Philippians 3:12-14 (The Message Bible)

I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

P90X2-Day 3

Ahhhh....Rest or Recovery Day! Already? It seems too soon to be having a day "off"....but I did take full advantage. I honestly did want to do the Recovery DVD....BUT....instead I showered and went to the mall with my mom to make all of our Christmas returns/exchanges and then I hurried home to cook dinner for a family who just had a new baby and THEN cooked our healthy P90X2 dinner.
Dinner was a HIT again! Tonight we had a Mandarin Spinach Salad with Lemon-Basil Broiled Salmon. YUM! Best salmon I've ever cooked at home....and that salad was amazing!
We each ate TWO CUPS of fresh baby spinach leaves topped with mandarin oranges, walnuts, avocado slices, red onion and a homemade mandarin vinaigrette dressing (recipe in the nutrition guide).
Matt couldn't take the "no weight lifting"...and did the P90X Shoulders & Arms DVD while I was cooking dinner. :) Since his primary goal is to NOT LOSE WEIGHT and BULK UP (opposite of my goal!! ha ha) He wants to add in some additional weight-lifting.

Tomorrows workout is called Total Body along with the new Ab Ripper. I can't wait. I have NO IDEA what "Total Body" means, but I'm sure it'll be good! :)

By the way, I am LOVING this new book PUSH by Chalene Johnson! I can't believe how much clearer and more focused I feel after just 3 days now that I know exactly what my goals and priorities are and I've written out my "Top Priority Statement". Since I love it so much, I'll share it with you. This is very personal to me...and was the result of lots of brainstorming and question-answering in the first chapters of this book.

"My number one priority is to build myself up with Bible and prayer so that I can be the best wife possible for Matt and so that I can do my best to teach my children how to have a passionate personal relationship with Christ and to be grateful and respectful people. I will weigh all pursuits against this goal and decline any activity that doesn't lead me to it. I desire that God, my husband and my children know that they are more important to me than any personal pursuit."

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

P90X2-Day 2

PLYOCIDE!!!!!!
That is the name of today's workout! Just the name of it sounds like we were gonna die! :) Actually, it wasn't tooooo horrible. It was tough...maybe comparable to an Insanity workout sort of. Anyway, no matter...we DID IT! Shaky and sweaty and starving....we finished up that grueling 55 minutes and then went downstairs to cook our super amazingly delicious dinner! It was Bruschetta Chicken with Roasted Veggie Pasta. WOW! I've never cooked with so many fresh herbs! That bruschetta was omg! And the roasted veggies...wow! Even Brooklyn (our picky eater 10 year old) had seconds! That may be one of the best home-made meals we've ever had!! The bad news is that it took nearly an hour to cook due to all the chopping of veggies and herbs.

Anyway, all is well so far! Tomorrow is "Rest or Recovery" day...

One thing about this version of P90X that is a LOT different than the original...there is NO weight lifting in Phase 1 (first month). I know Matt is NOT going to like that ONE BIT. :( We may have to make a few slight adjustments. :)
Phase 1 is called "foundation"
Phase 2 is called "Strength"
Phase 3 is called "Performance"

Is anyone else out there doing it? I'd love to hear what others think of it compared to the original P90X. :)

Monday, December 26, 2011

P90X2-Day 1

Well hello there! Long time no see, eh? Yah, I know. See my previous post for an explanation! :)

Aaaaanywayyyyy.....as you can tell from the title ....we are doing P90X-2!!!!! So excited and ready to BRING IT again in these intense workouts with my hubby! I won't lie, it's a bit intimidating committing to this for 90 days knowing that I also am teaching fitness classes every day IN ADDITION to my P90X2 workouts, but....I'm reminded that I've done it before (back in 2008) and I can do it again. :) Basically I'm doing the "doubles" version right!?!

I don't like to do things "normal"....as a matter of fact, being normal, average and like everyone else is really YUCKY to me....so rather than start on January 1st, like most normal people would....we decided we would start Dec. 26th. An odd date to pick for sure....but for us, it is the perfect date, because 90 days from Dec. 26th is March 28th, which is our 14th wedding anniversary!! :) What better gift can we give to one another?? Cool right?

Today's workout was "Core" and wowee! I had no idea there were so many exercises you could do with the stability ball that I had never heard of or seen before! 55 minutes of core-tightening, ab sculpting craziness! Even the warm up and cooldown/stretch used the ball. One thing we don't have that they use is a foam roller. I'm not sure if I want to bother investing in them or not. I've heard people say wonderful things about them....but...ahhh more money! Blah! I don't even know how much they cost actually. Anyone ever bought one or used one?

The eating plan is going to be interesting. It's been a long time since I've shopped for some of these crazy ingredients. I guess it's not really all that "wild"...its just a lot different than what we are used to. I bet 80% of my shopping list were items in the produce section! TONS of veggies, greenage and herbs! Last night after our first workout, I made a big green salad and baked a 4 oz. salmon filet for us to put on it. I had mine with light strawberry vinegarette dressing (YUM!) Later in the evening, we were both REALLY hungry again, so I had 3 stalks of celery with 1 T. of natural Peanut Butter and a small greek yogurt cup.

Have any of you ever tried PB2? Supposedly it's this powdered peanut butter that you can order online and it's supposed to be way less calories and really yummy in recipes. I think I may try to order some today....!?!

In addition to starting P90X2, I have also begun reading Chalene Johnson's new book called "Push" and I'm very excited to start getting my life and goals more organized! I've only done Day 1 so far and I am feeling very optimistic. I will keep you updated on how it goes!

Well, that's it for today folks! Leave me a comment if you're reading. If I don't get any comments on this, then I'll know not to bother with blogging anymore. :)

Hope you all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to a blessed and healthy 2012!
Love, Jen