As anyone who has used P90X for the full plan... and then some, you know that after a while you are just bored with exercise again. You probably thought that wasn't likely to happen when you first started P90X, but suddenly there you were. I was there.
There are just so many times you can watch the same thing over and over. I had even gone to just popping in my iPod, and going through it that way for more entertainment, even after months and months break from the program (and on to custom ones designed for myself.) It's not that I am being down on the original P90X, I'm not. I just get bored after a while. I will say that P90X took me longer than other programs to get bored with, so it's still ahead of other DVDs in my opinion.
I was able to go through the P90X Plus routines, much like I did with the original P90X. So, I'm reviewing it. Many have asked me about it, from my earlier review of P90X (and no, I still haven't done Power 90, aka P90. I've had three people ask me this week alone about the regular Power 90. I don't have it yet, and I'm buried under life right now. When I do get it, I'll review it as well.)
One important point to make to everyone: you must have the original P90X to put this P90X Plus program together. It's set up to basically be additional DVDs to go with the P90X original set. You still incorporate lots of the original workouts with the new ones. You also need to have completed P90X. The reason for this is that the workouts are generally shorter, rely on you having already pretty much mastered a few things with resulting mechanical ability... and to be blunt, I felt like they were sort of a maintenance routine more than a "change everything!" kind of set up. But then, it would be if you had gone through the whole P90X program once... or twice... or six times. It's not a program for newbies, even more so than the original program for that reason. As a newbie, you wouldn't be able to do some of the more advanced moves and simply miss out, and thus get little benefit out of the new routines.
There is a saying "it's harder to maintain than to change." I used to apply that as "it's harder to maintain than to be actively losing weight." This is 100% true. I remember doubting this rather strongly, thinking I'd just like the opportunity to maintain. When you are 70 lbs from where you are suppose to be, and you just want to slap those "it's haaaard to maintain" people upside the head. You would just be so grateful to be strong and healthy and look it, that it would NOT be hard to maintain. Those people just didn't understand.
It turns out that those people are right. It is incredibly hard to maintain after you make dramatic changes. You work hard, you see these new results developing, and it's easy and exciting to keep going. But once you are fit and healthy the changes are very small and you realize that you still have to keep working out hard. That's where most people fall off the side of the mountain and lose a lot of their results along with their motivation.
So, what do you do? The answer is that you have to keep the actual activity interesting, and you have to find a way to use your newly fit body that isn't about creating changes. That really is the key. Find exercise that you think is fun (or at least fairly tolerable on a permanent level) and find activities that you can use the strong body for that make it all worth it (take up rock climbing, join a soccer league, start running races, take up kayaking or rowing, whatever.) P90X Plus is not the rock-climbing-activity type purpose you are looking for. But it could be the "tolerable exercise" routine that you need after you have your results from the original program and are sort of hitting a wall, as long as you really love P90X.
P90X Plus consists of four new routines (interval, total body, kenpo, upper body), and just to torture everyone there is a new extra ab routine too. Because the first one wasn't bad enough to have to do three times a week. *ahem* Alright, I know. I just loath doing abs. Not because I have some sort of belief that you shouldn't... just because I don't like doing them. (Hey, I'm human. I don't like going to the dentist either, but I do that too.)
I call P90X Plus more of a maintenance routine because it has a shorter, more cardio kind of feel to it. It just seems... well, "lighter" for lack of a better word. Many of the moves incorporated are more advanced, but they're fast, and you run through them quickly. Even the production is different, with a brighter feel. I have to be completely honest here, I was rather underwhelmed with it. I didn't have that "wow, they did a really great job with this whole set" as I did with the original program. In their defense, this isn't a whole program. It's just a supplement to the other one.
What I did like was the intervals being incorporated. I'm a big harper on the intervals. I believe in them. I have personally seen what they can do for my physical results and abilities, as well as for clients I train. Interval training is generally hard, and people whine about it, but seriously you are hard pressed to get a bigger bang for your buck (invested time.) The intervals in P90X Plus are not as intense as I am used to working out when I do them, but the workout lasts a little longer than my normal interval training does, too.
My favorite of the original P90X workouts has always been the Kenpo, and P90X Plus has a new one. This felt more like an aerobics/kick boxing/peppy-class than the feel of the Kenpo from the first one. Not entirely... but the impression was there. Still, I did enjoy it. There are moves in the other workouts that I completely get a kick out of too.
In particular there is a move called the Gladiator. Now, maybe everyone has done this before in other classes or workouts, or maybe you were just seriously obsessed with the Russell Crow movie and were pretending you were fighting gilded warriors in your back yard. But, I am not someone who has done this before. If you don't know me, let me say this: coordination with all four limbs at once is not my strong suit. I'm the woman who would take out the entire back section of a dance line or aerobics class tripping over my own feet. I sooth my ego by rationalizing that as an artist I am exceptionally right hand dominate, and all my coordination has gone there (don't burst my delusional bubble, it works for me.)
Still, I was determined to do this Gladiator move. It just looks like fun, and well... I admit it just looks cool. Alright, when they do it, it looks cool. I am highly embarrassed to admit that the first time I tried it, in mid-air, my son came around the door with a "mommy?" and time seemed to slow. It was like something out of a spoof of the Matrix. I contorted, my head turning in his direction, my body clearly going another, and somehow I had gotten good air on my leap too... right into the toy box. Well, one foot anyway.
"Mommy, whatcha doing? Were you trying to jump into the toy box? Can I do that too? Oh please??!?!"
It occurs to me that while I will have many a story to embarrass my son with when he starts dating, that the moment he realizes he has just as many about me and thus fantastic blackmail material, I am in serious trouble.
Oh, another thing about the toy boxes (the only place for me to workout with DVDs is my basement living/toy room area) - they worked great for another of my favorite moves. In one of the workouts you need two chairs. You have to do a slanted push-up between them, then swing your legs through and into a dip, then back again. I love this move, but I don't have two normal sized chairs. What I did have was two Fischer Price toy boxes, one blue and one pink. I have to tell you, those worked out perfectly for the move... even if I probably did look a little (a lot) silly swinging like George of the Jungle between them.
I may be uncoordinated, but I'm resourceful!
I found it interesting that the DVDs prominently featured Bow-Flex interchangeable dumbbells in the routines. As I had said in my original review of P90X, the timing was difficult with my standard plates (it's even worse with P90X Plus now that they've caught on to swift-changing weights.) I recommended a set called Power Blocks (which I still don't own, because I cannot afford them, but I have used them in a gym and love them), and it seems that the group over at P90X has teamed up with Bow-Flex. As a matter of fact, the ads for Bow-Flex on the new DVDs (including during workout pitching of them) were rather annoying. But in the end, this is a business for them and they're partners with Bow-Flex for the quick change dumbbells. The only thing I have to say about that is that hopefully Bow-Flex has improved their design.
You see, I would love to have a set of dumbbells that I could quickly shift through the various weights with. I have spent years with my set of plates with a screw on lock at each end. I have sliced open my foot with that lock at least four times (sharp edges, heavy lock, dropped it.) I have dropped plates countless times on my feet (luckily not my head.) I just have your standard kind of set, with lots of different sized plates that can be rather big and bulky. Basically, I have the caveman equipment, but I just don't have a lot of money to invest in these gadgets even though I may want to.
I was able to check out Power Blocks and the Bow-Flex version a long while back in a store. The Bow-Flex dumbbells were fine, and then suddenly it just released one of the plates, out of nowhere - Right onto my FOOT! One of the problems I was looking to avoid in the first place! I looked closer to see if it was operator error (very high probably with me involved.) I got the store involved in it, and Mr. Savy. Unfortunately, the only thing we discovered was that we were able to make the error happen repeatedly, and that it wasn't me. So, I steered clear of them.
I don't know if Bow-Flex has updated them or not. I sincerely hope so, but due to my experience with them I cannot recommend them. I need to know when I hold a weight over my head that it isn't suddenly going to decide to drop a 20 lbs segment, because that is just the sort of thing that would happen to me. I'm superior at injuring myself all on my own, I don't need any help in that department.
I'm sure people are going to come out of the woodwork to yell at me how much they disagree with something in this review. That they love Bow-Flex, or something else. That's fine, because here is the thing: I don't work for Beachbody, I don't work for Power Blocks, and I have had no contact with Bow-Flex as a company at all. So, this is simply my opinion. I link to an online store which sells the P90X programs because they offered a savings to those looking for one, and were nice to me when Beachbody (a representative that emailed me and identified themselves as such, I believe the person was just an operator that took orders) took the time to be incredibly rude. And that is something else to consider: I am not particularly impressed with the Beachbody company as a whole. So, if I like one of the routines, it's because I genuinely like it and would recommend it - even though I was treated as I was (and believe me, I tend to stew and hold grudges. It would be a lot easier if the products were just worthless, because then I wouldn't have to temper my irritation with them while trying to give an honest review.)
So, bottom line: did I like P90X Plus? Once I adjusted my mental mind-set to categorizing it as "additions" and more of a "maintenance" kind of set-up, I think it's good for that purpose IF you really like P90X. If you are looking for the "wow" of a whole new program, this just isn't it. But then, it's not advertised as that anyway. I'm not sure where my brain was with my expectations, or why - but once I adjusted, it makes sense. So, I'm not raving about it, but it's not bad either. I think it's a good option for those fit people who want to stick with P90X style workouts but are simply bogged down with the amount of time that goes into it (these routines are shorter, averaging around 40 minutes,) and just need something to liven up the monotony without shifting gears entirely.
Is it going to solve the long term dedication problem? No, because you need to find an active pursuit that you enjoy that puts that strong body of yours to use. Being healthy is about living your life healthy. You are not a hamster on a wheel, so don't expect yourself to be thrilled with just DVDs for the rest of your life. Get out there! Go ride a bike! Go for a hike! Surf! Swim! Whatever!!! But go DO IT! Be that person who is envied by your friends because you are showing off your pictures from the weekend where you suddenly decided to climb to the top of a mountain just because.
You'll never look back once you put all the pieces into place, and then you'll finally be wondering why anyone thinks that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is hard. It isn't, you simply have to learn to live first.
Showing posts with label P90X. Show all posts
Showing posts with label P90X. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
P90X PowerStands Push Up Bars
I cannot tell you how much I love these P90X PowerStands! Forget P90X for a second, these things stand alone as an excellent piece of exercise equipment, that I would want even if I had never heard of P90X or P90X Plus (which is the program you will absolutely need them for.)
Here are some visuals for reference. I have my old stupid (typical) push-up bars I picked up at a sporting goods store about two years ago in the photos for reference so you can see the difference:
The biggest thing I love about them is that they do NOT roll. I have literally sprained my wrist when one of my bars rolled on me. I was terrified to do dive-bombers and Hindu push-ups with my dinky push-up bars. These PowerStands do not even wiggle. I am also someone who often has a hard time getting to a 90 degree angle with my form (for whatever reason, possibly my wrists, or maybe I simply stink at push-ups. It's probably both.) But I have to tell you I have no problem going deeper than 90 degrees with my push-ups using the PowerStands. My wrists don't hurt at all, which has been a huge problem in the past for me, and somehow being higher up just enables me to watch my form better.
I was worried about the PowerStands construction, especially after my horrible push-up bars, but these things are totally solid. I'm not concerned about them breaking or pieces coming apart, as they're a heavy (literally and figuratively) duty metal solid piece of equipment, with a non-slip surface on the bottom so you can use them on a hard floor. The PowerStands are perfect for doing various types of push-ups and other core exercises (as you'll see if you decide to go with P90X Plus, you really need them for that program. I got by without them, but truthfully I needed these.)
I admit, I have an exercise equipment addiction. But, that being said, I'm not kidding: it's about time decent push-up bars were out there. There is nothing quite like having a GOOD piece of exercise equipment, and there is nothing so awful as having a bad one. So I'm very happy to say that these P90X PowerStands are, in one word, excellent!
Here are some visuals for reference. I have my old stupid (typical) push-up bars I picked up at a sporting goods store about two years ago in the photos for reference so you can see the difference:
The biggest thing I love about them is that they do NOT roll. I have literally sprained my wrist when one of my bars rolled on me. I was terrified to do dive-bombers and Hindu push-ups with my dinky push-up bars. These PowerStands do not even wiggle. I am also someone who often has a hard time getting to a 90 degree angle with my form (for whatever reason, possibly my wrists, or maybe I simply stink at push-ups. It's probably both.) But I have to tell you I have no problem going deeper than 90 degrees with my push-ups using the PowerStands. My wrists don't hurt at all, which has been a huge problem in the past for me, and somehow being higher up just enables me to watch my form better.
I was worried about the PowerStands construction, especially after my horrible push-up bars, but these things are totally solid. I'm not concerned about them breaking or pieces coming apart, as they're a heavy (literally and figuratively) duty metal solid piece of equipment, with a non-slip surface on the bottom so you can use them on a hard floor. The PowerStands are perfect for doing various types of push-ups and other core exercises (as you'll see if you decide to go with P90X Plus, you really need them for that program. I got by without them, but truthfully I needed these.)
I admit, I have an exercise equipment addiction. But, that being said, I'm not kidding: it's about time decent push-up bars were out there. There is nothing quite like having a GOOD piece of exercise equipment, and there is nothing so awful as having a bad one. So I'm very happy to say that these P90X PowerStands are, in one word, excellent!
Friday, February 08, 2008
P90X Nutritional Supplement Review
There has been a large response to my P90X Review, and many have asked about the P90X nutritional supplements. When I purchased P90X, I did not try any of the supplements offered for the program. However, I recently was able to try out two of the nutritional supplements offered when I received my copy of P90X Plus (I will be reviewing it shortly): the P90X Peak Recovery Formula, and the P90X Peak Performance Bars.
The P90X Peak Recovery Formula is a powder mix that you add to 12 fl. oz. of water. The workout plan advises participants to utilize it during and after a workout, much the same way that on-the-shelf standards like Gatorade are advertised. I'm not a huge fan of Gatorade, or it's second cousins of sports drinks out there on the market. I think I may have burned myself out on them with my overly long marathon training. I just don't like the taste.
It's for that reason that I am rather surprised to report that I don't hate the taste of the P90X Peak Recovery Formula drink. As a matter of fact, it sort of reminded me of an Orange Julius with a hint of Tang. I know, I'm dating myself mentioning Tang, but I used to love it as a kid. There was nothing quite like walking around with an orange tongue in second grade. It was a social status thing, I think.
As far as Orange Julius goes, I loved them. I loved them so much, I ended up with brain freeze on a regular basis (if you have had an Orange Julius, you'll understand.) So, combining the two tastes, heavier on the Orange Julius than the Tang, was a nice surprise. I liked it. Not only did I like it, but my husband did too... and he ran off with it and didn't give it back. So, I'm going to report that he gave it a thumbs up as well.
Once my husband had gotten into my P90X goodies, he also found my P90X Peak Performance Bars. I had to pry them away from him, and then finally bargained him down to splitting them so we could both try them (and telling him repeatedly that no, I did not have more recovery drink. No, I'm not hiding it from him. Focus please?) We had both the Berry and the Cafe Mocha flavors.
Now, I may have recently found coffee drinking not as horrible as I normally do, but the truth is that I am just not a fan of coffee flavored anything. My husband, however, loves coffee. So, I only tried a small bite, but he ate the whole thing. He really liked the Cafe Mocha bar. But even more, he and I agree that the Berry flavor of the P90X Peak Performance Bars is excellent.
The texture isn't hard like some of those bars out there. It's more like... a cereal bar. I used to love Nutrigrain Cereal Bars, the blueberry in particular. The P90X Peak Performance Bars are very similar, not only in texture, but a little bit in taste too. The berry flavor was excellent, and not barely there as the flavors in some bars are. This was something I would have again.
That being said, the P90X Peak Performance Bars are 260 calories, 6g fat, 37g carb, and 18 protein. That's a LOT for a snack for most women. Or it's low for a meal (you shouldn't be having a bar for a meal anyway. Don't do it.) So watch the caloric intake and make sure you are in line with your goals. If you are at a level of maintenance, it may not be a problem. It's really going to depend on you.
The P90X Peak Recovery Formula drink is 220 calories, with 1g fat, 43 g carb, and 10g protein. Why is it high in carb and lower on the protein? Because it's a recovery formula, and your body wants those carbs to recover quick. But it needs the protein too, and it's in there. I should also add that the mix has 1,330% of your daily value of Vitamin E, and 750% of Vitamin C, as well as 60% of your Vitamin A.
Why point this out? Because if you are taking other vitamins and supplements you need to know how much. You CAN take too much in certain instances. So be aware and do your research to find out what you are taking and what is in the food you consume. This is the case with anything you eat that is "fortified", you can easily take in way too much of a certain nutrient and studies are now showing that some of these can have adverse effects. No one is going to police your intake but you, and so many things are fortified now, from breakfast cereals and orange juice to pasta and milk.
So, all in all - minus the coffee flavor (but hey, if you like that then my husband says it's good) I liked both the P90X Peak Recovery Formula drink and the P90X Peak Performance Bars.
The P90X Peak Recovery Formula is a powder mix that you add to 12 fl. oz. of water. The workout plan advises participants to utilize it during and after a workout, much the same way that on-the-shelf standards like Gatorade are advertised. I'm not a huge fan of Gatorade, or it's second cousins of sports drinks out there on the market. I think I may have burned myself out on them with my overly long marathon training. I just don't like the taste.
It's for that reason that I am rather surprised to report that I don't hate the taste of the P90X Peak Recovery Formula drink. As a matter of fact, it sort of reminded me of an Orange Julius with a hint of Tang. I know, I'm dating myself mentioning Tang, but I used to love it as a kid. There was nothing quite like walking around with an orange tongue in second grade. It was a social status thing, I think.
As far as Orange Julius goes, I loved them. I loved them so much, I ended up with brain freeze on a regular basis (if you have had an Orange Julius, you'll understand.) So, combining the two tastes, heavier on the Orange Julius than the Tang, was a nice surprise. I liked it. Not only did I like it, but my husband did too... and he ran off with it and didn't give it back. So, I'm going to report that he gave it a thumbs up as well.
Once my husband had gotten into my P90X goodies, he also found my P90X Peak Performance Bars. I had to pry them away from him, and then finally bargained him down to splitting them so we could both try them (and telling him repeatedly that no, I did not have more recovery drink. No, I'm not hiding it from him. Focus please?) We had both the Berry and the Cafe Mocha flavors.
Now, I may have recently found coffee drinking not as horrible as I normally do, but the truth is that I am just not a fan of coffee flavored anything. My husband, however, loves coffee. So, I only tried a small bite, but he ate the whole thing. He really liked the Cafe Mocha bar. But even more, he and I agree that the Berry flavor of the P90X Peak Performance Bars is excellent.
The texture isn't hard like some of those bars out there. It's more like... a cereal bar. I used to love Nutrigrain Cereal Bars, the blueberry in particular. The P90X Peak Performance Bars are very similar, not only in texture, but a little bit in taste too. The berry flavor was excellent, and not barely there as the flavors in some bars are. This was something I would have again.
That being said, the P90X Peak Performance Bars are 260 calories, 6g fat, 37g carb, and 18 protein. That's a LOT for a snack for most women. Or it's low for a meal (you shouldn't be having a bar for a meal anyway. Don't do it.) So watch the caloric intake and make sure you are in line with your goals. If you are at a level of maintenance, it may not be a problem. It's really going to depend on you.
The P90X Peak Recovery Formula drink is 220 calories, with 1g fat, 43 g carb, and 10g protein. Why is it high in carb and lower on the protein? Because it's a recovery formula, and your body wants those carbs to recover quick. But it needs the protein too, and it's in there. I should also add that the mix has 1,330% of your daily value of Vitamin E, and 750% of Vitamin C, as well as 60% of your Vitamin A.
Why point this out? Because if you are taking other vitamins and supplements you need to know how much. You CAN take too much in certain instances. So be aware and do your research to find out what you are taking and what is in the food you consume. This is the case with anything you eat that is "fortified", you can easily take in way too much of a certain nutrient and studies are now showing that some of these can have adverse effects. No one is going to police your intake but you, and so many things are fortified now, from breakfast cereals and orange juice to pasta and milk.
So, all in all - minus the coffee flavor (but hey, if you like that then my husband says it's good) I liked both the P90X Peak Recovery Formula drink and the P90X Peak Performance Bars.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Doin' the Dance
I had an interesting experience yesterday. I don't really ever drink coffee, but over the past 6 months or so I have found the fancy flavored kind to be not too bad, and effective for keeping me up and moving when I'm desperate (i.e. about once a month... maybe.) Still, there is just something about the taste, a sort of sourness, that I do not like. That applies to all coffees, except a holiday spiced one that my husband found.
I had some of that yesterday and I thought it was great. So great, it turns out, that I didn't pay attention to how much I was having over a period of time. It was only when the lights started to sparkle before my eyes, and I realized I was bouncing up and down on the tips of my toes that I clued into the fact that something about me was... off. You know that scene in the Disney movie George of the Jungle? The one where he eats coffee straight from the can and starts zipping around saying "javajavajavajavajava!" That was me. Seriously, has anyone else ever had an experience with caffeine (I assume it was only the caffeine, is there anything else it could be?) that was similar to OD'ing on something much more serious?
It kinda freaked me out to be honest. Plus I made the interesting discovery that too much caffeine does not equal more work done. It actually causes less, because you are darting around and looking at the pretty lights, and then OOO! What's that over there? And must flip through 600 channels before the number changes on the clock, and what about cooking something? Right on! Lets cook something! Oh, but maybe I should go check and see if the lawn tractor is winterized because snow is coming and we'll need to plow, but maybe I could organize the toys in the garage before I get there, and wouldn't it be nice to read a book? Oh, but after I fold 16 baskets of laundry of course, and maybe redecorate the living room...
Even though I accomplished nothing yesterday, I am declaring today a painting day (so, I will be posting what I am up to today on Color Me Kyra) because I need to chill out. I haven't been sleeping well (even before the coffee) for a couple of weeks now. It's been bad dreams, or physical issues like I woke up the other night with my left shoulder out of joint. I thought my kids screaming in the night was the only thing to bring me from deep slumber to instant clarity, but it turns out that the excruciating pain of a shoulder trying to divorce itself from your body has the same effect!
Just look at all the stuff I'm learning lately!
So, it's a painting day. Yes, I have a ton of work to do for classes, and it's a big deal. Yes, the house is a disaster. But I HAVE to paint, or I think I might literally end up twitching on the floor babbling about sugarplum homework fairies and little laundry elves. It's really an issue for public safety, I'm thinking.
Switching gears, because my end of year plan has changed I plan on going a whole round of P90X classic, with a sub week break from Christmas to New Years. It was pointed out to me by a friend that I never take breaks unless I am sick, and that isn't really a break. It's funny because as a trainer I advocate body breaks to my clients as well, and I certainly wouldn't let them get away with claiming illnesses were breaks. I just find it hard to go through a week chilling out and just taking walks and relaxing type stuff. Where is the blood sweat and tears, I ask you? I suppose we're all a little harder on ourselves than others about some things. This one is apparently mine. Christmas is usually my normal break that I manage to take anyway, so it works out in multiple ways.
Additionally, I have been getting some emailed questions on how to handle the holiday dining situation. Some people want a menu that is healthy to offer for thanksgiving, and others seem to want permission to go on a week long binge with artery choking items that cannot possibly exist in nature. They want to know where I stand, what I advocate. Well, alright then! Here it is: Moderation.
Do I think you should make a 100% perfectly healthy refined tiny portion meal for Thanksgiving? If it's more than just you at the table, the answer is no. Do I think you should go all out and try to see if you can stroke out on Aunt Suzie's gravy and pie? No. I think the first thing everyone needs to remember is that the holidays are about the PEOPLE that you are WITH or wish you could be. NOT FOOD.
Every holiday, no matter what it has been warped into by mass retailers and modern life, is about connection to others; whether it be your family, your significant other, your neighbors, your country, your servicemen, your government, whatever. Food is the garnish on the plate of personal interaction and appreciation of those people in your life who make a difference either from afar or in your own backyard. Do NOT forget that.
Now, noting that we can move on to the food. Yes, food is a huge part of every celebration. It has been, my guess, since the dawn of time. It's because we need food to survive, so celebrating and feeding each other is an act of caring and compassion for ourselves and each other. Stuffing ourselves is an act of disrespecting ourselves in the midst of something that was meant to be good. It doesn't make you feel good, and it doesn't make your company feel good either.
So, what do you put out on the table? How about both types of dishes, healthy and not? Make options for all, without exclusion. You don't have to please everyone, but not every dish has to be 100% healthy, or 100% unhealthy. You will have options you can exercise to make you feel as though you were not left out, but not uncomfortable either. Double bonus, right there! Also realize that most of the traditional dishes at a holiday dinner can be modified without a loss in taste (some actually become more flavorful) by eliminating the nasty things in them like lard and butter. Use spices, use low-fat alternatives when you can. And when you can't, accept it and don't vilify the selection.
One day of moderation with enjoyment of the food and the people will not derail you. I challenge those of you who are out there trying to lose weight to continue to do so, but without deprivation or over indulgence on the holiday. I challenge you to enjoy the company more than the pie, the conversation more than the mashed potatoes. Not to avoid them, but to learn that there are other sweet treats beyond what you put in your mouth. And lastly, if you are having problems and find yourself seriously contemplating diving head first into the stuffing and not looking back for the next couple of days ask yourself whether you want to be moving forward with your health/fitness/life next week or fixing all the damage you did once you finally come up for air.
Enjoyment is NOT based on quantity. Think about exercise and how important it is that you do a movement CORRECTLY with correct form, rather than an extra set. It's because your body benefits from doing it correctly more than it does with the bad set (in fact the bad set can actually be worse for you in the long run by setting back your progress.) Quality is more important than quality. The same is applicable to EVERY aspect of your life.
We live in a world where more is better. It's a lie. A lie of marketing, of media, of perception. More is just more, and more can mean worse. Don't make a "more mistake" this week of holiday celebrations or any of the others to follow. Make a decision to enjoy your life to the fullest. This means without deprivation, but without over-indulgence. When given a choice, pick your own best option and you'll have something to really smile about at those family get-togethers.
I had some of that yesterday and I thought it was great. So great, it turns out, that I didn't pay attention to how much I was having over a period of time. It was only when the lights started to sparkle before my eyes, and I realized I was bouncing up and down on the tips of my toes that I clued into the fact that something about me was... off. You know that scene in the Disney movie George of the Jungle? The one where he eats coffee straight from the can and starts zipping around saying "javajavajavajavajava!" That was me. Seriously, has anyone else ever had an experience with caffeine (I assume it was only the caffeine, is there anything else it could be?) that was similar to OD'ing on something much more serious?
It kinda freaked me out to be honest. Plus I made the interesting discovery that too much caffeine does not equal more work done. It actually causes less, because you are darting around and looking at the pretty lights, and then OOO! What's that over there? And must flip through 600 channels before the number changes on the clock, and what about cooking something? Right on! Lets cook something! Oh, but maybe I should go check and see if the lawn tractor is winterized because snow is coming and we'll need to plow, but maybe I could organize the toys in the garage before I get there, and wouldn't it be nice to read a book? Oh, but after I fold 16 baskets of laundry of course, and maybe redecorate the living room...
Even though I accomplished nothing yesterday, I am declaring today a painting day (so, I will be posting what I am up to today on Color Me Kyra) because I need to chill out. I haven't been sleeping well (even before the coffee) for a couple of weeks now. It's been bad dreams, or physical issues like I woke up the other night with my left shoulder out of joint. I thought my kids screaming in the night was the only thing to bring me from deep slumber to instant clarity, but it turns out that the excruciating pain of a shoulder trying to divorce itself from your body has the same effect!
Just look at all the stuff I'm learning lately!
So, it's a painting day. Yes, I have a ton of work to do for classes, and it's a big deal. Yes, the house is a disaster. But I HAVE to paint, or I think I might literally end up twitching on the floor babbling about sugarplum homework fairies and little laundry elves. It's really an issue for public safety, I'm thinking.
Switching gears, because my end of year plan has changed I plan on going a whole round of P90X classic, with a sub week break from Christmas to New Years. It was pointed out to me by a friend that I never take breaks unless I am sick, and that isn't really a break. It's funny because as a trainer I advocate body breaks to my clients as well, and I certainly wouldn't let them get away with claiming illnesses were breaks. I just find it hard to go through a week chilling out and just taking walks and relaxing type stuff. Where is the blood sweat and tears, I ask you? I suppose we're all a little harder on ourselves than others about some things. This one is apparently mine. Christmas is usually my normal break that I manage to take anyway, so it works out in multiple ways.
Additionally, I have been getting some emailed questions on how to handle the holiday dining situation. Some people want a menu that is healthy to offer for thanksgiving, and others seem to want permission to go on a week long binge with artery choking items that cannot possibly exist in nature. They want to know where I stand, what I advocate. Well, alright then! Here it is: Moderation.
Do I think you should make a 100% perfectly healthy refined tiny portion meal for Thanksgiving? If it's more than just you at the table, the answer is no. Do I think you should go all out and try to see if you can stroke out on Aunt Suzie's gravy and pie? No. I think the first thing everyone needs to remember is that the holidays are about the PEOPLE that you are WITH or wish you could be. NOT FOOD.
Every holiday, no matter what it has been warped into by mass retailers and modern life, is about connection to others; whether it be your family, your significant other, your neighbors, your country, your servicemen, your government, whatever. Food is the garnish on the plate of personal interaction and appreciation of those people in your life who make a difference either from afar or in your own backyard. Do NOT forget that.
Now, noting that we can move on to the food. Yes, food is a huge part of every celebration. It has been, my guess, since the dawn of time. It's because we need food to survive, so celebrating and feeding each other is an act of caring and compassion for ourselves and each other. Stuffing ourselves is an act of disrespecting ourselves in the midst of something that was meant to be good. It doesn't make you feel good, and it doesn't make your company feel good either.
So, what do you put out on the table? How about both types of dishes, healthy and not? Make options for all, without exclusion. You don't have to please everyone, but not every dish has to be 100% healthy, or 100% unhealthy. You will have options you can exercise to make you feel as though you were not left out, but not uncomfortable either. Double bonus, right there! Also realize that most of the traditional dishes at a holiday dinner can be modified without a loss in taste (some actually become more flavorful) by eliminating the nasty things in them like lard and butter. Use spices, use low-fat alternatives when you can. And when you can't, accept it and don't vilify the selection.
One day of moderation with enjoyment of the food and the people will not derail you. I challenge those of you who are out there trying to lose weight to continue to do so, but without deprivation or over indulgence on the holiday. I challenge you to enjoy the company more than the pie, the conversation more than the mashed potatoes. Not to avoid them, but to learn that there are other sweet treats beyond what you put in your mouth. And lastly, if you are having problems and find yourself seriously contemplating diving head first into the stuffing and not looking back for the next couple of days ask yourself whether you want to be moving forward with your health/fitness/life next week or fixing all the damage you did once you finally come up for air.
Enjoyment is NOT based on quantity. Think about exercise and how important it is that you do a movement CORRECTLY with correct form, rather than an extra set. It's because your body benefits from doing it correctly more than it does with the bad set (in fact the bad set can actually be worse for you in the long run by setting back your progress.) Quality is more important than quality. The same is applicable to EVERY aspect of your life.
We live in a world where more is better. It's a lie. A lie of marketing, of media, of perception. More is just more, and more can mean worse. Don't make a "more mistake" this week of holiday celebrations or any of the others to follow. Make a decision to enjoy your life to the fullest. This means without deprivation, but without over-indulgence. When given a choice, pick your own best option and you'll have something to really smile about at those family get-togethers.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Bombs and Splinters
I have no idea what the exact details were in my dream that had me diffusing a bomb like a busty Macgyver, but there I was in a panic with the wire clippers made out of ductape and hair-pins watching the numbers count down... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... BEEP!!! BEEP! BEEP! SLAM! *gasp* ow.
My stupid alarm went off when the blast from the bomb went off in my dream, and I went off the damn bed.
Yeah, laugh it up. Mr. Savy and my cat shared a moment of laughter and tears.
Bite me.
I then stumbled off to my P90X workout, which is Plyometrics since I switched back to the Classic version this week (and plan to continue it until New Years and then reevaluate.) It was as I was hopping around my basement like a derranged rabbit on catnip that I felt a stabbing pain in my foot. I sat down, pulled off my shoe, and found a GIANT SPLINTER over two inches long sticking out of the bottom of my foot!
Ok, isn't that why we wear shoes in the first place? So we don't GET splinters the size of a support beam from Noah's Ark in our feet? Who gets splinters in their shoes? Not to mention that the worst part of a splinter isn't the discovery of it, but the extraction. But hey, at least I have kindling for the bonfire this weekend.
It's a Monday. Without a doubt. None whatsoever. Nadda. Zip.
Though, to be honest, I can't blame it all on being a Monday. I've felt totally wiped out for a couple days now. Mentally and physically I just want to crawl into a corner of my closet and not come out. That sounds reasonable, doesn't it? I think so. Forward all my mail to under the bed and be done with it for about a week. Yep, that sounds just about perfect.
Switching gears a little, do any of you ever find yourself going through the motions on something and realize that this is when the character in the movie gets killed because they're stupid? Every now and then, that happens. Last night it was very dark downstairs. I hit the light switch and nothing came on. It wasn't that the bulb was out or some normal sort of explanation; it just wouldn't turn on. I then heard weird noises from the room in front of me, rising up out of the pitch black darkness.
Since the wall switch works with another switch at the other end, I decided to walk down there - into the darkened room, and try to turn on the light with the other switch. It was as I was reaching for the switch in the dark with the strange noises coming at me that I realized that this is when the stupid characters are eaten in the movie. This is when reason deserts the character and they irrationally decide to head towards the other switch even though they hear the monster noises coming from the dark, and then are honestly surprised when the giant radioactive blob with 16 sets of retractable titanium tipped teeth comes out of the darkness and snaps them in two.
The monster was my cat taking personal offense at one of the artificial Christmas tree decorations. Sure, I survived. But it's becoming abundantly clear that if I were out at a cabin in the woods with friends, surrounded by mutant towns people intent on flossing their teeth with our ligaments, I would probably be the first to go.
Assuming the splinter in my foot didn't kill me first.
My stupid alarm went off when the blast from the bomb went off in my dream, and I went off the damn bed.
Yeah, laugh it up. Mr. Savy and my cat shared a moment of laughter and tears.
Bite me.
I then stumbled off to my P90X workout, which is Plyometrics since I switched back to the Classic version this week (and plan to continue it until New Years and then reevaluate.) It was as I was hopping around my basement like a derranged rabbit on catnip that I felt a stabbing pain in my foot. I sat down, pulled off my shoe, and found a GIANT SPLINTER over two inches long sticking out of the bottom of my foot!
Ok, isn't that why we wear shoes in the first place? So we don't GET splinters the size of a support beam from Noah's Ark in our feet? Who gets splinters in their shoes? Not to mention that the worst part of a splinter isn't the discovery of it, but the extraction. But hey, at least I have kindling for the bonfire this weekend.
It's a Monday. Without a doubt. None whatsoever. Nadda. Zip.
Though, to be honest, I can't blame it all on being a Monday. I've felt totally wiped out for a couple days now. Mentally and physically I just want to crawl into a corner of my closet and not come out. That sounds reasonable, doesn't it? I think so. Forward all my mail to under the bed and be done with it for about a week. Yep, that sounds just about perfect.
Switching gears a little, do any of you ever find yourself going through the motions on something and realize that this is when the character in the movie gets killed because they're stupid? Every now and then, that happens. Last night it was very dark downstairs. I hit the light switch and nothing came on. It wasn't that the bulb was out or some normal sort of explanation; it just wouldn't turn on. I then heard weird noises from the room in front of me, rising up out of the pitch black darkness.
Since the wall switch works with another switch at the other end, I decided to walk down there - into the darkened room, and try to turn on the light with the other switch. It was as I was reaching for the switch in the dark with the strange noises coming at me that I realized that this is when the stupid characters are eaten in the movie. This is when reason deserts the character and they irrationally decide to head towards the other switch even though they hear the monster noises coming from the dark, and then are honestly surprised when the giant radioactive blob with 16 sets of retractable titanium tipped teeth comes out of the darkness and snaps them in two.
The monster was my cat taking personal offense at one of the artificial Christmas tree decorations. Sure, I survived. But it's becoming abundantly clear that if I were out at a cabin in the woods with friends, surrounded by mutant towns people intent on flossing their teeth with our ligaments, I would probably be the first to go.
Assuming the splinter in my foot didn't kill me first.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Ugh
I've been fighting, I really have. It's a lot like being on the edge of a slope and struggling to get back up to the trail. Except it's raining, a lot. The ground is slick, even muddy, causing you to slide ever so slightly down. You might make progress back up, but then suddenly find yourself on your butt sliding even faster away from the trail.
Dagnabbit, I'm sick. I'm sick, and it irritates the hell out of me. I don't have time. I know, no one really does. But I just don't have the time to be sick. I did once. I remember back when I was actually half happy to be sick. I hated my job, or school, and honestly it didn't really matter that I wasn't there. Yeah sure, the actual act of being sick wasn't any fun, but NOT being AT work was great!
Daytime television was pretty darn scary though. I always wondered whether daytime television actually makes people sicker for longer. I think it's a plague in its own right. In fact, I think daytime television is so vile and contagious that I blame it for prime-time reality television. Trust me, that's a very serious insult in my eyes.
Lately, every time I get sick it's with a horrible pain in my lower right side. It's something new for this year. It's kind of like those people who get sick with a headache every time. It's incredibly painful, and last time my husband worried it might be appendicitis or something dramatic like that. It wasn't, it went away, and now it just likes to come back to visit. Is that what getting old is about? Having these aches or pains that like to stay for a cup of tea and a rotten weekend? I find this one particularly sinister because if I do need to throw up, and my side hurts so bad that any movement is pretty darn painful, well you do the math.
I'm not happy.
In other news, should I recover enough (I'm sure I will) I'm kicking off another round of P90X for myself. My plan is to start it on Sunday, when the Mega Challenge kicks off. I'm determined to not be sick by then. However, another barrier is that my children decided to rip apart the room I need to use for it. We're talking Lego and barbie carnage everywhere. I suppose that was always my biggest barrier to P90X; it wasn't the workouts, it was my workout space and how much time I had to spend picking it back up at 5 a.m. because I forgot to check it the night before and make the little hooligans clean it up. I've got a plan this time. Hopefully it works.
I'm going to do P90X lean with some tweaks (I know, I get annoyed when people tweak programs too - but this is going to have to be the way it is if I'm going to survive the program, school, and the holidays.) I'm going to swap out the Yoga (which is 90+ minutes) with the stretching workout (50 min) every other week (or do a HIIT instead depending on how I feel.) Dietary, I'll be working with my own which is actually stricter than the P90X program. It's a lot closer to a 90/10 program which suits me and my screwed up metabolism (in other words, don't do what I do.) And that's about it. So not major tweaks, just enough to make it tolerable with my schedule. Of course, doing this also means I have to get up at 5 a.m. instead of 5:30. I know it's not a big difference, but I have a feeling I'll be mourning those 30 minutes as the season progresses.
And now, I think I'll go throw up and then go read my 100+ pages of Business Law. Which do you think will make me feel worse?
Dagnabbit, I'm sick. I'm sick, and it irritates the hell out of me. I don't have time. I know, no one really does. But I just don't have the time to be sick. I did once. I remember back when I was actually half happy to be sick. I hated my job, or school, and honestly it didn't really matter that I wasn't there. Yeah sure, the actual act of being sick wasn't any fun, but NOT being AT work was great!
Daytime television was pretty darn scary though. I always wondered whether daytime television actually makes people sicker for longer. I think it's a plague in its own right. In fact, I think daytime television is so vile and contagious that I blame it for prime-time reality television. Trust me, that's a very serious insult in my eyes.
Lately, every time I get sick it's with a horrible pain in my lower right side. It's something new for this year. It's kind of like those people who get sick with a headache every time. It's incredibly painful, and last time my husband worried it might be appendicitis or something dramatic like that. It wasn't, it went away, and now it just likes to come back to visit. Is that what getting old is about? Having these aches or pains that like to stay for a cup of tea and a rotten weekend? I find this one particularly sinister because if I do need to throw up, and my side hurts so bad that any movement is pretty darn painful, well you do the math.
I'm not happy.
In other news, should I recover enough (I'm sure I will) I'm kicking off another round of P90X for myself. My plan is to start it on Sunday, when the Mega Challenge kicks off. I'm determined to not be sick by then. However, another barrier is that my children decided to rip apart the room I need to use for it. We're talking Lego and barbie carnage everywhere. I suppose that was always my biggest barrier to P90X; it wasn't the workouts, it was my workout space and how much time I had to spend picking it back up at 5 a.m. because I forgot to check it the night before and make the little hooligans clean it up. I've got a plan this time. Hopefully it works.
I'm going to do P90X lean with some tweaks (I know, I get annoyed when people tweak programs too - but this is going to have to be the way it is if I'm going to survive the program, school, and the holidays.) I'm going to swap out the Yoga (which is 90+ minutes) with the stretching workout (50 min) every other week (or do a HIIT instead depending on how I feel.) Dietary, I'll be working with my own which is actually stricter than the P90X program. It's a lot closer to a 90/10 program which suits me and my screwed up metabolism (in other words, don't do what I do.) And that's about it. So not major tweaks, just enough to make it tolerable with my schedule. Of course, doing this also means I have to get up at 5 a.m. instead of 5:30. I know it's not a big difference, but I have a feeling I'll be mourning those 30 minutes as the season progresses.
And now, I think I'll go throw up and then go read my 100+ pages of Business Law. Which do you think will make me feel worse?
Monday, May 28, 2007
Motion Sick
I know that most people afflicted with motion sickness as children grow out of it. At least that is what they say. I never did, and I had it bad. I remember going to the grocery store and having to tell my mom to pull over so I could be sick on the side of the road. Back then, I thought the grocery store was really far away - turns out it was only about three miles. It's funny how being miserable can make anything seem longer.
Nothing has really changed, except that sitting in the front is better than the back, driving is better than being a passenger, and avoiding the car is the way to go if at all possible (which makes living 40+ miles from the amenities like Walmart or anything else totally ironic.) The thing is that other things make me sick now that never did when I was a kid. You would think that being so prone to motion sickness as a kid meant I couldn't go on things that spin around like amusement park rides, but that was not the case. As a matter of fact my favorite ride at theme parks was this standing thing where it spun you round so fast you stuck to the wall and then it raised into the air. I could ride it continuously without issue. The tilt-a-whirl was no problem!
Last year I went to the New York (upstate) Six-Flags, and let me tell you - I don't like those spinning rides anymore. I went on a kids one that hardly moved in comparison to what I used to love, and I was sick for two hours afterwards (but the roller coasters are still my thing, thank goodness!) That's an extreme example of something new developing, but here is another; I have problems looking about, or repeatedly getting up and down resulting in becoming motion sick. I can't garden like a normal person because of all the bending-weeding-standing-do it again motion.
Who gets carsick in a garden? Seriously!
I also have problems with certain exercises. In the P90X group, there are a couple moves I struggle with - not because they're hard, but because I have to keep turning my head. They have one called a steam engine where you lock your hands behind your head - look forward, and bring each elbow to the opposing raised knee. This doesn't cause a lot of head turning, but enough that I start turning ever so slightly green. In the Kenpo workout, they have a sequence of moves with simultaneous front and back strikes, front kick, then back kick. Following the line of sight on those also makes me want to grab my waste basket and turn my stomach inside out.
Maybe that's why running was is appealing to me - you pretty much just focus on going forward. It's a wonder my painting style doesn't make me nauseous. (I know, someone will jump in and say my art makes them sick... yeah, yeah, get over it.) Does anyone else have this problem? Ugh, I'm going to go and try not to throw up (both moves in the Cardio X workout today. Blah.)
Nothing has really changed, except that sitting in the front is better than the back, driving is better than being a passenger, and avoiding the car is the way to go if at all possible (which makes living 40+ miles from the amenities like Walmart or anything else totally ironic.) The thing is that other things make me sick now that never did when I was a kid. You would think that being so prone to motion sickness as a kid meant I couldn't go on things that spin around like amusement park rides, but that was not the case. As a matter of fact my favorite ride at theme parks was this standing thing where it spun you round so fast you stuck to the wall and then it raised into the air. I could ride it continuously without issue. The tilt-a-whirl was no problem!
Last year I went to the New York (upstate) Six-Flags, and let me tell you - I don't like those spinning rides anymore. I went on a kids one that hardly moved in comparison to what I used to love, and I was sick for two hours afterwards (but the roller coasters are still my thing, thank goodness!) That's an extreme example of something new developing, but here is another; I have problems looking about, or repeatedly getting up and down resulting in becoming motion sick. I can't garden like a normal person because of all the bending-weeding-standing-do it again motion.
Who gets carsick in a garden? Seriously!
I also have problems with certain exercises. In the P90X group, there are a couple moves I struggle with - not because they're hard, but because I have to keep turning my head. They have one called a steam engine where you lock your hands behind your head - look forward, and bring each elbow to the opposing raised knee. This doesn't cause a lot of head turning, but enough that I start turning ever so slightly green. In the Kenpo workout, they have a sequence of moves with simultaneous front and back strikes, front kick, then back kick. Following the line of sight on those also makes me want to grab my waste basket and turn my stomach inside out.
Maybe that's why running was is appealing to me - you pretty much just focus on going forward. It's a wonder my painting style doesn't make me nauseous. (I know, someone will jump in and say my art makes them sick... yeah, yeah, get over it.) Does anyone else have this problem? Ugh, I'm going to go and try not to throw up (both moves in the Cardio X workout today. Blah.)
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Because We're Human
I get a LOT of traffic from my P90X review I did about a year ago. A lot of people are looking for unbiased reviews of systems and plans out there for fitness and weightloss (especially weightloss.) Some of the people, when they see I've engaged in multiple plans, have lost a lot of weight, and am a certified personal trainer expect a certain level of... perfection from me.
It's funny really, because I'm probably the most imperfect person I know. What seems to have tipped the scales of expectation is becoming a personal trainer. I'm not sure what I thought about personal trainers back when I was obese. They were kind of like unicorns or fairies to me - mythical creatures that I wasn't sure if I believed in (and they kind of scared me. There was no one I felt more like a failure around than a personal trainer when I was obese.)
I ended up becoming a personal trainer because I was searching for information. I found weightloss and fitness, nutrition and balance such elusive concepts in the mass media - well, it ticked me off. I felt like the world was dancing around with various carrots in front of my face, making promises, and then jerking the prize out of my reach with a "for only 100 payments of 19.95!"
WHY? Why does fitness and health have to be held hostage with a price tag? Why was it so hard to find the answer? Why were there SO MANY answers, and so many of them that disagreed with the others? Which ones were right? And was it only for the perfect fit people, or the ones who had been athletes "back in the day"? Because I am not one of them.
I was on a jump-rope team when I was 11, and that was it. In Jr. High they banned girls from sports except cheerleading (and lets face it, me as a cheerleader is frightening on so many levels.) In high school they DID allow girls into sports - but only if you had played it in Jr. High, otherwise you weren't even allowed to try out. Yes, totally unfair. No, I didn't grow up in the 50's (I'm 32,) I just had jerks for instructors.
By that time, though - I had accepted that athletically I was decidedly UNgifted. This is still true to this day. Yes, I ran a WHOLE marathon (26.2 miles, to prove to myself it could be done) but I was S-L-O-W, we're talking six hours of slow. My feet often go in opposite directions. I can trip over invisible flecks of dust. If I was in an aerobics class, I always made sure I was not by a window just in case I ended up grapevining my way through it. Thank goodness coordination is not a requirement for being fit!
I was doing really stupid things early on in my "fitness journey." Of course, back then it was only a "weight-loss journey." Skipping meals, because I thought that eating as little as possible was what women were supposed to do. Working out way too much (we're talking hours and hours) because that was supposed to be key - and not weightlifting, but cardio. They always tell fat people that it's about the cardio. cardio cardio cardio cardiocardiocardaio.... GAH!
It's not about the cardio.
I did Weight Watchers, Slimfast, a couple I don't even remember the names of, not eating, cardio out my ears, personal trainers - who each had a different take and lots of cardio to prescribe, and even tae-bo (which isn't horrible or anything, but it was just more exercise that I dumped in and couldn't take me all the way to my goals.) Finally, desperate, skipping meals, working out like a fiend, and honestly not feeling all that great, I spoke with someone who pointed me towards the book Body For Life. Do I think it's the end all and be all of programs? No, I don't. But I credit it with showing me that women can and should be lifting weights. Not little pink dumbbells weighing the same as your toothbrush, but heavy weights. It also showed me that not only could I eat, I MUST EAT.
Guys probably don't understand this at all, but to most women - finding out that you must eat enough and lift heavy weights is earth-shaking. So, I figured if that was true, what else was and what wasn't? I hit the books. I did the library circuit, read medical texts, nutritional textbooks (I went for the university textbooks, not the fads out there on the shelves.) It was important to me that I know WHY something is, because I'd had enough of people telling me what their opinions were. I figured out the nutritional aspects of it - no I'm not a dietitian or a nutritionist, but I do understand how different nutrients and foods work within the body, as well as understanding that it works differently for everyone as well (on a smaller level.) I then wanted to figure out the fitness side, so I found a good personal training program - there are many - and studied for six months, learned a lot, and passed my certification.
My intention wasn't to train others, it was to learn. If people wanted me to train them, I had no problem with that - though I didn't charge very much for two reasons. The first is that I don't like that fitness seems accessible only through money, because I don't have excess cash and neither do most people. The second is that while I enjoy health and fitness, it's not my career. My career is an artist. Fitness is an aspect of who I am, but it is not the whole. You cannot be healthy without paying attention to the whole of who you are. Your fitness is important, but so is everything else. It's part of why I pretty much stopped training people for a while, I decided that school was more important and returned to get a different degree - this is being fit on a different level.
It's that everything else that can trip you up. EVEN personal trainers. We all have bad days. Bad weeks. Bad months. Bad years. As much as I may have wished it, I didn't become plastic when I received my certification. My emotions didn't evaporate. My bad coping habits didn't fade into non-existence. I have never smoked, but I have heard others speak about how 20 years after quiting, every now and then they still want to smoke. Well, no matter how much knowledge I gain, there are times I still want to swim in a vat of Ben & Jerry's cookie dough ice cream. And lets face it, you must eat to survive which puts you in dangerous territory all the time that without the right skills, you succumb to the easy instead of the healthy.
All those carrots being dangled, ignore them. The truth is that you have building blocks to work with. You have to decide what your goals are and stack them up block by block. I want to be strong and healthy, I want to feel good. Whatever. So you stack your blocks of nutrition, exercise, alternative coping strategies, and so on. But once in place they can be knocked down. The person who can call themselves truly fit isn't the one with the highest tower of blocks, it's the one who can RE-stack them after they have fallen down, over and over again. Because they WILL fall down, even for personal trainers and exercise gurus.
So, when you see me trying to fight off that 10 lbs I gained back - it's not because I don't have the knowledge. It's because I let my bad coping skills (I'm a stress-eater, sometimes I fall back into the habit) get in the way of immediately restacking the blocks. When you see me ticked off about having to go exercise, it isn't because I'm giving up or letting anyone down. It's because I'm human, and I'd rather be reading a book or watching television just like anyone else.
What makes me fit is the fact that I keep trying. I work out six days a week without fail (except when ill, or on vacation.) I can honestly tell you that while you probably won't like it any more than you do now, you DO become used to exercise. It becomes part of your day, part of who you are. It is not hard to go and exercise, not really. But it doesn't mean you will sit there saying "this is just the best thing ever!" But you are better for it every day, and you know it. There is a moment that comes when you are sweaty and tired and breathing hard afterwards when you sit in perfect silence and know that you have done well. That is what makes it worth it. That is what makes you fit.
Likewise, with food - the longer you eat healthy, the more accustomed to it you become. What starts out as not tasting all that great becomes preferred. Yes, really. Will you pick those perfect foods over your favorites every time? Nope. But I will tell you this: those favorites taste EVEN better when you are eating healthy and treat them as the indulgences they truly are. Do you fall back into old (easy, not the best choices) eating habits? Yes, they always lurk, because our society is stuffed to the seams with easy choices. It will always be up to you to make the right one, and that won't always happen. But it doesn't have to be the end of everything.
Being human is about two things. It's about messing up, absolutely. But it's also about picking yourself back up and moving forward. I don't know who made the quote, and it's not accurate either as I'm just spouting it off, but I like it: "It's OK to fall, just make sure you fall forward."
I'm a personal trainer. But I am also a human being. I fall down, all the time. I'm simply working on falling forward just like everyone else.
It's funny really, because I'm probably the most imperfect person I know. What seems to have tipped the scales of expectation is becoming a personal trainer. I'm not sure what I thought about personal trainers back when I was obese. They were kind of like unicorns or fairies to me - mythical creatures that I wasn't sure if I believed in (and they kind of scared me. There was no one I felt more like a failure around than a personal trainer when I was obese.)
I ended up becoming a personal trainer because I was searching for information. I found weightloss and fitness, nutrition and balance such elusive concepts in the mass media - well, it ticked me off. I felt like the world was dancing around with various carrots in front of my face, making promises, and then jerking the prize out of my reach with a "for only 100 payments of 19.95!"
WHY? Why does fitness and health have to be held hostage with a price tag? Why was it so hard to find the answer? Why were there SO MANY answers, and so many of them that disagreed with the others? Which ones were right? And was it only for the perfect fit people, or the ones who had been athletes "back in the day"? Because I am not one of them.
I was on a jump-rope team when I was 11, and that was it. In Jr. High they banned girls from sports except cheerleading (and lets face it, me as a cheerleader is frightening on so many levels.) In high school they DID allow girls into sports - but only if you had played it in Jr. High, otherwise you weren't even allowed to try out. Yes, totally unfair. No, I didn't grow up in the 50's (I'm 32,) I just had jerks for instructors.
By that time, though - I had accepted that athletically I was decidedly UNgifted. This is still true to this day. Yes, I ran a WHOLE marathon (26.2 miles, to prove to myself it could be done) but I was S-L-O-W, we're talking six hours of slow. My feet often go in opposite directions. I can trip over invisible flecks of dust. If I was in an aerobics class, I always made sure I was not by a window just in case I ended up grapevining my way through it. Thank goodness coordination is not a requirement for being fit!
I was doing really stupid things early on in my "fitness journey." Of course, back then it was only a "weight-loss journey." Skipping meals, because I thought that eating as little as possible was what women were supposed to do. Working out way too much (we're talking hours and hours) because that was supposed to be key - and not weightlifting, but cardio. They always tell fat people that it's about the cardio. cardio cardio cardio cardiocardiocardaio.... GAH!
It's not about the cardio.
I did Weight Watchers, Slimfast, a couple I don't even remember the names of, not eating, cardio out my ears, personal trainers - who each had a different take and lots of cardio to prescribe, and even tae-bo (which isn't horrible or anything, but it was just more exercise that I dumped in and couldn't take me all the way to my goals.) Finally, desperate, skipping meals, working out like a fiend, and honestly not feeling all that great, I spoke with someone who pointed me towards the book Body For Life. Do I think it's the end all and be all of programs? No, I don't. But I credit it with showing me that women can and should be lifting weights. Not little pink dumbbells weighing the same as your toothbrush, but heavy weights. It also showed me that not only could I eat, I MUST EAT.
Guys probably don't understand this at all, but to most women - finding out that you must eat enough and lift heavy weights is earth-shaking. So, I figured if that was true, what else was and what wasn't? I hit the books. I did the library circuit, read medical texts, nutritional textbooks (I went for the university textbooks, not the fads out there on the shelves.) It was important to me that I know WHY something is, because I'd had enough of people telling me what their opinions were. I figured out the nutritional aspects of it - no I'm not a dietitian or a nutritionist, but I do understand how different nutrients and foods work within the body, as well as understanding that it works differently for everyone as well (on a smaller level.) I then wanted to figure out the fitness side, so I found a good personal training program - there are many - and studied for six months, learned a lot, and passed my certification.
My intention wasn't to train others, it was to learn. If people wanted me to train them, I had no problem with that - though I didn't charge very much for two reasons. The first is that I don't like that fitness seems accessible only through money, because I don't have excess cash and neither do most people. The second is that while I enjoy health and fitness, it's not my career. My career is an artist. Fitness is an aspect of who I am, but it is not the whole. You cannot be healthy without paying attention to the whole of who you are. Your fitness is important, but so is everything else. It's part of why I pretty much stopped training people for a while, I decided that school was more important and returned to get a different degree - this is being fit on a different level.
It's that everything else that can trip you up. EVEN personal trainers. We all have bad days. Bad weeks. Bad months. Bad years. As much as I may have wished it, I didn't become plastic when I received my certification. My emotions didn't evaporate. My bad coping habits didn't fade into non-existence. I have never smoked, but I have heard others speak about how 20 years after quiting, every now and then they still want to smoke. Well, no matter how much knowledge I gain, there are times I still want to swim in a vat of Ben & Jerry's cookie dough ice cream. And lets face it, you must eat to survive which puts you in dangerous territory all the time that without the right skills, you succumb to the easy instead of the healthy.
All those carrots being dangled, ignore them. The truth is that you have building blocks to work with. You have to decide what your goals are and stack them up block by block. I want to be strong and healthy, I want to feel good. Whatever. So you stack your blocks of nutrition, exercise, alternative coping strategies, and so on. But once in place they can be knocked down. The person who can call themselves truly fit isn't the one with the highest tower of blocks, it's the one who can RE-stack them after they have fallen down, over and over again. Because they WILL fall down, even for personal trainers and exercise gurus.
So, when you see me trying to fight off that 10 lbs I gained back - it's not because I don't have the knowledge. It's because I let my bad coping skills (I'm a stress-eater, sometimes I fall back into the habit) get in the way of immediately restacking the blocks. When you see me ticked off about having to go exercise, it isn't because I'm giving up or letting anyone down. It's because I'm human, and I'd rather be reading a book or watching television just like anyone else.
What makes me fit is the fact that I keep trying. I work out six days a week without fail (except when ill, or on vacation.) I can honestly tell you that while you probably won't like it any more than you do now, you DO become used to exercise. It becomes part of your day, part of who you are. It is not hard to go and exercise, not really. But it doesn't mean you will sit there saying "this is just the best thing ever!" But you are better for it every day, and you know it. There is a moment that comes when you are sweaty and tired and breathing hard afterwards when you sit in perfect silence and know that you have done well. That is what makes it worth it. That is what makes you fit.
Likewise, with food - the longer you eat healthy, the more accustomed to it you become. What starts out as not tasting all that great becomes preferred. Yes, really. Will you pick those perfect foods over your favorites every time? Nope. But I will tell you this: those favorites taste EVEN better when you are eating healthy and treat them as the indulgences they truly are. Do you fall back into old (easy, not the best choices) eating habits? Yes, they always lurk, because our society is stuffed to the seams with easy choices. It will always be up to you to make the right one, and that won't always happen. But it doesn't have to be the end of everything.
Being human is about two things. It's about messing up, absolutely. But it's also about picking yourself back up and moving forward. I don't know who made the quote, and it's not accurate either as I'm just spouting it off, but I like it: "It's OK to fall, just make sure you fall forward."
I'm a personal trainer. But I am also a human being. I fall down, all the time. I'm simply working on falling forward just like everyone else.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Change of Plans
I have changed my mind. I'm going to do another round of P90X starting Sunday. However, I'm going to probably NOT do it for the three weeks I am in AZ, and actually BE on vacation. Then again... I'll be at my parents, and I might be bored out of my mind. Heck, I may end up doing doubles at that rate...
Nah. I'll be in the swimming pool. Who am I kidding? So that's six solid weeks (a smidgen more) until I head out. We'll see what happens. I'm just in the mood to buckle down, and I'll have more time to spend on it after today. Still planning on my adventurous walks as well.
Will I take photos? No, because my STUPID camera is broken. But I'll track other things for the masses of the curious. ;)
Nah. I'll be in the swimming pool. Who am I kidding? So that's six solid weeks (a smidgen more) until I head out. We'll see what happens. I'm just in the mood to buckle down, and I'll have more time to spend on it after today. Still planning on my adventurous walks as well.
Will I take photos? No, because my STUPID camera is broken. But I'll track other things for the masses of the curious. ;)
Monday, April 30, 2007
Aggressive Tendancies
If you didn't catch it over the weekend, I started up my other blog: Color Me Kyra. It will house my "life blogs", while this one will be more fitness oriented.
So, that being said - I'm kicking around whether or not to do another round of P90X. As I am coming to the end of my school schedule (YAY!) I will have more time to dedicate to it. The truth is, the plan takes a real time commitment when compared with my other schedules.
In particular, the Yoga day is tough to face at 5 a.m. when you know it's going to take over 90 minutes, your eyes aren't even properly open, yet you are expected to bring your ankle over your shoulder while balancing on your tippy-toes. Now considering that mental image, lets remember that I manage to trip over even imaginary things. Of course, the yoga always makes me feel better too. As I have been focusing on running more lately, various parts of my body have been tightening up - and NOT in a good way.
When I was living in Chicago I was at my all time high somewhere around 230 lbs. I stopped weighing myself at 222 lbs, and I know I gained for a while afterwards, but the scale and I weren't speaking. Come to think of it, we're still not speaking, but we do see each other on a regular basis now. (We have a sort of truce - it doesn't get used when I know it will be a high-false reading, and I don't throw it out the window.) It was during that time in Chicago that I was also in college for my Fine Art degree. There were a lot of things going badly at the time, but the stress of school was paramount. I coped with muffins, pizza, ice cream, and a LOT of alcohol (well, it was college.)
This time around, I have noticed that I am struggling again. I am aware that I cope with food - because lets face it, nothing makes a Statistics final seem better than a chocolate ice cream mudslide. The positive thing about all of this is that I am not who I was 10 years ago. I have a firmer basis of reality (the children bring me crashing down into it on a regular basis.) I have a fitness dedication (addiction) which requires me to exercise six days a week or face feeling like I am only wearing one shoe all day long. I also eat very healthy, and really know my nutrition forwards and backwards - of course, that also means that when I do decide to splurge, I am extra guilty over it and can list the entire caloric damage to you in detail (in between sobs.)
I haven't really gained but a couple of pounds since I started school last Fall. That really doesn't sound so bad: only a 2-3 lbs gain total for two semesters. But the truth is, that's not good. My intention was to finally drop the last 25 lbs or so. I thought that giving myself a firm "life-goal" would help fill things up and keep me cracking along. Not so, it would seem. I feel like I am in an arm wrestling match between the old me, and who I am now.
And I'm getting tired.
Through all of this, however, I have realized something. If you really want to succeed at a healthy lifestyle and getting to goal weight - you cannot be nice about it. There is no nice. There is no negotiation, or "taking it easy", or "just this once, just for you". If you leave room for nice, you leave room for failure. It's just that simple.
I've thought a lot about what made me so successful before - and it was a serious aggressive conviction about where I wanted to be. I wasn't going to let anything get in my way, even myself. It was cold, calculated and even cruel. I didn't give myself a shoulder to whine on, I told myself to knock that crap off and pull it together. I had planned indulgences that were ALLOWED. This is really important, because as much as people say the "stolen moments" taste the best, that is entirely untrue. Earning that pizza or cake, sitting down with it, and knowing it is OK to eat it tastes better than any secret splurge I ever had.
More than that, being on track meant it was OK to eat at ALL. All my life, I have felt like it wasn't acceptable for me to eat. I felt as if I didn't have the right. I would say it was bad enough that I was fearful of it, yet instead of avoiding eating I would over do it, almost as if I was proving something. But even when I was "behaving" and munching on my carrot sticks and water thinking I was following correct nutrition, I felt bad allowing myself a single bite. Knowing what I know has eliminated that. I know that you MUST eat, and not just tiny snippets of vegetables. Just that knowledge has given me so much, though admittedly lately I've been feeling like I haven't the right to eat again.
These shadows of who we once were, how we once thought, are really vicious. To me, they're like this mean little troll that pops up every now and then to tell me how I haven't the right to exist in one form or another. It's a constant battle, though as I get older the actual warfare is starting to lessen.
Unfortunately, I let the "nice" creep back into my game plan. I was nice enough to allow myself splurges when I was feeling beaten down. I was nice enough to allow myself a "start-over" later in a week... or two... or three. I was nice enough to allow that little evil troll back into my thoughts and push myself farther down into despair with talk about how I'll never succeed, and then comfort myself with Ben & Jerry's. Now wasn't that just so NICE?
I'm done being nice. I know that I have to want having myself back in control more than I want to baby my whiny weak self. It's not hard to be healthy. It truly isn't. The basics are cut and dried, black and white, and well known. You don't have to complicate things with special cycles or plans to be successful (another drawback of knowing what I do, you start to tweak and move things around - sometimes too much knowledge can just muck up the works.) And the most important thing? Follow through. It's that simple.
So, will I do another round of P90X? I'm not sure yet. I know that once school is out (two more weeks,) I will incorporate long walks into my days. Beyond the walks, I'm torn between P90X and a more standard lifting/HIIT schedule. I have been longing to just go for a nice long "wander", and I'll finally be able to do it. I even plan on taking along my camera and posting pictures - because I'm sure I'll get into plenty of trouble.
So, that being said - I'm kicking around whether or not to do another round of P90X. As I am coming to the end of my school schedule (YAY!) I will have more time to dedicate to it. The truth is, the plan takes a real time commitment when compared with my other schedules.
In particular, the Yoga day is tough to face at 5 a.m. when you know it's going to take over 90 minutes, your eyes aren't even properly open, yet you are expected to bring your ankle over your shoulder while balancing on your tippy-toes. Now considering that mental image, lets remember that I manage to trip over even imaginary things. Of course, the yoga always makes me feel better too. As I have been focusing on running more lately, various parts of my body have been tightening up - and NOT in a good way.
When I was living in Chicago I was at my all time high somewhere around 230 lbs. I stopped weighing myself at 222 lbs, and I know I gained for a while afterwards, but the scale and I weren't speaking. Come to think of it, we're still not speaking, but we do see each other on a regular basis now. (We have a sort of truce - it doesn't get used when I know it will be a high-false reading, and I don't throw it out the window.) It was during that time in Chicago that I was also in college for my Fine Art degree. There were a lot of things going badly at the time, but the stress of school was paramount. I coped with muffins, pizza, ice cream, and a LOT of alcohol (well, it was college.)
This time around, I have noticed that I am struggling again. I am aware that I cope with food - because lets face it, nothing makes a Statistics final seem better than a chocolate ice cream mudslide. The positive thing about all of this is that I am not who I was 10 years ago. I have a firmer basis of reality (the children bring me crashing down into it on a regular basis.) I have a fitness dedication (addiction) which requires me to exercise six days a week or face feeling like I am only wearing one shoe all day long. I also eat very healthy, and really know my nutrition forwards and backwards - of course, that also means that when I do decide to splurge, I am extra guilty over it and can list the entire caloric damage to you in detail (in between sobs.)
I haven't really gained but a couple of pounds since I started school last Fall. That really doesn't sound so bad: only a 2-3 lbs gain total for two semesters. But the truth is, that's not good. My intention was to finally drop the last 25 lbs or so. I thought that giving myself a firm "life-goal" would help fill things up and keep me cracking along. Not so, it would seem. I feel like I am in an arm wrestling match between the old me, and who I am now.
And I'm getting tired.
Through all of this, however, I have realized something. If you really want to succeed at a healthy lifestyle and getting to goal weight - you cannot be nice about it. There is no nice. There is no negotiation, or "taking it easy", or "just this once, just for you". If you leave room for nice, you leave room for failure. It's just that simple.
I've thought a lot about what made me so successful before - and it was a serious aggressive conviction about where I wanted to be. I wasn't going to let anything get in my way, even myself. It was cold, calculated and even cruel. I didn't give myself a shoulder to whine on, I told myself to knock that crap off and pull it together. I had planned indulgences that were ALLOWED. This is really important, because as much as people say the "stolen moments" taste the best, that is entirely untrue. Earning that pizza or cake, sitting down with it, and knowing it is OK to eat it tastes better than any secret splurge I ever had.
More than that, being on track meant it was OK to eat at ALL. All my life, I have felt like it wasn't acceptable for me to eat. I felt as if I didn't have the right. I would say it was bad enough that I was fearful of it, yet instead of avoiding eating I would over do it, almost as if I was proving something. But even when I was "behaving" and munching on my carrot sticks and water thinking I was following correct nutrition, I felt bad allowing myself a single bite. Knowing what I know has eliminated that. I know that you MUST eat, and not just tiny snippets of vegetables. Just that knowledge has given me so much, though admittedly lately I've been feeling like I haven't the right to eat again.
These shadows of who we once were, how we once thought, are really vicious. To me, they're like this mean little troll that pops up every now and then to tell me how I haven't the right to exist in one form or another. It's a constant battle, though as I get older the actual warfare is starting to lessen.
Unfortunately, I let the "nice" creep back into my game plan. I was nice enough to allow myself splurges when I was feeling beaten down. I was nice enough to allow myself a "start-over" later in a week... or two... or three. I was nice enough to allow that little evil troll back into my thoughts and push myself farther down into despair with talk about how I'll never succeed, and then comfort myself with Ben & Jerry's. Now wasn't that just so NICE?
I'm done being nice. I know that I have to want having myself back in control more than I want to baby my whiny weak self. It's not hard to be healthy. It truly isn't. The basics are cut and dried, black and white, and well known. You don't have to complicate things with special cycles or plans to be successful (another drawback of knowing what I do, you start to tweak and move things around - sometimes too much knowledge can just muck up the works.) And the most important thing? Follow through. It's that simple.
So, will I do another round of P90X? I'm not sure yet. I know that once school is out (two more weeks,) I will incorporate long walks into my days. Beyond the walks, I'm torn between P90X and a more standard lifting/HIIT schedule. I have been longing to just go for a nice long "wander", and I'll finally be able to do it. I even plan on taking along my camera and posting pictures - because I'm sure I'll get into plenty of trouble.
Monday, July 10, 2006
P90X Review
I feel it's probably time I posted my review of P90X, since I have gotten a lot of emailed questions on it. (Edit: Ultimate Fitness has contacted me to offer a coupon to everyone for $5 off the program. The code to input at check-out is: smw5off)
I initially started off with the standard P90X, and then switched to P90X Lean (in order to not beat up my husband, due to some scheduling issues.) Because I have done a big portion of both versions, I feel I can offer a pretty well rounded report on it.
The first thing I want to establish is a reminder of where I have come from over the past...Oh.... Eight years. I went from sedentary (220+ lbs), to cardio bunny (mostly tae-bo), to weight training, and then on to the serious fitness freak that you see before you today. I did NOT start this program after getting up off my couch one day and deciding it was the one for me.
This program is NOT a good starting point for ANYONE. I am speaking most directly to those men, and you know who you are, who regardless of your actual fitness level, assume that you can handle anything at any level, simply because of your testosterone and Y chromosome. I'm married to one of these "I can do anything" types, and trust me: he tried P90X, suffered, and dropped it - and he isn't a completely unfit guy either.
If you are interested in P90X, male or female - drop the ego and take their fitness test. For REAL. It will replace your normal workout, because it takes about 40 minutes. It's not a marketing gimmick, it's a necessary thing you should do. Because, if you can't hit everything you need to on the fitness test, you not only aren't ready for P90X, but you might cause yourself injury if you try it.
Now that I have scared everyone off, lets back up for a minute. It's not THAT bad, but you do need a certain higher level of core fitness in order to start in on this program. If you don't have that, there are a lot of places to start. If you have a long way to go, I recommend a doctor's clearance and then daily walks and body weight moves (like push-ups, sit-ups, etc), ramping up to a harder regimen. I also highly recommend Body For Life (NOT NOT NOT BFL for Women, that book is a total waste of good paper, and Eating for life is a good MAINTENANCE cookbook, but not so hot for an actual plan - and by the way, all the success photos/stories in the cookbook are from the ORIGINAL BFL plan, not EFL), but as the ORIGINAL plan was intended. Ignore the "official" website, and all the stupid tweaks people have tried to twist it with. Half.com has a ton of cheap copies ($1.37 when last I checked), so it won't even cost you much to look into it. Once you have completed that, you may or may not be ready for something like P90X, but you can try the fitness test again and find out where your weaknesses are.
The system is a set of DVD workouts which involve a ton of body-weight moves (like push-ups, pull-ups, plyometric moves, etc) as well as cardio and weight training cycles. The equipment you will require is a large enough space to go bouncing about in all directions without causing serious injury or property damage, free-weights of varying sizes, a chin-up bar/station, a yoga mat and blocks, and some people also use bands, as well as push-up bars (optional.)
**A note about the bands - I bought a set from Walmart. I snapped those suckers in half. They stink, don't buy them from Walmart or any of the other major retailers. You need a set of HIGH quality bands if you are going to be using them. I do not know if the set they sell through the Beachbody website are high quality or not, but you can try them or a serious fitness retailer. You need at least a medium weighted resistance band and the heaviest one they have (to mimic pull-ups if you can't do them.)
Personally, I have an interchangeable set of dumbbells with plates. This worked out OK, but there were times I had to hit the pause button because I couldn't get it set up quickly enough. If you have the cash (which I do not), I highly recommend PowerBlocks. I also have a Power-Tower station for the pull-ups. You can buy a standard chin-up bar from a major retailer for about $6, or you can invest in their fancy junglebar version for about $40. My power tower ($70) was a personal "I gotta HAVE IT!" freak-out, so it's not necessary. I just wanted a station that was good for not only pull-ups, but dips, leg raises and other exercises. Yes, I know, fitness freak. But for P90X , you only need the pull-up station, with the ability to do both wide and close handed grips.
The actual workouts range from a plyometric workout, core and cardio, to several weight/target area workouts (like legs & back, or shoulders & arms, etc). There is also a 90 minute Yoga session which you do every week, as well as a cardio workout of Kenpo. My favorite of all the workouts is the Kenpo, because I'm a sucker for anything that involves fighting moves - serious or not. I also value the yoga that has been incorporated because it has helped with some flexibility issues I was struggling with. Since the yoga also comes dead center of the week, it also relieves some tightness that you end up acquiring through the earlier workouts.
The weight workouts are good because there isn't a ton of monotony. You have a lot of different exercises you move through, and you never get bored because of that. The pull-ups aren't as bad as they sound. Yes, they're HARD. Yes, you end up doing a LOT of them. But there are ways to "spot" yourself, and assist with the pull-up until you can switch over to doing them without assistance. The DVD does show you how to do this, even expects you to. If you are interested in just learning about how to get your body doing pull-ups, Stumtuous.com has a whole "how-to" for you to get in gear.
These workouts are hard-core, but they're also geared for your own level. Basically, you will get out of this what you put into it. If you go through this DVD workout like a pansie: only lifting low amounts when you could lift more and doing half-hearted moves when you should be taking it to the mat - well, then you'll only get a blah workout and blah results. But if you hit it with the intensity you KNOW you have, and you work HARD and focused, you will get solid results. The upside to all of this is that it's an unlimited challenge. You keep pushing yourself harder and higher, and you will always be challenged by this workout (which is why I think you don't see many used ones for sale, they're definitely a permanent addition to my DVD library.) But, if you decide to be a slacker, then it's likely the best you'll do is whine that it's not enough and "whyyyyyyyy" doesn't it work for you like it does for everyone else?
This is like life, people. You want it? You gotta put in the effort. Plain and simple. It's a shut-up and put-up situation. In the end, you have the map - if you don't make it there, you have no one but yourself to blame.
From a personal trainer standpoint, I really appreciate that there is a real, serious, intense workout available like this. 99% of the video workouts out there are too weak for me, no matter how much effort I put into it. I think what makes this such a challenging set is because it has so many different types of exercise involved, as well as the open ended room to increase your own intensity level. After these workouts, I actually FEEL like I have worked out. In the case of all the other DVD workouts I have tried, I felt as if I hadn't done enough.
The regular version/schedule is six days of workouts (all different, except the added Ab-Ripper on three days), and then a day of rest (or you can do the stretching DVD which isn't included during the week.) Every three weeks, it changes over to a recovery week. While you still do six workouts, they aren't the weight training ones, so it is a little bit of a break. Not much, but enough. Then it changes to a different line up for three weeks, followed by another recovery week, and again for the last four resulting in a full 13 week program.
P90X also has a version called doubles, which is essentially the regular schedule plus doing the 40 minute CardioX workout (which you only see during the recovery week or on the Lean version) several extra times during the week. I have to tell you straight out that this would drive me INSANE. Doing the P90X Lean version, you do the CardioX workout every week, replacing one of the weight training sessions. If I had to see that cardio DVD that often I would probably lose it. The obvious alternative, however, is simply to add your own cardio workout of about 50 minutes to those days as your extra workout. They're just offering the basic option with their doubles plan, without having to figure out a different workout without guidance.
The program also comes with an eating plan. I will tell you straight that the plan is maintenance level as far as calories go for MOST people. If you are thinking about losing a lot of weight, the eating plan is too much. It's the right kinds of food, and I 100% approve of the layout, it's the quantity verses goal.
*If you are wanting to gain mass, it might be enough calories, or a little low for a male. For a female it might be enough. However, I would like to point out that P90X isn't a muscle-mass increasing routine. It WILL build some muscle, make no mistake, but it is more about power. P90X is about creating strength with what you have, and refining it. Power over size, for all intensive purposes.
* If you want to maintain, I suggest you follow their eating plan as it's laid out. However, I would suggest you monitor your levels of body fat, measurements and scale weight to see if you should add calories or subtract them.
* If you are trying to LOSE weight, this is where things get tricky. The calories are a bit high for women (for men, I would start with it and then adjust as necessary) and I would probably start off about 100-300 calories less than the plan equates to on a daily basis. HOWEVER, you need to understand that these workouts are power oriented workouts. They demand a great deal from your body, not only to rise to the occasion with the proper intensity, but also in the matter of recovery afterwards. If you drop your calories too low, you will wipe yourself OUT. Your workouts will suffer, you will get less results, and frankly, you will just feel AWFUL. So, on the angle of a cutting program, this one walks a fine line.
One of the reasons I chose the P90X Lean version of the schedule was so I could actively pursue the weight loss side of it. It IS easier than the regular version, and obviously less demanding than the Doubles. But even so, it is a demanding routine on the body. Because of that, there is no room for error. You must fuel your body at the appropriate times, or you will feel it. You cannot skip meals, because it will tank you.
Now, one last thing to be clear on. If you are after visible results, you need to understand that those are 80% rooted in your kitchen. What you feed yourself, how much, and when are absolutely KEY. There is no workout, or pill, or magic wand that will enable you to get around this fact. If you don't eat right, you will not see what you are working so hard for. You will experience an increase in strength/power, you will probably even feel better, but you won't SEE it, OR feel as good as you COULD if you did right by your body in the kitchen. You want to see your abs? You could do a million crunches, and it won't make a damn bit of difference if you are eating in excess and the wrong things. It's the one hard fact that people want to deny, yet can never truly do so.
You want to be fit? You gotta do the work. You want to LOOK fit? You gotta do the work AND eat right. It's that simple, it really IS that black and white. No if's, and's or but's.
So, to the point: I like the workout. I like the food plan. And I even like the instructor and his presentation of the whole plan. Oh, one technical note, though - the whole thing is kind of dark. Not that it isn't shot well, it is. It's just that the room it was shot in is dark toned, and there are often shadows in the background which leads to an even darker appearance. This was probably on purpose since it allowed you to 100% focus on the instructor who stood out well against this background. However, it did make it tough to see sometimes because of the glare of lights in my own room against the television, regardless of where the lighting came from (above, or from a lamp or window, etc.) Don't misunderstand me, it's not a poor quality recording at ALL. And hey, maybe it's just me.
If you are now interested in P90X, Ultimate Fitness Gear has contacted me to offer a coupon to everyone for $5 off the program. The code to input at check-out is: smw5off
Edit 2/2008: I have recently been able to try out two of the nutritional supplements many had asked me about, this link is my review of them.
Edit: I wrote this review in July 2006, and recently it has been getting a lot of traffic. I still stand by everything I said. I am not affiliated with Beachbody. Up until now I had been taking questions, but it is becoming more than I can keep up with, so I won't be answering any more. Please see if your question has already been answered in the comments. Thank you!
I initially started off with the standard P90X, and then switched to P90X Lean (in order to not beat up my husband, due to some scheduling issues.) Because I have done a big portion of both versions, I feel I can offer a pretty well rounded report on it.
The first thing I want to establish is a reminder of where I have come from over the past...Oh.... Eight years. I went from sedentary (220+ lbs), to cardio bunny (mostly tae-bo), to weight training, and then on to the serious fitness freak that you see before you today. I did NOT start this program after getting up off my couch one day and deciding it was the one for me.
This program is NOT a good starting point for ANYONE. I am speaking most directly to those men, and you know who you are, who regardless of your actual fitness level, assume that you can handle anything at any level, simply because of your testosterone and Y chromosome. I'm married to one of these "I can do anything" types, and trust me: he tried P90X, suffered, and dropped it - and he isn't a completely unfit guy either.
If you are interested in P90X, male or female - drop the ego and take their fitness test. For REAL. It will replace your normal workout, because it takes about 40 minutes. It's not a marketing gimmick, it's a necessary thing you should do. Because, if you can't hit everything you need to on the fitness test, you not only aren't ready for P90X, but you might cause yourself injury if you try it.
Now that I have scared everyone off, lets back up for a minute. It's not THAT bad, but you do need a certain higher level of core fitness in order to start in on this program. If you don't have that, there are a lot of places to start. If you have a long way to go, I recommend a doctor's clearance and then daily walks and body weight moves (like push-ups, sit-ups, etc), ramping up to a harder regimen. I also highly recommend Body For Life (NOT NOT NOT BFL for Women, that book is a total waste of good paper, and Eating for life is a good MAINTENANCE cookbook, but not so hot for an actual plan - and by the way, all the success photos/stories in the cookbook are from the ORIGINAL BFL plan, not EFL), but as the ORIGINAL plan was intended. Ignore the "official" website, and all the stupid tweaks people have tried to twist it with. Half.com has a ton of cheap copies ($1.37 when last I checked), so it won't even cost you much to look into it. Once you have completed that, you may or may not be ready for something like P90X, but you can try the fitness test again and find out where your weaknesses are.
The system is a set of DVD workouts which involve a ton of body-weight moves (like push-ups, pull-ups, plyometric moves, etc) as well as cardio and weight training cycles. The equipment you will require is a large enough space to go bouncing about in all directions without causing serious injury or property damage, free-weights of varying sizes, a chin-up bar/station, a yoga mat and blocks, and some people also use bands, as well as push-up bars (optional.)
**A note about the bands - I bought a set from Walmart. I snapped those suckers in half. They stink, don't buy them from Walmart or any of the other major retailers. You need a set of HIGH quality bands if you are going to be using them. I do not know if the set they sell through the Beachbody website are high quality or not, but you can try them or a serious fitness retailer. You need at least a medium weighted resistance band and the heaviest one they have (to mimic pull-ups if you can't do them.)
Personally, I have an interchangeable set of dumbbells with plates. This worked out OK, but there were times I had to hit the pause button because I couldn't get it set up quickly enough. If you have the cash (which I do not), I highly recommend PowerBlocks. I also have a Power-Tower station for the pull-ups. You can buy a standard chin-up bar from a major retailer for about $6, or you can invest in their fancy junglebar version for about $40. My power tower ($70) was a personal "I gotta HAVE IT!" freak-out, so it's not necessary. I just wanted a station that was good for not only pull-ups, but dips, leg raises and other exercises. Yes, I know, fitness freak. But for P90X , you only need the pull-up station, with the ability to do both wide and close handed grips.
The actual workouts range from a plyometric workout, core and cardio, to several weight/target area workouts (like legs & back, or shoulders & arms, etc). There is also a 90 minute Yoga session which you do every week, as well as a cardio workout of Kenpo. My favorite of all the workouts is the Kenpo, because I'm a sucker for anything that involves fighting moves - serious or not. I also value the yoga that has been incorporated because it has helped with some flexibility issues I was struggling with. Since the yoga also comes dead center of the week, it also relieves some tightness that you end up acquiring through the earlier workouts.
The weight workouts are good because there isn't a ton of monotony. You have a lot of different exercises you move through, and you never get bored because of that. The pull-ups aren't as bad as they sound. Yes, they're HARD. Yes, you end up doing a LOT of them. But there are ways to "spot" yourself, and assist with the pull-up until you can switch over to doing them without assistance. The DVD does show you how to do this, even expects you to. If you are interested in just learning about how to get your body doing pull-ups, Stumtuous.com has a whole "how-to" for you to get in gear.
I would say the workout I hate the most is the plyometrics, closely followed by the core synergistics. Why? Because plyo is HARD, people! Doesn't mean it's not worth doing. If anything, it's because it's hard that it's worth doing. Though, I admit that near the end of one of the workouts, I looked up to see the instructor doing a push-up where he brought his whole body into the air off the ground (feet and hands) and clapped in mid air, before coming down and doing it again - I almost took off my shoe and threw it at the screen.
The instructor, Tony Horton, is a good looking 40-something guy with a great attitude. Admittedly, at first I found him slightly grating. But I think that was because I have a lot of preconceived notions about DVD workouts, and their instructors. OK, they're not preconceived notions, we're talking outright hostility. If I had to endure another energizer-wind-up-pink-lollipop- cotton-candy-fluffy-should -be-tossed-out-of-a-plane instructor, I was going to lose it. Thank goodness this wasn't the case. Once I was able to understand the rhythm of his sense of humor, I was fine. Honestly, I think he's probably one of the best motivational exercise instructors I have ever seen.
However, for those who don't agree, the DVD's come with the options to play the workout with either the music or the instructor, or both muted and just have it give you your cues on the exercises. So far, I haven't done either, which was a total shock considering my propensity for a lack of patience in this area.
On certain days, you are expected to tack on the 16 minute "Ab Ripper" routine. This thing sucks. Sorry to use the language, but...Well... OW. Necessary, but OW. I also found that I have next to NO patience for tacking it on right after a regular workout. After 60 minutes of lifting weights and doing pull-ups, the last thing I want to do is look at some fresh-faced bunch of people and kill myself with an ab routine. So, what I have done instead is to tack it on later in the day. I'm MUCH happier with this arrangement, and it allows me to draft my husband into doing it with me. It's so much more enjoyable to hear someone else cussing and whining through a workout, than yourself.
These workouts are hard-core, but they're also geared for your own level. Basically, you will get out of this what you put into it. If you go through this DVD workout like a pansie: only lifting low amounts when you could lift more and doing half-hearted moves when you should be taking it to the mat - well, then you'll only get a blah workout and blah results. But if you hit it with the intensity you KNOW you have, and you work HARD and focused, you will get solid results. The upside to all of this is that it's an unlimited challenge. You keep pushing yourself harder and higher, and you will always be challenged by this workout (which is why I think you don't see many used ones for sale, they're definitely a permanent addition to my DVD library.) But, if you decide to be a slacker, then it's likely the best you'll do is whine that it's not enough and "whyyyyyyyy" doesn't it work for you like it does for everyone else?
This is like life, people. You want it? You gotta put in the effort. Plain and simple. It's a shut-up and put-up situation. In the end, you have the map - if you don't make it there, you have no one but yourself to blame.
From a personal trainer standpoint, I really appreciate that there is a real, serious, intense workout available like this. 99% of the video workouts out there are too weak for me, no matter how much effort I put into it. I think what makes this such a challenging set is because it has so many different types of exercise involved, as well as the open ended room to increase your own intensity level. After these workouts, I actually FEEL like I have worked out. In the case of all the other DVD workouts I have tried, I felt as if I hadn't done enough.
The regular version/schedule is six days of workouts (all different, except the added Ab-Ripper on three days), and then a day of rest (or you can do the stretching DVD which isn't included during the week.) Every three weeks, it changes over to a recovery week. While you still do six workouts, they aren't the weight training ones, so it is a little bit of a break. Not much, but enough. Then it changes to a different line up for three weeks, followed by another recovery week, and again for the last four resulting in a full 13 week program.
P90X also has a version called doubles, which is essentially the regular schedule plus doing the 40 minute CardioX workout (which you only see during the recovery week or on the Lean version) several extra times during the week. I have to tell you straight out that this would drive me INSANE. Doing the P90X Lean version, you do the CardioX workout every week, replacing one of the weight training sessions. If I had to see that cardio DVD that often I would probably lose it. The obvious alternative, however, is simply to add your own cardio workout of about 50 minutes to those days as your extra workout. They're just offering the basic option with their doubles plan, without having to figure out a different workout without guidance.
The program also comes with an eating plan. I will tell you straight that the plan is maintenance level as far as calories go for MOST people. If you are thinking about losing a lot of weight, the eating plan is too much. It's the right kinds of food, and I 100% approve of the layout, it's the quantity verses goal.
*If you are wanting to gain mass, it might be enough calories, or a little low for a male. For a female it might be enough. However, I would like to point out that P90X isn't a muscle-mass increasing routine. It WILL build some muscle, make no mistake, but it is more about power. P90X is about creating strength with what you have, and refining it. Power over size, for all intensive purposes.
* If you want to maintain, I suggest you follow their eating plan as it's laid out. However, I would suggest you monitor your levels of body fat, measurements and scale weight to see if you should add calories or subtract them.
* If you are trying to LOSE weight, this is where things get tricky. The calories are a bit high for women (for men, I would start with it and then adjust as necessary) and I would probably start off about 100-300 calories less than the plan equates to on a daily basis. HOWEVER, you need to understand that these workouts are power oriented workouts. They demand a great deal from your body, not only to rise to the occasion with the proper intensity, but also in the matter of recovery afterwards. If you drop your calories too low, you will wipe yourself OUT. Your workouts will suffer, you will get less results, and frankly, you will just feel AWFUL. So, on the angle of a cutting program, this one walks a fine line.
One of the reasons I chose the P90X Lean version of the schedule was so I could actively pursue the weight loss side of it. It IS easier than the regular version, and obviously less demanding than the Doubles. But even so, it is a demanding routine on the body. Because of that, there is no room for error. You must fuel your body at the appropriate times, or you will feel it. You cannot skip meals, because it will tank you.
Now, one last thing to be clear on. If you are after visible results, you need to understand that those are 80% rooted in your kitchen. What you feed yourself, how much, and when are absolutely KEY. There is no workout, or pill, or magic wand that will enable you to get around this fact. If you don't eat right, you will not see what you are working so hard for. You will experience an increase in strength/power, you will probably even feel better, but you won't SEE it, OR feel as good as you COULD if you did right by your body in the kitchen. You want to see your abs? You could do a million crunches, and it won't make a damn bit of difference if you are eating in excess and the wrong things. It's the one hard fact that people want to deny, yet can never truly do so.
You want to be fit? You gotta do the work. You want to LOOK fit? You gotta do the work AND eat right. It's that simple, it really IS that black and white. No if's, and's or but's.
So, to the point: I like the workout. I like the food plan. And I even like the instructor and his presentation of the whole plan. Oh, one technical note, though - the whole thing is kind of dark. Not that it isn't shot well, it is. It's just that the room it was shot in is dark toned, and there are often shadows in the background which leads to an even darker appearance. This was probably on purpose since it allowed you to 100% focus on the instructor who stood out well against this background. However, it did make it tough to see sometimes because of the glare of lights in my own room against the television, regardless of where the lighting came from (above, or from a lamp or window, etc.) Don't misunderstand me, it's not a poor quality recording at ALL. And hey, maybe it's just me.
If you are now interested in P90X, Ultimate Fitness Gear has contacted me to offer a coupon to everyone for $5 off the program. The code to input at check-out is: smw5offEdit 2/2008: I have recently been able to try out two of the nutritional supplements many had asked me about, this link is my review of them.
Edit: I wrote this review in July 2006, and recently it has been getting a lot of traffic. I still stand by everything I said. I am not affiliated with Beachbody. Up until now I had been taking questions, but it is becoming more than I can keep up with, so I won't be answering any more. Please see if your question has already been answered in the comments. Thank you!
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