P90X - Week 1

Well here we are, with 2 1/2 days under our P90X belts. So far we've done Core Synergistics and Cardio X, and both of them have been delightfully painful.

I've also taken a big gulp of the P90X kool-aid and agreed to go ahead and follow the diet plan, too. In this phase of the program that means a low-carb/low-fat/high-protein mix. We've planned out our meals for the next week to make sure that we're able to get the right proportions of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

I'm struggling with this one already because I don't really like most proteins. I'm not a big fan of meat, and the tofu preparations that I enjoy would have a negative impact on the carbohydrate ratio, so I have a lot of chicken breast and ground turkey on the menu. I think that I'll probably eat more meat in the next four weeks than I have in the last three months. It kind of goes against my food philosophy somewhat, but at least we can keep it to morally(ish) raised. That makes me feel a little better about it.

I also have to include protein powder in my diet to make up for the meat protein that I'm not willing/able to eat. We bought a tub of chocolate-flavored powder and I thought I was going to puke when I took the first sip of my first shake yesterday afternoon. Big thanks to Coach Lynn, who graciously offered me a sampling of her myriad flavors and varieties of powders. The one I enjoyed for my morning snack was pretty palatable.

I'm a big carb junkie, and I make no secret of that. Normally my diet is very carbohydrate-focused. I love pasta and potatoes, corn, bread, all that good stuff. Few things are more satisfying than kneading a home-baked loaf of soft Italian bread and then enjoying a slice still warm from the oven. I'm definitely going to miss that. Later on in the program there will be room to enjoy things like that, but right now we're focused on fat burning.

Right now all I can think about is freaking pasta salad and the macaroni and cheese we made a few weeks ago. I'm hoping that things work the way everyone says they do - that once I get used to the new way of eating my body won't crave those things anymore and I'll be able to eat a more balanced diet going forward.

Power90 - Week 6

This is the last week of Power90 for us. We're starting P90X on Saturday! As I mentioned yesterday, the box was waiting for me on my doorstep when I got home from work on Tuesday. I read through the manuals last night and I can't wait to get started! We're waiting for Saturday so that our off-days will be on Fridays. That seems to be the day that I come down with a major case of the "fuck-its," especially when things are super busy at work, like they have been lately. That way I can sit on the couch and watch TV or read a book and unwind without feeling guilty or having the workout hanging over my head.

So anyway, after completing 42 days of Power90 I'm a total Tony Horton convert. I looked in the mirror the other day and noticed that I have real arm muscles! I **might** have struck a few yoga poses to check myself out, because I'm kind of a tool like that. The only downside to the Power90 program is that it's repetitive. There are only two tapes and I'm SO tired of the cardio workout. That's what I'm looking forward to the most about P90X - there are 12 tapes and you rotate through. I think that will help prevent things from getting stale.

I'm most nervous about following the diet plan, or our modified version of the diet plan. I want to make sure that we aren't making a change that's too big for us, since baking and cooking are favorite hobbies of ours. We were going to take it in incremental steps but after reading the books C is all gung-ho about following the plan exactly. I'm most likely not going to follow that path with him.

I'm very much looking forward to watching C try to do the yoga poses! I have a feeling the Yoga X tape will provide me with some much needed comic-relief :)

It's Here!

Let the ass-kicking commence!

Tonight is our off-night from Power90, so I'm planning to read all of the documentation that came with the program. There are two large volumes. I'm geeky and love reading instruction manuals, so I'm rather excited to crack those books open!

Power90 - Week 5

I made the mistake of getting on the scale this morning, and I haven't lost anything. I know that doesn't mean much, because I don't have a lot of pounds to lose before it gets unsustainable. I also know that I'm making progress in other areas, as evidenced by the fact that I can do a ton more reps with heavier weights and that I no longer feel like I'm going to die by the end of the cardio workout. My upper body is definitely more toned than it was before. So the rational part of me is reminding myself that I need to be looking for progress in other areas that aren't as easily measured as stepping on the scale, but the quantifier in me wants to MEASURE, MEASURE, MEASURE!

C is still doing very well with it - his pants are noticeably looser around the middle and he's really happy with his results so far.

We ordered P90X last night so as long as it gets here next week we're going to start it on Saturday, February 27th. I'm going to start tracking my food intake because I'm pretty positive that I'm not eating nearly enough protein. I need to be better about that.

Power90 - Week 4

I can't believe it's only been 4 weeks. It feels like forever. I can recite almost every line from both videos now, including Tony's attempts at snarky comments. We missed one day last week because I was sick and I felt really guilty about it. I can tell that I'm still making progress because I've been able to bump up the weights on pretty much all of the exercises. Bicep curls with 8 pound dumbbells sounds weak, but when you consider that I've never been able to use much more than 4 it's a sign of obvious progress.

I still want to shake my fist and curse at him (actually, I do shake my fist and curse at him) when he reminds us that it's time to max out on our push-ups. I try until I can't even bend my arms anymore and then I try some more. Still mostly girly push-ups though, but that's ok for now. The workout buddy system is a big help. We're able to motivate and push each other and correct each other's form. We're still planning to start P90X on March 1 and I'm really looking forward to the change. Definitely not ready yet, though!

Power90 - Week 3

We're up to level 3-4 on both sculpting and cardio now. I thought I was going to die by the end of the new cardio routine when we put it in on Sunday - it's amazing how much extra pain a measly 4 minutes and 30 seconds can cause. I have pain in arm muscled that I never knew even existed!

My progress for this week included a few successful inverted push-ups. Go me!



I'm sticking to my original plan of not worrying about losing weight. Charlie, on the other hand, was very proud to tell me that he's lost four pounds so far. My own personal concern is that I can get to the point where my butt stops jumping when the rest of me does.

The only real issue I'm having with the program is that the "X-work" bothers my knee. It's a lot of jumping around. I know I'm going to get it a lot worse with the plyometrics that go with the P90X.

If you're interested in the Power90 and P90X programs, or any kind of fitness at all, check out the blog of my friend/co-worker/trainer at Coach Lynn Fitness. She is one seriously in-shape lady.

Power90 - Week 2

We've officially entered Week 2 of the Power90. It feels like a lot longer than that since we started doing Tony's other videos a few weeks earlier, but for the sake of the program we'll leave it at that.

Week 2. After running through the Level 1-2 Sculpting session we decided that we were good with bumping things up to Level 3-4 now, rather than waiting for the halfway point in the program. Holy hell, I don't think my triceps and chest muscles will ever forgive me. The first part of all four circuits is push-ups. 8-20 reps using various arm positions. I'm not even close to being able to complete them all, even in the modified position. Yes, that's right. As I said before, I'm a sissy and I do weakling push-ups with my legs bent. That brings me to my first note of progress, though - last night I actually did SIX push-ups with my legs straight out! SIX REAL PUSH-UPS! That's double the number I was able to do last week! I'm thoroughly impressed with myself, and it's certainly nice to have some kind of measurable progress going.

I'm not going to hop on the scale or whip out the measuring tape until we've been at it for a full month. I don't think that minuscule losses really matter all that much to me, so we'll just see where we net out. Even if I don't end up losing much in inches, as long as I can tell that my strength is increasing then I'm good with that. The goal here is health, not scary olsen-twins thinness.