I'm writing this because I remember a few conversations about exercise and fitness over the last few years, and wanted to give those interested something
of a personal testimonial.
Around June of this year, my wife and I started P90X, which you may have seen advertised on infomercials. We went through the whole program once, and now are using it in a four-week "on", one-week "off" schedule like phase 3 of the program.
It's not a small commitment... the program itself runs about $150 for the DVD's and printed materials. You're doing a 60-90 minute workout every day, 6 days a week (7 if you do the optional cardio on Sunday). And it's freakin' INTENSE. Any injuries you have going into it will be exacerbated if you're not careful -- I tweaked my left tricep before going into the program, and completely wrecked it 60 days in. The program requires you to be aware of your limitations and work around them... ignoring your body's warning signs will only get you hurt. It also presumes a basic level of fitness to begin with -- I powerlifted for 2 years prior to starting, but didn't do much cardio, so I was good on the resistance days but got killed on the cardio days, and I had NEVER worked on balance or flexibility, so the yoga day was (and still is) absolute torture for me.
The basic schedule is:
Monday: Upper Body Resistance Workout, plus Abs
Tuesday: Plyometrics (a heart-exploding cardio session)
Wednesday: Upper Body Resistance Workout, plus Abs
Thursday: Yoga
Friday: Legs & Back (Resistance), plus Abs
Saturday: Kenpo (the most entertaining cardio session EVER)
Sunday: rest or Optional Cardio
There are other variations of the schedule that they suggest for people with different goals, such as swapping out a resistance day for a cardio day, or adding cardio on top of the resistance days for those who want to go "extreme". I've done the latter, by adding a 40-minute session on the elliptical, but not the former.
In short, the results are fantastic. I am by no means "ripped", because I'm still struggling to get the diet right, but I've dropped about 20 pounds (could stand to drop another 20), and by any measure of physical performance I've improved greatly. My wife is going from "pretty" to "friggin' HAWT", and her performance has improved greatly as well.
If you've got the motivation and the desire, and you've seen the infomercials and wondered if the program is really that good, I'm here to tell you it is worth every penny, IF you stick with it. The coolest part for me is that I don't have to go to any gym or pay any memberships... we do the whole thing in our house, and while we have a fairly well-equipped home gym, the program can be done with very simple equipment.
That's all, just wanted to share.
Around June of this year, my wife and I started P90X, which you may have seen advertised on infomercials. We went through the whole program once, and now are using it in a four-week "on", one-week "off" schedule like phase 3 of the program.
It's not a small commitment... the program itself runs about $150 for the DVD's and printed materials. You're doing a 60-90 minute workout every day, 6 days a week (7 if you do the optional cardio on Sunday). And it's freakin' INTENSE. Any injuries you have going into it will be exacerbated if you're not careful -- I tweaked my left tricep before going into the program, and completely wrecked it 60 days in. The program requires you to be aware of your limitations and work around them... ignoring your body's warning signs will only get you hurt. It also presumes a basic level of fitness to begin with -- I powerlifted for 2 years prior to starting, but didn't do much cardio, so I was good on the resistance days but got killed on the cardio days, and I had NEVER worked on balance or flexibility, so the yoga day was (and still is) absolute torture for me.
The basic schedule is:
Monday: Upper Body Resistance Workout, plus Abs
Tuesday: Plyometrics (a heart-exploding cardio session)
Wednesday: Upper Body Resistance Workout, plus Abs
Thursday: Yoga
Friday: Legs & Back (Resistance), plus Abs
Saturday: Kenpo (the most entertaining cardio session EVER)
Sunday: rest or Optional Cardio
There are other variations of the schedule that they suggest for people with different goals, such as swapping out a resistance day for a cardio day, or adding cardio on top of the resistance days for those who want to go "extreme". I've done the latter, by adding a 40-minute session on the elliptical, but not the former.
In short, the results are fantastic. I am by no means "ripped", because I'm still struggling to get the diet right, but I've dropped about 20 pounds (could stand to drop another 20), and by any measure of physical performance I've improved greatly. My wife is going from "pretty" to "friggin' HAWT", and her performance has improved greatly as well.
If you've got the motivation and the desire, and you've seen the infomercials and wondered if the program is really that good, I'm here to tell you it is worth every penny, IF you stick with it. The coolest part for me is that I don't have to go to any gym or pay any memberships... we do the whole thing in our house, and while we have a fairly well-equipped home gym, the program can be done with very simple equipment.
That's all, just wanted to share.
