The Bernard Family

So some of you have asked about the P90x workout I recently finished. Because so many people asked and I had so much to say (hence the long post!) - I decided to write a little review about the program, my results and experience with it.

Some of you could care less about some exercise program - don't worry, I won't be offended if you don't read on. For those of you that are interested, I'll try to make it organized, so you can read the parts that interest you.

DISCLAIMER: I am not receiving any type of compensation for this review! :) I’m not endorsing p90x or the other links in my review. Don't get mad (or sue me) if you get hurt, or try the workout and hate it! I’m just giving my opinion and results :) (My lawyers advised me to put that in...j/k!)

Here's my outline:
1. Results
2. Why I chose P90X and how it works
3. Equipment needed/my suggestions
4. What I liked/didn't like
5. Final thoughts

1. RESULTS:

So, everyone is interested in my results. Some even asked for before and after pictures. I feel funny posting bikini pictures of myself on this blog – so I’m not going to….I don't know who reads my blogs! For those of you that "have" to see a picture. I drew a before picture and Jared drew an after - so you can see the amazing results! :)

I can say that I didn't really lose much weight - maybe 3 pounds or so. (but I wasn’t really looking to lose much). I think I didn’t lose much because I really toned up a lot. I did go down from a size 7/8 to around a 5/6 though - so that's a good feeling! I will say that I did NOT follow the diet plan. I pretty much ate whatever I wanted and how much I wanted (sorry to admit!) I was really happy to get the results I did eating the way I did. I now need to work on my eating habits to make them better. So, if you can do the workout AND the diet plan – I KNOW the results will be even more amazing!

I think the biggest difference is in my core or mid-section. I feel like I have somewhat of a six-pack now! J The workout makes you feel strong – so I feel like I’m the strongest and fittest I’ve ever been. Another big result is the improvement in my endurance in cardio fitness. I’ve sometimes struggled with cardio workouts because I’ve always had asthma, so any running or jumping around would trigger it. Anyway, my asthma hasn’t been bothering me, so I notice that I can run and do long cardio workouts without burning out like I used to.

Obviously the biggest proof of “results” is the physical ones, but without a picture, I don’t have much else to share. If anyone cares, here are my before and after results of the "fit test" you do at the beginning and end of the 90 days: ("B" = before, "A" = After)

Pull ups: I went from being able to do 1/2 a pull up to doing 3/4 of a pull up! (Not that big I know...but the nice things about the program you do your best, and that's it. Also, I used bands, so it made doing pull-ups so much easier).
Vertical leap: increased by 1 1/2 inches
Push ups: B = 7 (on my toes) A= 24!
Toe-touch: (bending forward with straight legs to touch your toes): increased flexibility of 4.5 inches!
Wall squat: B = holding position for 1 minute A= 1 minute 13 seconds
Bicep curls: B = 9 lbs 20 reps A = 19 lbs 21 reps ( I should have done higher weights, in the 12-15 lbs range, as Tony suggests).
In & Outs ab test (seated with hands on the floor at your sides, pulling your knees in and out) B = 19 A = 42!

2. WHY I CHOSE P90X AND HOW IT WORKS:

The first main reason I chose this workout was that a friend lent it to me! I didn’t have to pay anything to buy it! I had seen infomercials for it and thought it looked pretty cool, but wasn’t motivated enough to spend that much money. I decided to try it because I was looking for a new exercise “routine” that challenged me and gave me some variety. I mainly wanted to have more energy, feel better, tone up and do it from home – so this seem to be the perfect fit.

Here is a little description from the website: (beachbody.com ):

“P90X® is a revolutionary system of 12 sweat-inducing, muscle-pumping workouts, designed to transform your body from regular to ripped in just 90 days. You'll also receive a comprehensive 3-phase nutrition plan, specially designed supplement options, a detailed fitness guide, a calendar to track your progress, online peer support, and much more. Your personal trainer, Tony Horton, will keep you engaged every step of the way, and you won't believe your results!”

The basic idea is that you workout 6 days a week for 3 weeks and then have a “rest week”. You do this for 3 months or “phases”, each phase follows the same schedule but with different types of strength training workouts. Generally on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays you do some type of strength training workout (for 1 hour) followed by the Ab Ripper X workout (15 minutes), Tuesday is the Plyometics workout, Thursday is Yoga, Saturday is Kenbo. The rest week involves non-strength training workouts.

3. EQUIPMENT NEEDED / MY SUGGESTIONS:

The main equipment you need for the workouts are:

1. Pull up bar (I used bands. I bought a set that has clips, so you can add multiple bands to one set of handles, so you can customize the amount of weight (I bought them at www.bodylastic.com). I think it worked really well for me. Personally, I think the bands are better, especially if you aren’t able to do pull ups – although you can use a chair to assist you if you want to use the bar.)

2. Yoga mat

3. Handweights and/or bands: I already had a set of 2 lbs, 4 lb and 5lb dumbells. They worked fine. I sometimes used two different hand weights together (for more weight) for some workouts….but I found the bands worked just as well for most exercises – when I needed more weight.

4. Chair

5. Towel

6. Water bottle

Optional items (in my opinion):

1. Plastic plates (I used Frisbees – you use them for some push-up exercises)

2. Yoga blocks (if you already have them great– I had some small hard boxes that worked okay for me. If you haven’t done much yoga, I think they would be helpful)

3. Heartrate monitor (I didn’t get one of these…you can figure out your own target heart range and find it yourself…but I’m sure the watch is more convenient, if you want the added expense).

4. WHAT I LIKED/DIDN’T LIKE

What I liked:

· How the program is structured. You have a calendar that shows you exactly what workout you need to do that day.

· The variety. I liked having some cardio, some strength training, yoga, kenbo, etc.

· The worksheets. You use them to write down everything in the strength training workouts. You record how many repetitions, how much weight you use, etc. It helps to remember how much weight you used last time and really stretch yourself to improve. You really are able to see your progress and improvement over time.

· The timeline on the screen during a workout. Each exercise will have it’s own little countdown timer, so you know how long you will be doing that exercise. It really helps you get through some of the tougher workouts at the beginning. To be honest there were some days I did NOT want to do the workout and I told myself I would just do it for 15 minutes and then could stop if I wanted. On those days, when I hit 15/20 minutes and was feeling good and kept going!

· The philosophy of “do your best and forget the rest”. You really just have to do the best that YOU can do and not worry about anything else. Some days your best will be less than other days – that’s okay!

What I didn’t like:

· The workouts are HARD! But I think this is a good thing too. While you are doing them, it hurts, but when it’s over you really feel a sense of accomplishment.

· The time commitment. The shortest workout is 60 minutes + the 15 minute ab routine on some days. The Yoga exercise is 90 minutes. I do think that to see the results you need to longer exercises. Towards the end I was surprised at how fast the time went by though.

5. CONCLUSION:

I am really happy with the program. I would recommend it to anyone that wants a serious workout and that’s committed to working hard for 90 days. I was working out pretty consistently (about 3-4 times / week) before I started the program. There is a "fit test" you do before you stat the program, which can give you an idea if you are "ready" for p90x. I think its a pretty good gauge of what you'll be expected to do in the program.

I enjoyed having that hour + time that I really felt was for me, so I was committed to doing it every day. It is a great feeling of accomplishment to say that I didn’t miss a single day in the 90 days. I really felt great and didn’t get sick the entire time (which is a big thing for me). I think it helped boost my mood and productivity in other areas too.

That’s it. Thanks for reading and making it through!

So, this year Halloween lasted all week!

Anthony told me what he wanted to be for Halloween about 3 months ago and amazingly it was consistent throughout the entire time. He wanted to be a ghost. I was happy with that - easy enough. He also decided Sam would be a "pumpkin" and kept that consistent too, so I bought a pumpkin costume for Sam.

Anthony got to dress up in his costume at preschool. He wanted the costume to be over his head with the little holes -

Here is Anthony with his teacher, Ms. Linda. He was scared to go stand by her, so she came to him and I took a quick picture! He doesn't even have the costume on right! :)

Because they were going to walk around trick or treating at the high school - the teachers had to modify Anthony's costume so he could see. (as you can see below). So we bought some white paint and made it work (although I wish it wasn't cut quick so drastically!)
Here's the boys before going to the Library for the Preschool story time party on Friday:

Here's Sam mad - trying to get the cute hat off. He wouldn't wear it....

Now he's happy!

Saturday we went to our ward/stake's trunk or treat. Anthony told me I needed to be a witch (he wanted Jared to be a "tree"?!). I had a long-haired green wig I put on and we called it good! (Sam is mad again because the hat is on!)

Anthony loved Trunk or Treat. He knew what was going on this year and wanted to go around again after we finished! Sam enjoyed riding in the stroller and holding the candy in his hands for the most part. Sam did learn to say a new word: "candy" this week because it seemed like that was all they wanted to eat!

Here's one of the cute "trunks" from the party:
The Eastman/McKnight family always go all out. They did a Christmas theme this year complete with Santa, reindeer, elves and people in pjs. It was really cute!

It was a fun year!