Friday, October 31, 2008

P90X Day 55: Yoga --- Cardio X

Happy Halloween!

Today I decided to try something different and ditch the Yoga day. I did Yoga on Sunday and the calendar called for it again today. Since tomorrow is a rest day I felt like I wanted more of a Cardio workout than Yoga can provide. So, I went with the alternative workout which is Cardio X! And I am glad I did!

Cardio X is only 42 minutes long but there are zero breaks so it burns some major calories! This is the first time I substituted a workout for cardio X so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. It starts out with Yoga moves. It does the warrior poses. Warrior one, warrior two, reverse warrior. I really liked Yoga this way. I warmed me up for the rest of the workout but didn't bore me because of the length. Then it jumps into KenpoX and I start to get a nice little sweat going. Then Tony, without pause, jumps into Plyometrics. Now I am really starting to feel the burn. Then after plyo he goes right into Core Synergistics ....Superman...Banana...Superman.....

Good times! I am glad I did Cardio instead of Yoga especially since tomorrow is the off day. Sunday I start Week 9 of the program and officially begin Phase 3 of P90X. I will still be eating 2700 calories a day but the focus will be carbs instead of protein (60% carbs/20% protein/20% fat). The carbs are added because this is the time when you are supposed to get ripped and you leave everything on the carpet during your workouts. The carbs will give me the added energy to Bring the hell out of IT!!

I will have to cut down on the protein bars as my snacks or replace the protein shakes in the morning with good carbs (ie: whole wheat bagels, english muffins, oatmeal, waffles and pancakes ...etc). Dinner will be a lot of whole wheat pasta, tortilla shells, and wild or brown rice! I have reservations about going to the high carb diet but the P90X program has been spot on so far so I am going to trust it! Now if I start to gain a bunch of weight I will go back to the balanced protein and carb diet I am currently on. One other change I am going to make is to switch to a different recovery drink. I am still going to take the P90X recovery drink for snacks (since it is 220 calories and has a lot of carbs), but I am going to start taking Anabolic Halo after my workouts. According to reviews it is a top notch recovery formula and is supposed to really help with muscle growth and healing. Only downside is that it tastes like ass!

So, Tomorrow is a rest day and Sunday I jump back into the Week 1 workout cycle in keeping with the P90X muscle confusion theory!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

2 comments:

  1. Hey, nice blog. My wife and I just started our third week of P90X, and we decided to swap the yoga for kenpo X on Thursday. A good decision, we thinks. That yoga was boooring. Useful, I'm sure, but lame. Kenpo, on the other hand, is great! Love all the boxing and kicking. And for the record, you're a beast, sticking to the schedule! We're mostly on track, but aren't working out on the weekends, or following the diet. Still feeling it though--starting to see some body changes already, though minor.

    Keep up the great work,
    Matt and Lisa

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  2. I just did Kenpo X for the first time. Lamest thing ever. I didn't even break a sweat. I've been a long distance runner for years and I want to stick to the program as designed... but other than Plyo... these other cardio workouts don't do a thing for me. They barely get my heart rate up. And yes... I'm punching hard and fast.

    So I'm going to just for a 10K run (or speed work at the track) on my cardio days.

    I've done yoga for 7 years (Ashtanga and Moksha) and do an hour of yoga 5 mornings a week as is... so I'm not doing the Yoga X either.

    So basically... I have my regular yoga routine... then the evenings are strength / run / strength / run / strength. I would like to do the Plyo... it actually is a real workout. But I have neighbors below me and they would not appreciate all the jumping.

    p.s. Do the yoga. It's critical. Otherwise you'll be tight as a drum and injury prone. Nothing else in the program will get you the balance, mobility, flexibility, and functional strength the yoga will. That said... the bottom line is... the best workout is the one you enjoy and will keep on wanting to do :)

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