Bring It: P90X Day 17

P90X is an extreme workout program created by Tony Horton. The exercise are simple, but far from easy. If followed on a daily basis, in 90 days you will have undergone a complete body transformation. I am using my personal journey to see if this statement is true and have been recording how I have been feeling and what I think of the program, as well as other tips, advice, motivational stories, or just off the wall humor.

If you would like to start from the beginning of this series, please click here. If you want to read about my previous day with P90X, click here.

Feel free to leave your comments below. I would love to hear from you, whether it is for support or your own personal health tips or success stories. 

So far this week has been going great. I have been getting up early and getting my workout done right away. That means I have all the time I want after 8 a.m. No matter how much a person loves their workout, it is nice to get it out of the way so it isn't looming over your head!

Today my workout was the Shoulders and Arms DVD. I think I said this before, but this is one of my favorite workouts. Maybe it is because it doesn't involve a single push up, pull up or squat. Pure and simple, this is weight lifting.

Because this is my 3rd week, this is the last time I will see this workout until week 9. I am a little sad at that. I really enjoy this workout, and I always feel pumped when I am done. In fact, today I went and looked and myself in the mirror, flexed my arms, and winked at myself. Yep - told you I was feeling good!

I went ahead and increased my weight from the previous week. I can tell I am getting stronger because I am still able to do roughly the same amount of reps with the extra weight. But, I will tell you know, I am not using a whole lot of weight because I don't want my arms to look bulky. I have no intention of becoming a female body builder and would prefer to keep my muscles lean. That means low weight and high reps.

I will say though, that additional 2 pounds extra really made all the difference. I could feel it at the end, and the burn was good. Right now, I can tell I had a good workout. My arms feel like jello!

With each workout, I learn something a little extra. Or maybe I don't necessarily learn it, but I really focus on it and it sticks in my head. During today's Shoulder and Arm P90X DVD, Tony Horton mentioned something that I knew, but never really thought about. He said it is important to have control.

Now, this can actually be expanded. While he was talking about control in weight lifting, it can be used for other parts of our lives as well.

First, control is very important when lifting free weights. Without control, you aren't doing anything for yourself. In fact, you are actually doing less. If you are flopping around with the weights, you are using the motion to lift the weight, not actually your muscles.

When you use control with lifting weights, you will end up having to slow down. This gives you the opportunity to really squeeze those muscles you are flexing. Ultimately, this means more work for you, but better results. Most importantly, you will have a greater chance of avoiding injury. So, if you are lifting weights, make sure you are practicing control!

Control also takes effect in the other parts of our life. For instance - food! Yep, I said it! Most people don't want to admit they have a problem with their food and their food choices. We like to eat. That is human nature. But, we need to take control over what we are putting inside our body.

I personally go through phases of good control and bad control when it comes to food. Right now I am right in the middle. I am not being strict about keeping a food journal, but I am kind of keeping track at the same time. I find when I write down what I am putting in my mouth, I am more likely to think about whether or not I really need it.

When you have control of your eating habits, you will ultimately realize you don't need to have that brownie... or maybe you need that brownie, but you don't need the second one. Portion size is necessary, especially if you are trying to lose weight.

Since I have started this series, I have been contacted by a trainer on Beachbody.com. He offered to answer any questions that I may have had. Well, one of my questions were the lack of actual weight loss. I wanted to know if this was typical of the P90X program since it obviously builds muscle. One thing he told me was when trying to lose weight, 10% was your workout and the other 90% is your nutrition.

After being told that, I decided to take a good look at what I was eating. Better than I have been looking. I realized my nutrition is lacking. Sure, I enjoy the occasional apple. I might even have eggs for breakfast to up my protein. But, I also eat a lot of processed foods... and that is bad.

Ultimately, if I want to be very successful, I need to gain control of my nutrition. If I don't, the results won't be nearly as drastic as I was hoping. So, if you are struggling with the same issue, take a look at your control when it comes to food. Take a week, or even just a day, and write down everything you put in your mouth. What you see might surprise you.

Mindless eating and a lack of control can kill anybody's best efforts. It is easy to grab a handful of junk and throw it in your mouth. Processed foods... well, in today's busy society, who has time to make everything from scratch. Now I am not suggesting you give this stuff up. But, if you are wondering what you are doing wrong... maybe you have just found the answer.

Lesson of the day:

Most of your efforts at working out will be thrown out, if you have no control.

Click here to ready about Day 18.