P90X Lean Workout Review

I used today as my off day for the week. I ended up getting sent home sick from work today. I was throwing up. Apparebtly I caught whatever it was Tom had last week (thanks a lot)! I haven’t thrown up since this afternoon so I think I’m doing ok. I just don’t think some Cardio X is what I need right now. Will pick up where I left off tomorrow.

My son’s wrist is doing better today. He was bummed about not getting to play outside at recess or participate in gym class. He’ll live to see another though. I strated off the morning with a soy muffin and a banana. My AM snack was a protein bar and for lunch I had a Lein Cuisine meal ( I believe it was seasame chicken). Work went well, although I was feeling pretty queasy by the end of the day. We did a lot of Christmas rafts and caroling with the residents. When I got home I had some grapes and cashews while the kids did their homework. Afterwards we trued to make some homemade ornaments using a sugar and glitter recipe…..they looked really cute but didn’t dry too well. Oh well, on to the next idea. For dinner we had pork chops with spinach and brown rice. I even managed to skip dessert! I am a determined chicky this week! My daughter and I locked ourselves in my bedroom after dinner and had some girl time. I gave her a manicure and pedicure, gave her a little back rub, and brushed out her hair. It was nice to spend some time with just us and let her chit chat about whatever. Once the little ones were tucked in it was time for the moment of truth: Core Synergistics. I decided this time around I was going to dump the weights for the majority of the workout and just focus on my form. The only thing I did keep the weights for was the lunge/kickback/curl/press routine.  I have gotten much better at the banana/boat/superman/etc exercises. Not feeling nearly as much discomfort as the first week when I was doing them totally screwy. I was able to whack out a few more reps this time with the staggered hand stacked feet push ups. I am also getting better at the hip raises and jail cell push ups (even though I can only do about 6 of those). I took my week 2 pics for you guys. I hope there is some sort of noticeable progress there. My husband ASSURES me that there is.  Thanks for all the comments and encouragement. Just wanted to give a quick shout out to all that have left comments so far and say that I am rooting for you too! We can be each other’s biggest fans. Let me know how you’re doing, feeling, if you have any questions. See you all tomorrow for Cardio X.

IT’S OFFICIAL! I HAVE MADE IT ONE WEEK INTO P90X!!!! ONLY 12 MORE TO GO!!! I got to tell you I feel great. I am so proud of myself that I have made it one week in the program. It has it’s downsides…..I am sore as hell and I sure do miss my nightly dessert. But just knowing that I have accomplished 7 days of one of the most intense workouts out there is a thrill. Today is a busy day. I was up at 7 because I was babysitting my friend’s daughter. On top of that we had a lot of housework to do (Sunday is normally when we catch up on our housework and laundry). I had some oatmeal for breakfast with apples and bananas cut up in it. A Friend that was on the Schrron Lake retreat (see Tom’s blog at www.90dayreview.com ……it’s the strange one in the leotards) turned me on to it. My AM snack was a protein bar. Tom and I also watched Sling Blade together once our work was done. AMAZING MOVIE!!! Really different though. After that I decided it was time to X it. Today’s workout was really fun. I think next to yoga, Kenpo is my favorite. It is fast paced and you’re jumping around. Plus my son and the little girl I was watching decided to join in. I don’t know about you, but I think nothing makes a workout more enjoyable than a couple of 5 years olds attempting to do it too. They were hilarious!!! It was impressive, they lasted about 25 mins. I made it the whole way through, no half a**ing it. There is nothing I didn’t like about this workout. All the moves were great and fun. It wasn’t one of those routines that leaves you whooped and sore afterwards. I was tired but had a surge of energy and accomplishment running through me. Once done I took my week one pics. I hope you guys can see at least a tiny bit of difference because I certainly feel different (aside from the soreness LOL). I can’t wait to kick it into high gear next week. Just wait guys….I am gonna rock this!!!! Well, now we are off to run some more errands. A mom’s job is never done. The dog needs to go to the groomers and the boys need to get haircuts. Later tonight my husband, my daughter and I will be going to the Trans Siberian Orchestra. I know…..try not to turn green with envy. It is our first year going so we are VERY excited!!! Hope everyone is having a good time gearing up for the holidays. Just remember to take a break every now and then to enjoy all that is around you. Take care!!!

Hello everybody! I started off the day with a protein shake. I spiced things up a little and used some strawberries, bananas, oranges, and protein powder instead of the usual mixed berrie. I think if I added a splash of rum it would have made the day really fine! It was kind of a lounge about morning. We puttered around and did a few things. Ran some errands and what not. My AM snack was a Fiber One bar, and for lunch I had some tomato soup and turkey sandwich on whole wheat. In the afternoon I wacked out my workout. I am using the green band for the back exercises and 5-10lb weights for other things (lunges and extensions). I was much better at this workout than I have been at the other. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard as hell though. Those wall squats were absolutely killer! My legs were shaking with 15 sec to spare! I liked the tippy toe lunges. Anything that can make a workout fun is great. I can only imagine what my legs are going to feel like tomorrow!!! I could really feel the burn on the back routines. I did between 12-16 reps depending on the exercises. By the last 2 I was barely making it. Onto Ab ripper…..Again, it wasn’t too pretty with a few of the moves. I am absolutely horrible at the oblique crunches. I just don’t understand how you do it or something! Maybe I just need a little more core strength to get it down right. Fifer scissors is no joke! I have to stop for 2 reps in the middle of that one! I can feel that everywhere!!! I like finishing up with the mason twist. It gets you pumped enough that you just want to go full steam ahead. Plus once you’re done you just want to collapse and go “AHHHHHHH”.  So that was my workout. After I showered I had some soy nuts for my PM snack. Things started going downhill after that. I had gotten a gift card to The Chessacke Factory for my birthday recently. For those of you that don’t know, it is a great resturaunt!!! Well, let’s just say I didn’t exactly stick to the nutrition guide tonight. I felt kind of bad after all the hard work I’ve put in this week. But even Tony says you have to be able to fudge a little every now and then otherwise you go nuts and give up. So I think I earned my slice of Snicker’s Cheesecake. I’ll just be sure to work EXTRA hard tomorrow on Kenpo X! LOL! Well, I think I’m going to take my full belly and go do some laundry. You guys take care!

Today was a day off from work, a scheduled day not a sick day. So it was nice to sleep in. I got the kids up and had a spinach scrambler for breakfast. Once they were off to school I did my yoga. It was SOOOO peaceful to have the house all to myself! It was quiet except for Tony’s voice. The most serene hour and half I have spent in a while. Now this wasn’t to say it was an easy workout. I am by no means Miss Stretchy Pants, nor is my balance extremely impressive. I know you would expect more from a former gymnast, but you would be sadly mistaken. The moving asanas were quite a workout in their own. I was breaking a sweat by the end and my legs were on fire. Who would’ve thought you would sweat during yoga??? The balance postures weren’t as difficult as the moving ones but they were still challenging. Some of them I did pretty well (tree and the dancer). The rest I was fumbling all over. I will get the hang of it though. My favorite part of the wrkout was when you got to move to the floor and stretch out the back (the spinals twists and bridges). It felt really good. The crane was impossible. I absolutely could not do it. You are supposed to basically stand upside down on your hands in a crouched position. Hard to explain and even harder to do. So my goal will be to do that once my 90 days are up. This workout was a nice break from the rest. More slow paced and relaxing, but still hard work. I felt very calm and loose afterwards. Once I was done I laid on the floor for a few and just meditated. When I finally got up I took a shower and met my husband for lunch and did some Christmas shopping. The stores were packed today and it was nuts!!! When everyone got home for the night we hung our Christmas lights outside and I went for another boght of shopping with my girlfriend. So now I have had a jam packed day and I am going to put on some PJ’s and go to bed. Tomorrow’s workout is Legs/Back/Ab Ripper X. I can’t wait for that one. I think my lower body needs the most work. So hopefully tomorrow I will be feeling the burn and bring the heat!!! Talk to you guys tomorrow. Thanks again for all your comments and support. you guys keep up with your programs as well and make sure to keep me posted. We can do this together!

Woke up feeling much better this morning. I started off the day with a turkey sausage muffin (my spin off of the infamous McDonalds fat muffin). It was a whole wheat english muffin with egg white, turkey sausage, and non fat cheese. I think I may just start my own franchise!!!! It was really good!!!! I went off to work and found out I was moved to a new unit. This is a good thing because they moved me to the unit I have been trying to get on for about a month or so. So I spent today getting oriented to my new surroundings and patients. It was wonderful!!! My AM snack was a Fiber One bar. One helpful hint to everyone out there…….stay on top of your fiber. It seems to me that during the “Fat Shredder” part of the nutrition guide your um bathroom time isn’t as smooth as usual LOL. For lunch I had butternut squash raviloi with some steamed vegetables. For my PM snack I had yogurt covered raisins. This is something I never thought I would enjoy seeing as the very thought of plain raisins makes me want to vomit, but my kids have turned me on to these. They are quite good and not as fatting as say chocolate covered raisins. Once I left work it was crunch time. We had a busy night tonight and a lot needed to get done in a short amount of time. I got the kids off the bus, did their homework, threw them in the shower, did my workout, made and ate dinner and then out the door by 6 to go to a tree lighting. Needless to say, all that was hard to squeeze in there. Tonight’s workout was difficult for me. I only made it 45 mins through the whole thing. But I was able to do at least 12 reps per exercise. I think I need to get some 8lb weights because sometimes 10 is too much but 5 is too light. I have an old gymnastics injury (torn rotator cuff) that has never quite healed right. Tonight definately aggitated that one. I was careful to not do too much though. By the end my arms felt like JELL-O!!! I was sore!!!! I had about 15 min left and said “PLEASE NO MORE!!!” So I took a 45 sec strech and got into Ab Ripper. This one wasn’t too easy either. I was able to do at least half of the exercises to max reps, but the other half I had to stop in the middle. I will get better though. I am determined to BRING IT!!! I will see you guys tomorrow for Yoga X! I can’t wait, I love doing yoga!!!

Hello. Today was one of those up and down days. My husband was up puking last night so I didn’t get much sleep; on top of waking up with a nice head cold and having to go to work. My breakfast was a protein shake with berries and banana. Quite tasty! Once I got to work one of the worst things happened. One of my patients passed away this morning. I work in a long term care facility (we also do rehab and trauma) so this is something that happens. This was different though. The woman that died this morning was my very first patient I ever got the pleasure of working with. She was a very funny bird who was always affectionate. I am glad that she is no longer suffering, but sad to see her go. I will always remember her. The day kind of dragged on after that. My AM snack was a granola bar and an apple and for lunch I had a shrimp salad with cashews. After lunch we started decorating our unit for the holidays. I think peoples’ inner crazy started coming out. By the end of my shift I was walking around wearing a hula skirt and sunglasses over my scrubs. Don’t ask! The kids came home from school and I decided to try something a little different. Instead of immediately jumping on the homework/housework/dinner grind I figured I’d workout. It is tough working out at 8pm. You are tired and already in cumfy mode. Plus I had rented some movies for us to watch and I didn’t want to have to stress about “scheduling” family time. So I did Cardio X before dinner while the kids unwound. Having done Plyometrics with my husband I can see the differences between the two workout series (Classic and Lean). I remember gasping for air and being completely floored after Plyo. With Cardio X it was different. I was still getting a good workout, but not dragging half way through. It was a nice workout too. It included things from other routines like plyo, kenpo, core synergistics, and yoga. I can’t imagine getting bored because they change it up every few minutes. It was a little hard to workout today though. My body is still aching from yesterday’s workout. Tom said it would feel this way and that I just have to make it through the first few weeks until my body adjusts. Let me tell you I can’t wait for that adjustment time because my muscles are screaming!!!! In a weird way it makes me feel good because I know that I’m doing something right. If I woke up today and felt fine I would be tossing those DVDs out the window. Once I finished up my workout I made dinner and got the kids situated with their showers and homework and what not. We had fish, veggies, and wild rice for dinner. I was starving by the time we sat down to dinner, which is amazing considering how much I feel like I’m eating. I guess Tony is right about needing that little bit extra to keep your body going. The key is that I’m not pigging out on crap. It’s not easy. The temptation is very much there, especially with my kids eating their desserts right in front of me (little buttheads). It was nice to get my workout done early because it freed up the rest of my night. We watched our movie and got to spend some time together without rushing or stressing. I think I might alternate my workout times throughout the week so things stay fresh and easy. Well that’s it for me. Thanks for checking in. I will blog again tomorrow. Have a good one!

Hey guys! Today has been a great day! I started off my morning with an egg white omelet with spinach, tomatoes, onions, and llowfat cheese. It was coupled with a cup of lowfat cottage cheese and a cup of berries. I know what you’re thinking…..that is A TON of food! That’s what i thought too, but it was what the nutrition guide had down for breakfast today. Amazing right?!? I couldn’t even finish it all. I still had half an omelete left plus a few bites of cottage cheese. I went to work/school and did some more studying. I sit for my state exams in less than 2 weeks so I need to be in my prime. I have already passed my final exam through school with a 100%!!! So the states are my last hurtle. My AM snack was a P90X protein bar. I thought these things would taste horrible but they are actually pretty good! For lunch I had a Lean Cuisine (not exactly in the nutrition guide but it follows the same nutritional guidelines). At the end of my work day I had graduation. It was great. I have been working really hard at this and was glad to final reach the end of this tunnel. But then again, it’s only the begining for me. I still have nursing school to tackle! My husband came to my graduation. He bought me balloons, flowers, cards, and an angel ornament. He is such a sweetheart. He was snapping pictures like crazy. You would think I was graduating college or something LOL. It was a great graduation and everyone was very happy……and yes, we even indulged in some cake  We went home and got the munchkins off the bus and went out to dinner to celebrate. You’ll be happy to know that while we did eat out I stuck to a sensible diet. I had salmon, with rice, and steamed veggies. Good stuff! Once we got home we played around with the kids and got things ready for tomorrow. I am a bit of an anal freak so I always have lists and little tasks to get done. If I don’t do it then I will forget a million things and we’ll all be running around half naked and starved ) After all that grind was done and the babies were tucked into bed it was time to get busy. Tonight was core synergistics. Let me just state for the record….this is no joke! This works exactly what it says it works. Your core……HARD CORE! I am proud to say that i made it through the entire workout. Yes I did stop a few extra seconds but I didn’t give up. I was able to do at least 5 reps of all the different types of push ups. The rest I either modified or opted not to do (for sake of preventing injury). I did quite well on the lunge exercises. Didn’t quite get to do all the reps because I was making sure my form was good instead of rushing through. One thing I did notice is that my shoulder blades and neck get very tight and sore during the “banana/boat/superman/bow” type exercises. I have the feeling I’m not holding something the way I should be. Something I will have to improve upon over the next 89 days. This workout really does get your heart going though! I was sweating by the end and dog tired!!! I can’t wait to see how I do tomorrow. I am determined to see awesome results like Tom. The only way I can achieve that is to BRING IT!!! So meet me back here tomorrow. I think that workout will be Cardio X. Until then, I’m gonna go shower. I friggin smell LOL