P90X2 phase 3: Whew! ...

I started P90X2 on 10-Dec-2011. Yesterday I started the 3rd phase of the program. It's a 3 month program - approximately. Each phase can be 3-6 weeks, depending on how one feels. I think I did the first phase for 3 weeks, then we had a vacation out of town and I did other workouts (crazy insane hike, some Insanity workout stuff, etc). There was also a conference I was at for a week in January, so during that week I did 200 pushups a day and a whole bunch of walking between hotels going from session to session.

I spent 5 weeks on phase 2, in order to get up to what I wanted to see in terms of form and reps on some of the exercises, and then took a few days "off", just doing a treadmill 5k and some other stuff before starting up on the final phase 3.

So...Yesterday was day 1 of phase 3: "P.A.P Lower" was the workout (P.A.P., by the way, stands for Post Activation Potentiation). OMG, I'm sore today. I think the main contributor to the soreness was 4 sets of "Step Up Convict", which was holding a 12lb dumbbell in each hand, stepping up with one foot onto a 24" plyo box I'd made, raising the opposing knee as high as possible, then stepping down off the box and backward into a lunge. 8 reps each side. There were 7 other exercises, but that one nailed it! I'm feeling it today from the butt down through the calves :)

Today was "P.A.P. Upper". It was another great workout. One thing that does bug me is that BeachBody (the company that sells some great workout DVDs, including P90X, Insanity, Asylum - I've done all of those - along with others that I've not done and now P90X2) ...BeachBody provides workout sheets for most of the workouts. But not for the P.A.P. ones. That bothers me. Tony Horton (the guy on the videos) states at various times in these workouts to write down how many reps one does or what weight was used.

So I've done what I feel BeachBody should have done, and have made a workout sheet for P.A.P. Upper. I'll make one for P.A.P. Lower as well, but I have yardwork and studying to do, so that other worksheet will come later.

My unofficial worksheet: P90X2 X2_PAPUpper.pdf (353.6K)

Farewell to a friend...

A friend of mine passed away yesterday. I never told her thank you, but I know she can hear me now. Some of you are atheists and that's fine. I'm not. I believe that we continue to learn and grow with or without a physical body, but that's not the point...

Kristin and I met in high school and for a time we were a couple. Fortunately, we each found our true soulmates later :) ...Along the way, Kris got me to open up beyond the rather rigid boundaries / mores I'd wrapped around myself. Her family was (and is) wonderful, and I am thankful that we've not lost touch. Watching her folks interact showed me that marriage can actually work (I admired her dad, Jim, and was deeply saddened when he left this earth). One of her brothers taught me martial arts; another brother (since passed away) and I worked on the old (very old) VW bug that he'd bought from Kris ...I don't know that he realized what he was getting into :) ...Her sister is freakin' brilliant (I never told her that her scholastic prowess was rather intimidating ...but I guess I just did!)

The most important thing that came out of the relationship is something that I have rarely (if ever) mentioned to anyone but my wife. When I was going to The Evergreen State College and Kris was up visiting, we saw a poster about a Transcendental Meditation lecture. I thought the Hindu monk in the pic looked weird, but Kris wanted to check it out, and we went to the lecture. It was not her cup of tea, but that year I started meditating. Meditation quite literally changed my life, and in a very positive way. Who knows if I'd have started meditating if we'd not gone to the lecture that day? I know if it'd been solely up to me, we would not have gone.

Up at Evergreen College, Kris met her soulmate, Doug. Together they grew in their shared religious beliefs, and I am hopeful that their religious fellowship will provide Doug with a support network now, as I can't imagine the loss he must feel.

I met my own soulmate at a Spring Celebration gathering among a group of meditators at the home of my buddy Gene. OK, he went on a couple of dates with Shirley before I did, but I know that she could tell that not only was I short, but one day I'd be bald as well, so she had no choice but to follow her heart (eventually, at least), and we're now in our 32nd year of marriage.

Toss a stone in a pond, and watch as the ripples move outward and touch so many other ripples, or roots on the bank, or jostle a bug floating on the water. It's impossible to know all of the effects. And it's impossible to know all of the effects of our life's events and our actions and our words on the lives of others.

So Kris, I never told you, but thank you for helping me open up, thank you for getting me to that lecture that day, thank you for sharing your artistic talents with so many.

Peace.

P90X2: Day 2: Plyocide

"Plyocide" << best.name.ever :)

55 mins, 566 calories. Just as with the "X2 Core" day 1 workout, I can see where Insanity / Asylum graduates will recognize bits of some moves and will probably have a little easier time of it. The last 12 minutes of this workout is stretching with band (or towel), some yoga, etc (also in the warmup). I LIKE this inclusion of more/better stretching - partly because I probably wouldn't do it on my own! The stretching is something of which I'd never heard (but like quite a bit after this first try): Neuro-Integrated Stretching.

Equipment: Balance ball (already have). Substituted 8 & 12 lb dumbbell for some medicine ball stuff and used a towel for one of the exercises. Man, I *do* want to get a RumbleRoller /foam roller thing. For the jump box, I used one (shown in pic) that I built a while back (been trying to get to where I can do the Spartan 300 http://thecomplete300workout.com/) ...this is a 24" jump box and cost less than half to build (about $40 materials) vs buy.

  << Click to view

My unofficial worksheet: P90X2 Plyocide.pdf (353.9K)

90X2 day 2: Plyocide << best.name.ever :)
55 mins, 566 calories. Just as with the X2 Core day 1 workout, I can see where Insanity / Asylum graduates will recognize bits of some moves and will probably have a little easier time of it. Stacey Fenkel mentioned importance of Yoga; the last 12 mins of this workout is stretching with band (or towel), some yoga, etc (also in the warmup). I LIKE this inclusion of more/better stretching - partly because I probably wouldn't do it on my own!

Equipment: Balance ball (already have). Substituted 8 & 12 lb dumbbell for some medicine ball stuff and used a towel for one of the exercises. Man, I *do* want to get a Rumble Roller /foam roller thing. For the jump box, I used one (shown in pic) that I built a while back (been trying to get to where I can do the Spartan 300 http:// thecomplete300workout.com/) ...this is a 24" jump box and cost less than half to build (about $40 materials) vs buy.

P90X2: Day 1: X2 Core

P90X2 was delivered to our house this week, and today I began the program. I'd already done a year of P90X, did the 60-day Insanity program, the 30-day Asylum program, and some hybrids (combos of the workouts)... plus treadmill and other fitness things. So I feel that I ought to be able to handle this.

Workout took 55 minutes and burned 430 calories. Insanity / Asylum definitely helped make some of the balance moves a little easier. At first I thought, "Geez, this is a pretty easy workout, I hope they're not all like this" ...WRONG! ...It gets going, and I WILL feel this at least in the abs tomorrow (or today :)

Since there are no workout sheets available on the TeamBeachbody site (at least not yet), and none were included with the P90X2 package, I plan to make a workout sheet each day as I do these and will post them. Please post comments or email me with  suggestions for improvements to the sheets if you are doing the workouts.

Equipment: We've had a balance ball for years, so no prob there. We don't have any medicine balls (two 12-pound balls would be ideal); for some exercises I substituted a 12lb dumbbell; I did clap/plyo pushups instead of medicine ball pushups. And I used a rolled up yoga mat in place of the foam roller for some stuff.

As recommended, I took measurements / pics, but haven't donea day 1 video yet ...will do later (days 1, 30, 60, 90). Don't ask me to post that stuff here, 'cause if I do, it won't be until the end of the program.

My unofficial worksheet: P90X2 X2_Core.pdf (350.7K)

Kindle Fire: *whew* ...thought mine had died!

I've been using my Kindle Fire. A LOT. I've been cancelling all hardcopy magazine subscriptions, since I'm extremely happy with reading magazines on the Kindle; whether it's via subscriptions through the Amazon Kindle store, or through the Zinio app (which I had to sideload), it's been great. Much to my surprise, I actually prefer the Mail client on the Fire to GMail (which I'd sideloaded and then later removed). Facebook, Twitter, book reading, web surfing ...it's all been great.

Then a few minutes ago I reached for the Fire. I pressed the power button. I pressed it again. And again. I plugged in the charging cord but no light came on (the power button is also a light that indicates charging status). I tried different electrical outlets and a different charging cord. Nothing.

Much to my dismay, I then saw some posts on the Amazon forums about Kindles experiencing sudden death. Amazon's great on returns, and I did also buy an extended warranty from SquareTrade, but I really didn't want to have to go a whole day or two without my reading device!

But then - happily - as I was starting to fill out the online form to list my problem and start a chat with a support rep, I saw the below message...

Resetting your Kindle Fire can solve intermittent problems. To reset your device:

1. Make sure your device is disconnected from any power source.


2. Press in the power switch and hold it there for 20 seconds.


3. The screen should turn off, once the screen is fully turned off press the power button in for 2 seconds and release. The device will turn back on and you will see the Kindle Fire loading screen.

This reset will not affect any books or content you have on the Kindle. If your Kindle does not restart or this problem happens again, you can reach us by phone directly by clicking the link below.

The simple procedure worked! Whew! My Fire started up and (as I'd remembered) was only down about 20% in the charge. Hopefully, this was a one-time issue!