, OUCH!!!

Last week was the first go so I was a little conservative and found my limitation. Today, I pushed my limits. My number was 25 push ups, and 10 pull ups/chin ups. I went up on the push ups by 5. I stuck with 10 pull ups, because I only went to 10 on the first round, then I had to break it up 6-4 after that. Today, I went to the 7-3 split. The push ups were a real challenge. I knew doing that many sets would push me. I was able to stay up for all the sets except the second to last set. I had to go on my knees before the last 5.

Back to pull ups, I got the 10 in the first round, the 7-3 split on the next 5, and then had to go back to the 6-4 split on the very last set.

The Burn Out I wanted to really push it, so I just kept going and was able to up the set count by one. From 10 to 11. Parallel Grip pull ups and then 3 regular push ups.

Got such a major burn. It took a longer than usual to get my heart rate down out of the zone. It took almost 15 minutes to get out of the zone. Then, I could barely lift my arms to get my undershirt on. Talk about rubber arms.

Finally, I think my new favorite grip is the Vaulter Pull up. I really felt like my arms and back were supporting each other as they got burned out. I couldn't have done any other form at the end. That was a great grip to put at the end of a grueling workout.

GREAT WORKOUT!!!