Day 97 - The end!

This is it - my final post. I'm not ready to say goodbye!

Today I did Fountain of Youth. I have no idea what I was supposed to do, but I love the yoga so much I wanted to do it! I can't BELIEVE my flexibility. My hamstring stretches are so much better now than they were, even a few weeks ago! Sitting, I can reach around a yoga block at my feet. That's so crazy; I never dreamed I'd be able to do that. The results show it, too: a staggering 11 inch increase in my toe touch. I am so happy with my results I could cry. I posted my before and after photos yesterday, and as promised, I'm posting my final measurements today.

So, I guess this is it! For anyone interested, I'll be keeping a general life blog, which you can find here. To the strangers that have been reading and commenting on this blog, thank you. It's great to know that I am an inspiration for others, and the fact that I do inspires ME. To my friends and family who followed me through these 90 97 days, thank you. Your words and encouragement really did keep me going. I appreciate your support, so much. And to Christopher: my best friend, my motivation, my support and my rock.. THANK YOU. If it weren't for you, honestly, I wouldn't have had the results I have now. I loved your patience, and your gentle but firm reminders to keep pushing through. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

And that's all from me. I'm officially an X grad! Thank you, Tony! Goodbye, P90Xers, and keep bringing it!

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Weight
Day 0: 124 lb
Day 30: 123 lb
Day 60: 123 lb
Day 90: 123 lb

Chest
Day 0: 32"
Day 30: 31"
Day 60: 32"
Day 90: 32"

Waist
Day 0: 27"
Day 30: 27"
Day 60: 26"
Day 90: 27"

Hips
Day 0: 34"
Day 30: 33.5"
Day 60: 34"
Day 90: 33"

Right thigh
Day 0: 19"
Day 30: 19"
Day 60: 19"
Day 90: 20"

Left thigh
Day 0: 18"
Day 30: 19"
Day 60: 19"
Day 90: 20"

Right arm
Day 0: 10.5"
Day 30: 10.5"
Day 60: 10.75"
Day 90: 10.5"

Left arm
Day 0: 11"
Day 30: 10.5"
Day 60: 10.5"
Day 90: 10.5"

Pushups
Day 0: 7
Day 30: 11
Day 60: 20
Day 90: 21

Wide-grip pull-ups
Day 0: 1/2
Day 30: 3/4
Day 60: 3/4
Day 90: 1

Toe touch
Day 0: -5" (5" away from touching toes)
Day 30: +2" (2" past toes)
Day 60: +4" (4" past toes)
Day 90: +6" (6" past toes)

Wall squat
Day 0: 1 minute 3 seconds
Day 90: 1 minute 25 seconds

Chin-ups
Day 0: 1/2
Day 90: 2 1/2

Bicep curls
Day 0: 23 with 10 lbs
Day 90: 20 with 15 lbs

In and outs (the ab test)
Day 0: 21
Day 90: 50

Day 93 - Crazy crazy

First half of Kenpo, followed by Kenpo Cardio Plus from P90X+. Whew! I was throwing punches a lot faster than Tony and his friends were - and it showed, because I was in a lather and panting like crazy by the time it was over. I could hardly throw any punches toward the end, I was so tired. But, now that it's over, I feel great, as usual!

Tomorrow is New Years Eve. We are going to my sister and brother-in-law's place for their NYE party. I can't wait! Tomorrow also happens to be a rest day, but we're going to do something to help cancel out the drinks and munchies. Not sure what, maybe an Insanity workout? (Unlikely, since I hate them. We'll see.)

In any event, we have FOUR DAYS of P90X left. I'm still thrown off course from Christmas, and I wish we had started a week earlier. But we're back on track now and it's starting to wind down for us. Hard to believe. I get to tell people now that I finished P90X! Crazy crazy :)

Day 91 - Back to the grind

And by grind, I mean workouts that feel amazing after many days of overeating and underexercising.

Day 1 of our last week was Core Synergistics, and it was great. Definitely a little harder, given the 5-day lapse in workouts, but it felt really great to get moving again. I can't believe the change in my attitude, even from half a year ago. I used to go weeks without working out. Now I don't think I could go a couple days without missing the burn.

Christmas was fantastic, wonderful, and relaxing, everything a good Christmas should be. Chris and I had a great time traveling around between families, get-togethers, dinners and present openings. It sure is nice to be home, though. Sometimes you're on the go for so long, you don't realize it until you stop. That happened to me, and only today did I realize how busy we were over the holidays. So nice to lay around our own home and really relax together.

So, I guess this blog will end up being 97 days instead of 90. But that's alright. Tony will just have to rename it P97X. ;)

Day 84 - Social butterfly

I had a friend over tonight for four hours of talking and catching up. It was so great. It meant I missed my workout, but if there's ever a reason, catching up with friends is it.

Legs and Back has been postponed until tomorrow. Sorry, Tony!

Day 65 - Insanity!

So for the past few weeks, Chris has been doing Insanity workouts along with his P90X workouts. So tonight I decided that I would try the Insanity cardio workout in lieu of Tony's Cardio workout. The Cardio workout in P90X isn't really cardio as such, but more like an all-encompassing summary workout.. if you know what I mean.

Anyway, Insanity is a cardio-centred program that is, literally, insane. From their website: Your personal trainer Shaun T will push you past your limits with 10 workout discs packed with plyometric drills on top of nonstop intervals of strength, power, resistance, and ab and core training moves. No equipment or weights needed. Just the will to get the hardest body you've ever had. So, long story short, it’s Shaun T yelling at you and a group of other victims in some gymnasium somewhere.

I really believe Insanity is a great program. But, hating cardio as I do, it was hard for me to really get into it because my mind wasn’t in the right place. I find that happens with any type of cardio workout though, so it’s not any different than the norm. Still, it’s a fantastic replacement for Cardio X, which (don’t tell Tony) isn’t that great.

Exciting news – tomorrow I’m doing the Back & Biceps workout which I’ve never ever done! I’m excited to see a new workout after 65 days doing this program. A change of pace is always welcome!

P.S. After my workout, for the hell of it, I wanted to do some sit-ups... and ended up doing 80 in a row! The most I've ever done! Actual sit-ups too, none of those sissy crunches! ;) I'm pretty happy about that!

Get fit or get out!

Day 52 - Run run run

Since I am in my rest week, today was supposed to be a Kenpo day. However, Chris got Insanity the other day and he's been dappling in that, so he decided he wanted to do one of those workouts instead, and I wanted to join him. But, before working out, I had supper (pork and veggies) so I started getting a major stitch in my side. I didn't want to ruin Chris's workout, but I also didn't want to do nothing, so I went for a run. I ran a lot before starting P90X, and I've never really enjoyed it. I found it really hard, frustrating and only rewarding when it was actually over with. My run tonight was the same, only my body handled it much better. I didn't time myself (I wish I had), but I ran 3.7km with one one-minute walking break. My breathing was better, my gait was stronger, my stride was longer and everything just seemed to flow. There was no fighting with my body to keep going, I just went. So, P90X has definitely helped my running.

Chris and I just watched The Making of P90X and it was pretty great. Tony is so funny! And it was neat seeing some of the people from the workout videos in the Making Of, like Wesley and Dreya. The best thing was watching it all come together, from an idea, to a rough draft on paper, to pilot workout groups, to test groups, then to production of the program. It's neat to see behind the scenes, and I highly suggest checking out that Making Of video! Really cool. That's all from me!

Day 25 - A quote from the man himself

Today was rest day, so nothing to report workout-wise.

The conference I was at today had soup and sandwiches for lunch, which was better than I was expecting. I took the top piece of bread off the sandwich, and had a small bowl of soup. Not too shabby! Then for supper Chris made Island Pork Tenderloin and veggies.. We're suckers for that pork tenderloin recipe.

Speaking of recipes, I was asked to post the recipe for the slow cooker beef stew that we had for supper a few nights back. There's not much for a recipe! Chris just threw together some stewing beef, a few cups of veggies and a bit of Club House Slow Cookers Beef Stew seasoning. Instead of adding just water to the seasoning, he added half water, half tomato sauce. Then he cooked it on low for 8-9 hours, and it turned out perfectly! It's hard to get a slow cooker recipe wrong, so just try mixing things, but remember to keep enough sauce in it so the meat can get nice and tender.

Since I don't have much else to write, I want to post a quote from Tony from the Kenpo workout. While it's a little harsh, it's very true: with healthy eating and exercise, you get what you give. Take it away, Tony!

I don't believe in age. I don't believe in aging. Whatever. I got your aging right here! I believe in moving and eating good. [...] Take care of your body, and it will take care of you. Because time keeps ticking, you keep getting older.. You can get better, or you can get all gooey.. Crotchety, old, pathetic, icky, gross.. Not me, not into it.

Can you believe he's 51?!