One Week Down

I've completed a week of P90X2!  Yesterday was Balance and Power, and again I had difficulty with the upper body portions. Anything dealing with pushups from the stability ball I struggled with. Instead, I opted to do the modified moves from the floor and mat, which I proved to be much more successful.  I hope that in a couple more weeks I will eventually be able to do most of the workout from the stability ball.  As with the previous workouts, there was nothing that was impossible to work through in this video.  I attempted each move and recorded my accomplishments in the workout logs even if I achieved only 3-4 reps.

Last night, Damien offered an alternative to a recovery drink after my workout...a long, hot soak in the tub.  It was amazing!  I spent about 30 minutes in this hot bath, soaking my sore muscles and when I came out, my body was more than relaxed.  I compare it to the way I feel after I finish a session of Yoga.  I think hot soaks will continue to be part of my recovery.

Today is another scheduled Recovery and Mobility day.  I chose not to complete this workout on Tuesday and I think I'm opting to make it a rest day today as well.  There is something about only having to complete 5 workouts a week that is especially appealing, and for this first week I am going to take my full 2 days of rest. Perhaps in subsequent weeks I might need to complete a Recovery and Mobility workout, but my body is not telling me I need it this week.  I love the flexibility in this program!

Tomorrow I will begin with Phase 1 all over again.  The longevity of this phase is from 3-6 weeks depending on how much my body needs. I'm supposed to continue through this phase until I feel tired, but not exhausted from the workouts and when I feel I've mastered many of the moves.  At that point, my body will be ready for some muscle confusion as well as the next phase.  I figure I will probably need at least 4-5 weeks of this phase before I truly start to get good at any of the moves.  Mastering the moves and doing as many reps as they do in the videos, especially the pushups and pullups might be a goal for me to reach after a few complete rounds of P90X2.  For now, I will focus on getting good at each move and listening to my body.

Since I've already blogged about the workouts this week and next week will be exactly the same workouts, I will focus this coming week's posts on diet and recipe ideas. If anything exciting comes up otherwise with the workouts I will be sure to post about those as well.

Until next time...

Starting the Day Off with a Little Yoga

Today was Yoga and I needed it.  The positions were familiar to me from the original program with a couple of new ones added.  So I wasn't completely in unfamiliar territory. It included a yoga ab section as well.  The difference it seemed to me was that the moves were simplified and focused more on repetition vs. holding for extended periods of time. Maybe it's been a while since I've completed the original Yoga workout, but these differences stood out to me. The video itself ran for 73 minutes, including talking and demonstrations, which is a lot less than the original's 90 minute session.  The reduced workout time alone is plenty to make me look forward to doing Yoga again.

4 Days In

Yesterday was a busy day for me. It's a good thing that I had the option to rest, so I took it.  Today was X2 Total Body and it was definitely a total body challenge. I had the most trouble with the pull ups, especially since I can't even do 1 yet.  I also had trouble with pushup using the medicine balls.  Since my upper body strength is pretty poor, it hurt my wrists to use the medicine balls. Instead, I opted to do the pushups using only the mat and surprised myself at how many I could do (without going to my knees).  I feel good about it so far.  I know that I can't expect to keep up with the video models yet, but I hope to keep giving it my all and eventually be able to pull my own body weight up to do a chin up by program's end.  

I'm doing well with following the nutrition plan and reminding myself to eat every couple of hours.  I finished all my portions today and I'm actually starting to feel hungry now despite having a pretty filling dinner.  Maybe my metabolism is kicking up a notch?  That couldn't hurt!

Tomorrow is Yoga and I'm really looking forward to it because I could definitely use the time to stretch out my sore hamstrings.  I'm feeling optimistic with this first phase and think that I should be able to complete it with no problems, although I am only 4 days into it.  We'll see how it goes.

Until next time...

Food for Thought

Are you having trouble with the nutrition plan?  Here are some tips that helped me during the first program that I’ve also applied to the new program.

1. Write everything you eat down.  Use the nutrition journals I’ve created or one of your own.  It’s the only way to keep track of your diet and make sure you are getting enough portions of each food group.
2. Schedule a set time to eat throughout the day.  I set my watch alarm to go off every two hours, which is perfect for me.  I’ll eat breakfast, and then two hours later have a snack, two hours later lunch, then snack, then dinner.  It’s a perfect schedule for me.  I never feel starved or full.
3. Try to fit as many portions from each food group into your meals so you don’t feel overwhelmed with eating enough.  When I first started P90X I had a tough time eating all the portions.  I just couldn’t do it.  I’m a toast and yogurt kind of girl, so eating anything more for breakfast was difficult. I especially had a difficult time in phase I eating 5 protein servings a day.  But once I got creative with my menu I leaned that it wasn’t that difficult after all. 
• Here’s an example; instead of having eggs and turkey bacon (2 proteins), try making it a scramble by adding 1 c. veggies and 1.5 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese.  Now, you’ve turned a 2 protein breakfast into a 2 protein, 1 veggie and 1 dairy portion breakfast.   For lunch, I eat a lot of salads during the first phase.  It helps me reach my veggies portions and also fills me up pretty well.  So, I’ll make it with 3oz lunch meat, chicken breast or tuna and then add 2 slices of turkey bacon.  Now, I’ve reached my 2 portions of protein for lunch and a serving of veggies.  Dinner is easy because it leaves me with only 1 protein left, which is usually a chicken breast.
• For more examples and menu ideas please see the recipes page.

I hope these tips help you.  The first phase is always the hardest for me because it takes a lot of advanced planning to know which meal will be fulfilling each daily portion, but once you get a system down it gets easier.

Plyo-what?

Well, I survived Plyocide.  As much as I feared it would kill me, surprisingly it didn’t.  It was tough, a lot of jumping, just like the first plyo workout, but nothing impossible.  My legs felt the burn as I crouched from ready position, to fast feet, to jumping.  I felt like I was at a football training camp!  The best part was the cool down at the end, which was 12 minutes long. A 12 minute cool down!  But, after working my legs out Sunday with Core X2, I appreciated the long hamstring and quad stretching.  So far, so good.  I’m still in it and am excited to see what the next workout challenges my body to do. Although I could choose to use today as a rest day, I am curious to see what the Recovery + Mobility is all about.

Until next time...

So Sore!

Yesterday I began my P90X2 challenge with Core X2. It was difficult, but not impossible.  I had the most trouble, of course, with the upper body portions and the stability ball.  I lost balance quite a bit while trying to do sphinx pushups on the stability ball. But, I am not discouraged because I know that I will only continue to get better.

Having not done any P90X workouts since July, I knew that I would be in trouble this morning.  In fact, I could feel my muscles tightening up yesterday afternoon.  When I woke up this morning I was sore EVERYWHERE!  But, that's the point, right?  What's a better indicator that you had a great workout than being sore, especially in places you'd least expect it!

So, as I begin a new day in the program I am up against Plyocide.  The name alone is enough to make me want to crawl back into bed.  But, I am going to give it my all, like always, and see how I do.  I'll be sure to drink my homemade recovery drink right afterwards to avoid being unable to move tomorrow!

Until next time...