P90X3 Results and Review

I may have a new favorite Beachbody program.

Ok... it's a toss up. I have loved the challenge of Insanity ever since I first started the program. Once I heard about the new P90X3, I thought I had better give this Tony Horton guy a chance. Personality-wise, about as different from Shaun T as they come, but I thought I'd give it a try.

And man am I glad I did.

Rewind to last fall. I had to quit working out due to a back injury. Then I went to North Dakota for work for two weeks and ate out every day, and did NOT make good decisions. Oh well. I'm human. Then the holidays came, I was still trying to let this back injury heal... not good. I stepped on the scale nearly 20 pounds higher than were I was at my lowest and a good 15 from where most of my clothes fit comfortablly. In a decade I was determined I would NEVER see again. I NEEDED the structure of this program.

P90X3 has 4 different programs to follow, based on what you want out of it-Classic, Mass, Lean, and Doubles (if you're crazy or something). It took a lot of thinking, but in the end Justin pointed out that I would be going right from X3 to half marathon training, and the extra cardio of the lean program would probably help me out. I don't know if that's true or not, but it made sense to me at the time so I decided to go for it!

The thing I love the most about this program is you do NOT get bored with the workouts! There are 16 different ones, and with the way it is broken up into 3 phases, things get changed up in a hurry. I think I had a new favorite workout every month! All I needed for equipment was a few dumbbells (I used 5-12 lbs, wish I had heavier ones for some of the workouts but definitely got by with what I had) and resistance bands attached to a door frame (I got a special strap from Dick's Sporting Goods) instead of a pull up bar, since there is nowhere to put one in our house.

The changes I have noticed in my body are crazy! Aside from the before and after pictures, I can tell I am so much stronger. I even have definition in my biceps, which I have never had before!

I compared my measurements from now to when I finished Insanity just over a year ago. I'm still 5 pounds heavier, but my measurements are right where they were after Insanity! And that means more muscle!

       
       
       

Insanity Results

I'm only a month late, but here's my Insanity results, with before and after pictures. I stuck to the calender as written.

Overall-I LOVED it! Did it hurt? Yes. Did I cry? Yes, more than once. Do I regret it? No, not at all.

I cried on a couple of different occasions, for different reasons. I cried the first day because I couldn't believe I actually could do it. I was an athlete-at a very high level of competition. College and life happened, and I found myself quite overweight. To be able to be wearing smaller clothes than I did in high school is something I am very proud of.

I cried the first day of month two. I had to workout by myself because Justin ditched me to go elk hunting. I cried because it was hard. I cried because I was doing it alone. I cried because I hate in & out abs (burpees). And then, I cried because I did it. Me, who could hardly make it thru the 30 Day Shred just a few short months before was now doing hour-long Insanity workouts.

I've heard a lot of people complain about how tough it is on their knees, but I have/had a torn meniscus. Did not bother me one bit. Justin has had his ACL repaired twice (same knee) and did not have any pain with the workout. Now if he goes and plays basketball, he comes home and automatically plops down with an ice pack. In my opinion, as long as you are using proper form on your jumps and squats, there shouldn't be much trouble.

Now for the results-bottom is before, top is after. 14 pounds gone difference...

And measurements-

Justin and I decided to take some time off over Christmas and just started round two this week! It's been a little rough getting back in shape (my triceps are KILLING me) but we both know it is so worth it!

Insanity Update

I'm more than halfway through Insanity! And still surviving-most days. This week I started the Max workouts and they are a definite step up from the first month, but I definitely was ready for the step up.

The first month's workouts were tough, but towards the end I think my body was getting used to it and looking forward to mixing it up. Recovery week was NOT was I expected it to be! I was expecting a much slower pace than what it was, but it was still a little bit of a step down.

Now-for the fit test results from Day 1 to Day 36.

	Day 1	Day 36	Change
Switch Kicks	53	65	12
Power Jacks	40	48	8
Power Knees	56	90	34
Power Jumps	20	27	7
Globe Jumps	8	11	3
Suicide Jumps	10	13	3
Push-up Jacks	16	23	7
Low Plank Oblique	20	50	30

My goal was to improve from my first test 20% and I either met or exceeded that goal on every move! The fit test is a major workout in itself-when Justin and I do it we are both pushing so hard to beat our last score (and each other!).

I lost 6 1/2" and 6.5 lbs in the first month of Insanity. I thought that was pretty good-and then I added up Justin's measurements... he lost 13 1/2" and 7.5 lbs-wow!

Here's a before and after picture. Top is Nov. 4th, bottom is Oct. 1st.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens after the next month (or 3 weeks and 2 days, to be exact). I've decided that I'm giving up sweets for the next ten days to see if that helps push me along. Wish me luck!

October Update

Well it's safe to say that life has gotten a LOT busier lately! Since I last posted, I have started coaching basketball, which will take a considerable amount of my time between now and March.

I'm assistant coach for a great group of ten girls. They make going to practice 3-4 times a week and games 2-3 times a week so worth it! We played our first game Friday. It was the typical first game of the season-playing against a team of 8th graders, while our team only has 2 8th graders, period. There are only 3 8th grade girls in the class, so needless to say we were going in with a huge disadvantage. The score definitely was not pretty, but we were so impressed with the girls' defense. The high school coaching staff had worked with the girls the night before on their defense, and wow did they pick it up in a hurry! Now I'm really excited to see how we can improve on it in four days of practice this week!

Since I don't get home until after 7:00, I've been trying to make Justin's life easier by prepping and freezing some meals. Last week, I made 2 pans of Lasagna and 2 pans of Tater Tot Hotdish (just a normal recipe, split into smaller pans. I don't like leftovers!) on my lunch break one day. He's happy that all he has to do is throw something in the oven!

Let me know if you would like recipes!

Work has been a little busier too. We weaned the rest of the calves last weekend, so now there are 700+ calves around the ranch to monitor daily. What does weaning entail? This is when we separate the babies from their Mommas, and we give them vaccinations to help prevent them from getting sick, as well as weigh the calves to track the performance of the cow and the bull (or the calves' parents). Of course, the weather was not very cooperative, so I had to work my first Saturday in a long time! I guess it probably worked better that way anyway, because then I didn't have to worry about rushing to basketball practice.

Justin and I are still doing the Insanity workout-and still seeing great results! Last time he told me, Justin was down about 5 lbs, and I'm down 6.4, to 181.6! So close to getting a new pair of jeans :) We won't take our measurements til after next week's recovery workouts, but I did lose 3 inches in just the first two weeks. I'm excited (but nervous) to see what the second month of the workout brings!