Day 3 of my P90x Challenge

The holidays added some fifteen unwanted pounds. Although I love having a little more meat in some places, every time I wear my clothes, I feel like I am having chest pains.

And after my visit at the ER two weeks ago because of chest pain, I started re-evaluating my so-called health routine.

Heart attacks and high blood pressure are in my genetic pool. I’ve been very good at watching what I eat and exercising but during holidays, I usually don’t have time to exercise and I eat every thing you can imagine!

So on Sunday, I decided it’s time to make some drastic change to my day-to-day.

My day begins by getting my two younger kids ready for school. If the weather is nice, my dear friend, Dawn (thankful for Dawn!!), and her kids who live next door, walk with my youngest and I to school. We get to chat (and vent), be outside and get about ¾ mile of walking! And if the weather is nice, we can be a little ambitious and walk around the lake – a total of about 3 miles!

At around 8:45am, I am back at home. If I end up walking around the lake – that’s just additional thirty minutes.

I’m the kind of person who starts her day by cleaning the house. I empty every laundry basket, garbage pails, dish washer; sweep floor, dust tables, windex-countertops. Beds have to be made, and books have to be put away.

Around 10am, I get to check my email. Depending on the day, that can consume an hour or two of my time. If I have to do some online banking, I do it around that time, too.

I’m supposed to start writing by 10am, but my mood is just not into writing at this time.
(It’s probably because I uploaded what I’ve written into my Kindle and I re-read every single chapter – and that’s a big “no-no”!)

So I figured if I write my experiences with the P90x challenge, (regardless whether someone reads it or not), I’d be able to lose that extra 15 pounds, be toned again and maybe I’ll be motivated to write that last chapter!

Plus, as Emily of theMotherhood.com posted in “Healthy Moms and Healthy Families” circle, “Older women who did an hour or two of strength exercises had improved cognitive function a year later.”


So here I am …

Sunday was my first day of my P90x challenge. Day 1 is Chest and Back with Ab RipperX!

I haven’t seriously worked out in a year so I know I won’t be able to do the forms the way it should be. But it doesn’t matter because I have to start somehow.

As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote,
        “What is not started today, is not finished tomorrow…”

Even with apple pie, if I didn’t start eating half the pie today, I’ll still have a full pie tomorrow – and less weight to lose (lol)!

But since I ate so many apple pies, banana foster and tons of pan cakes (I love carbs! Carbs just make me happy!), I have to start to motivate myself to be fit again!

Day 1 was supposed to be a 60 minute chest and back work-out and a 15-minute Ab RipperX…I was only able to do 40 minute of mediocre chest and back. Ab Ripper X consists of about 350 reps of different “core” exercise. I was only able to do 200 badly executed “core” exercise. Wait, not “core” – more of a “trunk” exercise!

Day 2 was Pylometrics! Oh boy, a lot of jumping, squats. I was only able to do 40 minutes and I can feel it in my legs and quads!

Today is Day 3, shoulders and arms and Ab RipperX (again!)

As Tony Horton of BeachBody.com’s P90x said in the DVD, this routine is a glamour routine! Our shoulders and arms are exposed when we’re wearing tank tops or a halter dress, so we better tone those arms and shoulders!

And..dn’t forget to breathe, feel the burn and stand tall!

Just to give you an overview of what’s in store in Day 3 P90x challenge: Check this out:
  Ten minute warm up (I'm already gasping for breath at this time...)
  Alternating shoulder press
  In and out bicep curls
  Two arm tricep kickbacks
   Repeat….

   Ballistic stretch (30 seconds only!)
   Deep swimmer press
   Alternating full concentration curls
   Chair dips
   Repeat…

   Upright rows (Stand tall)
   Static arm curls
   Flip grip twist kickbacks
   Repeat…

   Ballistic stretch (30 seconds)
   Seated shoulder flys
   Crouching Cohen curls
    Lying down Tricep extensions
    Repeat…

    Straight arms shoulder flys
    Congdon Curls
    Tri side rise

    Stretch – cool down!

    AB Ripper 339


Unlike my friend, Sonia, who is more disciplined and loves to push to the next level , I’m more of someone who only pushes to a point that it’s still comfortable. I can’t do that mind-over-matter thing because I’m kind of lazy.


But hey, I did the Day 3 challenge and is looking forward to tomorrow’s Day 4 Challenge: 90 minute yoga.



Now, Do I do the P90x DVD yoga or do I attend the Flow class at AlluemYoga  or do I give Bikram Yoga another shot?



We’ll see what happens tomorrow…