What came after was finding a gem of an exercise program. It's so good that I have introduced it to friends and relatives and invested quite a bit of money in it. Okay, it's about 400 bucks, but for me, that's big money.
For the uninitiated, P90X is a full-body, all round exercise program, and it is big in the States, reportedly having millions of enthusiasts and supporters.
There are many things I like about this program. Firstly, it really is an all-round program. It targets upper body strength from shoulders, back, and chest to the core muscles from the nipples to the knee, and carries on working the legs from the quadriceps, hamstrings and the calves. Basically everything.
Not only that, integral to the program are also cardio exercises such as Kenpo, plyometrics, and most importantly, Yoga and a stretch routine. These exercises makes all the difference in getting some real pump, unlike vain gym junkies who only want to look good, this part of the program brings you real health and fitness when used together with the resistance training. The yoga and stretch routine have really helped with my flexibility and are what I turn to every time the modern life throws me a bad back and some serious aches.
It takes care of every part of my fitness and health that I no longer need any other fitness program. In addition to that, there is a nutritional guide for people who wish to eat better, because there's a saying that goes 'You can't out-train a bad diet.'
Today, I write this not to advertise this program; it doesn't need more advertising. I write this to share how wonderful it is and also how I modify it and what I thought of it after doing it for a while. So that whoever sees it can learn from my experience and get down to doing it, because it's good.
In all its goodness, however, I find this program requiring some modifications to suit my personal use. Firstly, it's a 90-day program of about 90 minutes each day. This is the first thing I hear people lament about every time I introduce to them to it. It's true. It's hard to squeeze out 90 minutes a day when you lead a crazy work life here in Singapore. I work from 630 to 630 every Monday to Friday. After that it's dinner. Considering that I have to wait a while after eating to work out, I usually work out almost at 10 and finish off just nice for bed, or I do it before dinner and end up having dinner at almost 9, which is not suggested either. Despite Tony Horton, the creator, always chanting 'Keep pushing play, just turn up' or 'Do your best, forget the rest,' sometimes it's just not possible, not on a daily basis at least.
In addition, despite the science saying that you get more energised after working out, doing it every day was just too hard. I had tried completing this exercise program three times; I had never moved past the first month. By the first month I was so knackered, I couldn't bring myself to switch on my laptop.
So what did I do? Instead of a 90-day workout, I made it into a 180-day workout, choosing to push play every other day. Sometimes I would fall sick or have other engagements like girlfriend or boys' night out or family dinner and I would skip a few days but I would always get back to it. I am currently at Week 11 out of 13 weeks and it's been more than 180 days but I am really looking forward to saying 'I did it!'
Compared to some other exercise programs, P90X requires some equipment, but it's not crazily equipment heavy. A pull-up bar is essential. I got one of those door-mounted bars and it works. It is essential because the majority of the back-building exercises are done on the bar. At the beginning of the program I could pull about four and I continued trying but I realised that I wasn't going anywhere. So I did some research and found that I could set a higher number, in my case 15, and used chair-assisted methods to pull myself up and overtime it increased, instead of just pulling what I can, which yielded little improvement.
Other than the bar, weights are also very important. In the video, there are always modifications for people who want to use bands. I bought a set of bands in the beginning because I thought that bands would give me sufficient resistance and are useful without having to shell out a lot of money. Not only that, they are easily kept and take up next to no space. However, after more than half of the program done, I felt that the bands are just not giving me the workout and pump I wanted and could get from this program. I looked around for some real weights and were still slightly hesitant because I live in a tiny little space and really have no space for a rack of dumbbells. Furthermore, I really didn't know which weight range to buy because I had no idea how much could I could lift. More googling later, I decided on a set of adjustable Bowflex 552 weights. These take up the same space as a pair of normal dumbbells but could go from 5lbs to 52.5 lbs. Cheaper adjustable weights are available but I also needed the ease and speed of change required by P90X and these still make a better choice. They became the most expensive piece of equipment I had to buy.
P90X also helped me discovered yoga. I had thought yoga was slow and methodic and though it required me to put myself through some awkward positions, it wasn't hard. Boy, was I wrong. The first time I did the yoga, my heart was racing and I sweated a ton like I was running a marathon. Having not worked on my flexibility for the longest time, I also had troubles holding some of the positions. Originally I only bought the mat and tried using books and other stuff to support myself. It was defeatingly difficult and I gave up the stubbornness and forked out a little more and got myself a cheap little block. That made all the difference.
I also don't like the Kenpo X routine. For me, that is the only routine that I have a problem with. Yes, it makes the heart pump, but the moves in the routine feels nothing like martial arts. Because I do Taekwondo and have interests in Wing Chun, I substitute it with my martial arts practice instead.
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