My Affair With P90X

Yesterday I posted about how I can't be allowed near the computer at night because I will buy whatever's advertised in my in-box.  Well, one of my more recent late-night purchases was P90X.

I didn't intend to buy it.

I didn't need it.  Not really.  I take boot camp classes at Carter Fitness, and they're amazing — only thirty minutes long, but so butt-kicking that they always destroy me.  Plus they're never boring, since Josh and his trainers constantly mix things up.  Truly, the classes have me in the best shape of my life.

But I'm me, and I'm neurotic, and I'm all too aware of the not-so-little pooches here and there.  Okay, just one there, really — I'm a poochy-lower-abs girl and it's seriously annoying.  Still, in my best moments I recognize I'm doing just fine, so I was not on the lookout for a new workout program.

Then I started working on the Populazzi trailer, and for reference I Googled videos featuring transformations.  (When the trailer premieres in about two weeks, you'll understand why.)  Again and again, P90X videos came up — people taping themselves either every day for 90 days, or in a few cuts: the start, 30 days in, 60 days in, and 90 days in.

Oh.  My.  God.

Not only were the transformations incredible, but they also offered my Holy Grail: flat, toned abs.

I needed it.  Immediately.  I ordered the videos, a pack of resistance bands, and the Monday after the Populazzi trailer shoot, I started following Tony Horton's mantra and bringing it.

The program is very challenging… and very time-consuming.  You know how I said one of the cool things about Carter Fitness is that he effectively destroys you in just thirty minutes?  Well, Tony Horton needs between sixty and ninety minutes, six days a week.  I'm in week three now, and so far my weeks have been the same: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are for weight training plus abs; Tuesday is Plyometrics, Thursday is Yoga, and Saturday is Kenpo X.  There's not an easy workout in the bunch.  I am constantly pushed and challenged, and each video is a blend of so many different exercises that my body is far too busy mewling in agony to adapt and cruise.

I love it… but I will admit that as far as I can see, there has been no change to the poochiness as of yet.  All the message boards claim that magic happens in the last thirty days, and since the transformation videos all seem to back that up, I'm forcing myself to be patient.  I'll keep you posted, and if by some miracle I do end up with flat abs at the end of these 90 days, I will gleefully flaunt them on this site.

Have any of you done P90X?  What did you think?  What other workout programs have you tried and loved — or hated?