Monday, September 14, 2009

P 90 OMG

So I'm not really a distance-shopper, and I'm *definitely* not an infomercial shopper. But something about the P 90 X late night infomercial has been intriguing me. Of course the goal of any infomercial is to convince you that right now, your life would be vastly improved by purchasing whatever product the commercial is selling. This has never happened to me before in all my 38 years of watching television, but this ripped, toned, bringing-it guy spoke to me at just the right time, and I brought it...I mean, I bought it. (If you don't know what "bringing it" is, go check out the P 90 X/BeachBody Website).

90 Days of Aaaaaaaaaah!

So the videos arrived on Friday, and I decided I would start the program today, Monday. For those of you who do not watch late night television, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the series, a quick summary: 13 different DVDs, each targeting a different body part or workout: chest and back, "Ab Ripper X', Yoga, Kempo, Cardio, Legs, etc etc. 1 hour a day (for the most part; the workouts vary in exact length but most seem to range from 45 to 80 minutes). 1 rest day per week. For 90 days. The "system" also comes with a nutritional program, which is pretty close to how I've been eating these days anyway, so that part should be easy.


Is She Ready? Yes She Is!

I must say, I am pleased that over the past 3.5 months, I've gone from not being able to do 3 step-ups on the bench without collapsing, to being able to do 20 reps with 20 pounds in each hand, without feeling like my legs and lungs are going to disintegrate. So when I did the pre-program fitness test I was little concerned that I wasn't ready yet. After all, I've only gone from TOTALLY sedentary to active within the past 4 months. And this is an extreme program. But as I went through the series of exercises designed to confirm or deny that the exerciser is "ready" for P 90 X - lo and behold, I was! I could do the required 3 pushups that women are expected to be able to do (snicker, I can do 12 without too much grunting and swearing, up from ZERO four months ago). And no, those were NOT "girl" push ups, thank you very much! The 25 "in and outs" (sit down, arms at sides, legs push in and out) were pretty easy, and I surpassed the 60 second wall squat by 30 seconds and didn't slide to the floor or anywhere close to it.

So survey says - DING, I am ready!

Push Pull Heave Ho!

I am so ready. I promised myself I would start today, and life got in the way, as it has a habit of doing. Unexpected errands. Unexpected conflicts. A 15 minute catnap turned into a 2 hour dreamfest and I woke up at 7pm wondering if I'd be able to fit this insanity into the next 5 hours. Then I remembered I'd promised myself that I would fit it in to today, and that made things very easy.

So at 930PM EST, I brought the laptop out to my gym room, put in the DVD, and got to work. I'd already watched the 1st workout video last night, so I knew what was coming. Push ups, pull ups, back flys and something called "Heavy Pants", a funny name for a fun back scorcher that I impressed myself by doing 20 reps at 20 pounds. But I digress...

I'd done 12 pushups before, so I figured I'd be able to do 2 or 3 of each of the 10 or so sets of different styles without collapsing on the floor. By the end of the video, I'd done about 150. Yes one hundred fifty NON-KNEE-ASSISTED push ups, including declines, military, diamond, etc. That's a big feat for a girl. I'm proud.

Pull-Ups, With Leg and Chair Assistance

The pullups are a different story. I can't do one - not yet. To add to the challenge, the doorway in the gym room is about 10 feet high, so I have to stand on a chair just to reach the bar. Which works out well, as once way to ease into your first pullup is to stand on a chair and assist yourself upward with one leg as you pull upward. So I did this pull-up equivalent of the knee-assisted pushup about ... How many times? I'd estimate between all the different grips that were featured in the workout, about 100 times. 100 assisted pullups equals one unassisted, right? :)

I'll admit, I had to press pause and catch my breath two or three times during the video. I think it took me about an hour and 15 minutes to get through the 1 hour video. I also had to rewind a couple of times, because with some of the pullup/chinup exercises, I wasn't even situated up on the chair before the video people were done and moving onto the next exercise. But I am pleased to say that despite the obstacles the day presented, I got through the first workout in the series. AND I also had enough energy left at the end to get through the scheduled "Ab Ripper X" which you do 3x a week. It was HARD! But it got done.

And now I've only got 89 to go and I'll be RIPPED! I mean, that's what the infomercial said :)

Tomorrow is plyometrics - I watched the first few reps of each exercise by skipping ahead on the DVD and while it looks challenging cardio-wise, it seems very doable. NOT EASY. But doable.

I'll post again tomorrow and let you know how it goes.

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