I’ve been slacking. I’m going to try to get back on the stick tonight.
My first rest week is over, so I’m starting week 5 tonight.
Don’t slack! You can do it!
Yesterday was the first day of my 2nd week, so I get to do Chest & Back + Ab Ripper X again. This comes after a week of soreness on the program, compared to relatively no soreness last week when I started.
The difference was startling. I don’t know whether I’ve lost weight or gain muscle, but I was able to do a lot more pushups than last time! And this after only one week! I remember a week ago, when it came to the Decline pushups with your feet on a chair, the diamon pushups with the hands close together, and the “Under the fence” pushups, I totally skipped the diamond and did a maximum of 5 of the harder pushups. I was weak and tired and my arms hurt
Last night, after a week of P90X, I was able to do at least 10 of each! Seriously! I don’t know whether that means I’m getting stronger or lost weight, but after only one week that’s pretty incredible! So don’t stop, keep at it, and you will see differences. I’m actually looking forward to next week to see if I can increase the amount of pushups! 
I just started yesterday with the Chest and Back, I made it until 4 minutes left and gave up when I was physically unable to do a single more pull-up. I could have used a chair but that would have hurt my pride even more than quitting 
I agree that the under the fence push-ups were awful. I can’t wait to do it again next week to see if I can do better. I also did the Ab Ripper, which wasn’t as bad as I expected although I still have a long way to go to do the full thing in good form.
I just did Kenpo. One of those CDs where you really have to “bring it” in order to make it a hard workout. I kinda hate those types because it’s so tempting to slack. I also REALLY need to get a heart rate monitor. I have no idea when I’m in the zone or not.
lezlers, Kenpo is the first DVD that I’ve basically mastered (as in I can do the whole thing with good form and not miss a rep). Yoga X is still a huge challenge because I have no balance whatsoever. Chest and Back is also killing me despite doing the pullups with bands only. There was a bit of improvement the second time I did it, but my progress is going to be slooowwww. I can tell that Plyo is going to be the next DVD that I’ll “master” the same way as Kenpo. But I may never be able to do Chest and Back in full. Oh well.
I’ve lost 6 pounds in the two weeks since starting the program, though. To anyone who lacks motivation to do this daily, all I can say is that it’s the only way it’s going to work as intended. It sucks, I have insomnia and a crappy commute and when I get home the last thing I want to do is sweat my butt off for 60+ minutes. And yet it’s become kind of addictive. “Just do your best and forget the rest” isn’t a throwaway slogan, it’s the philosophy behind the entire program. I make myself start the DVD, tell myself that I’ll be happy doing just 30 minutes and usually end up going the distance. The feeling afterward is so rewarding.
I jumped back in with Legs and Back only to find out that I just don’t have the damned balance to do a lot of these. The very first exercise is a chair lunge thing that I literally can’t do more than one of without falling over. I guess I need to work out a two-chair system to hold onto? I did persevere, albeit with extreme ill grace. (That’s what the X stands for.)
The dog was all up in my business for Ab Ripper, too. I may have… used his assistance once or twice.
I realized today that some people may not have noticed - all those workouts that have Ab Ripper X after them, they have it on the same DVD. There’s no indication, it just comes on next, so you might have been changing out DVDs for no reason.
I have a question. See, tonight I have to skip the scheduled Arms & Shoulders + Ab Ripper X. I may be able to do 30 mins of the exercise. But should I do what I can, and move on to the next workout tomorrow or do what I can, then do the same workout tomorrow, only in full?
In 2 weeks, I will be busy for 4 days straight. Should I postpone the workouts or skip them?
Hey! I didn’t know this thread was here. Started in April. The last few times I’ve done every one of the Ab Ripper X without missing. I only do a few of the extra credit at the end before my brain and body say “fuck you Tony”.
I too skip a lot of the cardio ones because I am a regular bike commuter, so I do an hour of cardio a day already. But I have been doing the plyometrics, and hallelujah my fellow cyclists, it helps on the ride. If any of you are skipping that for the bike, I’d ask you to reconsider. At least for me, I’m chewing up the hills in Fall like form.
But like others, I do it half ass. I only do it 5 days a week, and I don’t do half of the DVDs. I didn’t get much out of the Yoga, the Kenpo is totally lame, I even tried to make it harder so I could enjoy it. It just wasn’t there for me. The stretch also garnered a meh. I liked the cardio X, but I enjoy my bike commute more, so that goes by the wayside too. And finally, I skip the legs and back basically because that isn’t what I bought in for. I put several thousand miles on my bike every year, even some winter commuting, legs and back ain’t my problem. It’s my little girly man upper body that needs help.
And it has helped. I will admit I throw in some good old fashioned bench and fly presses on the chest workouts, just because I need the extra attention. And I’m a sissy on biceps, my left arm can only go up to 20lbs so I’m limited. I’ve got titanium plates holding some bones together because of a biking accident, and the titanium refuses to flex like bone. So anything more than 20lbs on the curls or the backwards tricep flies is too painful. So I hit pause and just do huge amounts of reps rather than high weight/low reps. Not ideal, but it’s what I can do.
But my shoulders and chest are quickly building, and even though I have a layer of insulation, I can tell the stomach muscles are building. I’m starting to see the line that goes down the middle, but there is too much gut still to see a six pack. I did the high protein diet for a month at the beginning, but since then I’ve pretty much eaten normally. I’m 6’0" and 188, I was 200 when I started.
I would definitely not do the same exercise twice in a row even if you did not finish it. Working the same muscles on back to back days is a classic no no when it comes to lifting. For question two, I would postpone them and pick up where you left off, but that is more of a personal opinion.
Almost done with week 3! I think I’m actually going to do one more week of this phase before moving on to phase 2, because I rested 2 days in a row both the first week and the second, since I was out of town. The only cardio one I do is the Plyo- I didn’t even try to do the others since I’d heard they were too easy, and I was already used to exercising hard for at least an hour a day. I’m really proud that I’m lifting 12s when I was lifting 8s or 10s before. P90X has definitely motivated me. I saw a picture of me taken about 2 months ago, and I was surprised at how soft my arms looked (not flabby, just… soft. Unmuscular.) I’ve really seen a change. And now that I’m doing the high protein diet, I’m expecting even better results.
On chest/back and arms/shoulders day, I’ve been adding another 10 to 15 mins of legs and butt exercises in addition to Ab Ripper. I have quite the booty and I’m just not comfortable only working out my legs in earnest once a week.
Keep going, everybody! I like what Tony says- “Keep pushing play.”
I’m not following the diet, although I watch what I eat in general. I have not lost an ounce since I started this damn thing. In fact, I’ve gained a couple pounds. I’ve been taking my measurements and while they haven’t gotten any smaller, they haven’t gotten any larger, either. So I guess that’s a good thing. The weight gain is irritating me, though.
I really want to do this, but I’m making a major life transition in 6 weeks, so I want to wait until that gets settled. I’ll check back here if I remember.
Today’s my rest day for the end of the second week. I can’t say I feel great, I think I overdid it on the Kenpo last night. My legs are sore and my arms are sore, but it’s a great feeling knowing that I pushed myself these past few weeks.
On another note, to get the conversation going again in this topic, who’s do you guys think is the hottest backup workout partner? I have a thing for the Legs & Back’s Sophia, the dentist. Perfect combination of tight body, round booty, and firm boobs, though I have a thing for the boobs of the girl in the Ab Ripper video too!
I’m almost done with week 2 (yoga today). Hurrah! For the background folks, I really like that super flexible gal in the yoga and stretch DVDs. I can’t remember her name, but she’s nice to watch AND she’s motivational. I WILL be that flexible eventually!
Ugh, her beauty queen teeth don’t bother you? Icky icky uber-American veneers!
ETA - that was about the dentist.
The super flexible Yoga girl was Shawna or something.
And no, I love her beauty queen teeth Zsofia! In addition to many other parts of her. She can put me under and have her way with me any time! Though I prefer to be awake…
Hey where’d everybody go? Come on guys, post your inspirational anecdotes about lifting cars and winning marathons!
As for me, I’ve definitely noticed a slight difference between when I started and now. Comparing what I looked like before, my stomach is a little bit flatter and my arms look a little bigger. If things continue on like this, in about 2-3 weeks I’ll really notice how much I’ve changed!
I have a slight trick I use to get through the Ab Ripper X for those of you, like me, who find it impossible. For the first 2 sessions of it, I could only get through about half of the workout even though it’s only 16 mins. I would do as much as I could then by the 5 or 6 exercise, I was dying. I would do 2, stop, then 2 more, then rest, and it got progressively worse as I got near the end
For me, the best way to get through it is to not do the whole thing. Instead of reps of 25 for each exercise, I do 12. I find that this way, I’m much less tired and can push myself further than if I went all out in the first 5 exercises and dragged myself through the next 10. And it works for me mentally too, as I’m no longer as discouraged halfway through when I can’t do another situp. Now I can get through the whole thing using the 12 rep method fine, and this past week I was finally able to do all 50 of those Mason Twists (though I absolutely couldn’t do even one more, I collapsed after #50). I can get up to about 16 reps now, so slowly I’m working on getting through the maximum amount. Maybe in a month I’ll get to 25
Another trick I learned to use was to simply take off my shoes. Shoes add a pound or two to your feet and with socks, it makes some of the leg elevation exercises really hard. Drop the shoes (its not like you need them) for the Ab Ripper X and you can probably do 5 more reps than what you normally do.
holy hannah YogSosoth, I can do 25 of all of them, and have been able to for a while, but I collapse on the mason twists at 40. As much as I have tried, I just can’t get past… well, okay, full disclosure…38. Never can get past it, as hard as I’ve tried. To me, 50 doing that is mighty impressive. I’m about to collapse just thinking about it.
Do your hands actually make contact when you do them? It’s a bit easier if you don’t. When I did the 50, I think there was contact with the ground on 90% of them, so I knew I was doing it well. Honestly, I was just praying for it to end. I completely collapsed at 50. My body started doing that shaky thing that happens when you can’t hold a position any longer, and at 48 and 49 was already falling backwards. I’ve found though that crossing my legs at the ankles seem to help a little.