Both Mike and I were looking forward to getting to the new phase after the recovery week. Confession – we skipped the X-Stretch video. We were planning on doing it after our morning group run on Saturday (Mike ran for the first time since the last half marathon and I ran 7.5 miles including up a ½ mile hill) but I had work to do that afternoon and by the time I got back I didn’t feel like doing it. Ah well.
Mike was especially excited to start phase 2 because he hasn’t been as enthused with his results as I have. I can definitely tell a difference in his body but I think he was hoping for a bigger change. This weekend we found more before and after videos and got inspired again. Then, we measured him and he has lost over an inch off his waist and gained nearly an inch on his biceps! I’d say that is improvement!!! I can see the biggest changes for him in his chest and waist.
Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
We felt rejuvenated after the “easy” recovery week and were more than ready to push play on Tuesday morning. We were very happy that the Chest, Shoulders and Triceps video was very challenging! I was VERY sore by Tuesday night and even more sore by Wednesday morning – a bizarrely great feeling!
The Format
After the usual warm-up and introduction of the new cast members, we got right into the workout. The set-up is really simple: one chest exercise, one shoulder exercise, and one tricep exercise.Repeat this over and over but with different moves. Of course, when I say chest I mean PUSH-UPS. Like I mentioned in my Chest & Back post, push-ups are a great calorie burner and a fabulous full body workout! Although we only focus on chest once per week in P90X, I’ve been adding the optional push-up after upward dog during the vinyasa flow in order to get more out of my yoga workouts.
This workout is one that does not repeat exercises at all which means that you are constantly learning new moves. Some examples of some of the more simple moves are: Chair Dip, Slow Motion Push-ups, Side Tri-Rise and Y-Press (Shoulder press but arms go out into a Y shape). There are many more that are more complicated than these and have names that don’t do justice in describing them. One of the fun new ones for me is called Pike Press. Bend at your waist, get up on your toes, and put hands on the floor in front of you. Then bend your arms, pushing your head toward the ground and then push back up. Basically, it’s like a push-up for your shoulders.
I used mostly 10 lbs weights for the shoulder and tricep exercises, occasionally using 8 lbs for tricky tricep moves. I think soon I will be able to move up to 12 lbs for the shoulder presses. As for push-ups, I do as many as I can on my feet and then move down to my knees. For especially difficult moves, I start on my knees. Hopefully by the end of 90 days I’ll be able to do most of the moves on my feet!
My Opinion….
Despite the fact that we had to watch Tony do some of the exercises before we could really get after them, I was very fatigued by the end and felt like it was very effective. I can’t wait to see how we improve on some of the more difficult moves such as the one-handed push-ups and clap push-ups ( I can barely do these on my knees). I can already tell a difference in my strength while doing the push-ups. I’d be curious to see how many I can do to exhaustion and compare it to my original fit test results. I asked my friend Asia (a P90X grad) whether the 2nd phase workouts are harder and she said they were about the same. To me, this workout was perhaps not “harder” but rather, more effective. I think this is due to the fact that I’m gaining strength and getting used to the moves so I can actually push harder and get a better workout in. Either way, I’m happy with Phase 2 of P90X already!
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