Pull Up Options AKA Do I Need A Pull Up Bar

The next P90X3 workout is The Challenge.  This one’s a good one!  Or a bad one, depending on your take, I guess.

The Challenge combines push ups and pull ups for a super 30 minute workout.  That’s it…push ups and pull ups.  You choose a number for each, and the challenge is to hit that each set.  You do different types of each, twice each.

So let’s talk about those pull ups!  There are a few different ways shown to do these.  We’ll start with the obvious – using a pull up bar. You can get one of those, or if all of your doorways are next to a wall and you can’t fit those (like me) an in door pull up bar.  But those are a pretty hard option, right?  I know a lot of people have difficulty with pull ups!  So, there are ways to make that easier.  First, a chin up max can make it a bit easier, helping you a bit and adjustable to an extent (you can take one of the bands out to make it harder).  If that’s still too hard, you can use a foot on a chair and really focus on pulling.  It’s pretty easy to cheat yourself here,  so while it’s a great option, make sure you’re trying to use your arms!

A resistance band option is also given for the exercises.  You will need a door attachment to anchor the resistance band, but this is a good option for both beginners and those who don’t have a pull up bar.  I think the workout is easier to follow with the pull up bar, but all that really means is that you may want to preview the workout first so you know what the modified moves are.

Back to the workout…it’s tough!  There are a lot of pull ups and a lot of push ups.  If you can’t hit your target numbers (or if you go over), write it down for next time and don’t worry too much about it.  Do what you can.

 

June Challenge and X3 Yoga

Continuing on the P90X3 posts, we have X3 Yoga!

So, I’ve talked before about how I have a hard time with home yoga programs.  It’s hard to be at home, alone, doing yoga.  This one moves fast, which helps to not let you think about it too much!  I have nothing bad to say about this workout.  For yoga, that’s saying a lot!

My favorite part is that it includes a shoulder stand.  I love shoulder stands and you don’t get them much in home workouts.   Coming out of it was always one of my favorite parts of my Ashtanga practice.  We also do camel here.  I do hot yoga (now occasionally, used to be 5x a week) and camel is a part of that practice.  I had forgotten how much easier camel is in a non-heated room!  In the heat, it’s really tough to put your head back.  A lot of people feel nauseous after that pose.  Without the heat though, you get less of a flight response.  That was lovely, and I called on that when I took a hot class on Monday.

The star of this show is Ted and his amazing yoga abilities.  You don’t expect it and then you can’t look away.  Watch the video to be amazed and then do the video yourself and try to maintain his focus!

So, onto June!  June is arms,  and I’m staying with the pattern we tried out last month with one base exercise and one that changes daily.  Contact me to join in the fun!

 

P90X3 – Agility X

Moving onto our second P90X3 DVD…Agility X.  For this, you use two pieces of tape on the floor to mark your spots to hit.  I had a picture, but can’t find it.  Basically, 3-4 steps apart, parallel, 2 feet long with an x at the top, middle and bottom.  These are your targets.  I used masking tape for it after the first time, when I used quarters to mark the spots.

Once you have your set up (which is in the How To Accelerate video), Push Play!  The moves are mostly simple, with some crazier ones.  The first time I did the video, every time I heard the crazy name of a move I was nervous.  But most were alright.  I had the most trouble with 3.4 Run.  For this, you’re hitting spots as Tony calls them.  “Cross” means diagonally across, “left” and “right” means to switch sides.  And they aren’t mirroring.  I get confused.  If you do, just keep moving.  Don’t let it frustrate you.

This one leaves you with a good move to end…Plyo Line Push-Ups.  Don’t worry, there’s a no plyo modification!  Basically moving push ups back and forth.  But then you’re done!

The tape really makes you focus on form, which is great.  This will get your heart rate up and make you sweat…I promise!

 

 

Kicking off the P90X3 DVDs!

I’ve started my 4th week of P90X3 (don’t forget…P90X3 and TurboFire challenge packs are discounted for a few more days!), so I guess it’s time to start telling you about the videos.  Week 4 is a transition week, so it’s preparing me to go on to the next block.  I feel strong (and sore!) and ready.

First, a popular question answered…do you need to do P90X and P90X2 first?  Nope.  P90X3 is not a graduate program.  You can jump right in!  I’m doing the Classic schedule – there are also Lean, Mass and Doubles schedules in the base kit.  So, I’m going to work through the workouts in the order of the Classic schedule.  Which means we start with…

Total Synergistics!

This is full body strength training.  You will use a few different weights, plus your chin up bar (or a resistance band), for compound movements that will work you well.  Some show modifications, so you can follow along with the modifier if you need to.  I know that my ankle is still a bit off from my 10K, so I haven’t done much plyo work, choosing the step option on those moves.

There is NO shame in modifying folks!  Do what you can.  Or as Tony says…

Some of the moves are tough, but the workout is over in a flash.  And Tony Horton is funny, so you get a few laughs in.  I like this workout a lot though.  I love the weights!

One big thing here is to TRACK! your weights.  I use the P90X app to track weights and reps on the workouts.  It’s been working well for me, but there are other apps out there as well.

Do you track your workouts?  Are you a pen and paper or app type?

Mixing P90X3 and the 21 Day Fix

I’m mixing up the P90X3 workouts with the 21 Day Fix meal plan.  How am I doing that?  Hear it here!

Happy Monday!

It’s Monday again!  But next week, Monday is off for me.  Looking forward to that of course!

I work from home for the most part, and it works pretty well all around.  I get more done both working and on non-working stuff.  I get to see my daughter more.  I don’t have to worry about bringing my lunch.  And I can “sleep in” to 5am!

Today, I commuted.  I’ve been up since 4.  What have I done all day?

4-5am – Get workout clothes on, P90X3 workout and Shakeology.  Plus a few minutes checking in on my groups!
5-6am – Shower and get me ready.
6-6:45am – Get the baby ready.
6:45am-6:20pm – commute, work, commute.  Best thing about commuting is book time!  I’m reading The Millionaire Next Door right now.
6:20-7pm – dinner and play!  I also started the dishwasher and a load of laundry.
7pm on…I have been crazy productive!  Listened to a recorded call, called into my team call, baked sweet potatoes, did some dishes, another load of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, ironed my daughter’s name into clothes for school, checked in with some friends.  I think that’s it!  Now it’s time for legs and bed 🙂

How was your Monday?

Creating

What do you do when your child’s school has a “Wear Green for Reptiles” day and you have a reptile?  For me, I made her a shirt.

I had some iron on printer paper, and while it works alright, it isn’t that great.  I wouldn’t use this route if you wanted to wear something many times, but for a child who will likely grow out of this shirt soon anyway, it didn’t seem like a gamble.  It was really simple to do, so I’ll go through it for you.

First, get the paper and shirt.  I used this paper and got a mint green shirt at Carter’s.  I had seen a similar top at Target, but it was ribbed and I didn’t think that was a good starting point!

Then, get a picture or image.  I took this one of our Gilligan to start out.

Then I used picmonkey and the Avery Design and Print site to create the printable.  For this, I liked using their tool because they know to flip the image for the iron on! I’d likely forget otherwise.  I cropped the picture and added text with picmonkey and then added a border with the Avery site.  And printed the result.

after the picmonkey step

Then I followed the instructions for the iron on…I wont go through that in case you have different paper.

I think it came out pretty well!  She liked having her pet on her shirt, though I think she forgot unless looking in a mirror.  And she was the only one who wore green in her class, which is the usual.  But we had fun with it!  Today is pajama day, and I don’t think I’m going to go with that.  No one does!

I like it!

It has some cracks in it already, but I still think it’s cute.

What would you iron on?

…And a Half!

Today, a little someone has her half birthday!  And a big someone since we’re born the same day.

 

It’s the half birthday of everyone in this crazy pic

You can see here that though we have a picky 18 month old, she lets it be known if she wants what you’re having.  She still eats a lot of the same things she always has, and is very fickle…what she ate yesterday may not be enjoyed today!  So for school days, she gets the tried and true foods that she’ll eat.  Then we play nights and weekends.

Rare picture of the three of us

This was the first time she decided to try pizza…crazy kiddo!  Just a few bites.  She loves fruit though, so I’ll take it!

She walks, has so much to say (wish I could understand it all) and mimics words all the time.  I guess I’ll have to keep my words in check 😉  And now, she loves her helmet!  Along with some toys – she never has really been attached to them before the past month or so!

Overly protected for the wagon

I need to get a picture of her joining in on my P90X3 and May legs workouts!  She just squats, but she’s great at it!   I needed a picture of her this morning too…it’s wear green for reptiles day at school, and I made her a shirt with our reptile on it!  Hopefully she’s still in it when I pick her up!

 

 

So smile, it’s Thursday!

 

Yoga Day!

On my workout schedule today is P90X3 – X3 Yoga!  I went through some of my feelings on home yoga videos when I was doing the 21 Day Fix so I was a little nervous about this one.

Whenever you talk about P90X with someone, the first or second thing they mention is ALWAYS how much they hated YogaX.  It is a 90 minute workout, so right there, you lose me.  90 minutes of yoga, at home, alone, is a tough thing to get through.  It is one thing to be in a class environment with others and their energy for 90 minutes.  But for me (and it seems for most!), that’s too long to focus alone.

X3 Yoga is 30 minutes (like all of the videos) and goes through tough but doable poses.  There are also options to make it harder…you can add push ups to your vinyasas but no one’s coming to get you if you don’t.  And you can follow Ted, or stare in awe while he does some amazing poses.  It’s a good watch just for that!

I love that there is shoulder stand in here.  It’s one of my favorite poses that I don’t do enough.  I’m looking forward to the whole workout in a bit!

I would recommend watching this one through if you’re brand new to yoga.  Some things aren’t too difficult, but having your focus on watching instead of doing is a good idea for the first viewing.  Then restart it and hop in!  You’ve got this!

Hope you’re having a great week!  What’s your workout today?

Happy Mother’s Day!