P90X Day 12 and 13: Legs and Back, Kenpo X

I worked 8-8 yesterday and was pretty exhausted after a very long and mentally/physically tiring first day on day shift. It was slightly scarring, but that's a story for another day. :( My point in saying that is that after work I was in no mood to exercise. Sorry, Tony Horton. Therefore, today I did both day 12 (yesterday) and day 13.

This morning was Legs and Back. I'm getting better at all of the lunges and performing them correctly without giving up, but the pull ups are still horrible! I use a chair to help lift myself up, but my arms are still giving out each time I try to pull myself up to the bar. The only lunge that is really killing me is the one leg lunge with the other leg in a chair...ouch. I also feel like I have already memorized the commentary between the people in this video, which is amusing and annoying at the same time.

Tonight I did Kenpo X and basically sweated a lot. I haven't done Ab Ripper X yet, but plan to after American Idol. :) I think separating Ab Ripper X from the main workout of the day helps me give more of myself and energy into the exercises instead of being worn out and giving less than 100%.

P90X Day 11: Cardio X

Day 11 of the Classic P90x schedule is supposed to be Yoga X, an hour and a half of yoga. I decided to actually replace Yoga X with Cardio X today. From reading various P90x blogs, I gathered that Cardio X was a fairly easy workout and would be kind of a break while incorporating yoga, kenpo, and plyometrics into one. All I can say is don't discount Cardio X! I was sweating profusely by the end! A couple of the exercises at the end had me thinking Is this ever going to end? In reality, the workout was only about 45 minutes - short compared to the others! Maybe I'll eventually be able to add Cardio X to some of my workout days (in addition to the scheduled workout). 


Tomorrow I'm on to Legs and Back along with Ab Ripper X. It proved to be difficult last week, and I'm sure it won't be a walk in the park tomorrow.

P90X Day 10: Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X

Today I mostly used resistance bands and 8 lb. weights. I enjoy working on my arms because that's my I desire most - nice arms! I'm feeling stronger, but my muscles definitely hurt after some of these exercises. For some reason Ab Ripper X was particularly painful today. I was really feeling the burn. I absolutely loathe doing the Fiffer scissor exercise. It seems to last forever. I'm able to make it through all 50 of the Mason twists with my feet off the ground, now I just need to add some weight while I do it.

Tomorrow is day 11 with Yoga X. I get off work at 8 P.M. and am not too sure how great I'll be feeling about completing 1.5 hours of yoga! I'm considering trading Yoga X for Cardio X, if anything at all. 

P90X Day 9: Plyometrics

Oh gosh, it's plyometrics day. Seriously, if you're just sitting on a couch watching people squat and jump, you think oh, that looks easy! Wrong. Jump training is difficult. I was proud of myself for being able to make it through a good 90% of the workout today rather than the 70% I did on day 2. I was able to do more squatting and jumping than before and with more ease. Maybe I was just better rested than before and knew what was coming. 


My pulse was high, I was sweaty, and breathing very hard! 


I'm actually crazy enough to consider doing Cardio X (which can actually substitute for Plyometrics if you aren't ready) tonight. Maybe not, but I love how I feel once a workout is finished. 


I'm already thinking about other things I can do once P90X is over. I absolutely plan on repeating the program over and over to keep up with muscle tone, but I would also like to add in other programs and possibly make up my own routines by mixing two. I've particularly heard a lot of good things about Insanity, which seems to be very much based of cardiovascular health and requires no equipment. That's next on my shopping list (except for a house and plenty of decorations that come along with it).

P90X Day 8: Chest and Back, Ab Ripper X

I very much dreaded doing all of the push ups and pull ups that came with day 8. I was able to do more push ups than day 1 (even though they were girl-style push ups), but that's better than nothing. I really struggled with pull ups again, considering even using a chair for support was still difficult. I know it sounds crazy, but I can already tell that my triceps are getting tighter just in a week. I suppose that happens when you have never worked out your arms before! I'm really looking forward to seeing my arms on Day 90, but I definitely don't plan to give up these workouts after 90 days is over.


My abs aren't very sore after doing Ab Ripper X, which really surprises me. Am I not doing something right or are those muscles just becoming used to the exercises but still developing?

P90X Day 7: Rest or X-Stretch

The last day of week one allows two options: rest or X-stretch. Since I was terribly sore after working 12 hours, slept for a few, then had to go back to work this night, I decided it would be a rest day instead. Unfortunately, that one rest day ended up being two due to another night of work and some appointments with our realtor to look at houses. Therefore, I was severely sleep deprived AND had no workout. Ugh.

Alas, the workout got right back on track on Friday to begin week two/day 8: back, arms, and ab ripper x. 

P90X Day 6: Kenpo X

Usually on the days I have to go back to work (I work 7:30 P.M. to 8 A.M.) I try to sleep until 11 or noon so I can be rested for night shift. Today I got up at 9ish because I knew I did not need to skip a workout if I'm going to be committed to this. Kenpo X proved to be a great cardio workout. I was definitely sweating doing all of the kicks, jabs, and punches. I overall enjoyed this one and felt like my heart rate was up for a solid 58 minutes. Deavin was sleeping on the couch and I had the volume on the TV turned down low enough for him to sleep but up enough so that I could at least hear what was going on. In the middle of the DVD I was surprised I didn't wake Deavin up from how hard I was breathing! Ha.

Tomorrow's workout should prove to be interesting. I get home from work and absolutely crash from being so tired after a 12 hour shift, then have to go back tomorrow night for more work fun. It should be a sight to see me do a one hour workout in between these shifts.

P90X Day 5: Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X

Felt decent when I woke up today with only mild soreness hanging around. Today was focused on legs, back, and abs. I've gotta say by the end of this workout, I didn't want to do another lunge for the rest of my life. The entire workout is essentially lunges and pull ups (oh my GOSH the pull ups...Could I possibly be getting worse at those?). The hour went by quickly, but it was hard work and Tony sure doesn't let up. By the time it was time to start Ab Ripper X, I didn't think I had the energy to make it through. A few hours afterward I went to my parents' house and walked 3 miles. My goal is to incorporate walking/jogging into my P90X routines a few times a week. Maybe I'll be able to run 3-5 miles a day like I used to for years! I'll get there. Persistence and hard work pays off.

P90X Day 4: Yoga X

I'm still sore everywhere - arms, back, legs - and it's still challenging to walk. How pathetic. I read on a few P90X blogs that Yoga X was pretty challenging. I kept thinking How is yoga challenging? It's just a bunch of stretching and humming. Yeah, you know how the saying goes...I was wrong. For an hour and a half I put my body in strangely compromising positions that were hard to maintain and stretched my muscles out a LOT. It definitely helped relieve me of some muscle soreness, but proved me wrong about yoga being easy. I still can't say that I'm a big fan of Yoga X, but I know each workout is an important component of the overall picture of what P90X is trying to accomplish.

On to Day 5 tomorrow with Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X. Already hear it's also a tough one.

P90X Day 3: Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X

Big time sore today. It hurts to walk, especially going up and down stairs. I can't even properly sit down on the toilet. I just kind of fall down onto it! Those plyo exercises did way more than I thought to my legs and butt. Arms and back are still sore. Today was very weights/resistance band concentrated. Apparently after a while lifting 8 pounds gets very tiring. Maybe I should have 3 or 5 lb. weights instead, but oh well.

As hard as these workouts are, I still continue to look forward to the next day's workout because I know they will be worthwhile.

P90X Day 2: Plyometrics

Today was a definite butt-kicker. I'm not ashamed to admit that I occasionally had to stop during some of the exercises and just let them finish it without me. Deavin didn't do this one with me since he had just gotten off work. Actually, he was sitting on the couch eating while I was doing it. I did everything but cuss him while I was sweating my tail off. I was relieved to have a break from doing push ups and pull ups, but this is some intense cardio!

As far as soreness goes, my arms, back, and chest are soooo very sore from yesterday! I've never been quite this sore before, but it lets me know that I must be doing something right.

p90x Day 1: Chest and Back, Ab Ripper X

Today was day 1 of p90x for Deavin and me. Working my chest and back (and arms) has to be the toughest area for me. I have absolutely no upper body strength, as evidenced by my pathetic attempt at push ups and really sad pull ups (which I am having to do modified versions of if I want to be able to do any of them). So far, this workout is no joke. My arms and back are already sore from this afternoon, so I should feel really great in the morning...

Ab Ripper X was also pretty tough! I've never even imagined some of those exercises, but they definitely work.  

Plyometrics tomorrow. We'll see how that goes, but I'm determined to be tone and make it through this!