P90X Lean--Final Week & Wrap Up
Monday: Yoga--skipped
Tuesday: Core Synergistics
Wednesday: Plyometrics--skipped
Thursday: Stretch
Friday: rest, actually out playing with friends
Saturday: Yoga
Sunday: Cathe's Step Blast
First--I DID IT! I completed three months of P90X Lean. I started on December 26 and finished on March 29.
Weight: lost 7 pounds
Waist: lost 2 inches
Hips: lost 2.25 inches
I missed three workouts total in the whole time. I am more than thrilled with that since two of them were this week and the other was in my second recovery week. I never missed a workout during the training weeks. I even doubled up when I was sick. Working out a mandatory six days a week for at least an hour is a HUGE commitment for me.
Thoughts on the program:
I LOVED IT! It is as hard and challenging as you make it. If you push yourself every single workout, you will see a difference.
I definitely gained a lot of strength during this program. When I started I really wanted to get better at push ups and triceps dips and I did. I cannot believe the difference. I can do full body push ups all through every workout now--sometimes I cannot make it all the way to the end of the time allowed per exercise but I did always try to push myself at least one past what I did the previous workout. Triceps dips--when I started I had to do them all bent knee but now I can do almost all of them straight leg. I definitely have room for more improvement but I'm 100% better than when I started.
Although I did not lose a ton of weight during the program, I just know that I switched up a lot of fat for muscle. I actually have a shape to my arms now and I have significantly decreased the little underarm flap you see when you wave if you are carrying any excess weight.
I really enjoyed pushing myself through all the weight workouts. My only complaint about the Lean routine is that during the last phase you do not a have a leg workout at all--you do get some leg work during Plyometrics, Core Synergistics, and any of the cardio but it's not the same as a separate leg routine.
I made no bones about the fact that I thought Cardio X and Kenpo were very lame cardio workouts. Kenpo had potential but it is so "stop/start" that I really can't keep my heart rate up where it needs to be. Luckily I have hard cardio workouts from Cathe that I can sub in as needed. I used the Interval Max and Low Max routines a lot. I think that if you wanted to do this and didn't have alternative DVDs you should definitely sub in running or something else.
I just have to say something about Ab Ripper. I think it should be called Hip Flexor Ripper because that is what kills me EVERY time I do it. I have a few Cathe DVDs I may sub in when I do this again so that I can use different equipment(like a stability ball or a medicine ball). To this day I curse those Mason Twists--I literally swear at the TV through all 50 of those blasted things. I don't like the bicycles either--it's hip flexor all the way. But for a 16 minute workout--you really feel wasted at the end and that's a good thing.
Eating and P90X Lean:
I tried following the food plan initially but there is a TON of protein in it and I am not a lover of boatloads of protein. I will say that when I followed it I had a lot of energy and that is a necessity in this program. I found that there is no way I can push myself through 6 hard workouts per week if I don't eat right and think I paid the price for poorer eating during the last phase. I was exhausted before and after every workout. I have a goal of eating much cleaner the next time I run throught the program.
The long term goals:
Last March I decided I was sick and tired of squeezing into clothes and feeling generally miserable about the way I looked. My blood pressure had been creeping up and there were definite concerns about my family history and my personal history with diabetes(I had gestational diabetes with Rage). So I started trying to revamp my diet and make time for exercise again. Over the past year I have lost 25 pounds. It's not a lot, only about halfway to my goal, but it works out to a little over two pounds per month and I have not wavered more that 5 pounds from that at any given time.
The easy part for me was the exercise--once I made the time for it. I love to workout and if I didn't have kiddos and life responsibilities I would workout a lot more.
The stickler for me is eating. I struggle with that all the time. Sometimes I just enjoy junk. I have also found that I am an emotional eater so if I'm stressed at all I eat. I have found over the past year that if I want to be successful I need to measure everything I eat, be very regimented about when I eat, and keep a food journal(I actually keep a written one and an online one at Peertrainer). I also need to drink a lot of water. I drink at least 64 oz. of water a day, every day, and it helps with hunger and water retention.
Over the next year I hope to reach my goal of another 25 pounds lost so that I am at a healthy BMI. I also intended to run through the other two P90X programs at some point--Classic and Doubles. My sister and I will actually be starting Classic after Easter. I also hope to get better with my eating it's a constant struggle but it is a battle I intend to keep fighting.
Knitters and Stitchers, if you made it all the way to the end of this post. . .thanks for taking the time to read about my personal fitness goals--I just wanted everything in writing so I could look back on it later. I know it's not as exciting as a good WIP or Finish.
Now I'm taking a workout break for a couple of weeks and only working out 4-5 days per week instead of 6.
Tuesday: Core Synergistics
Wednesday: Plyometrics--skipped
Thursday: Stretch
Friday: rest, actually out playing with friends
Saturday: Yoga
Sunday: Cathe's Step Blast
First--I DID IT! I completed three months of P90X Lean. I started on December 26 and finished on March 29.
Weight: lost 7 pounds
Waist: lost 2 inches
Hips: lost 2.25 inches
I missed three workouts total in the whole time. I am more than thrilled with that since two of them were this week and the other was in my second recovery week. I never missed a workout during the training weeks. I even doubled up when I was sick. Working out a mandatory six days a week for at least an hour is a HUGE commitment for me.
Thoughts on the program:
I LOVED IT! It is as hard and challenging as you make it. If you push yourself every single workout, you will see a difference.
I definitely gained a lot of strength during this program. When I started I really wanted to get better at push ups and triceps dips and I did. I cannot believe the difference. I can do full body push ups all through every workout now--sometimes I cannot make it all the way to the end of the time allowed per exercise but I did always try to push myself at least one past what I did the previous workout. Triceps dips--when I started I had to do them all bent knee but now I can do almost all of them straight leg. I definitely have room for more improvement but I'm 100% better than when I started.
Although I did not lose a ton of weight during the program, I just know that I switched up a lot of fat for muscle. I actually have a shape to my arms now and I have significantly decreased the little underarm flap you see when you wave if you are carrying any excess weight.
I really enjoyed pushing myself through all the weight workouts. My only complaint about the Lean routine is that during the last phase you do not a have a leg workout at all--you do get some leg work during Plyometrics, Core Synergistics, and any of the cardio but it's not the same as a separate leg routine.
I made no bones about the fact that I thought Cardio X and Kenpo were very lame cardio workouts. Kenpo had potential but it is so "stop/start" that I really can't keep my heart rate up where it needs to be. Luckily I have hard cardio workouts from Cathe that I can sub in as needed. I used the Interval Max and Low Max routines a lot. I think that if you wanted to do this and didn't have alternative DVDs you should definitely sub in running or something else.
I just have to say something about Ab Ripper. I think it should be called Hip Flexor Ripper because that is what kills me EVERY time I do it. I have a few Cathe DVDs I may sub in when I do this again so that I can use different equipment(like a stability ball or a medicine ball). To this day I curse those Mason Twists--I literally swear at the TV through all 50 of those blasted things. I don't like the bicycles either--it's hip flexor all the way. But for a 16 minute workout--you really feel wasted at the end and that's a good thing.
Eating and P90X Lean:
I tried following the food plan initially but there is a TON of protein in it and I am not a lover of boatloads of protein. I will say that when I followed it I had a lot of energy and that is a necessity in this program. I found that there is no way I can push myself through 6 hard workouts per week if I don't eat right and think I paid the price for poorer eating during the last phase. I was exhausted before and after every workout. I have a goal of eating much cleaner the next time I run throught the program.
The long term goals:
Last March I decided I was sick and tired of squeezing into clothes and feeling generally miserable about the way I looked. My blood pressure had been creeping up and there were definite concerns about my family history and my personal history with diabetes(I had gestational diabetes with Rage). So I started trying to revamp my diet and make time for exercise again. Over the past year I have lost 25 pounds. It's not a lot, only about halfway to my goal, but it works out to a little over two pounds per month and I have not wavered more that 5 pounds from that at any given time.
The easy part for me was the exercise--once I made the time for it. I love to workout and if I didn't have kiddos and life responsibilities I would workout a lot more.
The stickler for me is eating. I struggle with that all the time. Sometimes I just enjoy junk. I have also found that I am an emotional eater so if I'm stressed at all I eat. I have found over the past year that if I want to be successful I need to measure everything I eat, be very regimented about when I eat, and keep a food journal(I actually keep a written one and an online one at Peertrainer). I also need to drink a lot of water. I drink at least 64 oz. of water a day, every day, and it helps with hunger and water retention.
Over the next year I hope to reach my goal of another 25 pounds lost so that I am at a healthy BMI. I also intended to run through the other two P90X programs at some point--Classic and Doubles. My sister and I will actually be starting Classic after Easter. I also hope to get better with my eating it's a constant struggle but it is a battle I intend to keep fighting.
Knitters and Stitchers, if you made it all the way to the end of this post. . .thanks for taking the time to read about my personal fitness goals--I just wanted everything in writing so I could look back on it later. I know it's not as exciting as a good WIP or Finish.
Now I'm taking a workout break for a couple of weeks and only working out 4-5 days per week instead of 6.
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