what's power90 all about??

power90 is a product of beacbody.com and is a 90 days fitness boot-camp led by super-trainer (and eye candy), tony horton. i came across their website one and a half years ago, whilst searching for some kind of a sign that a sexy, toned and lean body can be made (heh!). i was despairing over my expanding girth and bottom. i wanted my thighs to stop rubbing against each other. i wanted my nice, sculpted arms back. i wished my back didn't make me look like the hunchback of notre dame. you get the idea ...

being the totally gullible person that i am, i hungrily took in all the information on that site, went through all the photo message boards of the users of the program (transformation photos) and went to ebay to bid for the DVDs (i won and it's cheaper!). i then realised that i didn't have a DVD player. so without much of a cautious peak in my wallet, i went out the very next day to purchase a DVD player (that sucker can even play bootleg copies, guaranteed! heh heh).

as i waited (impatiently) for the DVDs to arrive, i trawled the chat rooms at beachbody and bonded with some of the seasoned users of the program. they are a helpful and wonderful bunch, dispensing tips on how to do the routines effectively. in the meantime, i tried to clean up my eating habits. oh boy, that was a tough one. i was on atkins prior to discovering power90 and had lost more than 20lbs but couldn't keep it off (we'll talk about food in another post).

anyways, the DVDs finally arrived and i eagerly viewed the program before attempting it. as it is essentially a 30 mins workout, 6 days a week (with one day rest), i decided that i'd start on a tuesday (i have my reasons for making monday my rest day). we were advised to take "before" photos and measurements and that i did one day before the workout. i prepared a 90 day calendar/chart to monitor my progress.

so what is power90 all about??

it's a really easy fitness program that can be used by anyone from the age of 12 to 99. of course people with known health problems should consult their physician before starting any fitness programs. it is essentially a 30 mins workout session, combining cardio and sculpting activities, to be done 6 days a week, for 90 days. easy peasy. 6 days a week, 3 days of cardio and 3 days of weight training.

i started out with the sculpting exercises, using my 2lbs weights. they were a tad too light for me, but i wasn't planning on killing myself in the beginning of the program.

sculpt:
warm up (yoga style)
push ups (oh what a wonderful exercise!)
weight training circuit (back, biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest)
lunges and squats
cool down

i had expected that the cardio would kill me, but it was simple enough for even my 58 year old mother to follow. the moves are basically low impact and simple and depending on your stamina and ability, you decide on the intensity of the exercise.

cardio:
warm up (yoga style)
power yoga (ouch!)
low impact (knee lifts, open knee lifts, cross knee lifts)
high impact (jacks, running-on-the-spot, run-lunge)
lateral x
kicking
punching
cool down
100 abs
stretch

so there you go. that's what power90 is all about.