Recovery: 30-Day Shred Level I

Well, my "real" recovery lasted about 2 days before I started feeling guilty about not working out (I kept hearing Tony's voice in my head, talking about getting old and eating Krispy Kremes). So, I popped in Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred video today, just to get a quick but thorough workout. I worked out to this video for a while before P90X and I found it pretty intense, though short.

The good news: it's still intense, mostly because Jillian doesn't allow ANY rest between exercises, so you're going all out for 20 mins. The bad news: it's basically glorified cardio, and that is lame. Seriously, chest flys with 3lb dumbbells? Bicep curls with 3lb dumbbells? And all the while Jillian promising that you'll get ripped if you doing this every day? Please. I really feel sorry for all the fat Hausfraus out there who believe that if they just do this video for 20 mins a day, they'll end up looking like Jillian. If there's one thing I've learned from P90X, it's that that level of muscularity and fitness takes heavy weight, HARD work, and a lot of it.

I also firmly believe that it's possible to be extremely fit even when you're not at your ideal weight. While P90X Lean has nothing on the Classic program, I do think you need to be pretty fit to finish it, and I finished it even though I'm a good 20 (or even 30) pounds above what I would consider my ideal weight. The Husband is probably more like 40 or 50 pounds above what he'd prefer and he finished it (sort of) too. I have never thought exercise was a good way to lose weight, and after doing this, I believe that more than ever.

Day 98: Fit Test

HALLELUJAH!!!!!! I finished P90X Lean!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, enough self-congratulating. I do feel a sense of accomplishment, but I'm very disappointed at my lack of weight loss over the last 3 months. I'm still hovering right around the 3 lbs lost mark, which is completely ridiculous, given that on Atkins it's not unusual to lose 3 lbs a week. But I digress. Today is all about my fit test results!

I did some googling but was unable to find out if there's an "expected" level of improvement upon completion of P90X, so I don't really have a benchmark by which to measure my performance. Nevertheless, I'm pretty happy. I still can't do a pullup, but I added 3 inches to my vertical leap, doubled the amount of girly knee pushups I can do (12 at the beginning, 25 now) AND developed the ability to do 3 or 4 real pushups. I added 42 seconds to my wall squat time (112 seconds as opposed to 70 before) and I can now do 38 bicep curls with 10lbs instead of 18. I doubled my In & Outs as well, which was surprising since I really slacked off on Ab Ripper at the end. Cardio-wise, my resting heart rate hasn't changed but my recovery rate was MUCH better - after 4 mins of rest I was down to 84bpm as opposed to 98bpm when I started.

So, some good things. I will have The Husband take some pics and post them soon, although the visual results aren't really what I had hoped. I need to take measurements too. I am at a loss as to how to get the weight loss going, but that's not going to stop me from doing the Classic program - in a few weeks. I want some real recovery time, and I want to do another "pre-90X" week to adjust to Plyo a bit, because I don't want to lose the ability to walk. I wouldn't say I'm looking forward to Classic, but I am looking forward to the results!

Day 96: Core Synergistics

Well, I was right – I was SORE on Wednesday. So sore, in fact, that I not only skipped Stretch X (which I admittedly always skip), but I also skipped Yoga X or whatever I was supposed to do on Thursday. I felt like myself again today though (more or less), so I tackled my final round of Core Synergistics this morning.

Um, okay. I skipped Core entirely last week, but I have otherwise been quite faithful about doing it when scheduled and bringing it as much as possible, so I’m not quite sure why I still hate this workout and suck so badly at it. I admit I have made improvements, but I still can’t get through all of the reps of every exercise. Part of this is probably due to the fact that I’m adding weight where appropriate, so those exercises are becoming more taxing, but still. Annoying. I did do the reach-high-and-under pushups on my feet today like a real man, though, so that’s something. Thank Jeebus this workout doesn’t get done much in Classic, because I hate it. Hate.

Day 93: Cardio X

With my tail between my legs, I returned to the regular recovery week schedule today, although I had to do Cardio X instead of Core due to time constraints. I had a pretty good showing on Cardio X today, but OMFG are my legs sore. Also, I’m one of those people who always suffers worst two days after a rough workout, so I can only imagine how unpleasant tomorrow is going to be.

Day 92: Plyometrics

Ironically, Labor Day marks what would have been the end of P90X Lean if I hadn’t skipped a week, and because I did, marks the beginning of my final “recovery” week. The Husband declared Labor Day a work out free day, but he sort of fell off the wagon after we got back from eloping and hasn’t been sticking to the schedule at all. He promises to renew his commitment when we start Classic, though! Anyway, since I’m generally a contrary person, I decided to work out. However, Yoga X was on the schedule for today and I really wasn’t in the mood for the plinky-plunky music or 90 minutes of Tony, so I decided to give Plyo a try in preparation for starting Classic.

Well, let me just say that my recovery week is definitely going to involve recovery now – from Plyo. I think I did about one-third of this video, and that’s being generous. I was gasping for air by the end of the warm-up and ready to vomit by minute 30. OMFG. Also, big thanks to Tony for adding insult to injury by constantly telling us that if his buddy with one leg can do it, so can we. Um, fuck you, Tony. This video is ridiculous. I think the one-legged guy wants you dead too.

Day 88: Back and Biceps

I seem to be limping to the P90X finish line rather than sprinting as I had hoped. Got sidetracked by a little getaway to the country last weekend, and although I was very active while I was there (tons of swimming), I did end up skipping P90X on Monday of this week and starting Week 12 on Tuesday instead. My upper body is still screaming from Chest, Shoulders and Tris, which made Back and Biceps extra fun today. I had planned to double up and do Cardio X today as well (did Yoga X yesterday), but due to time constraints I couldn’t fit it in. Oh, and let’s not even talk about Ab Ripper X, because I haven’t done that in like three weeks. Argh. I’m starting to get a little bored of the Kenpo/Core/Yoga grind. I need something to motivate me or at least mix it up a bit. And that annoying Katie bitch on the Back and Biceps video didn't do it.

All of that said, today was my last weight workout of the Lean program and I do feel like I have made more gains in strength with P90X than with any other weight program I’ve ever done. I can look back on my spreadsheets and see TONS of progress from where I started. This morning I was able to control myself downward on pullups without assistance from my feet – that is huge (upward is going to take a lot more work, LOL). I can do a REAL pushup (actually, I can do a couple!). Despite skipping Ab Ripper, I’m able to complete Yoga Belly 7 with minimal swearing. I’m going to finish out the rest of the Lean program just so I can say I did it, but I’m looking forward to starting the Classic program in a couple of weeks – I can’t wait to see what Classic will do for me!

Day 82: Yoga X

It had been a while since I did Yoga X, given that I skipped it a couple of times even before my accidental week off, so I was a bit apprehensive this morning about how it might go. I skipped the plough shoulder stance and Yoga Belly 7 due to time constraints, but the rest of the workout was relatively easy (or maybe manageable is a better word). I’m starting to challenge myself by keeping my knees off the floor during upward dog, although the pushups in between asanas are still not happening. Maybe when I get to Classic. Then again, maybe not.

Day 81: Core Synergistics

So, I decided to face the music today and get on the scale. I spent our entire elopement weekend eating carne adovada burritos, chocolate croissants and pizza, so although I avoided Krispy Kreme (Tony’s true nemesis), I did my fair share of carbohydrate-related damage. Or so I thought. Despite having eaten the world last weekend, I am three lbs lighter than I was when I left and six lbs down overall. WTF? I think it proves my theory that if I’m going to lose weight while exercising like a mad woman, I need carbs. Atkins is great if you’re just sitting around on your couch – hell, I lost 60 lbs by being lazy and eating bacon. Wait. Remind me again why I’m exercising?

Anyway, Core was as annoying as ever tonight but I was able to add weight/reps where appropriate, so I guess that week off didn’t hurt me too much. I am seriously dreading Yoga X tomorrow, though.

Day 80: Kenpo X

More confessions – but at least I have a semi-decent excuse this time! The Fiancé became The Husband on Sunday! We took off for a little elopement vacation on Wednesday evening. I had the best of intentions regarding P90X and even took the videos with me, but we just didn’t find the time to workout while we were away. We got back late Monday, and were playing catch-up Tuesday, so since I had missed almost exactly a week of workouts, I decided to do a sort of re-start today (Wednesday) – I’ll be doing the three missed workouts from Thurs-Sat of last week (which was week 11), and then moving onto week 12. So, it’s going to be P97X for me!

Anyway, Kenpo X – it actually wasn’t too bad despite the week long break. My left hamstring wasn’t happy, but otherwise I did about as well as I usually do with this video. Core Synergistics may be more of a struggle tomorrow, we shall see.

Day 71: Shoulders and Arms

Okay, confession time – I fell off the bandwagon a bit last week. I felt like I really wasn’t recovering from my cold and all I wanted to do was sleep, so in addition to subbing a short and easy yoga video for Yoga X, I skipped Kenpo X entirely and waited until Sunday to do Core Synergistics, which gave me two full days off in a row (three if you count the day I half-assed yoga). Bad, bad P90Xer. Whatever. It seems to have worked, since I’m finally feeling halfway healthy again. I brought it to Shoulders and Arms this morning, too. I was bored by the idea of doing my usual 15 reps of everything, so I added a lot of weight, just to see what it was like to be exhausted at eight reps. Um, it’s painful! I’m seriously glad I’m not a dude, because that is not cool! No time for Ab Ripper X today, but I will try to fit it in tomorrow.

Day 67: Yoga (not X)

I woke up with a sinus headache AND screaming sore pecs and shoulders from yesterday’s marathon Chest, Shoulders and Tris workout, and I simply could not summon the mental energy to face Zen-Tony and the Yoga X minions. I wanted to get in some type of workout, though, so I decided to do one of my old favorite yoga videos, one that used to be a nice challenge for me. Heh. I am happy to report that my fitness level must have improved, because this workout was no longer a challenge in any way (except for stretching my sore hamstring). Better than skipping yoga altogether, though, I suppose.

Day 64: Back and Biceps

I was right, Chest, Shoulders and Tris just wasn’t happening today. So, The Fiancé and I went for our first run of Back and Biceps. Wow. There are a LOT of bicep exercises on this video (duh). My left arm in particular felt like Jello by the end. The Fiancé was in heaven and now keeps pulling up his shirt sleeves to show me his bulging arms. Pullups continue to suck but I did appreciate that there were quite a few non-pullup back exercises here, and I worked some back muscles that I hadn’t touched in previous workouts. Ab Ripper X? 283!!!!!!!!!!!! And that’s with a sore throat and head cold!

Day 63: Core Synergistics

Okay, so I’m sick AGAIN, thanks to The Fiancé AGAIN. Summer colds are the worst and this is my 2nd in 3 weeks. Unacceptable. That said, I really struggled with Core today and actually skipped the bonus round for the first time ever. I had to play fast and loose with the schedule this week due to time constraints and such – not sure if that had any impact on how FUCKING HARD Core was today or not. But it sucked. And given that I just did all the Core pushups today there’s no way I’m going to be doing the scheduled Chest, Shoulders and Tris video on Monday. Maybe I’ll flip it with Back and Biceps. Or maybe merciful death will take me before I have to do another Tony Horton workout with a headful of snot.

Day 60: Shoulders and Arms

Ah, Shoulders and Arms – how I’ve missed you! This continues to be my favorite workout in all of P90X. After a six week hiatus from it, I was curious to see how things would have changed, so I carefully consulted my worksheets before deciding on weights for today’s workout. Lo and behold, I was able to add weight on every exercise, and on the few where I didn’t add weight, I added reps. I also scored an all-time high of 272 on Ab Ripper X.

Unfortunately, I’m two months into a program called “Lean” and I still haven’t lost any significant weight – about three lbs, depending on the day. My clothes don’t seem to be any looser either, although they do look better – less lumpy softness underneath. Still, many women report that their biggest changes come in the last 30 days, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Knowing my body the way I do, though, I have a feeling that all this cardio is NOT helping with my weight loss. I am looking forward to starting the Classic program in a month in the hopes that the extra resistance workouts get things moving!

Day 57: Chest and Back, Ab Ripper X

First off, I have a confession to make: I skipped Yoga X on Saturday. And I don’t feel the least bit guilty! The Boyfriend became The Fiancé on Friday night and we had better things to do this weekend to celebrate. So suck it, Tony! I enjoyed the extra day of recovery and I think it might have actually helped my sore left hamstring. Not sure it helped me with Ab Ripper X though - I banged out 264 reps, 3 shy of my all-time high.

So, today was my first go at Chest and Back, and it was certainly a challenge. The under-the-fence pushups, OMFG. Not to mention the diamond pushups, decline pushups and military pushups. I soldiered through, but wasn’t able to do many reps of anything. I do feel that my pullup strength is improving – I did them with just one foot on the stool for most of the workout. Could just be that my squat strength is improving, though. Anyway, as difficult as the exercises themselves are, this video isn’t so bad – it’s only 50 minutes, there are multiple water breaks built in, and Tony and his new minions aren’t terribly annoying. I may hunt him down and punch him in the face if he says “Krispy Kreme” in one more video, though.

Day 52: Kenpo X

A relatively uneventful Kenpo session, although I did decide to get crazy and switch my feet (so I started with my right foot in front for all of the exercises instead of left as Tony instructs). Interestingly enough, it felt like a somewhat different workout and really showed me where some of my weaknesses are. I have always alternated my starting foot with Yoga X, mostly because he is inconsistent on the length of time he holds the different postures from side to side, but I didn’t think it would make much of a difference with Kenpo. It does, though. Try it!

In other news, we skimmed through the Back and Biceps and and Chest and Back videos in preparation for next week. It is truly astounding (not to mention annoying and a bit terrifying) how many different and torturous types of pushups he has managed to include in these videos. I’m glad to see some back exercises other than pullups, though, because I was feeling like I was getting a very incomplete back workout up to this point (due to my inability to do anything resembling a real pullup).

Day 50: Yoga X

Today marks the day that hell froze over: The Boyfriend FINALLY tried Yoga X! He has been gaining flexibility steadily over the past few weeks and is now feeling comfortable with the yoga section at the beginning of Cardio X. So, in an effort to be as awesome a Tony Horton groupie as I am, he figured he should give Yoga X a go.

Now, if you ask him, Yoga X was pure torture, he was terrible at it and he’s never doing it again. However, he actually did a very good job for a first timer – he was able to do more than I expected, and with better form. He didn’t start saying “you have got to be fucking shitting me” until we got to the under-the-thigh move in the right angle pose series, which I thought was pretty impressive. He didn’t even attempt Warrior III or Half-Moon, though – not that I blame him. He also refused to do Yoga Belly 7, the shoulder stance series and a few other balance/stretch postures, but hey – for his first time, it was a solid effort. Whether or not I’ll get him to do it again remains to be seen!

Day 47: Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X

AH SWEET VICTORY!!!!!!!!! Today was my final Legs and Back workout of P90X Lean, praise Jeebus and all the saints. While I truly detest this workout, it has definitely gotten easier over time and I don’t think I will dread it quite as much when I start the Classic program, which I’m planning to do shortly after I finish Lean. I had by far my best numbers yet on this workout, and was able to keep pace with Tony and his minions for almost all of the exercises, although toe roll iso lunges and three way kick lunges continue to pain me.

Ab Ripper X, however, was a different story. I set a new personal best on Wednesday, with 261 reps, and then brought it to Yoga Belly 7 yesterday, holding almost all of the exercises for the full time. So, I guess it shouldn’t really have surprised me that my abs were really NOT into Ab Ripper X today. I did 235 reps. Tony, please reconsider the Lean schedule so this three-day-in-a-row shit doesn’t happen. Oh, and suck my ballz.

Day 45: Chest, Shoulders and Tris, Ab Ripper X

I’m halfway there and I think I’m actually getting WORSE at pushups, not better. WTF?

Day 42: Kenpo X

As promised, I skipped my day off and did Kenpo X. This workout is no fun when you have to blow your nose every five seconds.

Day 41: Legs and Back

So, the cold I inherited from The Boyfriend finally hit, putting me out of commission for two days and forcing me to abandon my dream of finishing P90X Lean without skipping a day! Wah! However, I returned with a vengeance today and I will be foregoing my scheduled day off tomorrow to make up at least one of the missed workouts.

So, Legs and Back. This workout just DOES NOT GET EASIER. Granted, I was still feeling less than 100% from the cold, but still. I did a pretty decent job and increased most things by at least one rep, but took longer-than-usual breaks to hydrate and suck on cough drops. I also decided to give exercise bands a try rather than doing my half-assed modified pullups. I definitely feel like I’m working the right muscles more when I use the bands, because the modified thing I was doing was letting me use my legs too much. I still think there has to be a better way, though, so I will continue to experiment. As for Ab Ripper X – sorry, didn’t happen. I was hacking up a lung by the time I was done with Legs and Back and just couldn’t make myself do it. Sorry Tony.

Day 38: Chest, Shoulders and Tris, Ab Ripper X

Okay, so today was the day when I finally learned my lesson about fucking with Tony Horton's precious schedule. I switched Core and Cardio due to time restraints, which means I did Core yesterday. Sounds fine and dandy until you realize that Core involves a fair number of pushups and plank positions, and that today's workout is pretty much ALL pushups. Yeah.

I didn't have much soreness from yesterday and I was surprisingly able to meet or exceed the standards I set for myself on the first few pushup exercises, but about halfway through my arms were just jelly. I kept lowering myself thinking "surely I'll be able to get back up" - but as soon as I completed the thought I found myself lying flat on my face.

BTW, has anyone noticed that the editing on this particular video is way worse than the others, and Tony is exceptionally annoying? I don't know if it's just because he's got a hard-on for the Plyo Pushups or what, but he has an irritating habit of going in for closeups and generally acting like a freak show here.

Anyway, I fared better with the tri and shoulder parts of this video, and set yet another personal best on Ab Ripper (251). The sore throat is still bothering me but hasn't developed into full-blown barnyard-animal-flu so I'm still bringing it!

Day 36: Cardio X

Congratulations to me - I have now officially completed 5 weeks of P90X Lean without skipping a day! However, I started getting a sore throat yesterday which I fear may turn into the horrible cold The Boyfriend had last week, so we'll see how long my streak lasts. I was feeling pretty low this morning and I was pressed for time, so I decided to do Cardio X instead of Core Synergistics. I took it easy so as not to exacerbate my throat, but I think I still got a decent workout. Bless you Cardio X, for being short and relatively non-annoying.

As for results - I've been feeling pretty frustrated because my weight is just really not budging - I'm stuck right around where I started, some days a pound or two lower. However, just in the past week I've been feeling as though my pants are loosening up and I'm seeing more definition around my collarbones and face, so who knows, maybe things are shifting. The Boyfriend swears I look skinnier, and I swear he does too, although he claims his love handles are bigger than ever. I'm pondering taking halfway photos - we'll be there in just 9 days!

Day 34: Kenpo X

Had a rough Kenpo session today. Word to the wise: if you think you need a snack before Kenpo X, horseradish-flavored cheese is not the way to go.

Day 31: Chest, Shoulders and Tris, Ab Ripper X

Today was another 100 degree day in NYC, so I decided to get this out of the way early. I went to bed dreading it and woke with fear in my heart. However, and I know this is going to come as a huge shock to everyone, but I actually didn’t hate this workout! It is, as promised, extremely pushup intensive, but as pushups are sort of self-limiting, it didn’t wear me out too badly. Also, as with other upper body workouts, it wasn’t cardiovascularly strenuous, so it almost feels like a break from things like Kenpo and Core.

Make no mistake, though – this workout is no joke. Even for those of us who have to do pushups on our knees, you will tire quickly and hit max reps quickly. And one-arm pushups, please. I’d have to be on my stomach to do them. It’s clear from the video though that Tony doesn’t expect you to be able to get down low, so no big deal. I was even able to do a few clap pushups (from my knees) which surprised the hell out of me. I also really love that they included a woman who was not Dreya, Pam or one of those skinny yoga bitches, and who (although a P90X grad) struggled with the pushups almost as much as I did. Anyway, all of that to say – I like this workout. I may like it less tomorrow when I’m trying to do the asanas in Yoga X with gummi-triceps, but for now, it’s all good.

As for Ab Ripper X, I did not miss it during recovery week but surprisingly it wasn’t so bad. I did 249 reps, which blew away my old record of 226!

Day 30: Cardio X

Recovery week is over, and unfortunately NYC has decided to celebrate my return to the harder parts of P90X by treating me to a solid week of 100 degree weather. Fantastic. I got back to the grind yesterday with Core Synergistics, which continues to be one of my least favorite workouts. However, it’s also a great benchmark workout, and I’m happy to report that I was able to increase my reps/performance on each exercise. This P90X shit really works!

However, Cardio X today was PAINFUL. Not sure why, since it’s shorter than the other workouts and not that intense, but I just could NOT get my shit together. Even the yoga series, which is a piece of cake compared to Yoga X, was really killing me. Might have been the heat, or maybe I overdid it yesterday. Or perhaps I’m just a lazy slob. Anyway, given how pathetic my performance today was I can only imagine how much I’m going to suck at Chest, Shoulders and Tris tomorrow. My chest and shoulders are sore from Core already, so I think my only goal for tomorrow is not to break my arms or my nose trying to do pushups.

Day 25: X Stretch

Ah, recovery week. What a misnomer. With Yoga X on the schedule twice, the only real “break” I’m getting this week came today with X Stretch. I was tempted to skip it altogether, since I did it once in my weeks of Pre90X and I know how lame it is, but I woke up a bit stiff from an intense Kenpo session last night so I figured why not. Eh. It was fine, and I feel like a good little P90X dork for obeying the rules. Speaking of being a dork, I'm happy to report that my little worksheet is reflecting my hard work with more reps on just about everything. I was especially surprised at the number of pushups I was able to do during Core this week.

The Boyfriend has been laid low by an upper respiratory infection from hell this week, so he has truly been recovering by not working out at all. He thinks he’ll be able to get back to it tonight or tomorrow, so hopefully he won’t have lost too much momentum. Next week’s introduction of Chest, Shoulders and Tris is looming large. We watched it last night – holy shit, pushups. One-arm, jump, clap, slow, fast – you name it, there are like 18 varieties on this video. We are not fans of pushups (mostly because we suck at them), so be ready for a vitriol-filled post on Wednesday when we take on this video for the first time.

Otherwise, things are good. According to the doctor, I don’t have PCOS. Of course, that means she has no idea why I’ve gained weight, but at least we can rule one thing out. I’ve lost 3 lbs since my start date, although that could just be normal weight fluctuation for me since I surely don’t feel any skinnier. I do feel a LOT more toned, though, and friends have commented positively. As hard as I’m working at this shit, I should look like Dreya by now!

Day 19: Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X

Ah, Friday. My favorite day of the week. Or at least it was, until I foolishly set up my P90X schedule to do Legs and Back on Friday. Hate. This. Workout. I swear it’s more cardio-intense than Cardio X, but then you also get the added bonus of knee pain and that skinny bitch Dreya schooling you in the art of pullups. Awesome!

Anyway, I figured Legs and Back was going to be rough this morning due to the intensity of Yoga X yesterday, and guess what – I was right! Legs and Back is also not meant to be done Bikram style. Oops. However. Even with these things working against me, I got in a pretty good workout and was able to increase reps on most everything, even if only by one or two. I’m not sure I’m really getting a great workout with the pullups, though – I feel like I’m using my legs too much, and I never really feel any soreness in my back muscles the next day. I may try the band again for my next go at this.

Can’t forget Ab Ripper X – so glad I get to do this the day before AND after Yoga X. My favorite part of Ab Ripper X is when Tony says “you shouldn’t work your abs every day.” Um, FUCK YOU MUCH? Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Lean schedule goes like this: Core Syn (all abs), Cardio (abs at the end), S&A plus Ab Ripper (abs), Yoga X (Yoga Belly 7 much? ABS!), L&B plus Ab Ripper (abs), Kenpo. So, I guess technically we’re not doing abs every day. Just five consecutive days each week. Sorry for questioning you, Tony. That’s totally different than every day.

I really brought it to Yoga Belly 7 yesterday so my performance on Ab Ripper X today was somewhat lackluster. Still, I was able to do 220 reps, which is a big improvement from last week and only a few less than what I did on Wednesday. Major soreness now, especially in the upper abs from that godforsaken Touch the Sky move plus Hip Rock and Heels to Heaven.

To avoid a repeat of yesterday’s icky feeling, I decided to have a few extra carbs (and some extra potassium) with breakfast. I worked out, I deserve it. French toast? Cold pizza? No, I had half a peach. That’s right. That’s what happens when you’ve been on Atkins for 10 years. Fruit feels naughty. And it was GOOD. I may even eat the other half later. You hear that, Dr. Atkins?

Day 18: Yoga X

Let me preface this post by saying that it has been 95 degrees in NYC every day for the past week. I work out in my living room, which is about 140 square feet and cooled by one slightly anemic 5,200 BTU window air conditioner. It does a passable job when you’re just lounging in there, but when you’re moving around generating heat, it can’t keep up. That said, Yoga X became Bikram Yoga X today. Word to the wise - Yoga X is NOT meant to be done Bikram style. Just trust me on this. My electrolytes were all fucked up or something, because I simply DID NOT FEEL RIGHT all day after that workout. However, I am happy to report that I was able to do Crane for like 15 consecutive seconds AND I didn’t fall on my face!

The Boyfriend finally decided to sub Plyometrics for Yoga X today and I came home to find him sweating, swearing and generally killing himself. Tony says Plyo is the hardest video of the bunch, and after watching it, I believe him. Plyo is ridiculous. We're people, not frogs. No human should have to jump that much. I was very impressed with The Boyfriend though – he really kicked ass at this video. He played football, basketball and baseball in high school, and a lot of these moves are straight out of the training you’d do for those sports, so he had the coordination down already. The stamina will take work, but he kept up REALLY well for his first go. For me, I’ll have to work on both – makes me glad Plyo isn’t part of my routine yet. P90X Classic is really going to blow.

In other news, my weight is back down to where it was when I started. Annoying, but better than being up 3 lbs. I've heard from some P90X grads that the weight didn't start coming off right away, so I'm trying to be patient. Patient and fat. Fabulous combination!

Day 16: Cardio X

Oh, the day of rest was sweet. But you pay for it the day after. Today was another tough workout (as was yesterday - Core sucks!). Not to toot my own horn, but I am super impressed with myself for not (yet) taking a day off from this insane schedule (other than the scheduled day) - I fully admit that I am a lazy ass, so 16 days on schedule is an accomplishment. I’m even starting to get a little addicted to the feeling of studly awesomeness that I get when I do a P90X workout.

The Boyfriend is not being quite as diligent – his refusal to do Yoga X has translated into a second day off for him rather than a substitute workout, and he skips a lot of exercises in Ab Ripper X (anything that is a full sit-up rather than a crunch hurts his back and makes his sciatica flare up). He is doing the yoga section at the beginning of Cardio X, though, so that is progress! I’m going to try to convince him to do Plyo this week. His arms, chest and shoulders are already showing good results – I’m seeing muscles there that I’ve never seen before!

I am still waking up sore every morning but it’s a little less every day, and once I start working out, I don’t even feel it (until I sit down at my desk for 7 hours afterwards). I’m experiencing some knee pain – I should probably watch my form on the squats and lunges – but it goes away after a day of no legs, so I should be fine with Shoulders and Arms on the schedule for tomorrow. BTW, thank you JEEBUS for S&A. It's the one video that doesn't make me feel like puking from the cardiovascular effort. Too bad I only get to do it for one more week before switching things up!

Day 13: Yoga X

I was right, Yoga X after Legs and Back sucks. However, it doesn’t suck any more than it did after Shoulders and Arms, so I think it’s safe to say that Yoga X just sucks, period. I powered through today though and was really proud of myself – I was able to do probably 95% of everything without stopping. Unfortunately, pretty much the entire missing 5% is during the Warrior III/half-moon/reverse half-moon series. FUCK that series! Oh, and no push-ups between plank/upward/downward dog. Fuck those too.

I have to say that I’m surprised at how quickly I’m seeing improvement in certain areas. I was able to do the full 90 seconds of wall squat during Legs and Back yesterday, for instance, and my cardiovascular endurance has improved to the point where I’m more able to keep up when it comes to reps. I’m able to get off my toes for a few seconds of Crane in Yoga X, which I most certainly could not do my first couple of times through (and I only fell on my face once). Yay!

Day 11: Kenpo X

That’s right, I had to stray from the P90X Lean schedule – you got a problem with that, Tony? I didn’t have time this morning for Yoga X so I did Kenpo X instead, and will do Yoga X on Saturday. I do think there is a bit of a method to Tony’s madness as far as the schedule is concerned, though – doing Kenpo X the day after Arms was tough (especially the block series), and I have a feeling that Yoga X after Legs and Back is going to SUCK.

Now, in other news – I have actually GAINED 3 lbs since starting this program last week. And although I can see that my muscles are firming up, I’m not dumb enough to think this is muscle at this point. I am on the rag, so that is certainly contributing, but still, NOT COOL. I’m not doing this just for weight loss, but I’m not doing it to get fatter either, bitches!

As I mentioned in my intro post, I’m a low-carber, have been for years, so I’ve been sticking with my fairly strict low-carb regime rather than Tony’s nutrition plan (although the first phase of it is relatively low in carbs). The only change I’ve made is switching out my normal breakfast (two eggs with cheese) for a low-carb protein shake (which has less calories and fat than the eggs). However, I have noticed that low-carb and lots of exercise never really work for me. It’s like I can either lose weight by sitting on my ass and eating pounds of bacon, or by working out and eating a few more carbs, but bacon+exercise=no results. So, I’m going to modify a little and scale back on fat while adding a few carbs in the form of more vegetables and perhaps fruit and low-carb bread. I eat about 5% carbs now, all from vegetables or cheese, and I’d like to move to maybe 10-15%. We shall see.

Day 9: Cardio X

Okay, I’ve decided that bitching about these videos on a daily basis makes for a boring blog, so I’m going to scale it back to a couple of posts a week, or just comment when something out of the ordinary happens. Nothing out of the ordinary happened here. This video is HARD, and I was on my knees praising Jeebus (again) at the end that it’s only 40 minutes long. Progress is being made, though - I was able to do like 30 of the Halfback move before I passed out!

Day 8: Core Synergistics

How did I forget how much this video sucks? Anything involving Banana is bullshit. However, I was able to do more pushups today than last week, so I guess that’s progress. I’m being a good little exercise nerd and writing everything down in my handy chart, so it’s easy to see where I need to push myself. Annoying that Tony is always right!

Some bad news on the health front: I went to the gyno last week, and she tentatively diagnosed PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). We’re waiting on bloodwork to confirm, but she said it was pretty clear from my ultrasound. YAY! For those who don’t know, PCOS means that you get lots of little cysts on your ovaries, but it’s also a metabolic disease that can cause a whole host of fun symptoms, primarily weight gain, hair loss, facial hair growth, infertility, insulin resistance, loss of libido and more. Sound like fun? Yeah right. However, it was comforting to know that there might actually be a reason for some of my recent weight gain (other than just that I’m a fatass). We’ll decide on a course of treatment once the blood results are in. A low-carb diet is typically recommended – but wait, I already do that – and it’s not working. Awesome.

Day 6: Kenpo X

The Boyfriend and I went for this together and what can I say – it kicked my ass, hard core. We managed to keep up with Tony’s pace for most of the exercises, although I took a few breaks. The Boyfriend loves it because it doesn’t stress his bad back/knees, or make him stretch in any way - and punching stuff (even air) makes him feel like a total badass.

I was an absolute WRECK on Sunday – my legs were SO sore from the combination of this and the Leg workout, and frankly I don’t see much Stretch X in my future at all – the day off is just TOO nice.

Day 5: Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X

Pullup bar at the ready, I dove into my first “real” go at Legs and Back. Unfortunately, having done Yoga X a mere 12 hours prior, I was already pretty exhausted. Regardless, this video has a couple of issues for me and other unfit people like me. First, I found myself getting so cardiovascularly winded that I wasn’t able to do some of the reps even though my muscles could have handled it, and second, many of the leg moves require you to squat using just one leg. If (like me), your legs are too weak to do a full-depth squat on just one leg, you may feel like you’re not getting as good a workout as you probably should be. I’m hoping that this will improve with time, but I feel that I might get more out of it if I modify and do more two leg squats with added weight until I’ve built up my strength sufficiently to do at least a few reps with proper form and depth on one leg.

That said, I know my legs got a decent workout. How do I know this? The pullups told me so! I can’t do pullups unassisted, so I used the lowest step on my footstool for assistance. By crouching low, I was able to fully extend my arms and “hang” on the bar, then when it was time to pull up, I pushed up out of the squat to assist. It’s hard to know how much of my weight was being borne by my legs, but going from what I was able to pullup the last time I used the pullup machine at the gym, I would guess I was using my legs for around 60% of my weight. At first it was no problem, but by the end my legs were threatening to give out with every pullup. Oh, and speaking of pullups – screw you, Tony Horton. It is unnatural to expect a woman of any reasonable size (i.e., not that skinny bitch Dreya) to be able to pull up her own body weight! I am 6’ tall and I weigh 190 lbs, which I am relatively certain is MORE than you, Tony. So suck it!!!!!!

My second go at Ab Ripper X was slightly more successful than the first (164 total reps), but no less painful. Really, there are no words for how ridiculous this video is.

Day 4: Yoga X

I didn’t have time for this in the morning due to a doctor’s appointment, so I had my whole work day to anticipate what I now believe is the hardest workout of the whole series (or at least of the videos involved in the first week of P90X Lean). GOD THIS VIDEO SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!! You keep looking up, thinking you’re almost done, but the clock never seems to budge. I will say that after the first 45 mins of moving asanas, the second half is (mostly) easy, although make no mistake, you are still working. Tony’s love affair with Warrior and then of course the horrifyingly difficult half-moon series are just killer. I was sweating, shaking and nauseated afterward, and I only did about 80% of the hardest stuff. I must always make time for this in the morning because I HATE working out in the evening and the length of this makes it extra painful.

The Boyfriend simply refused to try this and went for a long walk instead. Next week, he’ll do it, even if I have to keep my foot in his ass for the full 90 mins.

Day 3: Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X

This was still a bit of a fact-finding mission as I wasn’t sure what weight I should be using for all of the exercises. I guessed pretty well for the most part, though – 8s for anything bicep related, 3s for triceps, and 5s for other stuff. Some of the shoulder exercises required 10s. Yes, I know these are small weights. Too goddamn bad. I’m a girl, and I’m not looking for bulk, and fuck you Dreya for being half my size and using 12s for everything. These weights allowed me to do around 15 reps of each exercise, which was my goal.

Due to time constraints, I skipped the bonus round and cool-down and moved directly to Ab Ripper X. I’m happy to report that I didn’t reinjure my tail. Sitting on a pillow for exercises that hurt alleviated the problem. I did a total of 146 exercises, or a little more than a third of the video. I am no longer able to roll over in bed, balance on the subway, suck in my gut, or possibly, have children. Yes, it hurts that badly.

The Boyfriend thoroughly enjoyed this video – a) because his arms are already pretty strong, b) because he sees fast results when he does arm work and c) because he skipped Ab Ripper X. He will not get away with this next time.

Day 2: Cardio X

Thank you Jeebus that this video is only 40 mins long. Doing this today at 100% capacity left me barely able to move. My abs were already sore from Core, so the Superman/Banana at the end pretty much didn’t happen. Oh, and that knee-to-elbow move? The Halfback or something? That also didn’t happen much – about 15 in and I was gasping for air. The most annoying thing about this video, though, is how NOT out of breath Tony and his minions are. That and the fact that he loves to stick it to you at the end by putting all the really hard stuff last. Suck it, Tony!

Day 1: Core Synergistics

In the extreme spirit of P90X, I decided to give this my all today, taking breaks only when I thought I might throw up. This happened several times. What can I say? This is, as it’s supposed to be, a challenging workout. I think the name is a bit of a misnomer, though – I would call this cardio with a core emphasis, rather than just core. It really works everything – there are plenty of lunges and pushups in addition to core stuff, but the real challenge is the cardio aspect, at least for me. I used 2lb dumbbells for everything and found that to be plenty of weight at this point. The Boyfriend was NOT impressed with this video – which means he needs to do it more! His bad back makes some of the exercises difficult and painful, but all that much more necessary.

Fit Test

Fit test day! No big surprises here. The fit test isn’t really difficult, and IMO doesn’t really prepare you for the reality of the videos. I mean, 2 minutes of jumping jacks? Please. That’s the warmup for most of these videos. But anyway, The Boyfriend and I did the fit test – I passed everything but the pullups, although my pushup technique is very questionable (and I do them on my knees). The Boyfriend did not fare as well – he failed the flexibility, pushup and pullup portions. However, he has much more upper body strength than I do and will no doubt improve quickly as we move along. We both “failed” the ab section as well, but we weren’t doing the exercise correctly and I think if we had been we’d have been fine. We bought a pullup bar so we’re ready to go!

Pre90X: Yoga

Today was my last day of Pre90X – time to face Yoga X. Now, as I said, I have a lot of yoga experience. I’ve done videos and classes for years, and I even tried Bikram yoga in January, going to classes 2-3 times a week for a month. I’m flexible. I can breathe. So, Yoga X should be a breeze, right? Wrong. First off, someone needs to tell Tony Horton that there are more positions in yoga than Warrior and its variations. It starts with basically 45 minutes of Warrior, which will leave your quads feeling like absolute jelly. It does get slightly easier after the first 45 minutes, but by then the damage is done. This video is straight up cardio and legs, no question about it. Oh, wait, no – I forgot about the fact that he wants you to do a pushup in between almost every asana. So really, it’s cardio, legs and upper body. Nice.

If you are used to more traditional yoga you may be annoyed at this video, because Tony definitely does his own thing here. However, it’s a great workout and should challenge even experienced yoginis. I’m taking a little break to get mentally prepared for the real deal, but I’ll be doing the fit test this week and plan to start P90X Lean in earnest on June 7, 2010.

Pre90X: Legs and Back, Ab Ripper

Yesterday I decided to give the Legs and Back video a go. And that is where my positive attitude toward P90X ended. Oh. My. God. This video is quite simply impossible for me. I admit that I wasn’t working to capacity, but there were some exercises that I really couldn’t do AT ALL, especially anything that involves squatting on just one leg. I also had a very difficult time with balancing, which I’m sure indicates weakness in my core. Whatever. And that’s just the LEGS! Unfortunately I don’t have a pullup bar yet, so I used a half-assed system with an exercise band hooked over a door hinge just to get an idea. The band didn’t provide enough resistance, but I know the bar is going to be ridiculously difficult, even with my feet planted firmly on a chair for assistance. Despite the fact that I only did around 30% of the exercises at maybe 80% of my capacity, I was sweating, swearing and sore by the end. This morning, my hips are screaming (although surprisingly my quads and hamstrings aren’t). The worst, however, is yet to come.

Ab Ripper X follows the Leg workout immediately and I decided to try it, since I was already sweaty as hell. Ab work is not my favorite but I have done some pilates, so I figured I was semi-prepared. Um, WRONG, much? This is the most ridiculous ab workout I’ve ever encountered. It would be insane for any normal person, but I have a special disadvantage – I have a tail. Mark of the beast. My tailbone extends quite a bit lower than most people’s and it makes it very painful to do any type of V-sit ab exercises – I have actually rubbed the tip of it raw and bloody before. Of course, about half of this video has you sitting right on the tip of your tailbone, squirming around to target your obliques and other muscles that no one should ever have to work. After the first two exercises my tail was in agony. I put a pillow under my ass for the remaining exercises but the damage was done. NOT COOL. I will continue to do this routine, but I will have to skip the exercises that involve my tailbone – perhaps I can just sub one of the others. In any case, it will be a VERY long time before I am able to do this at Tony’s pace without breaks. And when I say a long time, I mean years. Literally.

Pre90X: Core, Cardio, S&A, Kenpo

May 25, Core Synergistics and May 26, Cardio X. Okay, Tony Horton – sorry for underestimating you. Stretch X may be lame but these two are NOT. I did these workouts at about 75% capacity, taking breaks and such, and was able to get through them. However, I definitely felt it the next couple of days, in some very unexpected places. As I did the workouts, I could tell that The Boyfriend (who is inflexible AND hates core work) would hate these videos and struggle with them due to the heavy yoga emphasis. I finally got The Boyfriend to join me for Shoulders and Arms (his favorite parts to workout) – I did the whole video with very light (3 lb) dumbbells just to get an idea. With such light weight it was no problem, but I can see that it can be an extremely challenging workout if you push yourself with weights (as The Boyfriend did).

He joined me again for Kenpo X the next day despite a good deal of muscle soreness and I’m happy to report that we both got through most of this video, although we surely worked up a sweat. Again, you can make this easier or harder for yourself by taking a slower or faster pace than the models are taking, using weights where applicable, etc. My arms and shoulders are definitely feeling the afterburn today. We then watched the Legs and Back video and it’s clear that this is where we’re both going to have trouble. Most of these exercises involve lifting your own body weight, so it’s not so easy to modify. I can already feel my quads screaming and I haven’t even done the lunges yet. Also, can we just talk about pull-ups for a second? I have NEVER been able to do one (not unusual for women I know) – but this video wants you to do like 80. EIGHTY. Needless to say, I’ll be using bands or a chair, probably for a long time.

I haven’t watched Yoga X yet but I don’t anticipate problems there, even though I know it’s long – The Boyfriend, however, might die if he tries it. Even Stretch X would be a problem for him. I think the P90X Lean program is probably a good fit for my current fitness level and I’m planning to push forward – I think The Boyfriend will too, despite his reluctance to do anything with so much emphasis on flexibility. The physiques of the models in the video are more than enough inspiration for him to get over his “stretching is gay” bias!

Pre90X

As I mentioned in my intro post, I have no intention of starting this thing and not finishing it (or if I do, I won’t be posting that information on the internet). So, to make sure I didn’t bite off more than I could chew, I decided to do a little P90X research and check out the videos before I start. Turns out, there is a “lite” version of P90X, also known as P90X Lean. The idea of being able to use my name and the word “lean” in the same sentence was very appealing to me, so I decided that was the plan I should check out.

I began by watching the videos on fast forward, just so I’d have an idea of the exercises that were expected of me. It all looked doable enough, although the 10x speed probably helped. When it came time to actually try out the routines, X Stretch sounded the least intimidating, so I started there. Stretch X was a breeze! As I said, I’ve done a lot of yoga, so for me this was like a gentle yoga routine. No problem. I started feeling like all the P90X hype must be just that – hype. How much harder can the other videos be?

Intro

I know, I know – not another P90X blog. The internet is full of them, and I can’t tell you how many I’ve found that are approximately two entries long. Um, duh, people. P90X is hard. I hate starting things and not finishing them, so I won’t be posting anything on this blog until I’ve determined that I’m not going to quit P90X before I start.

A little about me: I’m a former fatty, who lost a bunch of weight (65+ pounds) about 10 years ago (in my early 20s) doing the Atkins diet. I’ve stuck with low-carb ever since and have managed to maintain the bulk of my weight loss, although an annoying 10 (or 20) pounds has crept back now that I’m in my early 30s. I lost the weight without any real exercise at all, so I’m probably what you’d call skinny fat (although I never got really skinny, so perhaps “chubby fat” would be a better term). I’ve done quite a bit of yoga and some other exercise, but my only real fitness talent seems to be flexibility. As of today, I cannot do a regular push-up (although I’m not too bad at the girly kind) and I most certainly cannot do a pullup. I last hit the treadmill at Christmas when my mother dragged me to the gym with her, and I was able to jog a 12 minute mile (no incline) before passing out from exhaustion.

Quite frankly, most types of exercise bore the crap out of me, and if I can find any excuse not to do them, I won’t. I’m trying to get The Boyfriend on board with this P90X adventure, simply because I am more likely to do it if I know he’s suffering with me. So far, he has agreed to give it a go, but he’s pretty skeptical about some of the exercises involved, especially the yoga (he’s about as flexible as your average steel rod). He is also a former fatty who lost weight with Atkins, but has gained a few recently and really wants to get in better shape overall. Our bonus motivation is that we’re planning on a cruise for our honeymoon in February, and neither of us wants to look like beached whales in the Caribbean. There’s not much we can do about our otherworldly whiteness (if we want to avoid skin cancer, that is), but we can hopefully do something about the cellulite that makes the whiteness even shinier. So, welcome to our P90X journey!