Tess' P90X Check-in, Week 2

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Hi all!I finished off the week with YogaX, Legs & Back, and KenpoX. I was pleased to discover I didn't have the same instant aversion to YogaX that hit me the first time I tried it. (PMS, perhaps? :-P) I was only able to get halfway through, though before I started getting really lightheaded and nauseous. I'd worked outside all morning up until the mid afternoon in 90+ heat, and hadn't eaten since lunch, so that's probably why. It's a hard practice, especially for a total yoga noob like me, but I didn't hate it.... which is major progress. LOL

Legs & Back is a hoot. There's some really goofy moves in there, like a Groucho walk, that just tickle me. Makes up for how ferociously my thighs burn.Ab Ripper X was pretty much a joke. I wallowed around on the floor grunting and cussing while Tony and the Kids did perfect, superhuman reps. But, I was sore the next day, so I guess even my " dying roach " routine did my abs *some* good. ;-)

KenpoX is another one with zero dread factor for me. I know some think it's boring or not tough enough, but I don't find it so. I'm really choreography-challenged, and a kick boxing novice, so a workout like this with dead-simple combinations is a godsend. (, for instance, confuses the holy heck out of me) I put on weighted gloves, gave it my best, and it kept my heart rate up where it should be.

Today was Chest and Back again. (along with ARX. :-P) I was pleased to see that I upped my numbers from last week. I still " have difficulty with " getting lower than the point where my upper arms are parallel to the floor in the push ups, and I'm not doing more than 10 of any of them yet, but at least today I did my reps all on my toes! (Tony says we should never say " I can't do " whatever, but instead say, " I currently have difficulty with. " Sounds good to me.) I actually *like* the dive bomber push ups and I find that propping my legs up on our daybed for declines works much better than using my weight bench... which tends to want to tip over, making me tense and distracted. The daybed's the same height, and it stays put.

Switched to the bar for my chin ups this time, instead of using a band. I use a chair as an assist, but I do my best to put the effort into my lats and rhomboids rather than in my arms and quads. Too, my bar is all the way at the other end of the house and up a flight of stairs from where I do my workouts, so I get a little cardio in there, too. Pause, dash, stair-climb, chin, stair-climb, dash, unpause. Pant. Repeat. Part of the workout I'm proud of, is that I'm now pulling 32# on 8 reps for the Lawnmowers, (a one-armed, bent-over row sort of move) and 20# each hand for Heavy Pants for 8-9 reps. (You put the weights on the floor by the outsides of your feet, bend down, and pull 'em up like you're pulling up your pants, keeping a flat back.) ARX was still a pathetic worm-in-hot-ashes performance, but I did my best! If I'm sore again tomorrow, I'll know I " brought it " to the best of my ability, anyhow.Hope you all have great workouts and happy days!

Tess-- "The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph! " ~Marvin ~