Yoga Interval For Triathletes, Cyclists And Runners

Here is a short yoga video (or yoga interval) I shot for triathletes, cyclist and runners. The cool part is it really works the psoas, quads, hamstrings, and glutes. It is meant to be a restorative interval but it can also be used to strengthen the legs in a balanced way. And the best part is it only takes about 5 or 6 minutes to go through 2 or 3 times. Although in truth this simple interval is pretty challenging so one time through may be plenty. Restorative, strengthening yoga in 6 minutes or less? How's that for effective time management?

Thursday And Friday

So my focus for Thursday and Friday is primarily strength.

This Thursday was 90 min upper body and core workout that started with a 20 - 30 min light jog to warm up (about 10 - 11 min pace, HR in the 125-135 range). Then the fun began. I did 2 rounds of variations of pushup and pullup sets averaging about 20 pushups and 10 pullups for each variation. Along with this there were several jump rope sets interspersed throughout while I waited on my shoulders and arms to recover. All of the pullups were assisted because I had done a full pullup routine and added some dips for good measure on Wednesday after my track workout.

I trained strength again on Friday focusing on my legs. But my work, while including needed movements for the quads and hamstrings to insure both strength and balance, also incorporates movements to open and support the joints and the knees and ankles. This meant along with squats, leg extensions and curls, step ups, lunges (in varying directions) there were also circular movements, taken from yoga, martial arts, and Tai Chi.

This work has been instrumental I believe in restoring my speed and strength as well as resolving a knee issue I've lived with on the bike for over 10 years. I can't wait to see how this plays out in my cycling and running this year but for now I'm content knowing that I'm feeling better and training consistently and well.

After my leg work I went for an easy swim focused on a single rotation drill and kicking. All in all just a pretty good day.

Wednesday - Post Recovery

So today was my first day back after a 3 day unscheduled hiatus from training. I'm not really sure what to make of what happened. So for 3 days, I was just tired. sleeping 12 hours a day tired and that is not including the 2 hour naps. As far as I could tell I wasn't fighting off an infection. My heart rate was pretty normal. And to be honest, I wasn't "tired". But I was abnormally sleepy.

My mantra from when I was working over night is to never train when I'm sleepy. That's how I got to 3 days off. I would wake up after 8 hours of sleep and still be yawing. So I'd have breakfast then go take about an hour nap. I'd work on some video projects for a couple of hours, then I'd be ready for nap number 2. 3 days of this was killing me. But in the scheme of things we'll see how this plays out for my training.

Wednesday is my normal day to go to the track and check the results of my MAF (maximum aerobic function) work. Things looked pretty good for the first mile but I think the heat and the wind were a bit much for me and my heart rate started to climb out of the zone for the test. I think this is where discipline comes in. I could have held on to the pace I normally am able to run out of pride but I want this work to pay off long term so, I sucked it up and slowed way down to get my heart rate back down. The cool thing is I didn't have to walk to do it. So if there is a moral victory to be had anywhere, I'd say that would be it.

I also rode my bike this morning but only for about 45 minutes in attempting to keep my first day back moderate while sticking to the training pattern I like to follow on Wednesdays.

After the track MAF, I went down to the shore and did some pullups. I think about 60 total. And I did a few sets of dips. So tomorrow I'll lighten up on the pullups and enhance the core work during my strength training. I'll do a 20 minute run to warm up for the strength work.

And I suppose I'll get to bed now. I'm sleepy again. Peace and train well!

Thursday And Friday

Thursday was a day off. I don't normally take days "off" when I'm training as much as let my body decide when and how long to rest. This was a day off. I wrote it down before hand, wasn't particularly tired, and just took it.

Friday on the other hand is my normal strength day focusing on the legs. But because last week I maxed out all of my sets, I took today easy and dropped the weight back down to prior levels. The weight I did today was still heavier than what I was doing last season, so I'm seeing progress. While I am using weight now, I will switch to more body weight leg work in the future as I start to focus on my triathlon training. The reason for this is I am using the weight now to monitor progress as I work on balancing out the difference in strength between my right and left legs.

In my case what I've come to learn is that this disparity was actually caused by instability in my left knee. So just as flexibility can be influenced by mobility in the joints so can strength and muscular balance. To that end I've been doing a slew of new movements to improve things.

What I didn't expect was the comment from my Rolfer when she saw me this week, "Your feet look a million times better!"

Coming from a Rolfer that is a "functional movement" junky who is obsessed with feet, this was high praise. All I know is it is easier to run faster and I'm just happy about that.

After my leg work, it was time to swim and start focusing on dialing in my technique for the upcoming season. I felt really good in the water and have been toying with the idea of having a single drill be the sole focus of my workout for the day. Today's swim was about 30min but focusing only on extending my arm out in front of me as I floated was more challenging as it sounds. After a few lengths of this, I was pooped but I managed a good solid half hour in the water. When I moved back into freestyle after the drills, I felt strong and balanced. I think the next drill I work on is the catch underwater.

Monday, Tuesday

So I've got the new website up and functioning. You can check it out here. Right now its basically a reorganization of this blog. But that will change as I start to shift my emphasis in what I write. But for now its just a matter of organizing things. I feel like I'm moving in to a new house. But the good thing is now that the site is up, I can get back to the matter at hand and that is simply training. I've gone back to doing my strength work. I'm pretty consistant about working out my lower body but I tend to stop working the upper body except for my core as racing season approaches. This is largely because I find I'm not as flexible which negatively impacts my swimming. But I'm not racing now so that excuse is baseless.

I like to do my upper body strength training on Monday because its the beginning of the week and I like to get it out of the way first thing. Probably because I don't like it. And because it hurts. And if there is anything I will find an excuse not to do it is this workout. The session isn't very complex, it just hurts is all. So here's what I did:

1. 2 x 30 sec max rep push ups
2. 2 x 30 sec max rep pull ups
3. 2 x 30 sec max rep mil push ups
4. 2 x 30 sec max rep rev grip chin ups
5. 2 x 30 sec max rep decline push ups
6. 2 x 30 sec max rep close grip pull ups
7. 2 x 30 sec max rep diamond push ups
8. 2 x 30 sec max rep towel pull ups
9. 2 x max rep divebomber
10. 2 x 30 sec max rep isometric chest press

Then I went to an hour and a half all levels yoga class. The class just so happened to be pretty core intensive and included a lot of standing poses which really emphasize leg strength and balance. Later that day did an indoor MAF ride for half an hour which included two sets of single leg drills.

Today, I ran for an hour with an average heart rate of 140. I've been training at completely MAF (maximum aerobic function) for the last couple of weeks. A lot of folks discount this type of training or don't stick with it for very long, but I've seen the results and am willing to do it. Then I came home and got on the trainer for 40 min also at MAF with an average heart rate of 127. That was today's work. Gonna swim and run tomorrow.

P90X And Triathlon

I get a large number of visits on this blog daily because of my experiences with the P90X work out program. And a few of these are from triathletes who are considering whether or not the program can help them with reach their multisport goals. I've tried to be as detailed as possible about my take on P90X and its benefits. For someone who doesn't have a lot of time and wants a strength program that is varied and well structured, I'd say it is well worth the investment of about $130 to $300 to assemble all the necessary equipment. If you want to know what I think about P90X then read the weekly posts. Sure you can look at the end result, but that won't give you the information you need about what it was like trying to do the program and maintain some semblance of triathlon specific work.  That, in a nutshell, was hard. Very hard.

But here's the thing. What I found doing P90X, and I'd wager you'd find this doing any coherent, focused functional strength program, is my endurance increased along with my strength. Translation, I was able to work longer, at a faster rate, more efficiently when it was all said and done. Did I look like the folks on TV? Nope. But honestly, I really didn't care about that. What I got from doing P90X for 90 days was a faster return to the level of fitness I enjoyed prior to my 5 year hiatus.

I've had quite a bit of time to consider to effects of P90X on Triathlon training having almost 2 years since I did my first workout pass. First I will say I do believe it is possible to do both P90X and Tri training. I've said that all along. But what I've also said is there are caveats. The main one being the results you are looking for from the program. If those results are more on the appearance side, then I'd definitely tone down the tri specific work until I "looked" the way I wanted.

On the other hand if you wanted to use P90X as a basis for enhancing tri performance, then I think with some modification to the routine it could be done with great success for all distances. 

Why do I say this? I say this because many athletes tend to overlook the importance of basic strength in triathlon and focus an overly large amount of time on endurance. And when I speak of strength I'm talking about a concept beyond lifting weights in the gym a couple of hours a week in the midst of swimming, biking and running throughout the week. When I speak of strength, I'm speaking about things like range of motion, connective tissue, power, balance, coordination, muscular access, and muscular endurance. 

The more I consider the way time is or can be spent preparing for Triathlon of any distance, the more I feel that each of the three sports are techniques to be learned and mastered, and the results you see on race day are from the successful integration and application of full bodied strength and technique work. P90X can certainly assist in creating that. You simply need to know when, where, and how to apply it in the scheme of your other tri specific training.

Getting Back To Normal

Wherever that is...

At any rate I started this week the way I like to start all my training weeks and that is with functional strength work.  

Lately I've been reading Chuckie V's blog and actively trying to incorporate some of his ideas where I can.  Sadly strength work is not one of the things I used (took, borrowed, stole).  But to be fair, and I'm perfectly happy to admit this,  the posts I've seen where he talks about strength training for triathletes say I'm not old enough to worry about it yet.  I can live with that.  

But that did start me thinking more and more about the different ideas people can have about strength; how to develop it and how to apply it properly.  As a committed experiment of one, the best thing I have to add is that I feel endurance athletes need to rethink the entire concept of strength training altogether.  I will acknowledge, lately I've been seeing more and more people expand their definition and experience of strength work by using programs like CrossFit, P90x, pilates, or Boot Camp style workouts to get more from their bodies.  I honestly believe this is a good thing as we move from the traditional "bodybuilding centric" paradigm and begin to incorporate more functional bodyweight and balance movements into the mix.

And that's why I left the yoga and functional strength work in my schedule after reading ideas from Chuckie V, Gordo and a few others.  I think I've settled on a pattern of work and recovery that takes advantage of the available free time in my schedule and allows from some quality work on the days that I am working my normal job.  The reason I've taken the time to sit down and do this (again) is I felt I still wasn't making the most of my time.  Even though I've seen some real gains in my training, my body composition continues to improve and move more into the lean muscle side of things, I was still struggling to fit in key workouts in each sport.  Some of this can be rectified by using a single word much more often, "No," if you were wondering.

So this weeks work so far was something like this.  Monday 1 hour of functional strength work: about 150 pushups, 50 pullups, 30 single leg squats per leg, 20 min of jump rope, 10 min running stairs and 15 min of core burning work(I'm still on fire, moving from sitting to standing is difficult).  There was also a 30 min easy run. Tuesday was 2 hours cycling and 1 hour swim with Tabata intervals in each workout thrown in for good measure.  Wednesday was 1:30 cycling and trips to get rolfed and some acupuncture.  I decided to do some housekeeping and post this blog otherwise there would have been a swim as well.  Like I said the schedule is a work in progress.  As am I.

Wednesday and Tuesday, Whew! Is It Sunday Yet?

So, here it is in a nutshell. Some really good training sessions. I'm seeing some gains on the bike. Running is still an issue, but not sure what to do. Not running is not helping. And running isn't making things worse and pain is, well, here and there. Literally. So what does that mean? As far as running goes, I ran back to back days Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday's 45 minute run was flat and at an average HR of 135. So it was easy and I talked the entire run. That was followed up by a 3 hour bike ride. Average HR was 124. Going out was a breeze. Coming home into the wind, well that was a little more taxing. HR hit 130, I think. I also managed a 20 minute time trial in the middle of the ride for good measure. Great day to be out on the bike. Truly it was.

So Wednesday began with boot camp where I focused on legs, plyo, and some yogic style core work. Then came the 2 hour nap, followed up with an appointment to see the acupuncturist. The day ended with a very hilly 1 hour run where I found out just how strong my legs were.

Did I mention there were 1 arm pullups this week? Yep. Somewhere along the way I figured out I can do one arm pullups... Sweet!

Monday

No Miles today. Just Boot camp with a kick butt pushup/pullup and accessible core workout for 60 minutes. With a bit of jump rope and stairs for good measure. I'm feeling stronger and more confident. I topped the day of with yoga. Tomorrow is looking like a 2 run 1 bike sort of day. We'll see how that goes with a yoga class thrown in for good measure...

Monday, Monday, Monday

So the best thing I can say about Monday is that it finally came and I made it through the weekend without incident. In the last couple of weeks, I took on an additional yoga class and have been consistent in my own training except for running due to the foot issues.

But that changed today. First up was the boot camp I lead. Because I was still recovering a bit and there was a fitness assessment on the schedule for the workout, I only did about 50% of the work. But 50% was plenty.

After the assessment was done, we got down to work. Here's what we did.

Swing Kicks x2 1min each
Pogo Stick x2 30sec each
Running Stairs (2 flights) 5min total
4 x 50m sprints with drill recovery
15 min core work

The fitness assessment included wall squats, bicep curls, pushups, shoulder press, and core work.

After this I ran for 45 min. I still have a bit of pain in my foot but a visit to my Naturopath led to some clarity as to why I still feel the pain even though the bone in my foot is properly positioned now. She and my acupuncturist will be working on this to address the underlying cause of the dislocation. I'll probably write more on that later. Anyway it just feels good to get a clearer understanding of what is going on and have a plan to get it addressed. Not running as much as I'd like is starting to piss me off. But I have to admit my strength gains are probably due to the extra time I've been given because of it. ;)

I ended the day teaching yoga.

3 Seconds And 12 Watts Later

This week was a test week. I was to get a baseline on all three sports, swimming, cycling and running. But because of my foot and the previously dislocated bone in it (there is still a bit of inflamation, but other than that no real pain to speak of) I skipped the run test and opted to add a 30 second pushup test in its place. Just for kicks. 62 perfect pushups in 30 seconds. Not bad. But there was definitely some pain involved in the exercise. But now that I've done it I think I'll do this test as well when I test again next month. I may see if I can work up to a 60 second pushup test. Who knows? I think the pushup results are encouraging though I must admit at the time I wasn't sure what they would mean for my other test this week.

The swim and bike results were encouraging as well. About 12 watts on the bike up from last year's test in November and 3 seconds per 100m faster in the swim. I think I'm seeing this because of the change in focus in my training. I've decided to devote more of my time working on strength. One reason for this is I didn't have that much to begin with. The other is because I'm not getting any younger.

By focusing on strength and muscular endurance type work to transform my body into one that can handle more work loads in my training, and keeping the triathlon specific work focused on technique, I'm allowing my body the time it needs to become more powerful and proficient at the same time without the accumulated stress of weeks of endurance based training. So first I will adapt myself to the loads, then I will adapt to carrying sports specific loads. One of the things I observed was as I became fitter in my prior racing, I also seemed to become weaker physically. Some of this was probably my scattershot approach to nutrition back then. But some of that was probably also due to the nature of the stresses that come along with racing.

I think the most encouraging thing I am taking away from this week's tests is on the bike I am now able to ride in the big chainring. Last year, I had to acknowledge that I didn't posses the strength or fitness to race effectively using larger gears. Now even though I am lighter, I had no issue with holding a big gear in either my time trial test or the test I conducted on the trainer a few days later. In fact I was riding the majority of the time trial in either a 53x12 or 53x13. No way I could have pulled that off last year.

I think there are a couple of reason that account for the early season progress I'm both seeing and feeling. The largest component has to be rest. I am making a concerted effort to place rest front and center in my training schedule. Basically what this amounts to is in addition to the "no working out sleepy" rule there is now a 9:30pm curfew. I brought this rule back with me from Colorado after I spent some time on my friend's back porch watching the sun and moon rise and set for a few days. It occurred to me that nature operated quite well within the parameters of these movements and I should probably follow her very obvious example in my own life. More than any other single workout, gadget, or supplement I've ever tried this single change by far has had the most immediate and verifiable impact.

I also have to acknowledge the huge benefit I am now enjoying by employing both functional bodyweight training, yoga, and accessible core work into my weekly routine. I owe so much of the power and endurance I have to this I can't begin to express. The thing is I haven't really begun my endurance training yet but because of the workouts I've put together I know I am now starting from a position of strength versus ground zero. I can train harder and recover faster. And I still have a full time job.

Monday AM Boot Camp/PM Yoga

The day started with Boot Camp and ended with me teaching my Monday Yoga for Athletes class at Professional Cycle Works. I almost didn't make it to the class because of the 50 or so mile drive out to Liberty Hill to see my Chiropractor to have the dislocated bone in my foot worked on in the middle of my day. But the drive was totally worth it. The pain was down to about a 5 -- which is manageable. But I was still leery of running on the foot so I thought it was best to visit him one more time before giving it a try. Good thing I did. Turns out the bone was still a little out of its socket and needed to be put in a touch more. Now I don't really feel pain at all in the foot when using it. Just to be safe, I'm going to wait about a week on the running. And even though I cut it pretty close, I still made it back for yoga.

This morning's boot camp was intense. I focused the class on upper body strength and endurance work. Everything integrated the core. Here is what we did:

1. Standard pushups 30 seconds
2. Standard pullups (with bands or on bar) bands for 1min on bar for 30 seconds
3. Wide pushups 30 seconds
4. Wide grip pullups 1min or 30 seconds
5. Military pushups 30 seconds
6. Chin ups 1min or 30 seconds
7. V pushup 30 seconds
8. Overhand chin ups 30 seconds or 1 min depending on bar or band usage.

Then we did intervals in the parking garage combined with stairs and repeated the above strength workout for good measure. Not too bad for 60 minutes of work.

Yoga was focused on lower leg stability, so there were quite a few lunges and balance poses which we held for a bit. Things are looking up. Can't wait to try and run next week.

Monday - Strength Work Ace Style

So yesterday was Boot Camp at Hill Country Fitness. I lead these so, technically I don't have to actually do the workouts. But in an effort to maximize my time I do participate. This makes sure I get some much needed strength work and cross training in without having to go to the gym. ;)

Here's what we did.

1) Start out with 50 Hindu Squats - These are good for loosing up the joints and warming the body up in a hurry while also building endurance.
2) about a 2 min trot over to the Town Square in the Galleria.
3) 1 min of Shuffle Squat Touch - A low side shuffle to the right in basketball stance, squat down touch the ground, then repeat other direction
4) 30 seconds Jump switch squat - Wide legged stance, squat down touch the ground in front of the front foot, then jump, turn, squat and touch ground behind you with the opposite hand.
5) 30 seconds Revolved Warrior lunge pulse. (30 seconds each leg) So Warrior II with the back heel up (technically Anjaneyasana or high lunge) but you bring the arm opposite the lunging knee to the front and pulse into the bent front leg. Core, balance, endurance and strength just like we like it.
6) Repeat exercises 2 through 5.
7) Trot over to the parking garage ( about 2 min) then 5 min of running up and down 2 flights of stairs. ( I "float" these meaning I skip 2 steps and explode off my toes the instant they come into contact with the stairs)
8) 1 min incline pushups
9) 1 min dips
10) 1 min modified Hindu Pushups (Dive Bombers)
11) Repeat 8-11
12) 1 min Towel slides for core ( stand on a towel with palms flat on the floor, slide the towel back to a plank position, slide the towel forward to a standing forward fold.
13) 1 min Cross leg Crossover Sit up - on your back legs out straight in a V right hand behind the head left arm points up to the ceiling. Taking the left hand straight up is if you are being pulled up, hinging at your waist come up to a seated position, legs still in the V shape. Once you are in the seated position, take the left hand over and touch the right foot, recline, switch the hand/arm position and repeat.
14) 1 min In/Out - seated on the floor, palms at your sides, knees bent feet hover just above the floor. Move the legs out, then back in toward the chest.
15) Repeat 12-14
16) Cool down.

Later, I taught a yoga class. Needless to say I was tired. The plan was to ride in between the Boot Camp and Yoga but life got in the way. The winds were too high and it was threatening rain. Plus I had an acupuncture appointment to go to. I'll try to squeeze the ride in next week. As it stands I was pretty tired at the end of the day so I'll count it as a strength day in my log.

Yoga and Strength - Yoga For Triathletes

So when you think of yoga, you normally think of people with stick figure bodies who are able to take themselves into shapes that would injure a pretzel. Or you think it would be great to be more flexible and you think of yoga as a way to accomplish this. You may not see much difference in yoga and some of the stretches you've seen or read about. I know I didn't until I'd done yoga for a few weeks. I'll say it for the record. Yoga can be much more challenging than any other physical activity I've ever done.

One of the most notable differences between yoga and simple static stretches is the sequencing. Most good yoga classes follow a well thought out progression which moves the body deeper and deeper into similar but more challenging positions. In fact many of the common poses you may be familiar with such as Downward Dog, Crow Pose, or even a simple Forward Fold are actually "preparations" for deeper yoga poses. The same is also true of many static stretches people come to know and use regularly. These stretches are variations or simplified Yoga poses. Often what is going on in these variations is the pose is modified by taking several dimensional components out of it so that it becomes more accessible for someone new to using their bodies in an unfamiliar way. Static stretches (and most weight machines) often remove the coordinated muscle recruitment that relates to stability. The removal of these components, while making the stretch simple, has the undesirable side affect of doing less to actually strengthen the body. This is a very important distinction.

It is this distinction that has started me to look more closely into defining strength as it applies to what we wish to do with and get from our bodies. This is especially true for people who are requiring their bodies perform specific and highly specialized tasks. With this in mind, manifested strength for a powerlifter is going to appear very different from manifested strength for a dancer or the manifested strength for a runner. But what is similar is all of these athletes share the need for training movements that allow them greater access to integrated and coordinated muscle recruitment which will provide a more economical yet powerful response to performance related stimuli.

Recently I've spent some time watching a local core conditioning class. One of the things I noticed was how similar many of the exercises were to Yoga poses you would find in a movement based or Vinyasa class. However there was one subtle difference. When focusing only on the core as the class did there was very little, if any integration taking place involving the rest of the body as it related to the core. A simple example of this was the use of Plank Pose in the core class. While the class used several versions of Plank, they were all static which largely isolates the core from other muscles in the body by simply creating the tension necessary to remain in a flat plane. You will see Plank used a lot in Yoga classes as well. But with one difference. The pose is rarely held for long periods in static form. The Plank Pose is a transition into other dynamic movements. One such movement is to simply bring a knee up to the chest and hold it there. This movement engages the core in an active manner useful to runners and cyclists. In Yoga the movement teaches the recruitment necessary to move from Downward Dog to a Lunge (or Runner's Pose) by bringing the body forward into Plank, while hovering the knee, and "placing" the foot in between the hands. Experienced Yogis are able to perform this movement silently but if you find yourself in a Yoga class listen when this move is performed and you may be amazed at how much noise is created by people dropping their feet to the floor by simply moving into a lunge.

This all brings me to a quote one of my favorite yoga teachers here in Austin, Sanieh (she is pictured at the top of this post), said in her class once, "We aren't just strong, we are Yoga strong." Her classes reflect this deep understanding of the importance of integrating strength with balance, coordination, and awareness. What she meant with her observation was that while yogis may not possess bulging muscles, they do possess a body awareness and muscular intelligence that allows them to perform incredible acts like handstands, countless arm balances, or the ability to simply walk up a flight of stairs without being heard. It isn't that Yoga is the best or only way to achieve strength. But what Yoga does do is provide a framework for someone to discover hidden strength that can be found within the body by learning to look at an integrative, dynamic training program versus a static one.

What a Difference a Little Persistence Can Make

Wow!!! There is nothing like visual confirmation that something you've been working at for a very long time is coming to fruition. For me this year was really about doing some races and addressing the area of changing my body composition so that I could see some economy benefits in cycling and running. What a difference a year and three months, some exercise, more sleep and about 60 days of counting calories can make. Even I am shocked by these pictures. The cool thing is I haven't been training more than a few hours a week since Thanksgiving. And I haven't counted calories since then either. I've been taking things pretty easy, enjoying my unstructured training time and doing a little yoga here and there.

A little over a year ago, I started out with just a goal of becoming fitter and healthier, and maybe doing a few races. I can't begin to tell you how many times along the way I was sure nothing was happening or that I was sliding backwards instead of moving forward. So whatever your goals are for the coming year keep working at them and you will see results. Here's a bit of proof and hopefully some inspiration. Happy New Year everyone!

Photos on the left taken 08-17-07. Photos on the right taken 12-29-08

Thoughts About P90X 11 Months Later

So a lot of folks have been looking at my P90X posts this summer and for the most part I think if you take the time to look through them they speak for themselves but I thought I'd offer my take on the program now and give some input on which posts about my experience I thought might offer the most information.

I suppose one thing I'd want to know right off the bat is how is my weight/fitness now? When I started the P90X program in September 2007 I had already lost about 10 pounds and my weight at that point I was 164 pounds. Now I weigh 154 pounds. Aside from losing the weight and being able to keep it off, P90X allowed me to get back into triathlon training and racing faster than if I'd not used the program. I was not only able to build strength but I was also able to build my base endurance up in the process. P90X is also very, very core intensive. For this reason if you look around the internet you will see not only dramatic changes in weight but also huge changes in posture. Personally for the better posture alone P90X is more than worth the money and effort you will put into it if you chose to purchase the program and use it.

The nutrition plan that comes in the program is also very sound and well thought out. If you take the time to study it and adjust it to your personal needs and situation, you will find this is where your most visible results will come quickly. Without the diet you will get much stronger, but chances are you won't see the visual results P90X is so famous for. I also believe how we choose to eat affects not only how we look in the mirror, but how we ultimately think and behave. When we eat better, we are better.

Currently I still use the P90X workouts 2-3 times a week depending on time, timing (am I racing that weekend), and fitness goals. The workout is portable if you have a set of resistance bands. This summer I used P90X to stay in shape while on trips to California and Washington D.C. I plan to use the full 90 day program again during my off season. Where I decide to position it will depend on if I also plan to use the P90X + program in addition to P90X or not.

Finally, I found the results I got varied depending on whether I was using the resistance bands or the weights. The bands, I think give a type of strength that is present throughout the full range of motion of the exercise. You will look toned. The dumbbells will give you a higher top end strength wise and you will get more definition more quickly.

If you just want a quick overview of how the program is structured check out these two links:
Week 1

Week 1 Caveat

If you just want to know how the story ended, check out this link:
Final Thoughts on P90x

If you want to see pictures of what I look like now compared to what I looked like when I started, check out this link:What I look like now.

Final Thoughts On P90x

So its been about a month since my last P90x workout. And I've had some time to think about what I got out of the program. Personally, to get to the point, I think P90x is one of the best strength building workouts out there. For the money, about $120.00 for the DVD's or videos in VHS format, and another $100.00 to $150.00 for extra equipment like dumb bells or resistance bands and a pull up bar, you really can't beat it. P90x was truly like having a personal trainer come to my house each and every day and work me out. I got stronger and faster in record time. The only thing that didn't happen was I didn't lose a lot of weight while I was doing the program. I attribute that to two things. Number 1 was diet. For P90x to work the way you will see in the infomercial, on the website and elsewhere, you have to follow the diet. There is no getting around this. And I found this out first hand. You can see this in my photos.

The second reason, I didn't see the weight loss or muscular definition the program was famous for was I was also doing an average of 8 hours per week of triathlon training on top of my 6 to 7 hours of P90x specific work. The problem here was that with the additional activity, my caloric intake was greater and my body was probably in "starvation" mode thus not burning fat as efficiently as it could/would have had I not been doing the extra cardio work that is necessary for triathlon training. This extra cardio work also takes necessary energy,nutrients, and rest time from your body that would normally be used for actually building muscles.

I started P90x weighing in at 162lbs on day 1. By day 30 I was actually up to 165lb. By day 60 I had dropped back to 162lbs. And on day 90 I weighed in at 160lbs. From the pictures you can see the overall shift in where the weight was carried. But what is interesting is what happened after I stopped doing all P90x work and just went back to my normal triathlon specific work. Two weeks after P90x, I weighed in at 158lbs. And four weeks after P90x I weighed 155lbs. My only explanation for this is the increased muscle mass developed from P90x upped my metabolism which then burned fat more efficiently once I stopped doing the P90x workouts. My body must have deemed my caloric intake as sufficient and the additional recovery time allowed my body to burn off any excess body fat that was no longer seen as necessary to maintain the two different types of workouts simultaneously. This is just a guess, but it is the only explanation I have.


To illustrate, here are some of my P90x photos:





If you need more details or want to see more pictures, check out these links:

If you just want a quick overview of how the program is structured you should take a look at these two links:
Week 1

Week 1 Caveat

If you just want to know what I thought of P90X after a year, check out this link:
P90x One Year Later.

If you want to see pictures of what I look like now compared to what I looked like when I started, check out this link:What I Look Like Now.

If you have questions about P90X and Triathlon look here.

Handstand Practice

Lately I've become obsessed with doing handstands. So obsessed in fact, I haven't really thought about blogging that much. I know, I know, if God had meant for us to be upside down she would have put our feet on our wrists. The thing of it is though, I think I'm on to something. Bear with me. This is just the way my brain works.

So in Yoga each week, we do handstands. At first, I was was like, "No way. I'm not 10 anymore. Besides, I have two perfectly good feet to stand on thank you very much..."

But the thing about doing anything in a group is that even if nothing is said (and not a word was that first day in Yoga class when everyone started turning themselves upside down without a second thought) is you start feeling a little self conscious because everyone else in the room is upside down and you are not. So initially I started doing handstands purely as a result of peer pressure. Plain and simple. I mister, super individual, think for himself, went to yoga class each week, lined up on the wall and turned myself over when commanded. Which by the way in case you were wondering was not nearly as easy as writing about it some months later.

But then one day I went swimming after a Yoga class that had us focus on inversions. (In Yoga, headstands and handstands form a subset of the practice called "inversion".) Anyway, at the pool that day I noticed something I'd never noticed before. I was aware of my feet in the water. I know this may not seem like a big thing to those of you who grew up swimming but to an "adult onset swimmer" (you can find a complete definition for this term on Fedofsky's blog which is where I stole it from) like myself, this was nothing short of miraculous. You see in my initial forays into the world of triathlon, swimming was definitely my limiter. And one reason for my being limited, as the woman who swam in my lane with me at masters swimming back then called to my attention, was that my feet were pointing straight down toward the bottom of the pool. So for all practical purposes, while I was a drag racer on land, capable of high speed in both the bike and the run, I was a dragster in the water with both of my braking parachutes open and deployed as I tried to swim.

You know, you would think a person could feel something dragging their feet in the water like that. But I didn't. Chalk it up to the survival instinct. I was so concerned with just making it from one end of the pool to the other without actually drowning at some point in between, what my feet were doing was not really high on my list of priorities. Keeping my arms moving so I wouldn't sink to the bottom of the pool and drown was.

So you can imagine my surprise when I was in the pool and could actually feel the tops of my feet pressing against the water when I kicked. But what was even better, I could tell that my toes were pointed!!! Now I suspect the pointed toes had been going on for a while and this was also due to Yoga. In yoga, aside from sitting cross-legged aka Lotus pose, you sit on the tops of your feet. A lot. This is probably where the actual flexibility for toe pointing came from. But the sensation of pointing toes, that came from the handstands. Here's my theory. When you are upside down, your brain, marvelous little computer that it is says, "Hey I'm gonna need some balance and sensation in the feet if this guy is going to be spending time upside down so I don't fall over." And because falling over would SO suck that's what it does. It creates new little neural pathways connecting it to your feet so that it can keep your body upright and balanced whether you are on your feet or on your hands. And what is one of the key skills in swimming?? Balance.

So that's my theory and I'm sticking to it. So now at home every time I walk by the front door I do a handstand. Just like turning over a new leaf, you never know what you'll find. On my blog until I get over my new obsession, you'll find video. Handstand videos...

P90X Review Week 12... Finally!!!

OMFG! ONE MORE WEEK TO GO!!!!!

Well, I finally made it to and through the week 12 workouts. And I'd really like to say how happy I am and so forth. But honestly, I'm just tired. Not necessarily tired physically. But I am mentally tired of doing P90X. This would probably be a different story if I were just in it for the cosmetic changes and didn't have to attend to my triathlon specific work at the same time. So I do not really fault P90X for the way I feel mentally. That is just the nature of my personal goals and how they have affected my outlook at this point. Honestly, I'd rather be spending more of my time swimming, cycling and running. I can probably attribute some of this to being inside a little too much lately. I do live in Austin, Texas and the weather here hasn't been all that bad lately. It is pretty much in the 70's and sunny right now.

Okay enough of that. Lets look at some of the results so far. Basically when I started P90X the one thing I could do was pushups. So I wasn't really too concerned with those. But when I started these workouts I was doing 20 standard pushups. Now I do around 45. This is not my max, just what I do to be able to complete the rest of the 1 hour workout effectively. What is really telling is when the sets are repeated, I can still do 40 pushups during the second round.

When I started doing pullups, I could only do 2. Now I can do 10 unassisted.

But I started doing P90X because I believed it would make me stronger for triathlons. What happened there is nothing short of amazing when you consider I have done in 3 months what may have taken much longer without the program. In the pool since P90X, my swim times have dropped to pre-hiatus race levels and below on just the most basic technique work I can do. And my endurance is still quite high even though my time in the pool has been limited.

On the bike, the results are the same. My endurance is higher than it was this summer and comparable to pre-hiatus race levels. I have no problems with wind, hills, or just throwing down the hammer when I feel like it and I am pushing bigger gears at a higher cadence. The biggest difference I can say I see on the bike is being able to endure more uncomfortable efforts without sacrificing technique.

But the most dramatic effect has been on my running. For the first two phases of P90X I limited my running to once or twice a week for fear that I wouldn't have the needed recovery for all my other workouts. During this last phase I have run every day. Yep every day. I was NEVER able to run every day before this. Even when I was racing at my best, I wouldn't have even considered it. Running just beat me up too much to make that a possibility. Now even though I'm doing P90X and yoga and the rest of my workouts, with a little basketball thrown in for good measure, I still can run daily without injury. That is HUGE.

Last night I was talking to a friend who is a self proclaimed "fitness buff." He likes to collect vintage workout books. So he has heard a great deal about P90X even though he has never done the program himself. He was asking me my take on the program so far. I told him what I have told everyone else. The program works. Like most things you get out of it what you put into it. Even if you don't do the diet, you will still walk away with more functional, usable strength than you had when you came into the program. And you will have more functional strength than if you were working out on your own in a gym. Look at it this way. Basically for $120.00 you hired yourself a 7 day a week personal trainer. And a kick butt one at that who shows up whenever you want and works you out for an hour every day for 3 months. If you include all the necessary materials, like the pullup bar and resistance bands or dumbbells, for $300.00 you still can't beat the price. For a triathlete, or anyone else, who just wants to create more durable, usable muscle I don't think there is a more efficient use of time than doing P90X. Just be aware without the diet you won't look like the photos you see on the commercials so, if that is your goal make sure you commit to the food plan and put as much energy in your eating as you put into the workouts.

P90X Week 12 So Far (Week 11 Redux)

So if you read my P90X post about week 11 you know that I basically got my azz handed to me on a silver platter complete with all the fixin's. It wasn't pretty. I was sore, I was stiff, I was beaten. It was bad. I felt like I'd been 10 rounds with Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier at the same time. Pushing play was never harder. Because of that I came into week 12 with a game plan. What was that might you ask? Two things really. First, "REPEAT THAT SEQUENCE!!!" I don't know about you, but while I can be a very gracious loser on the outside, that in no way means I am not plotting your ultimate destruction on the inside for our next encounter. And in this instance since the person who beat me was me (via a proxy by Tony Horton and crew), I figured it was time for me to take back what was mine -- aka my dignity and do some serious butt kicking of my own. Even if it killed me.

I know, I know, you're probably like, "Well Ace it was just one week. FIDO (forget it drive on). You are almost done!"

And you know, you are exactly right. But I don't roll like that. So after I decided to repeat the week, I knew the second thing that was needed. I needed to get right in the mind. And once my mind was right I was gonna bring it BIGGER, BADDER, MEANER and more RESOLUTELY than I had ever brought it before. To borrow a phrase from one of my favorite tribloggers, I was gonna show Tony and crew who was THE BOSS. Not even the dreaded AbRipperX was going to stop me. Because I was going to do AbRipperX every single day this week. And, and NO BREAKS. That's right. You heard me. No breaks. Except for water. But no stopping the DVD. During that time when I completed my sets before Tony and crew finished theirs, I jumped rope. And during the programmed water breaks, usually about a minute after each 10 or 15 minute set depending on the workout, I jumped rope. During the cooldown, I jumped rope. Then I went and ran for 30 minutes.

So now it is Thursday, and I can say to you after four days of this, I'm still doing it. But I also know I wouldn't be able to do it if I hadn't been doing these workouts for the last 3 months. So what I can say is this is a way to intensify your P90X workouts once you've completed the program once or if in that last third of the program for a week or two before the recovery week. But be warned, jumping rope through the breaks adds a dimension of aerobic intensity to the workout like no one's business. Even I wasn't prepared for how much energy it took. In workouts where exercises are repeated, during the last 1/3 of the program, I struggled. Jumping rope for 5 minutes can feel like running 30. But no matter what make sure if you add that dimension to your workouts that you drink a lot of fluids. As for doing AbRipperX daily, the first 3 days were brutal. Doing that program with a rested midsection is difficult at best even after consistently working at it for almost 3 months. Doing it back to back is just plain brutal. Try that one at your own risk. Personally, I won't be doing that again.

But after tomorrow's Leg and Back workout plus AbRipperX, I'll have the knowledge that I took this workout further than I have ever done before. And I'll have my dignity back. Though I'll probably be due for a nice long nap. Because that is how I roll.