P90X3 - WEEK 13 - Week of 03/24/2014

MONDAY - MARCH 24, 2014 - Isometrix

This is the start of the last week for this first round of X3. Isometrix is not my strong suit. My balance is non-existent on my left leg. The right leg was better. The floor moves were tough for me. I just bought a new battery for my heart rate monitor and it's still not working properly, so I don't know if the numbers below are accurate. Not that it matters too much, but I do like to keep track of things and compare to previous sessions of the same workout, and even other workouts.

Time: 30 minutes: Calories Burned: 196; Avg Heart Rate: 118; Max Heart Rate: 196.


TUESDAY - MARCH 25, 2014 - Accelerator

Just before I started my workout I saw today was actually supposed to be Dynamix, but all day I was thinking it was Accelerator. I did Accelerator. P90X3 doesn't have a lot of pure cardio routines in it, so this one seems hard to me. I got through it OK, but did have to stop for a few seconds a few times to catch my breath. I'm glad I did it.

Time: 30 minutes; Calories Burned: 295; Avg Heart Rate: 128; Max Heart Rate: 150.


WEDNESDAY - MARCH 26, 2014 - Dynamix

I was looking forward to a bit of a less demanding workout today. This one went well, but I couldn't wait for it to end. There is nothing wrong with the workout. I like it, but just wasn't in the mood.

Time: 30 minutes; Calories Burned: 214; Avg Heart Rate: 105; Max Heart Rate: 129.


THURSDAY - MARCH 27, 2014 - Pilates X

I like this workout and did OK on it today.

Time: 30 minutes; Calories Burned: 170; Avg Heart Rate: 96; Max Heart Rate: 117.


FRIDAY - MARCH 28, 2014 - Decelerator

I think I can safely say this was one of my worst workouts of the entire round. I don't like any of the moves. I had no strength today for the pushups or the pullups, and my balance stunk. There were moves I was so frustrated with that I quit a few seconds early, and that is something I don't normally do. But I was good at the warmup! It was just one of those days. This is a workout that isn't scheduled in the "Transition" (recovery) weeks of the actual P90X3 schedule, but I put it there to balance out the schedule I tweaked a bit. I'm wondering if that wasn't such a good idea. Many of these moves required strength, and I haven't really done any other strength routines this week.

Time: 30 minutes; Calories Burned: 300; Avg Heart Rate: 121; Max Heart Rate: 150.


SATURDAY - MARCH 29, 2014 - X3 Yoga

Last workout of the Round. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it was one of my better X3 Yoga workouts. I was able to balance a small bit better on some poses, and actually held the right legged Ted's Chair pose for almost the entire time. I'm still trying to get better on the left leg one legged poses. I'm a bit sad the round is over, but at the same time I need a physical and mental break.

Time: 30 minutes; Calories Burned: 189; Avg Heart Rate: 116; Max Heart Rate: 128.


SUNDAY - MARCH 30, 2014 - Rest


SUNDAY WEIGH IN
Weight: 197.4 (+1.0 lbs)
Body Fat: 22.1% (+0.3%)

Not sure where the increase came from, but I didn't eat perfectly this week.


THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK

I wanted to finish the round off strong and was disappointed in the weight gain. A few of the workouts this week were not my best (Isometrics and most notably, Decelerator). A few others were OK, primarily Pilates X.


THOUGHTS ON THE 90 DAY ROUND

What I liked: The workouts were only 30 minutes long. Even if I wasn't "into it" for that day, I wasn't dreading the workout.

What I didn't like: The workouts were only 30 minutes long. While many were intense and more compact than the original P90X, I mentally felt like I wasn't getting enough on most days, even if I was physically drained. Seeing I only burned 300 calories on most days, when I'm used to burning 600 in original P90X was a bit discouraging. I felt there were too many one legged balance moves that I physically can't do, and those were pretty much a waste of my workout time, as I wasn't getting anything out of them. I also felt there were too many synergistic "total body" workouts, and not enough that concentrated on one body part. While I'm not a weightlifter, I do miss a good Shoulders and Arms workout, where I'm lifting maximum weight for an entire workout.

My results were tempered by the fact I didn't eat well. Overall, my weight stayed exactly the same at 197.4 lbs, but my body fat increased 0.9%. That was my fault. My firm belief is that this program works, but you have to include the nutrition element in it. I didn't. I am going to do it again.


NEXT?

As I stated yesterday, I'm in need of a physical and mental break. The nearest I can figure is that I haven't taken a week off in almost a year. I bought Tai Cheng last year and haven't tried it yet. I think I'm going to try that for the next week or so, to give my body time to recover.