Last year for Christmas I bought P90X for hero hottie. He really wanted to try it; damn those infomercials, they really do work; but I couldn't think of anything else to get him anyway. He spent part of the next week watching the instruction video, reading the manuals, and deciding how we were going to follow the food plan.
He convinced me to do it with him. Which at first I wasn't sure of. I was working lots of hours, always tired and struggling to get through my day, and I wasn't in shape at all. In fact, I had gained quite a bit of weight and felt sluggish and not so great about my appearance. It didn't help that I spent my days working with small tykes, who seem to stain every shirt I owned. I couldn't wear my hair down and I didn't dare put dangle earrings in, that was asking for trouble. My self image was as dank as the winter weather.
So in the cold month of January, after putting on weight from too much pie and not enough exercise, I decided what the heck and I would give it a try. After all, how hard could it actually be?
NOTE: For people that are familiar with the P90X program, you can stop laughing now and continue reading.
For the rest of you; P90X is a killer exercise routine. If it doesn't kill you, than it makes you stronger. It is not for anyone that is afraid of sweating profusely, being sore for days afterwards, or hasn't taken any form of physical activity seriously before. And for the first few weeks you might be tempted to throw your weights at Tony Horton's face. Resist, you need the television to continue the program.
First of all, the diet for the first month is very low on carbs. Very low. I stared at the menu over and over again, thinking to myself I can not give up my lovely bowls of rice, or my crunchy bites of toast. I didn't mind the heavy veggie part of it, I love vegetables and already ate quite a bit of them. But I was never a heavy protein eater. I liked my servings of grains a little too much.
We bought the food we needed and I learned how to make Roasted Red Pepper soup (delicious) and really good omelets.
My sister decided to join us on our journey towards fitness, which hero hottie has always been one to be fit. He rode in mountain bike races before we met and has a pretty labor intensive job, so getting ready for this program was more excitement than nervousness on his part. For my sister and I, who sports had never been a family pass time, this was still exciting but completely new.
One night, a few days before we were going to start the program, we all took our measurements and weight. Urggh, did I really gain that much weight? It was horrifying, even more so because I had to share it with hero hottie. And we had to write it down. I couldn't forget the ugly number if it was written in black and white and hung up on the cork board.
Then we shot our 'before photos'. Being the photographer, I shot their photos first. We used a white wall, my flash for the light source, and undressed to our unmentionables so we could record every detail. Hero hottie took my photos and then I looked at them.
They were awful photos. It's easy to ignore the mirror some times, especially if you don't look until after you're dressed and your 'problem areas' are camouflaged by clothing. But in the harsh lighting of my flash, there was no hiding the fat areas. The extra chubbiness around the middle and the flabbiness of my arms and thighs.
I was overweight and clearly heading down the wrong path. I tried to ignore the pain looking at those photos caused me, I didn't like the way I looked at all, but no amount of positive thinking was going to change the fact that I had put on a lot of weight. I slipped into the bathroom and cried. More than once.
So our first day, or should I say night since we had to do our exercising after work, after dinner and after Bean and Abu were in bed, was tough. I had zero energy and just wanted to watch television and do nothing. What was I thinking? I couldn't exercise at eight o'clock at night.
I started with three pound weights for the Chest and Back video. How pitiful is that? Three small pounds and I couldn't even keep up. By the end of the video I was dying. And then Tony Horton kept up the torture with Ab Rippers. Fifteen minutes of hell. My back was burning, my abs were on fire, and I went straight to bed. Forget about doing the dinner dishes. I was exhausted.
For a week I struggled through the series of video. I struggled with my habit to snack and I made myself stay away from the carbs. But I enjoyed the protein bars and shakes. They actually seem to help with the muscle pain.
Night after night we encouraged each other to continue until we hit month two. We took more photos. And noticed how it was showing. Oh, not on me. But on my sister, who was trimmer. And even on hero hottie who was defining ab muscles.
But on me, the difference was small especially after so much work. Again, I slipped into the bathroom and cried.
We continued for the next two months and still I felt like nothing was changing. It was spring and than summer and I pushed myself. Towards what, I wasn't sure because I wasn't looking like those slim and fit people on the commercials. Heck, I wasn't even trimming down like my exercise partners. I was still fat and still struggling to get through the hour long routine.
Slowly, our diet changed. We ate less carbs and the amount of food we ate at a time was smaller. In fact, we noticed when we went out to eat, the portions were entirety too large for us anymore. I couldn't finish the meals anymore. I snacked on more fruits and nuts and when I did eat rice or bread, I limited the amounts and didn't even mind it.
Then I decided I needed something extreme. I wasn't any where near where I wanted to be after exercising for six months. Hero hottie and I started jogging the Hill. If P90X is extreme, than the hill is pushing sanity. The trail up onto the hill is a steep incline. The backside isn't too bad, I had to be careful not to go too fast or I'll end up tripping on the rocks and flying off the trail. We would finish by going back up the same trail we just came down. Somehow we were still supposed to be breathing at the same time.
The first time I tried jogging up the hill, (should I started on a running track? I tried. I got bored. Maybe it was the P90X but I needed something that was going to challenge me to the edge of my ability. I was also desperate to see some results by this time.)
-I jogged five or ten minutes and felt like collapsing. I went up the hill in a serious of little jogs and then walking. Little jogs and then walking.
I finally finished jogging down the hill and had to lay on the ground to catch my breath. What the hell was I thinking? My head was pounding, I could hear my heartbeat in my ears, and my lungs were tight and burning.
Then I turned to hero hottie and started laughing. "I did it. I jogged. I don't even like jogging."
He grins at me.
And then we went back up the hill and down again. My muscles were shaky by the time I was back to the car but I had done this wonderful thing for myself.
Over the summer and early part of fall I jogged on the Hill as many times as I could. I was jogging longer and faster every time. I was finally starting to trim up and I was losing weight.
Then I started on the P90X again. It was a completely different experience this time around. I was using ten pound weights instead of three, I was actually doing push-ups and I could keep up with the video. I also didn't feel like screaming at Tony Horton during the entire video. Suddenly he wasn't the bad guy. He was the guy who was going to keep me heading towards my goal of reaching pre-baby body status.
I still have a ways to go. But I'm excited. I've trimmed up so much I need new clothes because the old ones keep trying to fall off me. My shirts are baggy and shapeless. It's awesome. I can't wait for spring so I can get back up on the Hill. I bet I do even better this time around.
I have more energy, I eat better, and I don't feel tired and sluggish. It's difficult to find time to exercise and I always used that as an excuse before because it didn't seem as important as the other things on my list. But now that I'm getting in shape and feel so much better about the way I look, I remind myself that every thing else works better when I exercise.
It might have taken this bookworm way too long to discover the benefits of insane exercise routines but now that I have, it's one of the first things I want to accomplish in the mornings. It's even better than a cup of coffee. So thanks Tony Horton for designing an insane and crazy workout, because it works.
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