Day 30 is Here!!!

Aaron's upper body, front and back.

We didn't bother doing lower body shots this time.

Hidi's upper body, front and back.

These shots were all taken in our laundry room at sunset. Unfortunately, I don't think we have good lighting in any room on any day. Poop.

Okay, so I owe you all an apology. I stopped posting daily when I realized that all I had to say somedays was what I had to eat and what workout I was doing that day. However, now that Aaron and I are into Week 5 and have hit Day 30, a significant checkpoint, I thought I'd post some photos.

Also, After Week 2, everything started to feel pretty easy. So easy, in fact, that we started running and/or walking to get extra exercise. Everything stopped being easy this week. Not only did the added running and walking destroy my already fragile knees, but what Tony Horton said about P90X is true: the program works through "muscle confusion." After four weeks of same-old same-old, I woke up this morning and my muscles said WTF?

Day 9: Bringing it Hard: I am a Runner Once Again!

With weather this nice it's hard to come up with an excuse to not start running. So, with a little inspiration from my friend, Jen Baxter, I put on my running gear and ran out the door an hour after dinner. You're thinking, Really? After a morning of plyos? Yes, after a morning of plyos! I felt that good! I kept up with Tony Horton's gang for the entire hour (even those Rock Star Jumps!) this morning and the excitement spilled over into my evening. What better to do than run?

Though I don't have a race in mind, I'm officially training again. I ran to Lakeside Park and the rose gardens. My concept of mileage is completely gone, but I think my route is approximately 1 3/4 miles. As I rounded the gardens--my halfway point--I felt the familiar waking up of my foot bones, the slight tweaking of my right knee, and the burn of my lungs expanding to accommodate more oxygen. Yes, it feels good to run. I am a runner once again.

As for 5Ks in my future, I'd like to hear your suggestions for races held April through July, weekends only. (Northeast Indiana only, please.). Thanks!

Workout: Plyometrics at 9:45 a.m.
Bonus Workout!: 1 3/4 mi (?) run in 15:45
Hours Slept: 6

Breakfast: protein shake
Post-Workout Snack: protein bar and diluted oj
Lunch: 2 turkey and pepper jack cheese on thin whole wheat bread sandwiches
Afternoon Snack: mozzarella cheese stick
Dinner: 12 fish sticks
Post-Workout Snack: Soy Joy bar, rice cake
Caffeine: Red Berry Full Throttle

Days to Go: 81

Review of Week One

So, in conclusion to one week of the P90X program, I am sore, tired, and inspired more than ever to get myself fit. Tony Horton guides Hidi and me through an intense routine comprising of muscle building, fat shredding, and body toning work outs that leave our muscles wasted. But even through the pain, I find myself looking forward to the next sweat drenched workout. For the first time in a long time, I feel good.

Day 8: Aaaaaaaannnnnnnnd REPEAT!

With Week One under my belt, it's time to get started on Week Two of P90X. Time to repeat last week all over again. Which means a great chest, back, and abs workout today, but I'm already dreading tomorrow's plyometrics routine.

I learned another lesson tonight. Make that two. Never workout as a couple when your kids are still awake for the night. Also, rest days must always be on Saturdays when we have all 8 kids (something, luckily, we started doing without considering how busy and tiring our Saturdays are, but we were reminded of this weekend).

We ended up getting a little bit too much rest during what should have been an hour and fifteen minute routine. Between 7 and 9:30 tonight, we passed a screaming Ember back and forth between us as we struggled through the push-ups and did the modified pull-ups (with bands instead of a bar) with ease. Our sit-ups weren't too bad, but we both agreed that everything is much easier and much more fluid the day after yoga.

Now, we have two weeks to figure out how to get in our Sunday workouts. Before the kids wake up is not an option because not only do Aaron's boys rise before the sun, but also we'd likely wake everyone. After everyone is in bed is also not an option, because Aaron needs to be in bed around 9 p.m. (he wakes up at 3 a.m. every day for work). Any suggestions?

Workout: Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X at 7:15 p.m.
Hours slept: 5 1/2

Breakfast: protein shake
Morning Snack: 30 pistachios and 6oz orange juice
Lunch: 2 turkey and pepper jack cheese on thin whole wheat sandwiches
Dinner: beef and broccoli stir fry
Post-Workout Snack: Soy Joy bar and diluted oj

Days to Go: 82

Day 7: One Week Down, 12 to Go!

Giving up pop and chocolate without gradually weaning myself finally got the best of me today in the form of an optical migraine. Aaron worked this morning so it was just me and seven kids (Jake was in Chicago at the Children's Museum with his Bear Scout pack). Within minutes of waking, my vision waned and was replaced with white static dots pulsating like the headache that was to follow. Using the bottom left field of vision, I raced to fold laundry, make beds and feed the kids breakfast before Aaron got home. Then came a pain so sickening that I was brought to my knees gagging.

Lesson learned. I ended up needing caffeine to keep the headache at bay, so I reluctantly cracked open a Full Throttle and blew a gaping hole in my diet plan. This was later followed by pizza and brownies and some vodka drinks. I never gorged myself, but I felt as if I had participated in some sort of food orgy. You see, the P90X nutrition plan is designed so that you're never full, but you're never hungry either. This took some getting used to the first few days (I always was afraid I would get hungry if I didn't eat larger portions), but I've found that the plan actually takes the thinking out of eating for you. I have 5, at most 6, times per day that I prepare food in the kitchen. For the most part, it's all mapped out for me. All I have to do is stay on top of the grocery shopping.

Now that I made a few bad choices, I can safely say I don't want to make any more for a while. I don't feel bad because I ate and drank things that weren't on the list, but my body does. I felt heavier and sluggish just by ingesting all of those fats, greases, and sugars. P90X may have cured me of my pop and chocolate cravings just yet. But as for pizza... time to start getting creative.

Workout: none, Rest Day
Sleep: 8 hours

Breakfast: protein shake
Morning Snack: 1/2 Red Berry Full Throttle
Lunch: southwestern-style soup
Dinner: 3 slices sausage pizza, 2 dark chocolate brownies
Evening Snack: 2 slices sausage pizza
Alcohol: 2 double cran-orange vodkas

Days to Go: 83

Day 6: Why Can’t I Look Like That?

Aaron and I were looking at ourselves in the mirror with our shirts off last night admiring our new muscles. I looked to Aaron and saw a huge improvement in his biceps and triceps, and then I looked to myself and saw… meh. Yes, there is a tiny bit of improvement in muscle tone, but really all that’s changed is my flexibility and how I feel. Not how I look. This will change, but it really ticks me off how quickly guys get in shape compared with women.

One way Aaron had a leg up on me (haha, literally) was today’s workout. Kenpo, largely a cardio self-defense workout, was something Aaron was already well-versed in. I, on the other hand, spent a good chunk of each routine staring at the TV trying to figure out what some of the moves were and where exactly I should place my feet when I punched. Like me, if you’re not familiar with a “jab-cross-hook-uppercut,” look out: Tony Horton does not explain what these moves are, and he and his team move at lightening speed!

Regardless of the difficulty of Kenpo, it was tons of fun. I imagined every “step drag-claw-low punch” and every “three direction kick” was directed at the people who have made my life hell. I broke a sweat that I haven’t experienced in years. I “brought it” with such intensity that I strained my hamstrings a bit more than I should have. With time, I think I will catch up with Aaron.

Workout: Kenpo-X at 10:00 a.m.
Hours Slept: 6

Breakfast: protein shake
Post-Workout Snack: protein bar and diluted orange juice
Lunch: turkey and cheese croissant
Afternoon Snack: mozzarella cheese stick, 3 rice cakes
Dinner: 6oz chicken breast, two baked potatoes with Smart Spread

Days to Go: 84

Day 5: Starting to Feel Results

I was just thinking how awesome it is to have all 5 kids on the same overnight sleep schedule (8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.). It is nothing short of a miracle to have a baby under 6 months old sleeping 10 or more hours every night. Never having to swing my legs out of bed, change a diaper, whip out a breast for a late-night feeding--these are all things I am very grateful for, especially since I read daily about the hell some of my Facebook friends are going through trying to break free of that 3-hour sleep-wake-nurse cycle.

My biggest problem, however, is trying to get little Ember Grey to nap for at least an hour twice a day. This especially comes into play when I'm trying to get my morning workout done. I normally feed Ember her cereal and 1st foods between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m., change her diaper, and then lie her down for *hopefully* an hour and a half so I can do my full P90X routine. Today she didn't sleep more than 30 minutes into my legs and back workout before fussing and crying, summoning me to her cribside to adjust blankies and lights and music just so. This is not the first time this has happened.

When I did workout today, I actually felt pretty good. Yesterday's yoga routine ended up making me feel strong, tall, confident, and flexible. I started and finished the hour with a smile on my face. I really "brought it" today! I made through all but one exercise (90 second wall squat) without stopping early. All the lunges and pull-ups (with resistance band) and squats feel just as good as they did bad. Everytime I felt the burning pinch of old muscle tearing so new muscle can be added, I visualized the legs I used to have, the legs I want to have when I slip on my bikini or a dress this summer. I got so caught up in these images that the minutes just flew by (even if Emi did keep me running in between sets).

I started noticing a change in my ab workout today, too. I hammered through all of my wide-leg sit-ups with good form, I did many more roll-up/V-up pulses, and when it came time to do heels to heaven, I actually could keep my legs straight at a 90-degree angle! This is a major accomplishment for me in getting some of that old flexibility back, and I'm excited to see what the days ahead bring.

Workout: Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X at 9:30 a.m.
Hours Slept: 8

Breakfast: protein shake
Post-Workout Snack: protein bar and diluted oj
Lunch: protein shake, apple
Afternoon Snack: rice cake and mozzarella cheese stick
Dinner: 3 low-fat whole-grain waffles w/syrup, 5 slices turkey bacon

Days to go: 85

Day 4: The Happy Baby

I believe that there is a direct correspondance between how hard you work out and how easy it is to make the bed each morning. The harder you work out, the easier it is to make the bed. It took me all of 30 seconds to make the bed this morning. Each day we get further into the P90X program, the more it looks like we didn't even sleep in our bed. Truth be told, we're sleeping *more* but collapsing into a fatigue- induced coma sometime after 9 p.m. The position we lie down in is the position we wake up in now!

Today's workout was a nice long yoga routine. I wasn't expecting 92 minutes, but I did as Tony said and did my best to turn my brain off (and not look at the clock!). I was confident but bored after the first 30 minutes. Then Minute 31 slapped me in the face. I wobbled and broke poses, my pecs (I have pecs?) cramped, I sweat, and I stretched until fail for the next 45 minutes. Needless to say, I was practically beaming the final 15 minutes of Yoga X when I got to lie down to finish stretching.

Tony Horton was a lot funnier on this disc. Several times he made me laugh hard enough to break one of those complicated poses. The thing that made me laugh wholeheartedly, however, was the "Happy Baby" pose toward the end of the workout. In this pose, you lie on your back, bring your knees to your shoulders, raise your flexed feet toward the ceiling, grab your feet, and then begin to rock from side to side. I laughed until I cried: Ember just discovered her feet this week and could probably spend an hour in this pose!

My biggest problem with today's workout centered on the space in which I work out. An awkward 12ft by 5ft living room is too small for the average woman doing Yoga X. I can just see my husband's fantastically long arms and legs smacking into the bookshelf, the entertainment center, our HD TV as he loses his balance again and again. I was a gymnast back in the day and even I struggled with poses like Prayer Twist for Runner's Pose to Side Arm Balance and Half Moon to Twisting Half Moon. I cringe at these. But I will be able to do them in less than 3 months!

Today's Workout: Yoga X at 9:30 a.m.

Hours Slept: 7

Breakfast: turkey and cheese croissant

Post-Workout Recovery Snack: protein bar and diluted oj

Lunch: two turkey dogs with ketchup, mozzarella cheese stick, apple

Afternoon Snack: two rice cakes, 10z cashews

Dinner: two 3oz tilapia fillets, brown rice, steamed green beans

Days to Go: 86

Day 3: Sneaky Little Muscle Aches

Nine years ago today I gave birth to my oldest child. After 5 hours of labor and just 20 minutes of pushing, Jake Ryan was born. As I held him in my arms, I forgot about my sore legs and my broken tailbone and thought instead about my son.

If only I could tap into that kind of strength every day. Don't get me wrong, I actually did okay and was mostly pain-free at the time of today's P90X workout. However, what began as a little knot of pain in both buttcheeks spread down to my hamstrings and up underneath my shoulder blades by dinnertime.

Even though my body was sluggish this morning, it was not as slow to jumpstart this morning as it was yesterday. The fact that I didn't have to jump or even move my legs past the warm-up almost made me giggle. I thought to myself: I don't even have to move? I can just STAND here and work out? To not have to move any body part except for my arms felt as if I were cheating somehow. Sure my arms hurt, but I rarely had to work my biceps and triceps to fail. That said, I'll probably have to invest in 12 and 15# dumbells very soon, because the 8 and 10# ones were a bit too easy for the first arm workout of the program. I don't want "man" arms or anything, but I do want to feel that sense of accomplishment that comes with graduating to the next weight.

The ab workout felt very different than it did on Sunday. I went straight from working hard to having nothing left to give in a matter of seconds. My all was not something I had to give after one hour of working out. I kept trying, but my body wouldn't perform the way my brain was telling it to. I felt disappointed and frustrated by the time the ab ripper video was over: my abs didn't feel sore and I had a screaming, teething baby to attend to.

By the time I dropped Ember off at daycare this afternoon, the pain had finally settled in and I'm sure I looked like I had been horseback riding or something as I waddled across IPFW's campus to coach my students through their first works cited list. My feet barely lifted off the ground and my left foot kept hitting the break in each sidewalk block. At least I didn't trip, because that would have been funny--one college instructor plummeting straight onto her face with her stick arms folding like putty beneath her.

One last note: though I baked and decorated a yellow cake with chocolate frosting and M&Ms (my favorite) for my son's birthday party tonight, I did not have a slice. I looked around at my family shoveling down every last crumb and gulping down pop until they burped and smiled. I passed my first true nutrition challenge. I shook my head at Aaron who scarfed down a large square of cake with three glasses of diet coke. I love my husband, even if his will is not yet as strong as mine. :)

***For those of you waiting to see things from Aaron's perspective, Aaron will be posting on a weekly basis. His first blog will be here soon!***

Workout: Shoulders and Arms, Ab Ripper X at 9:00 a.m.
Hours slept: 6.5

Breakfast: turkey and cheese croissant, 4oz orange juice
Recovery Snack: protein bar and diluted oj
Lunch: bowl of vegetable soup
Afternoon Snack: rice cake and 1oz cashews
Dinner: two burritos (beans, seasoned meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes), one taco (minus the beans)

Days to go: 87

Day 2: Plyometrics

Ouch. My alarm went off at 6 a.m. this morning and, as I curled up to turn it off, each little ab muscle let out a tiny scream. If my abs could talk...

All morning long it felt like I was dragging my arms and legs across the floor; they were sooo heavy and I was sooo tired. Why didn't I nap yesterday afternoon when Aaron and Ember did? No, I had to play Bejeweled for the first time. Sigh. So now I get to enjoy this lead body feeling, a feeling highly reminiscent of the first week of track practice after a long winter of sedentary living. Each year in high school and college, I gave up pop and chocolate and worked out for a couple hours per day. If I could do this from ages 15-19, I can surely do it now a decade later.

I made my way through the morning routine like a zombie, first dropping Aurelia off at her daycare, then dropping the older kids off at their school before returning home with Ember. I looked at the clock what felt like every five minutes hoping it would be Ember's nap time so I could start today's workout and just be done with it. Ember decided to oblige these unspoken wishes. After her warm bath and a full tummy of prunes and rice cereal, she looked at me with tired eyes, rubbed her fist into her face, and went limp as I picked her up to carry her over to the crib. I looked over to the clock and it was not yet 9 o'clock. Time to get moving.

Tony Horton introduced the "Plyometrics" video as "the X in P90X." Great. The people in today's video were really in shape. There was even a dude with a prostetic leg. No excuses for me today! Instead of boring you with all the details of each exercise, I'll let you know that I did eventually wake up about halfway through the video, just in time to feel my legs get really heavy.

Overall, I learned today that I can't jump for crap anymore, that I have a long way to go to get that jumping power back, and that a heavy-duty sports bra is a must!!! If you're a woman with a bra cup larger than an A doing P90X, you'll need to anchor those breasts down. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem for me, but I'm in my sixth month of breastfeeding Ember and still wear a 32C or D depending on the bra.

Last night I started thinking about what I really want to get out of the P90X program. Sure, my initial goal was to see more toned muscle, but I began to visualize a little more clearly the body I want. I thought of the six pack once again, and those fuller quads and defined calf muscles that have been missing for over two years. I won't get the exact body I had when I ran and cycled every day, but I still remember that body... let's hope my muscles' memory goes back that far, too.

Workout: Plyometrics at 9 a.m.
Hours Slept: 6 1/2

Breakfast: Slim Fast protein shake http://www.slim-fast.com/
Recovery Snack: Special K protein bar http://www.specialk.com/ and diluted orange juice (half water/half oj)

Lunch: Mexican-Style Chicken Tortilla Soup, two turkey dogs with ketchup

Afternoon Snack: 2 mozzarella sticks

Dinner: shrimp stir-fry, 1oz cashews

Alcohol: double vodka cran-orange

Days to go: 88

Day 1: We Did Not Crush "Chest and Back"...

... "Chest and Back" crushed us!

Today's workout: Chest and Back, Ab Ripper X at 11:00 a.m.
Hours of sleep last night: 6 1/2

Breakfast: medium apple, mozzarella cheese stick, 4 baby carrots
Post Workout Snack: protein bar, protein shake
Lunch: Applebee's full portion shrimp and spinach salad (with red onions, red peppers, almonds, bacon, and largely untouched hot bacon vinagrette on the side)
Afternoon Snack: 30 pistachios
Dinner: 2 3oz salmon fillets, 1 cup rice, 1 cup green beans
Pop: 4oz of Barq's root beer (just enough to help eventually wean me from caffeine altogether)

For day 1, we decided to team up and workout together. I occupied the left half of the living room, while Aaron used the larger right half of the living room. The "Chest and Back" workout was a little over an hour and consisted mostly of push-ups and pull-ups. As we began warming up and stretching to Tony Horton's often-cheesy dialogue, I began wondering why the people in the video didn't appear to be the most in-shape or attractive people. What really got me is that Tony is fully-clothed. Why, if you're trying to make money selling your own personal workout, would you cover up your body?! And, on a smaller note, why does the one woman in the video look like the blonde guy from Queer Eye?

My amusement with these observations and questions ended abruptly. It wasn't so funny to make fun of Tony's ridiculous peptalks or Marina's awkward jog once I had to do my first set of push-ups. I was still sore from yesterday's fit test, so I did 20 solid push-ups and 15 "girl" push-ups. After performing those "to failure," I did 3 supported pull-ups and 5 military push-ups. I then did 3 chin-ups and 10 wide pushups. Marina didn't seem funny at all now; in fact, she was performing just as many reps as the other men in the video. As we started to do close-grip pull-ups, the only suitable doorway we had been using for our pull-up bar broke. Yes, the lip above the doorway actually cracked in half, leaving no way for us to finish our chin-ups and pull-ups, so we decided to do bicep curls and military presses instead.

Things only got more humbling from there. I struggled through 5 decline push-ups, 12 "heavy pants," 2 diamond push-ups, 20 lawnmowers on each side, 6 dive bombers push-ups, and a few back flys. At the end of this routine, we did one more set of everything, but it seemed that the first rep of each exercise was our failing point. I will admit that I loved the dive bomber push-ups--I felt like Catherine Zeta-Jones in Entrapment as she slinked her body through all those laser beams.

Feeling the burn across my pecs and the shakiness in my upper arms, I put in the "Ab Ripper X" video for another dose of humble pie. Tony worked out with three new people for 16 minutes, and I was actually able to DO some of these exercises! The In & Outs and Seated Bicycles killed my hip flexors and made my quads burn, while Seated Crunchy Frogs amd Wide Leg Situps were probably my favorite because I had never done them before. The Fifer Scissor was definitely as challenge, but I completed the Hip Rock'n Raise s and Pulse Ups with no problem. The Roll-Up V-Up Combo was hard to get used to and I look forawrd to mastering it. The Oblique V-Ups crunched my sides with more intensity than I have ever felt, The Leg Climb hurt my knees, and the Mason Twist was a complete fail.

If you have no idea what these exercises are, don't worry: until doing them, I had no idea what they were either. All I know know is that I will be able to complete these ab exercises fluidly before the Fourth of July holiday. This means a lot to me because I used to be one of those female athletes that did 1000 sit-ups a day and had a six-pack rivaling that of a teenage boy. Seriously. Too bad I don't have those pictures to post.

The diet was a bit of a change, but not to much of a struggle. I'm not used to eating breakfast until Ember takes her morning nap, but I have a feeling I could not have done half the workout without having fueled my body. Everything was going great until we walked into Applebee's for lunch. All the food smelled delicious, as if I had never tasted a single spice or seasoning before. All the food looked scrumptious, taking on an almost erotic quality. I looked at the spinach dip appetizer photo on the menu, stuck out my bottom lip, and turned the page to look for a salad. Let me tell you, I have never in my life eaten every leaf and topping to a restaurant salad until today. I pushed the red onions to the side and left the hot bacon vinagrette in its plastic cup, but I damn near licked the plate before leaving the restaurant hungry. Or at least I imagined I was hungry.

I found myself occupied with food, what portions were coming next, all day and night. Each meal and snack was great, but I knew that ending the night with dinner and no evening snack would be killer. I decided to turn off the kitchen lights, reject the couch (where most evening snacks are consumed), and head into the bedroom to write. I took with me my mini glass of root beer to help ward off the caffeine withdrawal headache, and I'm trying to convince myself it's gross. I'm doing a pretty good job: it's only half-empty and I'm ready to brush my teeth.

Days to go: 89

Aaron's "Before" Measurements and Fit Test Results

Height: 6' 1" Weight: 178 lbs (clothed)

Chest: 38" Waist: 31" Hips: 36"

Right Thigh: 21" Left Thigh: 21"

Right Bicep: 13" Left Bicep: 12 1/2"

Resting Heart Rate: 50 bpm

Pull Ups: 1

Vertical leap: 11"

Push Ups: 22

Toe Touch: +2" (past toes--This man is flexible!)

Wall Squat: 33 sec

Bicep Curls: 20 (20lb weights)

In & Outs: 30

Heart Rate Maximizer: immediate: 112 bpm

1 min later: 102 bpm

2 min bpm: 90 bpm

3 min later: 82 bpm

4 min later: 64 bpm

Hidi's "Before" Measurements and Fit Test Results

Height: 5' 4 1/2" Weight: 103 lbs (clothed)

Chest: 32" Waist: 26" Hips: 31"

Right Thigh: 16 1/2" Left Thigh: 16"

Right Bicep: 9"

Left Bicep: 9"

Resting Heart Rate: 54 bpm (Most likely inaccurate because I took this after playing with Ember)

Pull Ups: 1/2

Vertical Leap: 11"

Push Ups: 26

Toe Touch: +3 1/2" (past toes)

Wall Squat: 1 min 13 sec

Bicep Curls: 30 (with 10lb weights)

In & Outs: 34

Heart Rate Maximizer: immediate: 102 bpm

1 min later: 94 bpm

2 min later: 90 bpm

3 min later: 86 bpm

4 min later: 80 bpm

Upon completing these tests, I felt just as exhausted and shaky as I did when I did mile repeats at Hillsdale College in 1998. To think that I once did mile repeats on rolling hills with splits of 6:10! It sickens me what I've become, but I know I can get back there; I've just gotta dig deep. Real deep.

I also realized how hard it is to take your own pulse (or your spouse's) when you haven't done it in a good 10 years. All of the heart rate readings for both of us are probably grossly inaccurate, because I kept losing track of our pulses. I'm thinking it may be a good idea to invest in a heart rate monitor.

Aaron's "Before" Photos

(Photos taken by Hidi.)

Hidi's "Before" Photos

This is me 5 months after giving birth to my fifth child, Ember Grey.

As you can see, my goal is not to lose weight, but to add toned muscle.

(Photos taken in our office by Aaron.)

How We Decided to Start P90X

Last month I was watching television during that awfully boring hour after lunch when every channel seems to be flooded with infomercials. I was nursing my 4-month-old daughter, Ember, on the couch and the remote was just out of reach. Of course. The infomercial for P90X came on and I thought, Great, another fake fat-to-thin success story. However, as I watched, I realized that what my husband and I had needed to motivate us was within this program: a trainer who demanded everything out of us for just one hour a day. I wrote "P90X.com" on our whiteboard in the kitchen and let those little black letters sit untouched for a while.

A few days later, Aaron asked what the Website was all about and I explained to him that it was an enticing program to get the two of us back in shape. Now, Aaron had been complaining about how he hasn't looked "cut" since we first met. I haven't been so vocal about my post-baby body, but I've felt the same way. Aaron had worked out for three hours a day back in 2007, and I had been running 4-5 miles per day and lifting weights twice a week. Obviously, that "getting to know each other" phase ate away at our workouts until "working out" was no longer in our vocabularies. Actually, that phrase was uttered quite often, but only with an air of nostalgia.

The conversation about P90X that ensued over the next two weeks led to me purchasing the program last week, and here it sits on my desktop. After recently getting married and having our first child together, Aaron and I have decided that it is finally time to get in shape once again. P90X seems like the only way to do it.

Tonight, we're going shopping to get our kitchen in order for P90X's nutrition plan, and tomorrow we begin the rest of the prep. We're a little bit nervous about taking our "before" photos and posting them here, but what could be better motivation than having the public see our pale, skinny-fat bodies, right? We won't be measuring our body fat or weighing ourselves, because we don't have a body fat tester and our goal is not to lose weight but rather to tone, build, and sculpt our muscles. We will, however, be recording body measurements and the results of our 8-step fit test prior to officially starting P90X.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's results... then Sunday, March 21, will mark Day 1 of P90X for us both. We may or may not workout together (depending on our work schedules and the baby's sleep schedule), but we're excited about the decision we've made to share this journey with you!