Ab Ripper X

Date: March 4th

If you're tried this, you probably hate Tony Horton. It's only sixteen minutes and seven seconds, but within that time period, you do 349 ab crunches of different sorts. Now that's a lot! It's a very brutal 16 minutes, but according to those that have really tried it, it works!

Now I know that I start my challenge on the 25th of March, but I remember trying ab ripper X a few years ago. It was BRUTAL. So this time, I wanted to get a head start! I did ab ripper X this morning (ouchhh) but I did not try to give it 100% at all because I don't want to give up so soon. I intend on working up to really following the 16 minute routine. My goal is that by June 25th, I will LOVE these 16 minutes!

As always, I'll keep you posted :)

Date: March 11th 

I've kept my word! I did Ab Ripper X at least every other day since March 4th, including a few extra times in between since I am not doing many other workouts at the moment. Now that I have the elliptical, I'll go back to only doing it every other day. (Also, I'll try doing cardio on the elliptical first and doing Ab Ripper X right away since many people say your abs work much harder and more efficiently after doing cardio.)

Anyway - it's been great! I was definitely sore on day 2 (rest day) because I hadn't done such an intense routine in awhile, but it's been getting better. On day 1, I just did as many as I could of eat set, but starting on day 3, I had a plan. I did 15 reps of everything (they do 25) for a few days, and then moved onto 18. This morning was still 18, so in two days, I'll move up to 20. I'll stay there for a day or two, and then move up to 23 and then finally to 25. I know it sounds like I'm "weak" but it really takes awhile to get used to, and I don't want to be so sore that I can't do it every other day. And I see nothing wrong with taking my time and enjoying what I do :) Do you?

Well, I unfortunately didn't take my measurements prior to starting but in two weeks, I'll let you know if I see a difference (before I start P90X). I do feel good about it, and that matters too. Staying happy is a big part of continuing to work out. If I'm bummed, then I might stop so this is good! And I know, we haven't seen a significant weight loss - does that mean Ab Ripper X isn't good? Not at all - I haven't been completely healthy every day so it's hard to tell. Hopefully the next few weeks make a difference for some motivation! :)