So the back issue passed apparently without incident however I was unable to really push myself as hard as I wanted this week. After Family Day off coaching I did a tuesday workout that I can’t really remember but I think was a P90X2 whole body affair. Wednesday was bootcamp and we did a cardio abs session similar to the last one but with variations I will have to embellish on next time. Thursday I did another P90X2 workout of PAP Lower, a workout I had never done before and which I enjoyed but it made my already sore ITB even worse. Today I took off, partly because I was sore but also because there were really no kids to do gymnastics conditioning with. It’s been a tough week with the threat of back spasms or a lengthy downtime hanging over my head but I hope starting tomorrow I can turn up the wick and get back to the serious work of keeping myself in shape.
Tag: p90x2 pap lower
R9D64-65 – PAP Lower Review and The Disappointing Finish To P90X2
PAP Lower.
Since I found PAP Upper to be, well, a load of PAP I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by PAP Lower. Having lowered my expectation a little I enjoyed it a little more than PAP Upper but I was not impressed by the workout. I found the warmups to be more entertaining than the workout itself but to give it credit, I actually did struggle a little with a couple of the moves. Here, in brief (because it is brief) is the workout:
Warmup – Interval 1 x4 – Interval 2 x4 – Cool down
Interval 1:
Step up Convict – 1 leg step up to back lunge
Skater Plyo – basic skater side to side jumps
One Leg Line Hop – Hopping forwads, backwards and side to side 45s
Tony Horton’s Triangle – Besides the disgusting image the name evokes, this is just a front and back laying abductor exercise from the 80s
Interval 2:
Squat Cross Reach – Highlight of the workout, weighted squat with a diagonal extension at the bottom
Split Squat Jump (Mary Katherine’s on Crack) – Yawn, more MKs
Monster Slalom – Think of it as wide tire runs
Side Bridge Leg Lift – the toughest move, get into side plank and hold your leg up. Ouch!
So it wasn’t too challenging but it also wasn’t the yawn fest that PAP Upper was. I at least was challenged with this but then again in about 2 weeks when I have mastered the Side Bridge it will be reduced to just another short, not particularly hard workout.
That’s my beef with the whole P90X2 thing, it’s the same issue I have with ending P90X on a rest week. This third phase was supposed to be the Grand Finale of your 90 day crusade, a fitting end to a three month journey of fitness and mental toughness but it just isn’t. Instead it’s a gentle tailing off of the system with 4 workouts, 1 yoga day and 2 rest days, not exactly the fitting climax to what is otherwise a great workout system.
In other news, I filled out the days with some RKC and a day on a spin bike while waiting for my kids to show up for gymnastics.