P90X: an intense, yet very popular, program in which for 90 days, you do at least one full hour every single day of hardcore fitness.
Am I crazy? Maybe. Terrified? Yes.
Why am I doing this?
Good question. I don’t really like working hard. When it comes to exercise anyway. So what the heck am I doing this for? Why am I suddenly deciding to leap from my Laz-E-Boy and choose the most intense program I can get my hands on?
I don’t know. I guess that’s just how I am. I can be impulsive. I heard about P90X, and decided I must do it. Well, I haven’t started it yet, so my eyes might be bigger than my discipline. We’ll see.
The Spark of Inspiration…
Let’s go back to the beginning though. It all starts with a little spark of inspiration, doesn’t it. Today’s inspiration comes from the lovely Amber Rodgers over at her blog gokaleo.com.
I discovered her blog a few months ago. Her whole shtick is about eating real, nutrient dense food but she HATES diets and diet dogma. And her other shtick is working out. Like weight lifting and strength training type of exercise. Oh yeah, I guess she has another shtick too, which is eating enough food and calories to fuel a healthy metabolism, which in turn fuels a healthy, disease free body, and lots of energy.
So her story is that she used to be fat and riddled with acne and had low energy and joint pain and PCOS (poly cystic ovarian syndrome).
She too hated difficult exercise. But after trying everything to rid herself of her issues, she finally decided she better give it a shot. And POOF, everything disappeared. The fat, the acne, the PCOS, the joint pain, and the low energy. Gone.
Now, in my case… life ain’t so bad anymore. I don’t have a lot of health problems or anything. Acne was the bain of my existence, but my skin has been pretty dang awesome lately. However, I have always struggled with feeling less energetic than I would like, and that feeling has never gone away no matter how many health forays I have gone down. I just deep down inside KNOW that in general I could feel better and more energized. And that I could definitely be more fit…. and maybe that the two are related….
I thought back to the most athletically fit I’ve ever been in my life. And that was in middle school when we took a full hour of physical education 3 times a week all year. Well, I guess I was a kid too, which probably helped. But dang I felt good. I had energy. Sometimes I’d sneak out of my house in the middle of the night and run down the road just to get rid of it. Weird, I know, but that’s what I did.
In high school, we only had PE for half the year, which meant I had the whole 7 other months of the year to get unfit, and never really gained the fitness back when school started again. And after high school, fitness was never a top priority for me since I have always been naturally too thin. Thus, I have never been as energetic and fit and felt as good as I did in middle school.
So, she had me interested. I was definitely intrigued.
I Am Not As Active As I Think…
I mean, if I sat down and was honest with myself, in the past I have agonized over getting the perfect diet and tried so many different ones….. and no matter how hard I tried and how strict I tried to be, it never made a lick of difference to my energy. I have tried every diet, but something that I have never ever done is stayed continuously committed to a physically intense fitness program that included a lot of strength training.
Sure, I do stuff. I walk a bit. I hike a bit. I bike ride a bit. I jump rope a bit. I do a half hour of light yoga sometimes. Occasionally I’ll pick up some weights and do a few bicep curls.
But if truth be told, fitness is not my passion, and I do sit a lot of the day. I have a computer job, after all. And truthfully, I don’t like to work too hard during my exercise. Cuz, well, it’s hard. Wah.
That’s probably why on The Love Vitamin the blog articles about food outnumber anything about fitness about 20 to 1. I’ll change my diet any day before choosing to “feel the burn” on a regular basis. Diet seems easy to me in comparison.
Long story short, I want to challenge myself to get really fit and feel as good as I can, but I still don’t know why I decided to jump into the most hardcore program I could find. I guess it just sounded good for me – it’s a clearly set out program, I know what to do each day, and I can do it at home.
Another reason I want to do it is because I actually like that it’s every day. This is because I want it to get me in the habit of making the time to workout. That’s one of the biggest problems is that if you aren’t in the habit of exercise, it’s so easy to find other things to fill your time with unless you force yourself to make exercise a priority.
However, I’m kind of nervous to even tell you about my ambitions lest the next thing I know, I’m running squealing with my tail between my legs as far away from P90X as I can. I haven’t actually started it, you see.
Tell Me More About This Crazy Fitness Program, Tracy
- It includes 12 different workouts, all about an hour long. It includes alternating days of strength training and cardio workouts with one day a week of rest or stretching. The workouts include things like back & chest workouts, legs & back workouts, arm & shoulder workouts, yoga, kenpo, plyometrics, core synergistic and some other stuff. Yeah I didn’t even know what half of those things were.
- Their whole thing is something called “muscle confusion” where they deliberately mix up your routine so much that your muscles never get too comfortable, and therefore you don’t plateau. And so you get fit fast. Apparently. That could be marketing crap, so we’ll see.
- The program comes with a whole nutrition plan. They do say 80% of your results will be from what you eat, and I agree with that. I’m not going to be following their plan though, as it’s a politically correct low fat diet which encourages a low carb phase in the beginning, and I’m not into restricting macronutrients. I don’t think low fat is healthy. I don’t really think low carb is that healthy particularly if exercising hard. I’m just going to continue to eat my own diet, which is eating real foods plain and simple while skipping the junk. Oh – also, just to note here, I also plan to eat a high amount of calories. With exercise like this, you need to eat lot of calories (yes, even if you are initially trying to lose fat) just to fuel your workout, gain some muscle, and keep your metabolism and hormones healthy.
- The program encourages you to take supplements (their supplements, of course), you know, like protein powders and stuff. I am not going to be taking these. I have a bit of my own organic pumpkin protein powder which I will use a little bit of in my smoothies, but that’s it.
- It’s a home workout, so you can do it all at home with some basic equipment… a set of various dumbbells (or some exercise bands), a yoga mat, and a door mounted pull up bar. There’s some other stuff they promote, but those are the basics that you need, and this is all I’m using.
- Unfortunately the program does cost a fair bit… about $140. Truthfully though, people are more committed to things in which they have invested money into. So…. uhh… yeah. I certainly don’t want to waste my moola so I will be at least giving it my best shot. If you want to buy it but want to save some money, you can probably get it second hand on Ebay, and Amazon too (although there’s the risk of getting dodgy DVD’s that don’t play). An excellent free alternative to a program like P90X is the website bodyrock.tv which posts a short and intense workout every day and will get you in great shape.
Soooo… yeah! I’m scared but I am excited. I am aware that the people in the DVDs have been working out for years, and that in the beginning of the program, most people can’t even do half the workouts, and have to keep hitting pause. It’s not really expected in the beginning to be able to keep up (you have to put in the hard yards before you can be in a fitness DVD, after all :p), and the instructors in the videos constantly remind you of that, which is nice. You don’t have to match them right way – very week you just keep getting stronger and beating your performance the week before.
And while I am not really doing this for the main purpose of improving my physique, I certainly wouldn’t mind if I gained a bit of womanly muscles to fill out my thin frame, and ditched the little belly I have. Yes, I will admit to being a bit “skinny-fat”, particularly around the midsection. It doesn’t hurt to browse the “P90X before and after photos” for some inspiration.
In fact, my work-out hating boyfriend was completely not interested until he oversaw me showing my friend those photos. Now he’s doing the program with me, and I couldn’t be happier about that. And I don’t just mean about his future washboard abs :p … it’s mostly so we can motivate each other to keep getting out of bed every day and “pressing play” (as the slightly annoying P90X instructor, Tony Horton, likes to say).
Is P90X For You?
If you’re not much into exercise and you’re freaking out right now because you think I am telling you you have to do some extreme 7 day a week fitness program in order to clear your skin … that’s not what I’m saying.
In order to have acne free skin in order to support good health, I just suggest doing something active every day. Even if it’s just walking. You don’t have to do P90X. P90X is like a challenge program to whip you into incredible shape and it’s not meant to be something you do permanently. After it’s done I just plan to maintain it by strength training maybe three or four times a week (probably for a lot shorter than an hour) and walk or do yoga, somewhat similar to what I do now except maybe ramped up a little, and done more regularly.
I am basically doing this because I want to see if I can be motivated enough to get incredibly fit, make exercise a habit, and feel as energized as possible (like I did in middle school!). If you’re also interested in that, then sure. Join me! Do P90X!
To their credit, they do warn you that since this program is quite advanced, it’s a program for somewhat fit people to get even fitter. It’s not really that great for total beginners (like if you have to call the paramedics after doing 10 minutes of intense cardio). So they give you a fitness test to do to see if you can meet the minimum requirements. I made a video of me doing the fitness test. Watch it, it’s a fun video:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0695B4JgmQ
Here’s the summary of the fitness test:
- Pull-Ups — Do as many pull ups as you can until muscle failure. They suggest you should be able to do at least 3 pull-ups if male, 1 pull-up if female. (I did 3)
- Vertical Leap — Raise your arm against the wall. Then step back one step and jump as high as you can. Measure how many inches above your extended hand you can jump. They suggest that you should have a vertical leap of at least 5 inches if male, 3 inches if female. (I got 14 inches)
- Push-Ups — Do as many pushups as you can until muscle failure. They suggest that you should be able to do at least 15 if male, 3 if female (or 15 push-ups off your knees). (I did 20 full pushups)
- Toe Touch — Sit on the ground with your legs extended and lean forward at your hips to try to touch your toes. They suggest that your reach should be no less than 6 inches from your toes. (I touched them)
- Wall squats — Sit and hold the ‘chair’ position against a wall for as long as possible. They suggest that you should be able to hold the wall squat for at least 1 minute. (I did 2 mins, 35 seconds)
- Bicep Curls — Get a heavy pair of dumbbells and do bicep curls until you can’t do any more. They suggest that you should be able to do at least 10 curls with 20 lbs. if male and at least 10 curls with 8 lbs. if female. (I did 15 with 10 lbs)
- In and Outs — Sit on your butt and lean back with your arms supporting you. Raise your legs to 90 degrees and use your abs to move your legs in and out from your chest. They suggest you should be able to do at least 25. (I did 40).
So yes. I passed the test. I was actually surprised how well I did. I didn’t think I was that fit! …..but it looks like I am ready for P90X!
What do you think about this? I am no fitness expert so let’s get a discussion on fitness going. Do you workout? Do you feel you do enough activity? How much do you think is too much? Am I crazy?
58 Responses
You’re not crazy! This is awesome! Working out made a HUGE difference in my energy levels since I started a few years ago. It used to hurt me to get out of bed – that’s how tired I’d be. I could barely stay awake in my college classes and my body would hurt all the time. I remember how painfully sore I was after my first Zumba class, but I stuck with it and got into yoga and jogging and biking as well. Now, if I go too long without working out, I can feel myself getting sluggish and achey. I’m not big into strength training, since I find the activities listed above keep me nicely toned, but I do bang out some pushups from time to time to keep my arms looking good.
My energy levels have never been better since I started getting 3-5 workouts in every week. I roll out of bed bright and early now and just feel better overall. I attribute some of it to cleaning up my diet, but definitely noticed a huge leap with fitness. Push through the pain at the beginning, and I bet you’ll be very happy 🙂
This did get me interested in P90x, so I hope you’ll follow up and let us know how it’s going!
Yay! It’s great to hear that getting fit has made such a difference to your energy. Great first comment! haha
I actually wrote this post three days ago and have spent the last three days editing it… so I’ve actually started the program, and we did the third workout this morning.
So far, I’m actually really liking it! If you don’t let your ego get in the way and just do your best (and not try to kill yourself matching the people in the DVD), it’s really not that bad… it’s kind of fun even, and I feel really good afterwards.
Although I hope it’s not only fun just because it’s new and novel I’ve never done the workouts before! haha I will admit, already on the third day there was a slight tinge of ‘oh god. Do I really want to do this? Am I going to get sick of this really fast? Should I just go back to bed?’. I assume there will be a lot of that, but then I just did it anyway, and afterwards I felt great and was stoked I did it! I’m thinking with exercise that is the case a lot…”just keep pressing play” lol
And I will also admit the fact that Luke is doing it with me is so much more fun. I was all prepared to do it by myself, so I’m so thankful he decided to get on board haha
Anyway… I will definitely continue updating 🙂
yes exercise gives you a great energised feeling like no other! and you just feel more alive, alert, stronger, more positive..also digestion and asimulation of foods is so much better. can’t wait to see how you get on! just remember to stick through it! it will hurt at first but no pain no gain!
You are right! I hope I stick it through… it helps that I’m now publicly accountable haha
Wow that is great! I have been using an exercise bike for 30 min. 5 times a week and sometimes (maybe 2) 2 mile walks every week as well. I feel great whenever I exercise the only problem is finding someone to do it with lol.
Yeah, it’s true.. it’s a lot more fun with a friend. I can’t believe Luke’s doing it with me but I’m so happy about it. I was prepared to go at it alone though
Damn…it’s so funny, almost everytime you write an article it is about something I’m also thinking about. BECAUSE tomorrow I’m starting my ninety day Body Revolution with Jillian Michael’s(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7kZ4mLsRdk). Really, that’s just crazy:)
My main reason for doing it is also to gain more energy (I’ve never had lots of it even as a kid) and to tone up a bit, since I also am skinny-fat around the midsection.
Well, good luck with P90x! 🙂
Woohoo! Good luck with the Body Revolution!! Hopefully we both will be totally energized with flat bellies at the end 🙂
Ps – she as mean in the Body Revolution DVDs as she is on The Biggest Loser??
Not really! She screams, but more in an encouraging way, not in an “I don’t care if you die on that floor, you better die looking good” way. I mean, I’m still glad she can’t come out through the screen:)
But I like her, I think she has that tough attitude for a reason. And she’s definitely fun to watch!
This has inspired me to get back to moving more. I mean, I stretch and “move” inc. pushups and situps almost daily (for back pain) but I wouldn’t say I “exercise”.
I think I’ll ask my Brother if he wants to start Badminton again! (We use to play for out County when we were teenagers and loved it!)
Sweet! I love badminton. Sometimes I have it in the back of my head that I’d like for Luke and I to play, but it hasn’t happened yet… maybe once we are totally fit and energized from P90X we’ll find some sports to do together
I did p90x and loved it (well sometimes I didn’t :D)
I don’t know how I managed to keep going for the whole 90 days, but I did and it was worth it 😀
I love rock climbing with my other half, it’s always interesting and fun.
I just started “Insanity” which is a home workout video also by beach body! It’s part of my acne-free regimen as well, and hopefully I’ll come out on the other side with a six pack =)
Haha good luck Hillary 🙂
Thanks!! I think insanity is very much like p90x (p90x is just as insane)in that it is very high intensity, but more like burst circuit training and there are no weights, (which I like.) I am doing it with my husband, brother in-law & sister in-law. It was pretty fun to take the before pics (you should totally do that!) I am also a slender girl, but have never had much definition. Me and my sister in law made a pact to buy bikinis when we are done 🙂
Hey Hillary! If you’ve done P90X and (kind of) enjoyed it then you will like Insanity as well. My husband and I have done the Insanity Challenge and really like it! I thought I was going to pass out or throw up after the first workout but it’s so rewarding to just stick with it 🙂 Think of your summer bikini body!
I think you are spot on! About the energy, the diet and how you are handling the workouts! I personally do yoga daily and I just started a bellydance class, hopefully Zumba too. Movement is so important! I thought you might benefit from checking out some of what this guy does http://undergroundwellness.com/ He used to be a personal trainer until he saw how many problems all these “buff” people had. But with the way you are doing it you shouldn’t run into those issues. Sean has great interviews and information, and as I read this post I thought of him. Have fun with your workouts!
Hi Sarah,
Oh yeah! I know about him at Underground Wellness, but I haven’t spent a long time checking out his stuff in depth. Yes, I agree that not all exercise is healthy and that excessive exercise isn’t healthy (check out the comment below?) … I hope I’m doing it right and not overdoing anything! I will check out Underground Wellness more in depth and see what he says
Hi Tracy. I just wanted to leave my thoughts, although you probably won’t like them. I am a fitness professional and I suffer from PCOS and acne (the latter of which is improving markedly since I started implementing your advice!).
I’ve been intensely researching female hormones and their links to diet and exercise for the past six months. In that time, I have been coaching a number of women who are experiencing similar hormonal problems as myself. I am obviously still learning and would not consider myself a hormonal expert, however, the advice I have given so far has worked.
If one of my clients came to me telling me that they wanted to do P90X, I would absolutely not let them. As you know, the program is incredibly intense and does more harm than good especially in relation to hormones. For any females suffering hormonal problems, I recommend 3-4 days of weight lifting and no more than 30 minutes of high intensity cardio per week.
In general, I do not promote the P90X program to anyone. I am a big proponent of strength training, but I think this plan – like many others – tries to make it more cardio-based than necessary. Like I tell everyone, the ‘results’ you get are so good because of the diet. If all of my clients followed a low calorie plan like that to the letter, they would end up ripped at the end of 90 days too.
Now, I know you are smart and you’re planning to modify the program. You are fitter than most, as 90% of women cannot complete a single chin up! Oh and yes, muscle confusion is a marketing term. It is complete BS.
All this is to say good luck with the program. I’m glad that you’re getting on board with strength training and I’m sure you will see an improvement in your energy levels!
Hi Tara!
I’m glad you mentioned this, because I wanted to end up with a discussion about this particular subject, actually. I have heard many times that “intense exercise” can actually have a not-positive effect on hormones… as of course is the case with female athletes who lose their periods while training hard, or anorexic people who “over exercise”, etc
I guess I am not really clear on “how much is too much” and how much is “too intense”, you know? (because I don’t know enough about fitness and am just learning). Is an hour a day 6 times a week too much? I don’t know! The woman from Go Kaleo who healed her PCOS with exercise did not specifically recommend P90X or anything, so I’m just not really sure.
Part of me has really wondered if the hormone problems people experience from intense exercise are from not eating enough calories to fuel your body’s metabolism which makes the hormones go whacky. So many people doing intense exercise have unhealthy ideas about food and restrict themselves, or are starving themselves to lose weight (as is the food culture with so many women). I suspect that is a big part of it but probably not the whole picture.
Anyway – I have been reading a lot about this, and I have definitely been wondering if the cardio in this program is overkill especially for me, a thin woman, who would mostly prefer to gain muscle rather than lose fat. As I understand when your body fat gets too low, that’s when hormones problems start? I think?
Either way – I was already definitely considering cutting down the cardio days to half from the hour long they suggest, and I think I probably will now that I received your comment. It did seem a little excessive. I think instead I will in a week do 30 minutes of plyometrics, 45 minutes of yoga, 30 minutes of kenpo, and the rest of the days are strength training days, with one rest day (or stretch day) per week. I think that sounds reasonable. What do you think?
Thanks so much for your thoughts Tara 🙂 I appreciate it.
Thanks for such a thoughtful responce, Tracy!
I would consider six days a week too much exercise for a female with hormonal issues, yes. I personally take two rest days per week where I don’t do anything at all. I try to do yoga twice a week to counterbalance the stress of exercise.
P90X is considered an ‘intense’ program relative to others out there. It is intense as everything seems to be go-go-go – there’s a focus on high reps, supersetting exercises and pushing yourself to the limit. Conversely, I am a much bigger believer in low rep and low volume training, straight sets and knowing exactly when to push yourself – not every workout.
I do think combining a program such as this with undereating plays a large part in messing up a woman’s hormones, but exercise itself acts as a stressor.
I used to work out 6-7 days per week for an hour or more, and that’s what gave me PCOS. Yes, for a period of time I was undereating, but there was also a period where I was eating around 4000 calories per day – and that’s the time my hormones starting playing up.
You are spot on with the body fat/hormonal link. Female hormones are produced in adipose tissue, so once a woman dips below about 15 per cent body fat she stops producing hormones. This is why so many female athletes do not menstruate. But the stress of exercise can be enough – when I developed PCOS, I was at about 22-23% body fat, so by no means thin.
I think exercise is important, but too much of it can be a bad thing. For any of my thin female clients who are serious about gaining muscle (such as yourself), I usually recommend a period of no cardio at all. However, one plyometric session is acceptable 🙂 I think you have tweaked the program in a very sensible way, and it shouldn’t have any negative effects provided you are fuelling your workouts correctly.
Please feel free to email me if you want to talk any more!
Great! Thanks so much for your comments Tara .. this is very helpful 😀
I just want to get this straight, in order to learn: “Conversely, I am a much bigger believer in low rep and low volume training, straight sets and knowing exactly when to push yourself – not every workout.”
So does that mean.. like…. um.. what does that mean? What is low rep/low volume training exactly.. and straight sets? I don’t know all the workout lingo hehe
This is an interesting discussion. I have no idea what’s best in general, but I thought I’d share my personal experience.
I’ve been a runner since high school (I’m 32 now). I ran cross country in high school and started running marathons in my 20s. I have always found running helps to regulate my hormones. When I’m very fit I experience no cramps with my periods and my moods are pretty even. When I don’t run, I get cramps and I have horrible mood swings before my period (so bad that I was actually on an anti-depressant for it in high school).
I have two young kids and after having them I did very little running for a long time. Over the past year, I’ve been getting back into running. I’m now training for another marathon. My skin is nearly 100% clear right now. I’ve struggled with acne my whole life. One year ago, I would have classified my acne as moderate. I’ve made lots of dietary and skin care changes over the past year, too, so it’s impossible to know how much of an impact the exercise is having on the acne. It certainly doesn’t seem to be hurting it, though.
I have always had a somewhat lazy approach to running. I love to run and I get in good long runs and harder speed and hill training, but I don’t really run very many days a week. I’m lucky if I run 3 days a week. Sometimes it’s just once a week. This seems to work for me. (My race times are pretty fast and I don’t get
injured.) Many marathon runners are pretty intense and workout or run every single day (sometimes twice a day). I know many women who are like this and they all seem to have issues with their periods when doing intense training.
Everyone’s different, but intense, long-duration, cardio workouts do seem to have a positive effect on my hormones.
Hi Colleen – interesting. haha… yeah, I’m sure with exercise we could all go down many rabbit holes as is the same with nutrition…. everyone’s different, and everyone’s got their opinions! It’s sounding to me like intense exercise in general has positive effects whether it’s cardio or strength training, just not if you do it every day…
Hi Tracy. Sorry for my delayed reply – I was hit by a car on Tuesday and cannot even remember leaving a comment here. Sorry for not clarifying my lingo!
Low reps means 5-8 reps, as opposed to the commonly promoted 12-15 reps for women. I feel it’s much more beneficial to focus on increasing strength than increasing reps. Low volume means doing a lower number of sets – no more than three, maybe four if it’s a compound movement (squat, deadlift, overhead or bench press). Straight sets mean performing one exercise, and resting for 60-120 seconds. This is the opposite to the P90X style of supersetting which has you jumping all over the gym.
The definition of not pushing yourself during every workout is relative. For example, with strength, I typically attempt a personal best every four weeks. So week one and two I try to work at around 75-85 per cent of my max, and then I go for a max lift during week three. Week four I would scale back the weight and just go through the motions to allow my body time to recover. So although I’m still working at a relatively high percentage of my max, I’m not pushing myself to the absolute limit each and every time. I hope this makes sense?
I’m so sorry to hear about your accident Tara!! That’s awful! Here’s to a speedy recovery.
And thank you so much for explaining that, that was really, really helpful to my understanding of all this
I agree with Tara. 🙂
hehe thanks for chiming in lovely 🙂 I appreciate it!
So you agree? A half hour of intense cardio per week is all that is suggested if you are trying heal hormonal issues? And then 3 to 4 days of weight lifting/strength training?
P90x is too long for the intensity it demands. High intensity workouts should be kept to 10-15 minutes a couple times a week, not an hour, and not every day.
For sustainability and improved metabolic function I think walking and weight lifting are ideal when starting out. If walking isn’t convenient, sub in another low impact form of cardio, cycling and swimming are good. Work up to higher intensity over time, but my general rule of thumb is that the higher the workout’s intensity, the shorter it should be (and vice verse: lower intensity = longer duration within reason).
Hope that helps, Tara’s advice is solid!
Thank you! 🙂
15 push ups for male but 3 for girls? Lol so much for equality. :p
Lol, generally men do have more upper body strength and women have more strength in their legs. That does seem like a large gap though haha
Interesting stuff regarding intensity being good or bad! Here’s my little insight – a few years ago I jumped into marathoning, and at first I did see health and skin improvement. That was when I was still taking it “easy,” by running long distances but doing it pretty slowly. I believe it’s true that the human body is built exactly for that, and it felt good.
About a year and a half later, however, I tried to take it up a notch and work on my speed, which was far more demanding, and I also got into “fueling” more to support the exercise. (Energy drinks, bars, snacks, etc.) I believe it was the combination of bodily stress and sugar intake that sent my acne into massive overdrive. Every Saturday, after I did my toughest workout of the week (and had the most carbs/sugar to compensate) my skin would break out hiddeously within 12-24 hours, then start to clear until the next Saturday.
It took me a month or two to catch on to the pattern, so I do suggest keeping track!
Hey! Interesting! Thanks for your input on the “how much is too much” discussion.. I appreciate it
Hey Tracy–
Glad to head that you are getting physical!
I recently got your ebook and am doing a total overhaul of my diet/attitude/and lifestyle (I even have visited a naturopathic dr. and found out that I have vitamin b and d deficiencies) Anyway, I recently began Bikram yoga (“hot” yoga) and I am loving it. It is very physically challenging, calming, and it makes me sweat BUCKETS. I am wondering how you feel about this form of exercise? Is the sweat good for acne or bad? Please give me your opinion of Bikram!
Good work, lady!
I don’t think $140 is bad – the monthly registration for my kettlebell class is $120, so $140 for three months seems pretty reasonable.
Good luck – am looking forward to feedback!
Megan
You’re right, when you think about it like that, it’s not that bad!
Ironically the reason I bought your book recently was because I have been breaking out like crazy last few weeks, which is probably because I am stressed out from working out like a crazy lady (to get those Christmas pounds off). Good luck and don’t forget to eat more!
No stressing yourself out lady! 🙂 it sounds like it’s better for your hormonal health to chill out and get intense a couple or three times a week, no killing yourself
Love the post Tracy! I’ve been following your blog for awhile and it helped me SO much during some pretty horrible times! I too just started exercising more intensely and it is exactly what I was missing. It feels so good to work your muscles…I’ve been doing cardio kickboxing and it is the best workout I’ve ever done. I did P90X once with a friend and it was awesome, I just have trouble committing to something every day! Good luck. Can’t wait to hear about the results.
Hi Cammie,
That’s awesome! Glad to hear 🙂
I think it might be a good thing you can’t commit to intense exercise every day, it sounds like according to some of the commenters above that P90X is too intense and too long for an every day thing in order to have good hormonal health, but intensity is good a few days a week.
Hey Tracy, I accidentally discovered something strange… Sitting at the computer for hours everyday makes my face break out! When I stay away from the computer for weeks, my face is way better… or maybe it’s just a coincidence 🙂
Lol! I actually doubt it’s a concidence… if you spend a lot of time researching acne, then it probably ups your stress level… and you also probably spend more time moving around and standing up than you would if you were on your computer!
That’s another thing I’m doing but it’s a post for another day – I just decided to make the investment in converting my situation to a “standing desk”… meaning I’m putting my laptop on a bookshelf on top of some books, and got myself a keyboard and mouse to go with it so that I can stand and work. Apparently if you sit all day, even if you work out, that is a mega hit against your fitness and health and can take years off your life. So I know that unless I stop sitting so much, my workouts are not going to go as far as I would like to getting me feeling as good as I would like. So I’m excited about the standing desk 🙂
Yay, standing desks! I’m a Dan Pardi (DansPlan.com) fan and would LOVE to have a treadmill desk and walk while I work, but since I’m a medical transcriptionist, I’m stuck with trying to think up an alternative to the foot pedal that I use to control the audio. I can stand and work the foot pedal, though, and that’s soooo much better than sitting all day.
And if you’re looking for some HIIT workouts, check out ZuzkaLight.com and YouTube.com/user/CycloneFit. Tons of great free, short (10-25 minute) workouts in real time so you can sweat along with them. Or write down the exercises, grab a timer, and workout outside!
I don’t have a lot of extra time, so stressful hour-long workouts six days a week are right out, but I can commit to a combination of HIIT, strength training, and yoga/meditation sessions throughout the week and daily walks with my dogs. (Sharkie is adorable, btw!)
Hi Tracy, this is unrelated to this post but do you know anything about moles and how/why they are formed? and if there are any natural ways of getting rid of them? I’ve looked at natural removal online before and found a lot of conflicting answers so just wondered if you knew anything about it? Thanks
Hi Sam,
Sorry! I don’t know anything about mole formation or getting rid of them.
Hi Tracey. Love your blog and had to laugh when I saw this post title (in a good way). Hubby and I have been doing P90X for a couple of months now. We hate it…but we love it! 😉 We’ve sort of bonded over it. So glad your boyfriend is doing it with you. You will have fun and laugh at each other and yourselves so much, even when you’re in agony! We only do it a few times a week, but I’ve gotten really toned (was thin to begin with), and hubby is now more ripped at 44 than the vast majority of twenty-somethings I see, and he even had a beer belly when we started! We really should’ve taken before shots, but I honestly didn’t expect either of us to stick with it like this. Your little belly will be ancient history very soon!
Hey Claire, that’s awesome!! I’m glad to hear your review of it, especially from another thin lady haha. Yeah I’m so happy he’s doing it with me, I really do feel like we’ve bonded over it already, and it’s only been a week. It’s nice to have something to do together, and it makes working out so much more fun
PS – love the Tony Horton “I hate it but I love it” reference lol
Hey Tracy,
It’s Sergio here and first time on your site (well apart from checking out your About Me page a few hours ago after listening your interview at Henri’s site) and well I just watched your video.
Man that was FUN and really inspiring to check out and definitely pushing myself to get back in shape!
I’m into running but I’m not as constant as I should (or like) to be so I think I’ll get back to jogging and hopefully even join the P90X challenge myself.
I still have to figure out where to do pull ups as I don’t have that device here but I can definitely do that at the public park so maybe I’ll go urban fitness too lol
Anyway, all the best and you have a very cool site here and great audience as well so take care and speak soon Tracy! 😉
Sergio
PS. What’s the P90X motto… “keep pushing play”?
Hey Sergio 🙂
You can get the pull up bar at .. well I got it at Canadian Tire, I don’t know what the equivalant would be in other countries. It was about $40. You could scour thrift stores too (I sadly saw the exact same piece of equipment in a thrift store the day after I bought it, for $3.50) . I heard you can even do pullups on the edge of a table if you’re desperate haha.
Anyway, yes, it’s a definitely a good idea to have a regular exercise program that you are dedicated to! If you aren;t dedicated it’s way too easy to just do something else. Also if you are a work-from-homer, make sure you set up a standing desk! Right there you will get way healthier just from doing that.
The “keep pushing play” thing is just their way of saying that you don’t have to be awesome at P90X or keep up to the instructors, and they know you won’t always want to drag your ass out of bed and do it, but all you have to do is just show up and press play… that’s half the battle right there!
Hi Tracy!! I have done the P90x program and it works!! I would suggest a heart monitor though or just keep track of it yourself. You will see them wearing heart monitors in some of the videos. It’s the best way to keep track of your intensity!! I hit it too hard on more than 1 occasion and found myself needing a nap!! Good luck and listen to your body. It pays to do some of the less intense versions of the exercises. Have fun and laugh at tony. He is funny!!!
Hey Brent, glad to hear you did the program and saw the results! Maybe I should get a heart rate monitor… I just don’t want to spend more money, lol. And yes, Tony is kind of funny… but once you start watching the videos over again, you’re like…. alright Tony. I already heard that one.
Hey Tracy! If P90X seems a bit daunting or if you’re looking for less intense exercises check out a blog by a CPT, RN, Nutrition Specialist named Flavia DelMonte (www.flaviliciousfitness.com). I’ve perchased her Curvalicious program and am over the moon with my results. I have never been really active but really wanted to get in shape for my 23rd birthday and did TONS of whole health-related research… there were a lot of rabbit holes, like you say. But (most) what I found and what Tara@Sweat Like a Pig has said seems to be the best for someone at a beginner fitness level. Oh and the best part about the woman who designed the “Flavilicious” programs is that she actually uses her own method! I’m impressed too 😉 Plus, as a small woman (I’m only 5’0″) it’s nice to see another small woman (she’s 5’2″) with nice muscle definition and strength that doesn’t look strange on such a small frame–I was scared that lifting heavy would make me look very bulky but it doesn’t. I’m not trying to sound like a cheesy infomercial but I am really impressed with my body now. My husband purchased Insanity and we both did the Insanity Challenge and, although I liked it, I found it just wasn’t the right exercise for me; my sister-in-law loves it though so it really depends on the person. I really hope you stick with your fitness endeavor becuase it’s so worth it! You’ll feel better both physically and spiritually-I know that’s a big topic for you on your blog-and you’ll definitely be more energized. Stick with it lovely even when you want to quit!!
Nice! Thanks for the suggestion – she looks awesome and I’m stoked for you on the results you’ve seen! I’d probably check out her DVDs, but I already paid for P90X, so I’m sticking with it and just moderating it a little to cut down on the intensity.
Hi Tracy, saw your wonderful post and was wondering what you thought of the program now that you’ve completed it? I was just as scared and hesitant, your story pretty much mirrored mine. But I also decided that I need to make some lifestyle changes. Seeing the P90x infomercials and the countless success stories online enough convinced me to try it. It was SO hard in the beginning and it took much longer as I had to pause the dvd frequently. Somewhere along the journey, magic started to happen. I begin to see noticeable changes to physique, fitness and strength. At the end, I learned a great lesson in motivation and discipline… not only in staying active but most importantly, a much improved way of eating. Thanks again for the post.
Hi Emily 🙂
Well, after writing this, I decided to modify it, as I explained in this article: https://thelovevitamin.com/8298/best-exercise-hormones-gorgeous-skin/ – unfortunately though even with the modifications, hate to say it but we did end up falling off the wagon after about a month. I am really happy that it seemed to work out for you though! Sounds like it had a lot of positive effects 🙂
Tracy, your other article is a must read for women. For some reason, women who want to get healthy and fit will convince themselves to stay away from high-intensity strength training but do countless hours of useless cardio like jogging for miles (sorry ladies). Our physiology isn’t that different than men’s, we will not bulk up just by lifting a few weights. What we gain is exactly what we want (and men too), the long, lean, fit look. Something unexpected that comes with it is lots more energy, increased cardiovascular endurance and everyday, usable superwoman strength!
Oh that’s too bad about P90X. It is a very intense and difficult program for anyone. To tell the truth, I had so many emotional breakdowns while doing it… even well into the second month when I saw obvious gains. So many times I wanted to smash my TV when I saw Tony Horton smirking back at me. It is time consuming even if you’re on pace and remains challenging even after you can rip off 20 straight pull-ups without assistance. But I’m glad I completed it. It showed I had the will, dedication and discipline that I never had in all my life. I still use some of the exercises for my 20-30 HIIT workouts now.
Anyway, awesome blog! I heard P90X3 is coming out. It’s a condensed version that takes only 30 minutes, so that might be right up your alley and might not affect you hormonally.
Hello
I am sure this fitness program also includes diet and healthy eating.
So, after doing the program did you notice a difference in your skin? Do you think that anything like a fitness program will help people clear acne? I was wondering fitness includes- exercise and clean eating. Clearing acne also includes exercise and acne.
So, a fitness program must help us to clear acne
what are your thoughts. Just curious 🙂