Here We Go Again!

Week 2 of this round of P90X is off and running! Got a bit of a late start to my day. Had to finish a couple of chores and projects before Pushing Play today. I was sort of dreading those damn push-ups going in. But something lit a fire and I pushed hard and saw quite a few numbers go up!

Day 08 - Chest & Back / Ab Ripper X
Wow! This turned out to be a much better workout than I anticipated it would be. I don't know where it came from, but I felt like I was on fire! Don't get me wrong, it was brutal, and I had to take a couple of pauses, but all in all, today was a good day. Let's run some numbers. I am still on my knees with the push-ups (except for Dive Bombers), and still using the red band on the pull-ups and resistance. The difference between today's numbers and last week's are in red.

Standard Push-Ups: 27/23 +3/+8
Wide Front Pull-Ups: 24/20 -2/+1
Military Push-Ups: 19/14 +5/0
Reverse Grip Chin-Ups: 17/20 +1/-4
Wide Fly Push-Ups: 23/19 +5/+2
Closed Grip Overhand Pull-Ups: 20/16 +2/-1
Decline Push-Ups: 13/18 +4/+6
Heavy Pants: 20/10 +5/+2
Diamond Push-Ups: 14/10 +5/0
Lawnmowers: 17 left, 17 right / 15 left, 17 right +2,0/0,+1
Dive Bomber Push-Ups: 9/13 +3/+6
Back Flys: 12/21 +9/+5

As you can see, more pluses than minuses and zeros! Good stuff! The fun continued with Ab Ripper X. Still not loving it, but I saw some more improvements in the workout. Feeling strong with the In & Outs and Seated Bicycles, I still have to pause on the Backward Bicycle. That takes a bit of the wind out of me. Crunchy Frogs, are still a challenge. I can't do them with my feet raised so I modify by tapping my feet at the back and front. Crossed Leg Sit-up is still a glorified crunch for me, but I was able to get my back a few inches higher off the floor than last week.

Fifer Scissor is still a modifier in that my lower leg is on the floor, but I raised it up a little just before it's time to switch, so there's a little progress there. On the Hip Rock & Raise, I manage to lift my legs up, but still having trouble driving upward. I'm only able to get a minor scoot up, but I'll take it for now.

Heels to Heaven, I found it better if I hold my legs up behind the hamstrings, otherwise they go lower and lower as the exercise progress. Again I can get a minor scoot up instead of a full pulse-up. Roll-Up/V-Up Combo is still hard for me. So what I am doing for now is crunching up, raising the legs as I come down and then reach up before lowering legs again, and even that is tough.

Oblique V-Up is getting a little better. Still having trouble keeping the legs closed, but improving. Getting stronger on the leg Climb. I actually really like that one! And rounding out with the Mason Twist, still doing it with feet on the floor. I was so pooped from putting in the extra effort that I had to pause near the end, but then picked it back up and went a little passed the end before stopping.

A couple of notes
In order to make the bands more challenging, I moved about a foot or so further back than I was last week. I also leaned into it more to simulate the actual motion. That seemed to make a difference, and I was feeling it in my upper back a little more than before. On the Heavy Pants, I stepped closer to the end of my band to create more tension on the second round which resulted in a lower number, but I worked harder for it which was the idea. The Back Flys are still a little tricky. I tried doing a standing/bent over version with the looped band under my rear foot. It was a little awkward, so I still have to find a way to make that work. It was better than when I tried the seated method, and my numbers were up, but I still gotta work on a good formation for that.

I am most likely only gonna give a detailed report on the ARX workouts on Mondays just to share improvements from week to week. If anything worth mentioning happens on the other 2 workouts in the week, I'll be sure to mention it.

Finished up soaked with sweat. And I felt a little queazy in the tummy, too. Really makes me feel like I accomplished something today! Plyo returns tomorrow!

So, since we returned to the workout that started it all, today's song is "Right Back Where We Started From" by Maxine Nightingale. Enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg8UcsvdEHs&feature=related

:^D