Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 49

Day 49 was Decelerator in X3 and Sweat in PIYO. Decelerator is basically a plyometrics-type workout (with some pull-ups and push-ups in between the plyo moves) that focuses on the explosive jump, then slowly recovering after you land. So, you will land on one foot, and do a three-count back down into the position from which you jump. It is a tough, but doable, routine that really works on your balance as well as your explosiveness. The sweat routine in PIYO was pretty much the same as the last time I did it.   

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 48

Day 48 was the drench workout again, which is the longest of the PIYO routines, and basically takes elements from all of the other workouts and combines them into one. As I said before, I think there should be an updated PIYO program that has all 30-minute workouts instead of having some workouts be around the 21-25 minute range, another be 35 minutes long, and this one being just under an hour. That would make planning workouts a bit easier. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 47

Day 47 was eccentric lower in X3 and Buns in PIYO. I like both of these routines a lot, basically because you are doing a lot of squats and lunges, and even though I cannot go extremely deep in either, I am getting a better range of motion as time goes by, so both routines are getting a bit easier for me.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 46

Day 46 was Pilates X in X3 and a rest day in PIYO. I am not a huge fan of this Pilates workout, mainly because the moves are very advanced and there is no good way to modify some of them. If you are super flexible it is a good routine, but if you have limited flexibility then you pretty much just have to skip some of the moves. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 45

Day 45 was MMX in X3 and Strength Intervals in PIYO. I think that both workouts are getting a bit easier, although they are still not easy by any means. I definitely have a ways to go before I will be able to keep up with the people in the MMX video. That one is a bit hard for me to do logistics-wise because I do not have a lot of space in my basement so some of the moves like the sprawls and turns while you are down I have to modify to just doing a burpee.  

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 44

Day 44 was Trimetrics in X3 and Sweat in PIYO. Both of those went pretty much the same as the last time I did each of them. No gains, but I did not regress or backslide either.  

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 43

Day 43 was Decelerator in X3 and Sculpt in PIYO. After a couple of times doing the modified version of Decelerator, it is a bit easier than it was the first time I did it, but it is still very hard, especially if you are using a full range of motion. This was also the first time doing the Sculpt workout in PIYO. It is another strength-focused workout that has you doing a bunch of squats, lunges, and push-ups and fewer yoga or pilates moves. If you can get through the strength intervals workout, you should be able to make it through this one without much problem.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 42

Day 42 was the rest day in X3, which I took advantage of. Tomorrow will start up the doubles workouts again incorporating in month 2 of PIYO so I can finish up X3 and PIYO at the same time. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 41

Day 41 allowed for a choice between Total Synergistics or Complex Lower. I decided to do the latter since I was not a huge fan of TS and had not done CL in this round of X3 yet.  In CL, you do four rounds of the same five exercises. All of the exercises are some version of a squat or lunge and some of them require you to balance on one leg as you do the exercise. So, it is another one that is very challenging, and if you are doing the workout for the first time, depending on what kind of shape you are in, you will probably need to modify most of the moves, at least during the first round until you figure out what you are doing.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 40

Day 40 was the Tiometrics workout and the first time since block 1 that this workout is on the schedule.  Like Agility X earlier in the week, this one is still challenging, but a bit easier than the last time I did it. I still had to modify most of the moves, but there were a couple in which I could finally do all three versions, which was nice to see.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 39

Day 39 was X3 yoga again. There is really nothing new to report about this workout. I do not think I had any flexibility gains or losses from the last time I did the workout.  The only thing of note is that I could get a little closer to doing crow (which has always been very tough for me) for at least a few seconds.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 38

For day 38 in X3 you have the choice of doing "The Challenge" or complex upper. I chose to do the latter since I have not done that one before. Complex upper has you doing five moves, for four rounds. Basically, you do the five moves, take a short break, then do the same five moves again. It is a full-body workout that has you doing chin-up/pull-up moves, legs and arms, and core. I personally like The Challenge more than this one, but I think they are pretty close in terms of difficulty and intensity. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 37

Day 37 was a return to the agility-x workout for the first time since the end of month one. It was still challenging, but definitely easier now than it was the first couple of times I did it. Because you are jumping both forward and back and laterally, you do need enough room to really get the most out of the workout, but you can modify a bit if you need to because of space limitations, which I definitely have in my basement.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 36

Day 36 was the Decelerator workout in X3. This is a very challenging boot camp type workout that has you doing squats and pull-ups, but the twist is that you are doing the moves slowly and are often doing exercises like sumo squats while on your toes, and elevator pull-ups in which you hang (bottom floor) then pull yourself to the middle and then get your chin over the bar, holding each floor for a few seconds. Then you also do some explosive moves like a jump with a freeze landing with one foot off the floor and in a lunge-type position.  The prior workouts do prepare you somewhat for this one, so there is a reason it is in the third block. As I said in the last update, this week I am not doing any of the PIYO workouts so I can end them at the same time. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 35

Day 35 was the rest day for X3 and the intervals workout again in PIYO. I decided that next week I am just going to do the X3 workouts, then will add the month 2 PIYO workouts in the week after that so that I finish both programs at the same time. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 34

On Day 34 I did the pilates workout in X3 which was supposed to be done on Wednesday and then did Define Upper in PIYO. The Pilates workout was still very challenging, and I definitely had to skip some reps on some of the moves and modify many of the moves to get through it.  It is not a workout that is going to be a breeze for someone who has not done Pilates in the past. If you are going to keep up with the two women (Stephanie and Shawna), you will have to have done a lot of beginners and intermediate Pilates, or have a background in dance or gymnastics so you have great flexibility. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 33

Day 33 was CVX in X3 and a rest day in PIYO. This was the first time doing CVX since block 1, and I felt that it was a little easier than the last time I did the workout, but still not what I would call easy. I definitely am not close to being able to keep up with Traci Morrow, who is doing the advanced version of all of the exercises. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 32

Day 32 was supposed to be Pilates x in X3, but I did not look at the schedule and did X3 yoga instead, and then I did the Define Lower workout in PIYO. Nothing new to report for either of the workouts. I did not feel like I had any major gains in either of them, but no setbacks either.  

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 31

Day 31 was accelerator in X3 and strength intervals in PIYO. Accelerator is still very challenging but is easier than the last time I did it, and the strength intervals workout went the same as it did. I definitely like the shorter PIYO workouts, and I really wish they would do a version in which every workout was 30 minutes or less. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 30

Day 30 was Define Upper in PIYO and Dynamix in X3. Dynamix is another workout that really does not have (or need) a warm-up and cooldown because you are constantly moving the entire time, but relatively slowly. The best way to describe Dynamix is that it is a cross between yoga, regular stretching, and pilates, but you are not doing any static moves where you are holding a pose or stretch for a long duration. Instead, you are doing a lot of moves where you are pulsing or flowing from one move to the next like front lunges (in which you step forward) and then immediately into back lunges (in which you step backward with the same leg). There are different levels of intensity for each move, so you can modify as necessary.