Category: Exercise

Morning!

You know, you either need to do your workout at 12:30am or at 4:30am….getting up at 3:30am just doesn’t cut it because when you’re done, it’s really difficult to get back to sleep again. Wah!

Ah well, these things happen.

So! Day 16 was Plyo and let me sing a song of joy, I love this DVD. Plyo, or “jump training”, got my heart rate right up there. I can now see why this workout was sandwiched between Chest/Back and Shoulders/Arms – it really gives your legs a super workout (the squats are heavily, I will say – front/back, side to side, jumping jack squats, etc.).

My thigh has recovered to the point I was able to do most of the exercises again. For those I either cannot or chose not to do (like the Hot Foot, ie, one legged hopping), I substituted non-stop side karate kicks. I really like the fact the workouts are not rigid; I’m always moving and always gaining skill/strength.

Afterwards, I really felt it in my lower back and thighs. And of course, I blessed repeatedly the miracle of Tiger Balm; that stuff is the oinment of the gods.

And thus ’twas Day 16 of P90x,

Barbara

ps – some neat Tony Horton goodies:

Morning!

Well, at 12:30am I was motivated to push PLAY and oh nice, it was a great workout indeed.

Couple of things I’m noticing about my body. One, I can still only do 3 unassisted chinups. Oh well, this takes time, I suppose….but I was able to get thru virtually all of 349 Ab Ripper X moves (yay!). As always, my favorite parts to this DVD are the pushups and pullups and chinups and yes, I can even now do dive-bomber pushups as well.

I’m really tempted to get the P90x Chinup bar but have a problem with the price. I’ll have to see about getting it at eBay perhaps….but I really like the idea of working out in all different planes and directions.

So far now, I’ve lost 4 pounds in 15 days (during the holidays, I did go up from 131 to 134 and now I’m back down to 130).

And that’s Day 15,

Barbara

ps – Some of the below are what the P90x Pullup bar looks like:

Morning everyone,

Utterly amazingly and not to be believed, I actually slept in (gasp!) past 12:30am, 2:30am all the way until 5am! Oh it was wondrous indeed; it’s not often I give myself permission to take a break but wow, did I really need that sleep.

After awakening, I got up and ventured bravely into the guest room where I discovered to my delight (NOT!) that my son had joyfully sprinkled nacho cheese chip crumbs all over my exercise area. Blah. Had to vacuum that up prior to working out.

XStretch is one of my favorite DVDs, I will admit. It really should be 90 minutes long – it’s a great slow workout for tired muscles. I was feeling it 5 hours afterwards (which I take to mean the stretching worked out well!).

Later in the morning, the husband and I took the kids swimming. Well, okay, he took them swimming while I did HIIT on the Precor 576I (a most magnificent machine). We then treated our family to the chinese buffet where protein beckoned, and now I’m at home, putting up various audio and computer components on eBay.

For those of you who never really stretch, you should really start! I’m already finding myself far more flexible and limber than when I started. True, that’s like saying, wood is more flexible than concrete, but hey, it’s a beginning.

And so ends Day 14,

Barbara

ps – More Tony Horton goodies!

Morning all,

Well, the intense workout I did yesterday at the Cybex circuit plus S/A really did me in! I woke up at 1:30am and did KempoX ; I will confess that I do major modifications during some of the moves. As I’m trying to get my balance down pat for side kicks, I practice that a lot during some of the running/jumping jacks portions. Be that as it may, I still worked up a great sweat and was able to fall back asleep once completed.

I noticed this morning upon waking up that my waistline is definitely changing, and I can even see indentations where my abs are. Yay! Last year at this time, I wore a size 18 swimsuit – this year I’ll bet it’s a size 10 or even 8. Costco has theirs inhouse now, so I’ve given my husband my blessings to him picking out the one he likes best.

Tomorrow marks 2 full weeks of P90x, and I will certainly say….it definitely delivers on all the promises the infomercial makes. The key here is both commitment, diet, and not being afraid to tackle it to the best of your abilities. Sure, you might be more less stable than a basketball balancing on a pinhead…but as time goes by, your muscles remember more, your balance improves and your health continues on its upwards climb. I’m sold!

And that be Day 13,

Barbara

ps – some great P90x savings can be found right here!

Morning,

Well! Today I got up extra late (3:15am!) and started my Shoulders/Arms workout. Now, true, this was supposed to be done on Monday, but I did the wrong DVD that day so I had to switch things around.

Picture this – I get up, get my water ready, get my chair in place, and then in who should run but my 5 year old son. “Mom, I heard you get up!” So I had an audience today. He wanted to get his little 2 pound weights and work out with me, how cute is that?

Anywhos, to say my muscles were burning by the end is an understatement; I probably could have fried an egg on them. Wow, I’ve never been that hot before! ’twas a ‘way cool feeling. Later on in the morning after working for a bit, I went with the husband to the gym and tackled the Cybex circuit; haven’t done that in 3 weeks or so. I can now chest-press and lateral shoulder press 105 pounds, which is an increase of 5 pounds from two months ago.

Workwise, the book is selling great! I think I hit on a positive nerve regarding the importance of motivation…and how it can really help you achieve miracles with your health and fitness.

And that’s Day 12!

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – more Tony Horton Goodies!

Morning,

I stayed up almost to midnight yesterday (okay, went to bed at 9:30pm, which for me is astonishing) so for once, I didn’t (gasp!) get up a 12:30am to do my P90x! Instead, it was almost the afternoon (3:45am) at which I arose and put on Yoga X.

Now, I will admit it here and I’ll admit it now – I hate this DVD with a passion. It’s superb, mind you, and I will do it every time as I can see how utterly beneficial it is for one’s body…but with my lack of flexibility, I hate hate hate it! I had to do major modifications on many of the moves….but then again, you know what? That’s life! I deal. I’m already seeing some improvements – this time I was able to straighten my legs completely while pointing them skywards. Last week at this time, I couldn’t do that!

That’s a major wowsa! for me. All my life I’ve been cognizant of my lousy legs (structure-wise) and how that’s the way it is, accept it. It’s really kinda cool that now at age 43, I’m getting better and better and better.

My favorite exercise in this DVD is the plough (on your back roll your legs backwards until they touch the floor in back of you) and also pointing them straight up (I’d love to learn how to do handstands this year, and this kind of balance training is great). My not-favorite is the pushup-to-downwards dog motion and honestly, I don’t know why. I guess it’s just difficult for me.

So! 10 days done! P90x, so far, has been delivering wonderfully. I’m very happy with it.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – here’s where you can get P90x at a discount!

Afternoon all,

Just a quickie note – P90x+ features music by Chicago! And Jason Scheff, tenor lead vocalist and bass player, posts now regularly on the Beachbody forums. You can find his thread:

…Hello gang. My name is Jason Scheff and I am the current tenor lead vocalist and bass player for the band Chicago. I’ve been in the band for almost 22 years now having replaced Peter Cetera when he went on to a solo career.

A small bit of backstory… I was a client of Tony Horton’s back in ’89 through about ’92, I believe. He got me in the best shape of my life, at that point. Pretty elite physical shape. Somewhere around 6 or 7 percent body fat and VERY fit. There are plenty of videos floating around YouTube of that era as well as many photos. Well, there are also plenty of videos and photos of the years following that period when I got out of shape.

I’ve gone in fits and starts over the years “kind of” getting in shape for short periods of time but never making the lifestyle change completely and more importantly, making the mental decision to commit.

Through a wild set of circumstances and coincidences, (are there really such things as coincidences?), we’re back in each others’ lives. I’m doing Kenpo today finishing up my 1st week of phase 3 in P90X. I also have completed the music for the P90X+ series that will be out this fall. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what I want to contribute to Beachbody products but more importantly to my commitment to making this 2nd half of my life the best. I’m 45 right now so it’s a great time to get involved with this….MORE…

Nice! Go visit and check it out – some great info there.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – some P90x currently available includes:

Howdy!

Well, as promised, I decided to use Pylo as my cardio workout today (I had done the wrong P90x workout yesterday, so did Chest/Back this morning at 1am).

Because my right thigh is quite weak, I did some major substituting of the moves today. 3/4 of moves that required leaving the ground were just not doable (ie, ’bout half the DVD), so I did karate moves/balances/pushups/etc. during those times. Broke out quite a sweat, I’ll admit. If anything, my kicks are getting stronger and my balance is improving quite a lot as well.

Hopefully by next week I should be recovered enough to do the P90x Plyo workout properly.

Like last time, my favorite moves here were the swing-the-leg-over-the-chair routine. It’s just like a crescent kick! I liked it so much I did it again and again and am now feeling it in my thighs.

I’m looking forward to being able to rock-star jump again.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps – Here are some other Tony Horton goodies!