Tag Archives: P90X2

Balance + Power, P90X2

My Power Is Balanced

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Had an impromptu day off yesterday. Friend I hadn’t seen in quite some time came into town. Didn’t have time to get to the workout yesterday. Thus I’ll be putting two body workouts back to back in two days. Despite that I’ll say that my power is balanced today.

I’m still seeing improvements in my reps and weight. I increased both in several moves. In fact there were only a few moves were I tied myself. The hardest move so far in Balance and Power is the Decline Sphinx Plank Press. I did only 1 last week. I wrote down only 1 this week due to the 2nd one being so horrible in form. Damn hard stuff right there.

The rest of the workout went smooth. Kicked ass so to speak. I felt strong and pushed it hard. I believe that based on that I will see some amazing results this time. Beyond my goal of a flat belly.

Normally tomorrow would be a day off in the program, but since I did that yesterday, I’ll be moving into week three with X2 Core. Hopefully I’ll still be feeling strong. At least today my power is balanced.

Getting into shape rocks. I’m starting another fitness challenge in a couple of weeks. Will you join?

Core, P90X2

X2 Core Continues

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Week two inside of journey two of P90X2. All sorts of twos there. Inside today is how X2 Core continues the saga of working out beachbody style.

Normally I do my workouts in the morning. Not this time around. I had a very late night working on a piece of music, looking to get a gig for a commercial. Thus I woke up late despite having a recording session this morning. Fortunately a meeting that was scheduled for this afternoon got pushed to tomorrow so I was able to get my workout in this afternoon.

For the most part I got more reps than last week. There were a couple where I did not. Mostly because last week there was a power outage before the last several moves. One of them involves a med ball with a burpee style move and a push up. Not very effective for me. I fought through that and got about half the number of reps with not so great form.

The rest of the workout went well. I pushed myself harder. I did have to pause a couple of times to catch my breath, but I’m feeling good. Time for a Shakeology and start to think about what to make for dinner.

There is a new fitness challenge coming at the beginning of June. Will you be joining me? It’s a great way to get in shape and feel better. Then at some point you’ll be saying how X2 Core continues for you!

Balance + Power, P90X2

Balance & Power Closing Week One

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Pow! What a week. Today marks the start of my second journey through the P90X2 workout. I have Balance & Power closing week one. Improvements abound.

Comparing to the final parts of phase one of my first time through to now with my return I’m already blowing myself out of the water. In all the moves that are utilizing weight. Upped by 5 lbs per move is a pretty good increase.

There are moves where I’m going to have to play catch up though. Those are the moves the involve the stability ball. Why? Well, I was modifying in my first journey. The moves the first time around were easy when modified. Now with the stability ball, oh my. Hard. Reps went down and my core was engaged even more. Makes me think that had I had the stability ball the first time around, my belly might be flat already.

Even in the bonus round I increased weight. That’s a huge plus to get there. But then I’m already in pretty good shape from doing beachbody workouts in the year that’s gone by. I’m happy that Balance & Power closing week one has come. I can now take a day to rest and stretch and get ready for next week.

New fitness challenge coming June 4th – are you in?

P90X2, Total Body + Abs

Feeling The Total Body And Abs

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I really enjoyed getting my stretch and foam rolling on yesterday. By yesterday afternoon I was actually feeling the remnants of the plyocide workout in my hamstrings. Wow. It’s so odd to have a workout catch up to you a day later. Today I was getting into feeling the total body and abs workout.

I pushed it pretty hard in the first half. I was feeling really good. Did the most unassisted pullups I’ve ever done, that was a great sensation. The hardest thing this time around was the boing pushups. My first time through P90X2 90 days ago, I did not have a large stability ball. Thus I was doing a modified version then. These were hard. Such that my reps were very low. The bonus of that is, the only way to go from here is up.

A weight increase also happened for a lot of the moves. Despite the weight increase I was also doing more reps in most moves. Which means that next week, I’ll likely increase the weight a bit more.

Ab ripper X2. Need I say more? Seems my core or rather my abs have missed this workout. I kept up with most of it, but there were some moves where I had to let go a little early. I think by next week, I’ll be back in full swing on the abs.

I wonder if I’ll be feeling the total body and abs workout tomorrow or the day after tomorrow? Who knows. I’m sure it will be a wild ride either way. Looking forward to that goal of a perfect flat belly with no fat on it. So close. So close. Time for some Shakeology, Yum.

P90X2, Recovery + Mobility

Recovery And Mobility And Foam Rolling

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My oh my. I can’t believe how tight I got in the two weeks I took off from working out. It’s kinda bizarre. The good thing is, I have recovery and mobility and foam rolling to get me back into a state of being more flexible.

Normally I’m very flexible. Yet, maybe I’m comparing my “new” tightness to my more recently more flexible self. I was so close to palming the floor at the end of my first journey through P90X2. Today I was back to only getting to my fingers slightly down on the floor. Bummer.

I believe within a week or two though, I’ll be back and also be able to reach a goal of being able to palm the floor in a forward bend. Not and easy task for a tall guy like me. It will happen. I know it.

Things that were noticeably tight in foam rolling today: My right calf, my left shin, my right bicep, my left forearm, my right IT band, my left inner thigh. Very odd that it was like opposites. After the foam rolling though, I’m feeling loser and that’s a good thing. That’s why I’m happy to have recovery and mobility and foam rolling inside the P90X2 journey.

P90X2, Plyocide

Living The Plyocide Of Plyolife

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Ah, how I missed the idea of jumping around for a workout. Ok, maybe I’m lying a little bit. Today is the return to one of the hard workouts for me. Bring on the sweat cause I’m living the plyocide of plyolife.

Happiness is that I did not bonk in this workout. Doesn’t mean plyocide has gotten easier. No. Actually I pushed myself harder to keep up on all the moves. About halfway through I needed to start pausing in-between moves due to the fact that I started getting winded. I attribute that to pushing myself on each move to go above and beyond.

I want to see what kind of things will change in this 2nd journey through the P90X2 system if I go a little more extreme on the moves. Keeping up is no longer the goal, the goal is to go beyond.

This is my 4th time through a beachbody workout regimen. No longer about being in shape. It’s becoming a complete change in how I’m living. The original goal of getting in shape and working for looking good naked – along with a flat belly is within reach. I imagine that I’ll have the flat belly in less than 90 days from now. I can’t wait. It’s a wonderful feeling. That’s the drive.

Once I can push Plyocide to the extreme and not pause the DVD, I’ll be a really happy camper. Until that happens, I’m happy to be living the plyocide of plyolife.

Core, P90X2

Getting Back Into The P90X2 Saddle

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It really isn’t that long of a stretch of time when I finished P90X2 about two and a half weeks ago. In a way it feels like an eternity. In another way, it doesn’t. Initially I felt unmotivated on a lot of things knowing I was fully completed. However, that little break has ended. Today marks the return. I’m getting back into the P90X2 saddle today.

Not sure what it is about starting something new, but there’s always a kink or two to work out. This morning was no exception. I got started with the warmup and was getting familiar with the first phase moves in X2 Core again. I got about 90% of the way into the workout when all of a sudden, the power went off.

Apparently in another area of town there was a car accident that killed power to where I’m at. Thus I ended up not completing a couple of the moves. Bummer. Despite that, it was still a good start. I did better in most of the moves. Except for Plank Stability Ball Pushup, or at least I think that’s the name. See last time through I didn’t have a big stability ball, so I did the modifications which were easy. This time around I have a big stability ball to use and found that I could only manage three reps of the move. Yikes! Hard!

I finished early by no fault of mine. Did so with a grand sweat going. I feel good. I’m ready to tackle tomorrow and move on. Where are you at with your workouts? Are you ready to be getting back into the P90X2 saddle? Are you interested in changing your life? Next Fitness Challenge group starts in two weeks and I have a couple of spots left – join us!

P90X2, PAP Upper

PAP Upper Ends The First Journey

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Oh oh oh it’s magic. To steal a line from an old hit, I’m feeling pretty good. Another chapter of accomplishing something is coming to a close. I’m happy to say, or rather write, that with today, PAP Upper ends the first journey through P90X2.

I started off really strong, made it through the first round of the first complex kickin ass. The rest of the first complex had me backing off on reps with Renegade Row and the Plank Med Ball moves. Those in combination are the hardest thing I’ve encountered in the entire Beachbody workouts I’ve done.

In the second complex I was able to keep up with everything but the max pull-ups. I’ve never been good at pull-ups. Technically when I started all this a year ago with P90X, I probably could do 1 full pull-up. I did a lot of the pull-up modifications. In X2 I felt I was hindering my ability to do more pull-ups with the modifications so I stopped and pushed – actually pulled – myself to do them as they should be. Now at the end of X2 I can roughly 7 pull-ups in a round. That’s a big improvement for a tall guy.

Overall I’m ready for a short break before I start up my next fitness challenge. I’d like to encourage you to join me. You’ll be happy you did. I’ll push you, you can push me. Seriously join me for a May 14th start date on the next Fitness Challenge I’ve got coming up. Join NRG!

I want to take a moment and look back on the journey and the previous year. Here’s what I’ve got…

Some stats in P90X2:

Beginning stats on 01/31/12:

Chest:        39.5”
Arm:    11 1/8”
Arm:    11 1/2”
Waist:        34 3/4”
Hips:        37”
R. Thigh:    21 1/4”
Thigh:    21 1/4”

Total Inches:    176.125”
Weight:     172

After stats on 04/26/12:

Chest:        39 7/8”
Arm:    11 3/8”
Arm:    11 3/4”
Waist:        34 1/4”
Hips:        37 1/8”
R. Thigh:    21 3/8”
Thigh:    21 3/8”

Total Inches:    179.125”
Weight:     174

I wish I had stats from a year ago when I started doing the P90X workouts. Alas, I don’t. Only the pictures. Yet if you look at the numbers with the last 90 days, there’s an overall 3 inch increase in size. That’s fairly impressive. Weight wise I’m still a bit shy of the 182 lbs that I’d like to be. I attribute that to exercise, I eat well and I cook a lot.

With that in mind, I did say that I would post a before and after pic. Mind you, I’m not that vain with taking tons of pictures. However, with X2, I did take more. Personally I know there’s been change. Yet for some reason, the pics don’t seem to show as much as I would think they would.

Be aware that I posted the after pic on the left and the before on the right. Other things to note, I was 195 lbs in the pic on the right. I’m 174 in the pic on the left. I’ve lost just over 20 lbs in the year. Actually lost more and started gaining some back. In doing some research about my body size, I’m actually pretty darn close to the weight I should be for my bone size and my height – slightly under.

My overall goals with getting into better shape and flattening the little bubble belly you can see in right side, have been achieved. This is a major goal that I wanted. I was always active and thought I was in good shape. Now I know I’m in good shape.

I have to thank my friends that I knew were doing P90X. Especially Thai Ly. It wasn’t until I saw his transformation that I really decided to give it a go. I’m really happy I did. While my transformation isn’t as eye popping, it’s still there. I enjoyed it so much I became a coach. I really want to help others meet their fitness goals, eat better and be healthier too.

Thanks to my exploration of cooking for better eating. Friends have told me I inspire them to eat better. Thanks to Thai Ly, Jason Scheff, and Tony Horton for motivating me to do a workout beyond being active. Thanks to a desire of wanting to stay away from hospitals and OTC drugs and heal naturally. All of this has combined to inspire me to create this site.

Stay tuned!

P90X2, PAP Upper

PAP Upper Still Tough

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Nearing the finish line. Into the final week of this whole X2 journey. While it’s not fun to have to take a week off due to outside forces, there’s nothing that can be done about it and all I can do is move on. What have I found as I get back up to speed with X2? I find that PAP Upper is still tough.

Overall I’m doing better with the workout. The absolute hardest move is still the renegade row. I don’t know if it’s my lengthy body or if it’s the fact that I’m primarily a guitar player and don’t need huge arms, but I find it stupid hard. I tried going to 15 lbs per arm and only got 8 reps. Next round I went to 10 lbs and still found I couldn’t get full reps.

Beyond the renegade row, I find the med ball sphinx plank hold to be difficult. I made it the first round. 2nd round I fell 5 seconds short. 3rd round 15 seconds short. 4th round I fell 20 seconds short. That’s not fun when I really feel like I’m pushing it as hard and as long with good form as I can. As soon as the form goes south and I can’t get back to it, I have to drop.

The rest of the workout has been something I can hang with. Those two moves provide the most trouble out of all the P90X and P90X2 workouts I’ve done.

Tomorrow is Yoga X2 then another two PAP workouts and one more Yoga day. At that point it will be the final photos and thoughts.

Come the 30th I’ll be starting a fitness Challenge and starting it all over again. Join me! I’ve got 2 spots left for the April 30th group. I’m pretty sure I’ll stick with P90X2 for a 2nd journey before I start mixing and matching between X2 and X. I’m hoping by the end of the week that I won’t find PAP Upper still tough. One can dream.

P90X2, PAP Lower

Getting My PAP Lower In Gear

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Aw yeah! Second week of phase three began today and hot damn if I didn’t rock the workout today. My third time and I’m already getting my PAP Lower in gear! Of the two PAP workouts I feel the lower is easier, but until today I was still dropping a rep here or there.

The difference came today. I didn’t drop a rep and I pushed it hard. I will say that had to pause the DVD before the last Side Bridge move for about 30 seconds so I could catch my breath, but aside from that, I held out. Covered all the Side Bridge holds which was previously the hardest move in PAP Lower.

This makes me wonder if tomorrow I’ll be able to rock the PAP Upper as well. I’ve stated before that I find that to be THE hardest P90X2 DVD. Not the hardest moves, but the hardest combinations along with the constant moving. I’ll be happy if I can keep up for half the workout.

Join me in my happiness of getting my PAP Lower in gear. Where are you at with it? Are you exercising? Are you eating well?

I’m starting a fitness challenge at the end of the month on April 30th. I have 4 spots left in the challenge. Let’s help each other get in better shape! Join me.