Sucked in by the land of infomercials, I found myself strangely attracted to the P90X exercise and nutrition program. Understand that I was the same person who was, a week prior, sucked in by the Malibu Pilates chair. I was poised and ready to order that when Scott said, "Have you read any reviews on that?" He's so logical. The reviews on the chair sucked.So I thought before I approached him with, "Let's spend $150 on P90X!," I would research it. You know what? People LOVED it. It was crazy. I was a little wary because they all talked about how you had to be "in shape" already. It promises that, if you stay true to the program, you will have a "beach body" in 90 days. People were thrilled with their results.
The program works in three phases for each of the months of the workouts. After taking the Fitness Test and, well, kind of, sort of passing it, we thought, "why not?"
The best part of P90X is the power of choice. You can choose between three programs, Classic, Doubles, and Lean. It all depends on what you want to accomplish. The meal suggestions come in two options for each Phase (month), Portion Approach or Meal Approach. They give realistic calories and the food intake changes as your workout changes. We are prepping to start the "Fat Shredder" part of the program. I am using the Portion Approach (how many servings of what in a day... similar to WW), but get this... I need to eat double the calories of any weight loss program I have ever been on. Interesting, yes? It's not the calories, it's where the calories are coming from that is key.
Scott and I have participating in two workouts so far. Day 1 was Chest and Back, Ab Ripper X. This basically kicked both of our behinds because we just aren't as strong as we used to be. I fell in love with the individualization that Tony Horton stressed. Personal goals for each exercise. He tells you what the "extreme" goal is for reps, but the whole point is that you work to failure (you just can't physically do any more). Scott and I were so sore today, it was insane. Even though I did what I considered to be very few reps, it was the quality of what 
I was doing that was important. I also used muscles that I have let grow dormant. With a slight modification, touching my foot to a chair, I was able to do pull-ups. I haven't done even one pull-up in YEARS. I was so excited, now I really can't wait to do them without a chair. But that's wayyyyy down the road. :) We also were thinking we would use our Bowflex, but we really need to invest in some additional free weights unless we want to really elongate the workout (already a 50-60 minute workout). They also give you enough time on the DVD to transition, and they build in water breaks, unlike other DVDs I have done where they stop the camera, but at home, you just have to keep rolling right along while they look all refreshed.
I was doing that was important. I also used muscles that I have let grow dormant. With a slight modification, touching my foot to a chair, I was able to do pull-ups. I haven't done even one pull-up in YEARS. I was so excited, now I really can't wait to do them without a chair. But that's wayyyyy down the road. :) We also were thinking we would use our Bowflex, but we really need to invest in some additional free weights unless we want to really elongate the workout (already a 50-60 minute workout). They also give you enough time on the DVD to transition, and they build in water breaks, unlike other DVDs I have done where they stop the camera, but at home, you just have to keep rolling right along while they look all refreshed.Day 2 was Plyometrics. Oh my gosh. We were already so sore. This was... I can't even come up with a word... CRAZY? But in a good way. In their words, "Plyometrics are drills designed to connect strength with speed to produce power." It is supposed to help you, "run faster, jump higher, and maneuver in multidirectional sports." It reminded me a lot of volleyball camp. I believe tomorrow, I will feel the same way as I did on Day 2 of camp after we did a million suicides on Day 1. Wait... I'm 39, and I was 16 then, so... it will feel worse. :) What Scott and I both realized was that we have to do the low impact version of this. Scott has a leg that was weakened by a bad break in his teens, and I have strained, sprained, and stretched just about every joint in my legs and feet. The nice thing was, the program allows for these modifications. It's all about pushing yourself to your maximum. They had one person who was supposed to be showing lower impact, but I think she got overly excited and was hopping around way too much.
The program also stresses vitamin supplements and after-workout drinks (theirs, of course, and why not?). Scott and I already have a regimen of supplements (I have gotten a bit sloppy with taking them, but I will need all I can get now), and we bought an after-workout powder similar to what they were selling through P90X at a local store (ironically right by Krispy Kreme in Bloomington!).
So, that's our gig. I am trying to get home right after school so we can work out before picking up Max. He is not the most flexible child when we are working out together. We found that one out on Sunday! I'll keep the blog updated with our progress as we go. No photos, no weight postings. Just how we're doing and how we feel. Maybe some measurement stats. :)
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