Day 15: What's happening?

First day of my third week! I get right to it when I get home from work. This is my third time through the Core Synergistics workout, but there's an exercise that I don't think I've brought up yet that I keep meaning to: The Prison Cell Push-Up. Now, a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I hate the Dreya Roll. I was wrong (those actually aren't as awkward as they were when I first started, and I've improved on those quite a bit). I hate the Prison Cell Push-Up. In these things, you do a push up, then bring your right knee to your chest, then do another push up, then bring your left knee to your chest, then do another push up, then jump up to a standing push up, then do it all over again. Tony says to do it as fast as you can. I can't do them very fast, in fact, I can barely make it through, like, two of those lousy things... After that, I'm kind of stumbling my way through one and a halfish more, then, I'm a pile of jello. Prison Cell Push-Ups suck. Yep.
Anyway, I make it through the rest of the regular workout. I really push myself today, so I'm at the point of exhaustion. Although I did the bonus round last week (sort of), I decide that I'm just too spent to do it today... but then all of a sudden, I find myself struggling through the bonus round anyway... What's going on here? What's happening to me? Have I become some kind of P90X drone?

Day 14: Day of Rest...

No workout today, but my weight is down to 153.4 pounds! That's just a pound down from last week, but considering I missed a workout, and was a bit complacent with my diet here and there (that barbecue on Friday was amazing, however. Hehe...), that's not too shabby. I'm ready to start Week 3!

Day 13: Ken-POW!

I had to work today. For some reason the past couple of days, I've been particularly on edge at work. You know when people just rub you the wrong way, although you know they haven't done or said anything wrong? Kinda one of those days at work. At least Saturday shifts aren't very long! Haha! After getting home from work, I decided to get some cleaning done around the house before doing ANYTHING else (you have no idea how much it needed to be done)! About four hours and a quick bite later, it's time for my next go-around with Kenpo. I think is one of my favorite workouts! Getting to just punch and kick it all out, and work up a good sweat is just what I needed today! Great stress relief! I clean up, and there's plenty of my Saturday night left to go out and have some fun!

Day 12: ...oops...

Sooo, yeah. I was supposed to do Legs & Back, but I'm afraid the Day 12 workout didn't happen. I had gotten home from work particularly frazzled and already feeling super tired for some reason. I really should have just gone ahead and done it despite that, I probably would have felt better after... Anyway, it was a Friday night and pay day (yipee!) So Aaron (my husband) and I got some dinner and went down to his brother's to visit for a bit. The plan was to go ahead and do the workout as soon as we got back. Kind of the late night workout I did last week. Since I didn't have to be up as early the next morning, it wouldn't be a big deal to be up a bit later... Trouble is, we lost track of time and ended up staying at my brother in law's place a lot later than we realized. By the time we got home, I was exhausted, and just didn't have the energy to do it! So, that's my confession/excuse, heh. This doesn't mean "Oh, I've blown it, might as well just throw in the towel" Of course not! This just means I rest up, make sure I plan ahead a little better, and get back on track tomorrow!

Day 11: Namaste

Time for more yoga! I had an early day off work again, which works out nicely since this workout is longer than all the others. As soon as I get home, I get changed and get started. I notice I'm doing a little better with some of the postures and vinyasas than I was last week! Like, chataranga (staff pose), for example, which is basically a low plank posture. It's kind of like when you go down in a push up, but you hold your arms and elbows close to your body instead of further out like when you do regular push ups. You hover just a few inches from the ground. It's hard! I used to be able to do it, but kinda lost it after a couple years of not practicing. I would have to drop to my knees last week, but suddenly today, I "remembered" how to do it! It was still really hard, and I wasn't able to do a full one every time, but it's more than what I could do last week, so I'm pretty excited about it. Half moon and warrior 3 still make me crazy (See day 4). They weren't really my strongest postures back in the day, but I don't remember them being this hard either! I can sort of balance in warrior 3 as long as I hold my arms behind me, but half moon is nearly impossible! I tell you what though, if I keep at it, I'm going to end up with an amazing butt (I better anyway)! Holding myself up with just one leg like that makes my glutes burn like no other!

Plough and shoulder stand was kind of interesting today. I noticed my middle back was starting to hurt while I was holding my legs and hips up over my head... I'm going to try and find some pictures that I can attach, it'll be a lot easier than trying to explain what all these postures are! I digress... Anyway, I think I might be letting my back and neck collapse down too much. So, next time I'll need to focus on keeping my abs tight so my torso can stay straight and my spine is supported. I may need to not stay in this posture for as long too, maybe ease myself into it a little more so I don't hurt myself...

Yoga belly 7 seemed to go a little better today too! I worked my abs well, and I was able to hold most of the postures for a lot longer. I think a lot of that was me not going "Abs? I don't wanna do my abs! I'm sore from yesterday! I can't do them!" And having more of a "Okay, let's bring it and see what we can do" Mindset... It's amazing how your thoughts and mindset can affect what you do! ... Lesson for the day!

My favorite part, the cool down! Aaaah, some nice spinal twists, happy baby, and of course, corpse pose... I could have fallen asleep right there! After some deep breathing and some Oms, I'm all done, and I feel great!

Namaste, everyone!

Just so you know what these postures that I'm talking about look like. This is warrior 3... No, that isn't me doing it.

Half moon. I double suck at this one.

This is shoulder stand.

Here's plough... the pig is awesome and you know it!

Day 10: Pump It!

Okay, Shoulders and Arms once again. I noticed last week, that after doing this workout, I wasn't really sore the next day... That might not necessarily mean I didn't work hard (I felt like I was really working my arms at the time), but I decided to really try and push my limits today and see what I could do. I added reps, added weight, and really brought it! My arms were burning and I even went for the bonus round! My arms felt rubbery, and I had broken a good sweat. We cool down and stretch and then... Ab Ripper X... Oh yeah. That. Well, let's buckle down and get it done! I found I could do a couple of the exercises without having to stop for a break! I hadn't been able to do that before! My form still wasn't the prettiest, and I was stopping for breaks for most of the other moves, but I could tell I was making some progress! It'll be exciting to see what the next couple of months will bring!

Day 9: Sweat it All Out

Cardio revisited! I really want to get a good workout in, so I push myself extra hard today. I'm already breaking a sweat after the warm-up, on to the yoga segment. I try to focus on keeping my lunges at a right angle, wow, my legs burn! I didn't realize how much I let that slide before! Clearly something to work on... Then some kenpo. After doing the full kenpo workout on Saturday, I realized how much that really works your arms! They were more sore after doing that than any other time this week! In fact, I can still feel a few twinges in my arms as I'm throwing punches now! I'm more familiar with the moves too, so I don't get quite so mixed up as I go along, so I can really bring it! During the plyo segment, I focus on getting my knees high, and keeping up a good pace. Wow! This really gets the sweat pouring! I'm nearly exhausted by the time the plyo is over, but we're not done yet! We still have some core to do! Yeesh... That's okay, I push on through, I'm getting a little better at the Superman/Banana, and I did 9 Dreya rolls! Personal Best! I have yet to be able to one without pushing off with my hands though... that'll come with time I hope. Finally, the workout is done! We do a good cool down, then I have myself a protein shake! nom nom nom...  

Day 8: Strange Dèjà Vu

Oh, Monday, Monday... The weekends are never quite long enough... Oh well, I make it through the day at work, and come home to dinner ready (thanks sweetie)! After a couple of quick errands, it's time to get going on a new week on the ol' P90...x... :) It's Core Synergistics once again. It still kicks my butt; however, I find I can do some of the exercises a little better than last week! Making progress! wOOt, wOOt! I even give the bonus round a shot. That was, well... interesting. I think I was only able to get through each of those exercises only about halfway! They're good, though, definitely add some extra oomph to an already oomphalicious workout!

Day 7: I do nothing!

Today is a rest day (or I could do stretches, but I skipped it today), so I have no workout to report on today. I did just want to report, though, that I weighed myself this morning, and I'm down to 154.6 pounds! That's down 4.4 pounds in just one week! Tomorrow, I start a whole new week, and this is good motivation to keep truckin'!

Day 6: Bam! Pow! Punch!

Kenpo X today. Kenpo is kind of like kickboxing, but more intense. It starts off with some leg and arm stretches to warm up. My legs are so sore and stiff from the Legs & Back workout the day before, that it's hard holding up some of the lunges and stuff, but by the time we're done with the warm up, my legs are ready to go, and we start in right away. First we do a bunch of different punches: jabs, crosses, uppercuts, hooks, and different combinations of those. Next, we do some kicks, then we combine kicks and punches. I've never really done this sort of thing much, so I get mixed up really easily! There comes a point where I don't think anyone can distinguish one punch from another... It just looks like I'm swinging my arms around all over! Once I get the hang of it, though, I really get into it! I even do the yells that everyone in the video was doing... glad no one's watching...  I don't realize how much this is working me! Even during the breaks, they want us to keep running in place and doing jumping jacks and stuff. I'm sweating like crazy! The one that really gets me going is a really simple one. You stand in your regular "fighting"stance (one foot in front of the other a tiny bit), do one punch with each arm (we do this a couple a of times with different types of punches too), then jump and switch sides, the repeat it! This one works ya! I should get myself a heart rate monitor...
In the intro, Tony says this workout goes fast, and he wasn't kidding! It seemed like no sooner than the workout started, that the workout was over! We cooled down, did a little stretching, then I realized something... I just finished my first full week on P90X! Day 7 is a rest day, and I think I'll need it!

Day 5: You Can Do It All Night Long!

I didn't get my workout in till almost midnight last night, heheh, but I got it done! The workout of the day was Legs & Back. Boy oh boy, I felt this one! Basically, it was lots of squats, lunges, and pull ups! The leg moves were hard, but I could pretty much do all of them. If any of you are curious what doing 75 calf raises in a row feels like, it's kind of like someone taking a blow torch to your calf muscles! And the wall squats! Oh jeez... those had me grunting and writhing and making all kinds of weird faces and stuff... Then Tony wanted us to do them on one leg at a time. Yeah. I may or may not have said a few bad words during that...  In general, The way the workout was set up was we would do two leg moves, then do a set of pull ups of some kind. Now, pull ups are a funny thing for me. When I try to do one, like the real way, I strain, and flex, and pull as hard as I can, and still pretty much just hang there like an idiot. Thankfully, they offer some options to modify them, so I can actually accomplish something other than just hanging around! You can either use resistance bands that you hang from above you and pull down like a lat pull, or have a chair or stool below you so you can use one leg to support yourself while you pull up with the chin-up bar. I chose the latter for this time around, because I have this weird fear that the bands will snap on me at any moment and take my eye out or something! However, it felt like I may have been relying a little too much on the chair and using my leg, rather than my arms and back muscles, to get high enough. Of course, I want to make sure I'm working the right muscle groups, otherwise, what's the point of doing the exercises? So maybe next time I will experiment with resistance bands and see how I do with those.
Finally, the workout is over! My legs feel like jello, I'm a sweaty mess and I was pulling a Tammy Faye Baker with what was left of my eye makeup. We do a nice little cool down, and then I remember what was still ahead... Ab Ripper X. Aw man... Well, gotta do what I gotta do, this jelly belly (and I don't mean the jelly beans) of mine isn't going away on its own. Some of the moves I could have sworn I did a little better on than just a couple of days ago. Could I already be making progress?! Some of them are still nearly impossible though. The oblique v-ups are extremely awkward, I'll have to practice those more. I make it through the Ripper once more and I'm beat. By now it's 1:00 am, so sleep comes very easily tonight!

Day 4: The Trick is to Keep Breathing

I got off work a little early today, and got started right in on my workout for the day: Yoga X. I used to take yoga classes at school for a couple of years, so I'm looking forward to this one. Now, I know a lot of you probably think of yoga as something for relaxation (or contortionists, maybe), but probably not as hard exercise. Yoga X, however, is basically power yoga, which keeps me breathing hard and moving almost constantly, and I start to sweat fast! Just like the good ol' college days, oh yeah! Most of the postures are pretty familiar, but man oh man, am I out of practice! Stuff I used to be able to do quite easily, I can now barely hold for a second or two! For example, in warrior 3, you're bent at the waist with a flat back, then holding one leg straight behind you, then your arms straight out in front of you. I couldn't keep balanced for the life of me! Half moon wasn't any better. Here, you're still bent at the waist with your leg out behind you like in warrior 3, but then, you twist at the waist and hold your back arm up in the air, with your fingertips of the other hand touching the floor... yeah, those will take some time to master. After what seems like a hundred different vinyasas, standing and seated postures, I'm sweatin' up a storm, my limbs feel limp, and we seem to be wrapping it up.. but then Tony announces this thing he calls the Yoga Belly 7... I don't like the sound of that... it's seven different postures that set my abs on fire, but I get through them... more or less... Some of them I can only hold for a few seconds at a time, like the scissor or half boat, but you gotta start somewhere! Finally we end with a few cool down postures, and corpse pose (this one's the best... You just lay there!), wrap up with some deep breathing and we're done! It felt great to do yoga again after so long, why did I ever stop??

Day 3: Silly Things

I woke up to a splitting headache this morning. There goes yet another day to get my workout in early. I don't necessarily mind doing my workouts in the evening, but I just figure if I try and get them done first thing in the morning, I won't have to worry about anything that may distract me from getting it done after work. The thing is, I'm really, REALLY, bad at getting up on time as it is (ask my husband, I like my snooze button way too much)! maybe trying to take on too many goals all at once is kind of a silly thing to do. I mean, this is a pretty intense workout program I'm doing, plus I'm trying to really watch what I eat. Maybe trying to get myself up out of bed an hour and a half or so earlier than usual would just make it harder to stick to everything, you know? So far I haven't had any trouble with just making sure I do my workout as soon as I get off work. Maybe I can take on the morning thing in a couple weeks...
I get ready for work and get a whole bag full of healthy things for my lunch and snacks for the day: tuna, whole wheat bread, plain yogurt & berries, jerky, and the like. I walk right out the door and drive all the way to work three towns away without it. What a silly thing to do. So no breakfast, no lunch, and no snacks... swell. Luckily, I was saved by Jimmy John's! Every so often they come around and bring small sandwiches to sample. I had breakfast! Turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and sprouts. There was a little mayo, and it was on white bread, but I figure it's a better choice than the donuts that were still in the break room! For lunch, I got myself some El Pollo Loco. Fire grilled chicken with steamed vegetables and beans. Not too shabby.
I still have my headache when I get home, but I know I need to get my workout done. Luckily today is Shoulders and Arms, so not a lot of running or jumping around to make my head hurt more. In fact, by the end of the workout, it was starting to feel a lot better... but I forgot one thing: Ab Ripper X. Silly me. I was complaining about core the past couple of days... Yeah, I won't be doing that anymore! Ab Ripper X is brutal! Over 250 sit ups! 11 Different kinds! I weep, and wail and gnash my teeth (well, okay, I didn't really weep), but I make it through the workout. I can't do all the reps of every single exercise, but that should get better with practice! Unfortunately, with all the grunting, groaning, and straining, particularly in my neck, my headache came back. Boo! I took some ibuprofen, get a little something to eat, and do another silly thing: Go to my zumba class...

Day 2: Confession & Restitution

Forgive me, for I have sinned. I let the temptation of the leftover birthday cake staring me in the face in the break room get the better of me this afternoon. I knew better. I knew it would be there, and I told myself that I wouldn't have any, no matter how much it beckoned me; no matter how fudgy and delicious the frosting looked, or how much I knew I would wish I didn't if I let myself have some... It didn't work. I ate a piece anyway. It was moist, fudgy, and delicious. Now, I'm trying not to beat myself up about it too much. I know one slip-up isn't going to completely undo all my efforts! But if I couldn't say no this time, what about the next temptation? Or the next one? Okay, I can't worry myself like this so much, it's not going to help anything! Focus on the positive... For what it's worth, I didn't have any of the cheesecake, donuts, or cookies that were also in the break room today (I know, my work is pure evil)! I can do this, it may be hard sometimes, but if I can cut out the junk food for just 90 days, maybe it'll be easier to not overdo it later on... right?
Well, anyway, after work I immediately changed and started my Day 2 workout. Cardio X. This one has a little bit of everything. Some yoga to warm up, some kenpo, plyometrics, and core. Wait, more core?! I just did that yesterday!! *sigh* Oh well. I get started with the workout, and I'm lovin' the yoga warm up! I used to take yoga classes all the time, so it doesn't surprise me when the sweat comes almost immediately. We do some sun salutations, and three different warrior poses, all connected with a vinyasa to keep me moving, sweating, and breathing hard (I know! In yoga, right?) Next we do some kenpo. It's pretty fun, but I'm a bit clumsy with it, especially doing the punches and kicks on my left side. My right side is definitely my better side. Then the plyometrics... wow. We only do five exercises, but we repeat them, and man, those five moves are enough (the wacky jacks are my favorite)! I'm struggling to catch my breath after the plyo routine and Tony announces it's time for core again... grrr... That's okay, I can do it! Burn off the cake! You can do it! I make it through all of it, I even do better at most of the moves, even that darn Dreya roll thing! By the end, I was grunting, and groaning and yelling (which I think helped somehow). The sweat was pouring, and it felt swell! "Good work everybody" Tony said, and I felt like he meant it. I'm actually looking forward to my workout tomorrow! Is that weird?....

Day 1: The Real Work Begins

Well, my original plan was to get up at 6:15 this morning to kind of "practice" getting up at the regular time that I would need to get up to have the time to get my workout in before work... But since I had the day off (happy MLK Day everyone!), I slept in till 10:00. Oh well. I still got dressed and went straight downstairs to officially start my P90X journey, odyssey, self-torture, whatever you want to call it! For those who are unfamiliar with the program, there are three different ways you can do it, P90X Classic, P90X doubles (for truly sick people), and P90X Lean, which is the one I'm doing. This one focuses a little more on cardio training and a little less on building muscle strength. This is not to suggest that it's easier! The booklet even says so (I think it said something about it being "no picnic" so, yeah.)! The first workout is Core Synergistics... Kind of a big word... Kind of a big workout. And what's that first word, Core? Crap. What if I have no core strength whatsoever?? I can barely do a real sit-up! The logical, reasonable part of my brain tells me "well, that just means this is the kind of workout you need." I want to tell it to shut up, but I know it's right. So I gather my equipment, hit the play button, and pray that I make it out alive.
It starts out nicely enough, some neck rolls, some nice stretches... I soon realize Tony only does this to get on your good side before he swoops in to kill you. After a warm up that alone puts me out of breath, we start in on a bunch of push-ups. Not just regular push ups either! In these, they want you to stack one foot on top of the other, and then have one hand back further than the other, then you switch sides every 5 reps! I'm not the greatest at push ups mind you, I can do the girl ones that you do on your knees okay, but I'm watching the girls in this video do their push-ups... and they're not on their knees. So I try to do them as it shows on the video and can barely get five in. Lame. But, wait a sec, suddenly Tony shows one of the gals doing a modification! She has one knee on the ground, and is holding other leg up behind her. This looks a little more do-able! And it is!! It's still hard, still works me really good, but I can get more reps in, and so it feels like I'm accomplishing a little more than I would otherwise! Okay, I'm already feeling it, and I've got like, 45 minutes to go... oh boy... There are a grundle of different exercises that I'm learning here, some of them I wouldn't have considered core exercises, in fact, I soon learn that there's more to core strength than just abs. You're working everything from the chest down to your glutes! I also realize that when Tony says that a certain exercise is his favorite, you have reason to be scared. One of his little "favorites" (he's got a lot), is the Dreya Roll. The bane of my existence. You begin standing. Then you crouch down to almost a seated position, but instead of sitting, you roll backward all the way to your shoulders, bring your legs up over your head behind you, then roll back up to your feet, stand up do it all over again! I hate them. I can only do, like, three before collapsing in a twitching, sweaty heap. Oh well, it's a tough one, and it's the best I can do for now! "Do Your Best, Forget the Rest." After about 50 minutes of madness, Tony announces a optional bonus round. I'm exhausted. I forgo the bonus round for now, but hopefully I'll be up for giving it a shot next week. After a much welcomed cool down, I hit the showers. My Day 1 workout is done!

Beginning Stats

Oh yeah, I took some beginning measurements and and photos (my apologies in advance) to get an idea of what I'm dealing with here! :D Here they are as of 01-15-2011:
Weight: 159 pounds (down a bit from my doc's visit last month! Yay!)
Chest: 38"
Waist: 33"
Hips: 42"
Right Thigh: 24.5"
Left Thigh: 24.5"
Right Arm: 13"
Left Arm: 13"

You don't know how hard it is to post these... you can laugh, chances are I'll never hear you!

Yep, those shorts say Drum Line.

Hmm, my belly button makes a little frowny face!

Getting Ready to Bring it!

Well, here goes everyone! I suppose I'll start from the beginning. I'm Jen, I'm 25 years old as of Friday, and I've always been a bit chubby. I have lost a little weight here, gained a little back there, and lost a little again later; but  generally I've always been about 25-30 pounds heavier than I would really like to be. Just after Christmas, I had to go to the doctor for a sinus infection, and when the nurse weighed me in, I tipped the scale at 160.3 pounds. Pooo! I tried not to let myself get too down and out about it, I mean, there was a time I weighed even more than that... then again, there was a time I weighed less than that too! I'm not old, but I'm not getting any younger, and I know how important it is to eat healthy, stay active, and maintain a healthy weight throughout your life, and the longer I wait to do that, the harder it will be to do so later! I've got a family history of obesity, and all the not-so-awesome things that can come with it like diabetes, heart disease, and plenty of other crap that I really don't want to deal with later in life. I know I don't have to! I can't change genetics, but there is plenty I can control to overcome what may be in my genes! I just have to be willing to make those changes.... that can be easier said than done sometimes! That's why I'm trying P90x... again. My husband and I bought this program two years ago, and well, we didn't make it very far at all. I think I hit a week, and just let it slide from there :P I have done other things to get exercise, I like to run and have even done a few 5K races, I go to a zumba class at our rec center twice a week (however, I even let those classes slide sometimes), and I even play Wii Fit occasionally! I'm hoping P90X will help me get in the habit of getting a good workout in every day (if it doesn't kill me first)! I hope that by the end of this, I can have better self discipline about what I eat after following the diet plan (sob)! I want to be able to buy jeans that are a single digit size, maybe get rid of the relief society arms (I'm only 25 for crying out loud)!! I want to feel (and look) good in a bathing suit, have visible abs, as opposed to a spare tire, have better endurance, maybe work towards running a half-or even a full- marathon someday! So there you have it, my little story & some of the things that motivate me. Hopefully writing my experiences will give me some accountability, and even help someone else out. Early tomorrow morning is time to Bring It!