Yoga X:

Today was surprisingly easier with Yoga.  The whole vinyasa/warrior pose/etc hard part really did not seem as long as usual, and I wasn’t horribly beaten when it was over.  I did very good and was relaxed and calm the whole time.  Hopefully it stays that easy and comfortable from now on…

Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X:

Same story again!  Legs and back last time I did it totally broke me and I only got halfway through.  I think it had something to do with lack of sleep and not eating enough beforehand more so than probably the workout itself, but it still felt good to get through it so easily today.  I moved back a little further away from where I usually kneel to make pulling the band harder, and I equaled or did more reps on almost every move than I have before.

Ab Ripper was also pretty easy.  I was just going to skip it because I had forgotten I had to do it until the very end of Legs and Back, but then decided ah it’s only 15 minutes, so I went ahead and did it.  It was almost fun, and I hurt a lot less than usual and moved a lot smoother than usual.  My legs are starting to get really noticeably straightener for some of the moves in these routines.  I am doing good I think

Today was my first time ever doing Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps.  I did not know what to expect and the amount of push-ups right off the bat scared me.  I’m fairly sure the reason the older lady was in the video was to break not only the stereotypes that only the young and supple can be fit, and also the stereotype that women have puny upper body strength – and this one I admit I feel victim to right away.  I was sure I wouldn’t be able to do more than half of this workout if the amount of push-ups kept up!

However, I am happy to admit that I could do every single move except for the one-hand push-ups I just barely did, and the clap push-ups I cheated on but still got done.  I also did a lot more reps on all the exercises than I thought I would, and even switched out for a higher weight a couple times.  Overall, this workout definitely worked some parts of my arms that have been dormant for many years I could tell because they feel all tight and tingly in spots where I’ve never felt anything before.  I think I am going to like this one, and I hope it starts to build up some extra arm muscles for me which I’m sure it will!

I also did Ab Ripper X today, and surprisingly after a week off still got 25 on each move and did not feel as burny as usual right away until about 3 moves in.  So today was a good day.

I did Cardio X yesterday and forgot to blog, not much to say about it, did good, no problems, now gearing up for super long yoga tomorrow

Today was not a good day for Stacey and P90X.  It was Legs and Back today, and Ab Ripper X.  I drank a bunch of water and OJ before starting so I didn’t want to do Ab Ripper right away since that would slosh my tummy around and might feel bad after just filling it o the brim.

So I decided to do Legs and Back first, and I did not finish it.  First time ever I haven’t finished one so far.  I got a little past halfway, 14th of 24 moves, and simply could not go on.  I am so shaky and unbalanced and my legs feel like Jello.  I may try to finish it again after I eat some lunch and rest or something, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to.  Maybe I need to eat more but mostly I’m sure it’s just my sleep problems as of late…I cannot get to sleep for the life of me and have only been sleeping 5-6 hours per day…and i DO NOT want to take sleeping pills at all…help!

Needless to say I haven’t done Ab Ripper yet either.

Well, I didn’t burn out so badly that I didn’t do the routines – I did them – Monday and Tuesday both – I just did not do them very well.  I did not “bring it,” as you are supposed to for these workout.  I think it probably had something to do with the food I ate over the weekend (out of town again, people always take you out to restaurant dinners when you visit them!) and the fact that I got home around midnight on Sunday/Monday night so I was tiiiiired.  On Core I skipped a bunch of the moves and was way tired before even nearing the end, and with Cardio I just got through it as fast as I could and skipped the Dreya Rolls again.

Today, however, I am pleased to announce, was a different story.  I woke up feeling fine and even though I skipped breakfast, I definitely “brought it” for the workouts today.  I started with Ab Ripper first, and for the first time since I started, I actually got to 25 reps on every single move (well, besides the last one, where you do 40 reps)!  I was very happy and proud, and it didn’t burn as much as before.  That’s a good thing right?

And then I did Shoulders and Arms and consistently did more reps than I did last week, and used a higher weight on a couple of moves than I did last week too.    Overall, today was a good day!  Now need to get geared up for the loooooong Yoga video tomorrow

Today was Legs and Back and Ab Ripper X. I know in my last Ab Ripper post I said it was easier to do if I did it before the big routine for the day, but I didn’t do that today, I think I just forgot. Last time on Legs and Back I found the bands were a little too easy, so this time I set them up so it was a little harder to pull, and made sure I was holding them when I pulled them in – I don’t think I did that last time. I might need to just get the next color of bands up in difficulty. Around the Sieber’s Squats my right foot started to hurt…I have never been a huge exercise fan besides fun exercises like water skiing, swimming, hiking etc…so I’ll admit I made a mistake and haven’t been wearing shoes for any of this routines. Everyone is barefoot in Yoga X but not in any of the other workouts I believe, so I should probably follow suit and start wearing shoes when I do these!

Ab Ripper seemed a lot shorter to get through this time, and I am still not quite up to ability to do 25 reps each time…I get to 20 or 22 usually, taking little breaks when I need to. But at least I do it and don’t skip it totally and never skip any moves, right?

That’s all for today, nothing special expect the possible pulled muscle in my foot Took about an hour and half all told.

I decided that maybe the reason I hated Ab Ripper so much last week was because it was after a workout, and after a cooldown, so you are all tuckered out and ready to be done and go shower – and then there’s still 349 moves left to do!  So today, I decided to do Ab Rupper X before I did Shoulders and Arms, and yes, this worked out much better.  I did way more reps than I did last time and I defintiely worked harder than I did last time on Abs.

As for Shoulders and Arms, I did pretty good and more reps overall than I did last time.  I’m thinking if I keep doing the same amount of reps or more I will just go buy some higher weights instead of going for more reps…we will see.

The weight lifting ones don’t make me as tired and sweaty as the cardio workouts, of course, but they are still work, and I get shaky sometimes.  I am doing good on time still with waking up earlier to fit these in.  Woke up at 730 today, started at 8, done with everything by 930.

I was very, very grateful that today wasn’t going to be too strenuous or use my glutes or leg muslces much (as they are still sore from yesterday), and this was all well and good until I remembered I had to do the 15-minute Ab Ripper X after I finished Shoulders and Arms.

Shoulders and Arms is a fun workout, I like it. My lowest reps were the Deep Swimmer’s Press and the Lying Down Tricep Extensions…while my highest were, well, all the ones where I used my smaller barbells Tony is a little goofy in this video, but I like it, it’s much better than other types of hosts where they are all serious and domineering. I did the bonus round, because these weight lifting videos don’t really work you as hard as the cardio videos, so they don’t leave you as burnt out towards the end. Tricep Rises are about the hardest ones for me to do, and there is no way I could do the shoulder flies with a heavier weight (yet).

But, moving on to Ab Ripper, my review would probably be a string of expletives if I had written it right after. That workout sucks. Honestly. And it’s weird because for me it doesn’t hurt my stomach as much as it makes my legs burn. Holding my legs up in the air is crazy hard, and like the girl in the video on the last move, they shake a lot. However, the redeeming factor of this workout is that it’s only 15 minutes long (including cooldown/stretch), and Tony repeatedly tells you it’s ok to do less reps than them (I probably averaged about 18-20 instead of 25) and take breaks if you need to (which I will probably have to do for the first few times). Luckily, you only do this routine twice a week, on the days when you do weights.

Today I slept in, started at noon, was done by 120.