Today was my last day of Pre90X – time to face Yoga X. Now, as I said, I have a lot of yoga experience. I’ve done videos and classes for years, and I even tried Bikram yoga in January, going to classes 2-3 times a week for a month. I’m flexible. I can breathe. So, Yoga X should be a breeze, right? Wrong. First off, someone needs to tell Tony Horton that there are more positions in yoga than Warrior and its variations. It starts with basically 45 minutes of Warrior, which will leave your quads feeling like absolute jelly. It does get slightly easier after the first 45 minutes, but by then the damage is done. This video is straight up cardio and legs, no question about it. Oh, wait, no – I forgot about the fact that he wants you to do a pushup in between almost every asana. So really, it’s cardio, legs and upper body. Nice.
If you are used to more traditional yoga you may be annoyed at this video, because Tony definitely does his own thing here. However, it’s a great workout and should challenge even experienced yoginis. I’m taking a little break to get mentally prepared for the real deal, but I’ll be doing the fit test this week and plan to start P90X Lean in earnest on June 7, 2010.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Pre90X: Legs and Back, Ab Ripper
Yesterday I decided to give the Legs and Back video a go. And that is where my positive attitude toward P90X ended. Oh. My. God. This video is quite simply impossible for me. I admit that I wasn’t working to capacity, but there were some exercises that I really couldn’t do AT ALL, especially anything that involves squatting on just one leg. I also had a very difficult time with balancing, which I’m sure indicates weakness in my core. Whatever. And that’s just the LEGS! Unfortunately I don’t have a pullup bar yet, so I used a half-assed system with an exercise band hooked over a door hinge just to get an idea. The band didn’t provide enough resistance, but I know the bar is going to be ridiculously difficult, even with my feet planted firmly on a chair for assistance. Despite the fact that I only did around 30% of the exercises at maybe 80% of my capacity, I was sweating, swearing and sore by the end. This morning, my hips are screaming (although surprisingly my quads and hamstrings aren’t). The worst, however, is yet to come.
Ab Ripper X follows the Leg workout immediately and I decided to try it, since I was already sweaty as hell. Ab work is not my favorite but I have done some pilates, so I figured I was semi-prepared. Um, WRONG, much? This is the most ridiculous ab workout I’ve ever encountered. It would be insane for any normal person, but I have a special disadvantage – I have a tail. Mark of the beast. My tailbone extends quite a bit lower than most people’s and it makes it very painful to do any type of V-sit ab exercises – I have actually rubbed the tip of it raw and bloody before. Of course, about half of this video has you sitting right on the tip of your tailbone, squirming around to target your obliques and other muscles that no one should ever have to work. After the first two exercises my tail was in agony. I put a pillow under my ass for the remaining exercises but the damage was done. NOT COOL. I will continue to do this routine, but I will have to skip the exercises that involve my tailbone – perhaps I can just sub one of the others. In any case, it will be a VERY long time before I am able to do this at Tony’s pace without breaks. And when I say a long time, I mean years. Literally.
Ab Ripper X follows the Leg workout immediately and I decided to try it, since I was already sweaty as hell. Ab work is not my favorite but I have done some pilates, so I figured I was semi-prepared. Um, WRONG, much? This is the most ridiculous ab workout I’ve ever encountered. It would be insane for any normal person, but I have a special disadvantage – I have a tail. Mark of the beast. My tailbone extends quite a bit lower than most people’s and it makes it very painful to do any type of V-sit ab exercises – I have actually rubbed the tip of it raw and bloody before. Of course, about half of this video has you sitting right on the tip of your tailbone, squirming around to target your obliques and other muscles that no one should ever have to work. After the first two exercises my tail was in agony. I put a pillow under my ass for the remaining exercises but the damage was done. NOT COOL. I will continue to do this routine, but I will have to skip the exercises that involve my tailbone – perhaps I can just sub one of the others. In any case, it will be a VERY long time before I am able to do this at Tony’s pace without breaks. And when I say a long time, I mean years. Literally.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Pre90X: Core, Cardio, S&A, Kenpo
May 25, Core Synergistics and May 26, Cardio X. Okay, Tony Horton – sorry for underestimating you. Stretch X may be lame but these two are NOT. I did these workouts at about 75% capacity, taking breaks and such, and was able to get through them. However, I definitely felt it the next couple of days, in some very unexpected places. As I did the workouts, I could tell that The Boyfriend (who is inflexible AND hates core work) would hate these videos and struggle with them due to the heavy yoga emphasis. I finally got The Boyfriend to join me for Shoulders and Arms (his favorite parts to workout) – I did the whole video with very light (3 lb) dumbbells just to get an idea. With such light weight it was no problem, but I can see that it can be an extremely challenging workout if you push yourself with weights (as The Boyfriend did).
He joined me again for Kenpo X the next day despite a good deal of muscle soreness and I’m happy to report that we both got through most of this video, although we surely worked up a sweat. Again, you can make this easier or harder for yourself by taking a slower or faster pace than the models are taking, using weights where applicable, etc. My arms and shoulders are definitely feeling the afterburn today. We then watched the Legs and Back video and it’s clear that this is where we’re both going to have trouble. Most of these exercises involve lifting your own body weight, so it’s not so easy to modify. I can already feel my quads screaming and I haven’t even done the lunges yet. Also, can we just talk about pull-ups for a second? I have NEVER been able to do one (not unusual for women I know) – but this video wants you to do like 80. EIGHTY. Needless to say, I’ll be using bands or a chair, probably for a long time.
I haven’t watched Yoga X yet but I don’t anticipate problems there, even though I know it’s long – The Boyfriend, however, might die if he tries it. Even Stretch X would be a problem for him. I think the P90X Lean program is probably a good fit for my current fitness level and I’m planning to push forward – I think The Boyfriend will too, despite his reluctance to do anything with so much emphasis on flexibility. The physiques of the models in the video are more than enough inspiration for him to get over his “stretching is gay” bias!
He joined me again for Kenpo X the next day despite a good deal of muscle soreness and I’m happy to report that we both got through most of this video, although we surely worked up a sweat. Again, you can make this easier or harder for yourself by taking a slower or faster pace than the models are taking, using weights where applicable, etc. My arms and shoulders are definitely feeling the afterburn today. We then watched the Legs and Back video and it’s clear that this is where we’re both going to have trouble. Most of these exercises involve lifting your own body weight, so it’s not so easy to modify. I can already feel my quads screaming and I haven’t even done the lunges yet. Also, can we just talk about pull-ups for a second? I have NEVER been able to do one (not unusual for women I know) – but this video wants you to do like 80. EIGHTY. Needless to say, I’ll be using bands or a chair, probably for a long time.
I haven’t watched Yoga X yet but I don’t anticipate problems there, even though I know it’s long – The Boyfriend, however, might die if he tries it. Even Stretch X would be a problem for him. I think the P90X Lean program is probably a good fit for my current fitness level and I’m planning to push forward – I think The Boyfriend will too, despite his reluctance to do anything with so much emphasis on flexibility. The physiques of the models in the video are more than enough inspiration for him to get over his “stretching is gay” bias!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Pre90X
As I mentioned in my intro post, I have no intention of starting this thing and not finishing it (or if I do, I won’t be posting that information on the internet). So, to make sure I didn’t bite off more than I could chew, I decided to do a little P90X research and check out the videos before I start. Turns out, there is a “lite” version of P90X, also known as P90X Lean. The idea of being able to use my name and the word “lean” in the same sentence was very appealing to me, so I decided that was the plan I should check out.
I began by watching the videos on fast forward, just so I’d have an idea of the exercises that were expected of me. It all looked doable enough, although the 10x speed probably helped. When it came time to actually try out the routines, X Stretch sounded the least intimidating, so I started there. Stretch X was a breeze! As I said, I’ve done a lot of yoga, so for me this was like a gentle yoga routine. No problem. I started feeling like all the P90X hype must be just that – hype. How much harder can the other videos be?
I began by watching the videos on fast forward, just so I’d have an idea of the exercises that were expected of me. It all looked doable enough, although the 10x speed probably helped. When it came time to actually try out the routines, X Stretch sounded the least intimidating, so I started there. Stretch X was a breeze! As I said, I’ve done a lot of yoga, so for me this was like a gentle yoga routine. No problem. I started feeling like all the P90X hype must be just that – hype. How much harder can the other videos be?
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Intro
I know, I know – not another P90X blog. The internet is full of them, and I can’t tell you how many I’ve found that are approximately two entries long. Um, duh, people. P90X is hard. I hate starting things and not finishing them, so I won’t be posting anything on this blog until I’ve determined that I’m not going to quit P90X before I start.
A little about me: I’m a former fatty, who lost a bunch of weight (65+ pounds) about 10 years ago (in my early 20s) doing the Atkins diet. I’ve stuck with low-carb ever since and have managed to maintain the bulk of my weight loss, although an annoying 10 (or 20) pounds has crept back now that I’m in my early 30s. I lost the weight without any real exercise at all, so I’m probably what you’d call skinny fat (although I never got really skinny, so perhaps “chubby fat” would be a better term). I’ve done quite a bit of yoga and some other exercise, but my only real fitness talent seems to be flexibility. As of today, I cannot do a regular push-up (although I’m not too bad at the girly kind) and I most certainly cannot do a pullup. I last hit the treadmill at Christmas when my mother dragged me to the gym with her, and I was able to jog a 12 minute mile (no incline) before passing out from exhaustion.
Quite frankly, most types of exercise bore the crap out of me, and if I can find any excuse not to do them, I won’t. I’m trying to get The Boyfriend on board with this P90X adventure, simply because I am more likely to do it if I know he’s suffering with me. So far, he has agreed to give it a go, but he’s pretty skeptical about some of the exercises involved, especially the yoga (he’s about as flexible as your average steel rod). He is also a former fatty who lost weight with Atkins, but has gained a few recently and really wants to get in better shape overall. Our bonus motivation is that we’re planning on a cruise for our honeymoon in February, and neither of us wants to look like beached whales in the Caribbean. There’s not much we can do about our otherworldly whiteness (if we want to avoid skin cancer, that is), but we can hopefully do something about the cellulite that makes the whiteness even shinier. So, welcome to our P90X journey!
A little about me: I’m a former fatty, who lost a bunch of weight (65+ pounds) about 10 years ago (in my early 20s) doing the Atkins diet. I’ve stuck with low-carb ever since and have managed to maintain the bulk of my weight loss, although an annoying 10 (or 20) pounds has crept back now that I’m in my early 30s. I lost the weight without any real exercise at all, so I’m probably what you’d call skinny fat (although I never got really skinny, so perhaps “chubby fat” would be a better term). I’ve done quite a bit of yoga and some other exercise, but my only real fitness talent seems to be flexibility. As of today, I cannot do a regular push-up (although I’m not too bad at the girly kind) and I most certainly cannot do a pullup. I last hit the treadmill at Christmas when my mother dragged me to the gym with her, and I was able to jog a 12 minute mile (no incline) before passing out from exhaustion.
Quite frankly, most types of exercise bore the crap out of me, and if I can find any excuse not to do them, I won’t. I’m trying to get The Boyfriend on board with this P90X adventure, simply because I am more likely to do it if I know he’s suffering with me. So far, he has agreed to give it a go, but he’s pretty skeptical about some of the exercises involved, especially the yoga (he’s about as flexible as your average steel rod). He is also a former fatty who lost weight with Atkins, but has gained a few recently and really wants to get in better shape overall. Our bonus motivation is that we’re planning on a cruise for our honeymoon in February, and neither of us wants to look like beached whales in the Caribbean. There’s not much we can do about our otherworldly whiteness (if we want to avoid skin cancer, that is), but we can hopefully do something about the cellulite that makes the whiteness even shinier. So, welcome to our P90X journey!
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