Haul Buns

The P90X Files

That's Kel on the right (and Momma in the middle)

Editor’s note: You’ve seen the P90X workout system on TV. Ever wonder if it can live up to its claims? A few weeks in, guest blogger Kelley (who also happens to be my lovely sister) gives us her take in the first of several reports. Take it away, Kel!

You know that person who loves hitting the gym everyday? Who has their circuit planned out before they even get to the gym (30 minutes on the elliptical, followed by medicine balls, followed by 25 minutes on the treadmill…. You get the idea.) Most days I wish that person could be me. It’s not.

I grew up playing sports. I never had to worry about staying in shape. This plan took me all the way through college, where I was captain of my softball team. All throughout this time, I always had my coaches or teammates driving me to workout and I always hit the gym, mainly for two reasons: 1) I knew it would make me a better player/swimmer and 2) I didn’t want to let my teammates, my coaches or myself down.

After I left college, I had to find new ways to motivate myself to workout. I coached swimming while I lived in New York City, so it was easy to keep myself on a regular workout schedule because I always worked out with the kids. However, once I stopped coaching, my workout routine came to a screeching halt. With no one else to push me but myself, I had to find a workout routine that I would enjoy so that I would stay with it.

Skip to a year down the road. I had been trying out a number of workout routines with nothing really sticking. I left for work one morning, leaving my fiancée laying in bed. He was watching the infomercial for the P90X workout system. This, in all honesty, was probably about the 50th time that Derrik had sat down to watch this commercial. I watched part of it as I was getting ready for work, excited about it, yet very skeptical as I usually am with almost anything that can be bought via infomercial. To my surprise, Derrik called me about an hour after I got to work, so excited because he had just purchased P90X.

When the materials came in, we both saw that one could choose different workout plans based on what your needs were. Derrik chose the “Classic” and I chose the “Lean” plan. (The system comes with a nutritional guide which has what looks like really yummy recipes. I, however, can’t tell you that we have been following the nutritional plan. Derrik and I eat pretty well already at home, so we weren’t as concerned with the diet portion of the system.) What I can tell you is that this program is like having a personal trainer in your home. For me, it is nice to have someone lay out everything that you need to do and then you just have to set your mind to doing it and giving it your all for one hour each day.

The Lean program has a good mix of yoga, cardio-kickboxing, weight lifting, core exercises and combined cardio. Each workout is intense but really fun to complete. Also, the workout plan changes every month, so the system really keeps you on your toes. Derrik and I purchased the program to get healthy and stay in shape. We have a wedding coming up too, so it is also helpful for that! I am a few weeks into the program and absolutely love it. It helps as well that even though each of us are doing the different workout plans, we each push each other on the days when it is hard to make yourself show up to work out. I will definitely check back in as I progress in the workout plan to let you all know if I have made it through and how I feel about my results. As for right now, I can tell you that only being a few weeks in, I feel stronger, I feel like my cardio capabilities have increased, and I feel like my muscles are getting a lot firmer.

That said, I will leave you with two last things until we talk again. This program has two sayings that really put things into perspective. The first is “Do your best and forget the rest”. The second is “Don’t ever say that you can’t do something. Instead, say that you currently struggle with it.” I started this program not being able to do all of the reps that the people on the video do. My form isn’t perfect yet and sometimes I have to do the modified moves. All I can do is my best and make sure that I show up everyday. That is what matters. I figure the other stuff will eventually fall in line. — Kelley Roots

July 6, 2009 at 8:51 pm 1 comment