P90X....the very mention of it used to give me the chills. Really? A workout so extreme that only people who have major muscles need apply......But then I became a Team Beachbody coach back in September and started to consider doing P90X.
I started with Chalean's Turbo Jam and worked my way through that program in 30 days. I'd never done any type of martial arts workouts, and I realized I love it! It definitely does not feel like a workout to me, but just a fun time of burning calories (yes, really!). But I was only conditioned to do 20-30 minute workouts, as anything past that and I usually crumpled on the floor in a sweaty mess.
One day in late October, I spent the night reading through the Success Stories on my TBB page. What did the majority of them have in common? P90X! Ugghhh......really? Again with the P90X! Then Beachbody announced it was going to offer P90X Certification. I was thinking about becoming a personal trainer, so the wheels started turning.....maybe I should try this P90X thing. I'm certainly NOT the P90X "type" (if there is one), but maybe I could at least try. There were women who looked like me at the beginning who looked amazing at the end of their 90 day transformation!
So I did it. I ordered that bad boy and when it arrived, I had to leave town for 2 weeks. I was so ready to begin the program, but it would have to wait until I returned from my trips. Then, Thanksgiving happened, and P90X sat next to my DVD player until 2 weeks ago. Finally, I decided NO more putting it off. I was going to start this thing and see it all the way through. One thing you should know about me is that I'm a rule follower. Since P90X has several specialized programs, I chose one and decided to stick to the schedule religiously. I am on Day 16 as of today! There really is hope that I'll be a P90X grad in 74 more days......
Let me break down my own review of the workouts and moves:
PUSH UPS & PULL UPS
Chest & Back, Shoulders & Arms, Legs & Back all include pull-ups and push-ups along with many other crazy intense exercises!
Who knew I could actually do real push-ups? I started out being able to do push-ups on my knees only. Now, I can do many sets of push-ups, the real kind, and up to 10 at a time! I use the P90X push up stands and believe that is a big part of the reason why I'm able to do push-ups. I've always had trouble with my wrists, so now I have no strain whatsoever and can concentrate on doing the movement correctly. I can't bend all the way down yet, but I'm getting there! Step-by-step baby!
I have not been able to do pull-ups yet, even assisted. But, I'm not giving up. I use resistance bands wrapped around a spindle on my staircase. I can tell my muscles are getting stronger, as I have to back up farther each day. My goal, before the 90 days are up, is to be able to do 5 pull-ups (assisted is fine, but I'd like to do at least ONE unassisted!).
AB RIPPER X
I really struggle with sit-ups. My hips pop every time I do a move, so I'm thinking I may need to see my chiropractor. (I was hit by a drunk driver in Jan. 1997 and have a permanent disability in my back and neck.) I still do as much as I can, though. For some crazy reason, I enjoy the "heels to heaven" move! I've had 3 c-sections, so my goal is to keep at this workout and avoid a future tummy tuck!
KENPOX
This is my favorite workout so far. For some reason, doing martial arts as a workout isn't difficult for me! I LOVE IT! I enjoy the whole workout and I'm able to keep up for the whole hour now. I actually substituted KenpoX for Yoga one day! When I first did this workout, I thought Tony was crazy when he said, "Ok, it's break time. Let's start running in place. Now jumping jacks. Now X jacks." What?! He IS crazy....but I'm able to keep up now after only 16 days. Amazing, people. I'm the girl who played ZERO sports and weighed over 200 pounds back in April.
PLYOMETRICS
This is probably my second favorite workout. I usually burn about 400+ calories doing this workout! The exercises are not terribly difficult. One of them is pretending to jump over an imaginary rushing stream. He also has some faux basketball moves that are kind of fun. Did I just say plyometrics is fun? Wow.........It's more the intensity and constant movement that is difficult. So I challenge myself each time. I try to do as many as I can, but quit when I feel like I'm going to fall over!
YOGA
Sorry yoga fans, I'm just not crazy about the yoga. It's a 90 min workout and I get really bored with it. I guess I'm just a fan of the high intensity workouts.....I've only tried it once, and since then, I sub it out with Plyometrics or Kenpo X.
I will update my review after Christmas when I will have completed 30 days. And if I'm brave enough, I'll even post pics of Day 1 and Day 30. I know for me, that's the reason why I chose P90X -- because people posted their before and after pics!
