Working out with P90X: Part 2

Posted by stickel on November 6, 2008

The hype behind P90X and it's difficulty is not overdone. This program is hard. It will kick your butt every day. Fortunately on each video Tony states, repeatedly, if you can't keep up, don't. Take breaks and modify, modify, modify. Easier ways to perform each exercise is always shown for anyone having troubles.

And now for a little day-to-day breakdown of my progress so far.

Day 1

Today was a muscle building day. I hadn't been to a gym or lifted weights for several weeks and it was noticeable. I bought a few small weights and exercise bands because I wasn't sure what the exercises were or how difficult they'd be. Being conservative was the right move.

Even though the reps were kept low I'm looking forward to see how it will change over time.

Day 2

And my first experience with plyometrics was one for the books. After yesterday I knew I was in for a shock with P90X, and today really put me in my place. I shouldn’t have been surprised though, given my lack of exercise, but wow. I was totally and completely knackered at the end and almost felt like puking a couple times.

The soreness started kicking in from yesterday's workout too. Doing cardio was not easy when my abs were too tired and sore to work properly.

Day 3

Another muscle building day. It was a little more focused and I took it easy, plyometrics totally obliterated my legs. I powered through as much as I could but my legs played a factor in how much I was working.

Seriously, I can't believe how sore my legs were.

Day 4

Back to more cardio, this time it was yoga. I haven't done yoga ever at any point in my life so this was another interesting experience. When I was younger my balance was pretty good. Today was proof that's not the case anymore. I'm surprised at just how tiring this workout was.

My flexibility obviously needs some work as well. I'm Looking forward to doing this again and seeing how I improve. As with day 3, my legs were still super sore.

Day 5

Time to build those muscles again. Having sore legs definitely affected today's performance. I was sure to push to the point where I just couldn’t physically do any more. It was another day where I felt like puking after finishing.

Oh, and there was the whole I-worked-out-after-four-hours-of-sleep-because-I'm-travelling-today thing as well. :-/

Day 6

Because of travel yesterday and today I wasn't able to get to today's cardio until later in the day. It was a good workout and I got a nice sweat going by the end of it. It was a little more complex than the others because I wasn't used to those combinations of movements. More than once I was mixing up the movements and I had to stop what I was doing, check with the video, and start again.

Hopefully the movements get easier so I can focus on the intensity.

Day 7

I opted to do a workout today even though it was optional. Well, it's not really a workout, but stretching still counts as physical activity, right? This was just another reminder of how bad my flexibility has gotten.

Closing thoughts for week 1

Since I started a week ago, I can already say I'm feeling and sleeping better. In the morning I waking up easier and earlier. One week might not be long enough for “real” results but I feel a little stronger and — I may be projecting a little bit here but — I'm already seeing some changes.

Getting P90X is one of the best things I've done regarding my health and fitness. I was considering a Bowflex home gym because going to the gym started to get annoying. P90X is much, much cheaper though.

I'm really excited to see how everything goes over the next few weeks and looking forward to starting week two.