sooo..... i take back all the bad things i said about p90x "not being challenging enough" *wipes egg off face*.
i had a hard time adjusting to the pace of p90x because i was so used to insanity's hardcore, kick-your-ass-right-off-the-bat type of routine. with insanity, you're pretty much sucking wind and grabbing your puke bucket within the first 10 mintues during the warm-up because it's so tough. when i first started p90x, i struggled with my (obsessive?) need to do heavy cardio during every workout; i was so used to getting my ass kicked for the past 2 months that going at a less intense pace for a longer period was new to me. it almost felt like i wasn't doing anything (or doing what i should be doing) and i swear, i saw the fat looming over my head again, mocking me and promising a return stay to my mid-section.
with insanity, you learn quickly that you're going to get your ass handed to you within the first 20 mintues (and it just gets worse from there). with p90x, you gradually build up to that feeling but it comes near the end and after the workout.
my mistake the first round was using too-light weights. at the time, i didn't have anything heavier than 10lbs but i tried to do as many reps as possible to "feel the burn" however, my upper body was already conditioned after 2 months of insanity so even though i was doing over 25 reps, i wasn't feeling a thing and at the end of the workout, i was really disappointed and felt like i didn't even workout at all. i also had this (irrational) fear that i wouldn't lose any more inches with p90x. we hear it time and time again: "you must do cardio in order to blast overall body fat". "if you train your muscles but have a layer of fat on top, you won't see anything" and because p90x is heavily focused on weight training, i thought that my weight loss would stall and i wouldn't see any more results.
i realized how wrong i was about p90x after i bought heavier weights, resistence bands and installed a pull-up bar. my second workout kicked my ass; i pushed myself with heavier weights and i've never had my muscles give out during a workout and by that, i mean when i was doing divebomer push-ups (skip to 1:08 for a demonstration) my arms gave out and i fell flat on my chest. you know your muscles are wasted when you barely have the strength to keep your arms up while washing your hair.
it's been 2 weeks since i started p90x and i'm already seeing awesome results, muscle wise. my shoulders are more defined, they're solid (yay!), my traps are back (double yay!), i can see more definition in my arms (when i flex) so to be honest, spend a lot of time in front of the mirror flexing, posing and smiling like a loser.
right now, i'm doing p90x classic (there are 3 different programs you can do - classic, lean, doubles). i plan on doing this for at least 2 months, after which i'll decide if i want to do the p90x/insanity hybrid program i was planning on or if i'll just stick it out for the rest of the month. we'll see.
and that tony horton guy, while still annoying, knows what he's talking about. i've since learned to tune out his incessant yammering.
