P90X - Cardio X

P90X Cardio X Workout

Chances are 99.9% that part of your goal in doing P90X is to lose weight. While muscle toning, flexibility and balance are all important parts of the P90X workout program, nothing burns fat away like cardio. Today, we’ll be discussing the ninth P90x workout which is the cardio-focussed workout:Cardio X

Cardio X is actually considered an optional workout in the P90X series. You can add it to the mix once, twice or three times a week. However, some people find that adding Cardio X to the mix is just too much for them. We recommend that you include some type of cardio program with your P90X workouts, whether it’s Cardio X or not. The reasons that you’ll want to include a cardio element are:

Calorie Burning: A cardio element means that you will, ultimately, burn more calories. Burning more calories means that you’ll lose weight faster. Losing weight faster means that you’ll start getting ripped faster. These are all things that you want, so a cardio element is an important element for you to add.

Improved Workouts: Adding a cardio element means that you’ll improve your overall cardiovascular fitness, and that means that you’ll be able to workout even harder during the P90X workouts.

Whether you use the Cardio X workout or another way to get your cardio is up to you, but there are benefits to using the Cardio X workout. Firstly, it’s designed to enhance the program. Many of the moves that you’ll do during Cardio X are moves that you’ve been exposed to in the other P90X workouts (particularly the Kenpo X and Yoga X workouts). They’re set to a faster pace in order to get a cardio burn, but you get the benefit of getting extra practice at some of the moves. Secondly, with Cardio X, you know you’ll be getting the motivational leadership of Tony Horton. Just going off and doing cardio on your own may not pump you up mentally in the same way!

If you’re looking for a different cardio workout to do, you may want to consider Turbo Jam Live or Rockin Body instead. Both of those workouts combine cardio and muscle toning to high energy, upbeat music with a dance emphasis. If you think you need a break from Tony Horton, or you just want to mix up your cardio elements, consider those or other workouts that feature dance music.

Get out, get running, do some Cardio X and improve your cardiovascular fitness today. If you do, it will improve your fitness overall.

Belly Off - Strength Training Routine

Strength training: Get stronger, leaner, healthier

Strength training is an important part of an overall fitness program. Here's what strength training can do for you — and how to get started.

You know exercise is good for you. Ideally, you're looking for ways to incorporate physical activity into your daily routine. If your aerobic workouts aren't balanced by a proper dose of strength training, though, you're missing out on a key component of overall health and fitness. Despite its reputation as a "guy" or "jock" thing, strength training is important for everyone. With a regular strength training program, you can reduce your body fat, increase your lean muscle mass and burn calories more efficiently.

Use it or lose it

Muscle mass naturally diminishes with age. "If you don't do anything to replace the lean muscle you lose, you'll increase the percentage of fat in your body," says Edward Laskowski, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center. "But strength training can help you preserve and enhance your muscle mass — at any age."

Strength training also helps you:

• Develop strong bones. By stressing your bones, strength training increases bone density and reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
• Control your weight. As you gain muscle, your body gains a bigger "engine" to burn calories more efficiently — which can result in weight loss. The more toned your muscles, the easier it is to control your weight.
• Reduce your risk of injury. Building muscle helps protect your joints from injury. It also contributes to better balance, which can help you maintain independence as you age.
• Boost your stamina. As you get stronger, you won't fatigue as easily.
• Manage chronic conditions. Strength training can reduce the signs and symptoms of many chronic conditions, including arthritis, back pain, depression, diabetes, obesity and osteoporosis.
• Sharpen your focus. Some research suggests that regular strength training helps improve attention for older adults.

Consider the options

Strength training can be done at home or in the gym. Consider the options:

• Body weight. You can do many exercises with little or no equipment. Try push-ups, pull-ups, abdominal crunches and leg squats.
• Resistance tubing. Resistance tubing is inexpensive, lightweight tubing that provides resistance when stretched. You can choose from many types of resistance tubes in nearly any sporting goods store.
• Free weights. Barbells and dumbbells are classic strength training tools.
• Weight machines. Most fitness centers offer various resistance machines. You can also invest in weight machines for use at home.

• Getting started

  When you have your doctor's OK to begin a strength training program, start slowly. Warm up with five to 10 minutes of stretching or gentle aerobic activity, such as brisk walking. Then choose a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 repetitions.
  "On the 12th repetition, you should be just barely able to finish the motion," Dr. Laskowski says. "When you're using the proper weight or amount of resistance, you can build and tone muscle just as efficiently with a single set of 12 repetitions as you can with more sets of the same exercise."
  To give your muscles time to recover, rest one full day between exercising each specific muscle group. When you can easily do more than 15 repetitions of a certain exercise, gradually increase the weight or resistance. Remember to stop if you feel pain. Although mild muscle soreness is normal, sharp pain and sore or swollen joints are signs that you've overdone it.

  When to expect results

  You don't need to spend hours a day lifting weights to benefit from strength training. Two to three strength training sessions a week lasting just 20 to 30 minutes are sufficient for most people. You may enjoy noticeable improvements in your strength and stamina in just a few weeks. With regular strength training, you'll continue to increase your strength — even if you're not in shape when you begin.
  Strength training can do wonders for your physical and emotional well-being. Make it part of your quest for better health.

Belly Off The Body Weight Routine

Try bodyweight exercises for a fast at home workout

Bodyweight exercises can help you stay fit at home and stay with a tight a budget. Here's are a few ideas of bodyweight exercises that you can do any time with no equipment. Perfect for traveling, home workouts or adding a bit of variety to your regular exercise routine.

Start with a light warm up for a few minutes. (This can be walking, marching in place or stepping side to side. The goal of the warm up is to get your blood circulating and you body temperature rising in order to prepare for higher intensity exercise).

Perform each exercise for 30 seconds to two minutes depending upon your conditioning and interest. Move to the next exercise smoothly, but quickly. You can continue the routine as long as you like (a twenty minute workout or an hour or more). Cool down with five or more minutes of stretching.

Common Bodyweight Workouts

• Abdominal Exercises
  Ab exercises can be done almost anywhere with no equipment.
  • Top 10 Questions About Abdominal Exercises
  • How to Exercise Your Abs
• Push Ups
  Begin in push up position, on knees or toes. Perform 4 push ups, abs in and back straight. On the 5th push up, lower halfway down and hold for 4 counts. Push back up and repeat the series - 4 regular push ups and 1 halfway--5 or more times.
• Pull Ups
  The pull up exercise does require some basic equipment, or some creativity (go to a playground or find a low hanging tree branch, for example), but it's a great, simple way to build upper body strength.
• One-Leg Balance / Squat / Reach
  Stand on one leg and balance it as long as you can. If this is too easy, add a slight squat motion. Still too easy? Place an object on the floor, several feet in front of you (a book, perhaps), and slowly squat down, and reach out with one arm and touch the object and slowly return to an upright position. Stay on one leg at all times. Repeat on the other leg after a minute or so.
• Tuck Jump
  The tuck jump exercise ranks near the top of the list for developing explosive power using only an athlete's body weight.
• Chair Dips
  You’ll need two chairs, (or a bed and a chair or a counter, etc…) for this great tricep exercise. Place two chairs facing each other, about 3 feet apart. Sit on one chair with your hands palm down and gripping the edge of the chair. Place your heels on the edge of the other chair and hold yourself up using your triceps. Slide forward just far enough that your behind clears the edge of the chair and lower yourself so your elbows are at 90 degrees. Do as many repetitions as you can.
• Wall Sit
  With your back against a wall, and your feet about 2 feet away from the wall, slide down until your knees are at a 90 degree angle. Hold the position as long as you can. This is great for ski conditioning.
• Abdominal Crunches
  Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place your fingertips to the side of your head just behind your ears. Push your lower back into the floor flattening the arch and hold. Curl up slowly so both your shoulders lift off the floor a few inches. Hold for a count of 2 and return to the start position. Tip: Don’t tuck your chin to your chest; keep your head up.
• Supermans
  Lie on your stomach with your arms and legs stretched out. Raise your arms and legs off the ground a few inches, hold a few seconds, and then lower. Alternate arms and legs as an option. Repeat.
• Reverse Crunch
  Lie on your back with your hands out to your sides, and bend your knees. Bring your knees toward your head until your hips come up slightly off the floor (don’t rock). Hold one second and repeat.
• Plank Exercise
  Get into push up position on hands and toes, or on elbows and toes. Contract your abdominal muscles (and core). Keep your back straight (don't collapse in the middle) and hold this position for as long as you can.
• Squat-Thrusts
  Stand with feet together. Squat down and place your hands on the floor next to your feet. In an explosive movement, jump feet backwards into a push-up position, jump feet back between hands and stand up.
• Jumping Jacks
  The basic jumping jack is a good cardio and strength training exercise.
• Side Jumps
  Stand with feet together. Jump to the right several feet, keeping knees bent and landing in a squat position. Jump back to the left and continue jumping from side to side. Use a small object to jump over if you like (book, pillow etc..).
• Mountain Climbers
  Start on your hands and knees and get into in a sprinter’s start position. Keep your hands on the ground and push off with your feet so you alternate foot placement (run in place) as long as you can. Be sure to keep your back straight, not arched.