P90X - Phase 1, Week 3, Day 16

I mentioned in my last post that I would start blogging about our adventures tackling the P90X fitness system. I hadn't started yet, because between both my jobs and fighting off allergies (curse you, oak!), I haven't had much time to sit and write. Thankfully, I have a small break in things that must be done, and I can delve into what we are putting ourselves through these days.

I'm sure, unless you are from Mars, you have at least heard of P90X from their infomercial or by word of mouth. I know before we decided to take it on, I had only heard it was super hard, made people puke, and was generally terrifying & unpleasant. I only became interested in actually doing it because my best friend & her husband had recently started it, at the suggestion of their trainer. I saw them one week, then saw them again two weeks later, and her husband seemed to be disappearing before our eyes. I couldn't believe the difference in his appearance, and started picking their brains about P90X. That same night, I took their advice and looked up the system on Craigslist (who in their right mind would pay full price for these DVDs?), and had it in my lap within 24 hours.

After Aaron saw our friends, he too quickly jumped on the bandwagon. He was excited about trying something other than running to get in shape (and I don't blame him - running really can suck sometimes). We decided to start it Monday, February 27th (oddly enough, also my BFF's birthday) and fast forward to today, where we are on our third week.

The system consists of 13 DVDs, an instruction booklet, a workout calendar, and a nutrition guide. Of course, eating healthy is a huge part of things, but they do a very good job explaining what you should be putting into your body and why. You have to up your protein intake while doing such an amped up workout, so we have phased chicken and turkey back into our diet. We had been semi-vegans up to this point, but that all changed. We have begun eating some lean white meat, because there aren't enough beans or tofu in the world to supply us with the amount of protein we need to be ingesting. In addition, they stressed the importance of eating five small meals a day, so we have been doing just that. It's been harder than you would think, getting accustomed to eating so much, but our metabolisms seem to have noticed.

There are actually protein bars out there that taste damn good.

Here's one of them.

Here's another.

You work out six days a week (alternating three days of strength, three days of yoga and cardio), and rest on the seventh. You can be a total nut-burger and actually do this workout twice a day, instead of just once a day, but I'm not quite that dedicated. These workouts are using muscles in my body that have laid dormant for over 20 years, and I could barely walk after the first week. Brushing my teeth was painful, shampooing made me whimper, and squatting down to pick up something became something I could live without ever doing again. If anything happened to drop on the floor, it was a true debate whether or not to exert the effort to go all the way down there and retrieve it. (Thank God for a specific orange tabby who will gladly eat anything that falls to the ground. But things like pens? A business card? Receipts? Meh.)

Now that a few weeks have gone by, the general soreness has subsided. That's not to say I am pain-free, because I'm not. I just now have more specific points of agony -- like my left knee (of course), my right butt cheek, and my left wrist, to name a few. But, I have done lots of stretching, which actually helps, as well as a few soaks in a very hot tub with chamomile scented epsom salt. Today is DVD #2 of our weekly routine, which means Plyometrics. How do I explain plyo ... let's see ... it's super amped cardio, seemingly created to better your game if you're a basketball player or a soccer player. A lot of squatting, jumping, pretend running through tires (like you see football players do), etc. Essentially, it's very fast, intended to keep you light on your feet, but also to keep your feet moving quickly. This is one of two workouts we do during the week that usually makes me queasy by the time it's over. That's ok, though - no pain, no gain. I don't think I've ever sweat as much in my life as I do with each of these workouts - cardio and strength, alike.

Summary so far: it rocks. I feel stronger, and I've already gone down a size in pants. The feeling of putting on jeans that I haven't been able to squeeze myself into since Z was born was something I'll never forget. (If you are a female, you get what a big deal this is.) I love that Aaron and I are doing it together, because he's a fabulous workout buddy. Incredibly encouraging, and he keeps it fun. I'm so impressed by him and how quickly he has taken to it all. There are definitely days where I feel all over the place and that I must look like a complete & utter jackass, but he's always there to offer a kind word or make me laugh. He, too, rocks.

Wish us luck! We have definitely made a lofty commitment taking this on, but we're actually looking forward to the workouts each day now. Tomorrow, shoulders and arms. Bring it!