P90X Yoga X

I figured it was about time that I told everybody about how much I enjoy doing the P90X Yoga X DVD. When I first started doing the P90X workouts I had never done Yoga before. Sure, I had been involved with stretching routines before a sporting event or just dig a couple of calf or hamstring stretches to loosen up while being at work but nothing like Yoga. It had never dawned on me to ever do Yoga. It looked pretty silly to begin with and I wondered if I was going to get any kind of gain by doing it.

Rewind back to when I first started doing P90X some 9 months ago and I remember reading the P90X workout guide and it said that it was going to be Yoga day. Staying true to the P90X workout program I put the P90X DVD in and was ready to begin. I will say though that I was already pretty flexible. If you took a quick look at my P90X results you will see that I was pretty skinny to begin with. All my time I spent training for the Detroit Marathon a couple of years ago made me apply some stretching techniques to my before and after runs. Even though I am in better shape now then when I was in high school I was still pretty flexible back then too. The "V-Stretch" was the only thing I could pass with flying colors in the "Presidential Fitness Test." If I remember correctly I could stretch out some 13 inches past my heels.

Going back to my first experience with "P90X Yoga X" now. The first thing that shocked me was when I took a look at how long this P90X DVD was going to take. The little counter on the bottom said 1 hour and 20 minutes. I guess it is about the same as the other workouts because if you add Ab-Ripper X to the original workout it comes out to about the same.

I was weirded out at first with all of the different poses. What really weirded me out was that I was doing this workout with one of my friends and it was his first time too. There was an awkward feeling in the air to say the least. After going through the first sequence of poses which included the "Runners Pose," "Crescent Pose," and all of the variations of the "Warrior Poses" I could definitely feel my body stretching out. I started to enjoy the transitioning between the poses. It made for a very fluid routine. When the "Warrior Poses" were over it was time to move into the "Triangle Pose" and "Twisting Triangle." The hardest yoga moves are next. The "Standing Splits" and "Half Moon to Twisting Half Moon" are by far the hardest poses that you will do in the Yoga X DVD. Pretty much you are bending over at the waist with one hand up in the air, one foot straight out pointing backwards, and one hand touching the ground while holding this for about 30 seconds. This move is working on all of those connector muscles through out your whole body. When Tony Horton talks about "Yoga Strength" he is really talking about those two moves. So much emphasis is put on balancing your body which in turns builds your whole body strength. 

Its interesting how Tony Horton makes you do these moves first. I believe it is because they are the hardest ones to do and you might as well get them over with first. You then bust out a couple "Balance Postures." These involve the "Tree," "Royal Dancer," and "Standing Leg Extension." All are pretty tricky postures because you are standing on one leg while holding your ankle or toe straight out for 30 seconds.

After the balance postures it is time to hit the floor. The one stretch that I have a lot of trouble is "Crane." This involves you putting your legs on your elbows and trying to keep your toes above the ground. This takes a lot of upper body and ab strength. Even after doing Yoga X for 9 months, I can barely keep my toes off the ground for more than 7 seconds. Its hard. "Frog" is up next. First time I did this I felt like my groin was going to be ripped out of my leg. It still hurts and occasionally I get a popping sound from that area. My favorite "Yoga X" move is the "Plough into Shoulder Stand." This move involves getting your whole lower body up in the air and resting on your shoulders only while supporting yourself with your hands. You then take your legs and move them in every direction finishing by bringing them down around your head. Picture yourself bringing your legs all the way up and over your head while your knees are touching your ears. talk about a back stretch that looks funny as hell.

The "Yoga Belly" part is a great quick ab workout. It is very similar to the "Ab Ripper X" routine with a couple more exercises. I still get a burn after doing it, especially after doing the "Touch The Sky" routine. The last couple of stretches are more of a cool down period. My favorite is the "Happy Baby". This is when you grab your ankles or feet and rock back and forth like a baby does. This really works on the legs. Tony Horton does do some "Ohhmmms" at the end but for the most part I skip them. By that time my "Chi" has not been interrupted and I am ready to be finished.

Even after being flexible to begin with I can see that improvements my body has had from doing Yoga. My golf and softball swing are a lot more fluid. I just feel better all around after doing Yoga X. My body feels loose and stretched out. All of those in between muscles really got a workout. Its all of those connector muscles that really get worked. Picture the shoulders, the hamstrings, lower back muscles, groin (don't want to rip that thing), and abs. I look forward to Yoga day. I always feel like I am starting over and getting the body ready for the very next day where I put my body through an intense workout. I felt sore the day after doing Yoga for about a month. Now it just helps me get refreshed mentally and physically. Yoga is great for people with back problems and for athletes. Many professional athletes do Yoga to add years to their playing careers. Yoga is also a great way for older people to stay fit. Many senior citizens muscles are so tight that there bodies start hunching. Yoga keeps this from happening. I highly suggest to anybody looking for a great workout to incorporate Yoga and P90X into their lives.

I thought it would be fitting to end this with a great quote from Tony Horton. "I can't do a lot of pull ups and push ups because I workout on a pull up bar all day. I can do a lot of pull ups and push ups because I do Yoga."