P90X2 (Day 4): X2 Total Body + X2 Ab Ripper

So I've been saying the past few days how much I've appreciated the fact that P90X has been more approachable and how Tony hasn't gone out of his way to kill you right out of the box.  As a matter of fact, it talks in the P90X2 'literature' about how the first month is the Foundation Phase and essentially serves as the period for building up your core, synergistic base muscles as a jumping-off platform for the more extreme workouts in months 2 and 3.  Well, with Day 4's X2 Total Body and X2 Ab Ripper combo, I'd say that all that's changed.  I'm tired.  VERY tired.  I've only been finished with today's workout for maybe 30 minutes and my arms are already aching with soreness.  Plus every other part of me.  I have to say, tomorrow morning could be ugly when all this aching comes to a head!

That said, even though today's workouts brought their "A game" in terms of toughness, which at my current fitness level isn't necessarily a plus in terms of my enjoyment, I still have to reiterate my preference so far for P90X2.  The exercises continue to be more synergistic in nature, with lots of compound movements.  In a single move you may be combining the use of dumbbells, a stability ball, and a medicine ball all at the same time.  So if nothing else, P90X2 does a great job of keeping things from being static or boring!  (It may be worth noting that I still wouldn't classify this as being anywhere near the near-death-experience I felt like I had doing "Chest & Back" for the first time during the original P90X.  :) )

I'd even have to say that I enjoyed X2 Ab Ripper, which is somewhat of a surprise to me.  Unlike most P90X advocates, I hated the original Ab Ripper as it put a lot of pressure on my back and tail bone.  Plus it really was just a modified crunch marathon, with you busting out crunch after crunch for 15 minutes.  X2 Ab Ripper on the other hand focuses much more on isometric holds, which I tend to prefer as its more obvious to me that I'm actually working my abs.  Also, a lot of the moves engage most of the body rather than simply the abs, so in a way its somewhat of a mini total body workout.  It actually reminded Katie a lot of pilates programs she's done.

Anyway, on to some specifics...

NOTABLE THINGS ABOUT X2 TOTAL BODY

• Sort of a cross between P90X+'s Total Body and maybe some Core Synergistics (very core, strength, and resistance based)
• Background exercisers
• Drea Webber is back!  Everyone's favorite "world famous" dancer/gymnast extraordinaire is back in P90X2, and I have to say she actually looks quite a bit more fit.  Like in P90X, she and Tony have some sort of odd, amusing, bizarre flirty thing going on, although at this point it's kind of old hat. 
• One background exerciser in this one apparently used to weigh 370lbs.  He started doing a heavily modified P90X a few years ago, kept at it, and now is apparently just a fitness stud.  He seriously put me (and actually Tony a few time) to shame on almost every move.  
• General note: I'd say that on average, the P90X2 background exercisers seem to be a lot more fit (especially the females) than those who were in the original P90X.  At first I thought it might be because they had decided to hire fitness models or something, but apparently almost every one of them is either a returning person from P90X or, more likely, is someone who did the P90X dvds and had a great success story.  Seriously, there are a lot of crazy successes in the P90X2 program besides the guy who used to be 370lbs!
• Craziest Moves
• "Boing Pushups"
• Starting in plank position with your hands placed on a stability ball, push your arms off from the ground, launching your upper body up (still holding the ball).  Then come back down, do a pushup on the ball, and repeat.  
• Mule Kick Burpees
• Rough!  In a crouched position with your hands on the floor, launch your legs up into the air behind you (letting them catch some hang time) before landing them so that you're in a plank position.  From there do a push up, then crunch your knee to your elbow, pushup, crunch your other knee to your other elbow, pushup, then repeat the whole thing.  It's sort of like Tony Horton and Shaun T. decided to add Tony's Prison Cell Pushups with some Shaun T. Insanity moves.  
• One Arm Stability Ball Tricep Kickbacks
• Ok, this is probably the first move I pretty much haven't been able to do.  You're supposed to be basically in a version of a plank position where one of your forearms is positioned on a stability ball below you for support.  From there, you use your other arm to do tricep kickbacks with a dumbbell.  This would have been hard enough without the stability ball, but with the ball in play I could barely even get myself into position without collapsing onto my arm.  It requires tons of core engagement, strength, and balance.  I ended up just placing my forearm on the floor.  Not quite there yet I guess!

Summary

Great workout.  Killer workout.  Still prefer it to P90X (and I loved P90X!).  It was fun to see Drea in the background, and I did appreciate the slight change in pace from having a more hardcore resistance workout thrown in.  And the X2 Ab Ripper, with it's focus on isometric movements, seemed both more effective and definitely more my speed than the original.  When you added up the amount of time it took to do X2 Total Body and X2 Ab Ripper back to back, Katie and I worked out a solid 1hr and 1/2.  After finishing, Katie looked at me and said, "if this doesn't get me in any better shape than just doing Jillian Michaels dvds, I'm gonna be ticked."