It’s been about four weeks since we were initiated in to the family of P90X Graduates. I thought I’d update you on some of my progress since graduation.
Slacking a Bit on the Fit Test
I admit – we haven’t done the fit test yet. I fully intended to do it but then I just kept working out and training for the marathon and it kept seeming not to fit into my schedule. I really want to do it still; regardless of the fact that the results won’t be 100% accurate. Since we finished P90X, I’ve been diligently logging my recommended weekly mileage for training for the marathon. This means that now instead of running only 3 days a week, I run 4. And when you run four days a week and try to fit in P90X Legs and Back, there never really seems to be a day that your legs are rested enough to take the fit test! I know – it’s not an excuse but becuase the first two weekends following our “graduation” were spent out of town by either Mike or myself, it hasn’t been easy to find time to test our never-rested bodies.
Workouts
As I expressed in my blog post about what I plan to do after P90X, I definitely haven’t been slacking on the fitness aspect. I’ve ramped up my weekly mileage, adding in a 5-6 mile easy run as well as some tough intervals plus a mid week long run of 8-10 miles. Our long runs have gotten much longer – up to 21 miles – and weekly mileage has been anywhere from 37-42 miles. The first week after we finished we only were able to get in two P90X workouts but since then we’ve been consistent with either Legs and Back or Plyo on Mondays and then two P90X upper body workouts in another time in the week. We’re basically working out about 11 hours a week! However, Yoga X is the one thing that I planned to do, but haven’t. Last week I got in a yoga class at work during lunch (my company pays a yoga instructor to come in and instruct!) but it was definitely more of a stretch routine than it was a hard workout like P90X Yoga is (although my abs were super sore afterward!). We plan to get Yoga X in this Sunday. I really hope we make time for it because I need a good stretch and core workout (another difference in doing the 90 day plan and just doing random workouts is that I am more likely to skip a scheduled workout if something comes up whereas I wouldn’t let anything come in the way before!).
As for any progress in my P90X workouts, I actually noticed a decrease in my strength the first time we did P90X Chest, Shoulders and Tris. However, this morning I did Chest and Back for the second week in a row and was able to get out 27 push-ups, a new personal record. I also started using 20 lbs for the Heavy Pants, Lawn Mowers and Seated Rows. I’ve really only been able to get Ab Ripper in about two times a week but today I added 5 lb weights (suggestion from Asia) to a few of the moves. I think I need to crank this workout up a notch to really see any big changes in my abs since I’m already doing all the advanced moves.
Food
Now this is where we struggle. I’ve always know that I kind of an extreme person when it comes to a lot of things, but food is one that is particularly hard for me to consume in moderation. I’ve definitely gotten a lot better, but one of the reasons I think I excelled with the P90X nutrition program was that the plan was so strict and I am good at following a plan perfectly when I set my mind to it. Phase 1 was so restrictive that I couldn’t even imagine eating a cookie or a piece of chocolate. Now that we’re finished with the program and we don’t have our 90 day pictures looming over our heads or the fact that we’re actually “doing P90X” (ie following the program start to finish), I am finding myself making a lot more exceptions. I try not to be hard on myself because I am training for a marathon and my body a) needs fuel and b) is burning that fuel very rapidly.
However, I haven’t felt quite as confident in my body since I started making these exceptions. The scale is only up about 1-1.5 lbs and has remained there so I’m not so worried about gaining weight right now – I’m more worried about the slow creep of the weight back on over time if I keep letting myself make these exceptions. Basically our diet has crept back to slightly healthier than it was when we started. Don’t get me wrong – it’s definitely changed for the better, but I’m finding myself reaching into that candy bowl on occasion (gasp!) and accepting chocolate covered strawberries and cookies from friends when they are given to me (my weakness is dessert!). Another exception we’ve been making more is going out to restaurants to eat. We didn’t go out much during P90X and when we did we tried to only eat a place that had P90X friendly options. Lately we’ve had a lot more social obligations that have put me in tempting situations and I usually give in, justifying that I have a big run coming up. Another change is that we’ve stopped measuring all of our food. During Phase 1, we measured every little thing and now I’m more likely just to cook the whole chicken breast or pour cereal straight from a box rather than measure out my approved serving. Since I’m training for a marathon I know that I shouldn’t be restricting myself (I just read an interesting article that found that cyclists who created a calorie deficit didn’t show as much improvement in athletic performance as a group that didn’t diet) but I’m a tad frustrated that I’m exercising more than I ever have in my life and not seeing any changes. This just proves again how important diet is in fitness and weight loss.
Going Forward
The plan at this point is to try my best to maintain my P90X results. As I have to focus on marathon training and immediately afterward learn a whole new sport – the triathlon- I won’t have the time to focus 100% on toning up with P90X. However, after we finish our races in September (Planned: sprint tri in July (signed up), ½ marathon in August (signed up), Olympic distance tri in September(not yet signed up), I think we are either going to do P90X again, do a P90X/Insanity Hybrid, or try P90X’s MC2, if it comes out in time. I think it’s important to take some time off of racing and get our bodies stronger and leaner for the next season! The plan seems to change every week so don’t be surprised if come September I’ve signed up for a marathon in December or something. I tend to plan plan plan and then change change change.
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