Time to Get Fit...Again.

Four years ago, I completed P90X. And, for a few years, I worked out consistently after that...purchasing 4 additional beachbody.com workouts - RevAbs, Turbofire, Hip Hop Abs, and Focus T25 (one of my favorites).  However, over time all that working out wore me out and slowly I slacked off to the point that over the last 5 months I didn't workout consistently (or even worked out at all) and, I didn't really watch what I ate. Needless to say, I put on a few pounds and a couple of inches, but luckily, I didn't gain back everything that I had lost from P90X.  However, if I continued on this path, I knew that I would gain back everything (and maybe more) and I just couldn't let myself do that.

When you fall off the wagon, get back on.

At first, I contemplated combining my favorite videos from all my previously purchased workouts, but I knew that wouldn't keep me motivated and I wouldn't stick to it. So, for me, the only way to get back into living a healthy lifestyle would be to start a new workout program. Because I've had so much success with beachbody.com workouts in the past, I, once again, turned to beachbody.com for help.  Considering, I don't have much time to workout (especially now while session is in and I'm working 10 to 12 hour days), 30 minutes a day is all I can really do. And luckily for me a new P90X workout was recently released...P90X3, which is 6 days a week and only 30 minutes a day. That 30 minutes makes all the difference.  Studies have shown that you get the most from a work out in the first 30 minutes. 

No pain, no gain.  (Of course that's only true when you're trying to improve yourself.  Gaining weight and fat is easy.)

During my first week of P90X3(and especially the first 2 days), every muscle in my body ached every time I moved...and even when I didn't.  By the time Wednesday rolled around (I started on a Monday), I looked forward to the 30 minutes of yoga that I was scheduled to do that day.  Although me doing yoga isn't a pretty sight (and to be quite honest, it too was a bit painful), I felt so good when I was done because I had stretched all those terribly sore muscles. 

Some helpful hints: 

• Don't be afraid to modify.  In fact, I modified the entire first week of the workout (most of the time) and each week I try to improve, but I still modify.  These workouts are intense and you should never jump into an intense workout at full speed, you'll only be hurting yourself (I know people who have actually thrown up during and/or after a workout because they pushed too hard). That's not good for you. A 20 minute mile and a 10 minute mile is still a mile, regardless. So, you'll still get a great workout when you modify.
• Do take a few minutes after each workout to stretch.  Your muscles will thank you for it.
• Do the yoga. You won't burn as many calories but you will sweat and gain flexibility and stretch those overworked muscles.  And that is just as important as a hardcore cardio or weight training workout. 
• Do try to eat healthy.  You can't out train a bad diet. You don't have to cut out everything you love, but minimize the things that are not so good for you.  For the first week, I kept track of my calories every day with a calorie counter on my phone to help remind me how easy it is to add on the calories with just a few minor treats. 
• Do take before and after pictures, weight, and measurements.  It's the best way to see your results.  I did this before starting P90X and I did it again before starting P90X3.  However, after looking at my before pictures for P90X3, I've decided not to post them just yet.  Yikes!
• Don't get discouraged if you don't see results immediately.  When I did P90X 4 years ago, a good friend of mine who had done it before me told me it will take about 6 weeks before I'd start seeing results.  He was right and I keep that great piece of advice in mind to this day. 

Keep at it because it does gets better.

Nothing worthwhile comes easy or fast.  As of today, I am in the middle of my third week. I'm not nearly as sore as I was the first week.  As a matter of fact, I'm not really sore at all. Now, don't get me wrong, I get tired and sore during the workouts but my recovery time is much quicker so I'm not as sore the next day. However, next week is my transition week out of Block 1 (week 4) and my routine will be changing, which means I will be sore (probably very), once again, BUT, I'll have also completed the first 30 days of my 90 day workout and in two more weeks (3 from today) I'll start seeing some results.