So.. um.. now what?
By Sarah Lena
I had this nifty little iPhone app for C25K and, honestly? That’s kinda what motivated me. I loved the satisfaction of this little thingy telling me when to “WALK” and when to “RUN” and telling me that the workout was complete. I loved being able to publish my completed workout stats to my Facebook page. I loved all of these things.
.. and now, I don’t have those anymore.
I feel like my BFF has moved to a town far away and we said we would write, but let’s face it, who writes letters anymore?
I’m trying to stay motivated. I mean, the RESULTS are there.. I passed a guy in the hallway yesterday who was semi-cute (my coworker is single and is ALL ABOUT finding out who all the single guys are) and when I turned around to get a second look at where he might sit, HE WAS CHECKING ME OUT. I KNOW, RIGHT? Like, seriously! I actually blushed from the discovery.
But that was fleeting. And not as fulfilling as my relationship with C25K. So I’m window-shopping.
I’m looking into the BeachBody programs. We all know Linda’s love for TurboJam, so I thought, eh why not? So I’m looking at both ChaLean Extreme (so girly!) and P90x (SO TERRIFYING!). My coach, Todd, is actually one of those “six degrees” acquaintences, and he’s trying VERY HARD to convince me that P90x is exactly what I need and not at all scary. But I’m all.. PUSHUPS. And .. CHINUPS. CHINUPS, TODD. I have no guns. The only Gun Show in my house revolves around a Super Soaker. I am not the chinup type.
I knew my motivation was waning, so I decided to give myself a jump start: I took “Before” pictures yesterday. My original plan was to take the shots in the bikini I bought the summer after I graduated high school, but somewhere between then and now, fate had bitch-slapped me into getting rid of it. I couldn’t find it anywhere. So I opted for a sports bra and running shorts.
And, um, EWW.
I don’t have the pic here because it’s still on my camera, but here’s an artist’s rendering:
And now I’m all CHINUPS! YES, CHINUPS SOUND GREAT!!
I’m sure people have tried P90x and lived to tell the tale. I just hope I am one of them.
More to come.
Tags: BeachBody, ChaLean Extreme, Jabba, P90x
June 16th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
What happened? Did you lose your iPhone? Which, for me, would be akin to waterboarding.
I haven’t done any of those programs but I’m going to check back here for those who have !
June 16th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
[...] latest post is up at Bodies in Motivation. I may or may not have taken a little liberty with this [...]
June 16th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Do you have the Nike+iPod? For a mere $30ish, you get to track your pace (with pretty charts!), you get a cute little mini-me cartoon that unicycles, and when you’re supah-fast Lance Armstrong whispers sweet congratulations right in your ear. I was looking at the $350 Garmin Forerunner 405, which is pretty much the fancy-pants version of the same thing, but there’s no Lance. And what’s the point if I can’t have Lance?
My kickboxing instructor is finding the P90x “great” and “really challenging” – I’m just saying is all.
June 16th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
I don’t know about P90X, but I own (and completed) the original P90 workout system. Yes, it is hard, but managable. And I got great results from it…my only complaint about the P90 program was it was BORING, but the P90X looks like there are enough different workouts to keep it interesting. Good luck!
June 16th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Your post made me laugh out loud. Great sketch!
Hope you find your mojo soon! Then, will you help me find mine? Pretty please?
June 17th, 2009 at 6:37 am
Hilarious! I love the sketch!!
I also did the original Power 90 and it does get boring since you are alternating the same two workouts for 90 days. But like Jill, my husband and I got great results!!(Check out http://www.phil90x.com/teamfigx.aspx for pics) But it is a great program for ANY fitness level. I really think it is a great place to start if you aren’t in pretty good shape already. But I am guessing since you trained for a marathon you might be “P90X ready!” The original Power 90 is less than half the price so that is something to consider too. My husband and I are currently halfway through P90X and it is fantastic! But I am really glad we started with Power 90, then went onto the Power 90 Master Series before trying P90X. I am not sure we would have stuck with it had we started with X. But those are just my thoughts!
June 17th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I have the P90X program and have actually done the Chest & Back thing and the ab routine a few times. I got through it and it didn’t kill me, but it was not easy. I think I could actually do the series if I put my mind to it but I can’t seem to find an hour a day to devote all at one time.
June 18th, 2009 at 7:41 am
I’ve done Turbo Jam, Power 90 and ChaLEAN Extreme (loved them all!), and am currently about halfway through my first round of P90X.
Turbo Jam is great for the cardio, but I didn’t find the sculpt workout to be that helpful. What WAS great was using Turbo Jam for cardio along with the sculpting DVDs from Power 90–that spiced things up a bit (Power 90 cardio is dead boring with sucky music, but the sculpting is great!).
ChaLEAN Extreme is NOT girly, trust me. Chalene kicked my rear into gear–I was lifting more weight than I ever thought possible, and making most unladylike grunts during the last few reps of each exercise. The cardio intervals are killer, too (as in, gasping for breath and trying not to puke on my living room floor). I thought that program was great prep for P90X.
P90X is definitely not a starter workout, but if you’ve achieved a reasonable level of fitness, you can make it work for you. There are modifications (like using a chair to help with pull-ups) if you need them, and with weight lifting, you’re totally in charge of how much you lift and how many reps you do. The thing that helps me most is Tony Horton’s motto: “Do your best and forget the rest.” So–don’t beat yourself up if you can’t do everything exactly as presented in the video, just do the best you can. You will AMAZE yourself, believe me. (I will say, though, that I don’t follow the nutrition plan as laid out–too many calories for me! But the basics–what to eat, portion sizes, etc.–still apply.)
Gosh, I sound like I work for Beachbody. I don’t–I just LOVE their programs. I, too, discovered them through Linda’s love for Turbo Jam, and I’ve never looked back.
Good luck to you, whatever you decide!
June 26th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Just wanted to weigh in on p90x. I have it and it is an AMAZING workout. However, difficult to keep up as it requires a lot of time and personally I think that I need more cardio workouts. However, if you do decide to buy it you should google it, because (ahem ahem cough cough) you may be able to find a better deal than buying it from beachbody.
Hopefully it works for you!