Doing Sit Ups with Chewbacca

Doing sit ups with Chewbacca is more fun than you think. Ok, so I haven't actually met Chewy himself or performed any real sit up manuevers with him, but my Star Wars-obsessed husband is a close second to the furry wookie--accept for the fact that he doesn't wear a bandolier.

As a recap for those of you who weren't lucky enough to be present in our living room this evening, Nick and I returned from a 40 minute run and then stretched out in front of the TV to do the 16 minute Ab Ripper X DVD. In the 4-5 times Nick has jumped in on this tape with me, some typical grunting has occured along with cursing here and there. Tonight was different.

The normal grunting started on the second move (bicycles), but was suddenly characterize by the unearthly sounds of a wookie attempting to save Han Solo. As if that wasn't enough, Chewy, I mean Nick, threw in some very unique non-English vocabulary, a little bit of cackling, and heavy breathing as if each breath was his last.

While I find this extremely funny, it messes up my X-ness. Tony Horton would not like this. Not only do I have to pause on a move, but I have to keep from peeing my shorts in anticipation of the next sound. I think I should record this on my phone the next time we do ab-ripper and you can witness Chewy in action. My words don't do it justice.

In all seriousness though, Nick has been doing the ab video with me as well as the Kempo. He decided to go on a diet after an unflattering pic of him showed up on Facebook. I won't mention who posted it. Thanks Kirstie. haha.

Actually, Nick's decision to workout has made me REALLY happy. I am always worried about his health. He has a family history of high cholesterol and his love of bacon and Wendy's Double Stacks scare me to death. I think he is moving in the right direction and for that, I am truly proud of him.

I'm Back...with a Vengeance

Like Tony Horton would say "You need breaks? You better take 'em. But them I'm back...with a vengeance." Yes, I haven't blogged since last week. The reason? Work has been killing me, not to mention, Nick and I took a weekend jaunt to Pittsburgh for his cousin Shannon's baby shower.

While we were there, I felt like I was talking about p90x like it was a new car or boyfriend. Maureen was right. The people in these videos seriously become a part of your life. You spend an hour a day with them in your living room. I see them more than my own mother. Anyway, people seemed curious, and kept asking me how it works. Several of my cousins have told me they are reading the blog, and they kept saying how funny it is. I don't know about that at all. Nick's "eating bacon/sitting on the couch" comments are definitely funny. But my writing about moving from 3lb weights to 5 lbs...not so much. But thanks for the kind words.

One thing I haven't taken a break from is p90x. 39 days in a row to be precise. I am seeing results so much that Nick has decided to commit to the program when I complete it in October. His wrist is still healing from a fall he had in July, so lifting weights is out of the question right now.

There are some pretty funny videos on YouTube that Maureen has been posting on my Facebook profile for inspiration. Check these out. I'm hoping that some of my followers (official blog followers or not) are going to try out the program. I would love to hear your thoughts.

I'm Pretty Beat

So yeah, I'm pretty beat. I'm so tired that I used the title as the first line in my blog. Sorry, I'm lame too apparently.

It's been a few days since I had my 18.7% body fat revelation. Mentally, that helped me A LOT, and physically, despite the tiredness, I feel pretty darn solid. My small love handles are leaving and I seriously feel like I am getting toned. Some of you probably think I am full of crap, but you won't know what I mean until you try it. It is definitely working! Pretend that you're not into fitness long-term but that you want to get in great shape for a wedding or big event in the next six weeks. Do p90x, even just for that short time, and you will see results.

I came off a busy work week and have had the same kind of start to this week (on the job nights and weekends in addition to full days). I was also just assigned a little sister through the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland. Tomorrow happens to be her birthday, so I am taking her out for dinner. So in a nutshell, I think Phase 2 workouts plus all of the extra work is really beating me up.

Phase 2 is essentially the same as Phase 1 except you swap out 2 weight days to work other body parts. I upped my weights to 5lbs and honestly feel like they may be too light by next week. This is definite progress! I can also do all of my chin ups and pull ups with only 1 leg on the chair now as opposed to two. As scary as it might sound, I'm glad the Ab Ripper X dvds have started up again. It's 16 minutes of pure pain that works.

Phase 1 Complete - New Pics and Measurements

Yesterday was hard for me.

It was the last day of Phase 1, which meant measurements and pictures. I was supposed to be excited, but instead, I was just plain annoyed. First, I couldn't find the tape measure. After 20 minutes of worthless searching, we came up with a few options: use thread from our sewing kit and then hold it up to our contractors tape measure, or use Nick's belt. Several failed attempts with the thread and we decided to go with the belt. This was another "fail" because it was inaccurate, not to mention that the metal loops were freezing against my skin. Ok I was totally PMSing, so yes, anything that went wrong was a target for my complaints. I also didn't have a scale handy. It was like anticipating your wedding day with bated breath, but then when the day actually comes, no groom is there to marry you.

I quickly made the decision to go P90X, poor man style.

I typically don't like to shop at Walmart, but with one located less than a mile from our house, it was a savior. Not only did they have new sports bras (3 for $10), but they had a tape measure for $1.19, cheap 5 lb weights, and the real key......a bathroom scale removed from it's packaging. I just weighed myself in the store instead buying it and adding the unnecessary 15 bucks to my bill.

My trip home put me in a better mood now that I had all of my tools. My actual measurements did not though. After 30 EXTREME days, I really thought I would bring my body fat down. Well folks, I did, but not by much.

Here are my new body measurements:

Weight: 119lbs
Chest: 33.5"
Waist: 27"
Hips: 33"
Right Thigh: 19"
Left Thigh: 19.25"
Right Arm: 9.25"
Left Arm: 9.5"

Body Fat: 25.05%

This is a drop of .45%

Here are my Phase 1 pics




















I don't know what this last pose is. I think I was trying to show that my lats were getting muscles. Anyway, I think I am starting to show some improvement, but not as much as I would've hoped. I am kinda depressed about that. I thought my body fat would be around 22% or something. I suppose I need to do better with the diet. Plus, I seriously just have a wide torso. I mean look at that. It kinda looks insane. I look like a tomboy soccer player with no hips. I don't even like soccer.

I did get smaller in all of my measurements, (except my chest) so I guess that is a little win, but I'm not sure that I look any more buff. My biggest loss was in my hips. I went from over 34" down to 33" Here is a link to my day 1 stuff if you are just joining in the conversation now.

Why p90x?

For those of you who don't know me, which is probably none of you considering that no one is reading this blog, my name is Marla and I am a 28-year old female from Cleveland, Ohio, who is really into working out. That's right, despite the statistics, not all of us in this city are fat.

I grew up in a very active family and started dancing at age three. In high school, I took up competitive running and have continued logging miles every week to date, 10 years after graduation.

My brother, who is an insane athlete and runner (like 4% body fat, if that), and I competed in and won the co-ed relay category in the 2004 Cleveland Marathon. But since training for that race, I've really just plateaued. I run between four-five miles a day, five days a week. This has allowed me to maintain my weight between 115 and 120 lbs at 5'7".

Before you start thinking I am crazy for wanting to lose weight/tone up, I have to tell you that despite my thin physique, I'm pretty pathetic when it comes to muscle mass. I have huge calves, but that's about it. I'm also starting to get fat in certain areas that I thought was impossible for runners to have happen to them. It scares me to death.

I was upstairs cleaning one day a few months ago when I saw this infomercial for p90x. It sucked me in instantly. Ok...ok, so it wasn't Magic Bullet quality, but it was still pretty good. I won't bore you with the details. If you haven't heard of it, Google it or visit www.beachbody.com. Basically it's a $120 investment for the video program plus some accessories, which I'll get to later. All in all, I spent $160.

I bought it online last Sunday, July 12, and decided that in order to make a commitment to this program, that I would blog about my journey. Essentially, I'm going to do the hard work for you.

If I can make it through 90 days of intense training and wind up completely ripped, you'll be more apt to do the program. If, after 90 days, I am still a big pile of suck, you can keep your $120+ and go have a doughnut. I hope you will follow me on this trip. I have a feeling it's going to be rough.