P90X Round One – Done!

We finished our first FULL round of P90X last Friday, September 10th! (As this was a joint effort, this will be a two-part blog, the first part by Kelly, and the second part by Eric.)

Kelly writes:

We had previously attempted this three times and each time something (life, basically) got in the way and we didn’t make it all the way through. This time when we started, we made a pact with each other and said “No matter what, everyday, we are going to put on our workout clothes, put in the DVD, press play, and stand in front of that TV”. There were many days that it was really hard. There were many days that I thought I was going to do nothing but march in place and watch, but I didn’t. Once the music started and Tony started talking, I started feeling like maybe I could at least modify the workout and do most of  it. Then the workout would start and there was Eric, right beside me, working hard; well I couldn’t let him progress faster than me….if he could do it…I could do it. That’s how we made it. We encouraged each other, we pushed each other, we did it together.

When I did the fitness test the first time, I could do 1/4 of a pull up. Actually that’s being generous, basically I could hang on the pull up bar. Last week – I did 10! During a chest and back workout a couple of weeks ago I did 127 full pushups, through the course of the entire workout. I’ve accomplished things I never thought I could. It’s one of the best feelings in the world.

Eric writes:

Like Kelly said, it took four attempts to complete this mother of all workouts, as our first three tries fell short. But we don’t consider those first three attempts a wasted effort. Even though we only made it just past day 60 on those earlier attempts, we still got a feel for the workouts, became familiar with the different moves, and became more instilled with the basic desire to succeed in this endeavor. Those first three attempts were all part of the process and ultimately building blocks in our new mindset of extreme fitness.

That being said, the feeling of actually completing the 90 day program is extremely rewarding. It was really hard, I mean really, really hard. But now that it’s over, we can’t wait to do it again. The improvements we have made regarding cardio, strength, and flexibility are massive.

One of the most exciting parts of this whole experience was taking the recommended P90X fitness test yesterday to measure our gains. This fitness test is performed at the beginning and end of the 90 day workout series and is essentially an extreme workout itself, consisting of 8 exercises; pull-ups, vertical leap, pushups, toe touch, wall squat, bicep curls, in and outs (crunches), and 2 minutes of jumping jacks after witch you measure your heart rate 5 times at 1 minute intervals. (If your feeling adventurous, download this free test and give it a try.)

We began by doing a warm up consisting of a 20 minute walk, followed by some running in place, jumping jacks and a combination of static and ballistic stretching. Then we put on AC/DC’s Back in Black (on vinyl) to provide some extra motivation.

Kelly went first, doing 12 pull ups! A year ago she couldn’t even do one. I followed with 18 pull ups (a year ago I could only do 4). Another standout was Kelly going from 23 pushups at the beginning of this round to 35, I went from 30 pushups to 50. As a senior in high school my record was 60, and it is my goal to surpass that number by next July when I attend the 25th reunion of my graduating class.

Kelly and Eric both write:

Why did we find it necessary to do such an extreme workout program? Because our lives depend on it! When we were teenagers, or even in our 20s our bodies seemed invincible. As we entered our 30s, we began to notice some occasional aches and pains. Now, into what some would call “middle-age”, stuff just plain hurts sometimes. Backaches, neck aches, tendinitis flare ups – I’m not saying we hurt every minute of every day, but the writing is on the wall. As we are not big fans of doctors or pharmaceuticals, it seems that only extreme measures will work to combat the effects of aging. So we minimize the aches and pains that everyday life delivers by making ourselves stronger. And this P90X program will definitely make you stronger. Of course exercise is only one half of the equation, the other half of the big picture for us is healthy eating.

P90X is just one of many great workouts in the Beachbody program. You can go even more extreme than P90X and try Insanity…we haven’t tried that yet, but  hope to, after we finish another P90X round. There are also so many other programs that we think just about anyone could find one that fits; things like “Brazil Butt Lift”, “10-Minute Trainer”, “Hip Hop Abs”, “Body Gospel” and many more. Beachbody is also a great community. We have met so many great people and made friends from all over the world that are doing these same workouts and have the same goals of a fit, healthy life.

We plan to start another round of P90X on Tuesday, October 12, and would love for some of our friends to join us in this endeavor. Anybody up for the challenge? If you are, send us a note and we can take this virtual challenge together.

“Decide, Commit, Succeed!” – Tony Horton