Day 7: X Stretch

Wow, did it feel ever so good to stretch after a rough week! Is it me or was the ballistic hamstring stretch virtually the same as fifer scissors? I'm only asking because I couldn't do fifers, and I could do about half of the reps of the hamstring stretch. Granted, it wasn't pretty because I can't straighten my legs...but still, I could at least get my legs off the floor. I'm starting to see some results already!

And so ends week 1 of my P90X journey. I'll be weighing myself tomorrow for my usual weekly weighing. Bring on week 2!

Day 6; Kenpo X

Kenpo X was fun! It reminded me a bit of TaeBo and kickboxing. My form was not great at all. I would confuse moves and do them in the wrong order! Jab, cross, hook, uppercut, front kick, side kick, mule kick, triple axel, plie, cha-cha-cha, grab your partner and dosado! I'm pretty sure that was at least one of the exercises. I need a nap just thinking about it.

TGIF! I'm glad this week is almost over! This was probably the worst week I could've chosen to start P90X, but I toughed it out even though I'm exhausted. I just have to remain tough for the next two weeks, because things are very hectic with school.

Day 5: Legs & Back, and Ab Ripper X

I forgot how much I hate lunges. Oh, and I hate the wall squat! This definitely was not a fun workout for me. I much prefer machines for legs (hopefully that'll change as I become stronger and thus less frustrated). I really like to complain, huh?

For those of you who are further along in your P90X journey, at what point were you starting to do pull-ups without the use of a chair (assuming you weren't able to do pull-ups to begin with)? As of now, I do all pull-ups with the assistance of a chair, but I was debating on purchasing a resistance band to help facilitate the process of doing pull-ups on my own. Meaning, I do as many assisted pull-ups as possible, then do extra with a band. However, if using a chair is effective on its own to enable you to do pull-ups, say, after a month, then I won't bother getting a new band.

I'm a little disappointed there isn't an additional Ab Ripper X workout. I think it would've been nice to have some variation, considering we do it 3 times a week.

I tried the strawberry POWERade Zero. That one is pretty good too. Almost tastes like slightly watered-down Kool-Aid.

Day 4: Yoga X

I was really looking forward to doing yoga today, despite my lack of flexibility. I'm still a little sore all over, so I figured yoga would be a more low-intensity workout than the others, and I wanted to stretch out my tight muscles! However, I was a bit disappointed in it in some aspects. The first 30-45 minutes or so were a little boring to me, probably because a lot of it was repeating the same positions over and over (or so it seemed to me). Because of this, it felt like forever for this video to end. I had some difficulty with maintaining balance with some of the positions, and I don't have great form yet, because I'm so inflexible (I can't straighten my legs, can't touch my toes, etc.). Due to this, I think I may pick up some yoga blocks for the standing positions where you have to touch the floor...I can't remember which position it was, but I saw one of the guys using the yoga block for it. I just have to keep pushing through with it, and keep telling myself that I'll become more flexible and yoga will be less frustrating for me.

On the other hand, I loved how it all made my muscles feel! The stretching hurt because of how sore I am, but it was a good hurt. After completing it, I don't feel as sore anymore. Awesome! I really think yoga will be my "I hate it, but I love it" workout.

Another side note: I really like how Tony constantly reassures his viewers that it's okay to take more/longer breaks than what's allotted in the videos. That, and how he'll even stop in the middle of a set and take a mini-break before finishing. It's nice to see that even these insanely ripped people aren't perfect either. Additionally, I like all the modified moves...it seems as though they generally provide 3 modifications per exercise to make it easier, moderate, or harder. Good work P90X!

Day 3: Shoulders & Arms and Ab Ripper X

I'm so freaking sore! Plyo worked me a little harder than I thought! My upper legs are absolutely killing me. It hurts to climb stairs, to sit down, and to get up from being seated. Oof! I had to give myself a pep talk to do today's workout, I must admit!

Okay, so the shoulders and arms routine was good. I really liked it. I chose slightly lower weights to pace myself, since I believe I went a little too hard during the chest and back day, which may be why I struggled to finish sets. However, I found the side tri-rise difficult, especially when using my left arm. I'm not sure it that's because it was the last exercise of the video or because it was slightly awkward. Also, I suggest starting out with a low weight for in & out straight-arm shoulder fly. I used 5 lbs for each shoulder and it was still painful to finish the set. Or maybe I just have really weak shoulders.

On a side note, I bought some POWERade Zero, because I try not to take in any calories from liquids, but wanted something to give me some electrolytes. So far, I've tried mixed berry...pretty good! I recommend it if you're looking for a sports drink that has no calories.

Day 2: Plyometrics

This was much easier for me to do than the pull-ups from yesterday's workout. Although, this was still a tough workout. I took more breaks than what was allotted during the video...pressed pause a bunch of times, modified a few of the exercises. This definitely gets the heart rate going! Looking foward to doing this without taking all the breaks!

Day 1: Chest & Back, and Ab Ripper X

CHEST & BACK
I started this DVD knowing that this wasn't going to be good. Push-ups and pull-ups are my weaknesses. I modified the exercises by doing all push-ups on my knees and used a chair to assist with my pull-ups. I used 15 lbs weights for the exercises that involved free weights. I also took longer breaks between each move, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do any reps for the next exercise. I felt like Jell-o after the first run-through. I decided to take an extended break to recover, so I could come back strong for the 2nd time. Still, I crapped out during the second run-through despite my break. Now that it's said and done, I can really feel it in my arms, and I'm afraid of how they're going to feel tomorrow...

AB RIPPER X
I couldn't do 25 reps for most of the moves. In fact, I couldn't do any of the feifer scissors. Overall, this was a hard workout. It was one move to the next. It'll be nice when I can finally keep up with the video!