p90x Phase 2 Week 7 Day 2

I just finished plyo today, and although it went well, it never fails to challenge my limits. I find I can do the first two "parts" in plyo (2 rounds each) without pausing at all! Not only that but I'm jumping higher too. I should definitely take some pictures as documentation of my progress but I keep putting it off. I'm really pleased with my progress in the yoga as well. Previously, I would fatigue and wear out in the middle of the vinyasa's but now I can complete that whole opening sequence in yoga (which includes the various warrior poses and the twisting half moon's at the end) no problems! The balance postures I could always do, but I still can't hold crane or do the advanced wheel move for longer than 10 seconds. The Yoga Belly part of the Yoga X routine is no walk in the park either but I'm improving there as well as I take less breaks. I'm actually liking the yoga routine a lot. It's one of the routines I really look forward to during the week and I was big skeptic to begin with. The Yoga X routine has stretching, strength (both in arms and legs), flexibility and balance, not to mention a part which focuses on abs.

As for my pull-up progress. I can now do 10 (sometimes 12) wide front pull-ups without any chairs, which is huge for me as one of my weakest areas. My abs and upper body continue to exhibit stronger and stronger definition. With many of the weight lifting exercises, I'm lifting heavier weights and doing more reps. For example, I started out doing static arm curls at 20 lbs for 16 reps but now I can do that move at 30 lbs for 16 reps in the Back-and-Bicep routine. After lifting heavier weights for some of the tricep exercises in the Shoulders-and-Arms routine back in Phase 1, I was disappointed that I couldn't lift the same weights in the tricep exercises found in the Chest-Shoulders-and-Triceps routine of Phase 2. I think I understand the reasons (focusing on a different combination of muscle groups), but it was still disappointing.

My favorite routines are the Shoulders-and-Arms, Yoga, and Back-and-Biceps (can you say ouch! on corn cob pull-ups!). Back in Phase 1, I substituted Shoulders-and-Arms/Ab Ripper X for two of the X Stretch days because I liked Shoulders-and-Arms so much. In spite of popular opinion, I actually don't like Kenpo all that much. I can do Kenpo without pausing at all now for the past 2 weeks, but I find I sweat more during the "breaks" than during the actual fight exercises. And I'm moving my hips like crazy. Plus I did Kenpo last week bare foot on carpet (don't ever do that) and now I have blisters all over my feet. You're swiveling your hips and rotating your feet on your heels a lot.

Tomorrow, it's Back-and-Biceps. Corn cob pull-ups and strip set curls here I come!

Sinclair's Finders Keepers, Obama vs. Clinton, P90X

So I read the first 50 pages or so of Linnea Sinclair's FINDERS KEEPERS and I just couldn't continue any further. The book intrigued me because I thought romance in a scifi setting might be good, but alas, no. FINDERS KEEPERS contains way too many references to the hero's perfect beauty, good-looks, and muscled frame. It's actually worse than historical romances in detailing the hero's perfection from the heroine's eyes while chronicling the heroine's "spitfire" personality from the hero's side (because we all know all good-looking men have had enough of pretty, air-headed and devious women; all three qualities linked in women of course). There's a lot of repetitive introspection and fancy names to make it seem like a legitimate science fiction universe. There's also an empire exhibiting the obligatory hierarchal society common to historical romances. Wouldn't want the heroine to marry anyone other than the gorgeous hunk born into his wealth and societal rank, right? Having read some good science fiction, the world-building in this one conveys a rather pedestrian, amateur feel. The repeated devotion to glorifying the hero's appearance as sexual eye candy for the female readership and yet notably avoiding the word beautiful or even attractive to describe the heroine from the lusty hero's eyes sealed the coffin on this one for me. Short-sighted of me? Maybe, but I contend the book itself warrants, at best, a short-sighted look.

As the Democratic primary winds down, I got a good chuckle from this well-crafted video featuring Hillary as Darth Vader, Bill Clinton as the Emperor, and Obama as Luke Skywalker: The Empire Strikes Barack. Granted you'll probably appreciate the video more if you're an Obama supporter, but the scenes pieced together hints at a clever author with too much time on his or her hands. I'm personally convinced that no matter who wins Democratic primary, the candidate will lose to McCain in November. No amount of time and "getting-to-know-Obama" will convince Hillary's embittered base to vote for Obama. As I mentioned before, history has shown that whenever the democratic party is this divided, the party loses the general election. McCain appeals to me while the incompetent Democratic party just plain annoys me. Their system of super delegates and proportionally awarding delegates hasn't made the process more democratic!

On a final note, I'm on Day 14 of Tony Horton's P90X fitness program. I really do like the variety of challenging routines and work-outs. You will get out what you put in, and with goals in mind, anything is possible. So far so good, although I'm a little bit disappointed at my lack of progress in the pull-ups department despite pushing myself hard (can still only do about 3-4 front pull-ups before I use the resistance bands). It's still early though so I should give it some time. I have noticed I'm able to do more push-ups and lift heavier weights for more reps (from 25lbs to 35,40lbs). The "mother of P90x," plyometrics, continues to pose the biggest challenge and the Yoga X exercise is no easy walk in the park either. Thankfully, my legs are getting stronger as a result. I've decided to try the program's recovery drink and vitamins which complements the work-outs. After trying the supplements for a week, I can't say I've noticed much improvement in my stamina however. Today is simply X-Stretch. Last week I followed up one hour of stretching with Ab Ripper but today I may just do the stretching alone. Then it's on to Week 3!

Update on reading and p90x

My heightened traveling as of late restricts my spare time, so here's an update on the books I've been reading.

While I read Steven Erikson's desultory GARDENS OF THE MOON and Cruise's soapy-strictly-for-juvenile-girls WELCOME TO TEMPTATION, it was rejuvenating to re-read Hunter's RULES OF SEDUCTION (*****) and re-re-read STEALING HEAVEN (*****). I always seem to rely on Madeline Hunter to restore my faith in substantive romance. Have to say, didn't like RULES OF SEDUCTION as much second time around, but boy is STEALING HEAVEN special. The unique rivalry and passion between STEALING HEAVEN's leads in the midst of a compelling historical backdrop reinforces a very special reading experience.

So a colleague recently loaned me Tony Horton's P90X discs. Although I consider myself fit (I work out and lift daily no matter my traveling schedule), hearing (and seeing) my friend's experiences with the program enticed me. Now I'm only on Day 2 of the 90-day program, but holy shit, is this intense! They tagged the 'X' at the end of P90X for eXtreme, and they weren't kidding! I avoid cardio exercises and I usually don't work my legs, but today's 1-hour Plyometrics program (a bona fide cardio routine involving high-impact jump training) really exposed my weak legs. Now before Day 1, I had done the Ab Ripper X twice and Shoulders and Arms already just get a feel for the routines and they didn't disappoint. The videos show you how to proceed if you're just starting out so I'd say anyone could jump into this program. Whether you want to simply lose weight, get lean, or bulk up, I'd say you could make it work for you as long as you have a goal in mind. I thought Tony Horton does a good job motivating and pushing you to the extreme as well. The program recommends purchasing supplements separately specifically designed for P90X exercises (this is a business after all), but I have my own vitamins, minerals, and protein bars. I may look into their recovery drink however.

As for the exercises, you'll need about an hour to an hour-and-a-half daily. I travel quite a bit, but with resistance bands, I can do most of the work outs from a hotel room. There's 12 different exercises, and you follow a daily schedule. I officially started yesterday (Thurs., May 15, 2008) and if I don't miss any days, I'll end Wednesday, August 13th. Like I mentioned earlier though, I did the Ab Ripper twice and Shoulders and Arms prior to Day 1.

Day 1 involves Chest & Back (~1 hour) and Ab Ripper X (~20 min). I could do about 2 front pull-ups and 6 reverse-grip chin-ups, so obviously my back needs a lot of work too. Unlike other Ab routines, P90X's Ab Ripper X is more core-oriented and I could feel it in my hips and thighs quite a bit. Taking Tony's advise, I paused during the Chest & Back exercise and took longer breaks. I even went back to do some things over until I was satisfied.

Today's exercise -- Plyometrics -- really killed me. Since I wasn't big on cardio and legs to begin with, this routine seriously challenged my endurance. Let's just say the pause button was my best friend, I could barely keep up, and my coordination left something to be desired.

I'm looking forward to Day 3 (tomorrow): Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X.