Day 104: KenpoX + Final Week Report

"Invented, well not invented, introduced to me by DRRRREY-YAAH" -Tony Horton- Legs&Back

1.Thursday - P90X Diet
2.Friday - P90X Exercises (Cardio)
3.Monday - P90X Exercises (Weight)
4.Tuesday - P90X Dedication
5.Wednesday - Tony Horton
6.Thursday - Results
7.Friday - Final thoughts (last day)

P90X sends your body through 3 types of exercises; Cardio, Strength, and Stretching. I'm going to take the time to review and go over the effectiveness of the Cardio and Stretching exercises offered by P90X. The primary ones I will cover are: PlyoX, KenpoX, YogaX, and StretchX. Keep in mind these exercises are separated by a strength workout every other day.

By far the most effective cardio exercise in P90X is PlyoX "The Mother" as Tony would say. He's not lying. This is one of the hardest workouts in the whole program. Most people, who are not fit to start, cannot (or choose not to) do PlyoX. It really is designed for people who are already somewhat athletic. For those who don't know, Plyometrics is Jump Training. It's a lot of squat-jumps, lunge jumps, toe-taps, and it's designed to get the blood and sweat flowing. If you're doing PlyoX once a week, you will get stronger legs and burn a ton of calories, but unfortunately it's not for everyone. Some of the moves in PlyoX are a lot easier/harder than others. For example the three hardest are: Jump Knee Tuck, Switch-Run-Stance-Squats, and Rockstar Hops. Some of the easier moves are: Circle Run, Double Airborn Hiensmen, and River-Jumps.

Another cardio workout is KenpoX. Kenpo is very different from Plyo. It's a tae-bo style kick-boxing like workout. I found it to be very easy and required hand weights to increase the intensity. That's not to say I didn't benefit from the routine. Kenpo, although you think cardio, arms, and legs... it really works your core! I find my abs are tightest after doing Kenpo than they are after doing ab-ripperX. Perhaps it's all the body-turning punches or the balancing required to do an hour's worth of kicks. But the system works. Clearly being distracted with my arms and legs moving all over the place, I forget to realize the balance + core work required for me to stay upright. Kenpo also has a really long warm-up and cool-down, so the actual workout portion is very short. Great for those days when you just don't have enough time.

YogaX - what a great workout. Everyone dreads it because it's just too damn long. But when you do the moves and you breathe, do your vinyasa pushups, hold those poses, reach farther, stretch wider, it's a solid way to exercise. Prior to P90X, I had never done any yoga. Now that I have, I'm more inclined to believe it works. I like to think of yoga as ISOMETRICS. I doubt many of you are familiar with that term anymore, it's a dated exercise program that has you basically FLEX a muscle in a static position, which then helps strengthen it. A good example might be: pushing a wall or flexing your bicep for 1 minute. I think yoga works in a similar way. You're holding your body up in strange positions on one leg or face down and it does require strength to do that. Also I've been told Tony's yoga is just too hectic and not soothing enough to be considered "real yoga" but it worked for me, and each morning it's hit or miss whether I want to do it or if I'm just not feeling it.

One final cardio thought. All of these cardio workouts are "Get out what you put in" style workouts. If you're just doing the motions to make it through the DVD, you're not going to benefit. You really need to push yourself, JUMP HIGHER, PUNCH HARDER, STRETCH FURTHER. Without drive, these cardio routines are pointless. If they are too easy for you, add weight. If it's too hard for you, try to keep up as best you can, then take a 30 second break.

Lastly, StretchX. I only did stretchX twice. I don't have that strong of an opinion on it. I think most people skip stretchX. It's short, it's easy, and it's basically a watered down yoga. You don't have to skip it, but 6 outa 7 days is enough Tony for me. Kudos to anyone who is disciplined enough to include StretchX on that 7th day each week.