18 July, 2012

P90X Days 81 & 82

Day 81: Yoga X

This workout just doesn’t get any easier. I’m doing better at it, but if anything that just makes it harder. I know it like the back of my hand now, though. At 59 minutes remaining is when it first gets really hard. The active options end at just under 43 minutes. Yoga Belly 7 starts at 17 minutes and change. After Yoga Belly 7, it’s all relaxation and nice easy stretches. I’ll miss this workout. A little. But still two more times to go.

Day 82: Legs & Back

Three cheers!

No more Legs & Back!

No more pull ups!

No more Ab Ripper X!

We could add one more, too. No more “Fifer Scissors”. That’s one of the Ab Ripper X exercises, and it is without doubt, my least favorite exercise in all of P90X. Just thinking about it makes me wince. But I don’t have to do it again, until…I don’t know. Until the next time I pull out these discs. :)

Tomorrow, Kenpo X. Not the last, though. I get one more of Kenpo next week. But, definitely closing in on the finish line here. And it feels like it too. Every day, I feel better and better, and more like I’ve accomplished something special here. Just a few more days and it’s all over…

16 July, 2012

P90X Day 80: Back & Biceps

Wow, day 80. That's hard to imagine. 10 days to go. Sort of. More on that in a later post.

Today was the last time for Back & Biceps. I've mentioned before--many times now--that I hate the pull ups. I think that they're the worst in this particular workout. First, the two new pull up types are just mean. But, even on the more standard varieties, it's awful.

You see, when you do Legs & Back, you're working two completely different areas of your body. You do some leg exercises, then you go do some pull ups, then back to legs, then back to pull ups. Your arms get a chance to rest.

Not so for Back & Biceps. Here you are doing curls and lifts, pushing yourself to failure on each exercise. Your arms are sore. Your shoulders are sore. You're tired. And then you have to go do some pull ups.

Torture.

The only rest for your upper body comes at the end, when you have to do...you guessed it...Ab Ripper X.

I'm actually finally getting close on Ab Ripper X. I'm now finally doing more complete sit ups than my pseudo-sit up-attempt-crunch-whatevers. That feels good. But I'm still thankful that I only have one more time of Ab Ripper X to go.

If it sounds like I'm enjoying the workouts a bit more lately, it's because I am. Perhaps it's because I'm showing some improvement in all of them. But I think it's more likely that it's because I know I'm getting close to the end.

My frustration with P90X a week or so ago, when I decided to move on to Insanity, was that I couldn't see myself doing this for another 90 days. I like the progress I'm making, and I feel better about most of the workouts, but if you told me that I had to do Ab Ripper another 30 times, I think I'd want to crawl into my bed and lock the door.

Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration. :)

But it's definitely the truth that I will be exceptionally happy Wednesday when I hear Tony say "Nice work" at the end of the final Ab Ripper X.

Tomorrow, Yoga X. Sadly, not for the last time.

15 July, 2012

P90X Day 79: Plyometrics

Last time for Plyometrics! Woohoo!

I'm not sure I really have anything else to add. I've mentioned before that after this workout, I always feel that my clothes should just be burned, not put into the wash. Today, that was again true.

Oh, there is one thing I can say, I guess. This is definitely a workout that when you finish it, you're filled with a sense of pride, accomplishment. You know that if you make it through it without collapsing, without pausing, and with doing good form for everything, that you've truly done something special. You know that you're in at least moderately decent shape. You have to be to make it through this. It's an hour of jumping, twisting, and hopping. It starts out hard and gets harder. When you make it to the last segment, you sigh in relief, knowing that it's almost over and that this segment isn't that hard.

And then you just smile happily at the end. You know you did it. Or maybe you're smiling like that because you're dizzy from exhaustion. Could be either one, honestly.

Tomorrow, Back & Biceps. Last time for that one too.