Nichole’s brother is doing that P90X thing. He’d appreciate your support and motivation, so he’s sharing his experience here at Butterscotch Sundae. Which is a pretty funny name for a place to talk about Feeling The Burn and whatnot.

I have survived week one of P90X. Only 83 more days to go. After one week, I can say that this program is serious. As a point of comparison, my body hasn’t felt this sore since the day after the first day of football practice throughout high school. And that has been a fairly long time ago. In a nutshell: Week One was a serious wake-up call to both my mind and parts of my body I forgot existed.

So let’s get to it.

Day 1: Chest & Back
Basically, this means a set of push-ups, a set of pull-ups, a set of push-ups, a set of pull-ups … Rinse and repeat until chest and back are numb. Starting the program, I can barely do a pull-up. So, I had to put one leg on the back of a chair to assist in my pull-ups. They were still incredibly hard, and my sets were typically between 8 and 10. The push-ups are not any easier, with something like eight variations. While I made it to the end of this roughly one hour video, my form was absolutely shot by the time I finished. My soreness after this day was serious but not unbearable.

My mindset: I can do this.

Day 2: Plyometrics
Think: “Jump!” This workout requires multiple variations of jump-squats. It is really difficult to describe how terribly hard this workout is. Sixty minutes of jumping around is painful, sweaty business. My legs were so shot by the end of this workout that it was difficult to walk down the stairs. But downstairs is where the couch is, so I made it through. My soreness after this day was unbearable. For two days, I couldn’t walk or sit normal. Quads, hamstrings, calves: All on fire. People at work noticed and asked whether I had been in an
accident.

My mindset: I cannot do this.

Day 3: Shoulders & Arms
Here, we picked up the dumbbells for the first time. My legs were killing me, so this felt like a break at first. Sixty minutes later, my arms felt like they weighed 100 pounds each. I actually really enjoyed this workout, probably because this is where I’m in the best shape. And I wasn’t all that sore the next day (except for my legs from Plyometrics).

My mindset: I can do this, if I skip Plyometrics.

Day 4: Yoga
My apologies to all the yoga lovers, but I do not like yoga. I do not like yoga one bit. Not because it isn’t a challenge — it is — but because it is absolutely boring. And it is an hour and a half long. And Tony Horton tries to sound soothing. I’m going to have to find a way to overcome my boredom on this one, because the fact is it is actually an intense workout. It also focuses on some of my weakest areas: Flexibility and balance. I felt better after the video was done. My legs were not as sore, and I think I was a little less stressed out. Plus, my soreness level the next morning was drastically decreased.

My mindset: I can do this, if I can stay motivated.

Day 5: Legs & Back
Lunges and squats. Turns out, yoga had not healed my Plyometrics pain. I could barely make it through this hour. And I didn’t use any weights. Day 5 set my legs on fire again and made it difficult to make it back down the stairs. I started to realize that my legs are apparently very, very weak.

My mindset: Is this week over yet?

Day 6: Kempo
This is like kickboxing! And it was fun! The workout teaches a few basic kicks, punches and blocks and then directs you to perform a bunch of combinations repetitively. Really got my heart rate up and the sweat pouring. I think this will be one of my favorites once my body learns the moves.

My mindset: At least there will be something to look forward to at the end of each week.

Day 7: Stretch/Rest
I rested. 🙂

I’m feeling really good about not dropping out. I’m eating well and working out, and I can already feel the extra strength. The scale isn’t reacting yet, but I’m confident that will come. I will say that if anything knocks me out of this program, it will be injury or the wrong mindset. My greatest challenge is going to be making myself hit play and then doing more than going through the motions. We shall see.