P90X Round 2 Day 26 and 27- Core Synergistics and Yoga

Hello All!

This week has been nuts- so nuts that I've barely had time to breathe. But after this holiday, things will be much easier to manage and daily posts WILL be the norm again.

Anyway, on Thursday I decided to actually do the Yoga instead of Core Syn (I just switched them). This was because I knew we were leaving for the beach on Friday and I would not have 90 minutes to do Yoga. But I did on Thursday. So I made the executive decision!

Daily Workout Summary (Thursday):

Yoga still sucks. I don't care what Jeff and some of the others say, I don't think I'll ever "grow to like it". The workout is just too long. I have a short attention span and need to have variety to keep me interested. The first 45 minutes of Yoga are all a variation on the same thing. So it gets old really quickly. However, the last half is much better. When you get into the balance poses, it becomes both challenging and exciting as you move from pose to pose- even getting some ab work in with the Yoga Belly X. Much better for someone like me.

I felt like the workout was good. I'm making gains in my flexibility and overall core strength. I still struggle with the Crane, but every time is an improvement!

Daily Workout Summary (Friday):

I freakin' LOVE Core Synergistics. Seriously- I love it. I could do it every day. It works your entire body- there's nothing spared. Arms, Legs, Shoulders, Back, Abs/Core- it's all there. And it sneeks up and kicks your ass just when you think it's not too bad.

I used my NOXplode and tried to really bring it today. Just because it's a recovery week, doesn't mean you can't work your ass off. So I got hopped up on my pre-workout drink and pushed myself. I did more push ups on all of the push up type of moves then I did earlier in the week. And I had an extreme sweat going today- good times.

One of the keys to this workout is making an effort to really engage your core on every move. For some of the moves, this is easy. But for others, you really need to concentrate on it and keeping your form. The easiest way to do this is to..... remember to breathe! I know Tony talks about this all the time, but it's really true. If you don't keep your breathing regular, you don't fully engage your core and your posture and form suffer. So for those of you who are newer to the workouts, please KEEP BREATHING!!! : )

Post Workout Rambling:

Just as an FYI, I'm going to be at the beach this weekend celebrating Easter with my wife's family and our kids. Since I'm at the beach, instead of resting, I plan to go for a nice jog along the beach. Maybe I'll see some dolphins or whales or big fish while I'm running. Anyway, if I don't post again until Monday, I hope everyone has a Happy Easter (or Happy Passover for all the folks out there who may be Jewish)!

P90X Round 2 Day 23 and 24- Core Synergistics and Kenpo

Work has been crazy this week. So my plan to post more regularly got fouled up yesterday. I got my Core Synergistics wokout in, but didn't get a chance tyo post. I had a late soccer game. So as soon as I finished work, workinging out, and getting a quick bite to eat, I was heading out the dorr to my game. I'm actually playing soccer 5 nights a week on top of the P90X- so I'm keeping busy. To be fair, even though I'm not quite 30 days in, the only reason I can play so many nights is because of the fitness base I got from my first time through P90X as well as the few weeks I've been on it again. Before P90X, there was NO way my body could have handled that much. But now the lighter, fitter me is going balls to the wall and loving it!

Anyway, Kenpo today was fine- nothing special to it. I worked it hard and got a nice sweat. But yesterday's Core Synergistics was something else! I really forgot that Core Syn is a TOUGH workout and I also forgot how much I liked it.

The toughest move of the day for me (outside of the stupid Drea Rolls- which I struggle with and hate) was the prison cell push ups. For those of you who are new to the "X" and haven't done core Syn yet, the prison cell push ups are TOUGH. You start at a standing position, drop down and do a push up. Then you bring one knee in, do a push up, bring the other in, do a push up, then jump back to your feet. Now, REPEAT for about a minute. It's an absolute killer. I was sweating like a pig and when I was done, I was doubled over with my hands on my knees gasping for air. The funny thing was that I started off well. I did like 3 times through really fast and thought, "thisisn't so bad". Then I hit the wall. It felt like someone threw a piano on my back. I struggled the rest of the way.

Anyway, tomorrow is a stretch x or rest day. I'm probably going to go for a run if it's nice. Plus I have a soccer game tomorrow night (shocker, right?). Talk to you soon guys and girls!

Day 89- Core Synergistics

Today was the last tango with Core Synergistics.

I just love this workout. If I had to pick one workout of all the discs that I have and could only do 1 forever, this one would be it! It hits your entire body and keeps you moving and sweating. It's a killer.

One of the toughest moves is the dreaded lunge/kickback/curl/press move. It's 20 reps of sheer hell. I can feel my shoulders burning at rep 10 and I'm only using 8 lb weights!

Another killer is the prison cell push ups. You start from a standing position, jump down into push up position, do a push up, bring your knee in fast, do another push up, bing the other knee in, do a push up, and then stand up and put your arms in the air. That's 1!!! It goes for like 90 seconds and you hae to do as many as you can. It really works you hard.

So, tomorrow is the last day. I will probably try and do the yoga. I will also try and get pics up tomorrow night or Saturday and do my final measurements, etc as well as give my review and overall impressions on the program. On 12/15 I will be joining Matt and Jeff for P90X+. In fact, the DVDs are in transit right now!

Day 86- Core Synergistics

Today was Core Synergistics. As you can see in the pics above, it is quite the workout. I was a sweaty mess! The wife took a couple pics because she couldn't believe how sweaty I was.

This workout is a killer. I forgot how much fun it was! It is 48 minutes (after warm up) of sweating, moving, and kicking butt. There are some killer exercises in this. The prison cell push ups are tough. As are the reach up and under push ups. Then there is the boat to bow move- killer. My abs feel like they are going to pop off during the bow!

But by far, the hardest two moves are the plan to chaterranga run and then the plank to chaterranga iso. These are where I could really see how much my strength and endurance have improved. A moth ago I couldn't complete these. Today, I got through both with no problems! There were beads of sweat pouring off my face during the iso moves, but I held firm with nothing touching the ground on the chatteranga except my fingertips and my toes (and I think my nose touched a few times- but that doesn't count, right?).

Feeling great right now. I'm not sure how dramatic the changes will be from 60 to 90 days in my pics, but I can tell I feel evenb better then I did 30 days ago.

I have also purchased the P90X+ and plan to start that with Jeff and Matt sometime in December. I have an issue at the end of January where I'm going on vacation to Hawaii (I won a trip there from work). So that week, I hadn't planned on working out much. Hopefully, I will either skip that week and come back and pick up where I left off. Or I'll talk the wife into letting me do it while I'm there and pack the bands and the videos. I'll play it by ear.

Kenpo tomorrow! See you then!

Day 54- Core Synergistics

Today was the second go-round with Core Synergistics this recovery week. As always I enjoyed myself a lot. This workout is tough but fun.

Day started out fine. I had a protein shake for breakfast. Then I left to make some sales calls. Took along some water in a cooler as well as a protein bar. Had the bar for my morning snack. Stopped back by my house for lunch and had some sliced turkey and fat-free cheese on a low-carb wheat wrap with fat free Ranch dressing (just a teaspoon). Yummy.

Went back out and made some more calls. Had some turkey jerkey for snack. Came home from work and did the core synergistics. Followed by some roasted chicken and some corn for dinner.

The workout today was a butt-kicker. The superman/banana rolls are killer. But the hardest move for me today was the Drea roll again. I hate this move. I can never pop up. The prison cell push ups are also quite challenging. I find I struggle with these- they wear you out quickly.

I did great on the over under push ups- most reps ever. Oh, and the other hardes move of the workout has to be the first bonus move- the plank to chattarunga iso. Holding plank is no biggie. But going down slowly to the chattarunga and holding it is killer!

See you tomorrow for Yoga X!

Day 51- Core Synergistics

Today was Core Synergistics. Man, I forgot what a tough workout this is! It kicks your butt. The toughest move in my opinion, is the plank run to chattarunga run. Man does it kick my butt!

Also I really felt the burn on the complex move where you lunge, kickback, curl, press, reverse curl, repeat. I had 10lb weights and by rep 15, sweat was pouring down my face! It seems like such an easy move, but when you add just a little weight, your shoulders start burning, your abs start burning, and you sweat like a pig. Gosh it's fun!

The superman to banana is still tough but fun. I often have to push myself back over to the superman from banana pose. The boat to banana is killer too.

Overall, this is a wonderful workout that hits you head to toe.

See you tomorrow for Kenpo X followed by a soccer game for me!

Day 27- Double Dip

On Friday, I was so upset about having stopped my workout, that I decided to "double up" on to make up for it. So I decided to re-do the Core Synergistics workout plus add in the regularly scheduled Yoga workout. Biy, that was a dumb move.

It wiped me out! Literally kicked my ass.

I did the Yoga in the morning. Things went fine. I did ok on Warrior stuff. The balances poses went better then normal (except for the damn Crane move). And YogaBelly X was ok.

Then in the evening I did Core Synergistics. I was pumped. I had dumbbells and everything. I guess I never realized how much the Yoga works your core until I had to push it again the same day.

I was so wiped out by the workout I ended up goingto bed an hour after at like 9pm. The wife was not happy asI barely even hung out. But I was wiped!

Day 26- Core Synergistics

Today was supposed to be core synergistics. However, I never made it through the entire workout.

When I was first starting P90X, Jeff (danglethe carrot), told me about SuperPump. This is a pre-workout supplement to get you fired up and have energy throughout the workout. I used it at first. At first I was only using a little and I didn't notice anything good. Last week I used 3 scoops and had the best workout of the program. However, it kept me up all night. So I stopped taking it.

Today, I took 3 scoops again trying to really get fired up for my workout. I was full of energy when I started. But partway through the workout I got a searing pain that started at the base of my neck and rushed up my skull from back to front. It was kind of like a reverse brain-freeze. I immediately thought I was having an anyuerism. I was scared, so I stopped the workout.

Honestly, in retrospect, I'm sure it was a reaction to the superpump. But I didn't want to push it. So, I am going to try and double up my workout tomorrow, or possible do core synergistics tomorrow and treat today like my rest day. Also, I've decided to stop the superpump entirely. It just isn't worth the risk to me.

Day 23- Core Synergistics

Today was pretty exciting. It marked the first "new" DVD of the program for me since week 1. The workout is called Core Synergistics. As this week is labeled the recovery week in the program guide, I figured that this would be somewhere between the intensity of Kenpo and Yoga. Boy was I wrong.

This workout is an ass-kicker. It combines elements of Yoga, Plyometrics, and other moves involving pushups and ab work. IT keeps you moving throughout. I worked up quite a sweat. Of the moves, some of the hardest were the running plan to vinyassa (I think that was what it was called). Also hard was the banana to boat. Both required a lot of coordination and pushed you in both a cardio and resistance way.

This was a fun but challenging workout. I hope we get to do it again soon as I will probably do better on it now that I'm confortable with some of the moves.

Diet is going ok. I had a protein shake for breakfast. Protein bar for snack. Lunch was some sliced turkey and low fat chedder cheese on half of a wheat roll. Afternoon snack was some turkey jerkey. Dinner will be a filet and a small side salad.

See you tomorrow for Kenpo!