/mike

Check out P90X for yourself!

Three weeks have passed since I started using P90X and I’m coming up on the first recovery period. This last few weeks have been quite the eye-opener. In a good way of course. The first week was killer and here’s a quick breakdown of the last couple weeks.

Week 2

Oh boy. Not only was I still somewhat sore from the first week, but during the second week I got to compound the soreness by starting all over again. The positive side was the soreness didn’t last nearly as long this go ’round.

I decided to increase the weight I was using on some exercises but still found that sweet spot of feeling the burn and getting enough reps in. Using weight bands for the pull up exercises is challenging but I decided to order a door jam pull up bar. Something about wanting to be able to push myself even more.

Unfortunately my flexibility and balance are still pretty poor — as evidenced by the yoga and stretching parts of P90X. There is some improvement but it’s minimal right now. My coordination is much better on the second time with the kenpo work though, and that makes me happy.

Week 3

It’s amazing just how much a person’s body can change and adapt to in a short period of time. Even though I’m not following the meal guide — I haven’t even read it yet to be honest — my body is getting trimmer and more toned all over.

Having skipped Sunday last week, I was really looking forward to getting started on week 3. I’m feeling a little tired from the toll all this exercise is taking but every day I’m pushing as hard as I can and doing my best to maintain the best form possible.

All the various push ups are starting to get a little easier and I’m happy that I can get through more than one rotation without having to do knee pushups. Well, for most of it at least. I did kind of dog it a little bit during this week’s plyometrics though. It’s a lot of jumping and apparently I wake the downstairs neighbours.

Finally there is some improvement in my balance, flexibility, and coordination that I can see. Yoga is killer but in a completely different way than plyometrics. Looks like I’ll have to hit up Sports Basement and grab some heavier weights soon.

Preparing for the next phase

For all the back work it seems that the exercise bands are getting a little too easy. So I got the P90X chin up bar and will be using that from this point on. I have a feeling I’ll only be able to do a max of five or so the first few times but it’s a great challenge to give myself.

Next week is a recovery week so I’m looking forward to a slight change of pace. Guess that means it will soon be time to take some progress pictures. Can’t believe it’s been three weeks already. Time sure flies.