I made it through P90X Plyometrics this week!  Can I get a whoop whoop..?   There is a move in there that gives me a whole new respect for Molly Shannon.  Appropriately called the “Mary Katherines”,  they are lunges where you hop back and forth between right leg in front and left leg in front.  Good lord, that’s difficult.  I remember when Molly Shannon did those in her MK skits on SNL, and it didn’t look hard at all.  It looked funny, yes.  Hard, no.  Trust me, they are hard.  The version of MK on P90x doesn’t include the hands in the armpits, though, so that made them a little easier.

I had a fairly successful beginning of week 3, but got derailed – temporarily – on Wednesday.  I’ve been hit by some bug which doesn’t want to go away.  The doctor has me on the BRAT diet.  Not because I’m a brat – though I’m sure there’s an argument for that – it’s an acronym for bananas, rice, applesauce and toast.  Um,  yuck.  I suddenly feel like I’m 80 instead of 40.   Anyway – I’ve been temporarily sidelined, but plan on being back on the field as soon as I can.  I’m planning on picking up where I left off, but I’m wondering if it may be better to start over.  Either way,  I’ll be back in business as soon as I can.  I know this isn’t a very exciting or lengthy blog post, but I didn’t want to just disappear and have anyone assume that I quit.  I didn’t quit & I will be back to my P90X routine as soon as I’m able.  Stay tuned…

The post Heidi’s P90X Journey – P90X Week 3 first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

I’m glad that week 2 is over.  I  had trouble this week, but I still made it through.  Not only did I make it through, but I’m  improving, so that is encouraging.  Improving slowly, but still improving.

I realized this week that I’m actually going to have to purchase some heavier dumbbells.  For the record, I only had girly dumbbells, 3, 5 and 8 pounds before, so I’m not that strong yet,  but it’s still progress.  I found some 10 pounders at WalMart last night for a decent price, so I’m set for week 3.  That sure sounds wussy when I see it in writing, but double-digit dumbbells are better than a double-digit wardrobe, so that’s my focus.  Increase the number on the dumbbells and decrease the number on the tags in my clothes.

I’m also realizing that I have some definite favorite workouts, and some that are hard for me to look forward to.  I prefer the less aerobic ones; chest & back, shoulders & arms, Legs & Back.  Not only do I prefer the exercises on these days, but these are the P90X worksheet days, where I document how many reps of each weight I can do, so I can SEE the progress compared to what I did last week.  Since I sucked so bad at the beginning,  the progress is motivating.  Even going from 6 girly push-ups to 10 gives me a sense of accomplishment.  I tried doing the “real” push-ups last night, but I only did 2 and seemed to pull a muscle somewhere in my abs.  It hurts, but I’m just excited to realize that there actually ARE muscles under there somewhere.  I haven’t seen those in years, so having the pain prove that they’re still there somewhere was good – a good pain.  Anyway , last night was technically the beginning of week 3, so I probably shouldn’t put that in here, but it seemed relevant.   If I mention it again in next week’s post, don’t hold it against me.

Ok, confession time:  I didn’t do the P90X plyometrics this week.  Not completely because I don’t like that one, but because I rooted my droid that day, overclocked it, and then got carried away flashing new ROMs and my phone ended up in an endless logo boot loop.  It took me a few hours to fix it, and the workout is what got canceled that night.  No excuses, just the truth.  But, my phone is super fast now.

I almost completed the whole yoga video this week.  That is some HARD yoga, and I’m no yoga virgin.  I took yoga for the first time when I was pregnant with my older daughter, and doing yoga from 5-9 months prego is no easy task.  Balance issues galore.  But, that’s when I was young.  Now that I’m old and not as bendy, this yoga is HARD.  There was about a 10 minute portion of the video that I just *couldn’t* do, and it was getting me discouraged.  So, instead of completely quitting and turning the DVD off,  I let it run while I spent some time on my pilates machine, watching the DVD, and trying to figure out how on earth some of that stuff is possible.  Then, when they started doing things that I knew I could do, I jumped back in and finished it.  So, 80 out of 90 minutes isn’t bad, and I didn’t just stop and sit there during the 10 “off” minutes, I kept moving and watching. I guess that’s kind of cheating, but I somehow convinced myself that it was ok since I was still working out.  Hmmm,  it sure sounds like I’m full of excuses this week.  Funny how both of my excuses were on the days of 2 workouts I dislike.  I think I see a pattern here.  Now that I’ve caught my sly self, I’ll make sure I don’t let myself get away with it next week.   My goal this week is to do both the plyometrics and yoga videos, start to finish, no cheating.  I even told my kids to take my phone away from me if they see me fiddling with it on plyometrics day.

I know it probably sounds like I’m just a lame cheater at this, but that was only 2 of the 6 days.  I’m kicking ass on the other workouts.   I’m increasing weights and reps on almost every exercise.   And, Ab Ripper X hasn’t made me want to kill myself once this week.  That’s progress.  I don’t think I’ve mentioned the Ab Ripper in my other posts – maybe because I had blocked it out, or maybe because it was just too depressing, I’m not sure.  BUT, this week I’ve gotten much better at it.  They do some sit-ups in there with legs straight on the floor.  I couldn’t even do ONE when I started, and now I can do several.  They also do these things called V-ups, pulse-ups, which are kind of a 2 step sit up, but they are HARD.  I couldn’t do any of those until Friday of this week, and I was able to do 4.  Mason twists are hard too.. that’s where you are sitting up, with your legs off the floor, and you twist from side to side, with your hands clasped, hitting the floor on alternating sides of your body after each twist.  These are fast, hard, and exhausting.  This is the first week that I’ve been able to do these successfully as well.  I could do the twisting last week, but I wasn’t able to reach the floor with my clasped hands.  This week I did it.  Yea me!

I’m also making progress with the whole pull-up thing, though I still cannot do even ONE pull-up.  I try to make myself feel better by reminding myself that at the gym, when doing the lat pull-downs, I could only do like 40-60 pounds, and a pull-up is heaving up my entire body.  I’m not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but I weigh WAY more than 40-60 pounds.  So… I’m using the resistance bands and dumbbells instead of the actual pull-ups during the videos until I can get to the point where I can heave 150 pounds off the floor.  Wish me luck on this one.   I’ve heard several horror stories recently  of resistance bands breaking and smashing into people’s faces, so now I wear safety goggles when I’m using the bands.  I look like the biggest dork on the planet, but I’m sure – now that I’ve heard the stories – that it will happen to me.  Just like I’m sure my house will burn down if I don’t unplug the toaster and my kids will get kidnapped if I let them outside unsupervised.  Yes, I know they are teenagers now, but I have issues.  Anyway – it’s these issues that now have me wearing the safety goggles and looking like a complete idiot.  Don’t look for pictures of this.  The fact that I’m putting this in writing is bad enough.

So – that’s it for week 2.  Looks like I have my work cut out for me this next week.  As long as I keep making progress, don’t lose an eye or burn down my house, I’m good with that.

The post Heidi – P90X Week 2 Completed! first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

Week 1 – Completed!

Well, I have survived the first week of P90X.  I had good days and bad, but just the fact that I completed the whole week with no injuries, no diet disasters, no crying and no quitting makes me quite pleased with myself.

Somehow I convinced my 16 year old daughter to join me, and she has been quite a trooper.  She’s done several of the workouts with me,  she and her sister both did the initial fit test, and they’ve both been willing to try new foods, which is very strange for them.  We have always been carboholics.   Eating chicken and vegetables is a new concept.  I have to say, I’m quite proud – and somewhat shocked –  that they’re playing along so willingly.  Thanks, girls!

We did the fit test last Sunday.  It wasn’t so bad, really.  The fact that I couldn’t even do ONE pull-up was shocking and a bit depressing.  Those things look so easy.  Seriously, didn’t we all used to do those things on the uneven bars on the playground in 3^rd grade?  Not only did we pull ourselves up, but we then swung one leg over and would then spin around and around.  I’m pretty sure if I could do that when I was 8, I can do one pull-up now .  Well,  when I grabbed hold of the pull-up bar, it was suddenly very obvious that I wasn’t going anywhere. Not up. Not down.  Nowhere.  Certainly not swinging a leg over and spinning anywhere either.   The other part of the fit test that was a challenge for me was the last thing – where you have to do jumping  jacks for 2 minutes and then take your pulse every minute for 4 minutes.  I have 1 word for any women attempting this:  Kegels.  Seriously.  If you don’t know what those are, then you probably don’t need to and should just forget I said anything.  Those of you who know what they are,  just trust me – and quit laughing.   Anyway – I passed the fit test.  No flying colors, but I passed.

One of the other things the P90X workout plan recommends before you begin the program is to take your body measurements and take some “ before” pictures.  Um, okay… that was possibly the most depressing day of my life.  The measurements didn’t bother me that much – but the pictures were shocking.  Seriously – I didn’t realize quite how bad things were until I saw those pictures.  It kind of reminded me of when my boyfriend kept telling me I had black hair, and I’d say “Um, no I don’t.  My hair is brown. It’s always been brown”.  Well,  imagine my surprise when I saw the photos from the family reunion and I really DID have black hair..  WTF..?  I see myself in the mirror every day and had no idea that my hair had gradually turned Morticia black (due to several years of my at-home dye jobs).  I go to the eye doctor every year, and know I’m not blind.  How on earth could I see myself so differently than film – or whatever the digital version is called – sees me?   This was a similar revelation.  I knew I had gotten bigger over the years, and was wearing a size I’d never seen before, but I didn’t realize quite how bad it was until I saw the pictures – front, side and back – of me in a swimsuit.  Yikes.  Nothing could have been more motivating & I haven’t felt any desire for carbs, sweets, soda – anything – since seeing those pictures.  I had lunch with my friend, Pam, today at the Best Little Roadhouse.  I had chicken and vegetables and didn’t even touch the bread.  For any of you that know me, or have eaten the bread at the Roadhouse, you realize how big of a deal this is.  Seriously – the bread (and honey butter) was sitting there on the table the whole time we were there… and I didn’t  want to touch it. Not even once.  That’s the power of seeing gross pictures of yourself.  Give it a try.  It’s amazing the level of willpower that gave me.

The workouts this week went pretty well – they kicked my ass, but I survived.  I actually really enjoyed the Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X, Shoulders & Arms, Legs & Back and Kenpo X.  I wasn’t super fond of Plyometrics or the Yoga X, but it was simply because those 2 were much more difficult for me than the others.  I like easy stuff.  Not that the others were easy.  They were anything but easy,  but at least I could complete them with modifications, and I felt good at the end.  Plyometrics was very difficult for me to get through – flashbacks  to the jumping- jacks from the fit test.   The Yoga X was a whopping 90 minutes long, which just depressed me as soon as I realized it, and then I couldn’t mentally get past that.  Now that I know what to expect for both of those, I’m hoping next week will be a little easier.   Today (Saturday) is the first day that I’ve been so sore that I’m having trouble moving around.  Legs&Back and Ab Ripper X on Thursday and then KenpoX on Friday seem to have really burned up my legs.  Just standing up and sitting down is a very slow activity today, but it’s a good pain.

I’ve done pretty well on my diet this week at well.  Phase 1, Level  1 is mostly protein,  which requires some major diet adjustments for me.  This is not easy, but I’ve gotten creative and have been doing pretty well.  Lots of chicken, cottage cheese, eggs, turkey bacon, turkey sausage and costco protein drinks have served me well so far.   I’m still working on increasing my fruit/veggie intake, and am making progress with that as well. I haven’t lost any weight yet, but it’s only been a week.  Somehow it didn’t even depress me when I got on the scale this morning.  I know I’m making changes that take time to see the benefits, but I’m moving in the right direction.

With week  1 successfully behind me, I’m looking forward – believe it or not – to week 2.  Now that I kind of know what I’m doing, it should be easier.  I’m eager to see the changes that will eventually hit my waistline, my buttline (is that a thing?) , my hips and my squishy abs.   This diet thing isn’t so hard either.  Thank god for those gross pictures.  And – in case you are wondering – NO, I’m not posting them here.  Not now at least.  Maybe once I have an “after” picture to keep me from crying.  Not before.

The post Heidi’s P90X Journey – Week 1 Completed! first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.

This is a guest post by Heidi.

I am no athlete.  Let’s just get that out in the open right now.  I ran track in the 7^th grade, but that’s just because it was the only sport you didn’t have to try out for.  After coming in dead last in every race, I gave up on my career as a runner.  I took an Irish Dance class and competed for about 6 years, starting when I was 29. I enjoyed it a great deal, but it was hard on my joints.  I’m getting old.   I gave it up a few years ago, and I’ve been putting on the pounds slowly ever since.

I’ve always wanted to be fit, but have never made it a priority.  Actually, let me take that back.  It’s not that I necessarily wanted to be fit – it’s that I don’t want to look like a middle-aged mom with a muffin top.  Vain?  Yes, I know.  But – I am tired of looking in the mirror and being disgusted with myself.   I’m not huge,  I realize that.  I’m just squishy and bigger than I’d like to be.

How did I get here?  Well,  I’m a 40 year old mom of 2 teenagers.  I work full time and don’t have the healthiest eating habits.  I’m a sucker for pizza and cheeseburgers and haven’t met a French fry I didn’t love.  Somehow, however  – even with my horrible diet –  I’ve always been a fairly healthy weight.  Over the past few years, though, I seem to have lost control & have gotten up to 155 pounds.  The last time I was 155 pounds was when I was 9 months pregnant.  Not cool. I’d like to be 135, so that’s only 20 pounds.  Those 20 pounds, however, are torturing me.  That’s where P90X comes in.  I saw it advertised on QVC and looked at the reviews online.  Amazing reviews.  I don’t buy anything without amazing reviews.  So, I purchased it and received it in the mail this past weekend.  I stumbled across Jonathan’s website when I was searching online for a P90X droid app.  I loved his site & his daily documentation of the 90day trek, and thought it might be helpful for me to document my trek online as well.  So – here I am.

In a nutshell – It’s time I took back control.  I control whether I’m lazy or motivated.  I control whether I eat junk or healthy foods.  I control whether I stay squishy & fat or if I get skinny again.  I will be starting my official P90X workout journey on Sunday & I will be updating my progress here for everyone to see.   In the words of the fabulous Dr. Seuss,  “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose.”

Here I go… steering myself in the direction I choose.

The post Heidi’s P90X Workout Journey first appeared on Trek2BeFit.com.