P90X - My Thoughts

I finished the P90X Classic program last week and I wanted to give my view. I am absolutely thrilled at what I have accomplished in this first go round. Thinner in the waist, build in my arms and chest, better cardio, more alert, sleep better at night, and most of all - drastically cut down my alcohol intake which was contributing to the big gut.

From a physical point of view I didn't get the ripped abs that the informercial keeps pushing. There were some exercises I just couldn't do. In the Ab Ripper X DVD some require serious core strength and I'm still not there. Example: Mason Twists: While seated lift your legs and bring them in half way to your chest. For about 1 minute clasp your hands together and twist to your left and right touching the floor for 50 reps (plus the bonus). That is the last one of the routine - oh, I forgot to mention you are moving as fast as you can!

I want to stress that I am not disappointed at all. I have gone from pants that were a tight 42" waist to a loose 38" waist. My shirt is down 1 full size and could probably could go down a 1/2 more but I can't button the neck. It was great going through my closet and getting rid of the clothes that are way to big. Spring will be the next clean out as I'll need new shorts and shirts.

The Diet: It may take a bit to get used to the diet. Phase 1 is the first part and is called the Fat Shredder. You're allotted so much Protein, Carbs and Fats. You can follow the "blocks" or allocations of each for every meal and snack or follow their menu. A lot of eggs, cottage cheese, lean ground beef, turkey, pork, etc.

They have a 7 day menu laying out what you should eat for your 3 main meals and 2 snacks. You also have a protein shakes twice a week for breakfast, if you follow their menu. I followed their menu to get used to it, and it's a lot of work to prep for some these meals. Thank God for my wife! She was preparing these meals and Sundays was 3-4 hours getting them ready for the week.

After the 1st month you go to Phase 2 which is more carbs and less proteins. Phase 3 ups the carbs more. For myself I was a heavy guy and I should have stayed in Phase 2 if not trade off between Phase 1 and 2 in the final 30 days.

Bottom Line: If you were thin when you started or you need the energy, go to Phase 3 diet. If not, stick with Phases 1 and 2.

Starting the routine: I started my routine on a Wednesday which was luck since the longest workout - Yoga X - is an hour and a half long. Saturday was a great day to do that since I could take the morning to do it. The CLASSIC routine is what I started with. By the end of 90 days I could feel it in my body. This workout was 6 days a week with 3 days of weights and 3 days of cardio. the 7th day is either rest or the program X-Stretch.

Bottom Line: If this is your first time in a looooong time working out, start with the LEAN program. More cardio and using light weights with more repetitions. It will be easier on your body and if you decide to do another round you'll be in shape for the Classic program.

Equipment: I bought the Beachbody Chin Up Bar. This is one of the main pieces of equipment needed for the program. I really like this, it's compact and fits in the door frame. No fuss no muss. You can also use it for push ups for a greater range of motion but I haven't tried it yet. (Funny how this was never pushed in the videos!)

I also purchased the Power block adjustable dumbells. Here is an excerpt from my October 8th posting.

I picked up the Powerblock adjustable dumbells. Great units and a lot cheaper that Bowflex. These start at 15 lbs and go to 50 and adjust in 5 lb increments. The Bowflex has 2 different sets, 1 goes up to 52.5 lbs and adjusts in 2.5 lb increments while the other set does the same and goes to 90lbs. The difference:

Powerblock: $299 for the set

Bowflex 52.5Lbs: $399

Bowflex 90Lbs: $599

(Price from Dick's Sporting Goods)

For the starter I highly recommend the Powerblock.

They also recommend a Yoga block. I used the styrofoam packaging the Powerblock was in. Just a useful. I picked up a heart rate monitor from Dick's just to keep an eye on my heart rate. It wasn't one of the necessary items to have but it is informative.

Overall: I really enjoyed the program. It is tough getting started but once you get into the routine it's not bad. I personally should have started out with the lean program first to really burn calories to lose weight and get my body used to lifting, the moves, and stretching. It would have been an easier transition to the CLASSIC round where heavier weights are involved.

I am now into the LEAN program in week number 2. I'm following the workout routine that is outlined but I will follow Phase 1 of the diet program through most of it. I plan to do 5 weeks of Phase 1 and alternate the next weeks between Phase 1 and 2.

For follow on after this program I'm going to check out some of the other P90 programs as well as Turbo Fire and Insanity. I'm not worried if I don't look like the people in those commercials after the 90 days, this is a LIFE LONG COMMITMENT, not a 3 month quick fix.

P90X Lean - Round 2 - Day 5

Got through Yoga yesterday, I don't think I'll ever get used to it but I'll keep pushing myself. Can't improve with a negative attitude. Today is Legs and Back with Ab Ripper X. Another lifting day but only the 2nd lifting workout within the week.

My shoulder is coming around but the knees are still sore, guess I need to pop some Advil. I'm not one to pop the pills but I can't keep this up. I like the LEAN for the change of pace and the overall change in the workouts. Total body confusion. I feel the higher cadrio workout after the 3 months of lifting will help me burn more calories and drop more weight. We'll see. BRING IT!

P90X Lean - Round 2- Day 2

I'm into day 2 of Round 2 of the P90X program. I'm on the LEAN program this time, trying to really drop the weight and give my body some recovery time. It's a nice change spending more time on the cardio than the lifting of the weights. The trade off is that you are using your body weight doing more push ups, dips etc.

Yesterday was Core Synergystics to kick it off and today was Cardio X. Tomorrow we're back to the lifting with Shoulders and Arms and Ab Ripper X. It is a nice change from the predictability of the routines. Although you change over the 6 day period and switch routines at the conclusion of the month, this is more of a radical change.

Now we're getting into lighter weights and higher reps. I need to adjust the mind not to put too much weight on while going for the 12-15 repetitions. I'll be interested to see how I progress over the next 28 days to see what has changed. It's a work in progress. BRING IT!!

P90X - Graduation Time

Well I did it. Did my P90X program for the 90 days. I did run into a minor problem this week missing a couple of days but I stuck with it. Now It's time to give my body a rest. I can feel it especially in my left shoulder.

I didn't get the ripped abs that is really pushed in the infomercial but I did slim down a lot and started to see definition in my upper body. For the next couple of weeks I'll be doing light workouts consisting mostly of Cardio X, Core Synergistics and Kenpo X. I figure in a couple of weeks I'll start the lean program, this way I'll be doing another 90 days but with less weight. My 3rd round will be back to the classic and then after that we'll what else is out there.

Tomorrow I'll be doing my measurements and concluding photos to see the before and after progress. I'll be writing my summary and thoughts in the next few days, let me know what you think.

P90X - Day 87

Well I'm down to the last 3 days of the P90X program. Week 13 is just about half way through and I can feel my body giving a sigh of relief! I probably didn't make any more gains between the holidays and the running around. I was good over the holidays with my diet but I did treat myself like a couple of Italian pastries, couple glasses of wine at some of the parties, etc. Overall I stuck to my diet and fought through the pain to complete the workouts.

As I wrap up the program I'll post my thoughts as to the overall effectiveness of P90X, the diet guide, workouts, some tips I believe helped me and what my plans are going forward. I would like to hear some feedback form other P90X users and what people thought of my trek through this routine.

Merry Christmas!!

I want to wish all a Merry Christmas today. How the time has flown. I have switched up the routine this week and taking my day off today and pushing everything back one day. It's good for a couple of reasons:

1. Spend time with the family. We finished opening the gifts and now we're all taking turns getting ready of the day at my brother's house. Good times and good food ahead.
2. Give the body a break!

As I come down to completing the FIRST 90 days I can tell my body needs a break. It's been taking longer to recover from the pervious workouts so I figured this was an appropriate day to take off. As I look ahead at completing the first 90 days I'm trying to figure out what would be good for the 2-3 week break I'll take. Starting back up will depend on how the body feels. I'm probably going to do the lean workout using less weight and more reps. That should assist in the recovery.

Starting the program I looked ahead to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas to see what improvements I'll get out of P90X. More than I ever expected! Not only a body transforming but mentally changing my habits as well. Yesterday I didn't over indulge on food; I ate vegetables as for snacks instead the high fat items; Had a couple of glasses of wine to toast instead of killing a couple of bottles. The best part is I feel great!!

Merry Christmas to everyone, especially Beachbody and Tony Horton! Thanks for the program and helping me finally get me back on the right track!!

P90X - Day 72

It's been a while since my last posting and has been hectic at work trying to close out the year and getting the Christmas shopping in and running here and there, well you go through the same thing.

One thing I wasn't going to stop was the P90X program. I've got a lot vested in and the results have been amazing. I wish I did purchase body calipers at the beginning of the program. My weight started out at 223 and I've gotten down to 211 as of this past Tuesday which 12 pounds is 12 pounds. The noticeable change has been my clothing. Extra large shirts I needed to wear is now extremely baggy. Pants from 42" down to 38" are now getting loose. I'm hoping by day 90 I'll be in 36". I never would have thought that 3 months ago. So at this point I'm not worrying about weight. I'll be ordering the calipers for round 2!

The body transformation has been great! Although I won't see the ripped abs or sculpted arms I have slimmed down and have definition in my body. Being as big as I was wasn't putting any unreal expectations on myself, except may the decrease in my weight. I have already excepted that it may be P180X or P270X that I get the body I want. I am not disappointed at all - in fact thrilled!!

I will be doing this program from now on and eventually expanding to Insanity and others to change it up. P90X has brought the discipline that I seriously lacked before. I'm looking forward to spring and summer for once since I won't be wearing my "fat" shorts and t-shirts. It will be great wearing clothes that fit and feeling good about my self!

2 1/2 weeks to go. Can't wait to do the comparison! BRING IT!

P90X - Day 60 - Phase 3

Well it's been a wee since my last posting and a lot has been happening. My daughter went in for major surgery last week to have a cyst (or tumor) removes that was the size of a melon. For the last 2 weeks we had been running between her Gynecologist, the Oncology doctor to determine if it may be cancerous and ultra sounds to see how big this thing was. Well everything went better than expected. IT was determined that the cyst was benign, no issue to remove it, she made great progress in the hospital and was able to come after 2 days and is recuperating nicely at home.

I'm now into Phase 3 and still can't believe how fast this program is moving. I'm behind on getting my weight for this week and my pictures taken for the completion of Phase 2. I'm still making great progress using my belt as the guide, down another hole. My jeans that were snug before fit comfortably now. I see a change in my strength as well.

Now that I'm in week 9 I can look back at week 5 and see how much I improved. I've been able to increase the weight on the dumbbells while maintaining at least the 8-10 reps. Pushups that were a struggle before I'm now doing 20-25 easily. There are still some struggles like the "dive bombers" but I'm doing what I can and modifying where I need to. I still use a chair on the chin up bar because of a bad shoulder but I still push hard trying to use it only as a "guide".

The next change will be to the diet. It's been quite a bit of work (actually a lot and God bless my wife for making my meals). Now that I'm into Phase 3 I've gotten a better idea of how to mix and match the foods within the groups and it will be easier when the next 90 day program starts. For now I'm sticking with the menu to complete this 90 day program.

At this point if you have followed my odyssey you can "see" how things have changed for me and that sticking with the P90X program will change you. If contemplating, stop! Make the commitment and go for it! You will not be sorry!

P90X - The Day After

Well I survived the holidays and it wasn't as bad as I thought. Usual holidays for me was overeating and and drinking - especially the alcohol. But this year I stayed on course with my diet and treated myself as well. I made sure I timed my eating with the rest of the family and swapped my fish meal with turkey. I did sample the other foods like stuff shells, stuffed cabbage, stuffing, mashed potatoes but just about a fork full of each - again a taste. Desert was 1 SMALL Italian cookie (I wished the cannolis were there!). The alcohol was 2 SMALL glasses of wine and 1 lite beer. That was it, I SURVIVED!!!

Getting through Thanksgiving will help me with Christmas and back to back meal days. Christmas Eve (for me) was for the party and Christmas Day was the food. I'll still be watching myself very closely since I'll have about 10 days to go to complete my 90 day program. Man this has flown by by the complements I'm getting now is making this trek well worth the while. Thanks to Beachbody and Tony Horton for the program; Glenn Glaser my Beachbody coach for the guidance; and Matt Noyes for turning me on to P90X and his guidance and motivation to bring it!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating this holiday. It's time to take a moment and reflect on what you have. Hope all enjoy their day!

P90X and the Holidays

As we in the United States get ready for the Thanksgiving holiday it will be my first real test to put my will power to work. Now I'm not making it sound like it's been a cake walk so far sticking to the nutritional plan that comes with P90X program, there have been some tough days especially over the last couple of weeks. I have felt my body change - looking for fuel to burn. The first 5 weeks I was burning off the fat that I have. Now I'm starting to burn what I take in and can tell when it's been about 3 hours since the last time I ate.

I did talk about my fall off last Saturday eating outside my diet (but that fried calamari was DELICIOUS!) and a stretch of over 4 hours. The time may not seem much but when you get your body on a schedule it's expecting t0 get replenished.

I'm not much of a sweets person but my Aunt will be bringing over Italian pastries and my favorite - cannolis!!!! I just might take one of those. My thing will be to stay away from the wine, but I haven't touched any since October 6th so I think I'll be good. I 'll be adding some cardio this week for insurance.

P90X Day 45 - Fighting Through the Pain

Still going strong through the 2nd half of Phase 2 but almost a set back this week. I went and picked up our Christmas tree this week and when I was bringing it downstairs I slipped and went about half way down on my butt. I tried to brace myself with my left arm as I initially slipped but it didn't stop me. At the time the only thing that hurt was my butt and pride.

I did my workout that day and the next but Wednesday's was tough to get through. When I went to brace myself I must have jammed my shoulder and whacked the back of my arm. Even the heel of my hand was sore. Since this was Shoulders, Back and triceps there was a lot of push ups in this routine and I really struggled to keep up with the last round. I ended up moderating a lot of the moves, mostly starting out in a regular push up form and going to my knees to take the pressure off my left shoulder.

I came too far to use that episode as an excuse to skip a couple of days. Moderate your moves where you have to and push more where you can. You'll feel great that you did.

P90X Day 42 - Week 6 Completed

Week 6 is now in the history books and today is rest. I was going to do a cardio workout but getting home late didn't help the cause. I wanted to take this posting to review what happen Saturday. I went through my regular Yoga workout, had my breakfast and snack and got ready to go to a Christening. Unfortunately I forgot a snack as emergency food and I should have brought it. First day I broke my diet.

By the time we got there I was starving. Appetizers came out and I broke down. It was fried calamari and I had my share. You talk about guilt, sheezzz! But it was good! No bread, no alcohol and no dessert. Baked fillet for the main meal and lots of seltzer water!

That ride home I could feel the grease sitting there, or at least I did. I think it was more on my mind of breaking the diet than actually eating the food. I skipped supper and had a protein bar as a snack.

My point here is you can go off the diet and not feel guilty. Stay within reason, don't over indulge. I was right back on track the next day making sure all my food is correct and the workouts were more intense. With the holidays coming up this will be my biggest test.

I didn't lose any ground this week which I'll take away as a positive. Clothes are getting looser and that is the big measuring stick. I can start to see more definition in the mirror, another motivation point. I'm looking on line to find body calipers to see what my true body mass is.

P90X - Day 36 - 2nd Week Begins

Today began the 2nd week of Phase 2 and another intense workout on the shoulders, chest and triceps. Intense because of the push ups. I have a weak left shoulder from an injury when I was younger and it limits the amount of reps I can do on certain exercises especially when you get half way into the workout. No excuses - I still push on, moderating more than I like but working to almost fatigue on those last reps. That's the key to growth. I should have done the pictures tonight or Friday after a good pump - nah, that would defeat the purpose.

I welcome comments and feedback on what I'm doing or your own P90x experiences.

P90X - Day 35 - Rest and Recap

Today is rest day and it's timing was perfect as I could use the break being the 2nd one I have taken since starting the program. As I look back on the past 5 weeks I'm impressed what the program has done. I took my 30 day results and pictures and there is a difference. Here are the improvements I made:

I've also seen a drop of weight this past week getting to 213 where I haven't been for a while. I thought I would have been further along - about 10 pounds lost - but as my coach and friends tell me, don't get hung up on the weight. If the clothes are fitting better you're going in the right direction. Watching yourself move down the belt loops is a rush. It pushes me to keep going.

As far as the pictures I see a difference but that was mostly the reduction in the fat I had accumulated. Phase 2 you begin to work on increasing muscle size by the weights you use and really isolating the muscle groups.

I'm looking forward to completing the next 30 days to see how much more I progressed.

P90X - Day 32

Yesterday was my Yoga workout and I'm getting more comfortable with the core moves. First time I was able to do all the push ups required from plank to upward dog. The first couple were tough but the shoulder joints loosened up it was fine. I'm getting at the balancing portion but still have trouble with the flexibility. Overall I was pretty impressed with the overall workout. Today is Legs and Back with a dash of Ab Ripper X.

Of note: I'm glad I started on a Wednesday which lines the yoga workout on a Saturday. With this being the longest workout and requires a lot of concentration to move into and hold the poses, a Saturday workout fits this bill nicely.

P90X - Day 31 - Back and Biceps

Sorry about the missing a couple of postings but had some issues the last couple of days but didn't miss any workouts.

Today was back and biceps and I followed the suggestion in the book - this is the time to build size so up the weight. And I did. And boy do I feel it. This workout out today focused strictly on these 2 groups and you really worked them. My biceps, back, shoulder joints are still sore still sore from this mornings workout. I did get a great pump out of it. The toughest part is trying to figure out the weights to use since this is a new routine. You start at one weight and then try to adjust up or down and then catch up. Suggestion: Look back to Phase 1 and find the same types of routines and use that weight as a gauge. It will at least get you in the ball park and cut down the time of adjusting the weights.

Tomorrow is the day to the measurements. I know I'm a couple of days off but time didn't permit it. I've got my photos from the day before I started and I'm anxious to see the difference.

Yoga tomorrow - I've got to really get my head into this one. It's the longest workout and still tough without the flexibility. I'm hoping to get over this hurdle to really start to get the benefit from this and the Ab Ripper X workout. For now, I'll do my best and forget the rest.

P90X - Day 29 - Phase 2 Begins

Today was the first day of Phase 2 and I get the muscle confusion. Today was chest, shoulders, and triceps. I can really feel today's workout in the shoulders, even when doing the triceps. A lot of pushups isolating the chest where you didn't do "normal" ones. I like the variety Tony brings into the workouts. One example is starting off in a normal pushup position and then sliding one arm to a wide stance, doing the pushup, sliding that one in and the other out and doing another. You work the same muscle groups but attacking them from a different angle.

This is also grouping the muscles differently. Phase 1 grouped chest and back then shoulders and arms. Not letting the muscles get used to a routine forces the muscles to work differently and promotes growth. I'm enjoying this and looking forward to what the next 30 days bring.

Do you're best, forget the rest!!

P90X - Last Day of Phase 1

Today marks the completion of Phase 1 and I must admit I am surprised at the results. Tomorrow I weigh myself and take the measurements to see how I did. I know I'm on the right track just by going by my clothing numbers don't lie.

I'm looking forward to changing the routine and getting back to the workouts using weights and changing the diet around. This was starting to wear on me a bit and temptation to grab a cheat food once and a while was growing. Hopefully adding new foods back in will take the temptation away.

I do hope everyone in the United States exercised their right to vote today. God bless our troops for fighting for that right!

P90X - Day 26 - Happy Halloween!

Completed day 26 and will be finishing up the recovery week getting ready for Phase 2. No temptation from the candy that's been hanging around. I really don't have much of a sweet tooth. I'm looking forward to the measurements coming up. I'm hoping to see some improvement. If there isn't much I'll use that to motivate myself for the next 3 weeks. I'm starting to see the improvements in each routine that goes by which is another encouraging sign. I really must hand it to the P90X program. This is the first program I've found that if you follow it and stick with it you'll see the results! Great job!!