Over the past few years I’ve been growing more and more disgusted with myself as I’ve grown lethargic and just plain grown. I used to have dancing and youth to keep me in check. Youth has turned into middle age and there just isn’t as much time and inspiration for dance. Not to mention that a song or two leaves me incredibly winded.
I’ve watched as a number of friends and dancers have got themselves into shape again, and met people older than me who look (and I’m sure feel) younger than me. Longtime friends of mine are even fitness gurus (experts on cross-fit).
A need to get back into shape, gain some muscle tone and improve my energy level has overcome me. Any sort of exercise would be an improvement, but I’ve seen a lot of my friends do P90X with great success. Despite my cross-fit friends recommendation that I follow a cross-fit plan, I decided to try a session of P90X for my initial transformation into fitness.
I chose the path for a few reasons, with the biggest of which is that I have multiple friends going through the program at the same time, so I have a support system that I can use. Getting through a few weeks and making exercise a habit is my highest priority besides getting into shape. After I finish the program I will move on to a regular workout, and hope to get some good advice from my cross-fit guru friends, as I see how it’s worked for and become a lifestyle for them.
So I began the program a week ago. Going from zero exercise to an intense program like P90X is not necessarily the smartest thing to do. Day one was difficult to get through. When I finished the first part (chest and back), I felt like I was going to puke. The ab ripper portion went painfully as I have absolutely no stomach muscles it would seem.
Day two started off with me being pretty sore, but I made it through the plyometrics workout without getting sick. By the time day three rolled around I was so sore that I was unsure I could do another workout, but once I began warming up I knew I was able to get through it. I continued on through the week doing pretty well until I had a slight pull up bar accident and fell on my tailbone. Since then a few exercises have been out of the question, most specifically the ab workouts and anything involving jumping.
I’m now into my ninth day, and I’m feeling the results. Despite a few minor setbacks in the diet (i.e. a memorial day BBQ), I’ve lost a pound or two and generally feel better. I can’t expect to *see* any results in the mirror yet, but I’m looking forward to the day I can. Each workout is getting a bit easier to make it through, even though I still don’t feel like I’m keeping up. I’m realistic enough to know that 90 days isn’t going to bring me a miracle transformation, but it will put me into the best shape I’ve been in years.
The diet is the hardest part. I’m not following the P90X nutrition plan (though I should), instead I’m making general smart choices like lowering my portions, eating snack between meals to keep my metabolism level, and skipping high fat and high calorie foods. No more fast food, no more sweetened drinks, and a lot less bread, red meat, and sugar for me. Oh, and I’ve all but eliminated beer from my poker nights… talk about rough!
All I have to do is make this a new lifestyle for me, where everyday consists of better food and portion choices, and every day includes some form of exercise. This public declaration of my plan is my attempt to commit to it so that should I feel like giving up, there will be a bit of shame and guilt keeping me going. My hope is that after establishing all of this as a new lifestyle it will stick and I can continue to make improvements in my nutrition and health.
Stay tuned because if I do stick with it, and there are noticeable results I will certainly share the embarrassing before pictures, and proudly share the after. For now, however, the before/current shots stay safely tucked away. 