p90x Kenpo X - P90xer's Read this! Calorie BUUUURRN

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Dan, and I am new to MFP but have been doing p90x for over 1.5 years. I am pretty active and have been plagued with bicep and hamstring injuries, due to kayaking the Chattahoochee and trying to keep up with a bunch of teens in flag football.

My point is this, one of my favorite exercises in p90x was Kenpo X - but I was never really happy with the calorie burn compared to like Pylo or even cardio (there is just not enough leg movement) however, on my newest rotation of p90x - one of the things I wanted to do was improve my calorie burn with kenpo X.

Here is what I did - First thing, and probably the easiest was hang a heavy bag - I have always enjoyed hitting a heavy bag, but never really did it with a certain program, so I incorporated all of the punched and strikes I could from kenpo X with the heavy bag. Now, some of you may be thinking, if you have any experience with heavy bags - that this doesn't work as well when you are doing 3-4 strikes (as you do in kenpo) because the bag moves so much. To resolve this problem I built a "target dummy" the kind you see in boxing gyms - I know it sounds like a lot, but 200.00 in material, a few hours, and some tools and I was done.

Basically, its a piece of sturdy lumber with a weighted base with other lumber piece screwed into it to form a T intersection at the top from both side of it - I then nailed matting and padding to all the angles, and measured exact heights and distances for my strikes. In the end what I ended up with is a dummy that I can JAB and Cross, R Hook and L Hook, and R Upper and L Upper, because I have pads facing the directions of the strikes for example I have pads facing down for upper cuts, and pads facing right and left for hooks etc etc.

I can give full instructions and measurements one how to build one for yourself if you like, add me as friend and send me a message or just post here and I can tell you.

Now for the meat and potatoes - I go 100% even during the breaks and I usually burn anywhere from 550-750 calories with kenpo X - depending on what my HR monitor says - well I have experimented with this new equipment, and the strikes of the heavy bag and the target dummy, and that passive resistance they offer - I have upped my calorie burn almost 300-400 calories PER WORKOUT!

The first time I used it my HR monitor says I burnt 990 calories, and I thought it may have been a fluke so I tried it again, and I burnt 1010 the second week. This makes Kenpo burn more calories then Pylo, it's more fun - and I really enjoy the workouts. Not only that, because of the heavy bag and target dummy, you are actually building strength in your arms, back, shoulders.

Give it a try - I use 16 ounce bag gloves when I do it, and I do the regular program as always, nothing more. Go 100% and watch your BUUUURN! Be careful the first few times you use bag gloves and hit the bag, you will see you get SMOKED a lot faster then normal.

Take care and Bring it!

Good Luck
Dan