Bring It: P90X Day 8

The first official week of P90X Classic is in the past. However, this starts a very new week. If you have been following me this far, thank you for your continued support. If you are just joining me, this is an ongoing compilation of my journey with the P90X system. I am hoping you will be following me on my journey to see whether or not this system works or is just another advertising gimmick. 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.

I would love to hear your comments below! Feel free to share your stories of your weight loss and get healthy journeys. Together we can support each other and make this world a much healthier place!

This is the official start of week two. That has me super excited. Almost to the point where I got up, did a little dance and celebrated. Well, I did celebrate yesterday, but that was for an entirely diffferent reason. So yes, I did have cake, and I promise you, I didn't eat too big of a slice to hinder my results.

What has me excited about today is because I have hit a goal. I have made it through the first week of P90X, and let me tell you, it was tough. This isn't some fluffy exercise program that you do just so you can say that you have exercised. This is mentally and physcially draining. But, in the end, you will feel great.

I am also excited today because I get to see my results. Now, usually when I am trying to lose weight I am obsessive with the scale. In fact, we are attached at the hip and I find myself weighing myself after every meal, every exercise, and even after I brush my hair. (Who knows, maybe those hairs that my brush pulls out make a difference!) Yet, during this journey, I have decided to cut the strings with my scale. I didn't want it to play too big of a part in my workout. If I lost weight prematurely, I could only guess that I might figure slacking might be an agenda if I have a busy day. But, if I wasn't seeing any results, then not doing the workout might be an option as well. After all, what is up with all the hard work if it isn't doing anything.

So the scale and I kept our distance. It was better that way!

There are several different ways that you can test your results. All of them have a different scale of measurement, and all of them can be very personal. The ways to measure results are based off of feelings and then off of hard strict numbers. Both will show a lot. So take the results and use it to build from to make your workouts work better for you!

Some people get a little anxious when it is results day comes, but overall, this is a day you should want to see. If you have been doing great all week, and you haven't cheated yourself, the results will show, somewhere. However, if you haven't been honest with yourself, this is the time to get back on track. Have you been telling everyone you have been good with your diet, but didn't realize how much that cookie cost you. Have you been lazing through the workout, just getting to the end.

If the results aren't were you want them, then this is the time to have a heart to heart with yourself. Look at what you have done; see where you need to improve; set some goals; and get ready to bring it again for week 2.

The first set of results are the feelings results. This isn't concrete and this can vary from day to day. However, you are the only one that can measure this, so it is vital that you are very honest with yourself. One way to track this is to write it down in a journal. Or, maybe next to your workout log put either a smiley face or a sad face depending on how you are feeling.

These feelings will change on a daily basis. They will be your mood; they will be how sore you are; they will be whether you are feeling under the weather or if your allergies are effecting you. They are pretty much everything that makes you - you.

After the first week of P90X, I can honestly say I am feeling great. Sure, I had the first couple days were I was so sore. I even wondered if it would be easier to wear a diaper than it would be to sit on a toilet. (You can't tell me that you have never felt this way if you have had a great workout!) There were also a few days in there were I was feeling under the weather. I was getting a cold and I was feeling naseous. I woke up that way this morning. I might have even slacked on those days.

However, overall I feel much stronger, much more flexible, and I feel as if I am standing a little taller. To add to it, I am feeling my pants starting to fall down. A couple of weeks ago they felt tight. Today, I need a belt to keep them up. With those kinds of results, it doesn't really matter what the numbers say. I know it is working.

The most popular, and sometimes the most discouraging way to test your success is to measure yourself. This can be done by using a scale, measuring your body fat, measuring your BMI, and counting the inches throughout your body. You can do one, you can do all, but just make sure you stay consistent in what you do.

Consistency is key here. If you weigh yourself on Monday morning... make sure the following week you also weigh yourself on Monday morning. Your weight can fluctuate around 5 pounds a day, and when you are trying to keep track of weightloss, those extra pounds can make it a great day, or make it a bad day. Also, having a scale that shows your body fat is a great tool. Not only will you get your weight, but you will know how much of that is muscle, and how much is not. It is a very important measuring tool to see which way you are going. If you only lose 1 pound, but you lose 1 percent body fat, that is great success. However, if you lose 10 pounds but increase your body fat, you can be pretty sure you lost muscle instead.

My results for the first week were about were I expected them to be. After all, the last time I did this workout, I made it through the first week and expected the results to be very similiar. To track myself, I record my weight, my bodyfat, and my BMI. I also use a tape measure to measure my chest, waist and hips. When it comes to my arms, I measure the middle of the bicep on both right and left, and on my thights I measure about two inches below my hip measurement on both sides. The reason I mention this is because if I lose a half an inch on my right side and my left side, I count that as an entire inch lost. Some people only measure one side (which is fine as long as you stay consistent), so when they compare results, it might be misleading to see how many inches I have lost. Like I mentioned earlier, consistency is always key.

For the first week of P90X Classic, I didn't drop a pound. A little disappointing considering how hard I worked (and because my scale measures to the tenth of a pound), however, I did lose .2 percent body fat. This is great news. Now, I wasn't too surprised about the lack of weight loss. After all, I did eat a lot of frosting the day before for my son's birthday party. I also know that muscle weighs more than fat. Therefore, I rather have the number stay the same and let the body fat drop. To top it off, I also know the more muscle you gain, the higher your metabolism goes. So, in the next couple weeks, that extra muscle will most like pay off with greater weight loss numbers on the scale.

As for the measurements, I was pretty darn proud of those as well. My love handles are no longer loving me as much (as they have started to disappear!) I lost a little bit of inches all over. Those little bits added up to a nice number. In the first week, I lost 3 total inches. I can also see the results in my face, which is starting to thin down. Now if only I would have measure that!

The final way that you can measure your success is by seeing how much better you are getting from week to week. As part of hte P90X program you should be marking down your reps and the weight you are using. If you have started this program and you haven't been, start now. It is better late than never.

The reason it is so vital to mark this information down is because it tells you were you have been and were you are. If you did 10 pushups this week and 20 last week, it is time to evaluate what is going on. Did you injure yourself? Are you slacking? Or is your body still in muscle failure from last week?

Or, maybe you decided to bring it even more. Increasing your weight or adding moves to make it more difficult are all measures of success. Just make sure you are looking at both sides. It is also important to record your information to make sure you can set a goal. If you don't know what you want to hit, you might stop before you truly need to. This will give you extra incentive to push just a little harder.

As for my results, I could tell I was stronger (or that I was slacking last week!) I increased my reps on just about everything and I even added some weights. Granted, I only put in an extra 3 pound weight into my workout, but that should make a difference. However, I need to get to the rest of my weights which are currently buried in the garage. So, I guess I have that too look forward to for next week.

So, after just one week, I can say that I have seen progress. I might not have necessarily been in the numbers, but it is in the reactions I have been getting from people and the way I feel that is the most important!

Note: P90X is an extreme fitness regiment and your doctor should be consulted before starting this or any other workout program. If at any time during your workout you feel uncomfortable or not right, modify the move or stop completely do avoid injury.

Curious about Day 9, click here to learn about the benefits of jumping and how you can incorporate it into your daily lifestyle, even if you don't have access to the P90X workout series.