DVD Days P90X to Tapout XT – Page 17 – Something Beats Nothing Every Time

Is This All For Nothing? Divorce Your Couch.

I have to sit for my job, but I am guilty of riding the couch several hours a week at the least. Turns out, I may as well just quit this whole exercise thing because my lifestyle is killing me…

Check this out…

R7D5-7 – Week 1 and I feel better already!

It was the cardio part of the week, since I had switched, it was time for Plyometric Cardio Circuit and boy were my calves sore the next day. I have to admit I love the Insanity and P90X combo this time around, I think because I have been doing other things for so long that I have recovered from my Beachbody burnout. Plyometric cardio circuit is tough, I remember from the last time to take the warm up easy as possible for the first round (of 3) and that made a world of difference. I made it through the whole thing, doing everything, which IIRC was not possible the first time I tried. I followed that up with a day of RKC because I had failed at my first couple of days. My RKC workout looks like this:

3×3 ladders
20 one arm swings
20 two arm swings
10 C&P each arm
10 Snatch each arm

Doesn’t sound like a lot and for now it probably isn’t but if you are short on time and looking for a lung buster of a workout, KBs are the way to go.

Enough of the modifications, this week I will strive to do what I am supposed to on the days I am scheduled. I do feel a lot better, but I think I am up a few lbs since BL finished and its time to get back on the slide towards 220! I have to reward myself at 220, it is a huge goal that deserves a reward…

R7D3/4 – Switcheroo

First sub and we are only 4 days in! I decided to do shoulders and arms last night instead of plyo cardio circuit. I guess I just felt like I needed to get the 2 P90X weight days out of the way and leave the 3 cardio days together. Since I am still coaching Fridays I think I may stick with this, but I will try both ways and see what happens. The problem with it is that I will have 4 days of weight and then 3 days cardio which is a big split. If I had left it the way it was then I would only have had 2 days between weight workouts. That’s probably why I did it!!

However, as you all know I am sure, sometimes life gets into your schedule and has to take precedence. The baby has been sick and the hour I see her between work and coaching is not the time to be working out. So I have been doing some workouts at gym with the kids and will bump up that participation if I have to in order to get some chinups and pushups done. The RKC is easy to fit in, it’s short, you can do it with minimal warmup and still get a great workout so that is my go-to workout for coaching days if I can’t get anything else done.

Shoulders and Arms was pretty good, I find that doing varied range and position of curls irritates my elbow so I am having to sub some things out just like I did last round. The other thing is that the tricep stuff still irritates me so I do free dips and skull crusher push ups to help in getting the kind of tricep burn I want. Other than that, it’s a good workout with decent pace and enough variety to cover all the major areas. With the RKC giving me a lot of shoulder work, this is a good supplement too.

R7D1/2 I Felt That – It’s Up To Me.

June 8 2011.

“I felt that!” said Tony after the workout finished. “You and me both” I thought.

Maybe I’m nostalgic to the core, maybe the memory of my first round of P90X still wafts through my mind and convinces me that it was better than it was… or maybe P90X is really that good. Whatever it is, it was with great affection and excitement that I put the DVD for Chest and Back into the player last night and got ready to bring it once again. As usual, P90X did not disappoint and Tony with his inappropriate “choke pulling” jokes and campy effervescent attitude was just as annoying and amusing as ever. The workout was as hard as I needed, I killed most of my old numbers which was a bit of a surprise but a nice indicator that things are still on track. I do find nowadays though that my wrists are more sore than they used to be and my elbow hurts like hell when I do reverse chin ups even though I am a LOT lighter than I was during my first round almost 2 years ago.

That reminds me… I have finally managed to put a long and probably very boring history of my weight issues in a single page here. It’s a long story, one which I didn’t even realize sheds light on what my problems have been in the past. It also shows me that even though I am on the right path, and have been for a couple of years, sometimes you can be on the right path, but going the wrong way!

After completing that exercise I actually feel like I am finally doing everything right. Being back with Tony, training with Pavel and even the occasional hour with ShaunT feels like the right thing at the right time. Chest and Back last night made me into a believer once again, controlling my own physical destiny with a system that I have designed and I am comfortable with. Not only that, but being able to push myself harder than the people on the screen, being able to outpace them at my age is something of which I can be proud. Ending up in a puddle of sweat after screaming my way through another P90X workout plus Ab Ripper X makes me feel amazing! So what if it has taken me almost 2 years to be able to take before and after photos, the greatest thing of all is that I made it here, I made it to now and what comes next is up to me.

21 Days Was Enough. Time For Round 7.

I am surprised and a little disappointed in Insanity Asylum. It was an OK workout but I think that the ladder and the bands made it a little gimmicky, more so than I could tolerate. Sure, agility ladders have a place, but you can’t expect to build a workout around one, especially not when you are aiming at an audience that is comprised of P90X and Insanity grads. It was an OK system, I think if it was the first Beachbody product I had bought it would have held my attention longer but the fact that they provided a p90X and Insanity hybrid says to me that they knew the product wouldn’t stand on it’s own for most people. That said, I will be using a couple of the workouts in my new SuperHybrid workout (that I really need a better name for).

It’s almost Monday, so time for a change. Not only that, my daughter is now into her 1’s having turned 1 this weekend so it’s a great time for things to move to the next level. In fact , speaking of time, it is almost 2 years that I have been posting my progress and workouts here, in 13 days I will move into year 3. It’s amazing how time flies.

So welcome to R7, let’s hope that this time I can make it through to the 90 day line, or at least a healthy percentage thereof. I think with the plan firmly in place as it is and a wide variety of workouts, this may be the one!

This week, brought to you by the number 7.

Monday: RKC 10 minute 25 swings, 5 min TGU, 5 min C&P, 10 snatch
Tuesday: Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
Wednesday: RKC 10 minute 25 swings, 5 min TGU, 5 min C&P, 10 snatch
Thursday: Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Friday: Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
Saturday: Pure Cardio
Sunday: FOY Yoga With Tony

By the way, if you want to join in and you have 90 days and a bag full of energy to spare (and the P90X, Insanity and Insanity Asylum videos and a couple of kettlebells) then come along for the ride and let’s see how much pain we can inflict on ourselves in the name of feeling young and strong!!!

P90X, Insanity, Insanity:Asylum, RKC, Insanity:Asylum/P90X Hybrid Schedules

I finally got around to doing this. I have included, on one page, the schedule for P90X Classic, Insanity, Insanity Asylum, Insanity Asylum P90X Hybrid and the RKC Minimum and RKC Rite of Passage (which is 12 weeks total).

I hope to build a true hybrid system from this including some workouts from each discipline, however this leaves no time for Crossfit type movements including Olympic lifting, wallball, running, sprints etc. However, there are plenty of rest days in there that I can do a quick WOD style workout with deadlifts, clean and jerk etc if I feel the need.

I wasn’t able to find this table or anything even close to it on the internet anywhere so I hope it will come in useful for people searching for a comparison chart of the schedules.

I have tried many times to find a way to get it to display here in the blog but it appears like it just won’t cooperate.

So, you will have to view it HERE!

If you want to stick around here I have cut and pasted the schedules below, it’s not pretty, I am not proud to do it this way but I figure you can format it yourself, I already did all the hard work for you! 🙂

Classic P90X

Fit Test

Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
Plyometrics
Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
Yoga X
Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Kenpo X
Rest / Stretch X

Yoga X
Core Synergistics
Kenpo X
X Stretch
Core Synergistics
Yoga X
Rest

Chest, Shoulders & Tris, Ab Ripper X
Plyometrics
Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X
Yoga X
Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Kenpo X
Rest / Stretch X

Yoga X
Core Synergistics
Kenpo X
X Stretch
Core Synergistics
Yoga X
Rest

Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
Plyometrics
Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
Yoga X
Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Kenpo X
Rest / Stretch X

Chest, Shoulders & Tris, Ab Ripper X
Plyometrics
Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X
Yoga X
Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Kenpo X
Rest / Stretch X

Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
Plyometrics
Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
Yoga X
Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Kenpo X
Rest / Stretch X

Yoga X
Core Synergistics
Kenpo X
X Stretch
Core Synergistics
Yoga X
Rest

Insanity

Fit Test
Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Cardio Power Resistance
Cardio Recovery
Pure Cardio
Plyometric Cardio Circuit
OFF

Cardio Power & Resistance
Pure Cardio
Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Cardio Recovery
Cardio Power & Resistance
Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs
Off

Fit Test
Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs
Cardio Recovery
Cardio Power & Resistance
Plyometric Cardio Circuit
OFF

Pure Cardio & Abs
Cardio Power & Resistance
Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Cardio Recovery
Pure Cardio & Cardio Abs
Plyometric Cardio Circuit
OFF

Cardio Core and Balance
Cardio Core and Balance
Cardio Core and Balance
Cardio Core and Balance
Cardio Core and Balance
Cardio Core and Balance
OFF

Fit Test & Max Interval Circuit
Max Interval Plyo
Max Cardio Conditioning
Max Recovery
Max Interval Circuit
Max Interval Plyo
OFF

Max Cardio Conditioning
Max Interval Circuit
Max Interval Plyo
Max Recovery
Max Cardio Conditioning & Abs
Core Cardio & Balance

Fit Test & Max Interval Circuit
Max Interval Plyo
Max Cardio Conditioning & Abs
Max recovery
Max Interval Circuit

Max Interval Plyo
Max Cardio Conditioning & Abs
Max Interval Circuit
Core Cardio & Balance
Max Interval Plyo
Max Cardio Conditioning & Abs
Fit Test

Insanity Asylum

Fit Test
Speed and Agility
Strength
Back to Core
Vertical Plyo
OFF
Speed and Agility
Strength

Back to Core
Vertical Plyo
Relief
Game Day
Back to Core
Strength
Relief

Speed and Agility
Vertical Plyo
Strength
Relief
Game Day / Overtime
Vertical Plyo
Back to Core

OFF
Speed and Agility
Strength
Game Day / Overtime
Vertical Plyo
Back to Core
Relief

Speed and Agility
Fit Test

Insanity Asylum P90X Hybrid

Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
Vertical Plyo
Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
Yoga X
Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Speed and Agility
OFF

Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X
Vertical Plyo
Chest, Shoulders & Tris, Ab Ripper X
Speed and Agility
Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Game Day / Overtime
OFF

Strength
Vertical Plyo
Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
Speed and Agility
Strength
Game Day / Overtime
OFF

Strength
Vertical Plyo
Back to Core
Speed and Agility
Strength
Game Day / Overtime
Yoga X

Speed and Agility
Fit Test

Russian Kettlebell Challenge (Minimum and Rite Of Passage)

Squats Halos Pumps (10min) Daily Warmup

12 minutes x 20 swings plus active rest
5 minutes Turkish Get Ups
OFF
12 minutes x 20 swings plus active rest
5 minutes Turkish Get Ups
OFF
OFF

12 minutes x 20 swings plus active rest
5 minutes Turkish Get Ups
OFF
12 minutes x 30 swings plus active rest
5 minutes Turkish Get Ups
OFF
OFF

12 minutes x 40 swings plus active rest
5 minutes Turkish Get Ups
OFF
12 minutes x 40 swings plus active rest
5 minutes Turkish Get Ups
OFF
OFF

12 minutes x 50 swings plus active rest
5 minutes Turkish Get Ups
OFF
12 minutes x 50 swings plus active rest
5 minutes Turkish Get Ups
OFF
OFF

RITE OF PASSAGE STARTS WEEK 5

3×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
3×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
3×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
OFF

4×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
4×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
4×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
OFF

5×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
5×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
5×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
OFF

5×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
5×4 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
5×5 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
OFF
5×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
5×4 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
5×5 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
OFF
5×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
5×4 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
5×5 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
OFF
5×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
5×4 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
5×5 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
OFF
5×3 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
5×4 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
5×5 Clean and Press Ladders Plus Dice Roll Snatches
Variety
OFF

R6 I:A D18 â€“ If You’re Bored Then You’re Boring (RKC To The Rescue)

If you’re bored then you’re boring – Harvey Danger, Flagpole Sitta

My high hopes for IA are not being met. I am coming to the realization that it’s not what I needed and certainly not what I expected. So instead of following the schedule I am patching together IA, RKC and even P90X and Olympic Style lifts to stave off the boredom.

I have realized why the Insanity Asylum program is only 30 days, because it’s boring. That’s right, I said it. You really only have 3 workouts that you can do that are of any functional use on a repetitive basis, I don’t count Game Day because it is more of a gimmick than a workout. Although it is a tough workout I don’t think is has value as a weekly repetitive workout. So left with a choice of 3 workouts, how could you possible go to 90 days? So I think that I am already about to jump ship on Round 6 which was planned to be 30 days and go into the Insanity Asylum and P90X hybrid. They outline the schedule as follows (according to online sources which I will check this evening):

Weeks 1-3

Monday- Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
Tuesday- Plyometric Cardio Circuit
Wednesday- Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
Thursday- Pure Cardio
Friday- Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Saturday- Cardio Power & Resistance
Sunday- Rest, Yoga, or Stretch

Week 4– Recovery Week

Monday- Cardio Recovery
Tuesday- Core Synergistics
Wednesday- Yoga X
Thursday- Core Cardio & Balance
Friday-Â Kenpo X
Saturday- Stretch X
Sunday- Rest

Weeks 5-8

Monday- Chest, Shoulders, &Â Tris, Cardio Abs
Tuesday- Max Interval Plyo
Wednesday- Back & Biceps, Cardio Abs
Thursday- Max Interval Circuit
Friday- Legs & Back, Cardio Abs
Saturday- Max Recovery
Sunday- Rest, Yoga, or Stretch

Week 9– Recovery Week (Same as above)

Weeks 10-12

Monday- Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
Tuesday- Max Cardio Conditioning
Wednesday- Shoulders & Arms, Cardio Abs
Thursday- Max Interval Circuit
Friday- Legs & Back, Ab Ripper X
Saturday- Max Recovery
Sunday- Rest, Yoga, or Stretch

Week 13– Recovery Week (Same as above)

Much as I hate the recovery week at the end, I am signed up to do Warrior Dash in 5 weeks so I think maybe a week to finish IA and then 4 weeks of hybrid will get me within my fitness goal. Add to that some RKC which I just can’t live without and some running (ugh) then I should be as ready as possible…

R6 I:A D17 – The Punishment

It was almost a week before I got to do Vertical Plyo. I had a serious stomach bug for a few days and was not able to get to the basement to do much of anything. So last night, after re-arranging the basement furniture for the new “baby nook” play area, I launched into VP. It was not just hard, it was brutally embarrassing. Since I have to do the Warrior Dash in about 6 weeks I definitely need to step it up because last night was a joke. Granted, I had been off a week and had been sick but still it was like I was back at P90X Day 1 trembling and sweating in a disgusting pile on the floor. Still, I did it knowing that it was the only way to get back to where I was just a short week ago. I plan to get at least 5 days in a row to get my wind back and get my strength back so we will see how that plays out. Thank God I chose to leave the couch in the basement, I think it may come in handy the next few days!

All that remains now in the vein of finishing the whole workout scheme is to build the baby kitchen, move the inversion table to the garage, get the fish tank out of the garage along with the headboard my wife wants to “create” in her “spare time” and clear out some extra space for an olympic bar and some weights to set up a mini Crossfit box in my garage. That’s all. Plus some parenting…

R6 I:A Day 10 – Relief (I Discovered The Truth) It’s Gameday (plus bonking)

Truth is, for me at least Insanity:Asylum is going to turn out to be a filler for other things rather than a program by itself. I am finding that my love of the RKC and associated strength training has a hold on me I can’t avoid and as such I find no value in Back to Core, Relief and so on. It is probably better for me to use I:A workouts in order but with RKC and Olympic lifting as my mainstay. I had hoped that I:A was going to be a standalone program much like P90X was but I have to admit as a full blown schedule I am a little disappointed. I am not, however, disappointed in the workouts that I like, both strength and Vertical Plyo have earned a place in my schedule for now along with speed and agility (especially since my rope jumping is improving). I am hoping Game Day will prove to be the same way and if it does, then I at least have 4 valuable cardio workouts that are complex multiple muscle group movements, work my whole body in a way that is functional and challenging and are fun to complete.

So I took on Game Day with theÂ sameÂ vigor that I have attacked everything else so far, only to find that was a mistake. My tips would be to make sure you haveÂ eatenÂ 2 hours before and have fluids on hand. Not only that, but try to take it a little easy the first few rounds because if you don’t you may find that like me you bonk around the 50 minute mark. It was a substantial bonk too… It’s too bad because I was really starting to enjoy the workout. It is a little manic on the different sport aspect but I found it challenging and interesting which always makes the time fly.

I had done some extra warmups doing my jump rope practice and maybe that was my downfall. Whatever it was, when we got off the floor after swimming (yes, I didn’t mis-spell that, we were swimming) I suddenly cooled off. It was a bizarre feeling too, it’s like my body suddenly said “that’s enough for today” and pushed me into relax and cool down mode. Maybe it was because I hadn’t eaten for about 5 hours too but in all honesty, that shouldn’t have mattered. I think next time I do it I will find out if it was just me, the bonk or the workout.

All things considered though, the workout was good. I think after a few rounds I may get tired of the seemingly random and bizarre choices of sports but that said, any time you do something that seems too “busy” it usually means you won’t get sick of it for a while. Colour me hopeful. I was a little disappointed in myself for not finishing but then again since it was supposed to be Relief day anyway I won’t complain. I think today due to short time constraints that I will do relief, go to coaching and then tomorrow pick up with Strength since I have vetoed Back To Core.

R6 Insanity:Asylum 1.8 â€“ Back To Core (sucks). Chihuahua of Donkeys

So my wife is not impressed with my admission that I want to reclaim my handstand ability. I told her it was more like donkey kicks and realizing that she may not know about the Shetland Pony I was reduced to comparing myself to a very small donkey, the Chihuahua of donkeys if you will. It was a mute point for today because it was time for Back to Core which is now my least favourite workout on IA and in fact may be the worst workout video in the entire series of P90X, Insanity and IA. I would go so far as to say it is worse than P90X Kenpo and that is really saying something. It is a weird, disjointed attempt to work the back without pull ups,Â somethingÂ that is just not going to cut it at this level. The fact that there are pull up bar exercises in the other DVDs reveals that you should have a pull up bar and if you do, use the damn thing. Doing lat work with bands is something I would expect from P90 or one of the other female oriented videos since they seem to shy away from the art of the pull up. This video is almost like a prequel to IA, it is a gentle, pedantic stroll through exercises that either don’t have the range or breadth to be of much use or would be more at home during a yoga session. Half way through the workout I realized I was angry. This was not what I signed up for by any measure. So this will have been my last foray into the Back To Core DVD. I think instead I will do deadlifts, chin ups and ARX, at least then I won’t end up frustrated and angry at Shaun T for what I can only surmise is a sell out filler DVD of the set.

Tomorrow is Vertical Plyo, that should cheer me up!