Bustin' a sweat

7 weeks ago, we decided it was time to get into shape. After spending some hours watching the infomercials and seeing drastic changes in what they say were untouched pictures of befores and afters, and knowing someone who has actually tried it (thanks Dee), I was sold on P90X. These are extreme workouts people! It consists of 12 tear and sweat inducing workouts. It includes a diet, that honestly I cannot follow. But we are trying to eat healthy and less processed foods. The program brags, that if done correctly, you can go from regular to ripped in just 90 days. It uses "muscle confusion" to target all muscle groups and preventing them from hitting a plateau. The only confusion I felt the first few weeks was in my head, asking myself "what have I gotten ourselves into?" This program is designed for people who have reached their optimal goal and want to increase muscle weight, increase strength, and flexibility. We were not in optimal shape or condition to begin this program, but we did anyway. The fit test consisted of being able to do a certain number of push-ups, pull ups, and doing jumping jacks for 2 minutes straight. I shamefully could not do one single pull up or 2 minutes of jumping jacks and could maybe do 2 push ups on my knees. After the first week, we couldn't even move. Every muscle hurt. It was miserable, but we plugged along. Now in the 7Th week, I can say that I feel stronger. I might not looked "ripped" yet and I might still weigh the same, but I see some definition in my arms and legs and I can actually do 6 push ups off my knees. Rueben, of course, is starting to look buff, but that's because he naturally has less body fat to begin with. These workouts last about an hour. The hour is full of grunting, sweating, swearing, laughing, farting and then more laughing, awkward movements, balancing and falling down, and just good old fun. We try to do it together, cause it's more fun when you do it with a workout buddy. We encourage each other and do what Tony Horton (the instructor) says...we bring it and do our best and forget the rest. We hate it, but we love it!!! Hahaha! And to any of you who are thinking about doing it (Charlie), get going! Just the fact that you are doing something to improve your health is awesome enough. We will spare you our before pictures, but hopefully at the end of our 90 days, we will post our new and improved new bodies. Maybe.