A few things to mention that I think I will modify for the next 30 days and see if there is going to be a major difference or not:

1. Count the calories and stick to the programs recommended portion sizes (yikes)
2. Limit alcohol intake to just Friday and Saturdays, if I have any at all – but its summertime and that’s a tough one
3. Add another workout on one of the rest days – there are two rest days and adding a easy run or bike ride would be good for cardio
4. Plan meals – on paper and get my husband to hold me accountible
5. Purchase a set of Selectek Dumbbells for easy weight changes

I’ll let you know the measurement changes in another day or so… maybe even post the pictures… maybe.  As an aside… my husband and I should have purchased these back when we started with P90X.  They would have come in much more useful for that program, but since we own the DVDs as well as a few other workouts – I don’t think they will collect dust.

When my husband and I first saw the infomercial I was sold! I loved the idea of working out at home and getting big results in 90 days. I still love that idea. My biggest mistake was not evaluating my “plate” and seeing if I had the time in my life to commit. Since I was (have since graduated… yea!!) working on my MBA at night and working a full time job during the week and managing a household and putting time into my marriage… an additional hour to hour and a half was just more than I could give. I flaked out… crashed and burned.

Since I have now completed my MBA, I have now loaded my time with Tuesday night golf lessons and a Thursday night CERT class.  I have more time… yes… but I have more time to do what I want to do and what my husband wants to do.  AND I’m utilizing a new BeachBody workout called ChaLean Extreme.  Folks, this is an intense workout without a doubt but in half of the time that it takes to follow Tony Horton.  Do not be fooled though… Chalean Johnson is no joke.  I began this fun program on Monday, July the 6th and I’m still sore.  Good stuff!

Let me explain… stress from everyday things like a full-time job, going to class at night, being a wife, and so on and so on can cause me to get extremely emotionally delicate. (I could have a temper tantrum at any given second). I wasn’t always like this either… I used to feel like I handled stress pretty well. Not so much. Maybe I’m getting old (I turn 30 next month). Even though P90x is a resistance training workout program – stressful for your muscles, there’s nothing like finishing one of the workouts knowing that you’ve really pushed. I finished the Shoulders and Arms routine realizing that I’m going to need to go up in weight. Seriously after 3 weeks?! I love it!!!

The release for your muscles, catching your breath, and slowing your concentration leaves your mind feeling rested… Bye Bye Stress… at least for 24 hours until life resets.

On another note, I’ve decided that I think Chuck Norris and Tony Horton are related. They’re both in shape – bad asses looking for the greater good (p90x workouts and Walker Texas Ranger). I’ve squished them both together so you decide.

Hmmm... brothers?

Love,
the wife

I just finished my workout for today – the second installment of the Legs & Back routine. Its amazing how quickly your body responds to this system from everything from Chest & Back to Ab Ripper X. When I first started I could only do about 1/2 of the Ab Ripper sequence – now I can do all of the moves except for the V-Rollups the entire 25 reps. Its only been 12 days! Amazing!

Last week, I could only do 1/2 of the leg exercises before my right quad and ham would give-out. This week I did 3/4 of them. I see improvement! I also lost 3lbs last week – not really on purpose.

The nutrition part is difficult because I don’t seem to eat enough calories. To be honest – that might be the hardest part of the entire program.

Just to help you out – we’ve found a really awesome, free worksheet a guy named Damon did and posted the link on the right. Many people construct elaborate excel sheets and then require you to purchase them – not worth it. This one rocks – definitely check it out!

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EDIT by Husband: 05/19/2009: The link to the spreadsheet my wife mentions has stopped working, so we updated the link to one that does work. Here’s a review of the aforementioned spreadsheet.

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FYI – purchase the adjustable dumbbells that my husband talked about earlier. Your body will adjust to the exercises so quickly that making sure you “feel the burn” that Tony requires means spending a ton of money on additional weights. If you have limited space like we do, the adjustable dumbbells make the best sense – space and practicality-wise. They are a little more expensive on the front end – but if you’re committed to doing this stuff – then you know its only a drop in the bucket when it comes to changing your lifestyle!

As for the ab ripper – my entire body shook trying to finish 25 reps of each exercise.  I am certainly slower than the folks on the videos so I had to pause the DVD a few times so I could catch up.  By the end of the routine (only 16 minutes long) I could not do 4 of the 11 moves.  As far as I’m concerned there is no where to go but up… tons of room for improvement… and I’m not as strong as I thought I was.

I pushed play today.  Now I’m not so intimidated.

A thought on the nutrition side… it is a TON of food if you stick to their schedule.  I think I’m going to stick to the guidelines, but I will have to work up to the quantity.  I simply couldn’t eat it all!

I’m tired.

Good stuff.

So, when my husband returned from his vacation (which I happened to be on) he was a man possessed.  This seemed to satisfy the 80/20 rule that Timothy Ferris speaks so highly of… 90days out of a year and you’ll be in the best shape of your life…. yada yada yada.

I watched it… I was totally hooked… and I passed the Fit Test.  God Bless Tony Horton.  I’m ready.  So here’s to the next 90… you’ll be hearing a lot from us.  To give you an idea of how intimidated I feel, it took me an hour and  a half to figure out what I’m eating tomorrow.  (This is not normal… I’m completely OCD about planning.  That’s why it took us 3 days to get our ducks in a row.)