P90X – The Mother of All Workouts. It is not your “Girls Next Door” exercise routine!

I have nothing against The Girls Next Door; by the way, I often watch this show myself.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that if you want to be gangsta with your fitness you might as well choose P90X.

In my previous blog I said I was on a mission to lose about 15lbs by the end of September. To that I have to add that I hate going to gyms, spending at least 3 hours on the whole thing including traveling. So I found this great exercise program that allows you yo literally roll out of bed and start working out.

I started 2 weeks ago, August 9, Saturday.

My starting weight was 142lbs, my goal is about 125lbs, but if I look damn good at 130lbs, I am not going to go crazy after the remaining 5lbs.

What is actually much more important is how you look and not how much you weigh. You probably know that weight is not the only indicator of your fitness. Some trainers also recommend taking measurements,calculating body fat percentage , and tracking such basic things as how healthy and fit you feel compared to before, how many more reps you can do, how easily you climb the stairs, and so on.

What is P90X? It is an exercise program designed to help people get in shape in 90 days.

I first got it from my brother-in-law who did to get into shape before his wedding. He had never worked out a day in his life, and now he is a fitness monster! I am only saying it because I am jealous.

Why I love it? Because it has workout routines for every body part, for 6 or even 7 days a week. It comes with a spreadsheet calendar to monitor your progress and help you organize your routine. Say, you want to start on September 1st. You enter the date in the spread sheet, and it tells you which workout you have to do first, and the order of the rest of them.

The workout videos, which I have, include Kenpo X (kick boxing type of workout); chest and back; chest, and shoulders; shoulders and arms; legs and back; amazing Core Synergistics that is going to make you wish you had never put on those pounds; yoga X; ab ripper X (15- minute kiss ass abs workout!); and my absolute favorite – Plyometrics, cardio jump training, that kicks the crap out of you literally. It is the basis of all workouts, and if you can survive Plyometrics – kudos to you!

All the workouts are an hour long (except for Yoga X- 1.5 hour), but they are literally saturated with action, which is going to feel like 3 hours, especially Kenpo X and Plyometrics!

The host, Tony, is incredibly charismatic. You can tell that he is very passionate about the workout, and you are going to love his sense of humor!

What is also good about it is that you can get support from real people from the fitness community on www.beachbody.com.

It is my 3rd week on P90X. After the 2nd weighing I found out that I have gained almost one pound. My pictures also don’t reflect significant changes. But I can feel that my body is getting tighter, stronger and healthier. I have a lot more energy than before, I am less stressed out, more patient (and P90X requires patience!), I don’t get winded any more climbing the stairs, and the best part in it for me is that I am finally at peace with the thought that it’s going to take me some time to get in shape, and I am ok with it! I don’t just get upset and discouraged like before, if I don’t see instant results, I am just happy to exercise. My body is getting stronger and stronger, and I feel so alive every time I finish a work out, even if it wasn’t easy. Now I am curious what my limits are, how fit I can get. And another thing is that I have flat arches and varicose veins, so every time I do Yoga, Kenpo, or Plyometrics I feel amazing!

It wasn’t a case 2 weeks ago though. Since I gained weight (and it was almost 3 years ago) I started and subsequently quit many workout programs. I couldn’t stay motivated, and it would stress me out big time. I felt helpless and miserable. I was thinking – “Is there anything I CAN do?” So, after one of these fruitless attempts, when I was helplessly laying on the bed and whining about my plight, my husband decided to take the matter in his hands and declared himself my trainer. He made me write a promise to myself and to him that I would lose 15lbs by the end of September, that I would not give up, and do whatever it takes to achieve the goal. I pledged to obey him as a trainer in everything he tells me to do, including working out at least 4 days a week, and eating healthy, except one day a week when I could eat whatever I want.

It was very hard for me to make that promise, sign it and hang it for display, because now I had to keep it!

That’s it for this time. Don’t want to bore anybody! Stay tuned for my coming posts about battling cravings, getting and staying motivated! And by the way,do you know of any other types of awesome workouts? I would love to know!

Cheers, friends!