“Wow, look at you looking all skinny? What are you doing?” My neighbor’s compliment felt fantastic, and was one of many I’ve received since integrating P90x into my life. P90x is a workout routine created by Tony Horton and put out by a company called Beachbody. If you are familiar with workout program infomercials, Beachbody is the company that put out Insanity and power 90. One of the great things about P90x is that it requires very little equipment. If you have dumbbells, a chair, and either a pull-up bar or resistance bands, you are good to go.
P90x consists of 12 roughly hour-long workouts, plus an ab routine that takes a little over 15 minutes to complete. I recommend trying out the ab routine if you want a taste of the program before beginning. There is also a diet plan that goes with the program. I’ve found it is kind of critical do have some sort of diet plan in place, whether you use theirs or count calories. There are many variations of the order of workouts depending on what kind of results you are looking for. The typical order follows.
During the first 3 weeks of the program, the first workout of the week is Chest & Back, (Push-ups and Pull-ups) followed by Ab Ripper X. Day two is Plyometrics, an intense jump training workout. Day 3 you’ll be working on Shoulders & Arms, followed once again by Ab Ripper X. Day 4 brings Yoga, the longest workout, clocking an hour and a half. Legs & Back, a workout involving lots of squats and pull-ups comes on Day 5, and is once again followed by Ab Ripper X. Kenpo, a martial arts inspired Cardio workout, is on Day 6, and Day 7 you finally get to rest, or do the Stretch workout. The 4th week is a rest week, although it hardly feels like it. It involved some yoga, stretching, and 2 rounds of Core Synergistics, a workout that works multiple muscle groups at once.
The next 3 weeks are similar to the first 3, but on Day one you do Chest, Shoulders and Triceps instead of Chest and Back, and on Day 3 you do Back & Biceps instead of Shoulders and arms. The workouts feature some of the same moves, plus some that are a little more challenging. Another “rest week” follows this for week 8.
The next 4 weeks you alternate what you did for the first 3 weeks with what you did for the next 3, and finish up with one final rest week. Then you will have reached day 90, you’ll be ripped, will never have to work out again, and can sit around eating ice cream all day. Ok, so that’s not true. But kidding aside it is important to note that this is a process, rather than a means to an end.
Before starting P90x, I weighed 185 lbs, and wore size 16 pants. On day 90 I weighed 170 lbs and had to buy some size 14 pants. Now you should note, I LOVE food and drinks, and I really didn’t start watching my calories until the second month-and that’s when I really saw results. I’ve continued to use some of the p90x workouts along with my elliptical for the past 3 months, and I’m down to 160lbs. I watch my calories when it’s easy to, so that I don’t feel the need to beat myself up if go out to dinner and feel like eating.
My biggest accomplishments cannot be summed up in numbers. Before p90x I couldn’t do a single push up. The first day was discouraging, but to my amazement, it got easier the next week, and every week after that so long as I pushed myself. It’s also become such a part of my routine-wake up, work out, that it doesn’t bother me much anymore. It kind of makes you think about what else you are making excuses for….P90x is not a quick fix “drink this potion and you’ll lose 20 lbs in 2 days!” type of thing. It’s about changing your habits in a way that will continue to serve you for the rest of your life. As Tony Horton says in one of the videos “Show up… Just keep pushing play.” Best of luck to you, and know you’re not alone on this journey!
