Day 30 - Week 5 Day 2 - Plyometrics

We were up at 5 am on a Saturday morning for Plyo. Let me tell you, I am SORE from yesterday's workout. I don't think I got of ton of sleep in last night. I kept waking up and dreading 5am because it was plyo day, haha. In fact, I ended up getting up around 4:30 and having coffee waiting for my boyfriend. Lol.

But, all told, the workout wasn't as bad today. It is getting just a little bit easier. Don't get me wrong, it's still a major cardio workout, and I was dripping in sweat, but I didn't feel like dieing. I felt the after effects of this workout until about 11:30 this morning. That's how you know it's a good workout - when your body is still a bit exhausted hours later. I am certain I will sleep well tonight!

Soooooooo... IT'S DAY 30 TODAY!!! We are a third of the way through. This is a MAJOR NSV for me! I'm really proud. I was reading through the internet and it seems like most people quit at week 6. So, my next mini goal is to plow through week 6. It's definitely hard to make time for these workouts some days. We've got my boyfriends kids all weekend. My roommate is taking them out tomorrow afternoon, and then I'm not sure yet how we'll occupy them on Monday... but we will do what we have to do.

We're about to go take our measurements. I'll post them once I get them. :)

That's great! I think it's an option for everyone. He does a pretty good job of showing modified versions, save for some poses in yoga and the Ab Ripper X video.

At this point my boyfriend and I are certain we're going to keep with it even after 90 days. That's the hope at least. I think it's the trend for anyone that completes the first round, they seem to stick with it. We do like how we feel after we're done.

And, you'll be in way better shape starting out than we were. We went from being Warcraft junkies that never left our computers straight into this... so, we were definitely out of shape.

Day 31 - Week 5 Day 3 - Back & Biceps, Ab Ripper X

Today was not a great workout day. There was lots of bickering, and feeling like a failure from the new moves, and trying to swap around the heavy weights... blah. Plus, it was a new video which meant learning all new stuff all over again.

And, this is not an easy new video. This is tough! Not as tough as the one two days ago, but lots of pull ups. and one, the corn cob, which I don't even GET. I have no idea how to make the corn cob pull up work for me with the stepstool as an assist. I was getting a bit grossed out with my boyfriend and I assisting each other. We were sooooooooo sweaty that it was hard to assist him and then I was worn out from assisting him when it was my turn to do pull ups. So, I pulled out the stepstool as an assist. But, I don't think he liked that very much. It kept slipping around on him which is what started the grump. I actually thought it worked really well for me, and was much happier, but, lol, in the end that happiness was not worth it!

I worked up a little bit of a sweat, but nothing like what I've been doing lately. I think today would have been a good day for me to wear my weight lifting gloves.

Oh, and there is a move at the very end of the video where you do strip curls? You have four different sets of weights and start with your heaviest and work your way down. Luckily I have exactly four sets of weights. 12, 8, 5, 2. The 2s are kinda jokes, though, lol. I wish I had 10 lbs. I guess I should go buy them, but all this weight buying is getting expensive. Plus, my boyfriend just keeps using my heaviest...

I didn't do a great job on ab ripper x today, either. My oblique ones were back to being fail. There are days that some of those moves rub my bones against the floor and no amount of yoga mat can help that. It's got to be a form thing, but I can't quite figure out why.

So, Friday my weight was 148.5 which was a little disappointing. But this morning it was 146.5! That's the lowest it's ever been.

My measurements, though, stunk! I lost a 1/2 in in my chest, gained a 1/2 in in my waist (what?!) and lost an inch on each thigh. HONESTLY? I think my boyfriend kinda failed at measuring. I'm wearing pants that wouldn't even button prior to P90X, so I know I've lost weight on my waist, but whatever. I do think it's REALLY hard to see the difference on my photos. I'm really disappointed about that. I will try to post them up at some point.

What is the main difference between P90 X & Insanity? They seem to both have the same "feel" about them. Thanks.

Could you tell me what kind of equipment you need for P90x? I'm thinking of getting it, but don't want to spend a ton of money on the dvd set and then have to buy a bunch of at-home gym equipment.

Thanks!

Hi Amberelise! I've been lurking on this thread for a while, and I've been enjoying it. I just finished week 11 of P90X, so I identify with a lot of this ("hey, I flop around on the ground like a fish out of water when I do the one-armed pushups, too!" :) ).

Thought I'd speak up and say, I was also disappointed with my day 30 pics & measurements. At day 30, I was up a half pound (started at 132, went up to 134.5, then back to 132.5 by day 30); I had lost a half inch most places, and a blasted quarter-inch off my big, pear-shaped thighs. :dizzy: I lost only a quarter-inch off the thinnest part of my waist, but I lost an inch and a half around my bellybutton and an inch off my hips. So I recommend you take measurements in as many places as possible (I do over/under bust, waist, waist around bellybutton, hips just above butt, hips around butt, thighs, calves, neck, and arms). I saw almost no difference in my pictures.

But I forged on, and at day 60, I was down to 127.5, and I've lost an inch or more most places, and three inches off my bellybutton measurement. And more encouragingly, I could see a difference in my pictures this time, especially in the waist, but even in the thighs (which I have still lost less than an inch from, lol). Also, my pics are sports bra & undies pics. :o Don't know if that's what you're doing or if you're wearing more clothing, but it helps me to see how/where things are changing.

My weight and measurements seem to be stalled at the moment, but I'm just going to keep going, take a one-week break when I'm finished, then probably do some kind of P90x/P90x+/Tony Horton One on One hybrid to shake things up while I lose my last pounds.

Sorry if that was all too much detail, but when I was discouraged at day 30 (and ignoring all the very real fitness gains I had made, of course), I scoured the web and was encouraged by posts I saw that said, "my real results came at day 60 and day 90, and then into the 2nd round," etc. :) So keep at it, so I can keep enjoying your thread!

This is very encouraging. Thanks so much for posting your progress!

I've been toying with the idea of getting P90x but I'm wondering if I should just wait until I get to onderland first. How hard would it be for someone who is 240?

Gigi, I honestly don't know. I have never seen nor done Insanity. I believe insanity is less days (60?), but I also thought it was considered a step harder than P90X. I could totally be wrong because I haven't looked this up, but I think it goes from Power 90 -> P90X -> Insanity -> Asylum. Again, I don't know.

I see a lot of people that finish their first round of P90X and then for their second round they replace some of the easier P90X videos with Insanity videos. There is a program (I think) at beachbody.com that tells you which videos replace what.

I think if you're already in shape but a commitment-phobe you may want to consider Insanity since it's only 60 days.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more help. I think the beauty of this thread (I hope?) is that I'm not a beachbody coach, and I'm not trying to sell you on any of their stuff. I'm an average Joe (Joanne) that's giving an honest good try to this program and seeing if it actually works. Therefore, any other average Joanne can see exactly what she can expect if she starts out very out of shape and doing 0 exercise straight into this. As such, I'm not an expert of any of their products. I'll try to answer what I can, though! Hope that helps.

Okay, equipment. This I can answer.

You can get away with a set of bands and do the entire video sequence. The caveat is that for the pull ups you'll need to hook your bands on something up high. You could do a hook in your ceiling, or I believe I've read where someone just opened a door and hooked their bands across the top of that.

Now, if you want to optimize your workout, I REALLY think weights will give you a better workout. My boyfriend tried to go cheap and go with bands and he gets frustrated because the set up time for each move is longer. He has to size his loop, get it under the correct foot, etc. So, he steals my heaviest weights which I honestly thinks affects both of our progressions. I'm not getting my heaviest weights used half the time and he is not using heavy enough weights. I'm not sure where you are at with strength, but I would suggest 5 lb, 8 lb, & 10 lbs. to start. I have 2, 5, 8 & 12. My twelves are a little heavy for me. I do a few moves with them but actually wish I had 10s. My 2s are pretty worthless! I am certain I will not need higher than 12s by the end of my 90 days. If I go into a second round then I'll probably want a set of 15s as well.

As far as a pull up bar, there are a few points to note. I bought the iron gym bar for $20 at the CVS next door. It works just as well as the one you can buy from beachbody and it does everything I need. So, that's at least a cheaper option. The problem here is that it doesn't fit on all doors. I got lucky and it works like a charm at my house. I watched this before spending the $20 and I'm glad I did!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vg4dkjv8HY He goes over the assembly (lol, even after watching it I assembled backwards just like he did the first time!). He shows how to put it on your door and he explains what doors it won't work on. I have really fancy molding around my doors so I was afraid it wouldn't work, but it did. If you have the $20 I would DEFINITELY buy this. But, the videos show ALL the pull up moves with the bands as well.

A yoga mat is nice, but we went the first week or two without one. My boyfriend had left mine at his house. I finally went and bought another one and at that point he went and got my old one. After about 15 days in I went and bought a yoga block and that helped TREMENDOUSLY. I did yoga this morning and used it at least a half dozen times. It really helps you open up more. However, my boyfriend does NOT have one and he is doing okay and still seeing improvements.

I do NOT use their shake supplements or their bars. If it is important to you, you can buy supplements at the grocery store. My boyfriend likes the Special K shakes in the shakes & bars section of Dominick's (Safeway). I did pick up the strawberry atkins shake over the weekend and had my first one this morning. It has a good bit of protein and it tasted okay. I'm not wild about the shakes because they are calorie dense and I'm calorie counting, but to each their own. I think you're going to get good results without the shakes, honestly. Especially as a woman.

Okay, so out of the items to purchase, I own:

yoga mat
yoga block
pull up bar
weights - 2 lb. (<-- unnecessary) 5 lb. 8 lb. & 12 lb.

If you want to own everything *I* suggest you own, I'd get:

yoga mat
yoga block
pull up bar
weights - 5 lb. 8 lb. 10 lb.

And, if you eventually decide you want to get 12s do that then. They make adjustable weights, but they are more expensive than buying the three separate sets. Also, they take time to adjust, where as I can just pick up any weight I want and go. It's not especially important, but the weight lifting days are still just under 75 minutes (once you add in Ab Ripper X) so I prefer to not pause at all when I can.

If you want to own the least amount of things you need and still progress I recommend you get:

3 levels of bands.

I hope that helps!

Sumire, thank you so much. This is EXACTLY what I needed to hear. My boyfriend tried to give me a pep talk, but he's dropped nearly 10 lbs so it's hard to hear it from him! Plus, he's visibly different! My roommate then tried to tell me that I'm stronger, which is true, but I don't know that I honestly went into this to be stronger. I mean, I KNOW it's not a really a weight loss program, and if it were I should have at least done the lean version, but the before and after results all over their website shows weight loss. So, I was really expecting it!

But, on Saturday I weighed myself and was down to 146.5!! So, that's a seven pound weight loss. Lol, the scale is just a mess on this program. I was back up to 150 this morning, haha. GAH!

And, you're right, I would be remiss to not notice how much stronger I am. I am so much stronger! And, I really did drop a pant size. I agree, I should have taken more measurements. I also should have written down EXACTLY what part of my waist, chest, etc. I measured. I am certain my measurements were just wrong considering how my clothes fit.

Finally, it is nice hearing you say that you couldn't see much difference in your 30 day pics. I am doing it in my bikini, so I see a LOT of my body, haha. At least I did that right.

I have to be honest, I have not done well over the weekend with P90X because I was so discouraged. I skipped yesterday with an intention of doubling up one day this week. As in, I didn't do yoga yesterday, but I did it this morning and legs/back will either happen tonight or tomorrow morning. If tomorrow morning, then Kenpo will happen either tomorrow night or the next morning. We set Saturday as a DEFINITE double up day if we don't double-up beforehand. But, it gets worse. We went out to dinner on Friday night. I ordered dessert! And yesterday!!! Yesterday I had a half bottle of wine and went to Olive garden where I had salad, 3 breadsticks and mushroom ravioli. Haha. No wonder I'm at 150 this morning.

But, your pep talk helped me a TON. And, further, I don't feel good about myself after dogging it and eating like a pig. When I was watching my food consumption and hitting all of my workouts I felt REALLY good about myself each day. Proud and also just healthy. So, I'm back on the bandwagon today. I'm back to counting my calories, packing really healthy lunches and being serious. Please come back and update me on your progress. You have no idea how much your post cheered me up!

Kaonashi, when I was researching if I could handle P90X I saw a lot of people around your weight that dove right in. I think you can handle it just fine as long as you have the right expectations.

1.) You will not be able to do a lot of the exercises they give you. This isn't necessarily a weight thing, though for some it will be, as much as it's an out of shape thing. I went into this at 153.5 lbs, which is lighter, for sure. But, I went into it after four plus years of playing warcraft about four hours a day and an eight hour desk job M-F. *I* couldn't do a lot of moves. I still can't do some! It is really, REALLY frustrating to stand there and watch them work and feeling weak and helpless. It's just the nature of the beast, though. Some of them I've already learned to do. I've got quite a bit more progress needed though. (An example is my nemesis the one armed push-up!) For MOST of the videos he gives you modifications. And, I'll be honest, I pretty much do all of the modified moves. In yoga he doesn't do as good of a job giving you modifications, though. He still does on a few moves, but there are a lot that either you can do it or you can't. (Crane, royal dancer, twisting-half-moon-that-I-"currently-struggle-with")

2.) You will not look like the people in the advertisements after 90 days. You probably won't look like them after 180 days. There are a few people that started around your weight and ended up looking like the website's after photos, but it was after FOUR rounds of P90X. In fact, excepting people that were REALLY in shape to begin with, I don't see anyone's 90 day after results looking like the results on beachbody. They're all noticeably different, though. And, I seriously think I have a REAL shot at looking decently close to their after shots when I complete two full rounds if I am serious about my diet at the same time.

3.) Commitment. This thing is a MAJOR commitment. It's essentially making it your hobby. I think my co-worker is fed up with hearing about P90X, lol. You do it for a minimum of an hour a day EVERY SINGLE DAY. Kenpo, Plyo and Stretch are the light days as they only take an hour. All of the other days are 75 minutes except yoga which is 90. GAH! And it's every stinkin' day. As you read above, I missed a day yesterday. Now I've got to fit that workout in somewhere this week. I've had to sacrifice a few things in order to get my workout in. Namely, I go to bed around 10pm now and get up at 5am in order to do it. So, you think it won't be that bad, but after about two weeks you're really kinda ticked off that it sucks up so much of your time. I really psyched myself up for the commitment and was prepared for the anger, haha. You just have to have the expectations that it's going to be a major part of your life if you do it.

4.) You CAN do it. Despite my major commitment warning above, I have to tell you, it's not hard. All you have to do is just walk over to your dvd player and hit play. There are days you have no idea how you even hit the power button on that thing, and you convince yourself you're just going to stand there and watch them work out. And, magically, (seriously, magically) you just start working out with them. Then the hour is over with and you're sweaty and gross and you have no idea how you found it in you, but you did. That's the part of P90X that I LOVE LOVE LOVE. I somehow manage to commit and I didn't even know I had that kind of commitment in me. It feels SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. So, you can definitely do it. I've quit at a LOT of things in my life, but I'm doing this. Anyone can.

I hope that helps. :)

Day 32 - Week 5 Day 4 - Yoga

So, as I stated above, I skipped yesterday. So, I did my yoga this morning. No worries! I am going to double-up at some point this week and stay on track. This is the second time I've done this and I swore the first time around that I wouldn't do it again. See what happens the second you let yourself slide? This is exactly why I never wanted to skip the first time around. If you decide to do P90X, I suggest you don't give yourself the room to skip. Like I said, I see a lot of people on the beachbody forums that skip once or twice and then end up just quitting. However, I made it up the first time I skipped and I will make this one up as well! That's the difference between me and the quitters!

I would like to make it up tonight, but we'll see how my boyfriend feels about it. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to rain tonight, though, so that should help me in convincing him to do the make up this evening.

ANYWAY, yoga! I felt lazy after completely skipping yesterday so I tried very hard. The problem is, I went to the beach yesterday and apparently did a poor job with my sunblock. I am all splotchy! Some spots got zero sun and other spots are burnt to a crisp. I look like I have a disease. Anyway, the back of my right arm is the worst so it made the shoulder stand impossible. I am really sad about that because I am AWESOME at the shoulder stand. I also was forced to do wheel instead of bridge, which isn't a bad thing. Oh, and I couldn't do crane which I'm sad about because it's one of the poses I'm working hard to improve. However, I did my best.

It was up to 90 degrees in Chicago yesterday and I never turned on the ac. (To be fair, I live in a garden apartment.) My house was at around 75 this morning which is warmer than what I'm used to. I had sweat dripping ALL OVER me during the first 45 minutes. I doubt the sunburn helped. I convinced myself this kept my muscles warm, and maybe it did because I do think I was stretching a little better today.

My biceps and back are definitely sore from Saturday, but that just made the stretches feel much better. I still am flat out terrible with the last sequence of the first half that ends in the twisting half moon. The balance postures are one thing, but the amount of time you're on one leg is ridiculous. My leg just peters out with 45 seconds left to go. My goal is to just stand on the leg the entire time at minimum by the 90 day mark. :)

So, the sunburn held me back, but I did see marked improvement on some stretches. I'm nearly halfway down my foot on the one leg hamstring stretch! And, I can completely touch my toes on the two leg hamstring stretch. Oh, and I held royal dancer for the entire time. I have to tell you, yoga really grows on you once you can start doing some of the moves. The first 45 minutes are still a MAJOR workout, but it felt good.

I like that I felt so guilty about being lazy when I woke up this morning after skipping yesterday. To me it means that my body is enjoying all of this working out and that it now feels like it needs it. After all, it's been more than 28 days so that means it's a habit, right?

Now if only I could get my eating into a habit. I'm going to try harder this month to flesh that out. The diet MUST be done hand-in-hand with P90X and I am NOT doing well with that part.

I think the key is to know that it's hard to be perfect at this program if you were FAR from perfect when you started it. It's a learning curve, and I am learning. If I can get my body used to working out an hour every day and used to not ordering more than a glass of wine and dessert when I go out then I will have succeeded. But, I'm not going to just start up and be perfect. The key is to improve.

Thank you so much!

That helped A LOT. Thanks so much for responding!

I think Insanity does not use any equipment, just your own body weight. I have been told that it also has alot of jumping and squats in it, which I would have to modify or skip. So I didn't buy it, but my gym is getting it soon. I've done the P90x kenpo cardio and intervals, and I can do part/most of the things on there but not all. Everybody that I know who has done P90x faithfully has lost weight and muscled up! I've also read that P90X is more longer workouts on specific muscle groups where the other programs like Insanity are more general overall and quicker workouts.