I just finished doing X-Stretch a little while ago, thus finishing week 1 of my P90x doubles (for now) hybrid. I'm basically doing P90x classic then adding in cardio from the Insanity and Chalean Extreme programs. A couple of things that I have noticed over the past couple of weeks are (this one really surprised me) that yoga-x is almost easy in terms of the stamina needed to get through it, and my general flexibility increased during Insanity.
Anyone who has done yoga-x, especially those who have not done a lot of yoga in the past, knows that the first 45 min of that is killer. It takes a lot of stamina and can really wear you out. I found, however, that while some of the poses were still challenging, I never got winded during the workout at all, and poses like half moon and twisting half moon where I had previously taken water breaks I could do. Granted, they were not perfect, and I had to come out of them to regain my balance, but I could stick them out.
Similarly, just how far into stretches I could get both in yoga-x and x-stretch are vastly improved. One of my goals for this round of P90x is to really focus on my flexibility. When I was young, I had almost gumby-like flexibility, and it has deteriorated over time. While I probably will not get back to the level I had as a child, I really do want to get to the point where I can get all the way down on the various hamstring stretches. My glutes, hamstrings, and lower back are all very tight and inflexible. My hips, on the other hand, are still very flexible.
The other goal I have for this round is to finally be able to do pull-ups unassisted. I have never been able to do more than one or two on my own and then have to use a chair or the counterweights on the pull-up machines at the gym. My legs have always been appreciably stronger than my upper body. I think that comes from doing a lot of taekwondo when I was younger with all the kicking. So I really want to try and even that out, or at least get it closer to being even.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Update
It has been a while since I updated, so I thought now is a good time for a new post. My last post was right as I was starting month 2 of my first round of Insanity. Right after that is when the semester was winding down in school and things got pretty hectic for me.
As some know I am going back to school to take math and science classes so I can practice patent law. I already have the law degree so I am essentially doing it in reverse. For those who don't know patent law is a fairly specialized form of law that you need a science or technical background in order to practice it. I initially got a history degree for my BA, and did everything I could to avoid math. Little did I know that is the best background to have when going to law school. The upside is that after law school even the undergrad classes I considered hard are incredibly easy.
On the workout front, during the spring semester I took a jogging class, which was the bulk of my workouts for those three months. After school ended I started a second round of Insanity which I just finished. Here are my initial and final fit test numbers for this round of Insanity:
Switch Kicks - 92 118 (+26)
Power Jacks - 54 70 (+16)
Power Knees - 103 125 (+22)
Power Jumps - 45 70 (+25)
Globe Jumps - 7 11 (+4)
Suicide Jumps- 10 13 (+3)
Push Up Jacks- 16 30 (+14)
Low Plank Obl- 40 53 (+13)
I am now going to do a round of P90x, with at least for a time, a lot of added cardio. I am taking most of the month of July off from work so I am going to take the first month and do a hybrid doubles program of P90x. Basically, I will follow the P90x classic program, but add a second cardio workout later in the day, which will be piecemeal from Insanity, Chalean Extreme and the Cardio-x routine. I do not want to lose all the cardio conditioning gained from Insanity, and this plan should keep things from getting too repetitive.
My last month of P90x will overlap with my first month of the fall semester in school. I am going to finish it out, even though I will be really pressed for time going to school part time and working full time. At that point I will not be doing doubles any longer. Once I finish that out I will probably use the workout facilities at school, but I will figure all that out when the time comes.
As some know I am going back to school to take math and science classes so I can practice patent law. I already have the law degree so I am essentially doing it in reverse. For those who don't know patent law is a fairly specialized form of law that you need a science or technical background in order to practice it. I initially got a history degree for my BA, and did everything I could to avoid math. Little did I know that is the best background to have when going to law school. The upside is that after law school even the undergrad classes I considered hard are incredibly easy.
On the workout front, during the spring semester I took a jogging class, which was the bulk of my workouts for those three months. After school ended I started a second round of Insanity which I just finished. Here are my initial and final fit test numbers for this round of Insanity:
Switch Kicks - 92 118 (+26)
Power Jacks - 54 70 (+16)
Power Knees - 103 125 (+22)
Power Jumps - 45 70 (+25)
Globe Jumps - 7 11 (+4)
Suicide Jumps- 10 13 (+3)
Push Up Jacks- 16 30 (+14)
Low Plank Obl- 40 53 (+13)
I am now going to do a round of P90x, with at least for a time, a lot of added cardio. I am taking most of the month of July off from work so I am going to take the first month and do a hybrid doubles program of P90x. Basically, I will follow the P90x classic program, but add a second cardio workout later in the day, which will be piecemeal from Insanity, Chalean Extreme and the Cardio-x routine. I do not want to lose all the cardio conditioning gained from Insanity, and this plan should keep things from getting too repetitive.
My last month of P90x will overlap with my first month of the fall semester in school. I am going to finish it out, even though I will be really pressed for time going to school part time and working full time. At that point I will not be doing doubles any longer. Once I finish that out I will probably use the workout facilities at school, but I will figure all that out when the time comes.
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