As you all may know 2 months ago I embarked on the 13 week P90 X journey. P90X is a workout program that has been popular in the recent past. I was intrigued by my sister’s progress after 6 weeks. When I was home last, I joined her for several early morning workouts. The workouts were quite challenging then. My workout regime had become lax with each baby I had. This is after decades of training in some sport or another and after running a marathon. Hey, it still counts even if it was in 1996.
So 6 weeks into it, I was enjoying being motivated but not having my needs met So, I stopped doing the formal workout and sat down to regroup. Here is what I learned:
Follow your gut
If you read my initial impression of the program, I make note of two things: that it will be challenging but not enough cardio and that I wouldn’t enjoy the type of yoga style the program uses.
The not enough cardio is what did it for me. I am a cardio girl. This is what keeps me happy: the endorphins, a legal way to feel great. Cardio is also what works as a natural appetite suppressant done in moderation (not at marathon training proportions). With the P90X I wasn’t getting my cardio needs met and it was making me super hungry.
Early on, I also suspected that I would not enjoy the yoga as with no disrespect to “Tony”, the P90X yoga is like “Jock Yoga”, not fluid enough for my taste. I very quickly substituted my usual power yoga DVD for the P90X one. Unfortunately, I kept at the program despite not getting my needs met.
I also have my own opinion on what it takes to get in shape and stay in shape. More than 6 hours a week is excessive if you are trying to maintain.
Know When to Quit
This was said best by John Falchetto in one of his recent posts. He was applying it to business but his principles can be applied to anything in life. So was I a quitter? Or why didn’t I quit sooner? According to John: “Quitting is not the same as failing. Learn the difference between both and when the time is right… to quit.”
I would have argued that I should have quit the P90X program sooner. But, we are conditioned not to quit. It took me into my 20’s to not finish reading a poorly written book. I felt that I had started reading it and I had to finish. It was the same with any endeavor I started.
So Why Was It Not Working For Me?
I had said this before in Top 3 reason’s diets fail but Danny brown said this even more eloquently in one of his recent posts. “We are all different. Take the best of what’s relevant for you.”
I knew what I needed in a program. I just thought the p90X program would meet all those needs. Do I really need 1 hour of arms or 1 hour of legs per week, HECK NO. Look at my arms! They are huge now. I want lean not huge. This is even with doing low weight and more reps as advised on the Lean program.
Most diet and exercise programs are written to work for the person who devised them. So I am taking the best of this program and devising my own
Was I trying to “Get Rich Quick. Lose Weight Tomorrow.” By quitting?
Meaning did I quit because I wanted the easy fix? No. Gini Dietrich of Spin Sucks wrote this best when saying most people only want the quick fix and that is what the big PR campaigns play into to sell all those diet, exercise, and weight loss schemes. I couldn’t agree with Gini more.
I didn’t’ want a quick fix. I just needed different. What works for me is heavy cardio based programs and ones that are easily accessible: running (cannot do any longer), biking (I avoid doing this here or risk being flattened by an SUV) or home DVD’s.
Summary of P90X
I think that it is a great motivator to get you off you’re a$$! And I have heard and seen some great success stories. The length of time per day they recommend you put in I argue with. More than 6 hours a week is a little too much to maintain. I think you can be efficient in 45 min workouts, cardio or otherwise. I will definitely use the workouts that suited me best: core, and arms and legs (on occasion not once a week each!). I try to follow my gut, am not afraid to quit when I know it is not working for me, and know that to stay in shape there is no quick fix. All of these principles you can apply to anything in life.
Discussion
What do you think? What has been your experience in various programs you have tried exercise or otherwise? I’d loved to hear.
COMMENTS ( 1 )
posted on 10 July at 02:59
This is exactly what I needed to read. I began P90X two months ago since my husband was doing it and I thought it would be fun to do together. However, I've gained about 10 pounds and I don't feel very svelte. Granted I did not follow the meal pan, but I generally eat well, non processed foods. I've finally decided to ''quit''. I struggled with this since I too always think I have to finish what I've started. But, I'm realizing that I also need lots more cardio. I need to go somewhere, not just bounce around in a small space. Anyway, here's to ''quitting''. I've finally made peace with it. Thanks for writing this:-)