That said, sometimes it's a lot more fun to work out with someone else. Group exercise classes can be motivating. A friend can push you to try a new sport or activity. Or it can just be more convenient to do the same workout as someone else.
When I'm visiting my dad, my sister and I often break out one of her workout videos and follow along together in the 80's inspired basement (complete with drop ceilings and lovely faded blue carpet). And while we take the videos seriously and usually get a great workout in the process, we also laugh at ourselves (and the instructors) a lot.
I have a habit of commenting on anything I'm watching, be it TV show, movie, or workout DVD. (I'm a joy to watch a movie with.) I also tend to curse at the instructors when they're pushing me to work hard. It's how I get past the fact that my muscles are burning.
So we've got running commentary from both me and my sister, crazy moves that workout video instructors inevitably come up with, and usually one or both of us falling over and laughing at some point during the workout. We've actually had to stop DVDs before until we stopped laughing.
There's also usually a dog or two running around, and sometimes a father or husband or brother walking through our workout.
Such was the case recently when we tried the P90X3 Total Synergistics video. We've done many a P90X and P90X2 video before, and when my sister's boyfriend got P90X3 for Christmas, he let us take it for a spin. He suggested the Total Synergistics video, so we went for it.
Here's the lineup of exercises that Tony Horton had us doing during the 30 minute workout:
- Push-Up/Side Arm Balance
- Crescent Chair
- Pull Knee Pull
- Flip Flop Crunch
- Crawly Plyo Push-Ups
- Releve-Plie Weighted
- Chin-Up Circle Crunch
- Boat Plow
- Balance Arch Press
- 3 Hop Press
- Glamour Hammer
- Branon Boat
- Flying Warrior
- Squat Rockers
- Side Rise Punch
- Warrior Squat Moon
This also means that Tony doesn't take a ton of time to demonstrate each exercise, and often goes right into it, expecting you to follow along. Tip of the day: read the instruction guide to figure out how to do each exercise before you start (or get someone to show you). Otherwise, you'll waste about 15 seconds of each 45-60 second set trying to figure out what the hell a Crawly Plyo Push-Up is.
It might actually make sense to watch the video quickly before even getting started, just to see the exercise. Just skip ahead to each chapter, watch for a few seconds, and then move on to the next. Trust me, it will help you get a better workout and the moves with strange names will suddenly make a lot more sense.
Also, he doesn't tell you this, but it might behoove you to have a really padded, soft yoga mat handy for doing some moves.
One thing that annoyed both of us is that for some exercises that we needed to modify - like anything involving pull ups - he didn't show the modification for about 10 seconds. He mentioned that there was one, but didn't actually show the woman who was doing it. Which left us just hanging out for a good chunk of that exercise portion. Lesson learned: watch the video first. Or rewind if you miss a ton of time while trying to figure out a move.
If you're anything like my sister and I, you'll spend about half the workout making fun of the exercise names and half of it making fun of Tony and his need to talk throughout the entire 30 minutes.
Seriously. He does not shut up. (There's an option to turn him off though.)
You'll also spend a good chunk of time commenting on how various exercises are a great way to hurt yourself. For example, the boat plow. This is where you start in a boat, hold for a few seconds, then rock back into a plow, hold for a few second, then rock up into a boat, and continue.
Every time I rocked into a plow, I let out a lovely groan and commented how lovely I must look to anyone watching me. It's not a very flattering pose. My sister kept mentioning not wanting to break her neck.
There were also some standing yoga inspired moves, like the crescent chair, warrior squat moon, and flying warrior, that required a lot of balance and resulted in a lot of almost falling over on our parts. I think I actually did fall over at one point. Just tipped sideways in slow mo after I saw my sister stumble a bit. I'm pretty sure I made a shocked "oh no, I'm falling over" noise.
Bonus tip of the day: if you're working out with someone else doing balance poses, try not to watch them as they fall over. You will also fall over. Then you'll both start laughing like idiots and miss half the workout. Also, try to be quiet when you fall over.
A lot of these poses reminded me that, no matter how fast Tony and his group were moving on the video, I needed to go at my own pace for each and every move. They're advanced. They're a little crazy. And, if I didn't want to hurt myself, I needed to make sure that I was moving very properly and deliberately.
Overall, we both really liked P90X3 Total Synergistics, and felt like we got a good workout in the process. We also probably burned a ton of extra calories by laughing at Tony and ourselves, which is a bonus!
I also learned that I should really take pictures or videos to post with these reviews in the future - it's so much more fun to watch me fall on my face or knock my glasses off with a weight than it is for me to describe it.
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