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.

 

R8D66 – Bootcamp2.2 – P90X2 ARRIVED!!!!

Bootcamp was a good class last night, the weights area still not completed so we were on the floor with dumbbells and I think most of the participants are getting a sense of how much stronger they are getting now. The workout was simple:

Strength – burn holds – flex for 5 release for 1 repeat 5x increase weight repeat

To Burn:
Forearm
90 degree bicep hold
side fly hold
front fly hold
laying tri ext 90 degree hold

WOD – 10 reps 3 sets

Wallball shots
double curls

double swimmers press
box dips with lap weight

double press with simulated chest fly
high pull

laying fly
laying pullover

But obviously the big news is that P90X2 arrived on my doorstep last night. The package is pretty click, just like most Beachbody products are, there’s a nutrition book, a big manual that outlines the workouts and the science behind the system and of course a little black book of DVDs. My diet is set, so I am really just in this for the workouts, and since I tend to do a lot of thinking and tinkering with my own bootcamp class I am hoping to both validate what I do and also pick up some more great moves for class. Today is something called X2Core which sounds like it works on your foundation strength, tying your core strength to your other bodypart movements. I will try and write a review of each workout as I do it this time and give my opinion. I just hope that it’s not a let down like I found Asylum to be. The funny thing is that in the manual they give you an optional workout schedule not with Insanity but with Insanity Asylum… Interesting…

Going To Be A Great Christmas

I got this in my inbox this morning…

GREAT NEWS!
P90X2â„¢ has begun shipping to everyone who pre-ordered. Orders are being billed/shipped in the order they were received.

Although the process of shipping this much product all at once really does take time, our warehouse assures us that you will have yours a week or two BEFORE December 25, 2011.

Thank you for your order, and we look forward to seeing your Success Story so that we might be able to feature your results in the future TV promotion of P90X2!

Sandra Claus
Beachbody® Operations

You Need To Know This – Health and Fitness 101, The Basics

I guess I should expect it given where I came from…

I get asked with great regularity about my exercise, diet and motivation. I consider it a privilege to share my knowledge and in that spirit I have put together a basic list of the things that have influenced how I think. Some are my original thoughts, some are not, but it’s all part and parcel of what made me who I am today.

First, let’s get the diet out of the way.

Most of you already know my diet is paleo. It’s what I do and it is what I recommend. Even for kids I don’t see the value in eating grains that are processed and have very little in the way of nutritional value. Eat whole foods, drink water.

Eat like a predator, not prey
What are my reasons for eating paleo? (Other than losing 65lbs?)
Why I eat paleo (By Fitbomb)
Refined Carbs are Just Plain Bad  – including the part about exorphins, or why your body craves carbs like an addict craves coke
Its Carbs not fat that are the problem
Why Paleo isn’t low carb

Now you know how to eat and why let’s quickly address the darling of the weight loss myth – Cardio.

Kettlebells Vs Cardio - The dishonour of cardio
Forget what you think you know – Why cardio is killing you (especially this: 10 reasons I don’t do aerobics)
Why do HIIT – A special nod to my gym girls

The mental game. Why it’s critical to develop mental focus, strength and have a healthy work ethic. Fear and motivation are two topics that come up a lot with my gym girls, and it’s also something I see in the faces of my bootcamp participants. Fear is good, fear is healthy, fear is there to tell you that you are about to become better.

For the kids – Some things you should know…
Fear – Face it, defeat it. Over the years I have had kids who were afraid. Most aren’t any more because they know better.
A big enough WHY? Find your reason, without it you are lost.
Stop listening to yourself – long but well worth the read. PROTECT THIS HOUSE!

So there you have it for now. Some stuff I have written, some links to very good information out there on the web and some stuff I admit I stole because I think it will help you. It’s all important, come back again and again to take what you need and as you do, learn how to coach yourself through life and be the best that you can be for you, your family and those with whom you can share the knowledge.

R8D60 – Two Thirds. Time Is About To Fly.

I’m still trying to get back into the swing after my sickness. It’s not that I feel sick, just that I can’t seem to generate the same kind of crushing momentum I had before. Maybe it’s the weather, this time of year is a real pain to keep motivated, grey days, rain, cold, all of which are energy sapping and mood altering. But I am keeping on. Today will mark the 2/3 mark of this round, day 60, and I am hoping not to make it to 90 days because I will have started P90X2 once it arrives. I am hoping that will be during the first week of December and although I will have holidays to negotiate, I think I will be fine to continue through while on vacation. If not, I will just take the time off, do my regular bootcamp bodyweight workouts and wait until I get home to continue.

It’s times like these that I need as much extra motivation as I can get. For that, today is a good day. Knowing I have made it 2/3 of the way through, including dealing with a bootcamp I think is pretty good. I will have to really get my stuff together though because soon (2 weeks I think) we are going to move to 2 bootcamp classes a week. That will put a lot of pressure on my scheduling, both for the gymnasts and their workouts but also for me with my personal workouts too. It’s a lot to juggle but I think if I get it right, it will be a great class to participate in.

Time is about to really take off. I need to get the bootcamp program done, fashion a way to do my own fitness regimen and also start floor routines. With the end of the year looming very close, things are about to start getting crazy busy.

For day 60 I decided to go with Insanity and do the Plyo Cardio. I had done weights yesterday and plan to do more tomorrow with some O-Lift practice so today was ideal. I have to say I love Insanity workouts, they are short, brutal and totally scalable to how you are feeling. I felt pretty good actually so the workout went really well.

Here’s the plan I have for the girls at gym, not for today specifically but in general for athletes with injured ankles which we do seem to see a lot.
BIG SHEET No Legs

15 Full Turn Floor
10 Pushups
25 Double Twist Situp
10 Chinups
10 Burpees
25 High Bar Leg Lifts
25 Double Twist Situp
10 Chinups
10 Burpees
25 High Bar Leg Lifts
25 High Bar Toe touch
10 Chinups
20 Dips
25 High Bar Toe touch
10 Belly Pushups
10 Chinups
10 Pancake Burpee
25 High Bar Toe touch
10 Belly Pushups
10 Chinups
20 Dips
50 Crunches
10 Clap Pushup
25 Bum Lifts
25 Dog Raise Each Leg
10 Clap Pushup
25 Bum Lifts
25 Dog Raise Each Leg
15 Full Turn Floor
50 Half Turn Beam (1/2 1/2 or Full =2)

BIG SHEET Abs and Upper
50 Crunches
15 Handstand full turn
10 Pushups
25 Double Twist Situp
10 Chinups
25 Flat bicycles
25 High Bar Leg Lifts
25 Double Twist Situp
10 Chinups
25 ARX bicycles arms up
25 High Bar Leg Lifts
25 High Bar Toe touch
10 Chinups
10 Handstand Shoulder touch each side
25 High Bar Toe touch
20 Dips
10 Chinups
20 Spider with pushups
25 High Bar Toe touch
10 Belly Pushups with hand release
10 Chinups
50 Plank run
50 Crunches
10 Clap Pushup
25 Bum Lifts
25 Dog Raise Each Leg
10 Clap Pushup
25 Dips
25 Dog Raise Each Leg
15 Full Turn Floor
50 Half Turn Beam (1/2 1/2 or Full =2)

R8D53 – Bootcamp 10

I can’t believe it’s been 10 weeks of bootcamp already!

I wanted to do a quick synopsis to get an idea of what to do tonight…

Week 1 – Intro mostly chest and legs
Week 2 –  Tabata, arms, abs, mobility and plyo/legs
Week 3 –  Abs and leg agility with boxes
Week 4 –  Chest and arms plus cardio. Basic plyo
Week 5 –  Weights intro. Chest, shoulders, arms, abs
Week 6 –  Weights and Cardio. Bonus Abs
Week 7 –  Weighted Legs and Abs
Week 8 – Boxes! Cardio Shoulders and Arms
Week 9 – 20-14-8 All around weights with agility fast feet
Week 10 –  True Interval Cardio 120s/30s. Bonus Abs.

So that means today being week 10 it’s time for true interval training. That means timed intervals, no cheating, no overworking (or over resting).

Warmup x3 increasing 30s each
jog
jumping jacks
log jumps
123
heels
knees
vertical jumps

Workout
30s each with 30s rest X3

power jumps
belt kicks
hit the floor
v pushups
BONUS – Floor dips

Log Jumps
Frog jumps
step out pushups
floor sprints
BONUS – 8 hop squats 8 squat push back (then 4/2/1)

Abs

In and out
crunchy frog
reach triple 10s – thighs, knees, feet
cross reach triple 10s – thighs, knees, feet
arx bicycles 25 fwd and back
laying bicycles 4×10 on count
bridge reach triples – shoulder bridge after each one

 

R8D51 – Pick A Poison

Last night with the girls I gave them the option of doing one of 4 items. They were supposed to do 10 of each for a total of 20 in 20 minutes. I later decided that choice was not something you give a teenager so I made them do 5 of each. In fact they only made 11 total not 20 which was not impressive at all. However… I only made 15 so I guess my expectations were a little high!

The choices they didn’t get to make were:
Pick a poison

5x each one

5 chin up
10 push up
15 air squat

5 hip pullover
10 beam jumps
15 lunge switch

5 skin cat recover
10 leg lifts
15 vsnaps

5 ring inversions
10 dips
15 handstand shoulder touch

Tuesday I really, REALLY didn’t want to work out but I thought I would just go grab a random Insanity DVD and see how I felt. I picked Cardio power and resistance and in under 40 minutes I was done, grateful and relieved I had actually done something. I don’t do enough Insanity, in fact, I don’t really do enough DVD work at all any more but I suppose that will change as the weather gets colder and I refuse to go out on the deck or even into the garage to work out. This insanity DVD is good, it’s actually one of my favourites but I think I may say that about all of them now that I don’t have to do one every day!

R8D45/7 – Head Down, Blinkers On, Legs Pumping

I feel like a racehorse during a long race. I remember when I was young we used to live by a horse racing course which was quite a large circuit, I would guess 4 miles or so. There was a big stand at the far side of the Knavesmire in Dringhouses that lined the start / finish line but the course itself went around the whole area, at one point coming close to the woods where my mates and I used to play on our bikes. I remember on occasion when the races were on that we would peek out from the woods, hanging off the railings watching these magnificent animals screaming past as the jockeys shouted at each other to make room, or occasionally, laughing with each other at full tilt. Because we were at the very back of the course, it was a lull in the race, the jockeys obviously relaxed, the animals well out of ear shot of the grandstands but there they were, heads down, blinkers on, legs furiously pumping as they carried their tiny payloads towards the finish. That’s exactly how I feel during the dog days of a 90 day program, it’s more than half over, but you are in that 60-80% range where the end seems too far away and the start is a distant memory. It’s the time when you need to cruise on autopilot for a while, stick to the plan and keep your head down.

My days 45-48 looked like this:

RKC 34555 plus extra presses – With a 45lb bell, but extra 45 presses per arm
100 pullups 300 pushups – sets of 30+10 with some active rest (jacks or jog)
2k+3k runs – Yes, I actually did 2 2k runs, in fact, the second one was slightly over 3k if I remember accurately.
Bootcamp 9 – 20-14-8 –  As outlined on the next post.

Day 49 should include some pullups at the gym with the girls and then a weekend of Beachbody specials, Insanity and P90X!

 

R8D38/41 – The Return Of Cardio Plyo And A Brief Rest

Like I said yesterday, it’s been about 6 weeks since I did an Insanity workout so I was a little nervous about getting my ass handed to me while Shaun T tells me to “push, push, push” like a midwife on crack. I reckoned enough was enough, it was time to get back at it. Shaun T did not disappoint however I was very happy to find that I was able to do the whole workout at his pace without stopping except to stretch my calf during the warmup. I was so impressed with my achievement and the fact that I was able to do a legs and abs workout the next day for bootcamp that I decided (subconsciously of course) to take a couple of days rest. I took 3 of the next 4 days off and I think my body was just about ready for it. It’s funny how if you push yourself hard you still realize when your body NEEDS a rest. I am sure it always wants a rest but to listen to your body crying out for a break is a critical skill for the fitness enthusiast. I no longer feel guilty about taking a few days easy, I have learned to ignore the softness of my waistline after a couple of says off knowing that I will be back to the grind sooner rather than later.

My triumphant return was completed yesterday, even though I had made a secret deal to wait until November 1st. I went out to the deck and did the following:
5x

5 chin up
10 ring dips
15 air squats

5x

5 chin up
10 pushups
15 24″ box jumps

5x

5 chin up
10 push ups
15 air squats

It felt great to get back to work, although it was only about 7 degrees outside I still just love being out there working hard. I really wish I had an extension to the house where I could have the benefit of the sun during the winter during my workouts. Hopefully I can make that dream real in our next home. Next it’s some arms and shoulders and then a tough cardio based bootcamp on wednesday to sweat all that candy out of the participants.

Happy Halloween everyone.

R8D25-30 – Ketchup

Day 26 – Short Crossfit type workout at gym with girls:

x10:
5 pullups
10 sumo deadlift high pull with 25lb kettlebell
15 pushups
20 bicycle crunch

Day 27 – Olympic Lift Practice

5 deadlift
5 clean
5 hang clean
5 strict press
5 push press
repeat 3x with 65lb then 3x with 115lb
Finish with 30 squats at 115lb

Day 28 – off, drive to Hastings
Day 28 – Thanksgiving Monday – Chest and Back with gymnastics rings

This was a hell of a workout, I didn`t  anticipate that the rings would make that much of a difference but the next day I was extremely sore through the chest and shoulders. Not only that, my numbers for pushups were down by at least 30% for the workout. It was a real eye opener that I hope to repeat.

Day 29 – Tuesday, 34543 RKC
Day 30 – Wednesday, Bootcamp week 4 as follows:

I decided it was time for the bootcamp peeps to do some weight work. With the advent of some dumbbells at the gym and the few light ones I had at home we had enough to go around and do some HIT training with weights. I put together a full body workout with 3 basic and 3 advanced movements for each body part. The workout took the full hour and was really an introduction to weights more than a hard weight based workout. It went over very well, I was happy with the work rate and volume but have to be wary that the cardio component is missing largely due to the inability of most of the participants to move the weight efficiently and quickly.

It all shook out like this:
Legs:
Level 1
Shouldered weight squats
walking lunge
plie squat
Level 2
Thrusters
arms up lunge walk
plie high pull
Finish 20 air squats

Chest:
Level 1
Pushups
Military PU
Laying fly
Level 2
pushup on db with pull
military with db superman
fly with press
Finish 20 pushups
Shoulders:
Level 1
Shoulder press
2 way flys
shoulder burn
Level 2
swimmers press
2 way fly plus high pull
shoulder burn
Arms:
Level 1
curls
twist 1 arm curl
double kickback
Level 2
in and out curls
hold curl 16’s
overhead tricep extension
Finish 20 military pushup
Abs:
Level 1
chest weight crunch
side bend double db
turkish get up (DID NOT COMPLETE)
Level 2
Arms up crunch
plie squat side bend
plie squat twist
Finish 20 full sit ups