Transition Week

After Phase I there is a one week transition period of workouts that are much more cardio and core focused, and less intense on the weights. It was during this week that we were introduced to the Core Synergistics DVD and it instantly became among our least favorite! This is an hour-long torture of balance and flexibility where each move invokes your Abs and makes you want to throw-up. I was disappointed to feel that way, as it had been at least 3 weeks since I last wanted to throw-up after a P90X workout, and had thought I'd put that behind me. Oh well...

Outside of the Core torture DVD, the transition week was a relative break from the typical workout schedule. It did include Yoga, and I'm happy to report that I can now lean forward and grab both of my toes in a seated position - that's about 3-4 inches further of a stretch than I had 30 days ago so flexibility is definitely a positive outcome of this program. I'm also able to hold the poses much better, including Crane, where you lean forward in a tripod like position and balance all of your weight on your hands and wrists. I am pretty much the Crane master now - I can do it for almost the entire 30 seconds!

Kenpo is still our favorite and the most fun - and my left side punches and kicks may actually now knock someone down if landed. This too is huge progress! With transition week behind us it's full steam ahead to Phase 2!

Also - as an alternative to the P90X recovery drink I have been mixing all sorts of drinks with Vanilla flavored whey protein, plus sprinkling in Creatine and Glutamine. This is definitely a cheaper alternative to buying the P90X product. If you try it, I recommend Apple Juice - but it is higher in calories than my next two favorites, Fruit Punch Flavored Gatorade and White Cherry Flavored Powerade. Orange Gatorade or Powerade are also ok - just avoid the lemon-lime and the lemonade flavors - trust me...

Phase I Completed

Last week we successfully put the first ~30 day phase of P90X behind us. At the conclusion of Phase I, both Amiee and I are down 5-6 pounds, and we've each lost 1-2 inches off of our waists. I've also added an inch to my biceps - that's all we've measured, though I bet if we were to measure all muscle groups we'd see results in all areas.

So the conclusion is that we've definitely redistributed our weight and we're changing our shapes. Even though Amiee has lost only 5-6 pounds to this point, it looks like she's lost more like 10-15 because of the transformation in shape. My back has gotten a lot tighter as well giving me a much better "V" shape from my waist up to my shoulders.

The workouts continue to be hard - but we are getting through them. We're both making a concerned effort to eat healthier without being on a diet, and for the most part that's been working although this past week we've run into a number of things that have kept us too busy to plan properly for meals (e.g. track meets) and so we've had to hit some fast food here & there - I really feel it now when I eat poorly.

So heading into Phase 2 I would recommend P90X to anyone as a quality program. Certainly challenging, but worth it if you stick it out!