Saying good-bye to P90X... only for a little while!

So it looks like I will be postponing Phase 3 of P90X due to my Personal Trainer (PT) sessions. Hmmm... sounds like deja vu! Yes, yes... for those of you who are following me, I stopped CLX in the last phase also. Let me reassure you that I AM NOT A QUITTER! The next rounds of CLX and P90X will be completed... FOR SURE! This, I promise!!! But anyway, it's a pretty bitter-sweet goodbye for me because I love P90X, but on the other hand, I do want to take full advantage of my PT's routine and advice. And this isn't really a goodbye, more of a "see you later" to P90X... I'm sure I'm going to sneak in some of the cardio/yoga/stretch stuff into my routine, but Tony and "the kids" will be sadly missed!

So here's a recap of what my first PT session included:

It was mostly questions and letting my PT get a good sense of what I have been doing so far and where I want to go from here... things like what I've done so far, how often do I exercise now, what do I eat, what are my physical goals, what are my fitness goals, what are my nutrition/health goals, etc. It was pretty comprehensive (even asking about TOM to see if fitness/nutrition can help with any PMS). We took even more stats and measurements and went over my two-weeks worth of food journaling. I really liked it and know my money has been well spent. My PT really likes my level of exercise and nutrition knowledge, so he thinks we can move along much faster than most of his clients.

Didn't get around to much exercise, but he gave me a run down of what to expect for his program. He starts off all his clients (no matter what your fitness level) with stabilization stretching exercises for the first week. He introduced me to a foam roller and had me only roll my left leg: calf, quad, hamstring, and ITB. Then he had me perform a squat. It was amazing how different my left leg felt from my right leg... my left side felt completely stretched out and I could have definitely gone deeper into the squat if my right side wasn't tight. My PT had my roll out my right side after that. The next couple of days my leg muscles felt like I had a deep tissue massage! It felt so good!! Anyway, on his orders, I have taken this entire weekend, as well as up to today, off from exercise since I have been going non-stop for the last 9 months... well not non-stop per se because I do take at least one rest day a week, but I haven't taken more than 2 days off in row since I started exercising back in September. So he wants me to "reset" my body and give it a good rest until I meet with him again tomorrow. After the first week, my PT will introduce me to the cardio/weight training parts of the program... THIS is what I'm waiting for. It looks like he'll have me doing HIIT a couple times a week, some other cardio the other days, and weight training three times a week. I hope it's a good mix of machines/free weights/outdoor activities to really keep my body in "shock mode". Cross-training is the key for his program.

The diet part of the session was really good and I have to say... to all you P90Xer's who kept telling me to eat more... you guys are 100% right. He wants me to up my calories from 1500 to 1900 - 2100 calories a day. Seems like a lot of food but he's also devising a food plan for me to help me with that. I was really impressed with the fact that he wanted this program to be tailored to my needs and likes. I guess I went into this thinking most PT's want it their way or nothing. But he made a list of the foods that I want to incorporate into my diet and he couldn't be happier that I want to keep my diet clean. I can imagine most of his clients struggle with changing their diets the most.

Anyway, I see him again tomorrow and we're suppose to go around the gym and he'll assess my fitness level by evaluating my performance on different cardio machines as well as weight-resistance machines and free weights. As much as I hate putting P90X on hold, I think having a PT at this stage in my weight-loss battle is key and couldn't have come at a more perfect time. Joining a gym and having a PT has completely re-motivated me and is giving me the little extra push I needed to continue in the right direction. I'm very competitive by nature, so the gym setting is perfect! Can't let the "skinny" people out exercise me, you know?! And having someone who keeps me accountable and excited about exercise is the most important job for my PT... and not to mention that my sessions cost more than my monthly mortgage... but that alone is going to push me to take full advantage of my PT and follow his advice.

On a side note, this week was suppose to start Phase 3 of P90X (uhh... so close to finishing!) so I'll have my 60-day stats up by the end of the week. Dang I'm gonna miss P90X!