P90X – Day 13: Kenpo X

Bring It.

Ok, 5:00 A.M came a little early this morning, but it doesn’t take long to wake up when you’re fighting off a band of ninjas. Chuck Norris? What a sissy! But while I love all the “hi-yah” stuff this is still kicking my butt a little… ok a lot, but not as much as last time. That’s amazing because remember, this is only my second time! Yeah, I’m keeping up with it!

This is cardio with a dash of balance and flexibility. I’m trying to keep the punches fast and the kicks high. And I’ve got to remember to breathe! Coordination comes into to this too. There are some punch and kick combos that leave me scratching my head a little, but it’s only because my brain hasn’t done them before. And switching to the left side totally throws me sometimes. Just as P90X Plyometrics showed me how out of shape my cardio is; and Yoga X showed me how inflexible and unbalanced I am, Kenpo X will shows me how uncoordinated I am. Jeez, I’m a mess! But I’ve got to identify reality before I can fix it. P90X accomplishes both.

All it all, I’m hanging in there and my body is totally getting used to the workouts so it doesn’t punish me with soreness like it did just last week.

A Little Advice.

I really want a heart rate monitor so I can make sure I’m in my heart rate zone and not doggin’ it or working to hard. But my allowance is all chewed up this month.Whaaa!

Keep Pressing “Play.”

I’m feeling excellent. I’m coming up on the two week mark and I’m really excited about it. Just 10 more weeks and I’ll be a P90X grad! Then the transformation will be complete! Most awesome is that I can see and feel some muscle definition and much more firmness!

The Workout.

Kenpo X Workout Tools: Heart rate monitor, water, and towel

Saunders Stretch Cycle
Straight arm reaching torso twist; prayer squat; forward-facing side lunge; extreme side lunge; kneeling lunge/reaching arch stretch; hip-width forward hamstring stretch; lying hamstring stretch; pigeon into kenpo quad stretch; frog; cobra to downward dog with calf stretch

Kenpo X Workout
Twist & pivot; twist & pivot with hook & uppercut; jabs; jab/cross; jab/cross/hook; jab/cross/hook/uppercut; cardio break; step drag/high-low punch; jab/cross switch; hook/uppercut switch; knee kick; ball kick; cardio break; side kick; back kick; three-direction kick; side lunge with high sword/low hammer; step drag/claw/low punch; cardio break; high block; inward block; outward block; downward block; star block; cardio break; front shuffle with high block/low punch; knee/back kick; front & back knuckles/ball kick/back kick; hook/uppercut/low side kick; elbow series; vertical punches; cardio break

Check in next time for P90X Day 14: X Stretch!

P90X – Day 6: Kenpo X

Bring It.

Kenpo X is cool! It’s a lot of fun but still a lot of cardio. It reminds me of karate class when I was a kid. Kenpo X makes me feel like a ninja (in training); and I’m sure I’m developing ninja-like reflexes.

Kenpo X worked me out hard but it didn’t wreck me like some of the other workouts did (Plyomentrics wahhhh!). I even began to wonder if I really did “Bring It” today. This is one of those workouts where it would be very easy to cheat myself so I’ve got to make sure I’m pushing hard.

Kenpo X and Yoga X have really shown me that one of the keys to maximizing the effectiveness of all of the P90X workouts is balance and flexibility. For now I’m a tumbling idiot but I know it will come with time.

Bonus! Today I’m really feeling some relief from the delayed onset muscle soreness, and thank goodness too! It was wearing on me bad for a few days there. I actually went to bed with the soreness the night before Kenpo X but surprisingly woke up much more loose–opposite of what I expected. I can now fully extend my arms with just a little tightness near the elbow joints. I think my body is getting the idea that this is for real. The next day’s workout is P90X X Stretch. That’s sort of the P90X “day off.” I’m looking forward to stretching this body that I’ve spent a week tearing and pounding on. Then its go time baby!

A Little Advice.

First of all, I’ve decided to rearrange my schedule and do P90X first thing in the morning at 5:00 A.M. This just works better for me and my schedule. Doing P90X at night causes me to drink a lot of water before going to bed. That means I’m up all night offloading it. That’s a crappy night’s sleep.

This workout will be made much better when I pick up a workout mat. My shoes are pulling against the carpet as I pivot my feet doing many of the moves, making it a little tough to pull through the pivot, especially when I’ve got to do it quickly (which is most of the time).

I also started the P90X nutrition plan today. I’m at Nutrition Level II, and this is the Fat Shredder phase. I’m actually enjoying eating these days since I’ve gotten off my “modified” WeightWatchers routine. Don’t get me wrong! WeightWatchers is the best way to lose weight if you just want to lose weight. But frankly, I was probably abusing it by modifying it. I was eating about 8 to 10 points below my daily weight loss allowance just to shed pounds. I lost a lot of weight very quickly but I see now that I also lost a lot of muscle–muscle I wish I had now. So if I want to build muscle I need a high protein diet like the P90X nutrition plan lays out. C’mon! I’m working hard for a “Mercedes Benz” body. Why then put cheap gas in it? this is a high performance machine. It takes premium! More on the P90X nutrition plan later.

Keep Pressing “Play.”

I’m really encouraged and looking forward to P90X X Stretch, which is the next day. That’s sort of like a day off. I think it will be a great way to end a tough week of intense working out. And call me crazy but I think I’ve seen significant muscle growth already! I’m looking forward to posting my weekly picture with a new set of stats (don’t expect to notice a change in my picture yet). I’m hoping to see a little bump up in some of my muscle measurements. Check back and we’ll see!

The Workout.

Kenpo X Workout Tools: Heart rate monitor, water, and towel

Saunders Stretch Cycle
Straight arm reaching torso twist; prayer squat; forward-facing side lunge; extreme side lunge; kneeling lunge/reaching arch stretch; hip-width forward hamstring stretch; lying hamstring stretch; pigeon into kenpo quad stretch; frog; cobra to downward dog with calf stretch

Kenpo X Workout
Twist & pivot; twist & pivot with hook & uppercut; jabs; jab/cross; jab/cross/hook; jab/cross/hook/uppercut; cardio break; step drag/high-low punch; jab/cross switch; hook/uppercut switch; knee kick; ball kick; cardio break; side kick; back kick; three-direction kick; side lunge with high sword/low hammer; step drag/claw/low punch; cardio break; high block; inward block; outward block; downward block; star block; cardio break; front shuffle with high block/low punch; knee/back kick; front & back knuckles/ball kick/back kick; hook/uppercut/low side kick; elbow series; vertical punches; cardio break

Check in next time for P90X Day 7: X Stretch!