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P90X Style - Crow Anyone?

The Good the Fat and the Hungry

by Karla Carrington (Subscribe to Karla Carrington's posts)
Aug 12th 2009 11:00AM

Categories: The Good, The Fat and The Hungry, Fitness

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Photo: Patricia Greene-Maher
My first television deception came at the tender age of 9. Even worse, it came in the name of God. My younger sister Willette and I had fallen hopelessly in love with the son of NY televangelist Rev. Ike. Next to Michael Jackson of the Rock Wit You era was Ike, Jr. (Xavier), both deeply embedded in our young hearts. We could see Michael Jackson pretty easily but to see Rev. Ike's son, we had to watch Rev. Ike's weekly services. One night, Rev. Ike offered a gold bejeweled prayer crown if we sent a donation of any amount. The sight of that gold crown and those shining jewels had us both mesmerized. This crown was fit for a king, and we knew the gold speckled bible would never be ours for a whopping $50! But the crown for any donation, we could do. We pooled a donation of $5 and sent away for our golden bejeweled prayer crown. We had no intentions of praying, but the crown was truly a sight to behold.

The day after we mailed our donation, it became habit to immediately run to Mom after school to see if it had arrived. What were just a few weeks (I'm sure) seemed like years, but the day finally came. We went to rush Mom when she said those three magic words -- you've got mail! Willette and I went to retrieve the package only to find that only an envelope waited. Thinking that this was a security measure in advance of the crown's arrival due to its worth, we opened the envelope only to find a shower cap with Rev. Ike's hand print atop instead of our wonderful bejeweled crown. The state of North Carolina had never seen two sisters any more disappointed than we were. No gold, no jewels, not even a crown at all. It was, in fact, an old school gheri curl cap. Rev. Ike and God had done us wrong.

From that day forward, I have hated most televangelists (not God though, we cool), infomercials and anyone making promises from the TV screen. I just don't trust it and thought people who did were pure suckers. This includes my elderly Dad who later in life needed infomercial rehab. He would order any and everything off TV. This guy ordered the bible in Braille, and he wasn't even blind! One more reason to hate infomercials.

Well, I hope crow is low in calories because I'm about to eat some -- P90X style. Would that be considered power crow eating? I watched Tony Horton's P90X infomercial and seriously was waiting for an old man to roll down the aisle in a wheelchair, only for Tony to lay hands on his forehead and the man jump up and do cartwheels because P90X saved his life, blah, blah, blah. Although this didn't happen. Instead, other regular folks like me talked about how great the program was and how much stamina they now had, how their energy level had gone through the roof and how blah, blah, blah.

Fortunately for me, my neighbor had already done an infomercial, so I was able to watch with an open mind. Now that I have P90X and am using it, not only do I have an open mind, but I've got more stamina, more energy, and all the blah, blah, blahs that I tuned out? They really do apply. I am not only pleasantly surprised by the benefits I am experiencing already, but I have sparked at least eight of my co-workers to get on the P90X train with me. One thing about P90X that I somehow overlooked was its flexibility. Depending on what my goals are -- building muscle or burning fat, for example -- P90X addresses it. But don't be fooled couch-dwellers, this program is no walk in the park. If you're not interested in doing what it takes to get ripped, this ain't for you. It really is hard work, but I'm finding every day that it is worth it. It thrills me to know that my results rest fully in my hands. If I do the work, no doubt I will get the results. My expectation is not to be a supermodel. In the words of one of the execs in my office who's decided to join, "I just wanna look good naked."

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