P90X Prep

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to finally be starting P90X! I've spent weeks going over the materials (videos, documents, Web materials) and putting my plan of action together. You know me - I like to have the deets ironed out before I begin something.

I have decided that I am going to do the Classic P90X program, but I'm not going to rule out some extra cardio in Phases 2 and 3. I am NOT going to do Insanity as my Doubles component. I'm probably not even going to do a true Doubles program. I may just throw in a Turbo session here and there. It will all depend on what happens with subbing. I'll be completing my Effective Teacher Training this week, and my application goes before the Board of Education in mid-October, so I could start substituting any time after that. I'm only going to be on the list to sub at my son's school, because I wouldn't have time to sub somewhere else and still get him to and from school (the bus is not an option, it still wouldn't work), so I don't know how often I'll actually be called.

For the first month, I don't have to worry about subbing, so I'm going to be doing my workouts after I take Sebastian to school. When I start subbing, I will probably get up early (if I know I have to sub) or work out in the afternoon (if I'm called in last minute). My husband is going to be doing New Rules of Lifting (the twice a week routine, with one day of cardio - I'm going to try to get him to do the P90X Kenpo with me), so hopefully we won't be fighting over equipment in the evenings.

To keep track of everything, I've decided to take advantage of one of the spreadsheets I've found online. I did not create it, but here is my spreadsheet. I'll be updating it daily. I will still be updating my blogs, but the spreadsheet is nice because everything is in one place. So far, I have my pre-P90X Fit Test results & measurements in there, as well as links to the before pictures.

For the first time, I will actually be following the nutrition plan that goes along with the exercise plan. For the last (almost) 3 years, I've just sort of been winging it, but this time, I'm doing it all to a T. I look at it as a challenge. And it will be challenging! But I really want to put my all into this. The best summary for the nutrition plan is on this blog, but here's an overview of how I need to eat (a "portion" is approximately 100 calories):

Phase 1: 1800 calories, 50% protein, 30% carbs, 20% fat
5 portions of protein
2 portions of dairy
1 portion of fruit
2 portions of vegetables
1 portion of fat
1 portion of carbs
1 portion of condiments
1 snack
1 P90X recovery drink
1 P90X protein bar

Phase 2: 1800 calories, 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat
4 portions of protein
2 portions of dairy
1 portion of fruit
2 portions of vegetables
1 portion of fat
2 portion of carbs
1 portion of condiments
1 snack
1 P90X recovery drink
1 P90X protein bar

Phase 3: 1800 calories, 20% protein, 60% carbs, 20% fat
2 portions of protein
1 portion of dairy
2 portions of fruit
2 portions of vegetables
1 portion of fat
3 portion of carbs
2 portions of condiment
2 snacks
1 P90X recovery drink

I am 100% certain I will not be using the P90X products. I will make my own protein bars and use chocolate milk as my recovery drink. The recovery drink needs to be a 4:1 carb to protein ratio, and chocolate milk comes up again and again as an alternative.

To be honest, I am a bit nervous about the protein. It is a lot of protein. It's only for a month though. I'm working on some menus so I'm not eating chicken breast all the damn time. I love chicken, and it was actually on sale this week, so I can go for a while on it. But after a while, I need a burger. I think I've put together a reasonable menu:

Meal 1: apple (1/2 fruit portion) & cottage cheese (1 dairy portion)
Meal 2: omelet (approx 1.5 protein portions, 1/2 vegetable portion, 1 condiment portion) & coffee (1/2 dairy portion if I drink 4 cups of coffee)
Meal 3: chicken breast, tuna, or tilapia (approx 1.5 protein portions) & 1 portion of salad vegetables
Meal 4: yogurt (1 snack portion) or cereal (1/2 carb portion, 1/2 dairy portion) or protein bar
Meal 5: chicken breast, tuna, or tilapia (approx 2 protein portions), cooked vegetables (1 vegetable portion) & 1/2 portion of carbs (rice, pasta, potato, etc)
Meal 6: if there's anything left over in my allowances, it will go here. Technically, I should only get 5 meals a day, but I want to leave this option open.

And there is one small hiccup to deal with. My 10-year wedding anniversary is this month, and we did want to have a special dinner. I'm trying to decide if I want to go ahead and have a free meal that evening, or try to make a good meal that fits my nutritional needs. I'm worried that if I try to be 100% perfect, I'll fail. But I really, really want to do this properly!

As far as the workouts go, at first, I was going to use the resistance bands to give me more options in terms of resistance ranges. When I did ChaLean Extreme, I found myself needing some "in between" weights because I use plates and can only go in 5 pound increments. That will likely be a problem again but I'm going with weights anyway. Since I want to focus more on strength and muscle development than fat loss, I am going to be using weights that are good for the 8-10 rep range, rather than the 12-15 rep range.