Thursday, March 5, 2009

Fitness Update: 3 weeks of P90X. Wetsuit on the way. Gym membership given the boot.

As people try to cut down expenses in the face of bad economic times, people are leaving their gym memberships in favour of cheaper options. Since I've started the P90X program, I've stopped going to Extreme Fitness. (Mind you, this does not really save me any money because I'm still paying for a gym membership that I don't use, but I am NOT going to renew it.) People say that workout videos and home gym solutions will do well as people try to get fit on the cheap. I suspect that running will also be popular, as the only starting cost is a pair of good running shoes.

Concerning P90X, I like it. When you sign up at Extreme Fitness, they give you a hard sell for a personal trainer who will tell you how to get into shape... but any sensible person has to say no because the price is so ridiculous. What P90X does is set up a workout schedule for you based on the same principles that an expensive personal trainer would do. I'm on week 3 of the program, and I'm feeling pretty good. Long neglected muscles are now back into acceptable form. I believe everything thus far is setting the foundation for the next 2/3 of the program. I'll keep you updated on how it goes.

At some point in the next few weeks, my wetsuit will arrive. I have to say that I've been slacking on my swim training because work has been getting crazy. I'm also on the look out for a bigger swimming pool, as my kick off puts me halfway across the pools I'm currently using. I've got the basic mechanics of the front crawl and breathing. I'm now working on improving my form, speed, and endurance. It's pretty awesome! I can actually swim after all these years. I'm signing up for the Milton Try-a-Tri. At this point, I am confident that I will not drown during this event.

As a final note, I weighed myself on the Wii Fit, and it still says I'm obese... but I'm making progress. My goal: Non-obese by the end of this month.

5 comments:

celestialspeedster said...

A personal trainer provides both knowledge and motivation.
As my experience in the gym will attest to, not every meathead knows how to use the equipment properly and safely.
And if every person who bought a video or home gym had the motivation to workout regularly, we would not have an obesity problem in North America because EVERYONE has a video or some sort of exercise equipment in their home.

Flocons said...

True that a workout video cannot replace a living breathing human being. I don't know if you've ever paid for a personal trainer at a gym, but let me tell you that the money I save in NOT hiring one is motivation enough for me to do it on my own.

celestialspeedster said...

I enlisted a personal trainer when I first started going to a gym because I wanted to be taught how to use the equipment properly and to get started in the right direction. And we know at least one of our friends who became a fine human specimen due to personal training; I shall call him Senan C.
But really, has the savings of not having a personal trainer motivated you to visit the gym regularly or use your Wii Fit?

Flocons said...

You'll have to wait until my next fitness update to find out. :)

Crystal said...

Hi! I actually just started P90X this week. Intense stuff! You're getting close to finishing your 1st phase. Congrats! Keep it up!