P90X Day One

A friend commented on the pricey-ness of this set...I actually got mine new on Amazon, and that was about 20.00 cheaper, with half the shipping costs as you would pay at Beachbody. But considering that this is 12 hour long DVDs, I don't think the cost was excessive.

I didn't take any Before photos today...Husband was home and I had a sick Moppet, so I almost didn't get to begin the workouts...I guess it will be all right to have Moppet 1 take them on Day 2. I don't think I'll be totally ripped that fast ;-)

Let me tell you about how this program works. There are three 4 week phases and 12 DVDs:

1) Chest and Back - which is mostly different kinds of pushups and pullups
2) Plyometrics - which is a cardio workout that seems to consist of a lot of jumping type moves, (more high-impact than I am used to, but there is a modifier) and there is actually a man with a prosthetic leg in this one, and he is not even the modifier!
3) Shoulders and Arms
4) Yoga X - 90 minutes of yoga
5) Legs and Back - more types of lunges than I knew existed plus other leg and buns exercise
6) Kenpo X - which is some kind of martial arts type thing
7) Stretch X - an hour long stretch for use on day 7 of each week or during recovery weeks (which come after every 3 week phase
8) Core Synergistics - different exercises to work your whole core area, which is basically the torso, front and back muscles
9) Chest, Shoulders and Triceps
10) Back and Biceps
11) Cardio X - which is only used in the "Lean" rotation, which includes 4 extra days of cardio apart from the Plyometrics and Kenpo
12) Ab Ripper X - which is a 16 minute grueling core workout, 11 exercises with 25 reps each, a few of them with pilates influence

The first Phase of P90X Classic (the rotation I am doing) uses discs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (if you want to use the stretch on your rest day). The weight routines alternate with the plyo, kenpo and yoga - you also do Ab Ripper on the weight days. After 3 weeks there is a recovery week when you use the kenop, yoga, stretch and core DVDs.

The second phase alternates the yoga, kenpo and plyo with discs 5, 9 and 10 plus Ab Ripper.

The third phase uses the first phase discs in weeks 9 and 11, and second phase discs in weeks 10 and 12, with week 13 being the final recovery week.

There is also a Lean Rotation which uses fewer weight days and more cardio, and a Doubles Rotation which adds Cardio X 4 days a week. I wonder if I am doing something like Doubles since I take a fast 2 mile walk just about every evening?

Anyway, today I did Chest and Back, which consists of 6 kinds of pushups, 3 kinds of pullups and 3 back exercises using weights or resistance bands. You do all these exercises once, and then again in a different order. Since I don't have a pullup bar and could not come close to doing even a single pullup if my very life depended on it, I put two heavy stretch bands together and looped them over my Fluidity bar, and I did the pullup modifications one of the participants showed using resistance bands (ones that have handles...mine are just long strips of rubber). You can also do a kind of pullup using the Fluidity bar itself, and I think I will attempt those next week, although those are really hard, too!

I did Ab Ripper X too, which was very challenging...I could do all 25 repetions in only about half the exercises.

I did not feel any more wiped out than I do when I use a tough DVD like Jari Love Ripped to the Core, or The Firm Total Body Shaping Mix, but it was new for me to only work a section of my body rather than the whole thing. A lot of people like to work their upper and lower body on alternate days, but I have always done total body strength work.

The various pushups ( a few kinds I had never seen) were very challenging, and I did almost all of them on my knees, probably a total of 150 or so. I have no idea how sore I will be tomorrow! I am actually a bit nervous to try the Plyometrics and was considering substituting some other kind of cardio, but I want to give it a chance and break out of my comfort zone. I have a thick rug in the room where I exercise, and hopefully that will cushion some of the impact. I think I will probably surprise myself and be able to do it, at least following the modifier.

I didn't know if I would like the instructor, Tony Horton, but I did. He talks constantly and seems full of himself at times, but he is very encouraging and really pushes the fact that even though you probably can't match what the participants are doing at the outset, by the end of the program you will have improved dramatically. You are supposed to keep track of all your reps and the poundage you use in weighted exercises, but I did not do that today. It's a lot different than most DVDs in that you don't do a certain set number of repetitions, usually timed to music. In non-weighted exercises like pushups, you choose a goal number and do as many as you can do with proper form in the amount of time they give you for that set. Some people might do 30, others only 10 or even 5. Using weights, you choose your poundage and do either fewer reps (8-10) with heavier weights if you are trying to get BIGGER muscles, or more reps (12-15) with lighter weights if you are trying to have more defined and less bulky muscles.

Rest is supposed to be an important of this program, and midnight is approaching, so I am going to bed. I will update on how I am doing a few times a week. To be realistic and not set my perfectionist alarm off, I am going to give myself 120 days (until the end of the year) to finish...if I can complete it in 90 days, great. But from what I have learned about life in general (and homeschooling life with lots of kids in particular), it would be safer to assume that something will happen that will keep me from exercising at least a few times.

Good night!