Day "90" results... and full disclosure

Okay, so yesterday would have been Day 90 with the original schedule. Those of you following the blog know I've had some recent difficulty with motivation and random aches (hip, wrist, etc). Well, here's the real deal... I'm about 7 weeks pregnant! I learned this a couple of days after the 60 day pictures. The nausea has fully set in these past 4-5 days, making working out much more difficult. So, I'm reluctantly calling it quits on this round of P90X.

Last time I was pregnant I had to take a month or so totally off working out, due to the nausea and extreme exhaustion. I'm really hoping that this time I'll be able to do something each day. Last time I came out of my month-of-nothing to run/walk a 1/2 marathon at about month 3. Then I was able to do various preggo workouts until about 8 months. Unfortunately I also gained over 60 lbs last time... that's something I don't want to repeat. So, I plan on transforming this blog into a blog about staying fit (fingers crossed) while pregnant.

So, while I haven't been able to get the results I wanted... what have I got from P90X? I lost a total of 4.5 inches. About 10 lbs, though some of those are already back on. I can do 1/2 pull-up... not my goal of 1, but better than I ever have. Push-ups have more than doubled. In & Outs (a form of sit-up) have doubled. Wall sit has more than doubled. I would say that I'm happy with the results. I truly got out of it what I was able to put in.

Day 1

Day 90

Day 1

Day 90

Day 75

Well, today would've been my original Day 90. But then I was sick for like two weeks. It would be so nice to be done...

Instead today was Legs & Back. One more time on the schedule after today.

Day 74

Today was to be Yoga X. For a variety of reasons I switched to X Stretch. I know it seems like all I'm doing anymore is switching to easier workouts. I'm feeling a little wussy, but I'm trying to take care of myself and listen to my body right now.

Stretching always feels great. And I could actually feel my triceps today, so I must have gotten a decent workout on them yesterday.

Day 73

Tonight was the last time for Shoulders & Arms. This made me go all out. At the begining he tells you to set your goals and then go for them. I set my goals. Within the first 5 minutes the goals were gone... and not in the happy 'i accomplished them' way. It was pretty disappointing and my energy was rapidly sapped. This was the first time that I opped out of the 'bonus round.' I usually find it silly that he calls a section the bonus round and I've never understood why you would skip it. Today I totally got it.

I'm starting to wonder if I need to find a different time of day to work out. Afternoon might be better energy wise, but it's the main time I can see my son. I guess depending on the workout I can see if I can incorporate interactions with him.

Only 17 days left!

Day 72

Today was Plyometrics. If you've read this blog before you'll know my mixed feelings on this workout. Not the best workout after a day of Christmas eatting. But, I didn't want to skip. The hubby decided to give it a try with me. We were almost done with the warm up when my lower back/hip started questioning. Todd was worried about his hernia.

So, we changed the disk to X Stretch. When it starts Tony says that it's a workout to 'take care of yourself today' and that's exactly what we were doing. Sometimes you just have to do what you can. It might not be the hardest workout. But it's not sitting on the couch. And now my body is happy. It feels stretched out and relaxed. Ahhhh.

Day 71

Didn't quite get to blogging last night. It was a late Christmas Eve eve. But, I did get the workout in, despite having first taken a nap. The workout was Chest & Back. I was surprised when I pulled out the worksheets that it was my last time to do this particular workout! 19 days left and this one is never repeated! Once I saw that I really wanted to go all out with it. Though I was still disswaded (how in the world do you spell that?) by the late hour. Some things, like back flys, saw minimal improvement. But other things made me really happy. The first time I did this workout, in week 1, I did 20 push ups; all on my knees. This time I did 12 regular pushups followed by 22 on my knees! The first time I did 20 wide fly push ups on my knees. This time I did 8 regular followed by 25 on my knees! I think those two are the ones that have made me the happiest. When I finish my next round of P90X I'd love to be doing all my push ups from my feet.

Day 70

Wow, only 20 days left! Since I rested on Sunday today became yoga day. I went with the One on One Yoga because I just really like that one. The hubby joined me for about 1/2 of it, until his hernia started acting up. And I think that he actually enjoyed the yoga... which is saying something!

Anyway, it was enjoyable. And now I'm cuddling with a blanket and watching the Grinch.

Day 69

Kenpo night. Still love the kicking/punching parts. Still dislike the warm up... partly because my legs are generally still sore from the leg workout the day before and the whole warm up is leg stretching. So, really it's probably good to get everything all stretched out before attempting to kick a lot. Probably keeps injuries away. But, still not my favorite part.

Today work food caught up with me. I was really good with not overindulging yesterday but today I didn't do as well. I haven't even been a fan of chocolate lately (not sure where that's come from) but I still managed to eat more than one oreo. But, it was one day and I know that my body got the nutrition it needed from breakfast and the Shakeology I just finished.

Tomorrow I plan on doing Yoga instead of a rest day.

Day 68

Legs & Back night. Nothing new to say on this one. It's done pretty much every week, except recovery weeks. So, I've done it a lot. Only 2 more times to go.

I still dislike doing the Ab Ripper afterward, as it turns out several of those moves hurt the legs when they're already sore. One legged wall squats still seem mean, but I can do them for the full minute without too much difficulty. So, I'm seeing progress.

And I'm tired. Good night.

Day 67

Decided today would be my rest day. The hubby said that I let my 'inner Todd' make that decision. It was a challanging week for me with a lot going on. So I decided the hot tub, a cigar, and time with the hubby sounded like the best plan.

Plus Yoga was on the schedule for today and my wrist was bothering me some from the weights yesterday. I was going to subsitute Kenpo, but then my hip started hurting... silly getting older. So, Wednesday will be Yoga night. Probably that awesome 60 min Yoga routine from the One on One. Love that one!

Day 66

Tonight was Back & Biceps. Apparently I've decided to be consistant. I was able to push out an extra rep on a couple of the moves. But most of the time I worked till I couldn't and found that I was writing the same number as last week. But that's okay, I'm working as hard as I can.

Two things I've learned about using bands to mimic pull-ups. 1) Take off rings. It keeps blisters from forming. 2) Putting a yoga mat on the floor (we have wood floors) keeps me from slipping. Previously I found myself sliding, which made the bands less taunt. I've used the mat the past 3 times and the lack of sliding has made it harder. But nice, because I'm actually working as I intend.

24 more days. I believe I'm scheduled to finish the day after my birthday. That'll be a nice present. Course, I need to start thinking about what my next adventure will be. I had planned on Insanity, but am starting to think that I'm expecting a lot of my body (due to nursing, among other things). So, I'm thinking of Power 90. Or Turbo Jam. Likely I'll just mix it up for a while. I just need to make a schedule so that I keep going strong!

Day 65

Tonight I did Cardio X instead of Plyo. There were a multitude of reasons. Some good and others pretty shabby. Some days I think being a nursing mom and doing P90X places a lot of expectations on my body. That is probably one of the better reasons for the substitution. One of the poorer reasons is that it's shorter and I was just tired.

During Cardio X Tony says that if you're using the 'slimming schedule' this is your second workout of the day. That line always makes me feel pretty lazy. But alas, I did a workout and that's more than sitting on the couch.

Time for a Shakeology, a cigar, and a hot tub.

Days 63 & 64

Rest Day. Followed by Chest, Shoulders, Triceps. I laugh at myself because I can never remember the official names of the workouts... I'm just like 'another arm one with lots of pushups' or 'push up and pull up day.' This is one where most of the time is spent doing push ups... or trying to. I'm getting much better at them. The clap and one handed ones are still hardest. But then who really does those? I guess I will someday! I've said it before, but arms are where I'm seeing the most changes and days like today are why.

Day 62

Kenpo day. I don't know what to say about this workout that I haven't already. Good stuff.

So now I'm sitting here, drinking my Shakeology, and watching Biggest Loser. Some good stories on that show. Some good stories among those at Beachbody too. I love hearing what inspires people to finally do something.

Day 61

Legs & Back. But my triceps are still sore from Saturday! Glad they didn't get used much today. It was one of those hard to push play kind of days. And once I got into the workout some things felt harder than I would have liked. But some were better than expected. One legged wall squat wasn't too horrible today; I did it the whole time and didn't collapse afterward.

Less than 30 days to go now... that thought kept me moving and pushing myself when I didn't want to. I think the minimal amount of time left will drive me to push it harder. I want some good 90 day pictures! It also helps me to push it when I'm turned some awkward way and see flubber that I want gone... this generally happens with the belly and I kind of blame my beautiful baby boy.... I don't know that that excuse will last much longer though. How long does skin take to firm anyway?? On the flip side there were a couple of times today when I noticed that my legs are really looking firm and that's motivating too!

Day 60

So, today is day 60! I'm officially 2/3 of the way done. I am not a 'finished product' though I don't expect to feel like one on day 90 either. Today I did Plyo instead of Yoga; it may still be my least favorite. There are moves I now love. And I think that it will grow on me. I am motivated during it to think about how it will help my running. I so look forward to running this spring! (Yes, I could get on my treadmill or bundle up and go outside, but those things don't drive me.)

So, some 60 day pictures:

Day one

Day sixty

So, I still have fluff that needs to go. I've almost met my weight goal, so that will be changing. Weight is a funny thing, because it really isn't a clear indication of the fluff factor. Or strength. One thing I am happy about is that my thighs fit in pants much better than they used to.

I'm excited to see muscles in my arms. I'm definitely liking the strength I'm seeing in this area.

Day 59

Shoulders & Arms. I've only done this one twice before, the last time being in week three. So, it's been awhile. I really like how it alternates shoulders, biceps, and triceps. By the end my whole arms were killing me. It was exciting to move up from 5lbs to 10lbs on some things.

Tomorrow is 60 day pictures. Ack! Time moves quickly. I generally like and am happy with what I'm seeing in the mirror, so hopefully the pictures will reflect that.

Day 58

Wow, two days until the next set of pictures. I know it's not going to be as good as I'd like, but that's what I get for doing this over Halloween, Thanksgiving, and soon Christmas. Course, had I not been doing this I know I really wouldn't like what the pictures would say. Yay for sticking with a plan through the holidays!

My hip was mostly feeling fine today, though I did have random moments of intense pain. I wasn't sure that Plyo would be the best choice, so I decided to do the One on One MC2 Yoga. I love love love this workout. The chair poses still seem excessive to me, but I handled them better tonight. This is one yoga workout that has me breathing hard and sweating. Awesome! And I still come away feeling refreshed, stretched, and calm. Plus my hip loved the stretching. I can't say enough about how much this workout rules. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

I try not to make this an ad (though I would encourage anyone wanting to make a change to let Beachbody - and me, as your coach, help you). Right now you can start One on One vol 3 for just 1 cent! After that it's like $20 per month and they automatically ship you a new workout each month. December's is Plyocide... the name and the preview both scare me. Plyometrics still intimidates me, and I've been doing it regularly... course, I did pass it tonight...

Day 57

Today was Chest & Back. An interesting workout because today starts week 9 and the last time this workout was done was week 3. So, the numbers were better. And my arms still killed me. The exciting thing is I was able to start more of the push-up sequences on my feet before dropping to my knees. By the time I finished all the muscles in my upper arms felt tight... this is usually how it goes. Happily the recovery drink makes it so that tomorrow I should feel fine.

Ab Ripper was a little frustrating. My right hip has been hurting me on and off. It behaved until I got to a couple of the ab exercises. Turns out you need hip movement for some of those. Mainly some of the oblique stuff, so I substituted for things I thought I could do.

A random thought I had today. There is a more fit, healtier version of me out there... and I'm just gonna keep working out and working on nutrition until I find her. I think such a version exists for everyone. Will you join me in finding yours??

Day 56

Well, instead of resting today I was planning on Yoga MC2 (the One on One). Then my hip started hurting. A LOT. During the day it hurt occasionally, but I was still really excited about the prospect of an awesome yoga workout. By the time I was ready to do the workout I wasn't sure what to do. I though about still doing yoga but was a little worried about some of the warrior poses. So, I went with X Stretch. I did this the last time my hip hurt and if felt amazing; plus I woke up feeling pain free. I'm hoping tomorrow morning has the same result. The workout felt great. And my hubby actually was able to join me, dispite his hernia. Yay for stretching!!!

Day 55

Forced to 'mix it up' again. Today was to be yoga... but alas... I was just saying this morning that it was SO nice to feel healthy and like myself again. Then on my drive to work my stomach started to feel funny. After lots of time spent in bathrooms I think today will be my day off and yoga will occur tomorrow.

Random thoughts:

Yesterday is totally what I needed regarding motivation. I really needed to have a day where I didn't want to be working out and it would have been easier not to. I don't know if I can explain it, but it just felt good today to know that dispite my frustration yesterday I got through the workout and that was me. And I can do it again if need be... well, not today, but you know.

I've noticed that weight loss changes the shape of one's bellybutton. It makes the top part a lot flatter. I guess that makes sense, as one loses belly fat. Just odd. Maybe I'm noticing more since nine months ago mine was totally going the wrong direction. But, I've noticed the flat thing on the hubby too.

I found pants I had stored away that actually fit me. Yay!! I now have 3 pairs that fit right and my thighs actually looked thin in one of the pairs today. It was nice to find these and I'm really enjoying wearing them.

I wish I were doing yoga right now. But my stomach is gurgly and bed is calling my name. Hopefully in the morning I'll again be able to say/think that I feel like myself. At least no one else in the family got this...

Day 54

Core Synergistics again. This is what I get for swapping a couple of workouts this week. I've done this one two days in a row before. Hard to do that. While doing the X squat things I realized that that's the move that made my legs hurt today. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. In general this workout really makes me realize how far I still have to go. There are so many types of push ups that I can't do on my feet. There are side hip raises that I can hardly do.

I also realize that there is still an area in my abs where I feel pulling when flipping from superman or bow to banana. Stupid c-section.

But, the hardest part of tonight was working out by myself. For those of you not following my hubby's blog, he is currently unable to workout with me until he has surgery to repair his hernia in January. Since he's unable to workout, he's been spending the time on other self-improvement activities. But, it's still hard to keep working out when sitting on the couch appears to be an option. And I ate too many Trader Joe's dark chocolate stars and sipping chocolate. A blanket and cuddling really sounded nice. But, I'd started the workout online. I'd pushed play. So I kept moving. I'm glad I did, but it really is harder as a solo activity. Perhaps I'll have to find a different time or relocate to the basement. If I didn't have the other option (relaxing, sitting, etc) infront of me I think it would have been out of my mind...

Day 53

Today was Core Synergistics. My favorite thing about this workout is the word "synergistics." But it is a good workout. The exciting thing is that I'm getting better at the Dreya roll. Today I was able to jump up from it each time; did get me panting pretty hard though.

One of the odd things about this workout is that it's only done on recovery weeks, so I haven't quite got a hold of the order of things. I also find it odd that there's this whole chataranga run, which I find impossible and then in the 'bonus' part there is a holding chataranga section... seems to me that in order to do the chataranga run you have to be able to do the chararanga hold thing. Someday I hope to be able to do both of these for real. In the meantime I'm doing what I can and I'm getting stronger.

Something I notieced today is that my leg muscles are really getting stronger. I was sitting with my legs crossed today and happened to notice that my muscles were really hard on the sides. Yay progress! I've never thought that I had soft thighs, but I did feel that they were huge... buying pants has always been a challange because in order to get them over my thighs the waist was always too big. I'm hoping this problem will go away. On a similar note, I wore some pants today that have never fit comfortably... they are now my one pair that actually fit without the threat of falling down.

Day 52

Kenpo day. Thank goodness. Didn't get to working out until after 11pm. It was hard to push play, but I knew that I would enjoy it once I did. And enjoy it I did.

It was a long and wonderful day. It started out super awesome because Beachbody had an event in Lincoln with Craig Holiday and Traci Morrow. Traci specifically talked to the ladies about managing health, fitness, a business, and family (being a wife and mom). It was so inspiring. I loved her thoughts on balance and priorities. It was also awesome how much they both talked about how God has worked in their lives and their reliance on him. I'm continually impressed with the people involved with Beachbody. Giving God the glory is such a great way to receive blessings. And the heart that comes from that is a great servant to helping others...

Day 51

So, I'm old. Today my right hip was killing me. A sharp pain in the joint area whenever I walk. Sometimes this happens. It never lasts more than a day or so. It just sucks when today is the day.

I was supposed to do Core Synergistics, but that didn't seem really possible. So I switched to X Stretch. Felt pretty good, though oddly long. I think I just had too much on my mind that I wanted to get done. Still have a lot to do, but I think sleep is calling to me.

Hopefully the hip will feel better in the morning. And maybe next time I have a recovery week I won't move all the workouts around...

Days 49 & 50

Day 49 was a rest day.

Day 50 begins a recovery week. So today was Yoga X. I did the 90 min workout, thinking that for the second yoga of the week I'll do the One on One (I really liked that one). After the One on One Yoga (read day 46) the sun salutation part actually went quickly. And the last 45 mins of balance and stretch are always enjoyable.

New yoga goal: by the time I finish my 90 days I want to be able to do chaturanga every time. I can do it some to most of the time, but certainly not all.

And crane would be nice.

Day 48

Kenpo X. Still love this workout. This week felt more like what I enjoy and I was able to work through the break periods. Did take my own breaks to cough, but still worked up a sweat and got some good punches in.

Day 47

Tonight was Legs & Back. It's been a week now since I've been back to working out. My numbers tonight were much better than last week. And I felt pretty good about the workout. I was able to hold the one legged wall squat and the chair squat... though both really sucked tonight. Yesterday's yoga did too many chair squats for my liking; including ones where your legs were crossed and you were balancing on one leg!

Ab Ripper was harder tonight. I went into it hurting from coughing all day and had to take several coughing breaks. I suppose at least my abs were contracting!

Day 46

Yoga day! I decided to mix it up today. Mainly because I didn't want to do 90+ mins of yoga, but I wanted to stick with yoga. One of the other Beachbody products is a One on One series with Tony Horton. It's basically him working out in his personal gym with a camera guy. He makes these every month and you can get them shipped as they're made, or buy them individually. We signed up for this recently and November's workout was yoga... so I decided to do the One on One yoga.

This was a great yoga workout. 63 minutes long... but really hard. Had some new crazy moves and some that I haven't done since I took a yoga class when we used to belong to a gym. It was basically all variations on sun salutations and triangles. My arms were really sore from yesterday's workout, so I wasn't able to do the chaturanga every time, but I did what I could.

My favorite new move was going into plank, lifting a leg, and then doing chaturanga with the one leg up. Oddly I could actually do this. I was also able to do side plank with an elevated leg. There were also some interesting lift-a-leg-here and put-a-knee-there versions of downward dog.

All in all the workout made me feel pretty good about myself. But there were certain balance issues that I'd like to improve on. Will certainly use this again when I want a good yoga workout without spending 90 minutes to do so.

Day 45

Back & Biceps with Ab Ripper X. The strength workouts are much nicer when coughing. Don't have to worry so much about losing my breath. I was really able to push the workout and my numbers were actually pretty in line with the last time I did the workout. Other workouts have seen some decrease in numbers since the whole sick thing.

The best thing is that I completed the entire Ab Ripper. I've done that before but minus the side v-ups. Tonight I actually did all of those! Took me weeks just to figure out how to properly do one, so doing 25 is pretty awesome. I've decided that one of my fitness goals is to have a 6 pack by the time my son turns one year old. That seems like it would be a pretty awesome accomplishment. And I think it should be fairly realistic. I have about 4 months until then. 45 days left of P90X (I'm halfway done today!!). Then 60 days of Insanity.

Plus I think my current cough is like continual ab work throughout the day...

Day 44

Today was to be Plyo X. At the start of that workout it tells you that if you're not up for it you can substitute Cardio X. Due to the lingering cough I decided to go with Cardio X.

It's an interesting workout because it's never actually part of the schedule. So unless you do it on an off day, instead of Plyo, or to double up on workouts it never gets done. I've done it before on off days and as a stand alone. It's kind of a nice intro to P90X because it's really short... only 43 mins! And it includes yoga, kenpo, plyo, and core synergistics.

The yoga part was sad because my push-up muscles are killing me from yesterday, so there wasn't a hope of doing the yoga push up to upward dog part. And in general putting my head below the rest of my body still feels icky on my head.

The kenpo part is nice because it's pretty much my favorite moves from that workout.

The plyo part made me think I made the right choice in not doing the full plyo workout. It was fun, but got me coughing pretty good.

Core synergistics made me realize I should have used my thicker pilates mat. The Dreya roll is harder on a thin mat. As is Superman Banana. Both fun moves, but nicer when the floor isn't so hard.

Anyhow, I worked out and I'm glad I did something. Time for hot cocoa and a movie with my hubby.

Day 43

Today was the evil chest/triceps/shoulders workout. 50+ mins of crazy arm stuff. My arms were shaking so bad by the time I was done. Which I guess is a good thing.

My new challange, in addition to still not feeling 100% healthy, is that I'm now doing P90X solo. My poor hubby has a hernia and will be having it surgically repaired in the near future. So, no one to work out with for the next while. Glad I have the blog and the business to hold me accountable!

So much to be thankful today. A wonderful son. A supportive husband. Friends. Food. One of the fun food things today was that we made an awesome sugar free chocolate peanut butter pie out of Shakeology. A pie that's actually healthy! And delicious. You can check out the recipe here.

Day 42

So, today is rest day. Yay! I know I've only been back on schedule for 3 days. But today's schedule says to rest. As much as I feel like I've been doing less than I'd like my legs have hurt these last two days. Guess I really am back!

Day 41

Tonight was Kenpo X. I certainly didn't kick butt tonight, but I kept moving and that's better than sitting on the couch. I was pretty happy for the break periods tonight. My least favorite part was the stretches where you were bending over; turns out that's hard on the sinuses. Course, the first time I bent over I discovered a Little People person driving around under the ottomen... so that was fun!

Day 40, take two

Alright, I'm now feeling mostly better. Not 100% but I have some level of energy, so I thought I'd stick with my plan to resume working out today. Two weeks off and I've restarted on day 40, Legs & Back with Ab Ripper X.

It was a little sad how my numbers looked more like early week numbers. But I didn't want to push too hard. Stopped whenever my head told me that I needed to. Saddest was that I wasn't able to do the one legged wall squat. But I held a normal two legged wall squat for the time period. I'd be disappointed in my preformance if I wasn't so happy to be moving again.

I'm not sure how Kempo will go tomorrow. Today I pushed 'pause' a lot and took some pretty awesome breaks. But I did something, and that's more than I've done in the past two weeks.

One more day of antibiotics...

still not counting days

Well, Monday came and went without resuming the P90X. I did go to the doctor Monday and was told that I looked 'horrible' ...or rather that my throat looked horrible. I've been home from work the past two days and the doctor has me on a pretty crazy antibiotic dosage for 10 days. New goal is to re-start P90X next Monday. If I'm feeling up for some working out before then I'll pick some other, likely shorter, Beachbody DVDs to do...

Not another day

Okay, so I'm officially on a break. My head is killing me. I'm downing Shakeology as fast as I can, but it can only do so much once the ick has already set in.

Hopefully we can resume on Sunday with Yoga and basically just back everything up one week...

Days 41 & 42 ... sort of

Well, the inevitable happened... I got Todd's cold. Or, to not place blame, I randomly came down with a cough and icky feeling. I was going to just skip Tuesday and then double up on workouts on Weds... but now it looks like I'm taking both days off. Sleep sounds much better.

I think tomorrow we'll resume with where we should be on the schedule and then we'll just extend past the 90 days. Course, it's not like I ever thought I'd just stop working out when the 90 days is over. Disappointed that this will probably hinder the results, but I gotta take care of myself.

On a plus side, Shakeology will be here tomorrow and I can stuff myself crazy with healthy stuff!

Days 39 & 40

We decided to take our rest day on Sunday, as we had company all day and into the evening. So, we've bumped workouts back and won't rest on Wednesday.

That made Day 40 (today) Yoga X. The exciting thing is that I did Vinyasa! For those of you not familiar with yoga terms, I was able to move from plank to chaturanga to upward dog without touching my body down. I've been determined to do this since starting P90X, as I could do it once upon a time... I guess some things just take 40 days... like floods and desert wanderings...

Day 38

Back & Biceps tonight. This is an odd one for seeing progress. I feel a little stronger, but I use the bands for most moves. The sheets tell me which bands I use, but I don't indicate how far apart my feet are, how close to the handles I'm standing, etc. So, hard to really know if I'm doing a harder thing than last week. I just need to focus on making this one as hard as I can work today and not worry about if it's an improvement over how hard I felt I could work last week.

As for Ab Ripper, that whole side v- up thing is really hard now that I can do it. Tonight I was able to do 20 of 25 on each side and I felt pretty good about that.

Days 36 & 37

These last two days have been a little of a challange because Todd has been sick. It would be easier to skip the workouts since he was unable to join me... but I pushed on! The plus of not blogging for a day is I might actually have stuff to say today. So, here I sit with my recovery drink trying to recover my thoughts...

Day 36 was the Chest, Shoulders and Triceps with Ab Ripper. The arm work was a little frustrating. I would do a move until my arms were shaking and I didn't think I could go longer, then I would look at my sheet and see that I did more last week. So, I'd get back into position and eek out another rep or two. Ab Ripper was more encouraging. I have finally figured out how to do side v-ups. I realized that I needed to be leaning back more on the butt, rather than just being on the side of my hip. Now what I'm doing looks more like what is on the TV. Hopefully at some point I'll go as long as the people on the TV.

Day 37 was Plyo. This is the workout that has changed my attitude the most. Or rather, I've changed my attitude about this workout. The first time I did it I abhored it! I thought it was torture and hoped that someday I would get better at it ... I at least knew that the workout would help my running. Today I found myself truly looking forward to Plyo. I've decided that jumping around is kind of fun. (Funny that I've had to learn this... it was probably common knowledge to me 20 some years ago. Kids just know that jumping is fun!) Anyway, it was fun tonight. And I saw some progress. This was the first time I was able to the hot foot for the whole time; hot foot is jumping on one foot in a cross shape. Hard to do hot foot for 30 seconds on each side... twice. But, I did it!

One thing I find kind of funny in P90X is that some (maybe most?) of the workouts have a 'bonus' part. I've never not done this. Once you're doing the workout and you know how much time is left, it seems like more work to push skip than to just do the bonus part. And I think I would feel like I cheated... I mean the 'bonus' time is always worked in to what you're doing. To skip 3-5 minutes, or some extra reps seems somehow wimpy. Never mind that I've done the rest of the hour or so...

Another thought: I really need to work on eatting better. I feel like I've been saying this a lot, and I blame Halloween. I haven't had any candy since then, but today a work meeting tempted me with donuts. Free donuts. I actually had someone call me out on eatting two donuts, and she doesn't even know about my current fitness goals. Oh, Shakeology, why haven't you arrived in the mail??? I can really tell that my sweet tooth is getting the best of me without the Shakeology. And my energy level is in the basement in the afternoons. On the plus side more recovery drink and protein bars showed up today.

Day 35

Rest day! I thought about doing Cardio X today, but Todd hurt himself and I'd rather not work out in front of him. So, hot tub it is...

Day 34

Kenpo X. Have I mentioned that I love this one? Have I mentioned it every week?? Still true.

I pushed myself yesterday with leg stuff and I could feel that during today's warm-up. Once I got going it was pretty good. Warm muscles move so much better. Another awesome thing today was that we actually worked out before exhaustion set in. I can't remember the last time I was done working out by 8:30! So excited to have a little more of the night left and still get to bed at a decent time!

Day 33

Legs & Back. I really enjoy that this one alternates two totally different body parts. The exciting part tonight was that I was able to do the one legged wall squats for the whole time. It's hard to hold a leg up for 10 seconds while 'sitting' with your  back to a wall. But I did it! And I was able to do the chair squats for the whole time. Pretty awesome to see progress.

On a side note, I think this is the only workout we do every week (excluding recovery weeks) that isn't cardio/full body.

Day 32

Yoga day. I think yoga will go better on a day when I'm not exhausted. Balance was an issue and I didn't really see any improvements. Went to bed immediately after finishing.

Halloween candy has reminded me that health and wellness are lifestyle choices and all decisions are tied together. I can't binge on candy and expect it to not effect how I feel. You think I'd know that. It was a really unfortunate time to run out of Shakeology; that's usually my go-to when I need to satisfy my sweet tooth. Instead I gave in to a lack of will power and a bunch of fun-sized evil. Ah well, it's November and candy is gone. Here's to getting back on the wagon...

Day 31

Day 31 was Back & Biceps. This is a workout that I did many times when I would join Todd during his first round of P90X, but I've never used the workout sheets to keep track of anything. So it was interesting to see what weights/bands I needed and it'll be interesting to see the progression.

I was really happy to see that my shoulder didn't give me any pain during the workout. Hopefully that's a sign that I'm done with that whole nonsense. Push-ups will be the real test.

During Ab Ripper I found myself starting to doze between exercises; I took that as a sign that I needed to go to bed instead of blogging last night.

Day 30 pictures

Well, the scale tells me that I have lost 5 lbs and my body fat has remained the same. Course, who knows how accurate a scale really is on body fat; it can change a lot over the course of a day. The pictures tell me that my arms are looking a little better and I still have a ways to go in general. My belly remains my biggest frustration, but then I know that regardless of the muscles I'm toning I need to work on the way I eat. And my skin just needs time to readjust after being stretched out for months. Anyhow, here are some 30 day pictures:

Day 1

Day 30

Day 30

A third of the way done! What a great stepping stone. Tomorrow (well, now today...silly night passing me by) we'll take 30 day pictures and weight. Not sure if we're also doing measurements.

Awesomely I didn't feel sore arms today, though they were literally shaking at the end of yesterday's workout. Yay recovery drink!

Tonight was by far the most frustrating day of P90X, and it had nothing to do with the workout. The workout was plyo... which isn't my favorite. But, I can see improvements in what I'm able to do. Tonight my squats were deeper and my jumps more jumpy. Plus yesterday's run showed me that I am improving at running via these workouts. The frustrating part was my wonderful son. Last night he woke twice (we're really blessed with a boy who generally sleeps through the night) and I was tired to begin with. I thought about just going to bed, but at 9:30 decided to do the workout instead. I figured I'd rather be up another hour than have to get up and workout in the morning with a second workout tomorrow evening. Isaiah had went to bed at his usual 7-7:30 time. But, he woke twice crying just during the warm up. All in all my workout lasted over 2.5 hours (for a 58 min dvd), three clothing and diaper changes, and several feedings from both me and bottles. Eventually I just let him play in the living room on a yoga mat while I worked out; that worked for about 40 mins and then that stopped working too. Apparently plyo is pretty funny to a 7 month old! He just sat there staring and laughing most of the time. He's been teething and that's clearly the problem. Very oral fixated. Very awake. Still. I think I'll go try to get a shower in. Once we lower that crib he can sit and stare in there.

Day 29

Today was the first time I really felt like I made a super bad food choice. I wanted a little something salty and was at Walgreens buying candy for office trick-or-treators. So I got a bag of chips. And ate most of them. Not a small bag. Not that I haven't eaten my share of chips at football parties, but the snack at work so wasn't needed. I don't even think I was hungry. But, rather than get frustrated with myself I decided to take motivation from it.

It was a beautiful day, so I went for a 2 mile run. Man, now that felt great! It's been forever since I've run that short of a distance. Course, lately I haven't been running at all. I went all out and felt so great about it. The Nike+ told me that my pace was just over 10 mins per mile. Now, I know that that's not traditionally seen as a fast pace. But, it was pretty much my standard pace pre-pregnancy. Post-pregnancy I've been content with the 11 to 11:30 pace. Today's run gave me hope for where my running will be once I've completed P90X.

So, tonight's exercise was Chest, Shoulders and Triceps followed by Ab Ripper. This workout was new for me. I think I'd seen bits of it on Todd's first round, but it fell on a day when he usually worked out late. So, often I would have to watch a move a couple of times before I could join. But, they were generally 'do as many as you can' and I still had plenty of time to wear out my arms. It was crazy to have a workout that was so hard and all arms. I don't know how my arms are going to feel tomorrow, but it scares me.

Maybe someday I'll be able to do more than one set of the push-ups off my knees. Or the clapping push-ups without totally sitting back. I love the challange!

Day 28

Ah, rest day. Time for wine and cigars.

It's crazy that we're almost to Day 30 pictures, weight, etc. Almost a third of the way done! The workouts have very much become a habit now. To have a night off of working out doesn't feel quite right. I have a long way to go on the food. The first 30 days were supposed to be a pretty strict diet and that didn't happen. I did eat healthier, probably not too far from what the food during the last 30 days should look like. The meal plan adjusts every 30 days: first you burn fat, then you eat balanced, and at the end you are eatting for energy levels. My main problem with the eating was that I don't eat much meat and that makes the protien level difficult (though I learned a lot of protein tricks while pregnant). Also, while I don't eat a ton of carbs, they are cheap, and that makes them hard to avoid. A plus to the 'just eating healthier' is that we're now making baby food for Isaiah. So, we have veggies and fruit in the house that we're steaming and pureeing. Much easier to just feed ourselves the healthy food too.

Day 28

Tonight was Yoga X. I totally fell sleep when we turned into fetus position from corpse. So, now I'm awake... and typing so that I can go to real bed.

Today the time did not go quick for me, but I did see progress and that was nice. I'm so close to pushing through to upward dog without touching down. I feel like I'm saying this everytime I do yoga. Today there were several times where I only touched my hips down briefly. I had some issues with balance on the sun salutations but was able to lift my legs up while doing the backbend. My right shoulder is feeling better though I still was uncomfortable holding side plank on that side.

It was also fun to see the progress for my hubby. He is really getting down deep in all the warrior positions and I'm super impressed with the shoulder/arm definition that he's getting. He may hate yoga, but he's getting really good at the strength stuff. And today he evern held some of the balance moves better than usual.

Day 26

Due to all our rearranging of workouts the first part of this week today's workout was the same as yesterday's workout: Core Synergistics. Doing the exact same moves a second day was interesting. I think time went faster since I knew what to expect. And since it's a whole body workout, rather than a specific muscle group, I was able to complete it without feeling too worn.

I decided that I wanted to listen to my own music with the workout. So I put Tony on 'talking only' (or something like that, basically it eliminates the music track) and popped in an old Technatronic cd. Good stuff. Allowed me to pump up the jam ;)

Day 25

Today was Core Synergistics. It's been a very long time since I've joined Todd on this one. It basically works chest through hips... but triceps, shoulders, and thighs felt it too.

My right shoulder isn't feeling quite right after something I did in some recent workout. I remember feeling that it popped during some move, but for the life of me I can no longer remember what the move was or which workout it was in. It's certainly not an 'injury' or anything, but I chose to go light on some moves, such as side plank. I'd hate to have the shoulder turn into an injury.

The cool thing with synergistics is that every move works multiple areas, so there are some pretty unique exercises. One of my favorites is the Dreya Roll, though I realized half way through it today that I was doing it wrong. What it is is you start standing, then roll back and lift your legs up into the air. And this is where I've been doing it wrong, I thought the legs were suppsed to go back over your head like in plough. Then you roll back up and stand. Once I corrected my leg position it was a little harder to get back to standing, as some momentum was lost. But I could still do it without using my hands, so I felt pretty good about that. At the end I even added the optional jump after standing.

Day 24

Tonight we did Yoga X. It 's interesting how that workout is seeming to go quicker now. Which is good because it lasts over 90 mins and we do it every week, twice on recovery weeks.

I was so close to doing the chataranga (sp?) tonight. It's this move you do to push from plank to upward dog. Back when I did almost exclusively yoga I got to where I could do it. And I'm almost there. In Yoga X you do it a lot in the first 45 mins and there were several times that I felt like I was an inch or less away from being able to push through. Maybe next time. Or at least next week.

I had more balance issues this week. I have both a pilates mat and a yoga mat. The difference being that the pilates mat is thicker. Last time I used my yoga mat and found that the lesser padding wasn't as kind to my bones and hands. So I went back to the pilates mat today; there is a reason yoga mats are thinner: balance moves. But, maybe working harder to balance isn't a bad thing.

I also found that some of the stretch was tighter today and I wonder if that's because I was pushing so hard on the stretch yesterday.

Lance Armstrong wrote a thing for Runner's World after he ran his first marathon about how it was a horrible idea to sit in the hot tub and drink wine after a marathon. Happily I haven't found that to be the case with P90X!

Day 23

Last night blogging just wasn't going to happen. But working out did! We were supposed to do Core Synergistics, but grabbed the wrong dvd and did X Stretch. So, Core Synergistics will be done on Sunday. Basicially we've now rearranged most of the recovery week. But, since there aren't any days focued on specific muscle groups I think we'll be okay.

X Stretch is nice. It does not make the time go by fast. At least not late at night. But man, it has some amazing stretches. Generally when workouts do neck stretches I find them pointless, but Tony has like 3-4 different neck stretches with how-to instructions that really work the muscles. Stretch is also nice for feeling flexible. I can't do a lot of the push ups on other dvds, but I can sure reach past my toes.

We were really tired when we started and it was nice that stretch alternated between positions on the floor and standing positions. I'd never really noticed that before, but it helped keep me awake.

Day 22

Today was one of those 'i really would rather go to bed' days. For more about why, check out my hubby's blog. There's a link at the top of this page.

The short version is: it got late. Today starts our first recovery week. (If you wonder what this means, check out hubby's blog... it's good stuff!) It was to be yoga, but that one is 90 mins and we knew ahead of time that we wouldn't want to do that tonight. So, we decided to switch with Saturday's workout. And that led us to do Kenpo. As hard as it was to push play instead of falling into the pillow, we did. And like 10 minutes in I was so glad that we did. Amazing how once you start something, like working out, it becomes so enjoyable.

Seems to be that if doing something can make you enjoy it it's best to do things that benefit you.

Day 21

Day of rest. Only my mind isn't resting. It's been a frustrating day and I should just work out. But I'm not going to... The calendar says to rest and I guess I will. At least it's not a yoga day. Those suck when my mind won't shut off.

Think I'll go lift weights in the garage for a while. That's resting, right?

Day 20

Today, being the last workout of the week, was Kenpo X. Such a great workout to end on. I was feeling pretty good and able to push it some. Then my legs/butt region reminded me that I worked them hard yesterday. Still, love Kenpo.

Tomorrow is a day off and then we begin the 'recovery week.' I think it has us doing Yoga twice, and some other workouts that can be less intense; though it would certainly be possible to push it if one wanted to. I look forward to seeing how this next week goes. It seems like it's shaping up to be a busy week so having workouts that aren't focused on specific muscle groups might be nice...

Day 19

Today was legs and back. I like seeing progress in this one. It's a workout we get to do pretty much every week (excluding recovery weeks) and it'll be awesome to continue to see how far I can push it. We're in week 3 and I was able to do most of the one legged wall sits. Just gave up on the last set. (6 total sets, 3 each leg) ... perhaps by week 12 I won't be grimacing by the end!

This workout was also much nicer without the long run today. (Last Monday I ran 9 miles in the morning, then did this workout at night.) I was really able to get some depth in the squats and lunges. Yay, progress!

One of the things I really like about P90X is that there are a lot of workouts that deal with arms (or back, or shoulders). Any home workout I've done before has almost treated arms like an afterthought... there might be 5-10 mins of weights after a cardio. Any workouts I've done at the gym have been better with arms (basically going around to machines in a set order) but haven't been very exciting or fun. I like the variety P90X gives me. And I like that my arms are looking better. Can't wait to see the continued change over the next 71 days!

Day 18

Yoga day. Or night, as it now is. The only thing new for tonight is that we decided to multitask and listen to a Beachbody webinar while doing the yoga. That really made the first hour fly by. So then we listened to an awesome training about passion. Kinda nice getting motivated at the same time as working out.

Beachbody has a sweet deal right now for anyone thinking about coaching. If you have any interest contact me!

Day 17

Shoulders & Arms. This was an odd day. It was only the second time I've done this workout and I won't be doing it again until week 9. The thing that was odd, though, is that I'm still trying to figure out the best and most effective weights for most of the moves. My weight option is 5lb, unless I want to strap on wrist weights and add 1-6 lbs that way; but then I'd have to be pressing pause a lot. I also use the bands, but some moves are too tough for me with the lightest bands and some are just awkward with bands. And hopefully the next time I do this workout I'll be stronger and trying to figure out weights all over again!

Ab ripper was encouraging today because I feel like progress is being made. This workout is done three times per week and it's crazy how much my ability varies each time. Today I was able to do everything for all the time. I'm not sure that I did the full number of reps on all, but I did them for the whole time. My biggest struggle on this one continues to be the side v ups. There's just something about those that make me feel like I'm flopping like a fish. It's a similar move to something I used to do in pilates, and I never mastered it then either. I think my new ab ripper goal is to be able to do those...

Day 16

Tonight was one of those nights where if I wasn't working out with Todd I don't know that I would've pushed play. The workout of the day was Plyometrics. It's one I'm not good at but am learning to enjoy. And I know I need these skills. I was actually looking forward to the workout all day. But after an evening with friends we got home late and working out just no longer sounded good. I told myself to revert back to the 'looking forward' mode and reminded myself that I can sleep in tomorrow...

So we pushed play. There were some moves that I just didn't have the energy for, so I tried to focus on one of the aspects and do that part well. There are a lot of combo squats and jumps, so I'd either focus on squating low or getting a good jump. As always, finishing felt good and I'm happy that we pushed through.

Day 15

Chest & Back again. I'm doing more push ups than in the past. On two of the styles I'm now starting on my feet. Last week I only attempted that on one type. The awesome thing about tonight's workout is that we won't do this one again until week 9. So that's six weeks until next time. Should be interesting to see the jump (hopefully) in what I can do next time. And a little scarey to see how P90X will choose to work the chest and back muscles during that time!

The habit of working out is funny... it's nice to see the little changes and find improvements as they happen. But really there's a lot of things that don't feel different and I think that not seeing immediate results is why a lot of people give up. That's sad. I've really come to believe that if you're not making an effort to improve yourself you're probably sliding. I don't think it's ever possible to stay in one place, but the sliding is rarely noticable until where you started seems like a ways off. So, here's to making little improvements every day! I may not see the results as soon as I'd like, but it's good to know that I'm moving in the direction that will take me to where I want to go!

Day 14

Ah, rest day. Two weeks are now officially done. Rest days are funny because on one hand it's like 'ahhh i don't have to do anything.' And on the other hand it's like 'i feel like i should be doing something.' Perhaps later I'll use these days to do the extra cardio workout. Or the wonderful X Stretch. A wonderful aspect of today is that my body doesn't feel sore anymore. I would guess that tomorrow I'll be ready to push the workout. This next week will be the last week of our current workout order. Then week 4 is a 'recovery week' that focuses on yoga and stretch. We also get to do Core Synergistics that week; I like that one a lot.

Tonight Todd and I went for a wonderful 2 mile walk. Basically because Isaiah needed to get out of the house and settle. Teething sucks. But, it also gave us a wonderful quiet time to just enjoy each others' company. I'm blessed to have such an awesome family.

Day 13

I'm so glad today was Kenpo X. My legs are pretty tired from yesterday. But I was more surprised about how sore my trap muscles were. Yikes. That's kind of the area where I tend to hold tension but this was so much more tender. Anyway, Kenpo is a nice way to end the 6 days of working out. Since I was sore and it was late I didn't go all out, but I enjoyed the punching all the same. It is more fun on weeks when I go all out; but tomorrow I will enjoy the day off.

Here's hoping the boy sleeps tonight. I believe my sore/tired was aided by a little boy who has 3 new teeth poking out and two more that appear to be coming soon. I'm glad teething is a pain we can't remember.

Day 12

Today, being Columbus Day, I had the day off work. So, after sleeping in (glorious) I walked the boy down to daycare and went for a 9 mile run. What a beautiful Nebraska day! I should've used magic pink tape on my ankle, but otherwise the run was nice.

So, today was Legs & Back. I was pretty nervous about doing this after the 9 mile run, even with the 8 or so hours between. I was more or less able to do the same amount of reps as the last time (there are sheets where you keep track so that you can see your progress). The one legged wall squats are still evil; this was the one where I was only able to do one... just sat in a regular wall squat the rest of the time. I'll be curious to see how the legs feel when I wake up tomorrow.

The Back part was pull ups. I used the green bands again (thickest, most resistance). I like that I feel I'm making progress with this. I'll like it even more if I can do some pull ups 78 days from now. I did try one the other day and was actually able to bend my elbows somewhat... it may not sound like much, but it was progress for me!

In more exciting progress, I was able to wear some shorts today that I haven't worn in well over a year. And most of my pre-preggo pants are now too big. Yay!

Day 11

Ugh. Another late night. We had hoped Isaiah would be in bed at 7 (his usual time) so we could get our workout in before the Beachbody Webinar. But, he was a tad fussy today (2 top teeth coming in) and wasn't down until almost 8:30. The funny thing was from like 7 on he really wasn't fussy... just giggly and awake. Anyhow, webinar was at 9 so workout started after 10.

And today was Yoga X... which means over 90 minutes. Triceps hurt from yesterday so I wasn't able to push through to upward dog like I was hoping. I like that the workout is generally tough for the first 1/2 and then eases into balance and stretch, ending with a calm 'ah' feeling. Perfect for before bed. Which is good, because I'm so there when I finish typing this. At least tomorrow is Columbus Day; I'm hoping the boy will cuddle with me after Todd goes to work. Course, Todd has to go to work... and on Mondays he has to be there at 6:30. So, he's asleep... if you read his blog I'm guessing he'll post tomorrow. He seemed exhausted, but he was a real trouper and stuck with the workout till the end. Or at least until relaxation pose; but then that's always when he falls asleep...

I've decided that often the 'push play' part is the hardest part of the workout (any workout). Just that mental challange to stick with the plan when something else would be easier or offer immediate gradification. Once the workout is going on I'm rarely tempted to stop and always happy when I've completed it. So, in my post-workout-happy I will leave you...

Day 10

Tonight was Shoulders and Arms, plus Ab Ripper X. You do Ab Ripper every time you do a strength based workout; not on cardio days (such as plyo or kenpo).

I've never had the chance to do Shoulders and Arms before. Last week we didn't do it because we were working out live with Tony that day. And for whatever reason it's a workout I never did with Todd on his first round. I hope I can move my arms tomorrow. I liked how the workout was set up. You do a shoulder move, a bicep move, and a tricep move; then you repeat those same three moves. You have a short break and you work the same areas with different moves. And you keep doing this for about an hour. But, as I've mentioned before, my arms are probably the area I most want to see change in. I was excited today to see that my arms are already looking a little different to me.

The other area I hope will change a lot is my belly... silly pregnancy. I'm still enjoying the Ab Ripper workout. Can't always do all of each workout, but I'm always able to challenge myself. Today I could really feel muscles working on a couple of moves. Odd how those muscles change after a c-section. I'm curious how much the cardio will help me shed the doughiness and how much I just have to allow my skin to un-expand.

Recovery drink enjoyed. Time for some time of the porch with my hubby.

Day 9

Ah plyo... how I dislike you. Yet you're fun. Guess this is a love-hate thing. One thing I've discovered  now that I'm doing the whole 90 days of P90X is that I'm pushing myself harder than when I was joining Todd here and there during his initial round of P90X. Like the hot foot move. Jumping on one foot isn't my favorite, so before I just did the jump rope modification. Now I figure I should be doing the hardest possible move I can be.

I didn't think my arms were really going to be sore today, but then the evening came and plyo came. And they are. I'm hoping we can get tomorrow's workout in before 10 or 11 pm. These late nights are killing me. But I do get to sleep in tomorrow morning, assuming the boy lets me!

On a random side note, while watching Isaiah try to crawl today (on Todd's yoga mat) I decided that crawling is to him what the yoga pose crane is to me. The concept is there, effort is being made, but there's a disconnect with achieving the desired outcome. And there's the outside chance of doing a faceplant.

Alright, there's my thoughts for the night. Recovery drink is drunk and it's time for a shower.

Day 8

And thus begins week 2. Tonight was chest & back again. Basically all push ups and pull ups. This night I decided to go with the green band (hardest one we have) for the pull ups because I figured it would be closer to actually doing pull ups. I was still able to get as many and sometimes more than last week, so that was nice progress to see. I was also able to do more push ups and even figured out how to do the dive bomber push ups... those are crazy because they look super fun but wow, they're hard! and there's really no way to do them on your knees. Speaking of which, for regular push ups I made a point of starting out on my feet and then going to my knees when I couldn't do any more.

Had the recovery drink tonight. Yumm-o! I've had it a couple of times before but now that we actually got ourselves a tub I'll be nice to have regularly. Way more stuff in it than other sports drinks, mainly that it has vitamins. And it tastes like an orange julius... not that I've been to an Orange Julius in forever, but the drink has a creamy orange flavor that I really like. Not the typical salty taste of sports drinks. Plus, I've come to associate most sports drinks with the too strong varieties that are served at marathons.

We also got the P90X protein bars. Had one this afternoon and it was SO filling. Course, with 20g of protein plus other nutrients it stands to reason! I probably prefer Shakeology to soothe my sweet tooth, but the protein bar sure filled me for longer.

Day 7

Ah, rest day! My body feels pretty good after one week. I'm tempted to do something tonight. But, I think I'll stick with the plan and do nothing.

On a side note the Recovery Formula arrived today. Look forward to having that... especially after the cardio workouts =)

Day 6

Week one is now over! Today was Kenpo X. It's basically a kickboxing type of workout. I think this workout is a lot of fun, though harder than I remember. I guess I've never done the workout after pushing myself on legs the day before. Today I found myself thinking that my legs were no longer tired or sore. Then I started warming up and got into prayer squats...turns out my legs are still sore! Time really flies on this one, which is good since we didn't get started until almost 10pm.

On a side note, today was my Beachbody home party and I want to thank those who came. I hope you all learned something and hope I can help in the future!

I also want to thank those of you who are following and reading this blog. It keeps me motivated =)

Day 5

Alright, today was Back & Legs. My legs recovered well from the 1/2 marathon awhile back, just to have me start P90X... and since then they've been mumbling complaints to me. Hoping they don't start screaming tomorrow. I've done this routine with Todd before, but this workout always fell on Fridays the last time he did P90X, and I did my long runs on Saturdays... so I never did ALL of the leg stuff before. Some of the lunges were pretty intense and I did not appreciate the one legged wall squat.

The back part was all pull ups. I again used the red band and felt pretty good about what I did. Think I may try the green band (next resistance up) the next time. But, my shoulders were screaming today from yesterday's yoga. Crazy as it sounds I love feeling my body reacting to exercise by aching; it's nice to know that my muscles are being challanged and stepping up to it!

Ab ripper wasn't quite as bad today. Though, I feel that one is pretty evil after the leg workouts. The first three moves also require strength in the thighs. I was able to enjoy the sit up v up and the mason twist. The side v ups are still alluding me...

I did do well on the nutrition today and that felt pretty good. Used nuts, eggs, chicken, and fish for protein sources. I think the recommended protein is one of my hardest things. I don't eat much meat generally, so I'm always looking for other sources. While pregnant I was trying for 100g per day, so I'm kind of putting myself back into that mindset.

Day 4

Today was Yoga X. I love that workout!! My only problem with it is that it's 90 minutes long, so it takes a good chunk of time to do. Todd and I workout after Isaiah goes to bed, so some nights can be late. (To clarify Isaiah's never really up past 7:30 or 8 at the latest unless we have him out, and then it's really our fault.)

Anyhow, Yoga X has a lot of warrior/triangle poses and chaturanga. The first 45-50 mins are really tough because that's pretty much all you're doing. By the end legs are burning and you know your arms will collapse if you have to do one more chaturanga. My main frustration with this workout is that I can drop into chaturanga but have been unable to push through it into upward dog. I could do it before pregnancy, and am getting closer, but it alludes me. That is one thing I really hope to be able to do in the next week or two.

Once the 'hard' part is over, the remaining time is spent in balance, ab, and strech poses. That's right, Tony found a way to make you do ab work in yoga... you hold each pose for 30 seconds. Stretch feels glorious.

My favorite part of today's workout was that I was briefly able to hold crane a couple of times during the minute they give you to try it. Another of my yoga goals will be to hold this pose for at least 5 seconds by the time I've finished P90X.

Time for shower and bed. Really glad my legs weren't as sore from Tony's live workout yesterday as I expected. I could feel that I workout total body yesterday, but not too bad. Maybe I could've pushed myself harder...

Day 3

Today was to be Shoulders & Arms. But instead we worked out live with Tony Horton. He was doing an event in Lincoln at Embassy Suites. He's a great speaker. And (clearly) a crazy workout leader.

The workout (and whole event) was awesome. He did sets: 1 min of cardio, 1 min of upper body (generally a version of push-ups), 30 reps of ab work, and 30 reps of leg work. Tony talked about how this pattern can be followed without any tv, props, or much room. Kinda eliminates excuses to not workout. Any number of sets is better than no sets. Not sure how many sets we did, lasted about an hour or so. Tony is also really good at giving variations on exercises. He'll show the easy version, the normal version, and the crazy person version. Tony's big on 'do what you can and work so that in the future you'll be doing things that you can't do today.'

Pretty awesome to workout in a room full of people. Though part of me prefers working out with just my husband in the sanctuary of my living room.

Day 2

Today was Plyometrics. It's basically a workout of jumping, with squats thrown in for good measure. It lasts just under an hour. When I started the workout I was thinking 'at least my legs are done being sore from the 1/2 marathon on Sunday. I was wrong. Like two moves in they were already screaming! But I pushed. Modified some moves to be less intense but kept going. This was the first time I did the hopping on one leg portion; when I joined Todd previously I always did the modified jump rope move... so yay me!

This is my least favorite of the cardio workouts (as opposed to the strength building workouts) but it was nice to see some progress today. And this is the cardio workout I need the most. I figure plyo is the most likely to improve my running - both for leg strength and endurance. I think it might be Todd's favorite workout, so it's nice that we're working out together.

Tomorrow rather than doing the P90X routine on the schedule we'll be working out live with Tony Horton, as he'll be at the Embassy Suites (in Lincoln NE). Todd did a workout with him in January and it seemed like a tough time. I was tired from watching, but then I was also 7 months pregnant. I'm excited and scared that I get to join this time. Should be a pretty intense 1 1/2 hours.

If you're in Lincoln, Tony's speaking for free from 11-12. Come on down to Embassy and be my guest!

Day 1

Alright... day 1 done! Chest & Back, then Ab Ripper X.

Chest & Back is one workout that I haven't done much of. And I need a lot more of. I've always hated my arms and when I gain weight they are one of the first places that get huge. Pregnancy just reminded me of this fact. The workout is pretty much all pull ups and push ups. Since I can't do pull ups I used the bands for that motion. Sadly I didn't even attempt regular push ups; I did all sets on my knees. Next week I'll have to start out on my toes and move to my knees after one or two. There were sure some crazy types of push ups included. We'll see how much my arms hurt in the morning. Or when I try to pick up Isaiah at some point later in the day...

Ab Ripper X has been one of my favorites to join Todd in previously. I have this theory that I have a 6 pack covered by fat ... I've always loved ab work and find it fun. But, it was more of a struggle today than some of my past experiences with it. Coordination was lacking on the sit up v up.

I've forgotten how much I like working out with Todd every night. Glad we're getting back into this routine. And Isaiah goes to sleep at least 2 hours earlier than he did for Todd's last round of P90X, so our nights shouldn't be as long. That being said, time for some wine and a cigar on the front porch!

Fit Test

Before you start P90X they suggest that you take a fit test to see if you'll be able to survive and benefit from the workouts. (My words, they said something that sounded better.) I did the fit test yesterday and was happy to pass all but one area... the pull-up area. Of course, they do say that you'll probably be okay to proceed, as most people can't do a pull-up. One of my hopes from this program is that I'll be able to do a pull-up by the time I'm done. I've never done one of those.

My least favorite part of yesterday was taking the 'before' picture. But, if I was satisfied with where I am I don't know that I would have the same motivation. I'm telling myself that I had a baby just over 6 months ago. I am currently back to where I was when I started using Beachbody products last summer. At that time I used Slim in 6 to lose about 15 lbs and was feeling pretty good about myself. After giving birth in March, I was released from the doctor to workout at my 6 week follow up appointment, and I turned to Slim in 6 again with satisfying results.

But, enough rambling about the past. I'm now ready to undertake P90X for the first time and I think it'll be an adventure. I've done most of the workouts before (when my husband was doing his first round of P90X and I joined him some nights). I know there are some I really like and some that I'm dreading having to do regularly. But, I've seen the results the hubby got and I'm impressed.

Todd will be doing his second round of P90X while I do my first. So, it'll be nice to workout together every night. (Well, 6 nights per week.) And we'll be focusing on following the nutritional plan. So, if you see me with an Oreo or bag of chips slap me!

Here we go...