6 Months Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Solid set of leg-busting exercises this morning. In the sub den. Wearing the weight vest. Lots of little joint pains. I really need to gain some flexibility.
7 Months Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
My best yoga session ever! Aves came down to the subden to do yoga. It was too cute. She watched the guy on screen and made her best attempt to mimic him. She came pretty close and is a heck of a lot more flexible than I am, that's for sure.
Flexibility is becoming an issue. I always feel tight. So I need to get some yoga flexibility sessions in. I've got a Power Yoga DVD which has a flexibility workout. I can barely do any of the moves because everything's so tight. I'll get there though.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
No, really, I did P90X in the house. Note to Mom: P90X is *not* a new designer drug variant of eXtasy/ecstasy/XTC. P90X is a DVD workout program. But man, do I love the heck out of the couch right now. It's such a warm and wonderful couch. I can feel it making me comfortable, wrapping me in love. I just want to hug it... and kiss it. It feels like it's vibrating and I just looooovvvvvvvveeeee that so much. I'm thirsty. I love this couch.
Uh, anyhow.
Marc started P90X a while back. Check his blog for a much more thorough description. Or check out the official P90X site. Yes, looks sorta cheesy. No, doesn't de-cheese once you put in the DVD. But the assclown knows what he's talking about and presents a challenging program... even if I do want to punch him a lot for being such a punk ass bitch.
Leslie, who's doing the program along with Marc, helped me out by recommending this gear:
Bandana Leg warmers Half shirt Jean shorts And…
Your most fabulous can do attitude!
Boy, am I happy she recommended those jean shorts. I only had some negative inseam jobbies with frayed edges but they really did the trick. I felt alive and my attitude was fabulous!
Here's what I like about P90X:
1) It's challenging - In the last couple days I've done the first two programs (Chest/Back and Plyometrics) once and the ab mini-workout (Ab Ripper X) twice. I'm sore as balls. And I had to cut five or ten seconds off of many of the sets. There's room to improve. Most of these fitness DVDs cater to couch potatoes. P90X is eXtreme!!!!! (Exclamation marks because I already drank the Kool Aid.)
2) It's broad - There are 12 DVDs, each a 1 hour workout covering a different part of the body. Yoga, plyometrics, abs, back, legs, stretching, etc. Lots of variety. If you do six days a week you won't see the same workout again for two weeks. I struggle keeping balance in my workouts... I nail swim, bike, run all the time and forget the rest of the muscles. I'm hoping this'll keep me on track with a strength base.
3) Some weights - It's not all about the weights but weights do come into play. So I can start with low weight and work my way up. Again, there's a progression here. It's not like other programs where you do the same thing over and over again.
4) I can do it in the house - I'm looking for ways to cut down total workout time this year. Total workout time includes packing and driving time. If I can do a few from-the-house workouts each week I can get more actual workout time out of the same total workout time as last year.
Ideally I'll change my sleep habits and get up every morning for one of these programs. And maybe a swim. That'll leave the afternoon for bike/run. But my sleep is way out of whack right now so I've been doing these in the afternoon.
Thanks to Marc and Leslie for trying this out and sharing it. I'm looking forward to a new element of my fitness growth. I'll let you know how it goes. Well, I already know how it'll go in the short term... lots soreness. But in a month or so I should feel some strength increase. And if I do it for ten years straight I think I'll be ripped.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
What to do when you've just finished an 8hr45min workout and are hopped up on caffeine? More working out, of course.
I thought I'd give my legs some extra reco time after the plyometrics this week. These sets hurt. I used the weight vest and now find myself dripping wet and almost unable to control my legs. Hoping for one or two fast twitch muscle fibers for the effort... come on please body... we can't be all slow twitchers.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
What do you do when you're waiting for your wife to drive to the resort and your computer is on the fritz? Why, plyometrics, of course. I need to get one set in each weekend but I don't want them to hose my Monday backside three ride. So I lunged and squatted and pushupped back and forth in the room for a while. No weight vest but I got a solid four sets of plyos in. It's nice to be over the first two weeks of a plyo cycle... those are hell.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Not really so much plyos now that killjoy smarty pants Julie has argued that plyos plus the weight vest will destroy my knees. Kidding... thanks for the guidance Julie!
Four exercises, four sets, weight vest. Lunges. Squats. Step-ups. Calf raises. Legs were tired from yesterday. My core is still sore from weights earlier in the week. But I made it through the sets.
Strategic goal of the plyos is to add strength to my base. Got Six Gaps coming up soon and will need some strength.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Did a little back yard plyos session. Julie said I couldn't do the bouncing joint-bruising stuff with my weight vest... she's such a killjoy. So I focused on the squats, lunges and step-ups. Legs were pretty wasted during the session. Need to build that strength back.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Weight. Vest. Is. Back.
I'm digging the strength that plyos are bringing. I need it for the VT100 coming up in less than a month. So I added the weight vest to the mix again. It adds 20 lbs to everything I do. It hurts most on the lunges and squats.
Here's what my sets look like. They're a truncated version to speed things along and focus me on the leg strength: - 20x jump back and forth over a log - 40x toe taps on a log - 30x jumps with each leg forward for ten and both even for another ten - 20x step-ups each leg - lunge/squats - four lunges followed by two squats, then four more lunges and four squats... continue to increase until I'm doing 16 squats - 3x run up and down deck stairs - 10x puchups - 20x plank knee-to-elbows
Each one takes a quick-but-painful 7-9 minutes. In contrast to the 15+ minutes of the sets we used to do.
It was hot out. Very hot. I did 4 sets on a few minutes of rest for a total workout time of 30 minutes. By the end I found myself at that lovely place where my legs were twitchy and virtually uncontrollable.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Timed the plyos for the hottest part of the day. Good news is that while it hurt it didn't hurt as much as last time. Decided to throw the plyos onto a lazy Sunday in hopes that it'll cause a little less of a workout breakdown next week. Always encouraging to see some progress!
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
That hurt. First plyo session in a long while. Four sets. But truncated to focus on the jumping, lunges and squats. Need leg strength. Jumped over a log. Did stand-ups on the deck stairs. Added deck stair sprints in place of lawn sprints. Lunges worked fine. Some pushups but no big core section to the sets. Heart rate got way up there and the heat had me sweating a ton. Plyos hurt, but I need the strength fibers in my leg sticks.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Not a very strenuous or vigorous yoga session. Not much stretching. But I do feel relaxed and loose afterwards. A little geriatric (not that there's anything wrong with that).
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Good pilates session to stretch out all the sore muscles. My body is definitely in need of recovery right now. A bunch of joint pain and muscle pain in the shoulders. Some soreness hotspots in the legs. But mostly a general tiredness feeling. Pilates helped a bit by getting the blood flowing. Unfortunately the sauna's still broken and water aerobics was happening in the pool.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
In my second sauna outing for heat acclimatization I got 40 minutes, broken up into 15 min, 12 min, 5 min, 10 min segments. I drank two two liter bottles of water and sweat like crazy. Hope this helps. Predicted highs for St. Anthony's next week are 87. And Gulf Coast will often bring the heat pain.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Took Marion's class. Great for stretching. My whole body feels released after an hour of this stuff. I have no flexibility and after a few weeks at it I don't feel much difference but I'm sure it'll eventually work. Also get some balance work and slight core work.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Instructor was late so we got a sub for half a class. Pretty intense ab session though. Had to spell out the alphabet in the air with both legs together while on our backs. That hurt. Saw Marc lifting. He bought me a banana when he learned the minimum credit card purchase at the smoothie stand is five bucks. Stalked dude was there. No eye contact.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
First yoga class in a long while. I am as flexible as glass. I feel more able to do the poses properly as I have more core strength now than I had the last few times I did yoga. But my flexibility is horrible. It's not like I feel a stretching burn feeling. I feel a taught tendon and an abrupt stop in my range of motion. Lots of stretching and it's great for me. I felt very loose when I left this class.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
I hit the pilates class again today. The instructor ran the marathon and was talking about the heat and lack of powerade until mile eight. I enjoyed seeing people excited about running and proud of their instructor. The class today was about 30 women and two men. Pretty good stats considering that at Tech the ratio was more like three sausages for every bun (except in the bio department, where buns liked to congregate). The instructor never said so but she was feeling the run. The class was easier than last time. And for that I was glad. My leg muscles had no flexibility and were cramping on anything hard. Core felt good though. This was a good way to get some stretch and force some blood into the legs.
2 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Jumped into the 8:30am pilates class at LA Fitness Northlake. Decent class, although a little slower than the last two instructors they had... maybe it's the morning hour. I felt stronger than I have on some early season pilates startups but not as strong as I do at the end of a cycle. Reminded me of those connecting muscles between my quads and my core. On long runs those are the ones that burn so I'm thinking that pilates will help a good bit. One of the best things about today was the stretching. I haven't been stretching much at all lately. Classes like this force me to spend the time stretching. Pretty good turnout today... about 20 people.
3 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Another set of legs-only plyos. A lot faster and not nearly as harsh on the core body, but the mini workout gives me the leg strength I need. A little tentative about doing plyos so early in this high volume week but I know I need the strength.
3 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Trying to get that strength back I hit a quick set of plyos in the basement. This time I skipped the core work and only did the leg stuff. It compressed the workout a good bit and hurt the legs more because they have less time to recover. Overall not nearly as sore though. I'm hoping for two sets a week for the next few to get some strength back. And, hopefully I can revive The Vest!
3 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Turns out there's enough room in the basement for plyos if I do the squat, sprint and hopping sets through the basement kitchen and into the entryway to the garage. Used some stairs to jump up onto. Used a shoe box to jump over. Did four sets. Hurt like heck, as always. But I need the strength in the mix. Added four layers and pants for some heat training. Sweat like crazy.
3 Years Ago | Posted to: Yoga, Pilates, Plyos, P90X, etc
Up at 5:30 and into the gym by 6:00AM. The crew was already waiting. When a certain government employee was asked about her week-long trip last week she replied with a slow "interesting." Which isn't exactly what you want to hear when a government source who works with public health is talking... lol... she was just kidding, of course. All is well... she did have an interesting trip and shared some of it with us... the parts that involved arsenic. Her work is amazing... I'd love to look over her shoulder for a few weeks... while wearing a contamination suit, of course! We cranked out four sets... they hurt. Jack did a five hour ride yesterday. But he's looking stronger than ever on his third plyo session. Awesome work. Have to admit that I really wanted to quit after the second and third sets but Jack's enthusiasm kept me going. I'm starting to get some joint creaks and my back is hurting a bit. I need rest. Needed it yesterday. Needed it before plyos. Really need it now. A little endurox and some lazy time and I'll be as good as new.
SufferFest 08 Day 4
