Following Through – Winter 2012 Part I

Since Wednesday when I did the last bootcamp it was the first test of my resolve to get my winter schedule up to speed. On Thursday I think I did the last of my Olympic lifting for the year, barring a warm spell because it’s getting very cold out in the garage. As a quick reminder here is what I was doing in general for my Oly days:

55lb KB warmup swings, snatches, clean and press halo etc.

Using 155lb bar:

5×5 Deadlift
5×5 Power Shrug
4×5 Squat
4×5 Clean
3×5 Clean and Press

That’s 125 movements which is about the max I ever did.

Friday I was supposed to do WOD at the gym but I had 1 kid and a very sore back so I took the day off. Saturday was supposed to be the first day of the Winter session being Dec 1 and all so I decided on Plyocide.

That’s because I was still sore and wanted to make sure I got some cardio in this week. Returning to P90X2 is going to be fun since I only did 1 real round of the workouts and so I am still unfamiliar with them for the most part. I am hoping to mesh them with the bootcamps and try to ensure a balanced workout schedule, and I think that taking some Insanity workouts also will help to increase my cardio output since I seem to be sadly lacking in that department. So day 1 for winter 2012 was cardio. Day 2 I decided on X2 Core since it is the first of the P90X2 workouts and I wanted something relatively easy because I have to teach bootcamp tomorrow.

That’s the problem.

For some reason now I have developed this “cushion” around my bootcamp workouts where I am overly cautious with them. I forget what it was like to do rounds of P90X with 6 days on at a time filled with tough back breaking quad burning lung busting effort. I think I need to suck it up a little.

That said, X2 Core was  enjoyable, it’s not overly taxing but it’s a well thought out bodyweight workout that touches all the bases from head to toe. No pullups though!

To review a couple of things quickly because of my back problems my last 90 day participation rate was only 60%. I also have been trying to get back into my VLC diet which has caused a little “adjustment” in my weight but that is settling down now and my most recent scale numbers are:

236.6 @ 22.1%

Not great but I am moving in a good direction now.

R9D21/2 – X2 Core And Plyocide

I have to admit to feeling lazy this past week. I feel like I have eaten too many nuts and it’s making me lethargic. If I was still addicted to the scale I am sure that I would find a couple of pounds extra. However, in the spirit of the New Year I am going to try and limit my exposure to the scale to once a month. There are always times that you will find yourself straying off track a little, the problems arise when you get off track in more than one area and don’t recognize the issues. Once you get one wheel off the road you are in a precarious position, a little correction and you are back on track, a slight distraction and you are in the ditch. For me personally it doesn’t take much, for example this week I worked out 5 of 7 days but one of those days was an easy day (Mobility) and so I feel like I didn’t get the work I needed. Maybe it’s getting used to the P90X2 workouts too, rather than the crazy kettlebell and Olympic Lifting I am used to. Whatever it is, I am tackling this feeling of lethargy by not taking tuesday off. Last week and the week before I took it off because it is the day between bootcamps and I thought I would burn myself out. However I am finding that I am underworked so in the spirit of listening to my body I will squeeze another workout in tomorrow. As it happens, the schedule calls for yoga which is kind of a good fit for me.

Speaking of the schedule, I am going to finish up this week and move on to phase 2 which looks like this:

Phase 2 – Strength:

1. Chest + Back + Balance & X2 Ab Ripper
2. Plyocide
3. Rest or X2 Recovery + Mobility
4. X2 Shoulders + Arms & X2 Ab Ripper
5. X2 Yoga
6. Base + Back & X2 Ab Ripper
7. Rest or X2 Recovery + Mobility

It’s much the same but there are more specific strength components than there are in the Core of Total Body workouts. I am really looking forward to this because the workouts that I love the most from P90X are the bodypart specific workouts. I am also going to post reviews of PAP upper and PAP lower to complete the collection.

On the injury front I strained my rotator cuff last week spotting the girls at gym and it’s been insanely painful. It’s a little better now but it meant no pressing during the workouts this week. I am sure that compounded my feeling of lethargy and in return for laying and trying to rest my shoulder I made my back sore (maybe from overstretching..). Quite some time ago I had a very sore toe, and in fact it wasn’t just the toe, it was my whole front of my left foot was sore to flex or contract. I panicked and thought I may have gout so I treated it with strawberries. I am not sure exactly what it was but I am thinking that I may have bruised the ball of my foot doing something during the summer in my VFF’s. Whatever it was, I noticed a couple of weeks ago that it is gone which is a relief. Other than that I am pretty healthy at the moment other than the viral thing that we all got during Christmas. I have been feeling good after my workouts but I still know that I could use to get an extra hour or two of sleep each night. I just can’t seem to get myself to bed on time. I think that is my final frontier, if I can conquer my bad sleep habits, I think I may have this wellness thing licked.

 

R9D17 – X2 Core And Bootcamp Plan

Every time I have done it, I come away thinking that X2 Core is more of a leg workout than anything else. maybe it’s because the leg portion is quite challenging, maybe I am not noticing the abs and core work because I am resting after the leg stuff I don’t know. Whatever it is, I enjoy it! I did find however that I was getting ahead of the workout as I was doing it, there are specific numbers to some of the movements and I find myself able to do them quickly since my balance is pretty good. At one point I found myself to be 3 exercises ahead having inadvertently skipped the water break. This is not something I am unfamiliar with, in fact I have commented in the past on the workout being too long partly due to the large amount of rest given between exercises. I could condense the X2 Core workout into about 40 minutes if I went at my own pace, and I know from experience with P90X that I will probably end up doing just that. As you get more proficient, you don’t necessarily want or need to do more volume of work, so a shorter time becomes more desirable.

It’s time for bootcamp to resume at the gym, I will be leading the group tonight with weights and lower body / back workout including pullups for the first time. It’s going to be a bloodbath, after almost 3 weeks off I can just imagine what they have been doing during their time off and I would bet it wasn’t chair dips and decline pushups!

Here’s the plan:

Legs and Back

Spin bike warmup – Up & down 10-10-20-10-30-10-40-10-50-10 x2

Air squats 20
walking lunge x 20
long jumps 2 length
jump chin ups (10 max)

MK Tucks (2 mary Katherines + tuck jump) x 10
Lunge to knee raise x 10 each side
Side jump to single leg squat x 10
beat chin ups (10 max)

squat jump half turn
warrior 3 to lunge x 10 per side
warrior 3 squat x10 per side
strict pull ups x 10

med ball Mary Katherines x 20
med ball squat jump quarter x 16
med ball long jumps
chin ups x10

wall ball x10
med ball 1 leg squat to calf raise x10 per side
med ball single leg hip raises x10 per side
med ball single leg laying hip raises

med ball burpees x15

 

 

R9D1 – P90X2 – X2 Core Review

Round 9 is here. To help you along, here is a full review / workout listing of what is in the P90X2 DVD set.

Round 8 was a pretty successful program I think, with 66 workouts in 94 days, that’s almost exactly 5 days a week average.

Not even 3 minutes in to the workout and he’s already said “but-tocks” in his Forrest Gump voice… seriously, it’s been how many years and he’s still doing that?

X2 Core seems like a gentle start to P90X2 with a section completely devoted to using foam rollers up and down your body to get rid of your tight points, muscle knots and smooth out those bound up joints. Then a short stretch of your legs to get ready for the workout.

The actual workout looks like this:

Warmup:

Stability ball work
twists, squats, side bends, lunge back, shelf stockers.

Foam Rolling – Myofascial release using the foam roller
This is a great section to do daily and even better to go into more detail with when you have tight spots or knots.
Roller Sphinx
Worlds Greatest stretch (runners stretch with a double twist) alternating legs with brief hold each count.
Inch Worm – from standing, hands on floor, walk out to plank and back
Scorpion – Laying face down arms out 90 degrees, bend knee bring your foot up to your butt and lift away from the floor. Gently twist the leg to the opposite side of the body but don’t go too far!
Groiners – runners stretch foot switch

Workout:

 

Sphinx Plank Crunch – touch each elbow with your knee while in Sphinx
Warrior 3 Cross Crunch – Warrior 3 pose to standing one knee to elbow cross
Single Leg Walk Out To Sphinx – Just like it sounds, stand on one leg, go down to hands and walk out to sphinx
Half  Angel – Side elbow stand, raise leg up and raise arm above your head
Roller Boat – Start in V Snap position, grab knees and roll back to shoulders. V Snap is a held position.
3 Speed Med Ball Pushup – Put med ball under your face, do a pushup and tap fingers on ball at top position. It’s like doing clapping pushups but with a med ball in the way.
1 Leg Lateral Leap Squat – It’s a single leg squat with a sideways leap inbetween. Touch the outside foot with the inside hand.
Core Circles – On stability ball in sphinx position just roll the ball clockwise then anti-clockwise.
Holmsen Screamer Lunge – Just like Insanity, it’s a lunge position then kick the knee through to a hop
Med Ball Dreya Roll – Didn’t think you were going to escape the weird obsession with Dreya did you? It’ s just a Dreya Roll with a med ball at your chest that you press overhead during the jump.
Plank Burpee On Stability Ball –  Keep the stability ball in your hand, do burpee but only on 1 foot then switch.
Banana Ball Switch Crunch – Same abs movement you have seen for years, pass the ball from hands to feet staying in banana.
3 Point Squat Press With Med Ball –  Squats extending ball overhead to left, then middle then right.
Slo Mo Balance Climber – Stability ball in sphinx – bring knee to same elbow. Just like spiderman that I do with kids but on ball.
X2 Diver – Wide foot standing to pushup, explode up and clap overhead. It’s a little like an insanity move for triceps where you push back to your feet.
Ryan Sphinx Twist Crunch – From side sphinx touch your hand and foot at hip level then reach hand all way under body and back.
1 Leg Med Ball Burpee – Just like it sounds, a burpee on one leg with med ball extended overhead.
Cool Down – there is an extended cool down with the use of the stability ball to get extended range and keep working that stability!

They probably should have called this thing X2 Sphinx since that seems to be the position of the day! It’s a good mix of balance, agility and strength using bodyweight and I think it’s a perfect way to introduce P90X2. I just hope the rest of the workouts are as well thought out and balanced.