P90x

If you've been following me on facebook (and these days, unless you unfriend me, you really can't help it), you know that I blew out my A-2 pulley this January on "Helicopter" at Rocktown.  It was really my fault.  It was wet (like really wet) and I decided to go ahead and send it anyways.  I was past the hard move, on the granny section when I blew a foot, held on anyways, and POW!!!!.  IT was horrible.  I tried to continue climbing on it, but I realized that I didn't have much of a choice.  I had to take two full months off.

So I decided to give P90x a try.  I've heard climbers having good success with the P90x program and jumping several letter grades from the program.  I didn't necessarily believe it, but since I was injured and had decided to take 2 months off crimping, I gave the program a try.

Now - the thing with P90x is it really is a commitment.  You can't really be climbing while you're doing the program, because the program is basically a 5 or 6 day commitment.  I was really impressed with the results.  I'll list the exercise schedule here so you can see what you're in for:

Week 1-3

1.  Chest and Back/Abs (Climbing muscles all the way baby!)
2.  Plyo (Dyno!!!)
3.  Shoulders and Arms/Abs (Climbing muscles + + +)
4.  Yoga (Really fun, good for score/balance)
5.  Legs and Back/Abs (My least favorite one, I took this one easy to not build)
6.  Kempo (good for fighting to keep punks off your project at the motherlode)
7.  Rest

Week 4

1.  Yoga
2.  Core Synergistics (Lots going on all at once!)
3.  Kempo
4.  Rest/Stretch
5.  Core Synergistics
6.  Yoga
7.  Rest

Week 5-7

1.  Chest Shoulders Triceps/Abs (Yay Climbing Muscles!)
2.  Plyo
3.  Back and Biceps/Abs (Good Bouldering Power)
4.  Yoga
5.  Legs and Back/Abs
6.  Kempo
7.  Rest


Week 8 (same as 4)

1.  Yoga
2.  Core Synergistics
3.  Kempo
4.  Rest/Stretch
5.  Core Synergistics
6.  Yoga
7.  Rest

Weeks 9,11

1.  Chest and Back/Abs
2.  Plyo
3.  Shoulders and Arms/Abs
4.  Yoga
5.  Legs and Back/Abs
6.  Kempo
7.  Rest

Weeks 10,12

1.  Chest Shoulders Triceps/Abs
2.  Plyo
3.  Back and Bicepts/Abs
4.  Yoga
5.  Legs and Back/Abs
6.  Kempo
7.  Rest

The videos are nice and very positive.  What I liked best is that it was just a bunch of really fit dudes crushing all the exercises, but there were normal people and they were not doing them perfectly and the instructor was showing common things that people do wrong.  Also, you will notice there are a bunch of abs.  YOU DO A LOT OF ABS.

Ab Ripper X is by far my favorite of the exercises, though I really enjoyed a lot of them.  Ab Ripper x is about 15 minutes or so and it is a crusher.  At first, I could hardly make it through the it, but as I progressed, I started adding weights to my wrists and ankles.

Its the same with all the videos.  At first, you're really going to suck big time at them.  Its nice because you can vary the weight/reps based on whether you want lean muscle (12-15 reps) or size (8-10 reps.)

What I liked most about the program is that, after most of the upper body work-outs, I'd get in the shower and not be able to put my arms over my head to wash my hair.  It felt like an INTENSE HARDCORE climbing workout minus the hurting fingers.

As a climber, you will want to take it really easy on the leg building stuff, like the squats, I would cheat on or skip a good bit of it, because I didn't want the extra leg mass, but with this program, I was able to heal my finger and all of a sudden 5.12c felt like 5.12a.  It was incredible.

I am thinking very hard about doing P90x again this summer for the off-season.  Like I said, its a big commitment, because you really can't climb while doing the program (you can maybe do some hang boarding or something ,but if you try to climb, you're gonna be really beat up.)  I have been considering P90x2.

Full disclosure here.  The folks at Beach Body (P90x) contacted me and asked me to blog about their programs, though I didn't say anything that I had not already said on facebook.  The program was really worth it to me - it was fulfilling, tough, and both increased the quality of life for me and made me a better climber!!

Here's the link to the program if you want to check it out.

http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/p90x.do

Also, you can google and get a good description of each workout.

The equipment needs aren't that bad.
1.  Pull-Up Bar
2.  Hand Weights
    5lbs,10lbs,15lbs,20lbs,25lbs