Guess what? I'm at week 4 of P90X already. Time really flies. It felt like yesterday when I put my first shy step toward this program by putting the play button on the DVD to start Core Synergistic. An hour later, I was alive and well. It made me believe that I could survive the first week of P90X and I did, with the help of Twitter and Fitocracy.
Week 1 brought me a lot of pain. I have done a lot of painful things in my life and so far, nothing beat the afterburn of Yoga-X. That was a vicious workout that left my biceps too sore for me to sleep. Lucky me, I have my new best friends Deep Heat and Icy Cold to ease the pain just enough for me to get some sleep. Week 2 was a little bit easier and so was week 3. Now, recovery week is enjoyable since I don't have to lift any weights.
So far, here are a few things I've learned from P90X:
1. You can't spot reduce your fat:
When I started exercising, I was wearing 36C bras. Now, my bras are 34B. Yes, my boobs shrank. And so is my butt. And my thigh. And my arms. And my tummy. Really, I'm losing fat all over. Even my shoes are looser and I don't wear them as often. It's crazy!
I did some research and Davey Wavey explains it best (warning: he's shirtless!)
2. The scale is stupid:
Say it with me, everyone: "The scale is stupid!"
Why?
Because it doesn't tell you everything. On the scale, a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle. During the first two weeks of P90X, I was not losing weight. However, I noticed everything fit better, especially my pants. But the scale just refused to budge. So frustrating!
But then, I read a blog of one of my Fitocracy buddies and he linked to a Reddit post. I read it and all of the sudden, things began to make sense: the number on the scale does not determine how slim or fit you are. The lady in that post did not do any cardiovascular exercises. She only lifted heavy weights. Her start and end weight was the same (137 lbs) but her "after" body looked amazing!
I was losing a lot of weight during Hip-Hop Abs and during my month-long teeth extraction diet. However, I was not as toned as I am now. The weigh-lifting exercises in P90X make a difference and they are the testament to muscles burn fat.
3. You may gain some before you lose some:
Shocking, isn't it? It happened when I started exercising back in last August. I worked my pretty butt off and I gained 2 lbs within a week. My cousin, who was my gym buddy at the time, laughed at me. It happened again after week 1 of P90X. I shot up to 165lbs after weeks of being at 163. However, since I knew it would happen, I did not let it get me down.
Turns out, there was an explanation for it and I would let Chalene Johnson (she of Turbo Jam and ChaLEAN Extreme) explain it to you. It makes perfect sense to me and as I allow my body to adapt, it eventually yielded. After weeks of being at the same place, finally I am down to 162 lbs.
4. It might take longer than you think:
When I was younger, like in 2004 younger, I was able to lose 15 lbs over a summer. It was almost effortless: I cut out junk food, soda, and fast food. I lifted weight and did a lot of cardio exercises (think 1 hour sweating over the treadmill.)
Now, it doesn't happen that way. If I am lucky, I may lose a pound a week. My metabolism is not as fast but again, I don't let numbers ruining my day. I keep on pushing and eventually, good things are bound to happen.
One of the wonderful things about P90X is the testimonial videos on YouTube. Since I was frustrated at my lack of weight loss during the first two weeks, I did some look-see. I targeted at videos of women who had my starting weight and are as tall as I am and watched their progress videos. To my surprise, most of them did not have dramatic results during the first phase. Even after the second phase, they looked slightly better than the beginning. However, at the end of the 90 days, their bodies looked amazing!
I guess phase 1 is more of a muscle-fat restructure. Phase 2 would bring that even further but phase 3 brings everything home. Also, the women in those videos lift heavier weights by the end, which further pushes their metabolism higher to burn off those fat.
Right now, I am really sleepy. P90X and staying up late do not mesh. Also, P90X and eating badly do not go well together, either. If I don't treat my body right, I would feel it during my workouts. Therefore, my life is like that of old people now. Boring but the trade off is a hotter body. Um, I'll take that!
That's all for now. Thank you for reading (really, thank you. I know this is a long post and I was rambling a lot because I need to sleep.)
I hope my frequent fitness updates here and on Twitter will inspire you to exercise. It's not an expensive hobby and the trade off is really amazing! Please, treat your body right!
Love,
Dao xoxo
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