P90X Chest and Back

P90X Chest and Back

Went well tonight upped some of my weights and reps much better too!

My push up numbers I kept mostly the same but did pretty much all of them on toes and just went shallow when they got tough so pleased with that.

T25 Beta Rip't Circuit and Aplha Speed 1.0

Hope everyone had a great Christmas?? 

I didn't get back to yesterday as I hoped as my mum was really poorly and after 36 hours of no food at all, finally got something to stay down and she's on the mend thank goodness. 

I was gonna do P90X Chest and back but she didn't want any weights clanging so a changed it up and did T25 Beta Rip't Circuit (with 2 x 3kg) and then because tomorrow is sunday and another rest day I chased it with Aplha Speed 1.0. Loved it and needed it ;)

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

I hope you all have a special day and get everything you wish for!

TurboFire Fire 30 + Stretch 10

TurboFire Fire 30 + Stretch 10

So I tried this today for the first time and was ok. The choreography s pretty fast paced even in the 'New to Class' section but I gave it a good go.

It will better next time , as is the same with all first time DVD's - it's like wow what was that but after  a few more goes you can into it and really start to enjoy it.

Burnt a few calories so something is working so when I get the moves down should be much better and burn even more lol

P90X Legs and Back

P90X Legs and Back

This is a great workout but tonight I had to cut it short as we had visitors arrive earlier than expected ;(

So I skipped the iso lunges, speed squats and a couple of others near the end so that I could go meet and great.

Still enjoyed what I did, I didn't stretch as much as normal and hope I don't regret it tomorrow.

Piyo Core

Piyo Core

Wow this was tough tonight - I really struggled in the latter stages  

I know I'm a little tired still but boy I spent a fair bit of this one resting  so I look forward to getting better at this one!

Good stuff but for me tough!

P90X Shoulders and Arms

Went out the other night and due to severe lack of sleep rested yesterday but back at it today.

P90X Shoulders and Arms

Great workout, love it!!!

T25 Speed 2.0 + Stretch

T25 Speed 2.0 + Stretch

WOW!!! If someone said to me I could have done that 6 months ago I would have laughed at them!! 

I did it and kept going all the way through, never stopped once - I still can't quite believe it  

When I previewed it I thought I'll be flaked out about half way through but nope I nailed it!!!!

Chased it with Stretch too, holding the hip flexor stretches was tough on my tired legs but the rest felt great 

P90X Chest and Back

P90X Chest and Back

The old ones are the best!!!!

This really is a great strength workout - Loved it!!!

Pleased with my numbers, pushed hard and I feel great   

My wall mounted pull up bar with the chin up max assist works a dream too!!

T25 Beta Core Cardio

So it should have been P90 Saturday special to day but my dvd drive wouldn't read the disc grrr, so I tried another new dvd player, nope wouldn't see it either, cleaned tried and tried again = so frustrating! 

I tried my mac pro and it only ate the disc and wouldn't give it back !!!!

Time was cracking on so I gave up on it and tried Sweat C instead.
It was ok but the MMA moves are really lame by comparison to MMX or even Kenpo X. They didn't flow and it just annoyed me. The mountain climber got my heart rate up a little but that was about it. 
I've obviously recovered well this week taking it easy and I needed more. At around 14 mins in (about 2 moves before half time for 30 sec beak before doing it all again) I pressed eject!!! Never done that on a TH disc before but it just wasn't giving me what I needed!

So I decided to try T25 Beta Core Cardio (I vaguely remember the sat special being cardio but very core orientated with squat twists and the like so it seemed a good sub and realy needed to push myself  )

It was brill, I loved it. It was pretty tough, mainly for me as usual the plank work - new moves to me plank and tap leg out, then tap hand out - I always feel it in my shoulders  I really struggled and just more confirmation that I need to work on this weakness.
But I pushed as much as I could and sweated buckets and felt great afterwards  

I really didn't think I would like Shaun T but his workouts give me something that no other ever has!!! I know I would struggle 5 days a week but a week without them and I'm craving the high  

I've def. made my mind up that P90 are, for me, nice recovery workouts. A mix of B,C & Speed Sculpt and Sweat will give me a nice recovery week when ever I feel the need. I always struggle with recovery weeks but these will still allow me to keep my body moving but at a much less intensity which is perfect for a light/recovery week!

So I've decided to go back to my roots with P90X weight days Mon, Wed, Fri and do T25 and PIyo Tues, Thurs & Sat.  May try a little Turbo Fire in there too.

P90 Sculpt C

P90 Sculpt C

I really couldn't face doing another Sculpt A again this week and really need something a little more taxing so I went for Sculpt C and it was pretty good!

Some familiar stuff like arch presses, balance arch press, preacher curls, bird dog crunch push ups, eccentric curls and eccentric tricep kick backs and diving dolphins.
But some new moves in there too like Sweeping Crescent lunges, Warrior 2 to 1/2 moon, Back stabbers, Hero Row, Balance Row (which I swopped for Chinup/pullup), Supine Curls, (which I swopped for Chin ups) and punch push ups!

So some really good moves and some not so much but overall good fun, I really enjoyed it. I look forward to doing this one again 

P90 Sweat A + Ab Ripper A

P90 Sweat A + Ab Ripper A

Went well tonight, I got my knees up during the lateral runs and started some of the MMA combos before time just to kick it up a little lol. I'm really missing the high of Shaun T - who'd have thought it  

But these same workouts 2-3 times a week are not for me - I really do like variety!
Also from the last few weeks I noticed my glutes had firmed up nicely and they are beginning to soften again  

Ab Ripper went well again too - got more down with better form but struggled though the bug crush one (cant remember what he calls it).

P90 Sculpt A

Today I got new chin up bar mounted to the wall and it's brill - total bargain for£15! (It gives me std, wide and narrow grip pull up, chin up and even neutral grip) I even tested out as soon as it was up and managed a chin up with a couple of toes on the wall  

P90 Sculpt A

My push ups felt stronger tonight, I upped a couple of the weights and got more assisted chin up and pull ups done (on my new bar!). My form is much better and feels smoother and more upright than using the doorway bar - I'm just too tall to use it with the assist.

16 reps still takes ages and not sure that it would do much for me but I have to be honest from the rip cage up I feel a little stockier and sturdier already  

30 mins was over pretty quickly and I was in one way looking for more but for newbies it's a good time and if I'm taking it easy like I am this week then it's perfect!

Doing this same workout 3 times a week is definitely going to get very boring very quickly so will be mixing it up next week for sure!

P90 Sweat A + Ab Ripper A

P90 Sweat A + Ab Ripper A

Pretty easy going this one - some light punching routines, press jacks, side lunges, lateral runs and some sprawls - the sprawls always get the blood pumping and and the breath going for me  but I kept up  

Since I've been doing T25 everything else cardio wise seems fairly easy at the minute  

So I have to say this is a nice recovery workout in my workout arsenal - gets the body moving without being crazy hard.

Ab Ripper A is very good, makes the abs burn!! I just about managed all the reps in this today - a couple I skipped because the burn was just took much 

P90 Sculpt A + Turbo Fire Stretch 10

P90 Sculpt A + Turbo Fire Stretch 10

Quiet enjoyed this one tonight, the iso holds on all the squats and lunges are pretty tough and I still think this is tough for first timers!

I swopped out the chin pull and rocket row for assisted chin ups and pull ups so they felt much better to me. My door way bar is still low and I'm waiting on delivery of a new wall mounted pull up bar - which should be great  real bargain for £15 I thought!

Got my weights about right on the curls, kick backs and presses but 16 reps seem to take an age when you are used to doing 8-12 lol, he makes us do them slow with a short iso hold and boy they burn!!

Tried out Turbo Fire Stretch 10 just to add a bit of something to the 30 odd mins with Tony. Nice title stretch too, she even has us doing some preventative work for the rotator cuff muscles which I think is a great idea as it's a very critical and often over looked muscle.

P90 Sweat B + Ab Ripper B

P90 Sweat B + Ab Ripper B

Well this was so much fun tonight.  It was great to do some punching and kicking, some tires (with nice high knees to my surprise - thank you Shaun T) I even kept up with the sprawls  and a few squats. I smashed it all...except the mountain climbers - they really show up my upper body lack  

When I can do straight mountain climbers and oblique mountain climbers for the whole minute in this I'll be over the moon and know I've made great progress!

It was really enjoyable to work out with Tony again and have a few seconds to get your breath and get a sip of water  

Ab Ripper was really good too. I surprised myself how well I managed to do nearly all the moves. My abs must have got stronger while I wasn't looking lol
The only one I struggled with was the banana bike at the end  

Loved it!!

Change of mind/workouts and P90 Sculpt B

Well after a few more days I feel that there is way too much lower body stuff going on for me and not enough upper and I don't feel I'm recovering well from these workouts. I'm also missing lifting weights 

After much deliberation I'm doing a bit of a U-turn and changing my workouts as these T25/piyo ones are just not doing it for me. Lots of people said they work together but not for me I'm afraid. My body is not happy and neither am I!
I'm missing lifting weights so much too and feel like I'm getting weaker everyday. For all the piyo and T25 push ups I don't feel that much stronger in them so something isn't suiting me at all.

I've spent many hours today trying to decide my best plan of action and I think I'm going to give P90 ago. I won't do the full 4 weeks of each section as I don't think I need it but I think at least 2 weeks should be a good.

Tonight just for something different and to try it out I did..
P90 Sculpt B

I really enjoyed it - It felt great to lift some weights again and there was some lower body stuff in the too. Press's, push ups, curls, kick backs, dips, rows and renegade rows with some side and back lunges, squats and some squat jumps in there for good measure.
It was a great mix  and we got to take break and get some water - which is the other thing missing from T25 and Piyo there are just non stop which is great and needed but just not every single day.

Piyo Sweat

Piyo Sweat

I know I said it last time but this one really does make you loose some wet stuff!

It went slightly better this time because I'm little more familiar but the pacing is still pretty fast  

I feel a little too fast for me sometimes to allow me to concentrate of form still but I'll get there I'm sure. 

I managed a few full tricep push ups tonight so pleased with that but the down dog split section is tough my upper body still. My goal for this one is to get through this section without having to go to childs pose twice  When my shoulders and arms can keep me up while doing all the plank to down dog lift your leg thingies, when everything is screaming then go down and out to side with your leg and back to down dog again  I'll be a happy bunny!

Although I did manage 4 attempts of the extend leg out to the side when I think I only managed 2 ish last time so I should be grateful for that I too  Even very small triumphs are still progress aren't they!

And now I come to think about it I think I managed to keep going through the burpees section (slightly slower than them but I kept going) when I walked some of them last time lol go me! Maybe this stuff is really working