P90 Challenge: Introduction

It’s been a while; far too long if you ask me. I’ve been quite busy and I’m still adjusting to the whole working 40 hours a week thing. I’m still loving my job and I’m still so happy that I got a job AND passed the Bar exam.

But now that I’ve been at my job for a little over a month (wow, April flew by!) I sat back and realized I needed to get my butt in gear and come up with a workout plan that I would stick to. I’ve been having trouble making it to the gym after work because I’m just so tired and I feel guilty leaving the dogs locked up for an extra hour and a half. Also, my commute to the gym takes about as long as I was spending inside and it just never seemed worth it. SO when Anthony proposed we try something new I was all ears.

Anthony came to me and asked if I would be interested in trying P90X with him and I was excited. As dorky as this may sound, the prospect of working out with my husband really makes me happy. Since we both work and both go to the gym we don’t get to spend that much time together during the week. Fitness is also really important to the both of us but unfortunately, we are sort of polar opposites in the gym. My focus has always been running and other forms of cardio. I have always wanted to get into a strength training routine but I constantly feel intimidated, lost and frustrated when I’m in the weight room. Anthony focuses entirely on weight lifting. He is very disciplined and dedicated to his routine but has always wished he had more time for cardio. P90X is the perfect compromise for both of us and offers us both the tools to branch out and ultimately become more fit.

So, I took a look at the Fit Test that Tony Horton suggests you try prior to starting P90X and I quickly realized I was in over my head. Like I said, I was a runner (a recovering from injury, stuck in a rut runner at that). I can barely do pushups…on my knees. I can’t even do a single pull up, not even a half. I also wanted to stick to the Lean version of P90X and Anthony wanted to jump into the Classic version. I was disheartened that we wouldn’t be working out together but I decided to man up and find an alternative exercise program for myself. After doing some more research about Tony Horton’s exercise programs I decided to start Power 90 (P90).

I have now completed 3 days of P90 and I love it! P90 is broken down in the following manner:

Sweat (Phase 1-2) – Cardio intervals including power yoga

Sculpt (Phase 1-2) – Circuit intervals including upper body, lower body and some core

Ab Ripper 100 – 10 Core exercises for 10 reps each

Sweat (Phase 3-4) – Cardio intervals including power yoga, a continuation of Phase 1-2 with additional and more challenging moves

Sculpt (Phase 3-4) – Circuit intervals including upper body, lower body and some core, again a continuation of Phase 1-2 with additional and more challenging moves

Ab Ripper 200 – same 10 Core exercises for 20 reps each

Tony Horton suggests you move at your own pace throughout the 90 days. This means that when you feel comfortable with Phase 1-2 of both Sweat and Sculpt than move on to Phase 3-4. Same with Ab Ripper. The Sculpt Phase 1-2 is really challenging for me and believe it or not the Sweat Phase 1-2 is currently showing me who is boss. I plan on keeping a weekly update on the blog about my progress with P90. I also plan on moving forward to P90 Master Series AND P90x in the future.

My goals as of now:

p90 Sculpt 1-2/Sweat 1-2/Ab Ripper 100: 30 days

P90 Sculpt 3-4/Sweat 3-4/Ab Ripper 200: 30 days

P90 Master Series Sculpt 5-6/Sweat 5-6/Ab Ripper: 30 days

And from there I will re-assess the rest of P90 Master Series and then begin P90X. I may want a break in between each series to liven things up, who knows.

Each 30 days I will post my measurements and weight loss as well.

I also joined MyFitnessPal so that I can track my calories, workouts and join in on the awesome P90 Support Group forum. I’ve used SparkPeople in the past to track calories and workouts but I really like how MFP calculates your BMR and does the math for you to keep you on your weight loss track.

Which brings me to an important topic; weight loss is an important goal for me. I gained a lot of weight in law school regardless of my healthy living habits. I blame portion control, inconsistent exercise patterns, stress and too much alcohol. I’m hoping getting back into calorie counting will help me relearn portion control, watch my alcohol intake and motivate me to lose this weight. This is a healthy living blog after all

Don’t worry, I will still be posting new and delicious recipes. In fact, I’ve got a new donut pan and some vegan donut recipes to experiment with this week.

Jamie