If you have spent any time listening to Tony Horton talk about P90X, health or fitness in general then you have probably heard him mention the benefits of yoga and why he put it into a fitness program like P90X.  I have even heard him go as far as to say that if he could only do 1 type of workout the rest of his life that he would choose Yoga.  That’s right people…Mr. “P90X Ripped Pull Up Guy” himself said he would pick Yoga! Why?  Because Yoga is the “Fountain of Youth“.  It keeps you limber which makes you younger.  Think of the elderly vs a child.  As you get older you start to contract inward.  You start bending over and you lose your posture and flexibility, yoga helps to prevent that!  Tony even says that Yoga has helped him with all aspects of his fitness and sports.  Strength, flexibility, stamina, balance, and coordination are effected by yoga.  Here is a video clip of candid Tony talking about the benefits of yoga in your fitness program and why you should do it, from a couple of other coaches :).

Still not convinced?  If you have tried P90X Yoga X you know that Yoga is tough…very tough.  All you guys out there that think that Yoga is only for women have never tried Yoga before.  It works because it is hard.  P90X takes your weaknesses and makes them strengths.  Yoga allows your body to recover more quickly as well.  After I am done with Yoga I feel amazing.  It’s like having a full body message.  You feel a sensation that only fellow yogies can understand.  Physically you feel limper and strong, mentally you feel focused and stress free.

The other major complaint about Yoga is that it is 90 mins long.  Is that a long time?  Yes it is but typically this is how long Yoga classes are.  That being said, Tony has listened to the complaints and made some other Yoga workouts that take up less time.  If you haven’t heard, P90X2 Yoga is also only 60 mins long.  Here are some Yoga X alternatives that you can get if you don’t want to do the full 90 min Yoga X.

1.  Fountain of Youth Yoga. This comes from volume 1 of the Tony Horton One on One series.  This is my favorite alternative to Yoga X and is the one I recommend the most.  It runs about 45 mins and gives you everything you need in less time to get the most out of the workout.

2.  “Patience” or Humming Bird Yoga. This was Tony’s follow up to Fountain of Youth.  He finds Yoga so important to your health and fitness that he made a Yoga routine that is only 35 mins.  So you have absolutely no more excuses not to do Yoga.  This one comes from Volume 2 of the One on Ones.

3.  Yoga: MC2.  This is the test version of what you will see in P90X2.  This one is an advanced form of Yoga X but lasts only 60 mins.  So if you love yoga and want to take it up a notch then check this one out.

So do yourself a favor, keep an open mind and challenge yourself to do Yoga!  You will not only see benefits physically but you will see benefits mentally.  When I first started Yoga X I was not a fan of Yoga, the more I did it the better I got and the greater my results became.  I now love yoga and I have seen first hand what it has done for my health and fitness with P90X.

What do you think of Yoga X?  Do you do it?  What you tried these alternatives yet?  Which is your Favorite?

Exercise on the Road

I like to exercise, so I like to find the time during my travels to exercise when I can.  Getting a good, quick workout in also allows me to mentally relax when I want to have a cheat meal while on vacation.  Besides, it wouldn’t be a vacation without some indulgences.  Luckily for me, my fiance feels the same way so we are able to workout together.  There are several things you can do to get a quick workout in.

1.  Hit the hotel fitness center.  Most hotels have a fitness center in the hotel.  If your not sure you can always plan ahead and see if the hotel has one before you book it.  This is one of the things I look for when I book a hotel.  They are typically very small but usually will have some dumbbells and a couple machines, and a pull up bar.  My fellow P90Xers will know that this is plenty to get a solid workout in.  You can easily make a quick intense workout up on the fly or bring your workout sheet from P90X and do a full routine from a gym.

2.  Bring your workout DVDs and workout in the room. My fiance brought her portable DVD player with us on the trip and brought TurboFire.  She also brought a resistance band.  She took it down to the hotel gym with me but she could have easily worked out in the hotel room.  Don’t have a portable DVD player?  Bring your laptop or buy the P90X app when it comes out later this summer.  The easiest way to travel with P90X, Insanity, or TurboFire is to bring them with you and pop them into a DVD Player.  For P90X, bring a resistance band.  Even if you normally don’t use bands you will be surprised how well they will work.  The new P90X2 will have a modifier using only bands for each workout.  That means you will be able to take P90X2 on the road with you and do every workout with the resistance bands…how cool is that?

3.  Be Creative with your Cardio. If you only have 20-30 mins because you’re with your family or you have a meeting you have to be at, then that’s all you need.  Bring your running shoes and get creative.  Go outside and run, jump, crawl, sprint, what ever!  A great way to get a quick workout in is to do a HIIT workout, or High Intensity Interval Training.  Warm up for 2-3 mins, then go all out for 30 secs, rest for 1 min and repeat 8-10 times.  Do a quick cool down and you have a great 20-30 min workout.  For example, my fiance and I were looking out of the hotel window and noticed a very long/high stairs across the street at the convention center (see picture).  I suggested that it might be fun to do a workout on those things.  So that next morning we went out and created a workout on the fly.  We did a quick 2 min jog to warm up. We then did a “Suicide Drills” type of workout by going up 1 fight of stairs then back down, going up 2 flights then back down, then 3 and so on.  When we got to top we just reversed it.  25 mins later we were done.

4.  Plan activities that are based around being active. Ok I know, you want to relax and hang by the pool.  That is fine but what about planning an activity that involves being active with you and your family?  Rent some bikes and go on a bike ride around the area, learn to surf if your around a beach, paddle board or kyack if your around a bay or lake.  Tennis courts near by?  Rent some rackets and go play tennis.  There are many activities you can do that involve being active around hotels.  Even just taking a long walk around the area is plenty.  The more active you are the more fit you will be on your trip.  Besides, this is why we workout isn’t it?  So we can be active in our everyday lives!  Go swim, snorkel, bike, play!  For example:  My finance and I went and rented bikes and rode for about an hour checking out the area and seeing the sites.  The next day we rented paddle boards and paddled around mission bay.

We all want to relax on vacation but being active can be just as fun.  I was able to workout, lay by the pool, go for a bike ride, walk around town, paddle board all within a couple of days.  Because I was so active I didn’t care if I ate some cheat meals.  I came back from the weekend weighting less than when I left.  Funny how that works.  You can be active on the road, just take the time and plan ahead a little.  Go have fun!

I will be posting about nutrition while on vacation in the coming weeks.

Do you like to be active while on your trips or do you like to do as little as possible?  Do you think these ideas above would work for you?

Nutrition

1. MyFitnessPal: One of the best tools that I use to stay on track with my nutrition is a food log. My Fitness Pal is a great, free, website that allows you to do that with ease. The user database is filled with thousands of foods from the grocery store to restaurants so no matter what your eating you be able to find it and customize on their site. This app is the companion to that system. You can log your food from your phone and it will automatically update to your log online.

2. Eat This! Not That!: This app is great for the “On the go” person who is constantly eating out and is using that as an excuse not to eat properly. Based on the best selling book, this app grades and gives suggestions for practically every chain restaurant in the U.S. If your confused on what to eat next time you are at your local chain then install this app and reap the benefits. The cost is well worth it.

3. Restaurants: This is a very similar app to the one above. It is a little more basic though. Restaurants break down the nutritional info for a good amount of fast food restaurants. If I find myself having to eat at one I use this to make the right choice every time.

4. Fooducate: I stumbled upon this app after watching the local news. The cool part of this app is that it allows you the ability to scan the barcode of any food you will find at the store, and have fooducate show you a letter grade and an option for a better choice. Very high tech and very cool.

5. Fitday: Another food logging app that goes along with the online website. I started out using fitday so I wanted to show that they now have an app for that.

6. Dailyburn: Dailyburn has several, food based, apps that can do everything from log your food manually to log your food through scanning. I like the user interface and the ease of this app.

7. Seafood: If your into seafood this one is a must. I am all about eating wild fish that are healthy and good for the environment. Seafood shows you which types of fish you should eat and which you should stay away from. Everything from mercury levels to how over fished particular seafood is.

Training

1. Nike+ GPS: If your a runner than this app is a MUST have. Even though the iPhone comes with Nike+, I found that Nike + GPS was much more accurate and much easier to use. This app gives the ability to track your running route, distance, speed, length, etc. It also has a cool function to sync with Facebook or twitter so you can share your runs with your friends. Every run gets synced online and you can rate your run, see your total distance or do a challenge with friends or the online community. This app also allows you to play your favorite music or playlist from your music in your phone. Feeling run down and need a boost? There is a “power song” feature that allows your to put your go to song to push through the tough part of your run. All around great app for fitness.

2. iFitness or Full Fitness: This is an oldie but a goodie. This app shows different exercises that you can do at home or at the gym for the particular body part or muscle that you want to work. I have used it to come up with new exercises to help change up my routine. Another cool feature is the ability to track your reps and weight. You can then see a graph of your progress as you continue to use it. They have added a food tracker, weight monitor, BMI calculator, and body measurements. They also have workout routines that are pretty decent. Its not going to replace a fitness program but can be fun to help change things up.

3. Nike Training: Nike Training is very similar to iFitness in that it gives you workout routines to use to get in better shape. It try to be a personal trainer in your phone. You can do workouts and drills, track your progress and unlock rewards.

4. Push-up Wars: This is new to me but seems like a very fun idea.  Think you can do more push ups than all your friends? Test your skill and fitness with this app. You are able to record your push ups and challenge others on a leader board to see who can do the most.

5.  P90X App?: There is talk of a P90X app to keep an eye out for it.  If you follow my this blog then you will be the first to know.

No matter what your looking for there is some sort of app for it, especially apps for fitness.  These fitness apps help me to stay accountable and to keep giving me new ideas to incorporate into my workout routines.  Going through programs like P90X or Insanity is not a simple task.  Having an app to help make eating healthy or working out easier or more fun can make or break your results.  Take advantage of these free apps and spend some extra cash on the ones that you think will help you out.  Eating healthy and working out is hard enough, use the proper tools and you will continue to get results.

Have any other great apps for fitness?  Let me know!  I will add them to the list.  Feel free to comment below and ask any questions you have!

If you want to make me your coach then you can sign up HERE

-Coach Sean