June 29, P90X3, Week 8, Day 1- Isometrix.

June 29, P90X3, Week 8, Day 1- Isometrix.

I was VERY happy with today's workout. I also uncovered some major balance issues between my right and left hemispheres. Fortunately, I was able to hold all the moves for the full 45 seconds.

First the balance issues. For a lot of the 2-move rotations I was very strong and stable on the right side, but I was really struggling and shaking like a cold wet puppy on the left. That became painfully clear with move 15.One Arm Sphinx. My shake wasn't just a little twitch, it was a clear fast .5-2 inch swing in my body. I was trying to keep square with the floor, but the pain and the imminent cramping in my hip was almost too much to handle. Another odd imbalance was with move 22. and 24. Inner Balance Right and Left. Last week I couldn't even close my eyes for more than a couple seconds without falling down on both sides. Today, I was determined to keep my eyes closed the whole time no matter what. Here's the weird part. When balancing on my right leg, I tapped a total of 6 times, the majority of the taps came during the last 15 seconds or so as I kept fading to the left. But when balancing on my left leg, I tapped a total of 4 times, mainly at at the beginning. I felt myself fading right, but was able to focus and keep my balance AND eyes closed. I was really happy about that!

The second biggest surprise for me today was the Bound Dog Leg Lift right and left. Last week, like with the Inner Balance, I couldn't stay up, I was falling all over the place. Today, I was strong and stable for most of the move. Although at the last 10 seconds or so, I could feel myself getting tired and lost my balance from that. But the stability I was able to achieve for the first 35 seconds on both sides really pleased me.

I don't recall anything special that would improve my balance that much over the last three weeks of Block 2, so I'm a little confused, but happy that it happened. Also, there is another option. Today, I could be just really lucky and today, was just a good day. Whatever the reason for this improvement, I'LL TAKE IT!!!

I was also able to take deep breaths throughout the whole routine. The small let down would be the calorie burn, just over 200kcals for this routine. BUT, upon finishing the routine I heard my daughter playing outside so I went out and we played catch for about 30 minutes. Got an extra 100+kcals burned there!

Great way to start the week!

June 28, P90X3, Week 7, Day 7- Rest.

June 28, P90X3, Week 7, Day 7- Rest.

Normally I don't do anything of any significance on Day 7's, but today, I sort of did. I was spending some time with my daughter and decided to, while we were talking while lying on the floor I thought I would get my foam roller out and roll for a few minutes. When my daughter started watching the animated feature "Prince of Egypt" I watched with her while rolling, the entire 90 minute movie. We also sang some songs together for about halfan hour. I was on the roller for the whole time. That's 2 hours of foam rolling. I was feeling really good afterwards. A lot looser and relaxed.

Oh, I also had Vegan Chocolate Shakeology for dinner! YUMMY!!!

Great way to spend an afternoon.

June 27, P90X3, Week 7, Day 6- MMX + Tennis.

June 27, P90X3, Week 7, Day 6- MMX + Tennis.

 

It was raining buckets this morning. But surprisingly, I didn't not want to get up. I actually followed through on my plan to get up and start my workout by 9am. Usually I'd poo poo around and then end up starting closer to 10am, but today actually went off without a hitch.

 

MMX is HOT!!! Love this workout! All the moves and rounds went really well. The only two moves that gave me a little trouble was the one that has the crescent kick, and the last move with the Gladiator. Those two moves I had to rewind and start after making sure of my left and right. However, this is the best I ever did with the final move. I had to really focus with my right leg forward, but got it and was able to keep up with the team when my left foot was forward. Only once did I have to take a quick pause to make sure which leg I needed to raise first. I was also able to start with Cold Start so I was feeling great and loose.

 

The only bad thing was that I forgot a towel so I was having some major "Sprinkler" action.

 

I started early and finished well before tennis was to start so to keep loose, I shot some hoops. Years ago, the basketball was heavy for me to shoot from beyond the 3-point line, Now, I have to think to control the power. Really nice feeling to have to do that.

 

Due to a semi-major schedule change we had to play a shortened session today. So both of us came out swinging. That is great in the fact that we get into a groove a lot faster, but bad, in that there are more unforced errors at the beginning of play. I was, for the most part, striking the ball well, but was a bit over eager and made a lot of errors. But I really got into a groove by the second set. But the pace at which I was playing sort of took a toll on me and I got a little tired in the third. Final score, 6-4, 6-0, 6-3, 1-2. Usually we would have played another 45 minutes or so, but as I said, shortened session so barely was able to finish a third set and get into a fourth.

 

Total calorie burn for today, 1600+kcals. Great way to end Week 7 of P90X3. Looking forward to the Transition week next week. Have a great weekend everyone!

June 26, P90X3, Week 7, Day 5- Incinerator.

June 26, P90X3, Week 7, Day 5- Incinerator.

 

Had a relaxing morning interrupted by the Incinerator. Last workout of this block so I really wanted to bring it. So I brought it. OUCH!!!

 

As far as the individual moves went, I pretty much maintained the weights from the previous week except for the Pterodactyl Flys and the A Presses. I went up 2.5kgs for each move. I'll still need to go up to more for the A Presses, though. The surprise move was the Pike Press. I got up to 17 lastweek, but I got 23 today without thinking, I just went until I heard the second "beep" from the DVD. I was happy, but OUCH!!!

 

All around great workout. I could feel my heart pounding and I was getting a good burn and pump with some failure happening at the end of most of the moves. My shoulders and arms really felt it today. I thank Tony for not putting a crazy cardio Burnout at the end. I wouldn't have been able to do it otherwise.

 

I really like this workout for many reasons, but I wish there were just a few more sets of pull ups or chin up variation.

 

Counting down to the finish of Block 2! Should I be nervous about Block 3?

June 25, P90X3, Week 7, Day 4- Eccentric Lower.

June 25, P90X3, Week 7, Day 4- Eccentric Lower.

 

Today, I was pressed for time in the morning so I did not start with Cold Start, I jumped right into the program. I'm thankful for the little warm up at the beginning of the program.

 

Had a great workout! I didn't try to up my weights because I wasn't getting the explosion I wanted when I tried to increase my range of motion last week. One note I got said that my glutes might be weak. Taking that to heart, I focused today on form and flexing the muscles being activated and used. I tried to push for more range of motion and the explosive concentric move following the eccentric move.

 

I was a little worried with this workout, because for some reason, my inner thighs were really sore for some reason. The previous days workout was X3 yoga plus some light extra stuff so I was a little confused as to why my legs were sore. But once I got going, the soreness left and a new pain took its place.

 

Great workout for my hump day!

June 24, P90X3, Week 7, Day 3- X3 Yoga + Class + YAYOG.

June 24, P90X3, Week 7, Day 3- X3 Yoga + Class + YAYOG.

Did a lot today in two and a half hours. First of all, I teach English at a small private university in Southern Japan. This week's topic was Diet and Exercise. The first class last Friday was about healthy eating. today's class was about exercise. So I took my students to the gym and we exercised and they learned the names of different muscles and moves in English and how to talk about Exercise. We warmed up, talked about the difference between dynamic and static stretching, did some upper body moves, some core moves, some lower body moves. Did some work with the universal machine, etc. It was a lot of fun and I was sweating like crazy. Then, I just continued my workout after the class ended because I didn't have a class.

I finally finished the "You are Your Own Gym" workout, "Novice: Circuit Training" I was sweating a lot more with that short and sweet workout.

Finally, I finished the session off with X3 Yoga. With the longer than usual ramp up to X3 Yoga, I was a lot looser than usual. I was able to do a lot better with everything. For the first time ever, I was able to hold all the balance moves without a tap. Tree went without a hitch, I was able to hold the pose with extreme stability, not even a bit of shake on both legs. My NEMESIS, Extended Leg with Toe Bind. My leg was still not even close to being straight, but I was able to hold the pose without tapping once. I tried to keep my form as stable as possible with some good success. I was actually shocked at how stable I was. The whole routine felt the best it has every felt. Burned a total of 700+ kcals with only the YAYOG and X3 Yoga. I didn't wear my HRM during class.

What a great way to start the day.

June 23, P90X3, Week 7, Day 2- Triometrics.

June 23, P90X3, Week 7, Day 2- Triometrics.

Last time this rotation for this routine. The past two weeks, I was dying by the Slater Squats which forced me to take a break. But today, I wanted to make it through without any extra breaks.

Good news, I made it all the way through without taking any extra breaks. Bad news, I was dying!  For some reason I had more trouble with the balance moves. Duper Skater, Warrior 3 Squats, Duper 2, and had to tap more than in the past. Also, I tried to go deeper on the squats and my leg(s)/butt started to cramp up so I had to come out a little early.

I was dying but I held on to the end. I also started the "Sprinkler" action. The sweat was pouring off me. My heart was pounding like crazy. It was awesome! Except for the extra time it took for me to wipe down the floor and furniture around me.

Awesome way to start the work week!