It seems that I was the only one consistently attending kettlebell sessions at the Philippine Kettlebell Training Center in Manila. And then I disappeared. For a month. In that time, PKTC decided to scrap its kettlebell program altogether, although anyone enrolled in Krav Maga is still welcome to use its kettlebell gym any time. In its place, fellow kettlebell practitioner, however inconsistent, John See, has been trying to round up whoever he can to join him in the P90X program.

Today, he said we’d start at 5 PM. He was late. So was everyone else.

So, at 5 PM, I decided to swing some kettlebells. I started off conservatively. With 24 kilos. Then I did two more sets of 20 reps with the 28 kilo-kettlebell. I did some slingshots (16 kilos), halos (12 kilos) figure 8s (16 kilos), and back rows using resistance bands.

And then it’s was 5:30, the start of the new Krav Maga time slot.

(FYI, Krav Maga Philippines now holds hour-and-a-half sessions at 8:30 AM, 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM on weekdays, and 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM on Saturdays.)

As I was getting warmed-up with Krav Maga, John showed up. It’s a strange arrangement but it seems that KMP doesn’t mind us using half the room for P90X, while the other half is used for Krav Maga. A few of us joined John on the side of the room with the pull-up bars.

The chest and back workout consisted mostly of push-ups and pull-ups. But, with P90X, you set your own pace. You follow a fixed set of exercises but it’s up to you determine how many reps you do and how heavy or light you want to lift. You record everything on workout sheets, which John so kindly printed out for us, where you can chart your progress, or lack thereof.

I’ve downloaded the P90X workouts with the intention of doing them in Siargao once the house is built but, I swear, I couldn’t watch five minutes of it without wanting to punch Tony Horton in the face. (I’m sorry!) I’m hoping these exercises get me sufficiently intrigued to learn more about P90X and get past my initial reaction to Horton, at least, enough to get through his videos.

For now, I’m merely following John’s lead.

After our P90X chest and back workout, we did two sets of front (one minute) and side planks (30 seconds each side) and then launched straight into the 7:30 PM Krav Maga session.

I must be twisted but I am eagerly anticipating tomorrow’s muscle pain. I can already feel some soreness creeping under my skin. God, I missed this torture.