Power 90 workout

I am going to do the Power 90 Beach Body program. After having looked at and being excited by the Power 90 X workout I decided that I really wanted to do this. My plan was to save money for a few months then buy the program with the free exercise band, as if the 6 that I have aren't enough. However, while talking about my plan a friend offered to loan me her copy of the program.

My reasons:
1. I really like the Power 90 X commercial and still want to be able to accomplish it, but I'm not in good enough shape.
2. I need to build muscle while continuing to lose weight.
3. I wanted a program that told me exactly what to do. The less options I have the better. (more on this later)

I decided after not being able to meet the minimum requirements for P90X that I needed to do something to help me get to that level of fitness. I could have tried to go it alone by just trying to work on different things. However, I wanted a program that was specific. Something that would push me to work out at a certain pace and push me to be as good as I could be. I didn't want a cardio program, I wanted a weight training program. I have looked online many times and there are not many Muscle building videos out there. Almost every video is for abs or cardio. Almost all muscle building programs are a book with hundreds of exercises where you are told to pick out what you want to do.

My fear is that the reason I haven't made the progress that I really want is that I have not picked out the right exercises in the past. I own several of these books and have lifted weights off and on for years, yet I'm tiny and not nearly as strong as I want to be. One of the best programs that I did was the Body for Life program. Bill Phillips has a great program, but it still has a pick and choose attitude when it comes to lifting weights. Power 90 has you run through the exercises quickly with the video.

Cardio is going to be an issue for me. I am in the middle of training for a marathon and don't plan on stopping. I also don't plan on completely killing myself with 3 cardio videos a week as well as running 3 times a week. My runs are as long or longer than the cardio videos are, so I get at least as much cardio work as the program expects. However, I may still try to squeeze one day a week of the Power 90 Cardio in along with my 3 runs a week. The extra exercise may be good for me to lose weight.

I think that this program will work. It's not a magical program, it can still be short-circuited with bad eating, but sticking to it will work. Even though I'm training for a marathon, I basically only exercise those 3 days a week. This program is 30-40 minutes of exercise 6 days a week. The extra exercise will help to burn enough calories and build enough muscle that my mostly healthy eating should be enough for me to lose more weight and look better.

This program is not for beginners. If you have never lifted at all before, this is not where you want to start. I feel for you, because there isn't much out there for true beginners, but this program will be a waste of your money if you have never been in shape and are a couch potato. Start with something easier. I keep waiting for someone to release a "from Spud to Stud 2 year program" to get people from absolutely nothing into great shape, without cranking up the intensity so much at the beginning that people want to quit. It's not until a great program like this, that is a lot of fun is finally released that a large portion of Americans will be able to finally get to the better bodies that they desire. As it is now, every program out there sells solely on the quick fix 30 days to look better. The reality is that it's almost never that way and too many people spend their hard earned money on crappy products that were a sham to start with. Fitness is not an overnight thing, it's a life long commitment. It's hard and tiring. There will be days that you don't want to do it. However, it's the act of exercising when you don't want to exercise and pushing yourself when you'd rather sleep, that will ultimately get you to where you want to be.