Yes, I have jumped on the P90x bandwagon after several wushu and triathlete friends promoted the good results from the intense workout regimen that you can do in the comforts of your home with your very own cheesy video instructor.
My initial assessment is that anyone could probably get similar results if they worked out an hour with the same intensity. However, something like P90X works because it hands you a schedule and regimen to follow, and it definitely helps that you can do all these at home without any fancy equipment, and without having to drive the 10~ minutes to the gym and back. I don’t think this will replace old-fashioned cardio, but at very least, if anyone is moving this much over a span of 3 months starting from zero to no physical activity, this will guarantee, at minimum, muscle tone. We’ll see how I feel about this in the next few weeks, and I’ll be able to make a better assessment then.
The following is the weekly routine for the first phase:
Day 1: Chest & Back, and Abs. I went from virtually zero physical exercise to an hour of pull-ups, push-ups, and core/ab-work. I’ll spare you the details, but there was bile involved. And for about 3 days I could hardly lift my arms. I’m pretty sure P90x wasn’t designed for those with my level of sedentariness.
Day 2: Plyometrics. I feel these are kind of silly compared to what we used to do in KFClub for warm-up, but I guess that’s not the point. I think the difference is that with these drills, you are doing them simply for the sake of the jumps, and for me, there is a lack of “intent” or development of skill to motivate me. At the end of the hour, I was definitely feeling the burn, but I wasn’t spent afterwards. Perhaps I’m only going through the motions and need to increase the intensity. That is not to say I was not sore. I was definitely limping the day after. But maybe that’s due to the heels that I, stupidly, decided to wear that day.
Day 3: Arms and Shoulders, Abs. I’m using resistance bands which are too complicated to use and less effective, but weights cost too much money; it’s a trade-off. My upper body still hurts from the first day, so I can’t tell if I’m in more or less pain. Shortly after Day 3, DOMS (Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness) was in full effect, so all the discomfort quickly built up and hit me like a lead brick.
Day 4: Yoga. This was kind of a relief. I had some yoga background from my month at Yoga@Cindy’s, so I knew what to expect and how to utilize the hour-and-half well. It’s a good tension and pain, and the muscle soreness relented after the exercise.
Day 5: Legs and Back. This burned but not too badly. I’m a bit out of shape, but I’m used to similar drills in Wushu and welcomed the burn.
Day 6: Kenpo. This is my biggest gripe about P90X. You should never, never learn martial arts by video. You can develop bad habits or worse, injure yourself. I don’t know the slightest thing about kenpo but even I could tell the people in the video here have pretty bad form. I understand that this kenpo section is just to provide some variety and a good cardio workout, but I couldn’t keep my heart rate up. Someone with some martial arts background should be fine here, but Wushu isn’t exactly the jab-hook-punch kind of martial art so I spent more time trying to figure out the correct move more than getting a good workout. Eventually, I substituted some moves here with Wushu combos that are comparable in core- and cardio-work. I will probably continue to do this for the next few weeks.
Day 7 is a rest/stretch day, and then I’ll have to repeat this regimen for another 2 weeks before changing it up in Week 4 according to the program.
It’s good motivation that Reid and I are doing this together because I don’t think I could do this for more than the suggested 3 months. I’m not the gym rat type of person, and though this daily video is short and quick, it is way too repetitive for me. I personally prefer to dedicate time/effort to learning a sport or developing a physical skill where the exercise just becomes the means to the end. Wushu can’t be it anymore, so I need to find a new sport.
In the meantime, P90x is a good start. I want to take a 4-day hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru at ~10,000 ft. elevation, and I need to get into better shape (and “round” is not a shape, Jon Li) if I want to do that next year.
Additionally, it’s a good time to start preparing myself for backpacking/camping in the upcoming summer months. (Guess whose idea that is, given my last three near-death experiences with overnight backpacking.) I ought to find some friends with hobbies that don’t require an hour of pull-ups and cheesy encouragement. The sport of Internet surfing and competitive eating are like attractive substitutes.
I jest. I enjoy looking like a fool dangling from the pull-up bar when Reid can do, like, 10 of them. Gotta get swollllll.
