Sunday, November 9, 2014

Back to blogging?

Hello hello to anyone out there who still might get updates!

I've been getting used to a new life here in London. Different running routes,  fitness classes, weather patterns, brunch places, coffee options, pastries to try...the list goes on! I haven't been blogging but I think I should change that.

When I first moved here I wanted to try everything that was new to me - Sunday roasts, beers, wines, cakes, brownies, etc. I also baked because I missed home and it made me feel better. Because of that, my pants (/trousers to any of you Brits who might be reading) starting feeling a bit snug. I didn't own a scale at the time, but when I visited New York in October I learned I've been carrying around about 8 more pounds than I'd like to be.

Sure, I'd been running here and there, had joined a gym (which honestly, I just don't love), and had gone to Barry's every so often, but it wasn't enough to offset the crap I was eating (oh and it had also been my birthday, so I ate a LOT of cake). Now don't get me wrong, I totally enjoyed every bite, but it's not a healthy lifestyle and I decided to do something about it to get me back on track.

You may remember (eh probably not) my foray into P90X a while ago when I was coming back from a stress fracture. It kept me active and got me super strong - aka I could hold a 5 minute plank. But who has time to do an hourlong workout every single day?

Enter P90X3. It's 30 minutes, six days a week, doable in your living room if you are lucky enough to have one. It would have been almost impossible to do this workout in my studio in NYC, but luckily I have a nice-sized living room in my flat here in London, and can do some of the workouts in my own bedroom. It's 30 minutes so it's done before I'm even awake, and I can't ever think of a reason why I can't workout for 30 minutes.

With the change in workout, I've also changed my eating. I am trying really really hard to cut back on my sugar intake since that is where most of the empty calories come from. I did great the first two weeks, and have been a little bad this week, but week 4 is Transition Week before my first round of progress pictures, so I'm going to work on "being good" this week (just a couple squares of dark chocolate and some pb instead of a delicious cookie in a mug...).

So, how's it going so far?

I LOVE IT.

30 minutes a day is doable. IT IS SO DOABLE. It's also something to keep me busy in the diminishing hours of daylight - it will be (/already has been) so nice to have an indoor workout option that kicks my butt.

And kick my butt it does. I get sweaty in every workout! (Though some more than others.) So what are the workouts? For weeks 1-3 we do:

Total Synergistics: Full body resistance workout that uses minimal equipment. Not my favorite workout, but gets the job done.

Agility X: Lots of jumping, quick movements. Reminds me of Plyometrics in P90X. You need some tape on the ground, but no equipment otherwise. I definitely cannot (and probably never will) do plyometric push ups, but it's a fun challenge and I really enjoy this workout and get super sweaty!

X3 Yoga: Flow style yoga with some balance. I don't really sweat during this workout, but it's a pretty good yoga practice. I'm really happy that I'm guaranteed one yoga workout a week!

The Challenge: Push ups and pull ups all day long. I use resistance bands since I don't own a pull up bar and my flatmate would probably kill me if I installed one. You do two rounds of two different types of push ups and pull ups - wide pull ups with standard pull ups, chin ups with military push ups, etc. It's hard, and can be made harder by increasing the resistance, which I did this week and my shoulders/back are still reeling.

CVX: Dude. This workout. Yes. I love it. It's WEIGHTED CARDIO. So hard, SO good, SO SO sweaty. Every move is a minute long and involves a dumbbell. You do two rounds of three moves and Tony varies the speed and/or intensity of the moves in round two. It's awesome.

The Warrior: Hard. It's an upper body move, a cardio move, a core move, and a lower body move nonstop for 30 minutes. It is intense and requires no equipment. I definitely let out a few curse words when I did this workout yesterday...

Dynamix: Haven't done it. I "rest" on the 7th day, but today I walked 21,000+ steps, and last Sunday I ran a 10k, so I can't say I've really been hardcore resting...

Three weeks down, 10 weeks to go! Considering how quickly every week has flown by so far, I expect the next 10 will follow suit. This week is Transition Week, which basically means I do different, less intense (I think?? but CVX is in there...!) workouts before I start Block 2, which is also different workouts - Eccentric Upper, Triometrics, Eccentric Lower, Incinerator, and MMX, plus X3 Yoga. Will report back on those!

Results so far? Well, I've lost a couple of pounds, but who knows, could be water weight... My pants (/trousers) do feel a bit looser, and I think I am looking more toned. I will have to be more mindful of my sugar intake, but I have been cooking with lots of veggies and protein. Last week I made a green protein smoothie every single day, and it was awesome - filled me up for the morning, replenished my muscles, and sneaked in some fruit and veggies first thing in the morning. Love it.

I'll be back soon with travel and London recaps, and will keep writing about my P90X3 journey! xx

2 comments:

  1. I'm still reading! And super excited to hear more about P90X3 in particular. I have a pullup bar but haven't done much with it (yet)... maybe this video sequence would be just the ticket.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete