P90X review: week 4

Week 4 of P90X is a break from the normal routine you settled into for the first 3 weeks so has to be reviewed by its lonesome. And I have to admit that I had a tough time motivating myself to do this week and did not complete it in a week; it actually took almost 2 weeks. Whoops.

But as I said in my (link) P90X week 1-3 review, I really do not like YogaX. And yet yoga X is done two times in the fourth week along with the even more infinitely boring X Stretch. It was hard to rally myself and get myself motivated to exercise on these days. Yoga X is absolutely killing this program's appeal to me.

In the coming weeks, I'll be trying to find something that I feel is effective for replacing Yoga X. I believe that if I keep trying to do this particular yoga program my slacking and dread of working out on those days will only get worse. I'll discuss what I find for replacement in future articles.

Peripheral Equipment:

Yoga blocks (optional)

Yoga mat (optional, but I recommend it)

Weight loss/aerobics:

Since it's only been two weeks, I am not going to post a picture of my graph. I managed to drop 3 pounds total, the graph is still steadily tracking down but did reach a stall, most likely because I was 'resting' so much by making excuses to not do Yoga.

Core Synergistics – This is the only new cardio program for the week. It was quite fun. I actually enjoyed it more than CardioX from week 1-3. It is not only a decent core-oriented (abs, pelvis, thighs) cardio, but incorporates body resistance to make sure you don't lose all of the strength you've been building up.

Other Exercises:

X Stretch – This is the lightest amount of calisthenics you can do without time traveling back to high school gym class stretching days. There is really nothing to this day. It wasn't relaxing like the Yoga X balance poses. It wasn't energetic enough to maintain attention. It was just one basic stretch after another. If you can touch your toes while standing up, you will find this way too easy.

I can see how this would be useful for someone who is significantly out of shape and cannot do Yoga X. It would be good to work up basic flexibility then move on to something more challenging. However, it incorporate it into week 4 exactly as-is, not as an alternative or as a rest day option, seems like a huge mistake.

Fun:

I don't need to cover this again, right? Yoga X is awful. X Stretch is even worse. This is a week full of boredom that absolutely destroyed my will to maintain the P90X exercise program.

Verdict:

2/5 The old programs are as good as ever. Core Synergistics is great to introduce to the program. X Stretch is not effective for anyone who is above new learner skill and Yoga X is making way too many appearances – a second yoga DVD would have been far better as an addition so you could keep switching things up while also still getting in the much-need limber and body resistance exercises.

Here's hoping the next 3 weeks are better.