Most people know my background…I’ve blogged about fitness and all before (I’ll see if I can link some previous blogs here…ok, so I can't but I will at some point when my techie hubby is here to help!)
Day One (in January 2011): Hubby took Day One pictures and I took the initial fit test. I won’t list all of my numbers, but here are a few: I could do ¾ of a pull up, 10 pushups, 25 in-outs (an abdominal move), flexibility (reaching to toes) +2.5 inches, and I could hold a wall squat for 10 seconds.
For the next 90 days (well, it took 100 because I was entirely out of commission with the flu for 10 days in early February!), I followed the P90X plan…it’s very organized, just look at what you are to do that day, put in the DVD, press play and “do your best, forget the rest” as trainer Tony says.
Day Ninety (April 12, 2011): Again, hubby took pictures (he did so on days 30 and 60 as well.) Here are the improvements:
¾ of a pull up then……………………4 now!
10 pushups then…………………….30 now!
25 in-outs then……………………..75 now!
10 second wall squat then…….90 second now!
+2.5 in flexibility then………………+6 in now!
I lost 3 pounds from start to finish (would have liked to have lost more, but I’m hoping some of my jiggly parts got toned!)
No changes in any measurements except: ½ inch decrease in chest and ½ inch increase in each bicep. Again, I was hoping for my waist to get tiny, but no such luck this time.
I followed the “lean” version of the program, hoping to tone up, but not get too bulky. I did not follow the meal plan very well. I started with 5 lb weights but moved up to 8lbs and actually need some heavier ones for certain moves. I did get a pullup bar (I had been going outside to use the kids’ monkey bars all winter!!) I also used pushups stands, as they took some of the strain off my wrists. I also bought a mat, as my exercise surface is usually a floor. Other that than, no equipment was needed. I did all workouts in my family room or basement.
If I were to do another round of P90X (which I will likely do next winter, as it’s great when you’re forced to workout indoors), I would try to follow the nutrition guide better and I think I would try the “regular” version of the workouts. I would also get 10 lb weights and some bands.
What are the drawbacks? The only one I could find: time. This program requires about an hour a day (90 minutes for yoga), and that was a little tough initially. I ended up changing around my day a little and was able to squeeze most workouts in after preschool drop-off and before preschool pickup.
Tips:
When I got dressed in the morning, I put on my workout clothes. Much more likely that I would get up and get moving with a workout if I was already dressed and ready. Also, if I got dressed in “regular” clothes, I was less motivated to change back into workout gear.
I used the calendar from P90X to actually write in what workout I was doing each day, and I wrote this out a week ahead, so I could see what was coming.
I also used the logs P90X provides so I could track what weights I used and how many reps I could do. This was super-motivating because I wanted to do as well or better the next time. This tool was also useful to track progress.
So what's next? I started Jillian Michaels' "Ripped in 30" and I'll let you know how that goes in a month or so...
Need a visual? Here are my P90X "before and afters":
Day One -
Day Ninety -
that's awesome k! you did so great sticking with it! i may just try that next winter!
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