Tony was recently interviewed by a program called “Posers”, which is a yoga based show.  Here’s the interview.

Why do I harp on yoga?  Simply because I want everyone to be fit and yoga is the cornerstone of any good fitness program.  Yes, I know there are plenty of programs that get great results and don’t include yoga.  Every one of them should be modified to add yoga.  If you are not doing yoga, then you are not doing P90X.  Take the time to struggle with yoga. That struggle leads to tremendous gains.

Keep bringing it people.

Dave

I also have to credit Tony for getting me to take yoga seriously. If you’ve read the posts about my journey through yoga, you’ll know that it was Tony that sat me down in Hawaii in 2008 and basically explained what an idiot I was for not doing Yoga X as part of my P90X program. TH was right and that conversation caused me to learn more about yoga and how it could increase every aspect of my physical performance in triathlon, cycling, and P90X, and how it could provide me with a sense of calm and clarity that I have previously not enjoyed.

Here is a preview of next month’s One on One, entitled Patience Hummingbird. This is a new yoga DVD from Tony, that I’m really excited about. For whatever reason, the fall seems to be the time of year when I really need some yoga in my life. Maybe it is the triathlon season punishment, maybe it is the end of summer, maybe it is just the natural cycle of my life. Regardless of the reason, this one is sure to make the rotation.

Namaste everyone.

Get a personal training workout with Tony every month.

Subscribe to One on One and get Tony’s latest X-style workout delivered right to your door every month. You’ll experience the same P90X® intensity in only 20 to 40 minutes per workout. To start, just rotate your new One on One workout into your P90X schedule. Then once you’ve collected a library of DVDs, you’ll be able to create an exciting new training program.

Here’s how it works. When you subscribe, you’ll get the latest workout each month straight from Tony—you’ll get his latest exercise routines, right from his home to yours, for just $19.95 a month.  FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH ONLY, the cost to subscribe is $0.01. This month’s video is entitled “Mason’s Choice”.  Here is the preview.

Click the One on One with Tony Horton button below to go to the webstore and purchase now.

The One on One Series is a great way to find new workouts to challenge yourself and ensure that you maintain your great results from P90X.  Here is a short video describing some of my favorites.

In addition to the monthly DVD’s, you will receive FREE gifts, including a a FREE DVD wallet to hold a year’s worth of routines! Also keep an eye out for bonus workouts, training gear, and other cool stuff to keep you motivated.

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We’ll ship you this workout immediately, then another every 30 days for only $19.95 a month, plus shipping and handling. It will go directly to your door and be billed to the credit card used today. You may cancel at any time.

To Purchase: CLICK HERE to go to the webstore. Click on “Shop Products”.  AZFITCLUB will show up as your Coach. That’s us!

To put it succinctly, implementing a bi-weekly yoga practice has improved my entire life. Since I started doing yoga twice a week (Yoga X and a 75 min guided “flow” yoga class) I have become stronger, faster in the swim/bike/run world, and my recovery times are much shorter. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, I have a degree of calm and clarity that I have never experienced before. I know, this sounds impossible, but you probably doubted the P90X infomercial as well.

My inspiration for this increased yoga focus, and most of my non-triathlon exercise was, of course, Tony Horton. Tony has been talking about the importance of yoga for a long time.  After hearing Tony talk about yoga in Hawaii last year, we really changed our approach to P90X. Gone were the days of treating Yoga X as a rest/recovery day and skipping the difficult poses that still cause us to struggle (see twisting half moon). Instead, we have made it the focal point of our workout schedules. I do yoga every Tuesday night. It is a time that I have no conflicts and I don’t miss my 75 minute yoga flow class. Sunday it is time to recharge the batteries with Yoga X.

Yes, Yoga X is long and hard, but it is important.  When people expressed concerns about the length and difficulty of Yoga X, Tony responded with the Fountain of Youth DVD in the “One-on-One” series. Why? Simply, because Tony believes that yoga is the single most beneficial exercise a person can do. If you struggle with Yoga X, check out the Fountain of Youth.

In February of 2009 Monica and I had the good fortune to attend Tony’s Yoga Retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We did morning and evening yoga sessions, which book ended epic bluebird days skiing and snowboarding. We asked Tony to take a moment and reflect the online conversation about the benefits of yoga and whether Yoga X was worth the time and effort that it demands.

We felt it was important to record Tony’s thoughts on yoga live, so you could hear it straight from his mouth. To be honest, I am on a yoga crusade. I want everyone to include yoga in their exercise routine. If you have reviewed my 14-week Olympic distance triathlon training program, you’ll note there is one constant and it is Yoga X every week. I can tell you how good yoga is until I’m blue in the face (and frankly I am), but I’m not Tony Horton. I’m just a guy who decided to push play.

Please take a moment to watch this video. When you are done, go grab your Yoga X DVD, put it in and do the ENTIRE routine. When you have finished, please write me a note and let me know how much better you feel. Then keep it up for at least three months to give yoga an honest chance. I my guess is that you’ll fall in love with it.

Click to Watch Video

I like to think of yoga as a flowing river. If you give a river enough time it will wear down even the hardest rocks.  Yoga is the same way. It takes time and dedication. If you give it the time it deserves, like a river, it will create something beautiful.

Beginning on Sunday March 22nd, and continuing on as many Sunday’s as we are available, we will be holding free yoga workouts in Scottsdale, AZ. We will alternate between Yoga X and Tony’s Fountain of Youth DVD from the One-on-One series. If you are in Phoenix come join us for Sunday Morning Yoga Fit Club. Who knows, you might just end up feeling good.

Yours Truly,

“Gumby, Jr.”

Sometimes we just spend so much time planning the plan that we don’t actually get busy and accomplish something.

Beachbody makes it so simple! I love their in home personal training programs. Their programs take ALL the guess workout out of HOW to combine workouts and WHAT to do to get the most effective workout. The best part is they are SO affordable.

All you have to do is pop the scheduled day’s DVD into your player and JUST PUSH PLAY. Do your best to do exactly what the personal trainer is doing on your TV screen and you will see results.

You’ll experience progress each time you do another workout. Sometimes you’ll lift high weight and other times you’ll crank out more push ups in a single session.

It is SO simple. Remember FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION

Sample daily P90X workout:

Day 2 of P90X: Plyometrics

Log into WOWY

Flip your P90X DVD case to Plyo

Pull it out and insert into DVD player

Push play: BRING IT

Sweat! Curse Tony? Conquer!

Drink some awesome Recovery Formula

Brag about it to your BUD team

While in crane, gently drop your head to the ground.  You’ll want to be sure you keep your neck in a comfortable and strong position.  From there, try to position your rear over your shoulders and then lift straight up with your core.  Keep your core tight and try to squeeze your thighs together, which will help you balance.

Try it against a wall with a spotter when you start.  Slowly, but surely, you will find the balance and strength to straighten your legs above your head.  Here’s a video of what the move looks like in real time.  I held this for a 10 count, but I try for 30 when I do it as a regular part of my practice.

Remember, yoga is like water in a river running over rock.  It takes time, but the water always wins the battle.

Dave

Yoga practice can be difficult, but it is more difficult if you cannot maintain your focus.  Often the phrase, “clear your mind” is used as a way to describe the feeling of focusing solely on the moment and not concerning yourself with something that happened during your day or what you have to do when you are done.  When I hear “clear your mind” my mind starts racing looking for something to not to think about.  As a result, I lose focus when I try to clear my mind.

Instead, of trying to clear my mind of all thoughts, I chose to focus it on one specific thought.  As my mind wanders, as it inevitably does during yoga practice, I come back to my intention.  By focusing solely on that one thought, I find I am able to concentrate more, which has helped my yoga practice.  I hope you find this helpful in your yoga practice.  I would love to hear from you if you have other thoughts on how to maintain focus during yoga.

Dave

The P90 Master Series includes six discs: Core Cardio, Sweat 5-6, Cardio Intervals, Plyo Legs, Sculpt 5-6, and UML (Upper, Middle, Lower). The first three are pure calorie burning cardio. Plyo Legs is also a hybrid cardio workout, but involves a great deal of strength training. Sculpt 5-6 follows a strength circuit, much like the original Power 90 1-2 or 3-4. UML also follows a circuit, hitting virtually every muscle group, but focusing on large muscle groups rather than more centralized ones. The workouts are an average length of about 45 minutes.

The Master Series is a great program because it has the kind of variety that people demand, and has a duration that can fit into virtually any schedule. Since it is a Tony Horton program, you can bet it is challenging, entertaining, and, most importantly, effective.

We here at The Fit Club Network highly recommend the Master Series to anyone that is looking to get in great shape, but especially to people that feel they might not be ready for P90X yet. We have devised a special 8 week program that is designed to get you into shape to tackle P90X.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE - Then click on Shop.  Or contact me HERE.

The Fit Club Network’s P90 Master Series Short Course Schedule

The Fit Club Network’s P90 Master Series Short Course, is designed with five workouts per week. You can decide how to space them out and when to mix in your recovery days. There are recommended recovery days within the program, but do what works best for you and your schedule. An optional sixth day is provided with the plan. If you can do all six, then that will help to prepare you for P90X, which is a six day workout program.

Take the recovery week seriously. This week is not for lifting. This is a week to recover, focus on cardio and core strength. It is not a week off. The purpose is to allow your body to absorb the new muscle fibers you are creating. This concept is part of the “muscle confusion” theory behind P90X and will also help to prepare you for that program.

PHASE I – Cardio Focus

Weeks 1 through 3

This phase is designed to jump start your metabolism and prepare you for the heart-pounding cardio in P90X. This is designed as a Cardio Focus Phase; however, if you do the optional sixth day workout, then it is an evenly balanced phase.

1. Sweat 5-6
2. Sculpt 5-6
3. Cardio Intervals
4. Recovery Day (Recommended)
5. Sculpt 5-6
6. Plyo Legs
7. Recovery Day (Recommended) or Sculpt 5-6 (OPTIONAL)

Week 4 – Recovery Week – Cardio and Core focus.

We introduce Core Cardio here. You will need to build a solid base of core strength for P90X, and this is a great way to do that. While UML is a strength exercise, we recommend that you try to take it easy during this week. Don’t go too hard during UML and take two days off. Try to focus on stretching this week in addition to the base workout.

1. Core Cardio
2. Sweat 5-6
3. Recovery Day (Recommended)
4. UML
5. Core Cardio
6. Sweat 5-6
7. Recovery Day (Recommended)

PHASE II – Strength Focus

Weeks 5-7

After four weeks of cardio focus, you will be ready to lift some weight. Try to go as heavy as you can during this phase. You should be at muscle exhaustion at between 8 to 10 reps. Go for extra push ups here as well. You should have lost some weight during the first four weeks, which lowers the push up resistance during this phase. Really get after it for these three weeks.

1. UML
2. Cardio Intervals
3. Sculpt 5-6
4. Recovery Day (Recommended)
5. Sweat 5-6
6. Sculpt 5-6
7. Recovery Day (Recommended) or Plyo Legs (OPTIONAL)

Week 8 – Recovery Week – Cardio/Core Focus

Same advice applies to this recovery week. Take two days off here and stretch. Also, make sure you have ordered your P90X by now. It will take 5 to 7 business days to arrive. You want to hit the ground running here and pick right up with Chest & Back and Ab Ripper X right after you finish this recovery week, so be sure to order before you enter this week.

1. Core Cardio
2. Sweat 5-6
3. Recovery Day (Recommended)
4. UML
5. Sweat 5-6
6. Core Cardio
7. Recovery Day (Recommended)

Nutrition

Diet and nutrition is important with any exercise program. You can find a number of good resources about nutrition here on The Fit Club Network. As a general rules, limit starchy carbs, saturated fats, and sugars. Increase your intake of protein, low glycemic index carbs and monounsaturated fats. Work hard, eat right and you will have great results.

As always, The Fit Club Network Coaches are here to help. If you take on this program, please let us know. We would like to help you with it and we would like your feedback. This plan was not devised by Beachbody, but is instead based solely on our experience. If you have some thoughts on how we can make it better, we would love to know them.

Click to watch a preview of “Fountain of Youth”

Our first exposure to yoga was with the Power 90 series.  There is a brief bit of yoga used to warm the body up before the Sweat 1-2 and Sweat 3-4 sections.  When Monica and I started P90X and started doing Yoga X, we were amazed by how difficult it was.  I have to admit that I did not like the workout at first.  It was long, exhausting, and frustrating.  Over time, Yoga X has become my favorite exercise program.  Yes, it is long (approx. 90 mins), and it is still exhausting; however, it is no longer frustrating.  This is not because I have mastered each move.  It is simply because I have gained an understanding of what yoga is all about and what Tony is trying to accomplish with the Yoga X DVD.

Yoga is about flexibility, but it also about strength.  The difference between a typical strength workout and yoga, is that yoga builds mental strength in addition to physical strength.  Yoga requires complete focus and a dedication to the moment.  Our society has evolved into the nation of the multi-taskers.  We text while we drive (not endorsed by The Fit Club Network), listen to music while we work, and watch TV while we exercise.  Taking an hour and a half out of our busy lives to breath and hold difficult postures for several minutes is not something that comes naturally to most Americans.

I submit to you that the purpose of yoga is to build the mental strength to sit still.  The payoff is increased flexibility and strength to be sure, but yoga also brings a sense of clarity and calm that other “traditional” forms of exercise simply cannot provide.  We hope you have found this post helpful and will keep checking back regularly for more updates.

Project: You! Type 2 is the first Beachbody product that has been endorsed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).  Project: You! Type 2 starts with an understanding that most people with Type 2 Diabetes have had much recent physical exercise.  As a result, the program starts slowly to help build a solid fitness base and then gradually increases in difficulty.

Simultaneously, people doing the program are given specific nutritional guidelines that take the guesswork out of eating.  The nutritional guide that comes with Project: You! Type 2 is excellent.  It is easy to follow and easy to understand.

The combination of a well targeted exercise program, an understandable nutritional guide and the endorsement of the ADA makes Project: You! Type 2 the ideal program for Type 2 Diabetes patients.

Click on the video to learn more about the Project: You! Type 2.

 Click on the video below to hear Kathy Smith and Former ADA President Francine Kaufman talk about Project: You! Type 2.

Product Information

Fight Type 2 Diabetes with Kathy Smith.

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, or pre-diabetes, you may help manage or prevent it with the revolutionary NEW lifestyle program, Kathy Smith’s Project:YOU! Type 2^™. This amazing program was developed and approved in conjunction with the American Diabetes Association® (ADA), the leading source of trusted information about diabetes. This is a major triumph for Beachbody, Team Beachbody, and our customers.

You Can Fight Type 2 Diabetes Now!

By combining a delicious, easy-to-follow meal plan with a fun workout program for all fitness levels, Project:YOU! Type 2 is the first all-in-one, simple solution to help manage diabetes, reduce your risk for diabetes complications, and get you back in control of your life!

Now for the first time, the American Diabetes Association has joined with Beachbody^® and Kathy Smith to help fight this devastating disease.

Kathy Smith’s Project:YOU! Type 2™ is a brand-new program from one of the most trusted names in health and fitness. This all-in-one healthy solution emphasizes lifestyle changes, including education on healthy eating coupled with regular physical activity. And it’s designed to produce long-term health benefits while helping you lose weight. Did you know that being at your ideal weight can help reduce the risks of getting type 2 diabetes? And if you have type 2, it can make a big difference in managing your blood glucose.

12-Week Workout Guide

An incredible guide to help you get started and get moving. Kathy shows you exactly how to get the most out of your workouts!

Workout Wallet with DVDs and CD

8 workouts and 2 audio walking programs help you progress through Kathy’s most effective fat-burning, strength-training, and core/flexibility workouts ever.

Workout Calendar

12-week calendar shows you exactly which workouts to do each day, when to rest, plus a daily checklist to keep you on track.