June 2, P90X3, Week 4, Day 2- Dynamix.

June 2, P90X3, Week 4, Day 2- Dynamix.

This was the first time for me to do this workout, and I could also say it was my first time to do this type of workout. The moves were simple, but really intense. Another different new step in my P90X3 journey.

A lot of planking, a lot of lower body stretches. Kind of a mix of stretching, Yoga, and calisthenics. Most of the moves I have seen before in other programs, but with a little twist. There was nothing I couldn't do, but about a fourth of the moves (29 total moves) I couldn't do well, or hold to the end of the time on both sides.  Again, the glaring truth about how weak my left side is compared to my right. Another wake up call notifying me of my terrible imbalance.  

My right side is almost 50% more flexible than my left. How could it get that way? But when I look at my activities, I notice that I baby my left, or I favor my right because I'm right handed. Tennis is right handed, Throwing a ball, I lead with my right on most things. I will need to correct my imbalance through these programs. I guess I'll also have to get more exercises in on my left side as well.

What's this, a new goal formulating in my head? Hmmmm.

June 1, P90X3, Week 4, Day 1- Isometrics

June 1, P90X3, Week 4, Day 1- Isometrics.

I had no idea what to expect on this one beyond what the name said. I'm thinking, "Just being still." And basically, that is what is was "SUPPOSED" to be. Standing in poses and holding them for 45 seconds. At the beginning, it was all stuff I had done before in X2 and X3 Yoga and other places. But the last 3 cycles. I could not hold the poses. I could not keep the balance. I just got worse as it went on.

From move 21. Bound Dog, Right Hand Left Ankle, I was falling over like a Jenga tower with a cross base. I was terrible. Then the next move, Inner Balance, the one where you just lift one foot and balance, easy enough, but we're supposed to close our eyes. Once my eyes were closed, I just totally lost all perception and I had to keep tapping down. I couldn't stay balanced for more than a couple seconds. Literally! Once my eyes were closed and I lifted my foot, two, maybe less before I felt myself tipping and I'd tap down. Shocking, but not so shocking.

Then the Bound Dog Leg Lift. Again, just TERRIBLE. I could not stay up. I just kept flopping over to one side or the other. Finally, Moon Dog. I'll not repeat that word, but it was not good. Couldn't stay up at all for more than a second or two at the most.

I'm not 100% sure what this is doing, but if my balance is THAT bad, I know something is wrong with me and I need to correct it. Tony said that this will show where my weaknesses are, and man, did it ever. My weaknesses came out and kicked me in the face! It it was a rude awakening.

But, I think I have learned enough to know that giving up is not an option and I will do my best to improve and strengthen those weaknesses.

I had to work today because my school was holding open campus and several people (parents of present student and prospective students and parents) came and observed the classes I was teaching. Some nice added incentive to want to come home and do a workout. What great refreshment!
I am planning to go and play tennis with my son in about 30 minutes.

I'm hoping this workout helps me move and see the ball better so I can show him who's boss. LOL!

Have a great week, and welcome to JUNE!

May 30, P90X3, Week 3, Day 6- The Warrior.

May 30, P90X3, Week 3, Day 6- The Warrior.

Venue was the same as last week. I went to the gym, found a quiet corner, set up a cushion mat and went at it with my iPad. Last time for this routine until, I think, block 3. I don't have the Fitness Guide or the schedule at hand, so don't quote me on that. What can I say about training like a warrior. It was intense and I pushed it as hard as I could. Even though I knew I would be playing tennis right afterward, I pushed and it almost felt like a hit a new level of something. I can't explain it. I mean, the sweat and heaving from exhaustion were palpable, but that just energized me somehow.  Again, I went full bore with the Super Burpees and lasted only three and a half reps before having to slow down. The burnout: Depth Charges started off great, I was jumping as high as I could... for the first 3, or so, jumps, then for the rest of the move, it was all I could do to just get off the ground. I had to bring in a mop to clean up the sweat.

Now, why did I say the workout energized me? I had about 30 minutes before my tennis match, so I set up the net and practiced serving for a while, then I shot the basketball around for a while. When I started playing the match, I felt so focused. I was smacking the ball like it was a golf ball, but I was seeing a bowling ball.  I was sprinting for every ball.  I roared out of the gate and played a perfect first 4 games. Didn't lose a point in the first four games. Won all at love. Then I got careless and dropped a game before finishing off the set. Same story in the second. No perfect games, but took it at love. First bagel in a while. Then I drop the first game of the third. But the first two sets, Man, Those were the best two sets of tennis I've played in a long time. My feet felt light, I was focused, concentration was on. I was in the zone. It felt so good.

Last week, when I did The Warrior and then played tennis, I felt heavy and wasn't moving well. But this week. I just felt so good. One thing I must say is that I consciously tried to get more sleep the night before. I had to tell myself "STOP" when I was doing some work and the hour was getting past 11pm. Last night, I got 7.5 hours and I felt GRRRREAT! Am I seeing a turning point? I hope so. I'll keep you in the loop.

Final score, 6-1, 6-0, 6-3, 6-1.
Final Calorie burn = 2009kcals

I don't want to sound so full of myself, because I know I would never have hit this type of performance without Beachbody, and all the awesome tools they have provided for my fitness. I laud them for their efforts and for supporting me. And I thank you all for you continued love and support.

I'm glad to have finished Week 3 of P90X3 with a BANG!

May 29, P90X3, Week 3, Day 5- CVX

May 29, P90X3, Week 3, Day 5- CVX.

A friend said she did CVX with 10lbs. Last week I did it with 9lbs. I wanted to be like her so I grabbed my 5kg medicine ball and attacked this workout. In a word. KILLER!!! Right from the start I could notice the difference in just 1kg. I really pushed to hang, and hang I did... just barely. Although, I must admit I took an extra 10-15 seconds between each set on each of the second rounds.

I noticed that my core was really lose with the heavier weight. That became blindingly clear on the second circuit with the two twisting moves, when I move the weight from one side to the other while doing high knees. My butt was wagging back and forth. I also need to be careful to watch my lower back. Don't want to throw it out again. I was forced, if I wanted to stay stable with my body square, to really tighten my core and move the weight. Good eye-opener. I guess I was being a little lazy the past few times with the lighter weight. I guess it is a learning process. Next time, I'll try to crush it!

BTW, I was rather sore from yesterday's "The Challenge". I think my foam rolling day will be earlier if I can get to it tonight!

May 28, P90X3, Week 3, Day 4- The Challenge

May 28, P90X3, Week 3, Day 4- The Challenge.

Enough Said.

Hehe. But I've got to say more. Let's talk numbers. This week, I upped my pull/Chin up number from 10 to 12. I was considering keeping it at 10 for the third week in a row, but I figured, Man, I got to push it today. So I upped it to 12. I kept my push up number at 25. I struggled with 25 last week, so I want to get straight 25 every set without coming to my knees.

The first block went well. I hit my numbers on the money. The block with chin ups, I had to break up the Chin ups, 8-4 for both sets. I was able to keep the 25 with the Military Push ups, but I could feel the burn and pain coming.

Third block with the close grip pull ups was tough. First set went 4-4-4, and the second set, 6-3-3. I was able to keep 25 wide push ups, but needed a couple mid-set breaks. I DID NOT break plank, stayed up the whole time.

The fourth block was good. First set of Vaulter pull ups I did 6-4-2, and then the second set went 4-5-3. The staggered push ups were better, but I took a few mid-set breaks after 15 reps, then after 5's. But for just a breath. The Staggered push ups are placed well because they are easier to do than say, Military or even standard.

Burn out, I was able to push it and do 12 sets of the 1 pull up and 3 push ups cycle. That is one more than the previous week. However, the last set of push ups was after Tony called time.

I was basically winded the whole workout and when I checked my calorie burn, I had burned over 650kcals. Close to 800 for the whole workout including the Cold Start and my extra stretch and cool down.

Got a great burn and pump! Felt really good, and my arms were shaking for about 20 minutes afterwards.

Great way to start the day!

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!!!