MMX Round 1: FIGHT!

Delays, rearranging, etc…

I ended up taking last Friday as my rest day to give my hamstring tendon a break. Saturday I did Incinerator, and then Sunday I jumped into MMX. I was pretty excited about this workout as I was a big fan of Tae Bo back in the 90s (I had my prized Billy Blanks VHS), and I’ve really enjoyed P90X Kenpo. MMX is the next logical conclusion in my fake fighting progression but shockingly maybe harder…

Can I tell you how much I hate sprawls?

I detest them. It puts unnecessary weight on my wrists, and I hate them. In Tony’s efforts to make MMX a solid 30 minutes sweat fest, he sprinkles sprawls throughout a good bit of the fighting. Unlike some of my other posts, I’m not going to take the time to specifically outline the workout; I would basically be writing punch combinations, and that’s boring.

The gist of it all is that mixed into the punches, jabs, uppercuts, and kicks are a whole bunch of sprawls that I am just not interested in… But I did them anyway. There was one combination (Jab/Cross/Sprawl/Hook/Uppercut/Sprawl) that simply for the health of my wrists John helped me modify into a move with knee ups and torso twists. 🙂

I was disgustingly sweaty by the end of MMX – like sports bra completely soaked through sweaty. 😛 It was disgusting. John said it was awesome. It probably was awesome, and I felt like a badass, although I’m sure videos would prove otherwise!!!

MMX was fun. Super hard, but fun.

Because I’m so far behind in my blogging with my crazy work/personal schedule this week, Round 2 is almost here. Hopefully I’ll do a little better with some of the combinations this week. Nonetheless, IT’S FUN!

Ashtanga(!)

Yoga is a regular part of my week. I would love to tell you it centers me and brings me a sense of calm and insight (which perhaps it does a bit of that by accident). Instead, I am drawn to yoga for the strength it requires, the flexibility that comes with practice, and the body control you can’t help but learn after repeated stumbling. Plus, I am mesmerized by the “trick” asanas like crow pose and forearm stands. 🙂

I spent several years doing yoga in the darkened confines of my apartment living room with the aid of a rotation of DVDs. While my flexibility and balance improved dramatically, it wasn’t until I took my first Ashtanga class that I realized how incorrect a number of my poses were and why I wasn’t progressing like I would have liked. After that first class my body hurt FOR DAYS!… I realized just how weak my muscles had become just trying to support my own body weight. I literally fell over during a few of the poses in front of the whole class. The beauty of Ashtanga, and why I fell in love with this particular practice, is that there is specific routine that is followed each time. I know the series of poses by heart, and that repetition allows for me to watch my growth and path toward mastery each time I practice.

Everyone stinks when they start! Look awkward, get sore, try again! 

Eventually you become comfortable in your new bendy skin. 🙂

These days I mostly do my yoga at home. At this point I have the primary series memorized, but I also have an Ashtanga DVD I follow sometimes. AYVic-Primary-sm is a great PDF that can be used as reminder of what comes next while you practice. To keep things interesting, I’ll throw in a session following one of these routines that focuses on harder pose preparation, or sometimes (now that I have a pretty good idea of my choices) I’ll invent my own routine for the day.

And if you don’t think yoga can be cardio, I challenge you to a full on yoga class! 🙂

Stay healthy!