Gearing up for p90x...can you help?

L

letswork

Cathlete
I'm starting the p90x series on Monday. My wonderfully supportive husband is converting one of our spare rooms into a workout room for me and I have a few questions.

1. Flooring. I was thinking about getting those puzzle piece looking floor mats that link together. The ones that I'm looking at are 3/4" thick, are textured and cover about 16 square feet. Big enough? Thick enough for plyo? Do I need a seperate mat for the yoga?

2. Does anyone use pushup bars? I have always done pushups from my knees and really want to work up to the toe version. Will using the bars from a knee position help me progress?

3. I'm a TOTAL pull up WEENIE! The WEENIEST of WEENIES! DH is going to install a bar from the ceiling just like the one in the dvd's. I'm definitely going to need chair assistance and need to know how high to go with the bar. How bent should my leg be on the back of the chair for a weenie like me? (Anyone who really improved on this area...please give me some hope!)

4. How did you determine what your goal reps would be when first attempting the workouts?

Any and all advice about getting started on these workouts would be highly appreciated! Thanks.
 
I am still waiting to receive my P90X set, but I think I can help with a few of your questions.

Here are my suggestions:

1. I have 16 square feet of the 3/4" floor mats and can tell a big difference doing Cathe's plyo work on them instead of the hard wood flooring alone. I think 16 sq feet should be enough (but I am only 5' tall). I do have a separate yoga mat but only because my dog likes to lay on the floor mats and his hair gets stuck to me when I am sweaty if I don't put anything down for floorwork.

2. I always use my biggest dumbbells for pushup bars.

3. I think the most important thing as far as height of the bar goes is that it should be easy to reach. How much you bend your leg on the chair is really going to depend how much you need to assist your upper body for the pullup. I have done these before by progressing from using my legs in a bent position, to just resting my legs on the chair, to finally not using it at all.

4. Same standard theory applies here; if you want to build muscle, do ~8 reps with heavy weight or to sculpt but not necessarily get bigger, do ~12-16 reps with lighter weight. The most important thing to be sure you are chosing the correct weight for your goal is to have the last 3 reps be very hard.

Hope this helps, I can't wait to start mine!
 
I've just finished my first week, I hope you love this series as much as I do! :) I'll try to answer a couple of questions.

1. I workout on carpeting, which is enough cushioning. I think the puzzle mats you are talking about will be plenty. 16 square feet should also be plenty, I think I have about 8 or 9 feet square (space not matting, lol) and that works. I'm not sure if you will want a separate mat for comfort reasons (think of laying on your back on those mats, or whatever you choose)--I use a mat on top of my carpeting just because it feels better and gives me a little more cushioning for my kness on some moves.

2. I can't get the hang of the push-up bars. I did get some, but I actually find them harder! I am a push-up weenie but try to do some of each set on my toes then drop to my knees. There are some versions of push-ups (like the diamond push-up) that I can't do at all, even on my knees...I can get down, but not up, lol.
 
>1. Flooring. I was thinking about getting those puzzle piece
>looking floor mats that link together. The ones that I'm
>looking at are 3/4" thick, are textured and cover about 16
>square feet. Big enough? Thick enough for plyo? Do I need a
>seperate mat for the yoga?
>
I have the puzzle mats, and they work just fine. I would suggest a yoga mat, because it has a sticky surface that will keep you from slipping.

>2. Does anyone use pushup bars? I have always done pushups
>from my knees and really want to work up to the toe version.
>Will using the bars from a knee position help me progress?
I use push-ups bars because I've had problems in the past with carpal tunnel, and I can keep my wrists straight using them. The bars won't help with going from toes to knees though. One way to progress is to first do as many push-ups as you can on your toes, even if your range of motion is a bit shallow. Then do some more on your knees, but with one leg held up in the back (basically a 1-knee push-up).
>
>3. I'm a TOTAL pull up WEENIE! The WEENIEST of WEENIES! DH
>is going to install a bar from the ceiling just like the one
>in the dvd's. I'm definitely going to need chair assistance
>and need to know how high to go with the bar. How bent should
>my leg be on the back of the chair for a weenie like me?
>(Anyone who really improved on this area...please give me some
>hope!)
>
I haven't tried pull-ups yet: I started the rotation doing heavy 1-arm lat raises and pullovers instead because I didn't have a bar or the bands. Now I'm on to bands. Next is pull-ups, since my Power Tower (aka "Tower of Pain") recently arrived.

>4. How did you determine what your goal reps would be when
>first attempting the workouts?
I just went with a weight that was the heaviest I've ever used for a particular exercise, and adjusted from there. For most exercises, I'm doing 15-16 reps (except pulldowns, where I do around 24), but I've also ended up doing 6 or 8 reps (especially on the hammer curls in the Back and Biceps workout) which is fine with me as long as the last couple are tough.

>
>Any and all advice about getting started on these workouts
>would be highly appreciated! Thanks.
Just jump right in! Don't be afraid to modify, but don't sell yourself short (for example, don't just start out doing knee push-ups, challenge yourself to do a couple on your toes). Get an extra hour of sleep during the firt week or so (I needed it!) and eat well.
 
Thanks ladies for your replies. You've all been very helpful.

RLMS - Just wait until you get your package. It's a doozy!

Donna - how was the first week for you? Care to enlighten me on what it's going to be like?

Kathryn - How long have you been x'ing? What results have you noticed?

Also, I've got two little guys at home (2.5 years and 7 months) so my time is crunched. I'm planning on doing these workouts at 8pm after I put the kids to bed. Is this too ambitious? Will I be too wiped out? Should I try to make the switch to the mornings?

Oh, and last question...what is up with the yoga tape being so long?
 
My advice is get as much sleep as possible and eat well. I had a hard time physically dealing with the assault P90X was giving me "as is", so I have modified it to include only one set of the weight exercises (only doing Round 1, not Round 2= 30 min instead of 1 hr) and then doing 30 min. cardio or Ab ripper before or after. This is nice because it is preparing me for the full tapes without the absolute horrid fatigue. I guess I get fatigue and DOMS pretty easy. Also...I don't have to give up my Cathe's. I also plan to do Powerstrike or KPC instead of Kenpo. I know everyone says it is designed the way it is designed for a reason, but I don't care. As long as one day I can do pull ups and push ups until the cows come home.....:)

I use mostly the same modifications as everyone else has said here. And you don't need the padding for the Plyo tape. Probably helps, but you don't need it.


Janice
 
>Donna - how was the first week for you? Care to enlighten me
>on what it's going to be like?
>
>Also, I've got two little guys at home (2.5 years and 7
>months) so my time is crunched. I'm planning on doing these
>workouts at 8pm after I put the kids to bed. Is this too
>ambitious? Will I be too wiped out? Should I try to make the
>switch to the mornings?
>
>Oh, and last question...what is up with the yoga tape being so
>long?

The first week was great. It is definitely a challenging rotation, but it is so different than what I had been doing and so much like what I wanted to do. Expect some muscle soreness...just when mine is starting to get better from one workout I get more from another! :D

You might be a bit wiped out, but as long as you can get to sleep you'll probably be okay!

I don't know why the Yoga tape is so long. I've heard it said that it's a more advanced yoga WORKOUT. I've never done ANY yoga in my life, so I've substituted in a beginning Yoga workout. I figure in a couple of weeks I'll try some of it (after I get the terminology down so I don't have to keep looking at the screen).
 
I bought two sets (4 squares each) of the puzzle mats and am going back for another set of four. Every time I do the P90X Legs & Back workout, I feel like I need a little bit more room when they're doing those angled lunges...

I'm thinking 4 across by 3 deep will be perfect. And yes, I put a yoga mat on top of the puzzle mats for the ab work. I always did ab work on the hardwood floor with just a yoga mat, but have been spoiled by the puzzle mats' extra cushioning! You will not regret the puzzle mat purchase!
 
>Kathryn - How long have you been x'ing? What results have you
>noticed?

I just started week 8 (my second recovery week). I am getting the best results I've ever had with ANY exercise program, bar none. I'm actually starting to see a 4-pack (my abs tend to hold a cushion of fat that makes even a 2-pack a challenge!), my arms and shoulders are really defined, and I'm stronger and more flexible. I've even worked out some glitches in my system: My geetchy shoulder that has bothered me off and on since I had shoulder tendinitis and impingment several years ago, feels better than it has in a long time (both better ROM and stronger), and a "stitch" type tightness in my lower glute/upper hanstring area that I've had since 1999 (I just found my old workout notebook from back then and found where I first noted the problem) is gone! All stretched out!

Another result that is more psychological than physical is that I actually like yoga now! I could never get myself to get into it for very long, and had gotten rid of almost all my yoga workouts except some Karen VOight, but P90X has inspired me to pick up a handful of yoga workouts, and I actually have been enjoying them! I use Yoga X (the P90X workout) about half the time, but sub other yoga workouts the rest of the time.

Yeah, yoga X is long, and it seemed so long to me the first two times I did it ("What..ANOTHER vinyasa!") but went faster the last few times. There is almost 40 minutes worth of vinyasas (the flowing sun salutations with variations) to begin with, then 20 minutes or so of standing balance poses, then 20 plus minutes of floor stretches. I've sometimes skipped part of it or omitted some moves like the plow (not neck friendly, IMO). At least it's just once a week! (or two during recovery week--I definitely sub at least one of them then).
 
Kathryn:

You can make plow neck-friendly by doing the following: take a thick blanket (I use one of those like they use in live yoga classes to cover you during corpse pose... I'm sure there's a name for them, but I don't know what it is, but any thick blanket will do) and fold it to about 1/4 the size of the length of the mat, and the same width as it. Place it about 1/4 of the way from the end of your mat and then fold your mat over it. Place your shoulders towards the "new" end of the mat so your head is off the mat and on the floor. A yoga teacher showed me this method and it takes the pressure off my neck. I was too lazy to do it the other day for YogaX and I really noticed the difference in my neck! Hope it makes sense...
 
Thanks for the tip on the plow, sounds like it would really help! I might try it once I get back to Yoga X again (last yoga day, I did a Baron Baptiste workout that I really liked...and no plows or shoulder stands!).
 
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