Wisdom's World :: Self-Improvement & Discipline

Don't ask me why I chose to start this 90  Day challenge with something as intense as P90X. I don't know either. Perhaps I needed to do something so dramatic that I had no choice but to succeed or fail. Perhaps I just want to see if I can do it. Perhaps I believe this will get me where I've never been. Perhaps I'm just crazy. At any rate, I've abandoned all other methods and have opted to use P90X for the next 90 days and see where it lands me.

 That said, today was my first official day. The workout called for Chest & Back and then the Ab Ripper X workout.

O.
M.
G.

With the Chest & Back workout, you're basically going through a series of pushes and pulls, like a Superset, consisting of different variations of Push-ups and Pull-ups. Sounds easy, but it's not. You run through a circuit, then you do the circuit all over again. I was most impressed that I completed the workout-- all 50-something minutes of it-- but I wasn't done there. At the end of the cool down, there is another 17 minute Ab workout which takes you through 300+ reps of non-stop ab and core work, 11 exercises, 25 reps a piece.

 Can I just let you know that Tony Horton is an idiot, but you grow to love him! Yesterday, a former co-worker commented on my Facebook Profile page, "At first you want to laugh because the guy is ridiculous, but 60 minutes later you will be completely broken and crying, it's awesome." He was telling the God's honest truth. I was half-laughing/half-panting about 13 minutes into the exercises. To be completely frank, I was wondering if I had made a mistake 4 minutes into the warm-ups! But it was well worth it.

I got through the Chest & Back circuit with modifications to suit my equipment and fitness level. I don't have a pull up bar yet, so I used a resistance band; I can't do regular push-ups yet, so I did the girl-version with my knees bent. I surprised myself at the number of reps I could perform, but I always have been stronger than I realize.

Oh, but when I got to the Ab Ripper X, I didn't realize how tired my body was. I couldn't get through but 15 of most 25 rep exercises, and 1 I opted to skip alltogether after performing just 5 reps. It's intense. I could have probably made it through most of it if I'd given myself some recovery time or even started with the Ab Ripper X, but that's not what the program called for, so I followed the program. I suspect I will be able to finish everything pretty successfully by the end of my 90 Days, but let me  tell you, I will be a BEAST when I get to that point.

My sister says you'll get the same results sticking to any program for 90 days, but I've disproved that theory time and time again. It's only fitting I do it Boot Camp style.

So, here's where you come in. I have a few questions:

1. Have you done P90X before?
     a.) If yes, how far did you make it through the program?
    b.) What results did you notice?
    c.) What would you do differently if you knew then what you know now?

2. What made/makes you want to try P90X?

3. On a scale from 1 - 5, 1 being a dead battery and 5 being Tony Horton, what would you say your fitness level is?

4. Will you be following my blog the entire 90 days?
    a.) If yes, what do you want to know? See? Learn? Participate in?
    b.) Would you like to follow along in the challenge with me? Are you doing P90X as well?