P90X

My Equine Partner – Dudley.

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Yes, I have a horse and LOVE spending time with him. Just this year we started on our riding journey. We started and stopped over the years. I started him using natural horsemanship. Started everything on the ground. Got him use to the pad, then the saddle, wearing the saddle while playing on the ground. Nothing was ever forced. It was his choice. He was never tied up or cross-tied and forced to endure anything. Patience and taking it slow has paid off. We are now working on walk, trot and canter. He is a left brain extrovert and everything has to be fun and engaging. This keeps me mentally on my toes. I have to constantly be thinking of new ways to present the same thing or a put a new twist on the old.

 

 

While I expect him to be in shape to do the activities he enjoys and not worry about injury, I expect the same for myself. I work out hard to keep in shape. This means cardio exercise, strength – upper, lower and core, endurance, flexibility and mobility. How do I do this you may ask? Well, use to try to do it on my own. Run in the morning with the dogs, then lift weights in the evening. Make it up as I go. Then, I found some really good fitness programs from Beachbody and started seeing results, and results faster than what I was achieving on my own. Some programs I do and keep going back to: P90X, P90X2, Les Mills Pump, Insanity, Insanity: Asylum, TurboFIre, Tai Cheng and Chalene Extreme. If you want to get in shape and stay in shape then there is a program that will help you achieve your goals.

 

 

Where do you go to workout?

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There was an interesting article in the Time NewsFeed “Plus Size Friendly” Gym Bans Skinny People. It is basically an article about a gym in Vancouver, BC that has banned skinny people from their gym in hopes of making it more inviting for their plus size clientele. An interesting idea. I don’t consider myself skinny, more slim with problem areas that are under construction.

What I find is that I just don’t have the time to go to the gym even if I wanted to. And when I did I always had the same routine, the same exercises, same cardio, blah, blah, blah… I was always stuck at a plateau with very little return on my investment. So, I decided I had to change that. I had a friend that had a set of DVDs he wasn’t using and so I borrowed them. The DVD set was P90X.

I loved it. It was a laid out for me for 90 days and all I had to do was push play and write down the weight and reps I used so I could track my progress. Included was a meal plan and a free month SuperGym membership. It was everything I needed. I didn’t have to worry about what time the class was, if the gym was going to be packed or if I could find a parking spot. It was great! I could work out when ever I WANTED, in WHAT EVER I wanted to wear and no one would give me looks. Also, I didn’t have to wipe off the icky sweat some smelly individual left on the equipment. YUCK!

Like I said above, working out is fun with Beachbody, the company behind P90X also has many other wonderful fitness programs no matter where you are in health and fitness. All I’m saying is working out at home has allowed me to achieve fitness goals that I never dreamed of before. So, if you want the complete package, Beachbody has it: Fitness + Nutrition + Support = SUCCESS. I have completed many of their programs now, and love the fact that I can pick a fitness package that challenges me and pushes me. I never feel that it is a waste of my time.

It may not be for you, but this works for me.

Have fun, smile a lot and laugh frequently.

 

 

 

 

Want to take your Game to the next level?

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After finishing P90X I decided I needed to push it to the next level. I had a pretty good cardio base, taught fitness classes for several years and was a long distance runner. So, I thought Insanity would be fun to try. It definitely took my cardio to the next level. Meaning, one of the problems with my running was I was not doing enough sprint and interval work. This fitness program improved my running immensely, by doing interval work, plyometrics, and drills you would see in football, track and basketball.  It strengthened my core and improved my speed. This is a 60 day program and definitely worth it.

Once I finished Insanity, I heard that Shaun T had another program coming out, Insanity: The Asylum. And once again I thought sure this sounds like fun. And it was/is. Well, what I should say, is that I really like this program too. Shaun T works you hard, but you feel like you really pushed yourself and you feel like you accomplished a lot by the time you are done. You improve your core strength, upper body strength, speed and agility. This is a 30 day program that again uses interval training, plyometrics, agility, strength and sport specific drills. Game Day and Overtime will really push you to a new level of fitness.

Then if you are crazy like me, you can do Insanity and Asylum fusion or P90X and Insanity or P90X2 and Insanity/Asylum or all of the above. I love to sweat and mix it up! Have fun, smile a lot and laugh frequently.