Our P90X Challenge

P90X defies any sort of predictability or clear sense of progress sometimes. Don’t get me wrong; there are many times when one sees obvious, tangible results. There are many times one feels like one is on the way to becoming a kick ass, chiseled, acrobatic specimen.

For instance:

• When one can complete all 16 minutes of Ab Ripper X in one sitting without hitting pause and nails all 330+ reps, which happened for me just this week
• When one begins incorporating REAL pull-ups into the workouts instead of 100% unassisted pull-ups
• When one begins craving steamed veggies over french fries
• When one can balance on one leg and extend the other leg straight out and grab the toe and maintain balance (”Not possible!”, I said, just two weeks ago…now it’s a party trick for me)
• When one starts noticing the pants that were too tight begin to get a little looser and drafty (”Look, ma, I can pull out the waist band and see my shoes through my shorts!”)

And, yet.

There are times when one begins to completely doubt one’s  self.

Legs and Back is the routine that fills me with dread and fear. Just two weeks ago I puked during the routine because of the excesses of the previous night.  And this week, my fifth week in the program, it still kicked my derier.

To get a small taste of the routine, you can check out this woman’s youtube review:

Note that this maniac mentions she’s doing it twice a week. Why, Dear God, why? Why do P90Xers all too often feel the need to stretch out the masochism into more areas of life? Trust me, onlookers, Legs and Back is not fun. And, really, let’s be specific here, it’s the “Legs” portion that sucks.

Every exercise subjects your lower limbs to a deep, intense, burning lactic acid bath. It feels as if someone has managed to infiltrate your waist to pour buckets of lava down each leg hole. It is not fun. It is not something anyone should want to do twice a week, even if that someone is a lunatic self-improvement-obsessed-workoutaholic.

Now, in the workout’s defense, I’m sure it’s going to work at some point. The thing is, it’s the only routine where I haven’t seen clear, demonstrable progress. The routine is focused on doing a set number of reps moreso than using weight, so you’re really going to be doing similar numbers every week; the problem is, it doesn’t feel like I’m getting stronger. My legs FEEL stronger when I’m doing other stuff, but during this routine, the burn is always there, the fatigue convulsions are always there, the creeping nausea is there, the desire to quit is there. The panic when I realize I’m not even halfway done and Tony has that crazed, overeager smile on his face because he knows you’re being owned is still there. I can’t feel the progress!

Oh well. I’ve gone on too long about something I hate. When I first started P90X I thought Yoga X was the hardest routine. Now I believe Legs and Back is.

If you don’t believe me, go do 25 lunges and a wall squat for a minute and a half and get back to me.

Tags: legs&back

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 26th, 2009 at 5:32 pm and is filed under His Experience. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.