Workout Update: P90X Day 22

 Day 22 was the first day of the recovery week, which meant doing Yoga-X again. For this one, I went up to the Yoga belly 7 exercises and then bailed out of it. But, I did do all of the moving asanas, even warrior three and the half-moon series, but I used a chair to keep my balance since I could not get to the floor with my hands. I don't think I will ever like this workout, but I can tell that I am getting better at it, little by little. Years ago when I was in better shape I could do most of the moves (pretty much everything but shoulder stand into plow and wheel). I could even do crane for about 30 seconds. But, I am basically starting at square one again. I really wish the Power-90 Master's Series would have had a full beginner yoga workout that would have been a transition to this workout. That is the one thing that the Master's Series lacked. At the beginning of the cardio 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6 workouts there were some sun salutations that were done as a warm-up, but they lasted a total of about four minutes, which is not nearly enough preparation for this workout. Going from essentially no yoga in power-90 to a very long program with some very advanced moves in p90x was the one thing I think the two workouts series did wrong. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 55

 Day 55 was the last day of the Master's Series. It was actually a rest day, so I just did x-stretch from P90x. Today will actually be day 1 of P90X, and I will be doing chest and back and abs. I plan to do the ab workout first as a warm-up and then skip most of the P90x warm-up. Overall, I liked the Master's Series workouts, but they are definitely not my favorite workouts of those I have done. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 54

 Day 54 of the master's series workouts was the core cardio workout. It is definitely not my favorite of the group (mostly because of the Dreya Roll push-ups, which are a harder version of the Dreya Rolls in P90X, which I have never been able to do well). But, it is a very challenging workout, that could have easily replaced the core synergistics workout in P90x. I plan on doing the x-stretch routine today, and then tomorrow starting in with P90x chest and back. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 53

 Day 53 was the last cardio 5-6 and ab-ripper 200. I was a bit tired during the workout, but still got it done, and managed to get a good calorie burn. Also, I discovered that yes, the original Power 90 workouts, including the Master's Series workouts, are on Beachbody On Demand. It is definitely not clear if you try to search for them before you sign up. The only indication is that the newer P90 workouts are on the streaming platform. However, once you sign up, if you browse the programs, you will see them in there. It is considered one of their "classic" programs (which, as far as I can tell, includes pretty much every program pre-P90X), but it is there. 

If you have not heard, Beachbody has created a streaming platform that has most, of the workouts that they have ever produced. As far as I can tell, the only workout that was available on DVD that is not on the online platform is the Les Mills Combat workout. I think that was a temporary arrangement between Beachbody and Less Mills, which is likely why those workouts are not on BOD.  And, I believe that at least some of their newer workouts are only released on the streaming platform, and not on DVD. 

There are essentially two different subscriptions you can get. One for just Beachbody on demand which has the workouts like PIYO, Insanity, P90X, etc. You can also subscribe to their BODI service that has live workouts and includes their nutrition platforms Portion Fix and 2B mindset. The best price is if you get an annual subscription. The fee for an annual BOD subscription is $99, and if you add BODI, it jumps up to $299, so it will be about $320 with tax (depending on where you live). You would still need to purchase some program-specific equipment (like the wall/door mount for the 9-week Control Freak program that is used for some of the exercises), although as I was browsing the videos for that program it looks like there is an "off the wall" version that does not use the wall mount. But otherwise, for about $25 per month (or less) you get access to 100s of workouts, and as long as you have something like an Amazon Fire Stick or a Roku you can watch them on a TV. Plus, if you travel a lot you can download the BOD app on your phone or tablet and do them wherever you happen to be without having to lug DVDs around like the old days. 

Anyway, tonight is my last regular workout for the Master's Series, then I will be starting P90x on Monday. I have really not lost much weight over the 8 weeks, mostly because I have not been following a strict nutrition regimen since my mom has been in and out of the hospital this past month.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 51

 Day 51 was a rest/stretch day so I did the T25 stretch. I also did ab-ripper 200. Both of those went fine. I can almost actually do all 200 reps without pausing. I did have to pause for a few seconds on the last move after 10 reps. But aside from that, I did not have to stop or pause at all. So, overall, I think the Master's Series workouts went well. I do plan on getting a membership to Beachbody on Demand to do the other workouts. I was going to wait until I finished with Power 90 since the original Power 90 workouts are not on BOD. Just the P90 workouts that were made after P90X3, and are a bit better lead-in to that program than into the original P90X workouts. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 50

 Day 50 was cardio 5-6 again. The workout went pretty well. About the same as it did the last few times. I am going to wait to do ab-ripper with tonight's stretch (most likely T25 stretch) routine. Just a few more days of the Master's Series and I will be starting P90x on Monday.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 49

 Day 49 was the core cardio workout again. I am not a huge fan of this workout, but thankfully it is just in the recovery week(s). It does remind me of core synergistics from the p90x workout, which I am also not a huge fan of.  I did manage to push through and get a good workout in. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 48

 Day 48 was the rest day so I did the T25 stretch. Unfortunately, I have still been dealing with a family medical issue, so my schedule for everything has been hectic. So, I did not get a chance to work out until later in the evening, so I picked the shorter stretch workout. It went fine, I was a bit tired, but I got through it.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 47

 Day 47 was the sculpt 5-6 workout again, and using ab-ripper 200 as the warmup. Both ab-ripper and the regular workout went well. I was able to hit max reps on a couple more exercises, and on the tricep dips, I hit a new personal best at 18 reps with legs extended. And, I could tell I am getting a better range of motion on the push-ups. So, overall, a good workout. I have one more week of the Master's Series, then will start in with p90x.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 46

 Day 46 was the cardio 5-6 workout again. As a transition to p90x, I am going to do ab-ripper on the strength training days as a warm-up to the sculpt workout, which is how I plan to use ab-ripper when I do p90x. Overall, this workout was very good. Thankfully, all of the covid booster shot side effects have gone away so I was not feeling chills or super tired like I had been during the last couple of workouts. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 45

 Day 46 was a rest day and happened to be Thanksgiving day here in the US. Nevertheless, I still managed to do the T25 stretch video. I actually felt like this was a bit harder than the past couple of times I have done it. Maybe because I have not felt well the past couple of days. But, I made it through.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 44

 Day 44 was Sculpt 5-6 again. I felt a lot better after the effects of my Covid booster wore off, so I was able to get through the workout okay. It did take a bit longer than normal because I had to take more rest breaks, but I made it through. I also used ab-ripper 200 as a warm-up since I had skipped it the day before. That worked pretty well. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 43

 Day 43 was cardio intervals. I felt very crappy because of the side effects of my covid booster, so I did just one round of cardio intervals (totally skipped round two) and modified a lot. Also, I did not do ab-ripper and saved that as my warmup for the next workout. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 41

 Day 41 was another rest/stretch day. I opted to do x-stretch from p90x, which I really like. It is one of my favorite flexibility workouts because it really hits all of the areas (neck, shoulders, and hamstrings) that I (and most people) tend to be very tight and stiff in. There are definitely a couple of moves I have to modify or skip (mostly shoulder stand into plow and bow). And, unlike yoga-x, it never feels like it is going on too long.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 40

 Day 40 was the sculpt 5-6 workout again. I did not have a ton of energy to do this workout because my mom ended up having to go back into the hospital the day before. But, I still managed to get it in, and it was a nice outlet to take my mind off of things. I was able to max out at 11 reps on a couple more exercises, so those will be bumped up next time.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 39

 Day 39 was the sweat 5-6 workout again (along with ab-ripper 200). Nothing really new to report about the workout. It went about the same as it has. I do think I am getting faster, not as fast as Tracy and Tony (who are the ones who do little to no modification), but I can keep up with Larry (who mostly does the modified/slower versions of the move).  I was able to get through all 200 reps of ab ripper, with a couple of pauses. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 38

 Day 38 was the optional rest or stretch day, so I opted to do T25 stretch again. I again modified it to focus more on hamstring and groin stretches (basically swapping out the downward dog calf stretches for hurdler stretches and then adding dual straight leg stretches and butterfly stretches. As I have said in the last few posts for the stretching workouts I can tell my flexibility is getting better, but it is still a work in progress.

Workout Update: Popwer-90 Master's Series Day 37

 Day 37 was the sculpt 5-6 workout again. This was actually one of my best workouts of the master's series workouts. I was able to hit the 11 rep max on four different exercises, one of which already had the weight increase from the last workout because I hit 11 reps last time. I will still be glad to be finished with the Power-90 lifting workouts since, as I have said before, I am not a huge fan of total body workouts. I prefer to split which body parts I am doing resistance workouts on because I personally feel I get a better overall workout. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 36

 Day 36 was the cardio intervals workout and ab-ripper 200. Cardio intervals is a difficult workout. It could easily be a replacement for one of the other cardio workouts in P90x. It does get a bit easier over the course of time, especially if you do it a couple times a week. The schedule I am following just has it once a week in the second 4-week phase, so it continues to be challenging. Ab ripper 200 went about the same as it has been. I can get through all 200 moves pretty much without stopping or pausing now, but I do have to modify some of the moves. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 35

 Day 35 was the UML (upper-middle-lower) workout again. Overall, I like the workout. It is relatively short and it has some unique moves that you do not see in p90x. Pretty much every move can be modified to your current skill level, and some of them are very challenging, especially some of the "middle"/core exercises.