P90X Kenpo X Workout © Tim Pannell Photography

The P90X Kenpo X workout is just plain and simple cardio from hell. Holy crap I am dreadfully out of shape. Every time I start feeling good about the direction I’m heading one of these P90X cardio workouts absolutely kicks my butt.

I have been reduced to a sniveling sissy man. The pre workout stretch is enough for me to start praying for the end of the world. I swear my body isn’t made to contort into so many different directions at the same time.

That being said, it’s a great warmup and the workout is intense to say the least. I really do feel borderline spastic while I do this routine and I’m sure that my wife has to hold back full belly laughs at the site of me.

I did it today with my 11 year old son, who ran screaming from the room in complete desperation to escape Tony Horton’s little shop of P90X Kenpo X horrors. This DVD should apparently be rated PG-13……..sorry buddy.

It never ceases to amaze me how much sweat flies off my body doing these workouts. It just keeps coming and coming.

Kenpo X consists or 3 major components: blocking, kicking and punching. There are extended breaks throughout this workout when you will run in place or do jumping jacks the “X” version of jumping jacks to really get your heart pounding.

Currently I am doing about 1 hour on my recumbent bike before each P90X workout that I do. It really does help get my blood flowing and get me into the right frame of mind.

There are a total of 27 exercises which consist of various combinations of kicks, blocks and punches. It’s a nice change of pace from a lot of the more weight lifting, pull up and push up oriented p90x workouts.

My favorite set of exercises is also the one that I’m the least skilled at – Three direction kicks – ball kick, then side kick, then back kick. I’m sure it’s my extra weight that I’m lugging around that causes me difficulty with this, but I like the challenge.

This isn’t quite as intense as the plyometric or core syergistics workouts, but it runs a close third. Have fun with it and enjoy the small lake of sweat that you’ll leave on the floor when you’re done.

Get your butt off that couch!

P90X Review – Kenpo X – I Want My Mommy! is a post from: Losing weight with P90X

Beachbody Results © Tim Pannell Photography

Last week was actually not a great week.  I got through the 4th of July weekend and actually lost weight.  Monday morning I weighed in at 268 lbs.  and was feeling fantastic.

The problem shift in attitude happened after  I ate a bunch of junk that I’d been avoiding for the previous month or so.  My oldest daughter also had a birthday on Wednesday last week and I ate cake and ice cream then as well.

In and of itself, that’s probably not such a big deal, but we had extra ice cream laying around the house….well, not actually laying around the house, but calling out to me from the freezer non stop.

I had some ice cream several days in a row and what I noticed was that I had less and less desire to work out once I started systematically filling my pie hole with a lot of junk.

In full confession mode here…..I’ve always liked ice cream, but I became and addict when my wife worked at Baskin Robbins while we were in college and I got used to eating it everyday.

In fact BR is absolutely responsible for me gaining 25 pounds shortly after Kim and I got married.  It was the first time in my life that I ever even had a weight issue.

Now that you know the history, you’ll understand a bit better why this is so frustrating to me.  I know better, I know I need to be careful around ice cream.  It’s not like my fitness quest is over, far from it.  It is a setback though.

Had I continued last week the way I had the previous week, I probably would have lost an additional 2 or 3 pounds.  Instead I hung out in limbo for a week.

The interesting thing is the shift in my attitude.  Prior to the ice cream binge, I couldn’t wait to get to my workout because it always felt so good.  The last several days have been difficult for me to get motivated.

I”m sitting here writing instead of lifting weights and riding the bike.  So……that being said, I’m gonna stop writing for the moment and go workout, even if I’m not totally fired up about it.  I’ll be back in an hour and a half……………..

It’s 2 hours later and I’m feeling a lot better.  I rode the bike for 55 minutes and I upped it’s intensity from 3 to 4.  Then I did an hour of P90X Shoulders & Arms even though I was scheduled to do Back & Chest.

My arms felt weak and wimpy so I decided to start the week with my favorite set of exercises.  I’m really glad I worked through my bad attitude and just did my workout.  My body feels great, my arms are nice and tingly and I have a great “fitness” buzz on.  My mind is clear now and I’m ready to tackle the week.

I know that there are people out there that once they commit to something they seem to never stumble, but when it comes to working out or eating a certain way, I’m not one of them.  I’m going to have a few “down days”.

I’m not making excuses here…….I plan on doing better, but I’m not going to beat myself up for having a set back.  That won’t help me reach my ultimate goal.  So I’m gonna sit down and take a good long look at what I did last week and how it effected my overall plan and then I will learn from it.

All I can do today is start back on course and make a change for the better.  I put in a good 2 hour workout and I feel great!  That’s success in my book.  The past is now in my past.  I can actually do something in the present to have a positive effect on my future.

If you’ve struggled or are currently struggling with your weight, look at the past only to learn from it and then make a plan and stick to it.

Hang in there and don’t let the little or even the big setbacks get you down on yourself.  Just keep moving forward and before you know it you’ll be hitting your fitness goals and maybe even moving above and beyond your health related goals.

Don’t let anyone or anything stop you from claiming what’s rightfully yours.  It’s your body, it’s your health…..own it for crying out loud!

If I can get into shape, then anyone can.  If you’re on the fence, what are you waiting for.  There will never be a better time to start than right now.  Try the p90x workouts, try a gym membership, get a personal trainer, whatever works or will work for you.  Make a choice and follow it up with a bigtime commitment!

If you are waiting for an attitude adjustment to start working out, flip it around and workout so you get the attitude adjustment you want.  Just close your eyes and bull your way through it if you have to, but I can guarantee you’ll feel better once you’ve done it.

The times you feel least like working out are probably the most important times to actually get your butt off the couch and start moving.

Special thanks to condron.us for promoting the Fatboy Fitness Blog, we appreciate it!

P90X Workout Review – Attitude Adjustment – 07/13/09 is a post from: Losing weight with P90X