Guest Post From My Baby Sister!

Much has been accomplished today. I survived (just barely) Insanity Max Interval Circuit. Then I did some work around the house while the littles played. We ran to pick up a few things at the grocery store. Afterward, they wanted to have a picnic on the deck.

The remainder of the day included more housework, homework and dinner. Exciting stuff, I know.

Which is why I was super-excited when my sister, Melissa, let me know that she had written a post about completing her P90X/Insanity hybrid! As fascinating as my day has been, I was pretty sure her hybrid success was just a bit more enthralling.

Melissa is my baby sister by nearly 11 years. Growing up, I absolutely loved having a sister that much younger. We had a lot of fun together when I bossed her around played with her. She's funny. She's an athlete. And she can dance like nobody's business to "Gonna Make You Sweat." 

Melissa with baby girl on Christmas 2012

Melissa got married last year. She had done a little P90X just prior to her wedding, so we had some fun with that at the reception. I call this look "constipated."

Without further ado, here's Melissa's post!

After I got married, I stopped doing P90X because I didn’t have the equipment/space in our 1 bedroom apartment (I think that was just an excuse).   After several months of marriage, I realized I had gained some weight.  I started working out sporadically, including a few P90X videos (I didn’t have the chin up bar, so I couldn’t do all the videos).  I ran a half marathon in November, but I hadn’t really lost any weight. (Honestly, I was not prepared for the half marathon… at all, but I did finish!)  I knew I needed to do something on a consistent basis, instead of doing random workouts with no schedule.  I got Insanity for Christmas, and began the P90X/Insanity hybrid on January 1, 2013. (SHOUTOUT: Jennifer introduced me to the hybrid!)  In early April, I completed the hybrid!  During the 3 month hybrid schedule, I lost 8 pounds and dropped one dress size.  I feel great!  I didn’t take any measurements or pictures, but my clothes fit better, and I have wayyyy more energy.  I tend to look for opportunities to take a few extra steps, including using the stairs at work (which is both great and terrible because I’m on the 4^th floor haha). 

Overall, I love the hybrid schedule.  For me, it is the perfect balance of cardio and weightlifting.  Insanity is incredibly mentally challenging, so I like just doing it every other day.  I would definitely recommend the hybrid schedule.  If you feel like Insanity is too much, then start out with P90X only, and build up to the hybrid. 

I feel like I should note that I didn’t drastically change my eating habits during this round of the hybrid.  I tried to be a little more aware of what I was eating, but by no means did I eat “clean.”  I still don’t.  That doesn’t mean it’s not important.  It just means that trying to change your health is a slow process.  I needed to focus on getting exercise incorporated as a part of my daily routine before trying to tackle my eating issues.  I have started a second round of the hybrid, and I plan to try to pay more attention to what I eat during this round.  It is a slow process, and I think it is important to realize that it is impossible to completely change lifestyles overnight, but you have to start somewhere.    

Thanks, Melissa! I'm so proud of you for sticking with it!!! You look great!