P90X2 Coming Soon!!! OMG!!

Wow, I don't know what has gotten into me in the last year or so. Normally I would be going crazy over the the final Harry Potter movie, but instead I find myself more intrigued by the release of the new extreme workout... P90X2!!!! Here's the new trailer. It makes me want to kick royal butt in Insanity and my new round of P90X so I'll be ready to do push ups on basketballs like Tony does in here! Check it out!

Oh, and pre-orders will start in August, but only through Beachbody Coaches. They expect a sell out when it releases to the public, so if you want it when it comes out, you may want to pre-order. If you don't have a coach, go to my site and sign me up as your coach or become one yourself! I'll let you know when the pre-order is available!

www.beachbodycoach.com/bodyengineerx

Eve of Insanity

Well, we made it through 90 days of P90X. I saw great results and am excited to make these workouts part of my normal lifestyle. Our next challenge....Insanity!

Insanity is an extreme interval training program developed by Shaun T (the guy who brought you Hip Hop Abs!). Normal interval training involves many short bursts of movement with a longer rest period, Insanity actually has longer bursts of training with very little rest periods. The workouts are 40 minutes to an hour, 6 days a week. The whole program lasts 60 days, where the first 30 days is hard, the second 30 days are extremely hard. Nice and Scary!

I've made it to a size 12, down from a size 16, because of P90X (I just bought some new shorts and it felt so good to search through the smaller size!). My goal is to get to at least size 10 by Labor Day...that was the size I was when Jay and I first met. Who knows...maybe I might get to an 8?

We got a new foam floor for the living room because Insanity involves lots of jumping around and we want to protect our knees and back. I think it's going to be a semi-permanent feature in the house. Our living room is already starting to look like a gym anyway.

We start tomorrow! So wish us well! We will be taking our before and after pictures. If we send them into Beachbody we get a t-shirt that says "I earned it" on the back!

A gift for all my hard work... size 12!

Today is Day 62 of our P90X journey. Got in my Cardio with my friend Sara this morning. We still need to take our day 60 measurements and pictures. I'm nervous but excited! In trying to get ready today, I frowned at my jeans, which are way too big now and I have to keep pulling them up (I know, terrible problem to have, right?). I don't want to go out and buy new clothes until I'm at the size I want to be, so I'm going through some of my older stuff that didn't fit anymore. And guess what...I found a pair of size 12 shorts I had and they went on and buttoned up just fine! They fit! Woo hoo! My jeans are a size 16 and they are looking pretty baggy, so it's a treat to find out my hard work is paying off!

Plyometrics!!

P90X Day 55: Today, instead of my normal Cardio X, I decided to try Plyometrics. This is called, by Tony Horton, the "Mother of All P90X workouts". Reading in the message boards, I also saw a lot of people dread doing it and exhausted upon completing it. Scary, huh? Since we are doing the "Lean" Routine for P90X, Plyo is not normally thrown in the mix. Jay and I just decided to try it. We figure we are in much better shape than we were 55 days ago and if it was just too tough, we would do our best to keep up and get a good cardio workout.

I just have to say, what a GREAT workout! I am sweatier now, sitting here writing this, than I ever have been in a workout. It was hard, it was intense, it was higher impact than our normal workouts. It was also fun! Doing Rock Star Leaps, Jump Shots, and Airborne Heismans.

The amazing thing about this workout is one of the people working out in the video is a P90X graduate...with only ONE LEG! That's right! He was keeping up with everyone in jumping, squats, and lunges while on a prosthetic leg. Wow! Tony points out if he can do it, no one should have any excuses! Even if you have knee problems, they show modified versions of each exercise so it's not higher impact.

I think I'm going to throw this one in with my normal cardio days!

From Wikipedia (if you are curious): "Plyometrics (also known as "plyos") is a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the functions of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of improving performance in sports. Plyometric movements, in which a muscle is loaded and then contracted in rapid sequence, use the strength, elasticity and innervation of muscle and surrounding tissues to jump higher, run faster, throw farther, or hit harder, depending on the desired training goal. Plyometrics is used to increase the speed or force of muscular contractions, providing explosiveness for a variety of sport-specific activities."

Pat's Run 2011

Today we did the 7th annual Pat's Run (see www.patsrun.com). It's a 4.2 mile run in honor of Arizona State Football Alumni (his number was 42) and Cardinals player Pat Tillman. The run goes around Tempe and the finish line is at the 42 yard line in Sun Devil Stadium. Proceeds got to the Pat Tillman Foundation which helps fund college scholarships for active military, veterans, and their dependents.

There was about 9 of us doing it together...Jay and I, Tim and Jennifer, and their daughter Sarah, Cody and Katherine, and Cheryl and Scott. We started off at the same time, and many of us finished at different times. Cody beat us all at 42 minutes! Jay ran with me, so sweet since I was a slow poke. I just did P90X Legs and Back the day before, so my calves were burning, but we kept going! We made it over the finish line holding hands at 57:42 minutes! Yay! Our goal was an hour and we beat it!

Because we have been doing P90X so much, we haven't been running as much. We plan to add a couple runs to our workouts every week! We'll beat our time next year for sure! It was a great race. Over 30,000 racers in Tempe, and shadow races all over the world including military bases overseas.



Those of you who may not know Pat Tillman's story, he is a local hero who gave up his career in the NFL to join the U. S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. They hold Pat's Run every April, so instead of mourning him, we can celebrate him and his service to our country.

Day 31...Maegann, Meet Push-ups

I did a one-handed push up today. In fact, I did four of them! Now, if you had told me a couple months ago that I would be doing a one-handed push up today, I would have laughed in your face. "Not me! I am the most uncoordinated and wimpy girl you would ever meet," I would have said. But it happened!

We have moved on into the 2nd Phase of our program (after 30 days of hard work!) and today's workout was Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. Basically it was an hour of push up and weight lifting using just your triceps. Wow. The cool thing about this workout is it moves fast. I was still learning the moves and doing the best I can, when all of a sudden we're doing the cool down! Sweet! Now back to push ups... I have never been able to do a full push up in my life. Never in gym class, never after. It was one of my biggest fears about P90X...I heard there were lots of push ups.

Tony does show you how to do modified push ups (you know, the girlie ones on your knees) and I'm not a fan of that...I can't keep my back straight for some reason and it just feels weird...so I am doing the plank ones, on my toes. I can't get down too far, but i try to get lower each time. There are also 3-4 second count push up where you are going up and down VERY slowly...and I actually liked that. It allowed me to control my move and focus on getting as low as you can go. When he was going to the one-handed push up, I thought, "Whoa whoa whoa Tony, there ain't no way I'm ready for that!" And Tony says, "I know what you're thinking, I'm not ready for that...but here is what you can do..." He shows you how to do a modified version, on your kness, legs wide. So I tried...and I could do it! It was very hard, so I only go 4 done, but that's a start! Now, if I get those clapping ones down....

I have a bump on my leg!

Day 26: Today was Cardio X. I was able to get up a little later this morning so it was a great workout. Tomorrow is Yoga X...which I was excited it was on Saturday because it was so long, until I realized I had to go into work early tomorrow. Up at 3:30 am on a Saturday? Blech.

But you know what? It's worth it. It really is! Jay and I have tried every diet you can imagine (have you heard of the Shangri La diet? Go Google it if not....gross). We have a whole workout room with a weight bench and treadmill, complete with TV, DVD player and streaming movies. I've taken up running, which is fun, but I haven't seen any real changes to my body. Now I'm seeing changes. Now OTHER people are starting to see the changes! That is the amazing thing...not 30 days in and already I can see who I am going to be in 90...in 180...and beyond. It's real!

Today I went and visited my mom and my sister. We were talking about my workouts and I wanted to show them my legs (this is where Jay is noticing a nice change in the works). I went to flex my calf and I saw a bump. Not a gross bump...but a curve that was showing actual muscle definition. Now...I'm a tall girl at 5'10" and have always had pretty nice long shapely legs. I've never worked them out as hard as I'm working them now and they are showing actual muscles! Wow!

They say is takes 21 days of doing something to create a habit. I think I believe that. Here I am at Day 26 and can't imagine life without these workouts. Hooray!

Down-wind Dog

Day 25: We're still in recovery week, so today was just X Stretch. I love X Stetch, it just feels so good. It's an hour long stretching routine that incorporates the stretching exercises in all the other programs, but does them for extended times to get the most of the stretch. I feel all the stretching we do in P90X has made noticeable improvements in my flexibility. I don't have delusions that (as Tony puts it) I'll make "Gumby look like the Tin Man", but will I be able to touch my toes someday on a double hamstring stretch? I am beginning to think so!

A funny anecdote on my workout today (I shared it with Jay and he insisted I shared it with you, so blame him): Our dog Ginger ate some stuffing from one of her toys yesterday. It really tore her up, she was coughing and drooling, and you could see she was not feeling well. This morning she looked pretty good and was back to her normal self. Ginger was laying on the couch while I was doing my workout. I was in Downward Dog pose (it's a yoga position where you are on your hands and feet with your rear in the air) when Ginger let rip the loudest fart I've ever heard. She doesn't do that very often. What was funny was how she whipped her head around, frightened by the sound like there was an invisible person behind her ready to attack. Her reaction just made me laugh so hard...and that's not easy to do in Downward Dog, so I toppled over...which made Ginger confused as well. Ah...you got to love pets.

Kenpo X! Gotta love Cardio Kickboxing!

Day 24: Kenpo X. This is got to be the most "fun" of the workouts. It moves really fast, you are just racing to keep up with punches and kicks, you get really sweaty, and suddenly you are done!

I love cardio kickboxing. My local gym offered classes three times a week and I tried to get in each one if I could. Not only is it a great cardio workout, there's this empowering feeling you get when you are punching and kicking some invisible enemy. I have never been "tough". I'm the kind of person that avoids any sort of confrontation or leaves the room when I feel a negative vibe. I do feel frustrations sometimes, however. There are people that rub you the wrong way or there are outcomes you were looking forward to that fizzle out. Cardio kickboxing is probably the healthiest and sanest way I have found to take out those frustrations. No hurt feelings are dished out and a mild satisfaction arises that you had control over your emotional reactions. Plus, burning up to 600 calories in one workout is always a plus!

To be able to do P90X, I knew it was going to take a big chunk of my time, more time than I normally spend at the gym. I was a little sad that when I went to quit my gym membership that I wouldn't get to do my kickboxing with my favorite trainers. When I saw that Kenpo X was pretty much cardio kickboxing, just kicked up a notch, I was so excited! Watch out invisible foes!!

On to week 4! This is supposed to be the easy week?

Week 3 is done, we started week 4. Today was good ol' Yoga X (90 minutes long, so got up at 3:30 in the morning yet again). The good news is the rest of the week's workouts are less than an hour (no Ab Ripper this week) and Yoga doesn't come again until Saturday! This week is "Recovery" week, which means that after 3 weeks of doing some tough workouts and resistance training, this week is devoted to recovery. Mostly stretching, yoga, and some cardio.

I really like Yoga X. I have done some yoga classes in the past, and this is the most comprehensive of any yoga routines I've ever done. To me, it's one of the hardest workouts only because I have terrible balance and no flexibility. I look at them doing some moves thinking the human body isn't supposed to twist that way! The first few weeks, I was falling and tumbling. Today I actually held my Tree pose almost the whole time and actually got my leg in the air for Royal Dancer. And I am getting so CLOSE to having my heels all the way down for Downward Dog. Probably because we do Downward Dog ALL THE TIME! :)

P90X has three different routines. A Lean routine, the Classic routine, and a Doubles routine. Jay and I are doing the Lean right now for the first 90 days. It means more cardio and less resistance training (re: weight training) to help slim down and get some muscle tone. When we are done, we will do the Classic for 90 days. The results you see from the infomercials are usually the outcome of people doing the classic. There is more resistance training and the cardio is beefed up a notch. The Classic builds more muscle mass and increased definition. The Doubles routine means you are fitting in some sort of resistance training at one point in the day and cardio another part of the day...so two workouts a day. After we are done with Classic, we'll see if I can realistically fit in Doubles. Remember, I'm getting up at 3:30 some mornings? Can someone spare a few hours in the day for me?

P90X...The first few weeks

I'm writing this blog to document my journey in health. I have been making daily updates on Facebook, but it has been hard to go into the details there. I called the blog "Body Engineer" because that's what I feel I'm doing, re-inventing my body. I've never done sports, I always stunk in gym class, I'm a klutz (ask anyone in my family). By developing muscles, I will be developing strength, balance, flexibility, and coordination. It is a huge goal, but it just needs to attacked one day at a time. I'm finishing Week 3 of P90X. I'm doing the "Lean" program which has more cardio and less resistance training, so I don't plan my muscles to be huge and ripped after the first 90 days. I hope to lose those first 10 pounds, maybe, and tone up. Again, I'm focusing on definition...just getting one step closer to those size 10 pants I love so much and haven't been able to wear in years.

So, to summarize the first three weeks: At first, I was flopping around like a fish out of water. I couldn't straighten my legs when Tony said to do it. I was winded half way through the reps they wanted me to do. My Yoga positions looked more like hieroglyphs in a Salvador Dali painting (basically a melting version of "Walk like an Egyptian"). And everything hurt every day. The cool thing about P90X for beginners, is that Tony doesn't make you feel like an idiot. He pushes you, sure. All the workout guys and girls in the DVDs are doing what you eventually want to do. But Tony says things like, "If you can't touch your toes, touch your ankles. Or if you are only reaching your shins, that's okay...you will get there in time! Just keep fighting for every inch and every millimeter!" It gives me hope that I will get there. I am not discouraged by watching them flex and lift in superhuman ways. I am encouraged that one day that will be me.

I have 2 more days of Week 3, then one week of "Recovery" (which is more Yoga, Stretching, and some Cardio). At the end of that week, I take my 30 day pictures and compare them to my Before pictures. I feel changes in my body and hope to see them too!